Third Person's POV
"You want to betroth Gena to Crown Prince Kai?" Elia asked Melire calmly. "I'm suggesting it. He's two years younger but in a strong position. Gena is our niece; we have to find a good match for her." Melire stated as he played with his daughter in his arms.
"What if she doesn't want to?" Elia asked. "Then she doesn't have to. She can just take it as a trip. In any case we'll be leaving in a few days, there's no harm in asking what she wants to do." Melire answered as he smiled at his daughter's excited babbling.
"Will you take your wife?" Melire paused for half a second, but Elia caught it. "I will." Elia didn't say anything more on the subject. "Mala!" She called out. A woman stepped inside of the room and bowed. "Call Princess Gena over." The woman nodded and left.
Gena was their eldest brother's only child, so they raised her with the best care. The King and Queen doted on her immensely. She was the last thing they had left of their eldest, so it wasn't an exaggeration to say that she was a treasure to them.
Half an hour later, Gena, dressed in training clothes entered the room. She bowed. "Aunt and Uncle. You called for me?" Elia motioned for her to sit, and Gena sat next to her.
"You've been past the age of marriage and we've never pressured you. In this instance is the same, we just want to ask. What do you think about getting married to the Crown Prince of Regila?" Elia spoke gently, carefully.
"I'll have to see him and interact with him before making that decision. If it's right, we could get married. If not then, I'd rather stay unmarried." Gena answered without hesitation. Elia nodded. "Okay. You've finished all your packing?" Gena nodded.
"I heard the Lady from Ojun is returning this time." The room seemed to pause, and Gena looked directly at her uncle. She watched him try to keep his emotions in check. "Where did you hear that?" Melire asked softly. "Someone overheard someone in the Pendant Tower." Her reply was almost a whisper.
"Will that be a problem?" Elia asked her brother once again. "It won't." Elia nodded. "Good." She turned back to her niece. "Go and finish your training. We'll see each other at dinner." Gena stood and bowed to them before leaving.
"Check this information." Elia ordered. Someone stepped out of the shadows and bowed. "I checked already. It's true." The person stated carefully. "Make extra preparations. We need to have a good relationship with her." The person bowed and disappeared into the darkness.
"Tell your wife before we leave. Make sure she doesn't mess with them this time." Melire didn't answer.
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"Are we really not to attend her wedding?" A Queen asked softly. "She disregarded our rules and ventured out. She cut ties and then wanted to use our name to back her up. I will not allow it." The King stated as he closed the book in his hands.
"That Princess had her eyes on us from the moment she held power in her hands. Her intelligence is low here but it's not non-existent. She's no longer that harmless eight-year-old child who came here in secret." He placed the book back on the shelf.
"She's dead. Isn't she?" The Queen asked. He scoffed. "If only that were true. The first signing was a mess. This meeting will be the turning point of this Continent. If that princess truly makes it back. Nothing here is safe." The King stepped back and looked at the mountain of books in the library.
"What does this have to do with our daughter's wedding?" The King turned to look at his wife. "She left the Kingdom silently and quickly. We knew when she left the Palace but didn't know she left the kingdom until months later. Our daughter isn't that clever enough to plan on her own. Only one person could do that." He sighed deeply.
"Not to mention, all of our children were contacted. Each of them was tempted to leave or try to take over the Kingdom with many benefits. All of them, except her declined. That woman takes too many steps ahead to really die. We are the only Kingdom not in her control. When the dust settles, we will be the fat pig on her chopping block."
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"It's about time you got married." Lion told Kai as he polished his daggers. "I'm not the only one." Kai shot back as he spun the iron staff in the air.
"You're the eldest." Lion chuckled. "That doesn't mean anything." Kai replied simply. "Your Highness." Lion's personal servant bowed. "What is it?" The servant hesitated. "Spit it out." The servant bowed his head lower.
"Lady Jade is returning to-." The ground cracked under the staff and the servant stopped speaking, frightened. "Where did this news come from?" Kai asked, his tone was now cold. "Someone came out of the Pendant Tower and was spreading it around. I confirmed it with the Pendant Tower to be sure and they confirmed."
"There's never news about this woman. Why is there news so suddenly?" Lion asked seriously. "The person that spread it, saw the Manager accept a procurement list from someone. The seal was that of the siblings and the person said 'Madam'. It was confirmed that the list was something she sent. The delivery place was the mansion they stayed in the last time. Some servants have already arrived and are cleaning it out."
"Have they already left Ojun?" The servant shook his head. "We're not sure." Lion waved the servant away and looked at his brother. "What do we do?" Kai sighed. "What can we do? The last time she was here, she didn't do anything that was out of line. Everyone else put labels on her and she didn't take advantage of any situation." Kai stated as he looked up at the sky.
"You still haven't told me about your interactions." Lion watched Kai, looking for a reaction but Kai didn't give any. "You want the truth?" Kai asked after a few moments of silence. "Yes." Lion straightened up as Kai looked at him.
"I thought she was mother."