Eirene ( Fantasy series book 1)

Chapter Eleven - In the gardens

Chapter Eleven – In the gardens

Camus took me hiking the next day and we came back hot and dirty. But he taught me about the trees and flora. We also went bird watching.  He was really into nature and was very knowledgeable. He returned back to his old cheery self and made silly jokes but I knew he was harmless.

At meal times, I joined him in his silly jokes. The King was amused by the both of us and declared that I was as bad as Camus, but equally entertaining.

On one evening, I finally got to hear Alex playing the piano. We were chilling at the common room when Queen Sophia requested Alex to play her a song so that she could sing.

He chose Disney's Someday my Prince will come and when he started playing, all of us fell silent. I was totally mesmerised. The notes were light and fluttering, yet had a romantic texture. His long fingers moved across the keyboard smoothly and the music flowed flawlessly.

Queen Sophia's voice was equally mesmerising. She was soft yet strong and powerful, staying in perfect pitch.

They ended in our loud applause with Camus screaming for encore.

However, the king decided he had enough for the day and wished to retreat for his rest.

Alex joined us for the rest of my second week stay as we went fishing, hiking (again), shopping, picnicking and riding. As promised, Camus dragged me out for riding lessons despite my protests. Alex was a good rider as well but Camus was better. He was a natural when I saw him galloping on Lightning over the meadows. He rode without reigns but only holding on to the mane. It would probably take me ages to learn that!

Meanwhile, the castle servants and maids were busy with the preparation of the Grand Ball which would be held over the next weekend. Tailors came to take measurements. Designers were consulted and chefs were brought in for food tasting. As time went by, Alex grew more and more quiet.

I was checking through my emails in my room one afternoon when Anna came in with an invitation from the Queen.

"Her Majesty would like to invite you to join her in the gardens if it is convenient for you."

I nodded, wrote my finishing messages, packed up and headed out to the gardens. Nowadays, I was allowed to walk within the Castle grounds unescorted. I wondered why the Queen had called for me.

When I arrived at the gardens, Queen Sophia was watering some of the flowers.

Seeing me, she smiled and bade me to join her on the picnic mat that was set on the grass.

"You called for me, Your Majesty?" I asked her.

"Yes I did," she smiled. "I thought it was a beautiful day for a picnic."

I looked up at the sky. It was indeed a beautiful day. The sky was blue and clear. The sun was warm but not too hot for a picnic. A light breeze was blowing gently without messing up my hair.

"It is indeed!"

"Were you busy?" she asked.

"Not really. I was just checking through some emails." I smiled.

"How are your parents? I hope they are not too worried." A note of concern in her soft voice.

"Of course not! They were really excited about my being here," I gushed.

She chuckled. "So, how long have you been here?"

"This is my second week here. I will return after the Grand Ball weekend."

"I hope you are going for the Ball?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Well," I paused. "I think so. But I haven't really got an invitation..."

"Oh! Don't worry about that! It will come along soon!" she laughed.

She continued, "I remembered my first Grand Ball. I was only nineteen!" She giggled. "Orthos was only twenty two then."

"That was young!" I exclaimed.

"Not really. It was common to get married in your twenties. Alex is considered old already. But then, he has yet to find the girl of his dreams."

"What happens if he still can't find one this time?" I asked cautiously.

She smiled, looking as if she knew something. "He will."

"He will?"

"Yes, and he knows it. That is why he is so nervous." She laughed.

"How does he know?" I asked curiously.

"Let's just say he has a special power," she hinted without further comments on that.  "So, how do you like the Castle?"

She encouraged me when she saw my hesitation. "You don't have to be worried about offensive. Just speak your mind."

"Well," I began. "Before I came to Kaytherin Castle, I have always thought that the royals are in a different league. I was from a total different class. There had to be hierarchies and formalities. Although many people longed to be born royal, in reality they would rather remain a commoner. There were so much restrictions and rules being royalty. But here, I saw that people respect the royal. However, it was also so different! The social gap somehow did not seem that far apart. There are still formalities but yet not so much hierarchies. "I looked at her. "I'm not sure if I managed to explain myself well.  But one thing for sure, all of you made me feel so welcomed here!"

She sighed and drew me closer to her. "It has always been this way in Eirene, my child. It is because things are different in Eirene. That is why we tried to minimise our contact with the world. We kept our land and people protected yet separated from the world."

"But why?"

"We didn't want the people to be influenced by the worldly values. We didn't want the conflicts that came along with politics and power. You may call us selfish but in order to protect Eirene, we had to."

"But it might not necessarily be a bad thing for external values," I argued.

"We know," she said. "The people of Eirene know as well. But it had been their choice to stay isolated."

"The people's choice?" I was surprised.

"Yes," she nodded. "Since the beginning, Eirene had been given an important role. We have to uphold this responsibility. We didn't choose it, it came upon us."

"An important role?"

"Yes, my child." She drew me in for a hug. "You will understand one day."

"Is it something to do with the origin of Eirene?"

"You will understand one day," she repeated.  "Everyone in Eirene has a role to play. But even more so for the royal family. And it is time for the responsibility to be passed on to Alex."

"He is looking stressed up and worried."

"He has chosen his path just like the others before him. But he will come out brave and strong. It is in his blood." She assured.

She continued, "And when the day comes, I hope... you, my child, will be able to support him."

"Me?"

She smiled and refused to explain further.