"Seriously, don't you remember them. They were both present for your coronation!", Lilian said in disbelief and the Emperor then smiled softly at the old couple finally remembering where he last saw them.
"I remember them. They were also present for our wedding, and on Luis's birthday and Lilac's as well", the Emperor said as he stood up and walked up to the old couple. The gently took Mandurah's hands and kissed them both, before he bowed in front of the old man.
"Your Highness, no!", the old couple chorused and hurriedly straightened him.
"Don't embarrass us, your Majesty", Alias said with a small smile on his face.
"The food will get cold, we should eat now the people we were waiting for are here", Tanisha said and the old couple and the Emperor went to their respective seats.
"So, father said you were present at my birthday. Funny right, I was the last person to recognise you", Luis said after a long time of silence.
"Ha ha ha, it is indeed funny, your Highness", Alias said in a friendly tone and turns to Lilac.
"And we were also present for the Second Prince's naming ceremony", Mandurah said on behalf of Alias as his mouth was filled with food.
"Yeah, that's right. I spent most of my childhood by their side along with Regina, of course after my father's death", Lilian said sniffling in her tears involuntarily.
"It so strange how empty you suddenly feel when you think about it ", Lilian said in a sigh and the old couple nod in agreement.
"Yawn... you guys have gotten too emotional that it's gotten boring. Alright mother... father, I'm off to bed. Bye, Saxy", Luis said standing up before walking out of the dinning table.
"I too am tired, I'll go join brother Luis. Bye everyone", Lilac said and then jogged to catch up with Luis.
"Hey bro, wait up!", Lilac said finally catching up with Luis. Luis smiled and then wraps his arm across Lilac's shoulders.
"Lyle, I don't think I'm going to have my happy ending as I thought I would", Luis said curtly before entering his room.
"Why'd brother say something like that?" Lilac thought and then entered his own room too.
Downstairs, the Emperor and the remaining Imperial family members had retired to their rooms leaving the Ducal family members in the diner.
"I'm so happy to see you Gran", Saxena said and then snuggles closer to the old woman who gave her a warm smile.
"Are you sure about that? The last time I came here you almost froze me to dry ice", the old woman said good naturedly but Saxena's expression turned sour immediately.
"Brother Saheb, I'm tired I'll be going now", Saxena said and hurriedly exited the room.
"Has she been able to control her powers yet?", Grandpa Alias asked Saheb and he nodded in the affirmative.
"That's like my good girl", Alias said and then he and his wife retired for the night.
The night passed and then came morning.
Some maids were in the Princess's room with some dresses and jewelleries as they gently woke her up.
With a yawn, the Princess sat up on her bed welcoming the maids with a small smile and they bowed a little in response.
"I'll go bath and join you shortly", the Princess said in a friendly tone and then sluggishly walks into the bathroom. After sometime the Princess came out of the bathroom looking brighter than she was when she was entering.
The maids smiled and immediately went to attend to the Princess when she sat down on the stool in front of the mirror.
"How is my Princess today, she looks happier than usual", Cordelia, the maid who was dressing her hair said as she let her hair flow down in lush curls.
"The Ducal family of Jades are around. They came in the late evening during dinner", the maid said meekly while adjusting the head ornament on Saxena hair.
The maids dressed her in a beautiful blue floral royal gown and silver ornaments. She then suddenly smiled at the realisation that she didn't have one of her frequent fits.
"My Princess is glowing today", the youngest maid, Pheonix who was attending to the Princess shoes said grinning from ear to ear.
"You have no idea", the Princess concluded with a smile and stood up. She then walked out of the room towards the staircase when she heard two cute little voices behind her, she and her maids halted and turned around to face the two cute little boys.
"Aunty Saxy, you look lovely today. You slept better last night, right", Rayne said with a sheepish grin and Saxena smiled patting his head.
"Correct as always, I always knew you were the smart one", Saxena said pinching the little boy's cheeks playfully.
"Hey, if he's the smart one which one am I?", Raymond asked ruefully and then bent his head sulking. All the while, the maids stood there giggle and commenting on how cute the twins were.
"You're the cute one, obviously", Saxena said in a matter of fact tone making the young Prince finally smile.
"Really?!", Raymond asked and she nodded in the affirmative.
"That's not fair, I am just as cute as he is. Why is Aunty being imparal", Rayne said, feeling wronged by his aunt's impartiality.
"Firstly, it's im-par-tial, impartial. And secondly, you're both cute and smart. Happy?", Saxena said coxing the twin Princes.
"Yes, very happy!", the Princes chorused contently and Saxena finally stood up.
"Okay now, you two go play with Grandpa and Grandma", Saxena said lovingly and the boys immediately sprinted out the room.
"Awn, the boys are sooo cute...", the maids said ogling the twin Princes.
In the Emperor's room,
"She seems to be very much attached to her family, except her sister-in-law"the Emperor said to Lilian who was adjusting her hair ornament.
"You're right about that. Tanisha never liked Saxena from day one, so I'm not surprised you noticed so soon", Lilian said in a tone that showed her obvious dislike of Tanisha.
"I'm just happy her brother has agreed to cooperate with us", the Emperor concluded and held Lilian's already stretched out hand leading her out of the room towards the dinning area in the garden as that was the designated area to eat breakfast that morning.
--To be continued...