Chapter Thrity Five

"Good morning, miss." I said, startling the innocent maid.

I've been all night waiting for the maid's arrival. When she unlocked my bedroom door and entered she got worried about not seeing me in the room.

Quickly I greeted her, becoming visible right behind her, showing my presence.

"G-Good morning!" She said looking at me surprised.

"I-I swear you were not…" The maid said, still confused, but then she just nodded her head, probably thinking how stupid the idea of a child really appearing out of thin air would sound.

I smiled at her, trying to seem innocent.

The maid looked at me for a moment, but then she just decided to go back to work. She took back the untouched food tray the maid let in my bedroom last night, placing a new one on the table for me.

"Why didn't you eat your dinner last night?" The maid said, sounding genuinely worried.

"I had no appetite last night." I lied.

Actually, I was starving and exhausted, I could feel my stomach growling.

"I see… Prince Noah told me and the other maids to call the doctor if you feel sick, Alex. So, if you don't feel well just tell us and we will call the doctor for you." The maid explained with a gentle smile on her face.

"There is no need to call the doctor. I am fine, thank you." I said, smiling trying to convince her.

She nodded. "Alright, goodbye, then."

The maid left my room, locking the door just after. I sighed, relieved.

'Finally, I can rest now.' I thought, feeling exhausted.

After my conversation with Nicholas, I decided to leave his room saying I was going back to my room since it was pretty late already. But actually, I took the opportunity to go back to the royal library, and there I spent all night reading, until the sunrise, trying to keep me awake so I could go back to my room before the maid.

But now I realize that nothing went according to my plan last night. I showed myself to Nicholas and I even ended up letting the King see me.

'At least I came back to my room in time.' I thought, trying to be optimistic.

The King seemed pretty drunk, so I don't think he would remember or even care that he saw me last night.

'But there is still Nicholas.'

I made Nicholas swear to me before leaving his room that he wouldn't say to Prince Noah that we met last night, no matter what.

"But there is no way I can be sure that he will do so." I said out loud, feeling unsure.

'Well, all I can do now is trust him.'

***

It was in the middle of the day, I was laying in bed reading one of Lady Elizabeth's books when suddenly I was startled by someone calling my name.

"Alex, are you there?"

'Nicholas?' I asked myself surprised when I realized it was him.

He knocked on my door and called me again. "Alex?"

I quickly left my bed and went near the door. "Nicholas, what are doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you." Nicholas said.

"But how did you find me?" I asked, confused.

'It seemed like Prince Noah didn't want to tell him where I was, so how did Nicholas find me?'

"After our conversation last night I realized that Noah was hiding you from me on purpose, he also probably ordered the servants to not tell me where you were, so I paid one of his maids to tell me where I could find you." Nicholas said calmly as if it was nothing.

I got nervous for a moment, but then I sighed.

'Sometimes I forget that Nicholas is ridiculously rich, spending money on frivolous things like this may be nothing for him.'

"The maid told me you were locked here as a punishment. Why did Noah do this to you?" Nicholas asked.

Even though he was on the other side of the door, I knew he was worried.

"I just didn't follow one of Prince Noah's orders, then he overreacted and decided to lock me here as a punishment." I sighed, trying to not feel mad all over again.

"...But, how did you leave last night?" Nicholas finally asked.

I knew he would ask me this sometime, but I didn't think about what I would answer.

"I can't tell you right now, Nicholas… But you didn't tell Prince Noah you met me last night, did you?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"No, I didn't tell anyone!" Nicholas shouted, probably trying to reassure me.

"Thank you." I said, feeling relieved.

"Alex you know, I…" Nicholas started to say, but then he stopped himself.

Nicholas got quiet, and for a moment I got worried, but then he suddenly shouted pretty loudly surprising me. "I will definitely free you, so just wait a little more!"

After he said that, I heard his footsteps quickly moving away from my door.

"Nicholas…"

***

"Your Highness, what are you doing here?"

The next morning when my door was opened I thought it would be one of the maids bringing me my meal.

I wasn't expecting to see Prince Noah.

Prince Noah was staring at me with his arms crossed when he said ignoring my previous question. "Aren't you going to say anything to me?"

"What do you mean, Your Highness?" I asked confused.

'What is he talking about? Oh… I totally forgot about greeting him.' I realized.

It has been so long since I have seen Prince Noah that I almost forgot how I should behave with him.

I bowed and said. "Greetings, Your Highness."

"That is not what I meant!" Prince Noah shouted, mad.

"B-But what do you mean, Your Highness?" I asked, confused.

"...apologize." Prince Noah said very low, blushing and looking the other way.

"What? I didn't understand Your Highness." I said.

"Y-You should apologize for your misbehaving!" Prince Noah shouted.

'Is he still mad with me about that?' I asked myself, confused.

Looking at Prince Noah I couldn't understand if he was mad or embarrassed, his face was red and he seemed nervous.

"I am sorry for not following your orders, Your Highness." I apologized bowing.

"G-Good, then your punishment is over, you can serve me as usual now." Prince Noah announced as it was a good thing.

'Should I be happy about that?' I asked myself, annoyed.

"Here. Take it." Prince Noah said, giving me my bedroom key back.

