Walliams sat there wondering what had happened back then. He frowned as he remembered that he was tiny ten years ago. It had been ten years that Walliams had been with his Lady. At first, he did not want to leave his parents, but he understood that he was destined to become a Shadow Guard since birth. Since he was still young, he stayed with his parents for nearly six months more before leaving with her for good.
However, from what he recalled, he should have gone with her after she turned eight. Why did he suddenly go home with her when she was still seven? Old Granny Queen was good at keeping her word. Something must have happened for him to stay with Elizabella, permanently, before the allocated time. If that is true, what happened? He looked up at Elizabella and asked innocently.
"What happened in Edalelia ten years ago?"
"The Queen's sons and older grandsons passed away. They say it was by some hover vehicle accident; something about a malfunction. I do not think that that is true. I remember seeing the Crown Prince before he passed away. He died of radiation poisoning. At least, that is what I heard the Royal Physicians saying after they listed off his symptoms. After that, I remember going home and doing some research on the matter," said Elizabella as she gently placed her empty cup of tea on the table. "Do you understand how much radiation we need to get poisoned? For it to be lethal? At one point in history, the human body could only take a small dose in a short period before we died almost immediately. Now, our bodies have evolved to the point of monstrous. That little dose that could kill our ancestors is laughable to our advanced bodies. Tell me, where do you think the Crown Prince of Edalelia was hanging to have received such a lethal dose? Why was the King of Glear suffering from the same symptoms as the late Crown Prince of Edalelia ten years later? And why can Prince Maxen be sure that the current King of Glear was supposed to be in Edalelia ten years ago, where the late Crown Prince of Edalelia passed away?
"Did they all meet up before getting poisoned? Why would two kingdoms cover the deaths of their princes over the same event if that were true? What is everyone hiding? So many things that do not make sense. I fear that Lady Primrose will disturb the calm, muddy waters we have been wading in for years. We should sit back and observe for now until we know what we are dealing with."
Walliams sat on his chair, pondering over what he had learned. Indeed, the Crown Prince's affair was not as stimulating as a Royal Conspiracy that spanned two kingdoms. Walliams, who always enjoyed a good gossip, felt his heart racing at wanting to know what was going on. He even toyed with the idea of doing his own snooping around. He was confident that he would not get caught as hiding was a natural thing for his race.
If Elizabella knew what he was thinking, he was sure that she would scold him. What if he got caught? She would not be able to save him if such a thing occurred. His eyes gleamed as he lowered his head and wondered what he should do. Should he snoop without telling her or do so behind her back? He looked up at her, and a thought occurred to him.
"My Lady, I understand that both your families had close ties with the two kingdoms' monarchs. Are you sure that no one knows what happened that day? Was not Lord Frederick good friends with the princes of Edalelia? I am sure that he had left a diary of some kind involving that event. Also, your late maternal grandfather was practically living in the Palace of Glear during that time. Perhaps he also left some notes behind documenting what happened back then; if not, report the king's illness. Maybe we could search for any information that he may have left behind. I am sure that going through your father's notes thoroughly was not on your mind back then and missed something. I am sure that someone in your family knows what is going on," said Walliams passionately as he looked up at Elizabella with fire in his eyes while his tail made a brief appearance as it swished behind him.
Elizabella looked hard at Walliams. She understood him very well. He just wanted to do this so he can snoop around. She understood that one of his pastimes was to indulge in gossip. It helped that he could travel in the shadows and have no one be the wiser.
She wondered if this was an automatic trait for his kind as it was easy for them to do. Even those who could not melt into the shadows were adept in hiding their presence from ordinary people. Maybe she should let him become a detective when he is older. He could start his own practice. He would be good at his job, and it may not even feel like a job for him.
"Tell me the truth, Walliams. When you are older, do you want to be a detective?" she asked earnestly, making him frown as he thought to himself.
"If I could choose my career in life, other than being your Shadow Guard, I would not mind being a video editor or photographer. I like manipulating images and capturing natural beauty. So, I am not sure if I would prefer a nature photographer or strictly people. I do not think I would want to do advertisements for companies. Maybe a fashion photographer would be fine too. Why do you ask?" he said with a confused look as Elizabella smiled gently at him.
"If you photograph people, you could capture people committing crimes if you become a detective," said Elizabella as Walliams frowned again.
