A New Day at Aurae

"Your Highnesses." The Head Butler called out, "I believe it would be far more appropriate to discuss this inside the drawing room. The rest of us shall take care of the Crown Prince's possessions."

"Very well. Shall we, then?" Alkas half-turned towards the winding path, waiting for Hayden to answer.

"It would be my pleasure."

The Knight took a deep breath, walking up to the Princess's side. He needed to cool his head. It hadn't been five minutes since he arrived and he barely kept it together. They'd be seeing each other more often. His mind must obliterate his impure intentions and concentrate at his current task.

"If I hadn't been in the fire, I would have thought this was the same infrastructure as before."

"The parliament had done well, I agree." Alkas responded, "I also felt surprised when I arrived. It may appear comparable to the one before but the inside couldn't be replicated. Numerous items of rich history had been replaced while some hadn't. Things with no substitute also exist."

Hayden raised an eyebrow, "Such as?"

"Such as royal portraits and mementos. They all perished."

The two of them entered the Palace and took a left turn. It led to a small drawing room. It also happened to be the place where men would smoke and drink coffee after a party. Along with them, the Prime Minister and the Duke followed inside. The men picked their seats around the coffee table, still standing. They waited for the Princess to sit.

"Tylen, please meet our Prime Minister, Rowan." Alkas gestured towards the middle-aged man. After their brief exchange, she turned to the other gentleman in the room, "And this is Duke Jameson Hawkins, his apprentice."

"You will be the next Prime Minister?" The Knight asked. It didn't seem like the current one was near retirement.

"I mostly assist Prime Minister Rowan." Jameson explained curtly, "He merely gave it as a title so I wouldn't feel bad about being his errand boy."

"Oh, pish-posh, Jameson." Rowan denied, "You're the best candidate to be the next head of the parliament. None of those geezers could stand a chance against you."

"You flatter me, Prime Minister."

"Would you all like to take your seats first before we continue with this ruckus?" the Princess cut in, sitting down on a chair. The men followed obediently, "I think this would be quite a long story."

The Prime Minister immediately took over the conversation, "Don't believe whatever the boy says. I can't say for sure if either of you, Highnesses, remember about several nobles trying to outbid each other to buy a piece of his father's land years ago. Back then, Jameson had only been 12 years old. While the previous Duke of Quora fussed about who to hand the land over to, he walked up to his father and told him to lease it out instead of selling it. The moment I heard of that incident, I knew this boy could go the distance. He shall bring this Kingdom to great heights."

Rowan sat proudly. He didn't have his own son but he felt the pride of a second father. He had pestered the old Duke to have Jameson trained under him.

"That is quite a story, Prime Minister." Alkas smiled, "I'd be looking for when Duke Jameson takes over your position."

"Thank you for the recognition, Your Highness." the Duke replied, tipping his head.

Melody and the Head Maid knock on the door. They rolled in a cart full of finger food and a tea set. They silently moved around the table, placing the cups from the guests' right sides. The pot had been given to the princess. She opened the lid. Steam of freshly brewed tea flew up to her nose. Once satisfied, she poured herself some tea.

"Would you like some, Tylen?" She asked the silent Knight, "I remember you liked black tea. We also prepared milk and sugar."

As Hayden reached out for the pot, Melody cut in, "Let me, Your Highness."

She took the pot from the Princess and filled the Crown Prince's cup. Then, she proceeded to do the same for the Prime Minister and the Duke. Hayden proceeded to add the milk and the sugar just the way Tylen preferred his tea. Each of them took a moment to thank for the food silently, inhaling the relaxing fragrance and sipping the warm drink.

"Prince Tylen." Rowan cleared his throat and placed the cup on the table, "You must be tired from the trip. Do you wish to retire for the rest of the day?"

"I'd actually appreciate that very kindly, thank you." Hayden replied truthfully. He quickly finished his tea.

"Then, please. Take your rest. Our Head Butler, Edmund, would escort you to your room."

At the sound of his name from the Princess's lips. Edmund entered the room, bowing to the waist.

