"So what agenda do you have up your sleeves now?" Ruby asked while she sat opposite of the prince under her limestone gazebo where flower-bearing vines crawl up the white columns. She picked at the various sweet snacks laid out in fancy plates, inspecting each and every one of them but only eating a few selected treats.
"Well, as an excuse to get out I told my father that I'm here for diplomatic reasons to learn your culture and political strategies since your mother's methods seem very effective and I want to be a better ruler when I ascend the throne but in truth, I only want to see you and cheer you up."
"Basically you're here to gather reconnaissance about how we operate and then plan a countermeasure for when we become a threat and take over our lands afterward. You're warming up to me to make me your bitch and marry me so that you'll be an official regent of all my inheritance." Ruby interpreted, stirring her coffee boredly.
"I'm joking." she added when she saw his downcast expression due to her words.
"Anyways, I've done a little research on Cadmure and I would like to see the whole place for myself. With you of course as my guide and we can also think of this as our first official best friend bonding experience. What do you say, Ruby? Will you come with me?" The Prince offered enthusiastically, his amethyst eyes shining with hopefulness and energy.
"I don't know. I'm still not in the mood to go out and frolic. I'm not sure if it's the perfect time to have fun for a grieving widow."
"You're not a widow, you were not even married. Plus it's the perfect time to lighten up. This is a depressing time for you and I think you really need to get out there instead of sulk in your room all day long. Also, you might not grow any taller if you don't expose yourself to the sun. You'll forever be a loli." he teased, earning a piercing glare from her.
"So what's the first thing on your itinerary?"
"Your house of course! I heard that the Pendragon Castle is one of the most revered, most beautiful, and well-designed architectural places there is, plus the decorations and paintings are said to be exquisitely crafted, especially the portraits of the Pendragon family, like yours. I want to take lots of pictures for inspiration and stuff and then we could also take 'selfies'"
"No can't do. I cannot disclose to you the passages and design of my home. This castle is a stronghold capable of withstanding a siege from hundreds of thousands of soldiers with catapults and cannons. I cannot simply give that information to an outsider. Especially shits from the empire."
"Oh, don't be like that. I'm not planning on launching an attack on you I just want to know how and where you grow up, maybe even see baby pictures. Besides getting to know each other is one of the activities friends do. And if I'm lucky we'll be best friends eventually. In return, I'll give you a tour as well of my home when you get back to Macedonia and if that's not enough I'll even add a bona fide blueprint of the Imperial Castle. So what do you say, Ruby?"
"I'll let my mother be the judge of that. Let's ask her and if she agrees then it's a go and if she doesn't it's a no."
"Sure. Now let's go see mom." Aurelius replied enthusiastically with a beaming smile.
"Don't get your hopes up. Knowing my mother she'll never allow this blasphemous tour to happen so prepare for rejection." Aurelius only nodded and happily followed after her.
"Of course, I allow you to take a tour around the house and take photographs as well if you please." Althreya permitted making the prince smile victoriously while Ruby's face soured in displeasure.
"You're really going to entertain this? He's an outsider from the empire. What if he's using this to gather information about our base?" Ruby objected, giving the prince a suspicious side glance.
"Even with that possibility, I would like to see them try to defeat me. We are more than capable of withstanding a siege from the empire and the Horde. Besides, I think that this young lad adores you so much that he will think twice before committing such an atrocity against us." Althreya said, directing the prince a meaningful smile.
"Yes, you can have my word for it, my lady. I bear no ill intent for your house or your precious daughter. I'm just here to cheer her up and be amicable." Aurelius reassured, earning a smile from Althreya and an eye roll from Ruby.
"You can show him the luxury parts and exclude the actual stronghold. That should be sufficient for you to have fun and see Edelweiss's portraits, yes?"
"Certainly. I thank you graciously my lady for your generosity." Aurelius thanked bowing happily to his soon to be future mother-in-law while Ruby glared at him.
"You are dismissed." Althreya ordered before returning to the paper works on her desk.
Ruby only sighed and frowned as she dragged the prince by the back of his collar out of her mother's office.
"This is the tea room, ballroom, playroom, sunroom, music room, art room, great hall, kitchen, pantry, butteries, the solar, and the rooftop garden." Ruby enumerated boredly as Aurelius followed obediently on her tail snapping pictures here and there especially when he saw her portraits.
"You are so beautiful even when you were young, Ruby. I knew you'd grow up to be the fairest of them all."
"Spare me your sweet silver tongue and just keep walking. We're nearly finished with our house tour. You only need to see the drawing-room and the west wing hallway where you can find the other portraits including my own work. Hopefully, after that, I can finally get rid of you."
"Woah, you're an artist as well, that's amazing!"
"And a dancer, a huntress, and a bit of a singer. It's no big deal. I'm not really that great, just average."
"Oh don't be too humble. I know you're great at whatever you do. And I'll like it even if it's bad because I'm your best friend."
"No, I'm your best friend but you're not mine because you don't have any other friends. Speaking of which, why is that?"
"Ruby, that's so savage. You break my heart for the nth time but I still love you. And I don't have other friends because I don't like plastic people who only want to use me for political gain and fame."
"Ewww, don't use the "L" word on me. My fiancée just died."
"So can I see you perform? I'm very curious."
"Perhaps if I invite you to a ball but I doubt it."
"That's not fair. I've heard you sing but I don't think I ever saw you dance before. Are you sure you can really dance or do you just wave your arms and hips and then call it dancing?"
"How dare you? I'll have you know that my moves can make even the demons of Pandora's Chasm swoon." Ruby boasted proudly.
"Let me be the judge of that."
"Perhaps you can on the Blood Moon Ball. I presume you will be attending."
"I wasn't planning to but now I do. What color will you be wearing?"
"I'm not sure yet. Carmilla and I are supposed to shop together after the opera but now I guess I'll have to do it on my own. And don't you dare think about matching clothes with me to make us look like a couple or I'll tear your clothes to shreds."
"I'm fine with that." Aurelius said suggestively.
"Eww, don't take it that way or I'll drop you next from the balcony instead of your flowers."
"So you were really planning on throwing those out and singing melodramatic on loop?"
"Yes, and you don't care. Moving on, this painting is one of my earliest works when I was twelve. I used to play around in this lake a lot and pretend that I'm a mermaid like every other girl but unlike every other girl I actually own the lake." Ruby explained as she pointed at an oil painting hanging in front of them.
"Aww, it's so cute. Your works have so much passion in them it's almost envious. Can you paint me as well, like your lake? In nude, if you please." Aurelius requested with shining eyes making Ruby sneer.
"Definitely not." Ruby simply answered staring at him with sullen annoyance.