20 — Meeting With King Aiden

A maid stood in front of the elegantly carved door, waiting for a reply to enter.

No reply was heard from the other side of the door, leaving the maid waiting for nearly an hour, with no choice but to enter the room without permission.

The maid bowed down, gazing at her feet.

"Excuse my insolent behaviour, Your Highness, however, the queen dowager asked for me to take you to breakfast since it will start in half an hour. I have been waiting for nearly—" The maid paused, noticing Princess Zahra was still asleep.

She sighed and walked toward the window to pull out the curtains.

The light hit Zahra's face, causing her to turn to the other side.

"Please wake up, Your Highness. Her Majesty will be angry at me if I don't bring you to the breakfast table soon. The king and queen will return to Averlyon today—" The maid stopped as she saw Zahra's eyes were wide open.

Upon hearing the maid saying the king would leave, Zahra jolted from her bed and rushed into the washroom.

After washing herself, Zahra walked out.

A few maids were assigned to her to get her dressed. However, Zahra didn't let them lay a finger on her. They only stood there, helping her with choosing her dresses and her hair ornaments.

"Your Highness, you could wear this dress. It has a simple design like you asked for and these hair ornaments—" The maid was interrupted by Zahra's sudden appearance. She was only covered with a simple towel that reached her knee and her wet hair had water dripping out of them.

"You will catch a cold!" She exclaimed while another maid rushed to pick up another towel and tried to dry her hair. However, Zahra quickly stepped back, glaring at them.

"I think I told yall to not fucking touch me." She replied coldly, turning to the mirror.

"I apologize," the maid quickly said, bowing down.

"It's okay, get out. I don't want anyone here when I'm changing." Zahra turned towards her maids pointing at the door.

"But Your Highness—"

"Out," Zahra cut the maid off while she was speaking.

The two maids sighed and bowed before exiting the room.

"I wish she was less rude," one whispered.

"I know, but that's how royalties are. Even if she was raised like a commoner, blood never lies," the other sighed.

Zahra dropped her towel on the floor, staring at the mirror blankly.

She quickly shook her head as some memories flashed through her mind.

"Don't." She whispered to herself, picking the dress the maid had posed in the front of her wardrobe.

After dressing up, Zahra opened the door and descended the stairs to the dining room.

Once arrived, her gaze fell on the stranger man sitting beside the king.

She curiously looked at him, walking closer to the table.

"Oh!" Zayn gasped, as he saw Zahra arriving in the dining room. He pointed his hand toward her and spoke, "Aiden, this is..." he halted. "My... first daughter. Princess Zahra," he finally spoke.

Zahra, confused, gave a faint smile to King Aiden as a greeting.

"You need to bow to him," Zayn sighed.

"Why should I? My teacher told me I shouldn't bow in front of anyone apart from the Queen, the king and the queen dowager." Zahra frowned.

"He is King Aiden, the king of Yurania, the land on which you are standing," Zahra sighed. "This girl..." he mumbled, embarrassed in front of his old friend because of his daughter's rude behaviour.

"It's alright," Aiden smiled. "I heard she just started her classes. I'm sure her teacher didn't get the time to make her memorize everyone's faces in just one day," He chuckled.

Zayn smiled, relieved that Aiden wasn't upset at his daughter's rude behaviour.

Despite being best friends for years, Zayn still fears getting on Aiden's bad side and going to war against his kingdom. Although they are supposed to become allies once the crown princess of Yurania and the crown princess of Averlyon get married, Zayn is unsure of its possibility after the sudden appearance of Crown Prince Yuden's original fiancée and his first daughter.

Her mannerless behaviour was unacceptable however he wished she would try to compose herself in front of others.

Zahra pulled the chair and took a seat.

"Why are you here then, Your Majesty, King Aiden?" She raised an eyebrow.

Aiden raised an eyebrow.

"Princess Zahra!" Sameera exclaimed as she walked into the dining room as well. "You shouldn't talk this way. This palace is his and so is the whole country. You need to show respect to him," Sameera reached the dining table and took a seat next to Zahra.

She sighed and nodded.

"I wanna eat. Serve the food right away," Zahra ordered the maid beside her.

"We should wait for at least the queen dowager," Aiden spoke.

However, Zahra grabbed a loaf of bread from one of the plates and started to put peanut butter on it.

"I'm hungry so I'm starting." She said, taking a bite of her bread.

King Aiden closely looked at Zahra. He couldn't believe that his son, Prince Yuden told in front of the media that he would be getting married to this girl.

He could feel his blood boiling just looking at the way she was eating.

However, he needed to keep calm because he wanted Averlyon more than anything. It mattered less who Yuden would marry if he could get the kingdom for himself. Yuden wouldn't refuse to let his father make decisions after all.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," Zayn stood up, bowing and greeting the Queen dowager once she stepped into the dining hall.

The Queen and King Aiden followed King Zayn and stood from their respective chairs.

Emera nodded to them and took a seat in front of Queen Sameera.

"I heard you will be leaving today," she said.

"Yes, mother." Zayn nodded, starting his breakfast.

"Then I will stay behind until Princess Zahra is ready to make an appearance in front of the people of Averlyon. Right now... will only put the kingdom in chaos if they see their future queen in such a state," Emera sighed.

Zahra looked up at Emera and rolled her eyes.

She didn't understand what was so wrong with her that they were making a fuss about it. Was it her appearance or her manners? Or perhaps both? Yet she was glad that because of that she would be able to stay in the kingdom of Yurania longer.

However, she didn't care. She was happy that she could stay here and wouldn't be forced to travel to another kingdom.

"I hope your journey goes well," Aiden spoke, looking at Zayn. "I apologize I wasn't able to attend the engagement although it was my son's and your daughter's. Well, not like it matters anymore since the engagement never happens," He looked at Zahra while speaking.

Zahra, not caring about any of it, kept on eating her food.

"It's alright. We have been friends for years so no need to apologize," Zayn smiled, reassuring Aiden.

The talk continued for a while. Zahra was too concentrated on eating to pay attention to the details of their conversation.

One thing she was sure about, they didn't need her to meddle in their discussion and she didn't wish to do so either.

***

"Finally, they are leaving!" Zahra exclaimed as she looked down at Zayn and Sameera leaving the palace through the window of her bedroom.

She was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed and her face brightened up once the car had driven past the palace yard.

She was slightly upset that Queen Sameera was leaving since she was the only person in the whole family that she appreciated.

Before Zahra could figure out her feelings, she heard footsteps approaching her bedroom.

"Princess Zahra," a maid knocked on her door although it was already open.

"What is it?" Zahra asked with an annoyed tone.

"Professor Owen has arrived and requests your audience. He is currently waiting for you in the study room," the maid kept her gaze on the ground while speaking. She didn't want to upset the princess.

"Okay, let's go," Zahra walked out of her bedroom, heading towards the study room.

The maid who followed Zahra opened the door for her. She then stepped aside and stood beside the door in case something went wrong.

Owen was seated on the couch placed beside the window, further from the desktop which was in the middle of the study room.

The study room had numerous bookshelves as well as two large windows, allowing light to come inside the room.

Once he heard the door unlock, he turned around and upon seeing the princess, he stood up and bowed to her.

"Good morning, Your Highness."

"Good morning, Your Highness," A young lady caught Zahra's attention.

Stood beside Owen was a girl with short hair reaching a little below her shoulders. Unlike the other people in the palace, she was wearing a T-shirt and pants.

"Who's this?" Zahra inquired, raising an eyebrow as she stood in front of both of them.