A Royal Birthday Party - PART III

* Lucius POV *

"May the representant of the Kingdom of Alchemora come up to heed his majesty's call".

And answering the call, minutes later, came a comical creature, so comical I thought my eyes were making ticks on me. You know that situation when you think you saw the weirdest thing in at least your day, and you get to see something even more weird the very next moment, well I found myself living that situation.

You see Alchemora is the kingdom of the gnomes, and one thing gnomes are known for, they do not stop talking at all unless they are royals or some kind of sages among their kind, and that is only because they are also known to be so, SO dramatic. But the reason why I referred to that kind of situation isn't because Thrain is talkative, in the end, not all dwarves are that talkative, the real reason behind the situation I found myself in right now is that gnomes are so short they could be mistaken for dolls, really lively dolls. Unfortunately, that is one race I didn't study a thing about, Mother said that they do some weird kind of magic that needs a lot of education, one that, according to her, I wasn't eligible for yet, and so I am expected to sit and watch, in silence.

"Hello, Your Majesty." said the gnome. "My name is Eldric Gearspark, but you can call me Eldric, in order not to go out off the track, may I represent his majesty the King Thistlethorn in giving you the gift he personally made?" Okay this is getting weird, not only is this gnome even less talkative than Thrain, but the king of gnomes has personally made a gift just for me, I mean I might not have any idea about their craft, but the only reason I can think is that Alchemora is a poor Kingdom that wishes to build relations with our Lumina kingdom, damn I wish I had more intel about gnomes.

"Sorry to ask, but why would a king personally make a gift just for me, and the king of gnomes no less?" I had to ask the question, and when I thought he'd be upset, I found the gnome so happy he could start jumping in place.

"I must say when I was told I'd come to this Lumina kingdom, I was upset, thinking that people here do not have the passion to search for knowledge, but seeing that the young prince, a 1-year youngling, able not only to talk smoothly but to ask a question even the king didn't think about asking makes me so happy to know that our dear king's Enhanced Sentient Scholar's Companion Box is in good hands" Okaay, is he calling people here stupid?

"As for your question, you may not know this yet, but you Your Highness are part of the Celestia kingdom's royalty, as the son of Princess Aurora Celestia, and grandson of King Uriel, so it's an honor to make such an artifact considering it will be used by a royal from the Celestia kingdom, I hope you show more love for knowledge and use the Enhanced Sentient Scholar's Companion Box to the best of its capabilities" Alright, this has gone far enough. As I was about to give this little guy a piece of my mind, Mother beat me up to it.

"I see you call me stupid, you dare call me stupid you lowly mortal?" Mortal? I like it.

"How would I dare, in fact, it wasn't you who I called stupid, it..."

"It was MY husband You called stupid, and as his wife, YOU called me the stupid one for picking him as a husband, you just didn't say it, so please tell me, DO THE GNOMES WISH TO PICK A FIGHT WITH AN ANGEL? CAUSE I BELIEVE YOUR INTENTIONS ARE CLEAR AS BROAD DAYLIGHT TO ME" Wow, attaboy, or in this case atta-mom. The least I could say now was that my mother wasn't holding any kind of weapon, but she was giving dangerous vibes, and although I could I was only affected by being close to her, I could feel myself dying every second."M...moom" I barely whispered, and in an instant, all her bad-mom vibes disappeared. But the next moment, it was Father who calmly talked.

"The only reason I will allow my son to accept your king's gift is that I perfectly understand what it can do, artificial intelligence is not encountered every day after all." Wait, did he just say artificial intelligence? "But do know this, I shall send a servant of mine to give an equal gift for it, one that he will appreciate a lot. Now scram before I send him two gifts instead of one" Did my father just threaten a representative from another kingdom? Things are getting hot real fast, I am not ready yet for this.

Following that, the said gnome basically ran away, and Father stood up, he went to the stairs and spoke.

"I made this birthday party for my son, Prince Lucius, and I don't intend to let someone murky the mood by bringing politics into it, if that is your intention, please leave peacefully, and bring those political matters another day."

He then gestured for the chairperson to continue his work, and got back to his seat.

"May the representant of the Kingdom of Sanctaria come up to heed his majesty's call".

Well, I was angry, for some reason, other races seem to hate humans, and even though that's a common occurrence in fantasy back on Earth, there needs to be a reason behind it, and even though that's likely because Father married Mother, as childish as that may sound, but that can't be as simple as that. As I was thinking of the little annoyance, a woman came in, a beautiful woman of the likes of models 'presented' herself in front of us, and just like any mafia boss, I had to start looking cool in front of her, damn mafia boss' bad habits, thankfully all I did was sit straighter.

"Greetings, Your Highnesses, I am Aurelia Whisperbrook, representant of the Kingdom of Sanctaria. I couldn't help but notice that my predecessor caused you disturbance, I hope you do not take it to heart, but here's a gift that I hope will help brighten your mood, Gloves of Verdant Passage. These gloves are so mystical, and instead of explaining their usage, I hope this little book will provide better help" Oh this pretty lady wants to push her luck, so they did come in a group, now I must investigate this matter.

"Thank you" I said. "Now, where is my birthday gift?" I added, mischievously, can't let her enjoy the moment now, can I? And sure did she fret.

"I'm sorry Your Highness, but that is your birthday gift"Well, I figured.

