What is pure royal blood?

"Father!" Mae protested but said nothing afterwards, even though she hated the idea, she couldn't help but feel this was all the three kingdoms doing and not necessarily the Princes fault.

"Leo, please accompany them with a few guards to their Chambers." Morgan nodded, eager to let the guest out of their site before he could clearly explain what was going on.

"Please, Your Highnesses." Leo bowed, almost letting a growl escape his lips when William walked by him with his chin raised proudly.

–––––––––––

"Father, you surely should have an explanation for this." Mae got up immediately and she was sure they were alone after the Princes were escorted out.

"Mae, would you sit down?!" Morgan rubbed his temples, getting sick and tired of how immature she was taking this.

"No I won't! You succeeded in keeping me locked in my Chambers–" She paused realising her subtle lie when she uttered this, but continued nonetheless, at the very least he knew nothing of her little rendezvous nor her sneaking around the Castle.

"I think it's better if you listened to your father." Vivian's solemn voice brought down Mae's outburst.

"Father why was I selected? I am definitely not the only Princess there is." She whimpered almost In tears.

"I..." She choked on her saliva, her vision blurring with tears, "I didn't ask for this." She forced out the words.

Her lips trembling, she tried to control her emotions but couldn't understand why it was spiraling out of control.

"Do you know how it feels to be forced to marry someone you don't love? Oh wait, you married mother." She answered her question bitterly, wiping tears off her face which had trailed down her cheek without warning.

"Mae." Vivian called, feeling her heart break into a million pieces, watching her daughter experience such a heart wrenching test.

"You want the answers?" Morgan got serious, his chin on top of his clasped fingers, deep in thought on how to present his reasons.

"If it would help." She sniffled.

"Then sit, it's not something you should stand and listen to." He suggested.

Taking the cue, she sat down grudgingly, "There, I'm sitting so what was it you wanted to say?"

"Dear do you have to?" Vivian felt conflicted letting her in on their past.

"If this is the only way for her to stop behaving so immaturely, then yes I–we have to." He concluded.

Mae looked puzzled at her parents, they sounded like they had some big secret that had a toll on them.

"Mae, what I'm about to tell you is something I wished wouldn't happen to you but here it is presenting itself in a similar fashion." He said with a sigh.

"Long ago the three Kingdoms weren't actually three Kingdoms originally but actually one Kingdom with ours being the centre or as we called it then, the heart. Every year the first sons of the late King of the then Galeensia–a weird name for a Kingdom back then, I know." He laughed.

"How did you know what I had in mind?" She laughed at how the thought of the name came about.

"Was it thought by a toddler?" She teased.

"Mae, let's get back to the main reason for the discussion." Vivian laughed at how her daughter's response was the same as hers then, in her opinion she was glad the Kingdoms broke apart–the general name being one reason.

Clearing his throat, he deepened his voice for dramatic effect, "When we all turned the age of 20 which was considered coming of age then, we were tasked to go to the heart of the Kingdom to prove our competence and marry the Princess of pure royal blood."

The story was getting more complex the more he dived further in, but she was determined to listen to it all, maybe she would know what to do next about her situation.

"I was like you actually, I never viewed being forced to marry someone just because of what was known as pure royal blood was worth proving my competence for. So I did what any young wild Prince at my age would do. Go against what was set for me." He laughed at how he behaved then compared to how he acted.

"I instead befriended the Princess' best friend who seemed to always follow the Princess wherever she went." He laughed.

"Why would you do that? Wasn't that against the rule of being a Royal?" She rolled her eyes at how stupid it sounded even for her.

"Right! And that's why I went in line with that, while others tried to woo the Princess. I had developed a liking for the Princess' best friend, my one motive to go against what was set for me turned into something deeper than that. I came to love the woman I saw and not that she wasn't royalty."

"When it was time to announce who had won after a few months, I was surprisingly chosen as the winner." He chuckled at the memory.

"Oh my! Major plot twist, I know... I know!" She raised her hands enthusiastically, getting a positive clue as to what could have happened.

"Yes Mae?" He smiled, knowing she had gotten the answer with his obvious clues.

"Mother pretended to be the best friend of the Princess when it was the other way around." She laughed at how simple it was to guess this.

"That's right. So who I thought even though I loved but couldn't marry and was willing to go against the set rules for the love of my life turned out to be the very person we were meant to woo. The test was one of the heart, what our true motive was. If we were really interested in the Princess it should be true undiluted love not because we wanted to continue the pure royal bloodline or take the Princess heart for granted." He explained further.

"What is pure royal blood?" She tilted her head to the side, directing her attention to her mother. "How were you able to hide your presence so easily? I thought everyone knew who pure royal blood was."