It had been a month since Alfred left the palace. Isra had struggled originally with taking control of the affairs of the kingdom and looking after Edward alone but after a couple of weeks, she had gotten through it, especially with the help he had set up in place for her in his absence.
Isra sat on her chair looking at Edward with a gentle motherly smile. He was wearing a brand-new outfit that was pristine. The nannies and maids carefully prepared him for his birthday as he played with his toys. Going into the draw and taking out a vial of medicine, Isra lightly crouched in front of him. The maids and nannies backed up.
"It's medicine time Edward." With a soothing voice, she calmly opened his mouth gently pouring the clear liquid into his mouth. His face scrunched slightly from the bitter taste but Isra's soothing voice helped him drink it. Alfred had been against constantly giving him medicine. It wasn't his past world, he didn't know what would happen to Edward in the future if he was fed medicine in the most critical moment in his infancy. Added to that it was something Edward would have to get used to. If he had to live with a disability that caused him pain throughout his life, he couldn't live it doped up on painkillers the entire time.
Yet Isra decided to go against his wishes today. It was a big moment for Edward, being his first birthday. Whilst she agreed with Alfred's reasoning for not frequently medicating him, it was a day she wanted to be able to spend with her son worry-free. Backing up the maids gave him the finishing touches. With it done, Isra picked him up placing him in his small comfy wheelchair, something Alfred had designed for him.
Wheeling him out she led him to a large room on the side of the palace with a balcony. Inside a couple of those closely related to Alfred and nobles with children. Wheeling him in, the adults gave bows. "We greet the Queen and Prince."
The two Royal Guards closed the doors behind them and stood by it watching each guest with hawk-like eyes. As the highest-ranking member in the room, Raven walked over towards the two. He politely bowed to them, placing a small toy in Edward's lap. His face had a kind smile on it, making him look truly holy in his Archbishop robes.
"It's good to see the Prince so calm today," Raven spoke with a gentle but quiet voice, so those around couldn't fully hear him. Unlike when he had first met Isra, he was now warm with her. He had grown to trust her and with the Pope's blessing for her and Alfred to marry and presiding over their wedding he had grown fond of the woman, seeing past her religion.
"I know Alfred is against it but I decided to give him some medicine for his big day." She said with a light laugh. Raven looked down at her face. He saw the dark circles under her eyes.
"What about you? How are you doing my Queen?" Worry was apparent in his voice.
Isra felt her lips go up and down, not expecting the question but it finally solidified with a kind smile. "It's very kind of you Raven. I'm fine. Just a little worried about today."
"Don't worry. Esmond is sneaking around today keeping taps on everybody. It will be fine." Raven looked behind him at the guest. "I shouldn't keep you much longer, guests are expecting you," Raven said as he followed Isra into the crowd, never moving too far from her.
Calling over Daisy she left Edward with her while she mingled with the rest, not letting him leave him leave her site once. Scanning the room, she watched who her guests interacted with. Anton had made it obvious that he wanted to come over and greet her separately, but the mob of powerful people and parents huddled around him, bothering him about new business opportunities or other unimportant things.
"Excuse me, please. I must go pay respect to the Queen." Rudly pushing past he walked over towards Isra. "You honour us with your presence my Queen." Anton pulled a small case from his pocket. Opening it up was a small black gem. "A rare stone that my people found. A present for the Prince." A gem of the imperial family was of great importance for those recognised as true members. Alfred had been trying to find the perfect gem for Edward but was unable to do so.
"Thank you, Anton. It's beautiful. I'm sure Alfred will be glad as well." Signalling a guard with her finger she handed the gem to him to hold. "How has business been."
A happy grin spread across his face as his favourite topic had been brought up. "War is a great time for business. The Merchant of the Sultanate is a great business partner I must say." He said with jest. "On the other hand, William and Charles borrowed a lot to fund their armies, and His Highness has proposed an interesting idea when everything is over."
Isra politely smiled nodding along to what he was saying. "Well I'm happy to hear business is going well. I would love to go into more depth about that but it seems that some buzzards are wanting to talk to you again and I must greet the other guests." Looking behind him he saw all the people looking at him with expecting faces. An exhausted groan left his mouth.
"You're right. I will discuss it with you later. If you need support in the future just call for me." Spinning around he went back with spread arms, returning to his conversation. Grabbing a glass of wine, Isra drank it savouring the taste. She had been unable to drink during pregnancy and savoured every glass she could get now.
