The dining hall consisted of one long table. It could accommodate up to 40 guests with red velvet chairs. The table itself had a cream table cloth with several golden candelabras and tableware. The interior also had a gold hue. Red heavy curtains hung from the ceiling, covering the top space in a series of loops.

The Princess sat at the head of the table, the 41st seat. For this day, she wore a navy blue dress with silver trimmings. The colors matched Teryaln's crest. Her black hair surrounded her head in a wide braid. The tail had been tucked underneath, situated at the nape of her neck. Her ladies' maids inserted several flowery pins for feminine touch.

Her knife cut into her pancake. The syrup oozed over the side and onto the plate. She stabbed the piece with her fork, cleaning off the syrup before taking a bite. She sliced her sausage into thin portions while she chewed.

Alkas glanced at Hayden from the corner of her eye.

The knight ate quietly. His utensils hardly made a sound against the ceramic plate. She noted the amount of butter and syrup on his pancakes. She hid a smile, knowing those were Tylen's which was different from his. At the same time, she gave him a bit of credit for his acting ability.

"Tylen." The Princess spoke up. She placed her knife and fork down, lifting the napkin on her lap to wipe the corners of her mouth, "There's a meeting with the parliament later today. It would be our utmost pleasure if you could attend. It's about our engagement."

Hayden grabbed a water goblet and sipped. He used the diversion as an opportunity to think. Truth be told, it was only a matter of time before it happened. He normally attended such discussions with Tylen so he obtained a good grasp on proper behavior.

"The parliament was set up by father's royal council." Alkas continued when he remained quiet. She used a soft tone and explained the situation, "Most of them are his advisors. They expanded it and elected its own chief people after I left the continent. The big group is the parliament while this small group of elected officials became the Regency Council in the absence of the monarch."

She cleared her throat and placed the napkin back on her lap. Then, she set her elbows on the table, lacing her fingers together under her nose.

"They're not all easy to deal with like the Prime Minister," she sighed, "I was hoping that we could portray a united front between us. We will become the Sovereign once we ascend the throne. It would be a lot more complicated when our two kingdoms talk about the unification. I thought this would be a good start to persuading them to trust in our authority."

The knight nodded his head at her key points. It must have been hard to handle the council on her own. Most of these matters, as well as political, were handled by the men of the royal family. This became so since the education of both genders were vastly different.

An example of this was Tylen's parents.

Queen Tatiana was the only direct descendant of the throne. If she hadn't married, the crown would be passed on to her uncle who was second-in-line. King Jairo started off as a Queen's consort until the royal court acknowledged his capabilities to rule. The kingdom experiences two coronations because of this, one for a Queen and one for a King.

An opposite example would be Aurae's current monarch.

King Andre took the initiative and allowed women to rule over the kingdom—even unmarried. This was a common practice in Celio. Since the stone recognizes who was worthy to wear the crown, the power there did not base on gender. The royal court relented when Aurae's stone was unearthed.

Once it was activated, the Celian priestesses warned them of disasters if the stone remained dormant. It held the powers of the Kingdom's lands. It cannot contain them for long and needed a host. If not, the magic would become unstable and destroy anything in its path.

As such, Alkas would have been the first lone Queen of Aurae.

It would have been true, at least, if the monarch hadn't persuaded Teralyn about the engagement.

Some of the nobility still held opposition to this decree. A number of them held onto traditions. To quiet them down and not cause a riff, the engagement had been negotiated as a compromise. But the Princess needed someone who had a status above the parliament and that was someone was Tylen.

Hayden pressed his lips together. He recalled how long their talks went in preparation for this switch. It still amazed him up to this day.

The Crown Prince didn't have the rationality when it came to his emotions but he did know how to see through these chess moves. All those years he spent with scholars and advisers paid off. It took a toll on his physical training but the Prince figured that he needed these skills more with what the future had in store for him.

Tylen had given Hayden all the information he had to know—including his viewpoints.

This meeting would become the knight's test to see if he passed the Prince's expectations.

