Crowned Prince | hendery

4: The Royal Family

Following the departure from each other last night, prince Guanheng has decided to ride a horse outside the carriage. The princess was now sharing the carriage with the lady that served her in her room last night. It was obvious that she was tense around the princess of their future king, it was almost as if she didn't recognize her as one of the nobles that toured the halls of Sui as a noble herself.

Yet, she wasn't in the mood to chatter around with her. It was the morning and she was feeling rather exhausted from the travels, but in reality her mind has been somewhere else.

The unexpected change in the mood of the crowned prince as soon as one of his men whispers into his ear. Not to mention the obvious need to ride along with his men as they converse about something important. She knows that she was in no position to meddle with his affairs and especially ones that looked like it had something to do with state affairs. Indeed, there was no reason behind her feeling dejected about not being included in his conversation, but rather her curiosity was growing.

"May I ask your name?" She decides that the best place to possibly gather some information is through the person who was sitting closest to her the closest.

"Emily Lu, your highness," she bows her head.

Taeha has heard of the Lu's, they're a populous family, one that extended from the highest ranking officials of Hwei to smaller branches of the family. They were quite popular among the kingdoms for being teased as a family that could build a nation of their own. Since Emily is working as a lady-in-waiting it appears as if she's from one of the Baron families of the Lu's.

"May I ask about the man the crowned prince has been conversing with?" She looked over the small window that sat right beside the man who was making the carriage move, the small window gave a small glimpse of the prince that was leading the caravan.

Emily takes a moment as she turns her head around to peek through the small window that she just looked out of. "Ah," that was her small reaction upon seeing who it was, she turned back around making sure to face the princess, "the princes has a number of siblings outside the royal family, that is one of them."

"Sibling?" There were more of them? That was the only question going through her head and it was showing on her face.

"As you may have heard, the kingdom of Hwei does not recognize those born to commoners as part of the royal family. However, a number of them often come to work in the castle as possible spares to the royal family, as in a possible extreme situation, they could ascend to the throne." Emily explained the all too different ways that the kingdoms appoint their next king.

"Have they always been this close with one another?"

"Sir Julian, is his highness's secretary."

So, it wasn't anything out of the blue, the reason behind his sudden sourness in mood. He was the crowned prince and worked on his civic duties, there must have been some issues that went around with stuff he was handling. With convincing herself enough, though the repetition of her sour mood being a common occurrence as soon as the prince began acting up, she was no longer feeling dejected with his sudden change in the prince's attitude.

It was all state affairs. They only spoke properly yesterday. It wasn't like the princess only knew the prince among all the people she was traveling with.

"How long until we arrive in the capital?" Taeha turns her head away from Emily and chooses to stare out the window just as the prince did when they sat in the carriage together.

"It won't be too long, your highness, in about an hour we'll reach the outer walls of the capital."

It is indeed as Emily said, it didn't take them an hour before they arrived at the outer gates of the capital. She's been here before, thus she wasn't surprised to see how big their designated capital was. Among the five nations, they were the ones who had the biggest capital, one that held nearly all of their population. Rumor has it that the empty land by the entrance of the capital is owned by the royal family, they were Dukes and Duchess with the lands in the capital and it was a rumor that was convincingly true.

It took a whole hour before they truly reached the heart of the capital, where another gate was waiting to be passed. The guards by the entrance turned their heads inside the carriage peeking into the possible future queen of their kingdom.

Once they entered the second gates, she was greeted with a familiar sight, yet one that felt so foreign. She knows deep down that this is where she'll be settling, but she still thinks of this as one great adventure. People do not look that much different from Sui, which was a relief, as it would mean that she won't feel homesick all too much, but their customs were much different than hers.

Her eyes wander around the town as eyes cannot help but turn with the number of carriages that were passing by and the prince that was sitting on a horse at the front of the line of her and her stuff. How can heads not turn when the crowned prince was riding his horse in broad daylight in the middle of probably one of the busiest roads in Hwei.

Taeha simply shakes her head after taking a peak at the prince through the small opening in the caravan once again.

"He appears unbothered by the attention he receives riding on his horse." She muttered, but since their windows were closed shut, Emily was able to hear.

"The prince often surveys the area in the mornings, and is often seen interacting with the people of Hwei regardless if they're of noble birth or not."

"Is that so?"

"Yet he often speaks of his lack of desire to ascend to the throne." Emily sighs. "Not to mention a number of rumors going around about the prince."

"Is this about people doubting his capability to be the next king?"

Emily nods her head. "Those rumors come from the nobles who do not approve of a crowned prince interacting with commoners too much." It was an old rumor that she heard when she was eligible to sit among the ladies who often conversed about men their age, and those who were of marriageable age.

"Yet they do not see his dedication," Emily forces a smile on her face, as a small noble and one that is affiliated with those of well in power, there was no one else who was more knowledgeable about this but her, "it's the reason behind his huge loyal following."

"Looks like he'll be a leader that will serve his people well."

"I hope so," this made Emily sigh once again.

Why was she so dejected about the compliment? Taeha was about to ask another question when they stopped by the last gate and wall, it was the entrance to the royal family's residence. It wasn't the castle, but it stood close. In Hwei, the castle and the family residence are two separate places, the castle is the symbol of their political welfare and where the royal families often hosted their balls and the gathering of the lands, while their residence was a more quiet place for them to rest.

It didn't take too long for the carriage to stop right in front of the entrance of the residence. Just as it was when they took their rest last night, Julian knocks on the door and Emily simply nods her head. "Your highness!" He calls out.

Taeha opens the door herself and as soon as she does, she is met with the prince who already has his hand out for her. "I hope your travels weren't too exhausting." That was how the prince greets her with a forced smile on his face, the exact same one he used during their first dance.

"Indeed, Emily was a delight to converse with." She grabs his hand as she takes a step down and immediately lets go of his hand. As soon as her dress was all settled to her standing position she looked up, only to be greeted by the king himself. A wide fatherly smile on his face and his handsome features one that was famous even among her peers.

"Greetings, Princess Taeha!" He descends the stairs in clothing that was much casual than the one he wore during the gathering of the lands a few days ago.

"Good morning, your highness," she did a curtsy directed to the king of Hwei, "you must be busy, your highness, thus I would like to thank you for greeting me."

"There's no need for too many formalities in the residence." The king assures the princess that there was no need for perfect manners in front of him. "You may even ask the prince himself, he doesn't call me king inside these halls, just as you don't call Sui's king, king when it is only between family."

"There is no need to pressure her, father." The prince steps in, physically standing in between them.

"Well, Hendery, how about you bring her to the room I've prepared." The king puts his hand on his son's shoulder.

What the engaged couple didn't expect was to be met with a room that they should share.