05: Arcadia

I, along with Ezra, rode the train to Arcadia. After 3 hours, we reached Arcadia. We were welcomed by the Arcadian royal family aside from Zairo so I opened my inner voice and said, 'Zairo, I'm here in Arcadia.'

"Zdravstvyut, Princess Avery and Lady Trinity," The Queen greeted us when they welcomed us to their kingdom

"Mother meant – Hello, your Highnesses." I interrupted the young boy beside them and his eyes widened

"How did you know what it meant? A ty govorish' po russki?" he asked

I didn't understand what the last part meant so I contacted Zai.

'Zai, what did your brother meant by saying, a ty govorish' po russki?' I asked him

"He meant do you speak Russki just say net then say kto ty." Zai replied

"Net. Kto ty?" I said copying just what Zai had said.

"I am Prince Deimos Dike." He introduced himself and I nodded

'Kto ty' means 'who are you', if I understand his reply correctly.

"Let's go to the castle shall we?" the Queen interrupted and we all nodded

"Did you already choose Arcadia as our ally and the kingdom of your future husband?" Ezra whispered to me

"Ezra!" I whispered to her and she just shrugged her shoulder.

After a while, we reached the castle. The coachman opened the door for us and when we stepped down the carriage, we were welcomed by a long red carpet leading to the throne room.

I froze slightly when I saw what was beside the throne.

Beside the throne was the family portrait of the Queen Phoebe, King Archinov, Zairo, a woman I don't know and Deimos Dike.

"You have such a beautiful family portrait, your highness." I complimented

"Thank you for such compliment." King Arc said

"Queen Phoebe, I mean your highness, would you mind if I ask who the woman in the portrait is?" I asked

"It's alright Avery, you might call me Queen Phoebe, Aunt or Mother." The queen said "Mother? Why should I call you-?" my question was interrupted when we heard a shout

"Mother! What are you telling them? It's supposed to be a secret!" shouted from above then Zairo went down from the stairs

I almost gasped thinking that Ezra might recognize him if it weren't for his mask. I remembered that he once had told me that it's some kind of tradition that the successor of the king has to wear an iron mask to cover his/her face from the day that he/she is born until five years after being crowned.

He stopped in front of us and bowed his head.

"Pardon my informality." He said formally, which made me purse my lips to stop myself from chuckling especially when he bowed in front of us

"Zachary Ivan of Arcadia! You are in big trouble!" Zairo froze and subtly hid behind me then when the girl reached the last step, she looked at me and smiled then she asked, "Who might you be?"

"I am Clymene Patrice Avery Mae Jillianne." I introduced myself

"You are from Astrae." She continued which made me look at her with wide eyes

"How did you know?" I asked

"I'm the First Princess, my name's Cassiopeia Cassandra and we've been told about your arrival." She answered and my eyes widened

"You're the new king's older sister…" I said in realization

"Who is this woman beside you, Queen Avery?" she asked with a smile

"I'm Lady Trinity Ezra Astraea, Duchess Elizabeth's daughter." Ezra said with a smile

"The adoptive daughter?" she asked confusedly

"Cassiopeia." Queen Phoebe warned

"Oh, pardon, that's how your name reached our kingdom." Princess Cassandra said smiling then her gaze landed on Zairo who's standing behind me

"Why are you standing there, brother?" she asked me

"I think he's afraid of you? I can't pinpoint why though, you seem kind." I replied

"Kind is the last positive adjective you could associate with my sister, Patrice." He said making everyone look at him in confusion

"You know my cousin personally, King Zachary?" Ezra asked in confusion

"I guess you and my son know each other so well like he told us, Queen Avery." The King Arc chuckled which made me look at Zairo confusedly before returning my gaze to his parents

"He told you about me, your highness?" I asked

"Yes, young queen and in his description he is right your beauty is beyond explainable now I know why my son is in love with you." The Queen Phoebe answered which made me look at Zairo in surprise

What was he telling his family all this time?

"At first we thought that he was just lying but now that I have met you I think it's believable." I blushed at her comment then Prince Dike entered and said, "Lunch is served let us all eat."

We all proceed to follow them, on our way; Ezra nudged me and asked, "What's the purpose of the ball if you already have chosen Arcadia?"

My eyes widened at her statement, I thought she knew about our plan until I realized that she's thinking I feel the same way as Zairo 'does' .

While eating my bracelet blinked so I looked at Zairo, I opened my inner voice and he said, "Patrice, want a tour around the castle?"

"Aren't they going to suspect?" I asked

"Why would they? You're a visitor so it's only right that we tour you around." He replied and I realized that he has a point

"Who will tell them and make the request?" I asked then I noticed that everyone had already finished eating lunch

"Your highness, can we tour around?"

"Father, can I tour them around?"

Zai and I asked in unison, his parents and siblings looked at us amusingly, probably amused by the fact that we asked the same question to two different people.

"I think that would be a great idea, Princess Avery and I haven't experience going to different places, it's our first time going out of the kingdom." Ezra said

"Perhaps, that would be a great idea." The Queen Phoebe said

"The three of you will tour the Queen Avery and Lady Ezra." She added looking at her children

"Let's go then, we've got a lot of stories that we'd like to share with you." Princess Cassandra said and we politely curtsied in front of the King and Queen before following Princess Cassandra, Zairo and Prince Dike

They brought us to the garden then Ezra made me sat on the bench but I know that bench Zairo warned me about that bench so I declined and just told her, "Lady Ezra, I'll just stand."

When Ezra sat, she fell because that bench is broken, I saw how she glared at me before smiling a fake one

"Oh, it's broken, good thing you didn't sit, Avery." She said

"None of you sat on that bench right?" Princess Cassandra asked the moment she arrived then Zairo and I looked at Ezra

"Oh. Sorry, Lady Trinity, I must've forgotten to warn you that it's broken." Princess Cassandra said apologetically

"Do you want to ask any question before our tour?" Prince Dike asked

"I'm wondering, what is your current king's full name?" Ezra asked which made me look at her in confusion

"I'm King Zachary Iverone Ruiz Oliver Arcadia, Lady Trinity." Zairo answered

My name is Clymene Patrice Avery Mae Jillianne Harmonica Astraea so it's still longer than his. In Astraeian tradition, the heir by blood bears the longest name of their generation, I don't know why though.

"Your mother only calls you Patrice Avery Mae Jillianne. Is it because of what happened when you were thirteen?" Zairo asked me in inner voice

"Mother doesn't want to remind me that father died after calling me my whole name." I replied

We started the tour and I was fascinated with all the inventions we've seen inside the palace. Some seem familiar and I already knew how to use and how it functions because of Zairo but most of it is new to me.

"Those inventions are really fascinating. Don't you think so, Avery?" Ezra asked me

"Indeed. They are fascinating." I replied

"That would be all, Queen Avery, Lady Trinity." Princess Cassandra announced when we arrived back at the throne room

"Thank you for the lively tour, Princess Cassandra, your majesty." I said while smiling

"The pleasure's ours, Queen Avery." Princess Cassandra replied

They gave us room where we can stay for the night, then we ate dinner together, and then we headed to sleep.