After school ended, the Prince was escorted back to the Palace. He was heading to his room when a servant stopped him before he got close to his door.
"Your Royal Highness, this servant has been tasked by Her Majesty the Queen to inform you that she would like for you to come see her in her study as soon as you arrived from the Academy."
Prince Maxen frowned before he straightened his face back to normal and took a deep breath. "Alright, I understand. I will go right after I drop off my things."
The servant bowed before giving way for the Prince to enter his room. Prince Maxen sighed as he left his school bag on the floor next to his bed. He felt like he knew what exactly it was that his mother had to tell him as he gloomily made his way to his mother's study.
When he entered the study, he saw an elegant lady looking through some documents. Her dress was not as elaborate as her formal wear that she wore to ceremonies but it still gave her a regal air. She continued to look through her documents as Prince Maxen got closer.
"...You wished to see me Queen Mother?" asked Prince Maxen as he stood near her desk.
"...Have a seat, Prince Maxen of Glear," Prince Maxen mad a face as he sat down and thought that it must be serious if his mother called him by title. "We are sure that you are aware of your King Father's health condition. As time goes by, his health gets worse... At the moment, the Royal Physicians are able to prolong his life through the use of medicine and have been able to suppress his illness.
"This, however, is not enough. Sooner or later, we should prepare for the worst. Therefore, the Royal Court has decided that it is now time that you, Prince Maxen of Glear, be married as soon as possible. What are your thoughts?"
"What are my thoughts?" said Prince Maxen as he looked pale at his mother. "Do I even have a choice?"
"Technically, you have a choice on the bride. Otherwise, your late Royal Grandfather had already picked one before the two of you were born. If you have no sweetheart, then your future wife is the one he has chosen."
"...But I still have no say over this marriage..." said Prince Maxen as he sat back and sighed. "I had hoped that I would not need to marry so soon..."
"...Sigh...There is nothing that we can do. If you have no objections, by the end of this week, we will be notifying your fiancé and her family of our intentions to marriage. We had also hoped that the two of you would meet in the Academy since she also attends... but unfortunately, We do not believe that either of you have made contact.
"If you do have someone else in mind, please say so, We will not force you to marry a stranger if you already have someone that you like," said the Queen as she smoothed out the documents, then looked at her son. "If you are curious, We have her information and her pictures here. We can let you have a look if you wish."
"...No. I am alright not knowing..." said Prince Maxen as he stood up. "If there is nothing else, I should get started on my studies."
"Then you may go. Just remember to tell Us if you have someone else you wish to marry. Otherwise, it will be her," said the Queen as she held the documents in her hand.
After the Prince left, the Queen looked through the documents on hand while she contemplated on the information. She landed again on the photos and gave a thoughtful look.
"...This girl does not look like her mother nor her grandfather whom the late King had made the agreement with. On paper, she seems perfect for a future Queen, since she was able to get the scholarship and maintain it all this time; however, this makes one wonder. How can a simple person get a full-ride scholarship, to get into the Royal Academy? These papers say that she has traveled without her parents. When did she have time to study politics or etiquettes to have passed the scholarship?
"Although the Academy does give scholarships, they were made nearly impossible to pass except for a noble. It was made to encourage the commoners and also discourage them from applying. How could this young, poor girl be able to pass everything so perfectly?
**********
Elizabella had made her way home with a ride from Olivia's family. They lived in the same neighborhood, so they would often travel to and from school together. When she passed the high walls through the solid gate, she was greeted by her loyal servants lined up in two rows by the entrance.
"Welcome home, Your Ladyship," echoed their voices as they bowed to her while she looked them over before nodding to them.
"Yes, hello everyone. I need Steward Josaf to come with me to my study. The rest can continue to do what they were doing and get ready for dinner," said Elizabella as she walked past the twenty people who were replying to her with a bow/curtsy.
Elizabella went to her study with the Steward trailing closely behind her. She soon came to a large wooden door closed in front of her, leading to her study. The Steward quickened his steps to open the door for her.
"My Lady, is there something that you require of this servant?" asked the Steward as Elizabella gracefully strolled in and placed her bag on the desk before sitting down and taking off her glasses.
"Yes. I would like a detailed report on what has happened while I was gone to school with my businesses and my aunt's home," said Elizabella as her lovely light grey eyes stared at the maturely, handsome Steward.
Steward Josaf has been serving the family since he was barely considered an adult and when she was first learning how to walk. He had brown eyes with light brown hair that was beginning to show signs of greying. He had sharp features and his skin was naturally tanned. His eyes shone brightly, briefly, as he saw her gazing at him with her beautiful eyes before lowering his head.
"My Lady, business continues to grow with no major accident to report, but if you would like, I will have a well detailed document sent to your CD, communication device, later. Your Aunt Ludy and her husband Richard continue to try to find things to keep busy with. As for Walliams, he received news from his parents at the Palace and well..."
"...My Lady! Are you home?" said a loud male voice barging into the study.