Coming-of-age ceremony

Lady Eleanor met the royal family during lunch and this time Alastair's father, Ragnor had returned home after completing his work. Neither the Queen nor Eleanor started the topic about the latter's intention to leave the castle. Queen Daphne had made it clear and she did not have to remind the lady before her if Eleanor did not want to get humiliated again. Daphne hoped to have this issue solved without her getting involved again.

This time, Alastair was not as silent as he had been during breakfast. He discussed some matters with his father related to the Fall Castle and other issues that were not hidden from Eleanor. He did not have to worry about her butting into those matters as everybody knew about it and even if she did, it would not make any changes. Seeing Eleanor being silent the whole time, Alastair's father gave a confused look to his son only to get a smirk in return. It did not take long for the old king to guess what might have happened and he too smiled faintly. It was not that he hated the beautiful yet cunning lady, who right now was having her lunch silently like an elegant woman in front of him. She was just a pawn in her father's plan, the real mastermind behind her and her intentions.

The old king, Ragnor Drayce was not a fool to not see through them. He had long known what Lady Eleanor's father, the Duke wanted. Before Ragnor had even taken over the throne, the Duke had tried many times to be the king but had failed every time. He was not the chosen one and every time he took a step closer to it, his body would be charred.

Since he could not take over the throne himself, he had trained his son in the hopes of him being the next king. Who knew that Ragnor's son, Alastair himself was the chosen one and the Duke's attempts went futile?

However, the Duke was not the one to give. He had come up with another plan which both, Ragnor and Alastair had guessed long back. Duke Zale wanted his daughter to marry Alastair and be the queen. Huh, dream on. Alastair was not a fool to not see what they wanted and he would be a bigger fool if he married the wicked lady. The Duke and his family were disillusioned right now and Alastair did not want to break their bubble at this instant as he still had some work from them.

"Lady Eleanor, how do you find your stay in the castle? I hope you are liking it here." Ragnor started speaking when the dining hall was plunged into silence after his discussion with Alastair.

Though Eleanor knew that the old man was only adding salt to her wounds, she could only put up a smile and answer him politely. "I liked my stay here, my King. It was quite hospitable."

"That's great then. I was worried that you would be lonely here with us not giving you much time."

Eleanor only smiled at him and did not give any reply. She was at a loss for words with the way the royal family was treating her. Her hands were itching to slap someone, but that would mean slapping her plans goodbye. She was yet to become the queen until then, she had to put up with the old couple. 'Once I become the queen, you two will be the first ones to be kicked out.' She promised in her mind darting a quick glance towards Queen Daphne and King Ragnor.

Not long after they finished their lunch, the young king asked Eleanor to accompany him for a walk. He knew that his family's behavior towards her might have annoyed her and now was not the time to irk her. They did not want the Duke to change his plans all of a sudden, not when Alastair was close to finding everything about him and his evil deeds.

Eleanor was ecstatic about being asked by the king. She had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time now and when it actually came, she could not help but feel joyous. The two people took a small walk around the garden as they silently strode beside each other. While Alastair was deep in thought, Eleanor was thinking of ways to start a conversation.

To her surprise, she did not have to do anything. The young king himself was the first one to speak. "Lady Eleanor, how are the old Duke and your brother?"

"They are good, my Lord. They wanted to come to meet you, but got held up with some affairs that needed their immediate attention." Eleanor smiled at him as she replied to his question. Alastair could feel her jubilant mood even without looking at her and he too smiled, not in happiness though. It was a sinister smile that he showed whenever he was ready to sabotage somebody's carefully designed plan.

"I am sure the Duke can handle the matter given his expertise at solving issues with ease. Anyway, when has the Duke decided to keep your coming of age ceremony?"

Eleanor smiled in glee after hearing the question. For any noble lady, the most important event in her life, other than her marriage, was her coming of age ceremony. It was a celebration when the lady turned eighteen years old. It was also like an announcement to the world that the lady was ready for marriage and any suitors who were interested in her were permitted to approach her father to ask her hand in marriage. The lady would then choose from among the suitors.

The kingdom of Oryn had this tradition for years. A lady was allowed to marry only after she turned eighteen and not any time before that. It was done to ensure that the lady was healthy and was capable of bearing kids for her man without affecting her body in any way.

Eleanor was just a few months short of eighteen. Her father had decided to celebrate her coming of age as well as announce her wedding to the royal family on the same day. She had been sent to the castle to gain the favor of the young king before the ceremony and make him fall head over heels with her. They wanted to make use of the absence of the royal family and spread rumors about Alastair and Eleanor. However, now that their plan had been ruined by Queen Daphne, they had to come up with another approach.

"In a few months, my Lord." Eleanor came out of her thoughts when she realized that the king was waiting for her answer. Alastair raised an eyebrow and went back to thinking. He still had a few more months than before he would give them a fatal blow.

Seeing his mysterious smile, Eleanor misunderstood Alastair's hidden meaning behind his questions to be his concern for her. She wondered whether he had feelings for her and the realization made her rejoice secretly. However, Alastair poured ice water on her thoughts when he fired his next question.

"How is your packing for your departure coming along? I hope you have finished packing up by now."