Chapter Three: The Party

Ah the morning, oh how lovely it is. The morning dew sparkles like diamonds, the birds seem to sing as they chirp all around their respected nests, and even the morning sun can't help but shine on the surrounding landscape and the organisms underneath it with its warm, but not hot, morning sun rays. The people of the community open up their windows and smile as the morning greets them. Oh, what a wonderful morning!

"You USELESS IMBECILES!!"

Oh, it seems that I spoke too soon.

"MY CAKE HAS TO BE PERFECT!! NO BUMPS! NO MISALIGNMENTS! AND PERFECTLY PERFECT!! " A young woman screams at one of the four bakers who were proudly showing off the finished birthday cake earlier.

"But my lady, it's just a small bump. Surely it will be okay. " The head baker tried to reassure the already upset young lady.

"You dare speak to me like some royalty?" She hissed. "I am the daughter of the Earl and Countess of Dovier and you are just a mere baker. Know your place. "

Introducing the quiet, erm, "lovable" daughter of the Earl and Countess of Dovier, Lady Hera Bridge. Throughout her childhood, she was nothing more than a sweet and rather innocent child who, in most cases, got what she wanted, when she wanted it. With a flick of her fingers, she would get everything and everyone, from her mum's love to her father's attention, personal servants, expensive jewelry and dresses which she rarely wears, and even the finest meal made with the finest ingredients their people and cooks could find.

But everything came to an unfortunate halt in her eyes once her younger sister was born. In her eyes, she no longer has the full love and attention of her parents and the people around her. It was divided and she thinks that she now has to cross swords with her younger sister. All of these "realizations" made her the person she is today. A spiteful, sassy, and manipulative spoiled lady who uses her incredibly high ear-bleeding screeches if she doesn't get what she wants.

Today is a special day for her because it is a grand celebration of her birth. With so many guests she had invited and also wanting to make a good impression on the other nobilities, she wanted everything to be perfectly elegant and well polished, putting a lot of stress and pressure on the servants, to the point that they now despise the young lady for putting them through hell and suffering, all for a single party.

Lady Hera then scoffed at everyone and stormed off, but before she left the kitchen, she picked up a nearby broom and smashed it into the four-layered cake.

"Now do better this time!!" She said as she walked away.

Lady Hera marched towards the living area where her family was passing time. Her mother, who was sitting on their newly bought double Windsor chairs without a divisor, looked up and greeted her daughter with a warm smile, while her father didn't even bat an eye and simply continued to sip his morning brewed coffee and read the daily morning newspaper and mail. Meanwhile, on the other side of the living room, Lady Hera's younger sister, Lady Ellayah, was sitting on the floor and busy drawing on a piece of paper.

"Good morning dear, What were the first few hours of your seventh birthday? " greeted her mum.

Lady Hera sighed and folded her arms as she said, "It was awful mum. Your moronic servants can't do any simple orders! "

"Maybe you are being mean again, big sister." Lady Ellayah innocently replied, but this comment made Lady Hera angry at her sister as she interpreted it as an insult rather than a simple comment on her attitude.

"And did I ask for your opinion?" Lady Hera hissed.

"Hera, be nice to your sister." Her mother said. She then rolled her eyes and crashed onto the sofa.

"Hera, I have a present for you." Her father suddenly announced, which immediately made Hera perk up to look at her father.

Her face glistened with joy. She immediately ran towards her father and said, "Oh daddy, what is it? Is it the pony that I always wanted? "

The Earl of Dovier folded the newspaper to look at his smiling daughter. He saw how excited she was and that made him somewhat happy on the inside, but he did not want to show it to her as he planned to solidify himself as an authority figure in the eyes of his daughters. The Earl, with a blank face, pointed at the fireplace. Lady Hera instantly ran towards the fireplace to retrieve the present her father had given her, but as she opened up the present, her smile slowly faded away as she saw the contents of the present.

"A book? Why did you give me a book? " She asked.

"Darling, that book is A Midsummer's Night Dream. It's not just any book, but it is one of the greats. " The Earl lectured his daughter. "Give it a read. That's an order."

"Fine." She scoffed. "But I am quite unpleased with this present from your daddy, and here I assume you love your daughter. "

"Hera, your father loves you dearly." The Countess reassured her daughter.

"If he had, he would've gotten what I wanted." Lady Hera replied. "I knew Ellayah was your favourite and I was just nothing more."

The seven-year-old young lady's comment insulted the Earl as he saw her as an ungrateful child who, if not disciplined, would become a bane of his existence once she became mature and became a woman. The Earl of Dovier stood up, but before he could open his mouth and let out a single word, the seven-year-old was already running away from the living room and into her quarters, while crying. He looked at his wife and was displeased once he saw her disappointed look.

"You should've gotten her the pony that she wanted." His wife frowned. "It was the only thing she wanted."

"Nonsense." He huffed. "That daughter of yours needs to learn the meaning and value of a simple no. If not, then she will grow spoiled and immature. "

"But it is her birthday today, darling. Surely, you can dismiss that discipline of yours and schedule it for the day after. "

Meanwhile, once Lady Hera ran away, she did not run towards her quarters, instead, she just ran far enough for her family not to spot her. She then wiped her tears away and smiled at herself. Satisfied that after her little show, she would surely get what she wanted, a pony.

