Elizabella left her room to try and see if she could talk to the Prince about why they had rushed the marriage and why she had yet to meet the King. Seeing how his room was across from her room, she did not travel far. She knocked on the door to see if he was there.
"Maxen, are you there? May we speak privately?" she asked as she waited to hear an answer when footsteps came from behind the door before the doorknob turned and Prince Maxen stood there while he looked at her. "May we speak in your study?"
"You can always come to my room whenever you feel lonely," smirked Maxen as Elizabella gave him a deadpan look before responding.
"I think that it is time that we spoke over some matters. If you can spare the time, we should talk about our future plans," said Elizabella as she looked straight at him making him sigh and began to leave his room.
"You are no fun. That is not the reaction most normal girls will have," said Prince Maxen as he led Elizabella to his study and sat down on a sofa while Elizabella followed him and sat opposite him. "Alright. What does the new Crown Princess have to say?"
"I thought that now would be the perfect opportunity to ask why the Royal Court deemed you to marry so young and even had me become your wife. What is going on?" asked Elizabella as she looked at him with a serious look behind her glasses making Prince Maxen freeze for a moment before he frowned.
"My Royal Father has been ill of health for a number of years. He seems to have gotten worse in the past months. At this rate, the Royal Physicians say that he will not have long to live and to prepare for the worst. Once he passes, the throne will go to me, but the Royal Court thought that it would be better if I had a wife before I took the throne," said Prince Maxen as he seemed nonchalant over the situation leaving Elizabella stunned in her seat.
"You mean to say, that at any moment, the King could die of poor health, leaving you to be the next King?" asked Elizabella as Prince Maxen nodded his head, making her feel an uncontrollable rage budding up inside her, but she tried her absolute hardest to suppress it within. "So, why did you not say anything before? You do know that if he dies before your turn twenty-one and you become the next King, it will be much harder for us to divorce? The only reason I had agreed to this false marriage was because you promised that you could renounce your position once you turned twenty-one so that we could officially divorce. A Crown Prince giving up his chance to become the next King, is not unheard of and even doable; however, who has heard of a King giving up his throne shortly after it was given to him?"
"Relax, will you? Just because in our history, it has never been done, does not mean that I cannot do this. I will simply just say that I am not cut out for this. They will surely let me go after I make my case known to them," said Prince Maxen as he sat there nonchalantly and looked at Elizabella who looked at him with a look of disbelief.
She felt her anger disappear but now she felt her face twitching. She did not know how to feel at this moment as everything he said made her feel incredulous.
"How can this Prince be this naïve? I am sure that he knows that it would be very difficult for a young King to abdicate the throne after the previous King perishes. They would more than likely try to convince him to not abdicate, unless there is someone that is a better option to be the King. This would make the government unstable as it always does after the death of a King and the new King has to stabilize his reign as fast as possible. If the next in line proves to be a better or worthy monarch before Prince Maxen abdicates, it may be possible... I think Prince Zander would be the next in line, but this is still too risky..." thought Elizabella as she felt a headache coming in and she sighed.
"So, what exactly does he have? Is it really that bad? How has he been able to live for so long if he has been ill all this time?" asked Elizabella while massaging her temples and looked at Prince Maxen.
"I was told that your grandfather was the one that left him a large supply of medicine and it was just until this year that he was running out. He is now down to his last bottle and that is why he has been feeling worse," said Prince Maxen in a solemn manner but his words made Elizabella's demeanor perk up.
"My grandfather?" asked Elizabella as she thought deeply to herself before looking back at him. "May I see the bottle?"
"Why?" asked Prince Maxen as he gazed at Elizabella while trying to understand what she meant and wanted.
"My mother had told me that I am very much like my grandfather in the fact that I know a bit about healing as it seems to be an inherited power. I want to only look at it and see if it is something that I could replicate," said Elizabella as she pled her case and did not even mind telling him about her power of 'Creation' if it meant she could ensure her future.
The Prince kept looking at her and wondered about her words. He thought about whether or not it was wise to show her this and finally decided that it would be best to let his Royal Mother decide. He sighed deeply as he looked at her.
"I would have to inform my Royal Mother of your request. I am sure that she would not mind. Let me ask one of the servants," said Prince Maxen as he was about to push a button to ring up one of the Palace Servants when Elizabella stopped him.
"We can send my Shadow Guard," said Elizabella as Walliams head slowly appeared, only enough to show his eyes to respond to her. "Walliams, please inform the Head Stewart of my request to the Queen."
"As you wish," said Walliams as he slowly disappeared back into his shadow.
All one saw was a dark shadow quickly exiting the room, leaving the two alone. Prince Maxen watched as Walliams dashed quickly away and wondered about the news he had gotten over him being gifted to his new wife by the Queen of Edalelia. He looked at Elizabella who seemed to have always been sitting poised since the beginning of their conversation. He noticed that she always appeared very elegant, except that one time he had met her with that black cat in her backpack.
"I was wondering... I know that Walliams is a Shadow Guard under your employment and that he was even gifted to you as a young child by the Queen of Edalelia. How do you know the monarch of another kingdom? I was even made aware that she sent you more Shadow Guards after our wedding. Why does she seem to value you so much?" asked Prince Maxen as he looked at Elizabella with an inquisitive look on his face, making Elizabella look at him calmly.
"I understand that you wish to know, but for now, I would like to not say anything for my safety. In the future, I will be glad to tell you everything if you still wish to know," said Elizabella in a serious manner, making Prince Maxen look at her with a frown.
"What do you mean your safety? Are you not safe here in the palace? No one would dare harm the Crown Prince's wife, not unless they want to rebel and become a traitor to the Crown," said Prince Maxen with the same seriousness as Elizabella had given him.
"Yes, that may be true, but it still does not hurt to be extra cautious with our lives. If someone is trying to rebel or start a war, you and I would be the easier targets since we are not as heavily protected as your Royal Parents. I was under the impression that you would also get more guards now that we have married. Ganthony has told me of your guard Octavius and that he should be a Shadow Guard very soon. A little bit of extra protection is not that bad when you represent the future Crown," stated Elizabella as she fixed her glasses on her face, making Prince Maxen want to groan at her lecture when he realized that she still never answered his question, and almost made him forget that he even asked.
"Very good. You seem to know to always manipulate the topic at hand. Tell me, are you a master liar or how is it that you are able to fool so many people that you are actually in love with me? Do not tell me you actually are in love with me?" asked Prince Maxen as he stared at Elizabella who appeared speechless at his claims before her face turned neutral again.
"I have told you before, Maxen. I am a fabulous actress. If you need me to act a part, I aim to play that part to the best of my abilities. If you continue to call me a liar, well, there is nothing I can do to change your mind. All it takes is a mask that I don to make the world think one way about me. In the end, I can give out a lot of information about me without giving anything at all. I am proud to say that even though we have met so many times now, you still do not know anything about me, and I would like to keep it that way for the remaining of our business transaction," said Elizabella in her business tone, making Prince Maxen wonder what else there is to know about his new wife.