"But where is the beauty in that? I want to capture beauty with my camera. Why would I want to chase after bad guys?" he said as he tilted his head and looked at Elizabella.
"You are right. Why should you taint your eyes with such negative stuff?" Elizabella said as she realized that Walliams was still a young teenager that had a lot of growing up to do. "We can talk about this when you are older. Back to the topic. Do you really think that someone in my family would know what happened ten years ago? Where would we even begin to search?"
"I think that looking in your Aunt's house would be a good place and even in their ancestral home where we lived briefly with them in the past. Since we did not know what we know now, we never thought to search it for information. I am certain that we would find something there," said Walliams as he thought, while Elizabella looked at him and sighed with a small smile.
"Walliams, whatever you want in life, I promise that I will help you achieve it as my younger brother," she said softly to herself, but Walliams being a beastman, heard her whispers and looked at her stunned.
"Thank you, my Lady," said Walliams a little shyly as his tail swished once before disappearing.
"We can leave the searching to Head Steward Josaf for that; however, I have a question. Have you never considered that maybe my Aunt may know something since she was living with my grandfather ten years ago? If we asked her, I am sure that she would tell us all she knew. She may even know if grandfather had, indeed, kept any documentation over what had happened back then," said Elizabella as she smiled playfully at Walliams while he looked utterly stunned to hear how simple it could be.
"Just like that? Is it that simple?" he asked, still stunned while Elizabella laughed lightly.
"We can try. I am not saying my Aunt does know, but she might know something about the incident. We can start with her," she said as she poured some tea into her cup before taking a sip.
"Oh. Right. We could just ask Aunt Ludy," said Walliams a little sheepishly.
"Haha! Walliams, you are too adorable," said Elizabella in a good mood, almost forgetting the serious conversations she has been having since last night. "I am tired. I have not had any sleep all night. I know that you will also need to rest. Why do we not take a rest now?"
"Alright. I am still tired, too," said Walliams as he got up to stretch before he went to his room for a nap.
**********
Prince Zander had gone to his room, a little embarrassed that his mother had decided to make a scene in front of Lady Elizabella. He had hoped that his mother would have restrained herself to at least the level of cordial in front of Lady Elizabella. Prince Zander sighed as he paced in his living area. He ran his long fingers through his hair as he fell on his sofa and looked up at his ceiling.
His ceiling had a traditional chandelier that was an antique. He never really cared what was on his walls or ceiling, so long as his mother did not come in and tell him that what he had was inappropriate for a Prince of Glear.
His room, his space, had always been dictated by what his mother deemed appropriate for a Prince of Glear. Once his father passed away, he hated the title of "Prince of Glear" as it had meant nothing to him anymore. Eventually, he became numb to that title.
However, his mother, Lady Primrose, would take every opportunity she had to tell everyone that her son was a "Prince of Glear." She would always introduce him as such, forcing him to act like "Prince of Glear." To be honest, even now, he hated that title. But "Crown Prince of Glear" sounded more impressive.
After his father's death, he never thought that he would care for such a title as it had been dangling in front of him before he could ever touch it. He had tried numbing himself by not bothering. But things change.
Lady Primrose seemed more unstable, and he knew that title and prestige were all she cared for, which is why the topic of who he married had been weighing on her mind for a while. He knew that she liked Marchioness Elizabella Blakeloch as his potential wife candidate and possibly no one else. With her family background and riches, any greedy noble would want her to marry into their family to climb the social ladder.
So, what did Lady Primrose do in the end? She ended up snubbing the Lady by disrespecting her in her face. Granted that his mother did not know who she was, he believed that Lady Elizabella's first impression of his mother would not be a positive one. What should he do now? He could not tell his mother that the Lady she disrespected was the one she wanted him to marry as his mother would never believe him.
He sighed again as he looked up at the ceiling, dejected. Why was life never easy? As a "Prince of Glear," he should have a smooth life, but his life was just a mess. Could anyone tell him what he did wrong to live so miserably when all he ever did was try to please his mother? Was it wrong for a child to please their mother when they know their mother is silently crying in their dark room? How many times had he heard his mother's weak sobs from her bedroom at night and him not knowing how to help?
If being a "Crown Prince of Glear" meant the world to his mother, then he did not mind being ruthless in the end.