"Prince Zander's mother? I have not met her yet. What title does she hold in your family? A Duchess, I assume?" asked Elizabella.
"She does not have a title. My late Royal Grandfather did not give her one before leaving to live in Edalelia with Prince Zander. Before, her title was Crown Princess when my late Royal Uncle was still alive. When he passed, I guess there was too much going on that she left without a title from my late Royal Grandfather," said Prince Maxen as he wondered why she did not have a title in the family. "Maybe my Royal Father will give her a title now that she has returned. After all, she is Prince Zander's mother and widow to a Royal Prince. It only makes sense for her to have one."
"Hmm. It is odd that she does not have one now. Why do you think that your late Royal Grandfather did not give her one even after she left? Is it a rule that says she must live in Glear for her to get the title?" asked Elizabella curiously.
"Surely, there is no such rule. I have heard that a messenger will travel with the title in hand until they find the recipient. Once given to them, they come back to the Palace of Glear to pledge allegiance to the Crown and get their perks from the King himself," said Prince Maxen as he frowned, never really thinking as to why no one ever thought to give his Aunt a title.
"How curious," said Elizabella as she remembered Head Steward Josaf's words about how the Royal Family acted. "Maybe we will find out why in the near future."
"Maybe," said Prince Maxen as he looked out the window in thought.
Prince Maxen had all but forgotten what he wanted to ask Elizabella earlier. The thought of wanting to know what happened back then and maybe finding out from her intrigued him; however, her words of caution also made him think twice before asking. In the end, the matter of his Aunt one over his curiosity.
Once they reached the palace, they were led to their rooms to change. Elizabella, knowing that it was Prince Zander's mother, decided to wear what she thought was appropriate for meeting any other royal member. Nothing too over the top, but still with her thick glasses on. Coming out of her room, she saw Prince Maxen also coming out his room. They looked at each other and smiled politely at each other, as the servants were nearby watching them.
They walked shoulder to shoulder to the waiting area, where the others were waiting for them. The three royal elders were quietly sipping tea while Lady Primrose sat elegantly in her seat with Prince Zander next to her.
Once the announcement of the arrival of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess came in, the family looked up to see them coming in while Lady Primrose seemed to frown at the mention of their arrival, but she quickly concealed her emotions and turned to look at them. The young couple gracefully walked together and bowed before the three senior royals.
"It is good that you have come back so soon," said the Dowager Queen as she smiled and held their hands in hers. "How was your family, Princess Aphra?"
"Thank you, Your Highness, for asking. They are all well, and they send their greetings," said Elizabella as she elegantly curtsied to her.
"Have a seat, you two," said the King as they bowed again to him before they sat together on a sofa. "Crown Princess Aphra, We would like you to meet Our Royal Sister-in-law, Lady Primrose."
"How do you do, Lady Primrose," said Elizabella as she smiled politely and bowed her head to Lady Primrose, who had been studying her since she saw her.
"How do you do, Aphra," said Lady Primrose, making the three elders cringe at the absence of title in her speech.
"Ahem! Royal Sister, please remember to behave like a Royal and remember to address everyone by their proper title," said the King as he tried to give a friendly reminder to Lady Primrose.
"Forgive me, Royal Brother, but when it comes to titles, I am used to being called Crown Princess myself, or nothing at all. I must have slipped just now," said Lady Primrose as she gave an apologetic smile to the King, ignoring Elizabella.
Elizabella, noticing that a power game was happening in front of her, decided that the best thing for her to do was not to get involved in their play. She sat there and picked up her cup of tea to sip on. Prince Maxen noticed how strange his Aunt Primrose was and mentally frowned. This was not how he remembered her to be. He remembered her to be a classy, elegant Lady when he was a child. Now, she reminded him of a cunning and shrewd woman with no class.
He looked at Prince Zander to see what he would do. Prince Maxen saw that Prince Zander was drinking his tea as his free hand was balled up in a tight fist. He realized that Prince Zander was powerless to turn the tide. He looked to see if Elizabella was upset when he noticed that she did not care that she had been disdained previously.
Prince Maxen saw that Princess Aphra was busy paying attention to her tea than the thick atmosphere that was stirring at that moment. He sighed as he thought that he would not need to calm her down from the insult his Aunt gave her.
