Aristia turned around and picked up the book again. This time, writing a new goal.
"This one might take some time." She muttered as she closed the book and returned it to its original position in her drawer. "But I'll need someone to help me manage my business, something like an assistant. I wonder where I could find someone suitable and efficient."
At times like this, she missed her assistant, Owen.
[He was both efficient and proficient in his work, devoted to his work, intelligent, smart, witty, and had both a face and body that made women swoon. I can't think of a time girls did not try to harass him, he was indeed very handso— enough with the thoughts of the assistant, Aristia. You have a Royal family to visit.] She chided herself mentally as she left the room. It was time to leave for the palace.
Together, the family of four got into the carriage and headed to the Royal Palace.
From afar, Aristia could see the palace in the distance as they neared the palace. She was surprised.
[Isn't this a palace? It seems like this medieval palace combines both defensive castle-like characteristics and aesthetic traditional palace features.]
The walls were equipped with crenellations and fortified guard towers which rose at strategic intervals and each corner, each bearing the banners of the royal family which fluttered in the wind.
The guard towers were manned by vigilant sentries keeping watch over the surrounding lands.
There was a fortified gatehouse, flanked by tall, pointed towers, which boasted a formidable portcullis and massive wooden doors that was the palace gates.
A wide moat fed by a diverted stream surrounded the palace on three sides, and served as the pathway to the main entrance, providing a defensive checkpoint.
Spanning above the moat was a drawbridge made of heavy oak, its chains and mechanisms clearly oiled and maintained to ensure swift operation.
The drawbridge was left open at this time of day.
The carriage smoothly rode on the bridge towards the main gates of the palace.
The main gate was a formidable structure. It was a grand arched doorway made of thick oak and reinforced with iron bands— adorned with the royal crest and flanked by knights in gleaming armor. Above, the parapets were lined with archers, their bows ready to defend against any threat.
[The palace must not be easy to invade.] Aristia thought, flabbergasted.
The carriage finally arrived at the large gates of the royal palace. The guards stationed at the gate didn't even stop them for inspection or to ask their identity or reason for coming to the palace, as they immediately opened the gates, as the emblem on the carriage was used only by the members of the royal family. It was like they were just returning home.
The portcullis opened upward and the carriage passed through the gatehouse, entering a large, spacious courtyard paved with smooth cobblestones.
There was a grand fountain in the corner, crafted from white marble, and crowned with a statue of the ruling monarch, its waters sparkling in the sunlight. Surrounding the fountain were meticulously trimmed hedges and beds of vibrant flowers.
Flowering plants and fragrant herbs bordered the paths, and in separate locations were sculptures of knights and other scenes of chivalry and royal lineage.
The carriage still hadn't stopped. It rode along the pathway of cobblestones until Aristia could see a building she could only assume was the main palace.
The carriage finally stopped in front of the main palace.
Aristia was surprised, as the moment the carriage door was opened, she saw the members of the royal family, well the other members of the royal family standing outside with wide smiles on their faces.
They alighted the carriage and the Coachman rode off to park the carriage.
There were five people standing there. A handsome, muscular man who looked a little similar to the Grand Duke except that he had grey eyes while Wilson's was black, and a beautiful woman who had dark green hair and white eyes. They were King Fedor and Queen Rowaine.
Before Aristia could look at the three children standing beside them, King Fedor opened his mouth, distracting her.
"Little brother, sister in-law, welcome." King Fedor smiled as he stepped forward.
His wife, Queen Rowaine immediately pulled Catherine into a hug.
"Catherine, how do you do? It's been so long." She said.
"I have been well. I trust you have been well, Rowaine." Catherine said with a smile.
"I thank the heavens," Rowaine replied, then she looked down. "Tia, Allie." She said, bending down and pulling Aristia and Alaric into a hug.
"Greetings, Your Majesties." Aristia curtsied elegantly when she was released.
Suddenly, everyone stilled.
But the next second, they all laughed.
Fedor even patted her head gently, Rowaine saying to Aristia, "Oh Tia dear, I see you've began taking etiquette lessons. Come, come let's go inside. We have missed you all so much."
Aristia was good at observing the changes in people so it didn't take her much effort to figure out the reason for their somewhat odd reaction; The Royal family valued family and emphasized on family bonds, according to the book.
They were family first before Kings, Queens, Princes or Princesses, so she should not have addressed them as 'Your Majesties' but as 'Uncle and Aunt'.
"Yes, Aunt." She covered up her mistake with a small directed at Rowaine, acting like the first form of address was a way of showing off her progress in her etiquette classes. Then, she walked over to the royal children who were already talking with Alaric.
Standing in front of her cousins, Aristia opened her mouth to say 'Hello cousins', but before any word could leave her mouth, she was pulled into yet another tight hug.
[Are they obsessed with hugs or something?] Though she thought that, she still felt a little bit of happiness as she had no cousins in the real world. Her parents were the only children of their parents.
She felt warm to have loving relatives whose eyes were not too stuck on wealth, property and inheritance to even care about others, even though they were the book Aristia's family and not really hers.
She didn't care about those selfish relatives anyway. Her mother, father, brother and herself were enough for her. Her sister in-law and nieces and nephew were also included in that list when they came into her life.
She looked up at the three children who hugged her. They all possessed grey hair, a symbol of being part of the Royal family.
But the boy had white eyes like the Queen. He was Ivan, the Crown Prince, and was seven years old. The young girl had grey eyes, seeming to be the only one to inherit the king's eyes as the youngest girl had white eyes.
The Princesses, Beatrix and Serina were twins, one year younger than their brother.
"I missed you both so much." Serina, the youngest and most energetic of the princesses, spoke. They were all older than Aristia and Alaric.
Aristia smiled, "We missed you too."
[Not like I knew you before today.] She thought inwardly.
"Come on, let us return to the palace. The others have already headed inside. Grandfather and Grandmother are inside." Ivan said.
Aristia turned to see that just like Ivan said, the adults had indeed entered the palace as they were not in sight.
They turned to head inside the palace.