"Oh, then where is the gift meant to help me calm down, you can't expect one gift to do two jobs, or do you?" I asked again. "You see, I was already barely calming down when you spoke about a gift to actually do just that, so where is that gift?" Man, I am having fun at this.

Aurelia, the nymph, looked at my mother as if to ask for help, and just as mother was about to answer her, I interjected.

"Nymph, you are trespassing your boundaries. How dare YOU look straight into my mother THE QUEEN's eyes?" This is fun.

"I am sorry, here's a gift I find perfect for you Your Highness, You see, these gloves will provide you with your own secret garden, but you'll need to take care of it, so here's my own personal gift, Enchanted Grove Sapling, here's a book especially made to teach you how to best take care of it " The nymph seemed ready to cry any moment now. As my parents marveled at the sapling, Grandmother congratulated me.

"This is a precious treasure, you'll have to be really careful with it" The nymph couldn't control herself, she blurted out. "I'll excuse myself"

"Wait," I said, but she barely turned around "I hope you learned today's lesson, Aurelia Whisperbrook" I added. "I, I a..." I definitely brook this one, heck It's in her name.

"I am sorry, please don't take it to heart. Have a good day". She said and ran off, she almost jumped the stairs.

"Son, it's not good to start breaking girls' hearts at such a young age, at least have some years to grow up." Mother said what seems to be a jock, and my Father and Grandparents seem to enjoy it, they laughed their part at it.

Next, the chairperson called for the last guest from another kingdom.

"May the representant of the Kingdom of Aetheria come up to heed his majesty's call".

The main dish of the day, the elven pork, came slowly, not out of graciousness, but due to the lack of physical ability. But I waited for him for quite a bit, I could wait a few minutes more.

When he came, he didn't care about his words in the least.

"Damn, those stairs sure are tall;" He said " Greetings, huff, huff, king of humans, huff"

"Do you need to take a break?" I asked.

"Oh, yes I do" He replied. But as he thought I would make some maid serve him, I stared blankly at him.

"Won't you allow me a chair, your highness?" He even had the audacity to ask, this will be fun.

"I allowed you to take a break, but since you already can talk, then you better start doing what you came for." I said sternly. And this got a good reaction from him.

"I am sorry your highness, huff, here's your reward" he simply said, thinking I'd stand to get it from him. All I did though was to look at him as if I was looking at a stupid man.

"Maid take that thing from him, and make sure to not touch him, lest you wanna become fat too" I said to a maid beside me. "How dare you, you..." But before he could complete his words, the guards beside the stairs already brought their halberds' blade sides in contact with his neck.

"I dare you to complete your sentence" Well, now I should calm things down, a bit.

"Just let him be, uncle, this one's on me" I simply said "Oh my, you forgot like a noble you are, you're a noble right? I mean, a noble would never forget to present himself to new nobles, even more to royalty like myself." That hit another nerve. "So who are you?"

"My name is Thalador Windborne, a member of the famous and proud family of Windborne, happy to make your acquaintance." He said.

"Well, mister Theodor Winbolt, that didn't seem happy to me, did it seem so to you Mother?" I asked.

"Not the least, my boy, now I wonder why is that" Mother played along, seems I have my green flag to roast this fat pig.

"Hey Theodore, ..."

"It's Thalador" He interjected. And that was his slip. I stayed silent for a while, with my eyes wide open. Then I suddenly said.

"Did you just interject me?" I asked.

"Sorry, Your Highness" He apologized, but oh no, you don't get away from this with just a simple apology.

"You've been quite arrogant with me for quite a while now, you think an apology will help you now, present your gift and scram you fat pig wannabe elf" And that did it.

"What did you call me, you monkey, we elves are noble, beautiful, and powerful..."

"Elves are all that you said alright, but you are no elf, you are fat, ugly, and weak, no elf has that in him, elves are noble, you are not, elves are calm, and you are not, elves are respectful, and you are not the least respectful, not even to me, a royalty, so don't you dare associate yourself to the noble elves." I blurted out.

The elf got even angrier, but all he did was give the maid a golden ring, he said explaining."This is a space ring, consider it an additional gift, it contains an ethereal mirror of noble reflections. When you gaze into the mirror, it will reveal images of your ancestors, tracing back generations. Their spectral figures will come to life, recounting their stories, wisdom, and achievements. The mirror also shows potential paths the prince might take in the future, hinting at the legacy he could leave for Lumina." I see, I double-edged sword, quite the cunning gift I must say.

"Okay" I said "Then off you go, rude wannabe elf" I added.

And when he left, I turned to Isadora who was standing behind me, and said.

"I want you to write a letter, in your own name, as the angel maiden personally tasked with serving me, recounting how this rude fat man, who claimed to be a representant of the elves, acted in this meeting, and how I verbally fought with him, and that you await for the reply to point out Aetheria standing of this matter" I then turned to Mother and asked. "Mother, could you help Isadora here give this letter to the king of Aetheria, before that fat man gets back to his said home kingdom" I asked.

"Hmm, it seems you did it purposefully, now why is that?"

"He seemed to loath me, so I paid him full price for his rude act"

After that, came the nobles of our Lumina kingdom, I hoped this would be simple, I already felt tired of all this drama.

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A.N: 2293 words, sorry I got late, but this chapter needed a lot of details to point out.