"Aunt Primrose, it has been a long time that I have seen you. How have you been all these years?" asked Prince Maxen with a charming smile while looking at his Aunt, who in turn looked at him, while it seemed to Prince Maxen, in a lofty manner.
"Prince Maxen, I am happy to hear that you have married recently. I also heard so many negative things surrounding your engagement. I hope that did not affect your new bride negatively," said Lady Primrose as she spoke of Princess Aphra in front of her, making the others look strangely at Lady Primrose.
"Princess Aphra and I have a strong relationship. A little gossip will not affect us," said Prince Maxen as he reached to grab Elizabella's hand while he looked lovingly at her. "Is that not right, dear?"
"That is right. Outside forces cannot rock our relationship," said Elizabella as she shyly looked at Prince Maxen while hiding her face with her teacup.
"How cute. Young love is so blind," said Lady Primrose while she seemed to sneer at the young couple, while Prince Zander seemed to want to break his teacup in his hand.
The senior royals seemed to understand Lady Primrose and frowned internally, ensuring their facial features stayed the same throughout the ordeal. This meeting was inevitable as she would be staying in the palace with them for the foreseeable future. They were starting to regret that they had allowed her to move in with them, but it was best for her to stay there with her new title in the works. Another reason to keep her close was to watch over her, as she was proving to be a wild card. It would be very embarrassing if she behaved shamefully when they were not around as they would not be able to stop her.
"Dear daughter, everyone once had to go through this at one point. Did you not also have this period with Our Lysander? It is something that should be encouraged and not disdained as they will be Our future together," said the Dowager Queen as she tried to soothe the tension in the room.
Her words seemed to bring forth different reactions from everyone in the room. Prince Zander, who had his head down, looked up piercingly at the young couple before looking away. The Queen gave Lady Primrose a fierce look as she felt her son threatened by her. The King looked proudly at his son and daughter-in-law as he thought they were behaving as they should. Lady Primrose seemed to look at the young couple with a mocking looking before looking away.
Prince Maxen and Princess Aphra were the only ones that seemed to be in their own world as they appeared to blush while looking at each other. They cleared their throat and looked away shyly. The image of young love!
"Royal Sister, We had asked Our Crown Prince to meet you with his new bride. They have met you, but We do not think that you are up to meeting people at this time. Perhaps We can continue this discussion later during dinner," suggested the King as he turned to look at Prince Maxen and Princess Aphra. "We are sure that you two are tired from all that traveling. Why do you not go and rest back in your rooms? We shall call for you later."
"As you wish, Your Majesty," said Prince Maxen and Elizabella jointly as they bowed politely to the senior royals.
"Prince Zander, why do you not also go and rest? We heard that you did not sleep properly last night," said the Dowager Queen as she turned to look at Prince Zander with a smile.
"Thank you, Royal Grandmother," said Prince Maxen as he bowed to the senior royals before he, too, left to his room.
After the younger royals had left the room, the senior royals were alone with Lady Primrose. They each took a sip of their tea before anyone decided to break the tension in the room. Finally, it was the Dowager Queen who broke her silence.
"Dear daughter, if you want to have a royal title in the future, you must act like a royal, now. How can a grown Lady forget her manners and not call the other Royal Family members by their proper title? What would the others say if they heard that Our daughter-in-law forgot all her etiquette in the few short years that she was away," before she could finish, Lady Primrose interrupted her.
"It would be a full decade this month. That is ten years. Ten years that we have been away, and none of you cared to see how we were fairing. So, forgive me if my manners have been rusted. For where we have been, we did not need to address any royal," said Lady Primrose bitterly while she drank her tea.
"Still, one should always remain proud and never phased by life's circumstances. That is the dignity of the Royal Family," continued the Dowager Queen as Lady Primrose scoffed while she turned her head away.
"Dignity of the Royal Family. What dignity? How my poor Prince Zander and I left after being kicked out by Royal Father in a most undignified manner, I am afraid that I do not understand what that phrase means," said Lady Primrose as she turned to glare at the Dowager Queen. "After leaving the Royal Family, I have learned that everything that you do is nothing but a façade. You play like you have manners and above everyone, but deep down, you are no better than the lowliest of lows. Especially when I found out that my Lysander was no longer mentioned like expired milk. If there were dignity in the Royal Family, we would not have been chased out and forgotten by the so-called family."