The young lady straightens herself up and is now heading toward her quarters to get ready for her celebration.

****

The King and Queen, together with their son, Prince Athlai, and, surprisingly, their eldest, Princess Dalia, who was successfully convinced to attend byPrince Athlai, arrived at the party rather late. All of the guests at the party froze and stopped what they were doing once they saw the royal family's arrival. They then bowed down at them and greeted them in a respectful manner. King Chester, dismissed them and they went back to doing whatever they were doing earlier while eying the royal family.

"Ugh, look at them watching us. I feel uncomfortable. " The princess noted.

"Are you sure that James and Kate will be alright back at the castle, mum?" Prince Athlai asked if he was worried about his younger siblings due to the fact that they were left at the castle and he was not there with them at the party.

"First of all, Dalia, you are overreacting. Those are probably suitors who are interested in you. Secondly, Athlai, you worry too much. You are at a party. Ease up and have fun. " The King whispered so that the other guests would not hear him and their conversation.

"Ah my king, how nice of you to join us on my daughter's birthday." The Earl appeared from the crowd of guests and greeted the royal family. The countess soon joined in and stood by her husband's side.

Drop the pleasantries, my friend. What kind of a friend am I to miss the celebration of your daughter? " King Chester laughed and put his arm around the Earl. They soon laughed together and went to the table to grab some liquor.

"I see our husbands are catching up." The Countess noted. She looked at the queen and saw her smiling.

"They act just like before, don't they?" The Queen replied. The Countess smiled so fakely that even Queen Vallia herself noticed it.

The Countess soon said, "Ah yes, back in the days when the King was my lover."

"Well you know, before you stole him from me."

Queen Vallia was visibly surprised by what the Countess had said to her. She wanted to roll her eyes and talk back to her, but as a Queen, especially in the eyes of the public, she had to calm herself and deal with this problem as poised as possible. She dismissed her children and told them to let them be. The children obliged, seeing the tension between the two, and left them in their conversation.

"Ahriah, we are in our adulthood. Let's leave the past in the past and focus on what's important. That is our family and our children. " Queen Vallia said.

"Agreed, let us let bygones be bygones and start a new."The countess lied. She won't forget how she was supposed to be the Queen if Vallia had not introduced herself to Chester when their relationship was blooming.

"Now, do you want to hear some gossip?" The Countess whispered and took her hand and wrapped it around the Queen's.

"Do tell."

****

On the other hand, Lady Hera was busy soaking up the attention from all of the other noble kids she invited. Prince Athlai found a group of kids his age and was quite happy about this. He could now act like a proper kid without the judgment of the adults. The kids saw the Prince and were instantly surprised by his presence. Hera, who did not see Prince Athlai, because she was facing behind him, thought that everyone was amazed by her.

"Everyone please close all of your mouths. You might catch flies in them." Lady Hera jeered.

Amidst all of this, the bakers were done rebaking the cake and added more layers to it, in hopes of pleasing the birthday celebrant. They saw the seven-year-old, so they decided to bring the seven-story cake to her and show her the great improvement they had made to the cake. As the two bakers excitedly walked towards Lady Hera while holding the cake in their hands, they did not notice the large stone ahead of them. The head baker slipped on the rock and accidentally hurled the cake towards Lady Hera.

The delicious seven-story cake crashed into the young lady and fell on the floor. Once they saw what had happened, the other kids, minus the Prince, all laughed and pointed at Lady Hera. It took a while for Lady Hera to process everything that happened to her. The cake all over her, the laughs of the other kids, her image as this perfect kid, all went down the drain in a single moment. She slowly turned around and faced the two bakers, who instantly knew that they were in deep trouble. Lady Hera let out an ear-piercing scream which made everyone else, including the adults, silent and turned around to see what was happening. Lady Hera then ran away from the scene out of embarrassment and went into the forest outside. The Crown Prince, who saw everything that had happened, took pity on Lady Hera and went after her.

When Prince Athlai arrived, he saw Lady Hera crying on the roots of an old weeping witch hazel tree. Lady Hera notices him and instantly recognizes him.

"Prince Athlai, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here." The lady sniffed and hurriedly wiped her tears away.

"It's okay, I only came here because I saw you running and wanted to comfort you." Prince Athlai smiled a gummy smile at Lady Hera, who blushed immediately when she saw his smile.

"Did you see what they did to me? They laughed at me and pointed their fingers at me. " She frowned and tried to clean herself by whipping all the frosting off of her beautiful cerise-colored dress.

"It's okay, if we switch the roles and we are in their position, won't we laugh too?" The Prince asked. He took a white linen cloth out of his left pocket and gave it to her.

"Thank you." Lady Hera smiled and took the linen and cleaned herself.

"You got something on your face? Hera was it?"

"Oh, where is it? I feel embarrassed that you saw me in my most unpleasant version of myself. "

"It's right on your cheek. I'll get it for you." The seven-year-old prince approached Lady Hera and gently wiped off a streak of frosting on her left cheek.

At that moment, Lady Hera's heart was beating so rapidly that she could feel it was about to explode. The distance between them was so slim that she held her breath and stiffened. Her mother used to tell her so many stories about a prince and princess falling in love and living happily ever after, that she couldn't help herself but wonder if this could be her happily ever after.

In an instant, she realized that she now had a massive crush on the Crown Prince.