"Thank you, Your Highness." I said feeling relieved of finally having my key back.

"Now follow me." Prince Noah ordered, already going to the door without waiting for me.

'Geesh… things are really coming back to the usual, huh.' I realized, quickly following Prince Noah.

"It is nice having you with us again, Alex." Mary whispered to me, with a gentle smile on her face.

"It is nice to see you again, Mary." I said, smiling.

The maids and I were following Prince Noah through the palace, just like before. But there was something different, the other servants seemed to be more busy than usual.

"Mary is there something going on in the palace?" I whispered, looking at the servants carrying things around.

"Ah, we are getting ready for the ceremony." Mary explained.

'Ceremony?' I thought, confused.

I wanted to ask her more, but we didn't have more time to talk, since we were in the dining room already.

To my surprise, both Prince Dylan and Nicholas were already there.

"Alex!" Nicholas shouted, quickly getting up from his seat and walking towards me.

Nicholas grabbed my arm and said, worried. "Are you alright? I thought you wouldn't be released…"

Nicholas said the last sentence looking at Prince Noah.

But suddenly Prince Noah grabbed Nicholas's hand and took his hand off me.

"Tsk, I don't think I ever give you the permission to touch MY servant." Prince Noah said staring at Nicholas, mad.

"I didn't know I need permission for such a thing." Nicholas said staring back at Prince Noah.

'What is going on between them?' I thought, confused.

It seemed like they were about to actually fight with each other anytime.

"Alex, it is so nice to see you again. What do you think about joining us today, just like we used to?" Prince Dylan suddenly asked, breaking the tension between Nicholas and Prince Noah.

"Yes, Alex sit here with us!" Nicholas said, excited already grabbing my hand and guiding me to the table.

But then my shirt was firmly held in the back, and I was pulled away from Nicholas.

It was Prince Noah the one holding me.

"You will seat next to me." Prince Noah ordered, looking at me, mad.

"Hey, Alex can choose where he sits by himself!" Nicholas shouted grabbing my arm, trying to pull me away from Prince Noah.

But Prince Noah quickly held my other arm and said. "He is MY servant, I choose where he sits!"

Then both of them started pulling me in different directions probably using all their strength because I felt like I was going to split in half.

'W-What is going on with them?!' I thought, desperate.

"You both stop!" Prince Dylan shouted surprising them. "Stop treating Alex like that, he is not a toy, you are hurting him!"

Then, both Nicholas and Prince Noah quickly released me, realizing that Prince Dylan was right.

"I-I am sorry, Alex. Are you hurt?" Nicholas asked, worried.

"...I am fine, don't worry." I said, even though my arms were pretty hurt because of them.

Prince Noah clicked his tongue and said crossing his arms. "Tsk. It is all Nicholas's fault."

"I am sorry for my brother and cousin's behavior, Alex, they still act like little kids sometimes." Prince Dylan apologized.

"T-There is no need to apologize Your Highness." I said, surprised. Sometimes it surprises me how polite Prince Dylan is.

"I see, then may you sit beside me today? It has been some time since I could enjoy your presence." Prince Dylan said gently smiling at me.

If I didn't know otherwise I could swear Prince Dylan was being sincere, but I knew well his intentions.

'If I decide to sit with him, there is no reason for Prince Noah and Nicholas to keep fighting.' I realized.

"Yes, thanks Your Highness, it is an honor to sit with you." I said quickly moving away from Nicholas and Prince Noah so they wouldn't hold me anymore.

Somehow Prince Dylan managed to stop their fight and still forced them to sit together on the other side of the table from us.

Prince Noah and Nicholas were both obviously mad and didn't want even look at each other.

The mood on the table was pretty awkward, I looked at Prince Dylan expecting him to do something, but he just looked at me and smiled.

"You know, they are like this with each other since yesterday. Don't worry, it's not your fault, Alex." Prince Dylan whispered in my ear.

'What happened to them yesterday?' I asked myself, curious.

But then I remembered what Nicholas told me yesterday.

["I will definitely free you, so just wait a little more!"]

'Is that why Prince Noah released me earlier than expected? But if Nicholas convinced Prince Noah to end my punishment, then why are they mad at each other now?' I thought, confused.

But it is not like I could ask them this right now.

"...I heard that there will be a ceremony here in the palace. What is the ceremony about, Your Highness?" I asked Prince Dylan, trying to break the silence.

"You might not have heard since you were in your room those days. Our great-grandmother, Lady Elizabeth, passed away recently. Since she was part of the royal family there will be an official royal burial for her. Some members of the royal family will come as well to her burial, so the palace will be busy these days." Prince Dylan explained.

I gulped, nervous.

"...My condolences, Your Highness."

Knowing the truth behind everything still made me feel sick.

Lady Elizabeth was used all her life by the royal family, and even after her death, she was still used as a tool by the King. When she died, because of my existence she didn't receive a decent burial, and now because I left the northwest area the King is using her "death" just to find me.

'...Is it the destiny of all royals to be a tool of the King forever?'

Suddenly the door of the dining room was opened and a butler came in.

"Greetings, Your Highnesses. I'm here to announce the arrival of Princess Isabel."