Daisy stood over Edward watching the children. There were three groups. The toddlers and young children played with one another under the supervision of nannies and maids. Then those aged from 7-11 formed two groups. Finally, the teenagers, who mingled with one another, talking about things related to the academy Alfred had set up or the war going on. One group of young children laughed and snickered quietly, occasionally looking at Edward.
Daisy had cold eyes looking at them, but she couldn't do anything as they were just children who didn't know better. Being egged on by his friends one of the older children of the group walked over towards Edward with his cronies behind him. "We greet the young Prince." With a mocking tone, he bowed. Those behind were a little nervous seeing what he was doing but said nothing.
Isra watched in the distance and was about to walk over but was quickly stopped by Raven. He gently shook his head. "Let it play out. Only interfere if they go too far."
Edward looked up at the children, a happy smile on his face as he played with his toys. He spoke broken words in a babish voice. "My parents were right, the Prince must be very smart." He looked down at the blanket covering his legs. "It's a shame that he won't become a famous warrior like me." A round of laughs came from his cronies, getting the attention of the parents, who watched nervously. They had warned their kids not to do anything stupid, with the memory of the Purge still in their minds.
The boy feeling brave took a step closer to Edward. "Not a step closer to the Prince." Daisy's icy voice cut through the air, freezing the boy in place, but he looked back at his friends and puffed his chest, proving he wasn't scared of a nanny. But more importantly, to him was his pride as the son of a count.
"I am the son of a Count, maid. Know your place, you should be treating me with respect." Growing up he had been treated with respect by all his servants and Daisy's tone was something he had never suffered from a servant. Added to the dislike he had for Alfred, which came from his father's rambling about him, he felt the disrespect was personal. Seeing the disabled Edward had also caused him to look down on the young Prince, unable to believe that he had to serve a cripple in the future.
Despite all this, his father had told him to not push it when it came to the royal family or other noble children and he was also smart enough to understand this, being content to mock the small boy a little and laugh from a distance. He knew at the end of the day he could get away with it as a child.
Staring deep into Daisy's eyes he took another step forward pushing the boundaries. Daisy looked towards Isra. She shook her head but silently signalled the two guards to move closer. "I just wanted to give him a present. My dad said it's very important to show respect." The boy spouted bullshit reaching into his left pocket.
From behind one of his friends whispered in his friend's ear before gently pushing the boy into Edward. The boy fell forward not expecting the sudden push, falling into Edward's lap and grabbing his leg with his free hand. Daisy had also not expected the sudden push, being late to react and failing to move Edward out of the way.
Silenced filled the air for what felt like hours to the adults. They just stared in horror at the young Prince's face which was filled with extreme pain despite being on a painkiller. The young boy was thrown out of his lap, by Daisy with a strength that was unbecoming of her frame.
Seconds passed with a scream of anguish filling the air. Isra dropped her glass running over to comfort Edward, taking him into her embrace, her eyes staring at the group of children with fury. The two guards flanked her side, hands on the hilt of their swords staring at everyone as if they were a threat.
"I'm sorry.." The boy tried to apologise with tears in his eyes, but the kid's father came from behind. Picking him up he gave a heavy slap around his face. Looking at the queen he threw another slap at him. He knew it was a matter of survival and the pain his son would suffer was temporary compared to his family's destruction. He couldn't believe that a child was brave enough to do something like that.
Looking down at Isra the nobleman dropped his son and got down on his knees, slightly shivering in fear. Isra standing with the crying Edward in her arms, calmly patted his back, her eyes not leaving the kneeling man. "Raven. Deal with this." Throwing the order out, she took her two guards and Daisy and left the room.
With cold, emotionless eyes, the archbishop walked to the centre of the room. "Who is his father?" Pointing towards the boy who pushed the other, a chubby nobleman walked out, nervously sweating. He tried to talk but Raven raised his hand stopping him from getting a word out. "Esmond take him to the dungeon. His son has just assaulted the Crown Prince."
"Your holiness, please. Spare my son, he is just a boy. Please, your holiness. Plea.." Esmond with the help of another noble dragged the fat man out. The slamming door muffled his pleas that echoed down the hallway. The children around silently cried from the commotion whilst the teenagers looked away with dark eyes. They heard tales of what happened to the children all those years ago and believed the same fate was about to happen again.
"The Crown Prince's birthday celebration is over now." Raven's frosty voice lingered in the air. "All of you would do good to remember what has just happened." Crouching down, he whispered into the noble's ear, "You're lucky he was pushed, but make sure you raise your son properly going forward." Leaving the room, Anton quickly followed behind, finally having a reason to leave.