Queen Gennat Alycie Slade of Glear was a graceful lady that had many things on her plate. Her husband, King Jasper Alfonce Slade, had been ill since before he took the thrown. He has not been King for even a decade, and his health has turned for the worst. She remembers that the late Baron new something about medicine and it was through his medicine that the King has lived until now.
However, the recipe for the medicine was only known by the late Baron as it was an original creation. The last of the medicine has dwindled to the last bottle; the King has grown dependent to this medicine and may not survive without a proper cure. The Royal Physicians have tried to recreate the medicine but have ultimately failed.
Because of this failure, the Royal Court has no choice other than to quickly prepare the Crown Prince for the throne. Like his marriage and future family. Honestly, those who knew about the relationship of the late King and Baron are more than happy to see this union come true. The Queen remembers that on his deathbed, he made them promise that the Crown prince will marry the Baron's granddaughter, and instead of spending his last moments with his family, he opted to speak to the Baron, privately.
The Queen remembers the late Baron as a humble man with a very charismatic personality. She never had the pleasure of meeting his daughters or granddaughter while he was alive; she wondered how much alike they would be.
When knowing and later meeting Lady Aphra Ginny Harkins, she thought that they really did not look alike at all. The only real thing that she thought was similar between the two was that they both knew how to speak eloquently, and very calmly. She had often wondered if the late Baron had any noble background, but would often say that he had no family outside his daughters and their families.
The Queen stared blankly as she reminisced about the past while the King slept soundly on the bed. He had been more and more tired recently, which is what prompted the Crown Prince's marriage announcement. She sighed as she closed her eyes and wondered how everything would have been different if her Royal brother-in-law had not passed away.
"If only you two had not gone then... would you be King? But if you were not, you would still be more alive then dead," thought the Queen as she slowly stood up and left the King resting alone on the bed.
She walked to her study and sat down at her desk. The Crown Prince's engagement has already been announced and she must prepare everything for the big day. The dress has been settled, the date has been picked, the bride is at home waiting for the day she is married off to the Crown Prince.
"...The bride..." she was lost in thought when suddenly there was a beep on her desk.
On the desk, a small square device was beeping, making her press the device and a hologram appeared. In the hologram, another graceful lady appeared, but she was much older than her. The lady looked through the hologram at her and spoke.
"Queen Gennat Alycie Slade of Glear, We are here at the promised time. How may We be of service?" said the elder lady with her grand posture and elegance.
"Queen Seraphina Elinor Glanmor of Edalelia, We are happy that you were able to make time to meet with Us," said the Queen of Glear.
"Yes, it is Our pleasure to be here as well," responded the Queen of Edalelia.
"We asked for this meeting to see if We can get some more understanding on a citizen from your kingdom. It has come to our attention that she has some ties with you," said the Queen of Glear as the Queen of Edalelia seemed to pause as she thought to herself.
"What exactly do you wish to know?" said the Queen of Edalelia.
"We wish to know what can you say about Lady Aphra Ginny Harkins? Anything on her noble aunt's family? Or anything that you may believe to help Us understand the character of the young Lady. We have intentions to have her marry Our Crown Prince."
The Queen of Edalelia's face seemed stiffen as her eyes narrowed at the mention of the upcoming marriage, but still tried to maintain her graceful demeanor.
"What exactly has she told you?" asked the Queen of Edalelia while she tried to keep her face straight and took a sip from her tea.
"All We know is that she has been given a young boy to become her guard by you. May we know why give her such a thing when she was so young?" asked the Queen of Glear as the Queen of Edalelia gently placed her teacup down.
"Well, the young Lady in question has always been excellent in her performances. As a small child, she would often come in Our presence to do a recital for entertainment. She was always an active girl and was quick to learn the arts. Even quicker than most other high nobles in the court. For her birthday, We gifted her the little guard because We wished for her to have a companion around her that knew how to protect her.
"In Our kingdom, the arts are highly valued and her talents were very special. Her talents not only lies in the arts. But We will let you discover her many talents. As for her family... This is something that We wish to keep confidential as her family is not doing so well at the moment. In regards to her character?
"We are upset that she will marry your Crown Prince instead of one of Our own. Regardless, We will still send Our blessings as she has already explained to Us her intentions. We also accepted this meeting to inform you that We wish that you not publicize the fact that We personally know your future Crown Princess."
"May We ask why?" asked the Queen of Glear with a perplex mood after hearing everything.
"...We wish to protect her..." said the Queen of Edalelia after a short pause. "Please watch out for her. She was almost Our in-law. Your Prince had to step in and take her."
Hearing these words, really confused the Queen of Glear as she had thought that Lady Aphra's background was not as simple as she had originally thought, making her frown and doubt whether or not she should let this marriage continue.
"...Overall, Our impression of the young Lady is a pass for one of Our grandsons. That is after years of watching her grow up. If you do not want her, We will gladly accept her. We tell you this because We cannot tell you much else then what We have already said. Just know that her background is grand enough to have Us look at her as a potential in-law. It would be your loss to let her go. We suggest that you treat her right."
The last statement was said through gritted teeth as the Queen of Edalelia sternly looked at the Queen of Glear, and cut off the feed. The Queen of Glear still had many more questions, but from what she gathered, her future daughter-in-law was really not a pushover.
"How interesting that both the late Baron and his granddaughter have relations with the rulers of their respective lands. Is this really a good thing? Surely, it must not be bad if both rulers are known to have wise reputations. Can two different wise rulers be conned by two different individuals from the same family? That must not be possible!
"So the conclusion must be that the late Baron and Lady Aphra, must have more similarities than what meets the eye. If only We knew the late Baron better. We only met him after the late Crown Prince died and he tried to save Our husband. We were more worried and panicked over the potential loss of Our husband than to pay attention to anything else. Even Lady Primrose could not keep her head straight after her husband's passing. We thought We would be next..."
The Queen of Glear sat there contemplating everything she had heard from the Queen of Edalelia and the past. She thought long and hard of how she should proceed. The only thing that she could do was to let the wedding continue as planned. She still had many questions, but ultimately, she believed that all would be revealed in good time.