"Tylen?" Alkas called out. Hayden already finished drinking but he still stayed silent, glaring at the middle of the table. She figured that the knight had trouble thinking of an excuse to reject the request.

"I apologize. I was deep in thought." Hayden replied quickly, "I agree on your opinions and will attend the meeting."

He went back to his meal and finished the pancakes. Before this, he had been concentrating on how to not gag them out. They were far too sweet for his palette.

"It must be hard to be away from Hayden." The Princess remarked, chuckling. She hooked a finger in her tea cup's handle and raised it to her lips, "I'm sure he is fine. If anything, Hayden would be more worried about you, Tylen."

The knight exhaled sharply with a close-mouthed grin on his lips, "I believe so as well."

The rest of their breakfast time finished in silence. They agreed to meet at the ballroom before they'd go to the meeting. They decided that it would be better if they went in together.

Hayden walked around the palace and re-familiarized himself around the place. He memorized the possible exits and routes. Each time a servant passed him by, he'd stop to admire the decorations and greet them. He started from the upper floors and worked his way down.

From the pathway to the kitchen, he rounded a corridor.

A sharp arrow of nostalgia hit him.

It was the same passage where he found a collapsed Tylen. The debris from that night already vanished. The hallways looked much brighter and cleaner. He walked through it, stopping at the spot the Prince lost his consciousness. He hadn't thought about that incident in years. It was a challenge to get them both outside.

He lifted Tylen off the floor and supported his wait. He took the Prince's arm, wrapping it around his shoulders. The water around them at the time made it difficult. He had to take careful steps as the clock ticked. More beams and lamps fell off from the ceilings and the walls. The fire seemed to close in and trapped them in place.

They had no room to escape.

"Si—Prince Tylen."

Hayden whirled around and watched Sir Allen approach.

The sense of déjà vu flooded him harder. It was almost like a replicated moment from that time. The old knight came up to them when hope had seemed lost. He saved them from that fire. The two of them owed Sir Allen their lives.

Yet, here was Hayden, lying to his face.

Sir Allen stopped in his steps. His eyes swept around the hallway as if he knew what Hayden had been thinking about. He sighed gravelly and glanced at the young man in concern.

"It's not much but if either of you are in need, please don't hesitate to call for my help." The old knight whispered. He checked the empty space again, in case of eavesdroppers. Then, he leaned in closer, "I don't know what's going on but I am not entirely on anyone's side. If your best friend is in trouble, I'll gladly leave this place and look for him."

Hayden stayed rooted in his spot. He felt flabbergasted by Sir Allen's choice of words. He curled his bottom lip inwards, biting it with his upper teeth. His wary cobalt eyes stared at the old knight.

"He's doing fine," he responded carefully, "His companions are reliable."

Sir Allen nodded his head, "Will you be attending the Royal Council meeting?"

"We have several things to discuss, including my engagement."

"Well, then.." The old knight huffed. He rubbed his right temple with two fingers, "That group is a doozy. You have to be careful around them. You never know who'd have hidden motives against you."

Hayden furrowed his brows, "Do you perhaps know anything about these noblemen?"

"A bunch of Power Hungry Fools." Sir Allen snorted. He shook his head at the young man, "Before the Princess came back, a number of them fought for more power. They took advantage of the monarch's absence and looted a lot of wealth as well as lands."

Aurae Kingdom had more dark days than cheery ones. A lot of the common folk yearned for the Princess's return. They saw her as their glimmer of hope against the wretched members of the council. To them, the future Queen was their redemption.

The only person that could save them from this gloomy atmosphere.

"I don't know everything in that council." The old knight admitted, "But I do know some rumors about the involvement of pirates that sabotaged their underhanded exploits."

At his last statement, Hayden raised his eyebrows. He had a feeling that the pirates Sir Allen mentioned were the same ones he knew about. Just how deep was their influence? Did they perhaps have eyes and ears in every kingdom?

"That sounds intriguing.." Hayden commented. He cleared his throat, "Care to share more about it?"