One in a million (Prequel to 'Bad Blood')

Chapter 4: The reception

Cassandra's POV

I woke up, the next morning, feeling a bit nervous. I was excited to witness a different culture but, at the same time, I was nervous about it too. I didn't know these people, I didn't know how their systems worked, I didn't know much. Well, I had read up on it, but it's not the same as real-life experience.

I made my way to the dining area, for breakfast. When I arrived, I saw Piers already seated at the table.

"Hey," I smiled at him as I was sitting down. "Morning."

He looked up at me. "Morning," He then looked back at the empty plate in front of him. "Finally."

"Finally?" I asked as my breakfast was served. "What do you mean?" I asked before digging into my breakfast.

He glared at me, his arms crossed. "I've been waiting here, for breakfast, for 20 minutes. But I can't get it until the ruler has gotten theirs."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yes," He rolled his eyes. "It's so unfair."

I decided not to answer that. Instead, I dug in my meal. "I'll be going to the Northern Kingdom today, to try and form a new and improved alliance." I informed him, as he was my advisor.

He looked up at me. "The Northern Kingdom?"

I nodded.

"They murdered our mother, Cas!"

I sighed as I put my utensils down. "We don't know that."

"It was proven!"

"By a claim from one person," I shook my head. "And even if it were to be true, that doesn't mean that they're all bad people."

He groaned before getting up. "I cannot believe you're disrespecting mother like that!" He then left.

I sighed.

"Is everything alright, Your Highness?" A servant asked.

"Yes." I took my utensils again and continued my breakfast.

___________________________

"You look wonderful, Your Highness." Lord Gregory smiled at me as he helped me into the carriage.

"It's not too much?" I asked him and Lord Ernest.

"Perfect." They said in unison.

We all entered the carriage and then the driver started us on our journey through the Middledes Woods to the Northern Kingdom.

I looked around as I wanted to observe it all. I had never gone past the walls of our kingdom. The Middledes Woods was new territory to me and, judging by Lord Gregory and Lord Ernest's faces, it was new for them too.

"It's so beautiful," I smiled as I let my eyes feast on the magical scene. "Absolutely stunning."

"It has been untouched for centuries," Lord Ernest said, to which I looked at him. "What you see here is all nature's work."

I smiled before looking back at the scene. "Nature never fails."

Lord Gregory chuckled. "Humans do."

When we had passed the Middledes Woods, we arrived at the border of the Northern Kingdom. What I thought was odd, was their border. They had a wall, with a big opening, but no guards defending the border. Why? What's the point of that border?

"Wow," I exclaimed as we entered the Northern Kingdom. "It's beautiful and so rural."

"Very rural, indeed." Lord Ernest said. I noticed he wasn't really intrigued like Lord Gregory and I were. I bet he was one of those many people who still blamed the Northern Kingdom for my mother's death.

"That must be the castle," Lord Gregory said as he pointed to the obvious castle. The castle was huge, compared to the other smaller buildings in the kingdom. "The reception has started, I see."

I nodded and sat up straight, I took a deep breath in and out.

"It's going to be alright, Your Highness," Lord Gregory smiled. "From what I have heard, King Alden isn't a bad guy."

I smiled too then. "Good to hear."

When our carriage arrived at the entrance, the door of our carriage was opened from the outside by the helpers of the Northern Kingdom.

"Thank you," I said as one of them helped me get out. "Thank you." I said once more to all the helpers.

Lord Gregory, Lord Ernest and I walked into the castle. In there, the reception clearly had started. People were dancing, others were drinking, others were simply chatting.

"That's King Alden," Lord Gregory motioned to a guy, standing next to a beautifully dressed woman. "And his new wife, Queen Louisa."

I nodded.

"Let me introduce you to them," He said as he walked us to the king and queen. "King Alden and Queen Louisa," He started, gaining their attention. "Congratulations on your special day."

"Thank you." They said in unison, they seemed shy.

"I'd like to introduce you to our Southern queen," He then motioned to me. "Queen Cassandra."

I took this as my cue to nod my head at King Alden and Queen Louisa. "It's my honor to meet you two on your special day."

They both nodded as well, as a way to show respect to me. "The honor's ours." King Alden said.

"Thank you for coming." Queen Louisa said.

I nodded. "I hope we can find time to sit together to talk about our kingdoms."

King Alden and Queen Louisa looked at each other before looking at me, it was clear they didn't expect to hear that. "That'd be lovely," King Alden said. "We've wanted to re-establish our alliance for a long time now."

I smiled then. "I can already tell we'll have wonderful talks."

King Alden nodded before averting his attention to another guest who came by to congratulate them.

Queen Louisa kept looking at me though.

I smiled politely at her. "You have a wonderful dress," I said as I looked at it. "It's truly beautiful."

Queen Louisa smiled as she turned around a bit, showing off her dress. "It wasn't easy to find a dress that would be perfect though," She looked back at me. "I didn't want to overdo it but I also didn't want to be underdressed."

I let out a chuckle. "That's exactly what I've been through when I was looking for clothes for today."

"Being a royal is such a struggle!" She joked.

I chuckled.

"You look good though," She nodded. "I don't think we have clothes like that over here," She came closer to have a better look at my clothes. "They're nice."

"I can show you around sometime."

She looked at me and smiled. "I'd like that."