Chapter 8

"What?" Alexander's voice was deep, and it meant that this is a very serious matter. David and Charles, who weren't paying so much attention to what Stephen had said earlier, now looked at Stephen.

The young prince propped his elbows on the table and clasped his fingers together. He always did this whenever he had something serious to say to anyone or everyone. "Hear me out. It would be more convenient for the girl to be fetched by her family if she lived here."

"But Father said no one outside the palace is allowed in here," Alexander reminds Stephen.

The youngest prince looked at his mother, who had her look of surprise on her face, while his father's face was unreadable. Stephen was beginning to prepare himself for a lecture from him.

"Look, I need to help her. She hasn't found her family in nearly two decades. She's the only child in the orphanage who had no family. She's lived in that orphanage for her whole life."

Catherine was itching to speak after a few minutes of silence, and she found her voice joining in their conversation.

"If I may speak, Prince Stephen. But no commoner is allowed to live in a palace. Only the royalty and the noble may live here."

Stephen was quick to reply back. "It won't be for a long time, I can assure you. Once she finds her family, she won't have to live here. If she has no family coming in to take her or at least adopt her," he hesitated for a moment before continuing, "she'll go back to the orphanage."

"Take her back to the orphanage? Are you insane?" David spoke from beside Stephen.

"That is enough," the queen spoke sternly, noticing the silent king. She thought deeply into this matter, letting the silence linger for a moment as she made her decision. "We'll talk more about this matter later. In the meantime, I'll write some letters to my cousins in the kingdom and outside, and have them delivered soon to their houses. In the meantime, you'll have your tutoring lessons after breakfast. End of discussion."

Stephen could only nod before continuing with his breakfast, while the dining room was covered in awkward silence while they ate. He didn't dare look at his father, but he knew he may have made a wrong move.

~~~

Stephen walked down the halls with his brothers, head full of thoughts, on their way to tutoring classes with Duchess Catherine. David had to speak about earlier, so he tapped Stephen on the shoulder.

"Stephen, I don't understand what you're trying to do."

"Trying to do what?" he asked in confusion.

David caught up with Stephen so he wasn't behind him while they talked. Alexander and Charles were having their own conversation, so their walk wasn't necessarily quiet.

"You met this girl who lost her parents when she was a baby, and you felt the need to help her even though you just met her."

"There's something about her that made me want to help her. I don't know if it's because she could be a relative to us."

"I hate to break it to you, but we can't just help a commoner like her."

"I can't think of anything else, okay? I just really want to help her. Besides, I already made a promise to her."

It would be horrible if they couldn't find Alexa's family. He insisted to help her, and she would be hoping she'd be back to them. If all fails, it's as if he betrayed the girl, and just the thought of it made him so guilty. He can't bear for that to happen. He cared for her so much even just after their first meeting.

The guards open the doors for the princes when they arrived at the room, where Catherine and Charlene are seated. The duchess is having her cup of tea while her daughter is reading a book, both on a couch. Upon seeing the princes, Catherine stood up and approached them.

"Your Grace," the princes bowed.

She looked at them up and down with strict eyes, which made the princes feel uncomfortable. "Good to see you all this morning. We'll begin with the lessons right away."

Alexander gazes across the room and met eyes with Charlene, who paused on reading to look at the princes. They found themselves smiling and subtly waving at each other.

"Prince Alexander," Catherine calls his attention in her loud, stern voice, which cut between Alexander's and Charlene's gazes.

He turns to her quickly. "Yes, my lady?"

"Are you staring at my daughter?"

"O-Oh, no, my lady."

"If I may tell you, you are in my class, and you are not allowed to be distracted by anything. Especially by my daughter. Focus. Go to your place."

Alexander bows in embarrassment and mutters a sorry before proceeding to his seat. Charlene continued to read her book, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for how her mother is treating the princes right now.

~~~

The princes' tutoring classes have ended, and nothing seemed to be so bad about it. Except for the fact that the duchess never smiles at any of them. As she watched the princes, occasionally pausing from reading her book, she couldn't imagine how hard it must be for them to be tutored like this. Of course, her mother would talk to her like that, but if it weren't for the fact that she's her daughter, she would have experienced the same treatment, less caring talk, and more strict lectures.

Charlene felt so embarrassed for how her mother called out Prince Alexander for such a small thing. She wanted to apologize again to him, but when she got her chance to do so, the prince is already in his chamber.

She went inside her chamber that she shared with her mother, as the duchess requested, and she saw her looking in the mirror wearing a dark red nightdress.

"This day couldn't get any more tiring, and the days after this. I'm aging terribly, my dear."

"You still look beautiful, Mother," Charlene spoke sweetly, and from this, Catherine rolled her eyes.

"Not as beautiful as you. I'm getting old, and you're still young."

The young lady walked up to their vanity and removed her jewelry in front of the mirror, while the duchess sat on the bed and saw Charlene's book.

"Where did you get this book?"

"From the library, Mother. I plan to read more of their books during our stay here."

Catherine scoffed. "You and your books. Don't you think you're wasting your time over those books?"

Charlene controls her voice but still tries to be reasonable with her mother. "It's not wasting any of my time. It's how I spend my time when I don't have anything to do."

"Books are there to fill your head with nonsense."

"Mother, they are nonsense-"

"Now what did I tell you about raising your voice?" Catherine warned with a finger pointing at her.

Charlene shut her mouth, and she knew better than talking back to her mother.

"I'm sorry, Mother."

"Good," Catherine turned her back on Charlene. "If it weren't for those little princes, I wouldn't have been so stressed. Ah, I need a bath."

"I'm sure you don't need to be so strict to the princes, Mother. You're scaring them."

"They won't learn if you're not strict."

Charlene sighed. There is no way she could convince her mother to change her strict demeanor into a gentle one. When she was younger, her mother had been strict with her as well. She was trained to act like a proper lady, and now that she is a grown-up woman who is ready for marriage, she thought she could convince her mother. But no, it's as if her mother is born to be harsh.