Once Amelia had gone to the living room, the king and prince had already left for some urgent matters. A little disappointed that the prince wasn't there, she chatted with the queen and princess all afternoon and told them about her journey.
Time passed quickly. It was already dinner time before Amelia knew it. The urgent matter must have been dire since the king and prince couldn't join dinner either.
After some lively conversations and a lot of good food, Amelia was on her way back to her chambers. "Lucius, please take care of the coachman. He wanted to return to his home, so he shall not stay here."
"Yes, he has already left. I organized it while you were having dinner."
"Oh, thank you for handling it so efficiently then." he gave her an amiable smile. "Are you happy with the chambers you got?"
"Yes, they are sufficient. Don't worry about us, princess." He winked, continuing to smile at her.
"Alright then, good night."
"Good night, princess."
'That sly fox,' Amelia was annoyed by Lucius's effect on her. 'Dear lord, what is going on? I have to focus.'
On the other hand, her reactions amused Lucius. He took the first shift in guarding her door and stood beside it while thinking of her. The way she looked today was indeed breathtaking. He rarely had seen such a beauty, and she wasn't aware of it, which made her even more alluring.
'It can never happen, Lucius. She is promised to a prince. Get a hold of yourself.' Lucius was lost in thoughts battling his feelings.
--
Looking up at the night sky from her terrace, Amelia thought she needed to get acquainted with the palace and know each corner like the back of her hand. It could come in handy in a moment of distress.
That reminded her younger self when she and Aurora used to roam around in the castle in Rodea to find out all the hidden passages. They made it their mission to know every single corner of the place.
Once, they were hiding behind a painting, a secret entrance to the underground tunnels. They could listen to a conversation between two other noble children, who talked about how Amelia did not belong there and should return to where she had come from.
Amelia had started to cry, which was why Aurora later spilled her food over those two noble children at dinner. The princess always had Amelia's back, no matter what. Then there was the time when Amelia showed her powers to Aurora for the first time.
Amelia was young when she realized she had an unusual connection to plants and animals. Yielded plants would begin to bloom again in her presence, and uncontrollable animals would be tamed with one touch.
Furthermore, she had odd dreams which seemed to be warnings or visions of the future. They scared her the most since there was always pain and despair in them. There were many other odd occasions throughout her life. Since she didn't know where she came from and no one had taught her how to use her powers, she was neither aware of their extent nor acknowledged that she was an enchantress.
When Amelia showed Aurora how she calmed her horse once, the princess was shocked and stood there in awe. She didn't show judgment, nor was she scared. She appreciated what Amelia was capable of. They then made a pact to keep it a secret.
--
The following day Amelia got ready with the help of her maids. They had chosen a light-yellow colored dress and kept her hair open. It was common to do so here.
She was taken aback when she exited her room because Nathaniel stood there waiting. Torres was now on his shift, so he stood there alone now.
It looked like the prince and Torres were doing a staring contest before she arrived. "Prince Nathaniel, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Amelia bowed slightly and put on a charming smile.
"I came to apologize for yesterday. There had been some fights in one of the markets, and we had to ensure it wouldn't break out into a big battle."
"I understand. You do not have to apologize for that. You must be busy, so I assume this might happen often."
"Yes and no, it is true I am busy, but not like that." He grinned at her, checking her face for something.
'Oh no, did he recognize her not to be Aurora…' Amelia tried to hide her fear.
Nathaniel had never been pleased about the engagement with Princess Aurora. It was an agreement made by their parents when she was born, and he was only five years old. Both Rodea and Lavia had solid armies and wanted to profit from each other strengths. Rodea specialized in land combat, while Lavia had an impressive navy with over 50 ships, the biggest in all the lands.
Both kings had seen eye to eye in achieving unity throughout all the nations. Although they didn't want to achieve it through force, they understood that not everyone would comply with their plans and that they would have to fight for it in the end.
Even though the king of Rodea had died, the new king, King Philipp, had found out about these goals as there were records left for him, prepared by his father in case of his sudden death. He had agreed with it and hence went forward with Aurora's hand in marriage with Prince Nathaniel.
Nathaniel knew nothing about all those intentions and was instead focused on himself. He had grown up in great privilege as the only prince of Lavia. His handsome face and natural charm made him attractive to most women, and his status allowed him to do as he pleased.
Despite being hardworking, he had put much effort into perfecting his political, war strategy, and swordsmanship skills. He allowed himself long nights of fun activities and sexual pleasures. The love shown to him by his family and people only made him more unbearably confident.
He was not used to being pressured into doing something, meaning an arranged marriage was not in the framework of his mentality. Marriage and love weren't things he believed in, and his mindset was that only fools would fall in love.
His idea of a perfect wife was someone who would let him rule on his own, let him do as he wished, and yet have basic manners and the capability to gain people's favors.
To his disappointment, Princess Aurora seemed like a clever and ambitious woman who wanted to change the world for the better and rule beside him. She was beautiful, and it would be a lie if he said he wasn't attracted to her, but she did not fit into the wife profile he had drawn out for himself.
Nathaniel wanted to make Aurora quit this engagement, search for a suitable woman, and marry her instead. Embarrassing her several times and showing her what an awful husband he would be would probably do the deed.
It seemed like nothing could go wrong, but if only he knew…
Amelia's hand started to sweat when he said, "Let's go to the breakfast. My family awaits us, and while I accompany you, we can converse."
'Oh no, what would he want to talk about so early in the morning…' Amelia's anxiety only worsened as time passed.
"Your guard takes his job very seriously. An interesting character, isn't he?"
Amelia chuckled nervously. "Torres is an interesting character indeed, but he would die for me if he had to, which is why I prefer to have them guard me." She didn't believe in what she had said but didn't want the prince to become suspicious.
"If I remember correctly, you like archery? I would suggest going to the field in the afternoon for some archery sessions if you like?"
"Ah yes, sure, I would like that very much."
'That is odd,' Amelia thought. Aurora never liked archery, although she had been good. Maybe they never got close enough so that she could have shared her true thoughts regarding the sport.
When they entered the dining room, his family was waiting for them, except for the king. The king's now empty spot was the head seat of the long and large table.
On his right sat the queen, and across from her was Nathaniel's allocated place. Amelia was directed to sit beside the prince while Lucia sat across from her. The rest of the table was empty and would rarely have seated guests since this was the royal family's private residence.
The breakfast was lively. Nathaniel told his family about their troubles yesterday, while Lucia told stories from her adventures with her new pony in an overly excited tone.
Amelia enjoyed the atmosphere, which was very different from what she had experienced in Rodea. Everyone was much m, more relaxed here, whereas the Rodean royal family always kept on with their serious talks, even during private mealtimes.