The next morning.
After having breakfast with everyone in the morning Ollie decided that it was time for him to go back home, he had been gone too long and he was sure that his father would be furious if he did not see him for two days in a row.
And with that Ollie made sure to quickly return to the Castle, and as soon as he did, his first priority was to go see his father, because regardless of if his mother had given him permission to leave or not, his father would totally not be happy with that.
Ollie knew that his father wanted him to be there, to assert responsibility as the Prince of the Witch Realm, and even though he knew that his mother would not tolerate his father being upset with him over an issue so small, it still would not stop his father from being upset.
Which was why as Ollie was walking through the silent Castle halls, he was internally bracing himself to see his father and apologize for his absence, he knew that this could go two ways, either good or bad, and due to his past interactions with his father, his mind was more inclined to the bad option.
Ollie shook his head as he sighed, this was no way for him to be thinking, maybe he should have waited till the afternoon to see his father and he should have gone to see his mother instead.
Ollie quickly shook off every feeling of doubt, it was too late, he was already standing in front of his father's office doors.
Ollie braced himself once more as he knocked on the door and waited for a reply which came almost immedieately.
"Well here goes nothing" said Ollie under his breath as he opened the door and walked into his father's office, to see Albert seemingly focused on a file he was reading.
"Good Morning Father" said Ollie with a smile as he took a step forward to his father's desk.
"Hmm good morning" replied Albert with a mild grunt and he did not look at Ollie at all, as that already was not a good sign for Ollie, he was angry with him, he could see it clearly.
"How was your night father?" asked Ollie with a smile, he felt sort of guilty, after all, he was the one who skipped out on an important dinner that his father wanted him to be present for, and he let him down, not intentionally though.
"Good" replied Albert he said nothing more, nothing less.
"That is nice to hear father" said Ollie as he smiled and Albert replied with a mild grunt as Ollie was searching for something to say to lessen the tension.
"Father, you know mother always says you should open your curtains to let the light in" said Ollie as he laughed lightly and waved his hand as the pale brown curtains were drawn back and the allowed light in.
"Sit down Oliver" said Albert as he still did not look at Ollie as Ollie nodded and sat down, he had been waiting for Albert's permission before he sat down.
"Father, about my absence during dinner last night, I apologize, I know you wanted me to be there, but I left because I had to take care of something, I really am sorry for not meeting your expectations and missing an important dinner, I assure you that it will not happen again" said Ollie as Albert said nothing.
"Father, I really do not want us to argue, and I do not like it when you are upset with me, I know that you believe I was irresponsible for being absent, but I assure you that I would have never left id it was not something really important that I had to take care of" said Ollie as he knew the only reason Albert wasn't speaking to him was because his mother must have probably warned him not to start a fight.
Ollie sighed with the prolonged silence of his father, he really did upset him this time, and Ollie didn't want it to be like that at all. As if Albert had sensed the unease of his son, which prompted him to finally look at him.
"Let me guess, the really important thing you left for had to do with something about your friends?" asked Albert as Ollie nodded.
"Yes Father, I offended one of my friends and mother advised me that I fix it as soon as possible, and that is why I left" said Ollie as he knew being honest would help his odds.
"And might I ask which one of your friends you offended?" asked Albert as Ollie didn't really feel like answering that one, he knew how his father felt about Maddie.
"Oliver, I asked you a question, except you have something to hide?" asked Albert.
"I have nothing to hide Father, I offended Maddie, we got into an argument about her mother and I said some things I should not have said, I needed to apologize to her" said Ollie.
"And did you?" asked Albert as Ollie nodded.
"Yes I did Father" said Ollie.
"And did she accept your apology?" asked Albert as Ollie nodded.
"Yes she did Father" replied Ollie as Albert leaned back in his seat.
"Good, at least you didn't miss the dinner last night for a lost cause" said Albert as Ollie wanted to say something but before he could Albert cut him off.
"Look Oliver, I am not upset with you, far from it, I was just offended that you did not even think to inform me yourself that you would not be present at the dinner, I had to find out at the last minute" said Albert.
"I am sorry Father, I did not tell you because I did not want to disturb you... and also I...I... wasn't sure you would allow it" said Ollie honestly.
"Well next time don't act in that manner" said Albert.
"You are no longer a child, you are a man, if there is something you need to tell me, do not be a coward and say it to my face, that is how I will be able to build trust and respect in you" said Albert as nothing could describe the look of relief and happiness on Ollie's face.
"You mean that Father?" asked Ollie in surprise.
"A king never lies" said Albert as Ollie smiled.
"Thank you Father, I assure you I will do things the right way next time" said Ollie as he smiled.
"I know you will" said Albert as there was a small smile on his face.
"Did you only just return?" asked Albert as Ollie nodded, he had thought that maybe Ollie was hiding from him in his room.
"Yes Father, it was too late for me to return last night, so I decided to play it safe and stay at the Palace" said Ollie.
"I see" said Albert as he nodded.
"And how are your friends?" asked Albert as Ollie was surprised that Albert would be asking about them, but nevertheless it still made him feel very happy.
"They are very well Father, it is very nice of you to ask" said Ollie as he smiled.
"Hmm" said Albert as he seemed to be thinking about something.
"And your friend Annie... how is she?" asked Albert as Ollie could feel something strange with his specification of asking about Annie, he never did that before.
"She's fine Father" said Ollie.
"That's good" said Albert.
"Oliver, do me a favour and please inform Annie that I would like to see her today" said Albert as he did not want to scare off Annie, if the invitation was coming from his son who was her friend, he doubted that she would be worried about meeting him.
"Father... you want... to see... Annie?" asked Ollie in disbelief as Albert nodded.
"Yes" replied Albert as Ollie was surprised, he didn't expect this at all.
"If I may ask Father, what for?" asked Ollie in wary.
"Let's just say that she and I have some very important pending issues to discuss" said Albert as the fact he didn't say more made Ollie feel even more worried.
"Father, did something happen at the dinner last night that I should be aware of?" asked Ollie as that was the only explanation he could give to his father's sudden request to see Annie.
"If you were not there then it means that you don't need to know anything" replied Albert as Ollie took that as a hint of he should stop asking questions and just do as he was told, which did not sit well with him at all.
"Can you ask her to come Oliver, or do I need to get someone else to do it?" asked Albert as Ollie looked at her.
"No Father, you do not have to worry, I will do it, I will tell her" said Ollie as he concluded that it was better he should be the one to tell Annie and the others, just so they could have a heads up and not be caught unawares.
"Good, in the meantime, I need you to go to Agricola" said Albert as Ollie looked at him in shock.
"Why? Did something happen?" asked Ollie.
"I need you to oversee the harvest and report back to me" said Albert.
"But Father you usually send Professor Captious or one of the others to do that" said Ollie.
"Well I changed my mind now, is that you telling me that you will not do it?" asked Albert.
"Not at all Father, I will go" said Ollie.
"Good, you can leave once you inform Annie that I want to see her" said Albert as Ollie nodded, not liking this one bit.
"When should I return?" asked Albert.
"Before dinner" replied Albert as Ollie could see that he just wanted him out of the Castle while he would be talking to Annie.
"Alright Father, I will deliver your message before I go to Agricola" said Ollie obediently.
"Good, you can leave now, see you at dinner Oliver" replied Albert with a smile as Ollie nodded and stood up as he left Albert's office, he had to get to the Palace to warn Annie and the others now, because he sure did not know what his father was up to, and it worried him a lot.