Hayden stood up, nodding at his companions, "It has been a pleasure meeting you, Prime Minister, and you as well, Duke Jameson. I will see you later, Princess."

He walked over to the Head Butler's side. Together, they disappeared from their sight. Alkas picked up a biscuit. She bit into it softly. It seemed like the Knight's strategy was to be discreet and aloof. Something Hayden did a lot.

The Prime Minister sighed, his eyes on the doorway, "The Crown Prince surely has changed."

The Princess flicked her eyes at him for a second. She remembered that Rowan had met Tylen a number of times back when they were young. Since she hadn't been around for years, it made her wonder if they had interacted during that time. Surely, that meant he knew about the switch.

"Time is a marvelous thing." Alkas remarked, "The last time he had been at the palace was the day of the fire. Being back here must have reminded him about it."

"I believe a number of citizens still think about it every time they see the palace." Jameson added into the conversation, "Each ruler had left their marks on it. A new stables, a new set of stairs, a new chandelier… all of them perished in the fire."

"Except the front stairs," the Princess said. She gave the Duke her full attention.

"Right, the first king's treasured part of the palace."

"But a new dawn had grown out of the ashes. None of it truly died—only reborn again."

"With you as its next phoenix." Rowan raised his tea cup in salute, "Hopefully, the Crown Prince would take the news of the changed wedding date lightly."

===

Tylen pushed up a branch out of the way. Their sail at sea had gone smoothly as the pirates told him. He had lifted cargo over his shoulder, shielding his face from the authorities. None of them looked at him twice. The sailor also helped divert their attention.

They stopped by a pub to eat their breakfast. He already missed the food from the Stitz Inn. Cleon's praises held true. He probably wouldn't find another place with the same cooking as Sister Aina.

"From here, it would be a short walk to the entrance of the forest." Raz explained to the group while they rested after their meal, "Keep an eye on each other. It would be easy to get lost and seperate from the group."

The Prince took those words to heart, doing his best to not fall behind. Cleon had meant to watch him but the blue-haired pirate easily got distracted by his surroundings. It almost became the other way around.

"I can't believe we're actually here." Cleon thought out loud. He had his hands behind his neck as usual, gazing up at the trees, "I never thought we'd set foot in Aurae Kingdom."

Tylen scrunched his eyebrows at him. They stood a few meters apart. Sometimes a tree would come in between them, "Why is that?"

"Hm?" The blue-haired pirate glanced his way, "That's because our group had been assigned to Teralyn. Our missions had always been there."

"Only certain groups take on jobs for each kingdom?"

"Yeah, that's how it works." Cleon shrugged.

They continued walking. Tylen kept his eyes on Maia and Raz in front of them. Even if none of them knew this forest well, it would be those two who would remember where they've been and how to get out.

"Well, sometimes if there's an urgent mission and we're currently short on hand." The blue-haired pirate spoke, "The Captain would assign a group from a different kingdom. Not a lot of that happens though and never to us since we're the elite group for Teralyn."

"The elite group?"

"Yeah, like the best team Teralyn could possibly hire!" Cleon yelled with pride. Then, he grinned at the Prince, "You've made the right choice coming to us."

Raz stopped walking.

A crease appeared between her eyebrows, her eyes on the ground. She didn't make a sound. Yet, the rest of the group immediately noticed the sudden change. They looked around. Tylen and Cleon unsheathed their swords, listening in. They positioned their backs facing each other while their gazes swept the trees. Maia crouched low, ready to roll out of the way in case the attacker came from above.

Raz paid them zero attention. Her senses tingled. Someone was here. Her ears picked up the ruffling of leaves on the trees, the chirping of birds on their nests, the nipping of squirrels on their nuts... and a creak of a branch.

She spun and raised her rapier. It clashed with another aimed directly at her back. Both parties stood with their feet apart. The weight of their attacks on full force, waiting on the other to back down.

"Lost your touch?" The newcomer smirked, "I've been following for hours now."

"Pirate Queen Deelah, what a surprise." Raz smiled sinisterly, "Have you gotten fat?"