The First Princess's Birthday-Part 1

Kye had finished putting on his new suit and had done his hair fashionably ready for the party to begin. His family had continued the red, white and black colour scheme among all their outfits, with his father's suit being an inverted version of Kye's. The Runewalker women wore dresses that mixed the colour scheme of the family beautifully and made the family an ensemble of complementary colours. They waited in the foyer of the Runewalker mansion in Alioth City for the magic carriages to arrive to take them to the Azure Palace, the Alioth family's home. Alicia was fixing up Frey's tie fussily while Kye's sisters checked themselves one last time in the mirror. Layla walked up to Kye and dusted off his shoulders despite there being nothing there.

"There is no point in me telling you to do anything specifically. Just be yourself, Kye, you'll do just fine."

"Yes, mother Layla."

She nodded contentedly and hugged Kye lightly. Layla knew she would be bogged down talking with people for most of the night and making sure her husband didn't step on anyone's toes too much. Kye's sisters would be mingling and attempting to find suitable people to have court them. The Runewalker family disparaged political marriages with many of the newer generation of family heads doing the same, leading to a much freer feeling in parties such as these. There were courtship rituals one adhered to but the restrictions on dating among the nobility were all but removed.

The royal family was slightly different in the sense that the king or queen had to give express permission for noblemen or women to marry their successors. It was one of the older traditions in the kingdom that royal family members should only marry heirs of the four great archduke families and has largely been upheld throughout time. This was something the first king, Granel Alioth, used to ensure the loyalty of his four generals who went on to become the heads of the archduke families. Through this arrangement, it was always ensured that the archdukes would have ties to the royal family through blood and that they would always have a powerful position within the kingdom.

It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that if the four archdukes worked together, they would actually have more authority than the king but the archdukes largely kept to themselves, managing their own territory and ensuring the greater prosperity of the kingdom as a whole. The royal family always upheld their tradition where possible though, and had many of their women marry into the archduke families while the sons took archduke family girls as their wives.

The importance of these traditions came to the forefront at times like this where a young man or woman from the royal family came of age. Though no decisions were made immediately, this was the event where the royal family member would first express interest in one of the archduke family members. Kye didn't know what the first princess was like or even what she looked like though he had heard from Layla that she was exceptionally pretty and that many men had tried to gain her affection though none had succeeded. One of the more infamous attempts to court her had ended with execution as the man had almost forced himself upon her in a moment of drunken stupor.

Needless to say, Kye was apprehensive about meeting the woman but ultimately would make his own call once he talked with her. Ultimately for Kye, while this was a chance to get in the good graces of the first princess, it was also the first time he would be faced with true high society. He had been rigorously tutored by Layla on how to conduct oneself in such a setting but he was still nervous. Kye knew himself well and knew that talking in such a polite manner and acting like the perfect gentleman was very much removed from his true personality. He was normally blunt and stubborn, two traits that would not work in high society, especially among those nobles that were secretly the same. As Kye was thinking about how he would conduct himself at the party, two drivers walked into the foyer and bowed.

"Sorry for the wait your excellency, the carriages are ready for your arrival."

Frey's mouth changed from a smile into a thin line as he nodded and replied.

"Very well, lead the way."

The drivers got into their carriages with the Runewalker family behind them, the sisters all going in one carriage while Kye was with his parents in the other. The trip was rather short but for Kye, it felt like a lifetime. He could hear his heart beating in his ears as they arrived but calmed himself down, remembering all that he had been taught. Any sign of weakness in the Azure Palace would put you at a significant disadvantage which was something Kye couldn't afford right now. Coming from the infamous Runewalker sons, he would already be on the back foot unless he exuded the confidence of his father but also the grace of his mother Layla.

Kye had to show the entire nobility that he was not his brothers, that he was better than them in every way possible and that he was worth their time. The carriage came to a halt and the door was opened for them by the driver. Frey gave one last smile to Kye before straightening out his jacket in one move and stepping out of the carriage to the cacophony of noise of reporters and the blinding lights from the flash photography cameras. His mothers weren't far behind Frey but before he was ready to get out, Alicia smiled at him.

"Don't worry Kye, just smile like you always do for us."

With those words in his head, Kye's face finally loosened into a more natural smile and he climbed out of the carriage. This was the start of a very fateful day for Kye Runewalker.