2

"Let's be friends" I mutter a smile forming on my face.

Little did I know that does words that stood as a promise were the first steps that would lead me down the path to my downfall.

"By the way your highness, I never got your name"

"It's Liam" he says

"You're Lancaster am I right?"

"Yes your highness"

"Can I call you Casey? And in turn you can just call me Liam"

"I would love that your highness, ah I mean…Liam"

We both chuckle as we head back in.

"It's okay, You can take your time"

I nod with a smile in response.

The rest of the banquet goes by with me and prince Liam sited at a corner rambling away like we'd known each other for age'. Prince Liam turned out to quite funny, Like that wasn't impressive enough he also turned out to be a bookworm. By the end of the banquet I'd acquired a lot of information on prince Liam. He is 17 years of age, his younger brother prince azure was 14, his favorite color was green and the reason was because his two most favorite people(his mom and younger brother) both had green eyes. His hobbies included swordfighting, reading and star gazing. He was relatively good at horseback riding but he wasn't quite fond of it.

Before the end of the banquet his majesty the king returns with my parents, offers his apologies for imposing on my fun and stealing my parents from me on my birthday. To this I reply,

"There's absolutely no reason to apologize your majesty, I'm sure it was important seeing that you came all this way yourself."

"I'm also honored that your majesty and the crown prince graced my birthday banquet, plus it's thanks to your majesties visit that I was blessed with a friend such as his highness the prince"

The king chuckles in response and turn to my parents,

"You have such a lovely daughter duke leeberte, I hope our kids will be able to keep Their relationship for a long time."

"I'm afraid though that Liam and I will have to take our leave now"

"Goodbye your majesty, Goodbye your highness"

"I hope you get back safely"

My parents offer them their farewell and they head out. As soon as they depart my father offer me a dance, While we're dancing he apologizes again for neglecting me and on my birthday too. I assure him that it was fine seeing as it was inevitable. Once I'm done dancing with my father my mother steps in, once the dance is over my mother and I sit at a corner silently nitpicking at innocent noble women and giggling away like little kid's. This was like a tradition for me and my mother, we'd been doing this since my ninth birthday banquet. It started off as just my mom teaching me what and what not to do at banquets but overtime it just became a judging session. After the dance with my parents this was my second most favorite part of my birthday banquet.

The party ends like that and everyone retires to their home's but for me and my mother that was when the real party begun. Every night since I was five after the banquet I and my mom would change into our night dresses and my mother would join me in my room with my favorite cake and tea and we'd snack on it. It was the only exception we had midnight snacks. After snacking my mother would tell me stories on the many adventures and encounters she and my father had been through recently. After that she'd sing me lullabies and I'd fall asleep in her arm's, inhaling her favorite rose scented perfume, her stable and suiting heartbeat and her enchanting voice. That was my favorite place, my safe space and my most prized memories. Every night I'd fall asleep wishing that everyday could be like this.

My parents postpone their stay by two days to make up for the interruption on my birthday, I savor every minute of it by spending time with my parents when they weren't working. They made sure to have every meal with me during their stay, my mother would join me for tea every afternoon, and if time and work permitted she'd even take me on walks through the rose and purple Lili gardens. My mother's favorite flowers were roses and purple lilies and spending time with her made grown a soft spot for them as well. Every embroidered gift she'd given me had either a rose or lily on it as well, it was like her signature. Over the years she'd made it a habit to send me a handkerchief whenever she missed me and that was quite often which resulted in the large box of embroidered handkerchiefs with rose or Lili patterns in my room. On the eve their departure my parents take me shopping, My mother and I shuffle through almost every clothing and accessory shop in the shopping district, my father quietly follows us and watches from a distance. Once our shopping raid is done we visit a desert shop and snack to our hearts content.

First thing on the morning I write the prince,

'Dear prince Liam,

I hope you've been well this past few days, I just wanted to return your handkerchief to you, it seems I forgot to return it to you that night, I made sure to wash it my self and kept it with the rest of my handkerchief collection, this may result in it having a certain scent to it. I also write to inform you that I might be writing you a lot more often from here on out. My father and mother would be departing later in the day today. Also I'm really sorry I haven't reached out all this time, I've been occupied with trying to spend as much time as I can with my parents. I look forward to your reply.

Yours Truly' Lancaster'