Chapter 70: Prince Zander Comes To Visit

After lunch, Prince Zander had decided to visit Elizabella in her room. He made himself presentable and even thought to bring her a gift. He did not know how she would feel after that morning's fiasco with his mother and knew that he had to appease her somehow.

Prince Zander swiftly made his way to her room with the gift under his arm while a pair of servants followed like a silent shadow behind him. His and his mother's rooms were on another wing of the Palace, making him walk a bit before arriving in the wing that his cousin and Lady Elizabella shared.

Once Prince Zander came to her door, he took a deep breath and adjusted his suit, making sure he was presentable before he knocked on the door. He waited before a maid opened the door, making him smile a gentlemanly smile at her.

"Hello, is Princess Aphra available?" asked Prince Zander as he heard music coming from one of the rooms behind the maid.

"She is inside practicing her violin. Would you care to come in and rest for a bit while I get her for you?" said the maid as she opened the door wider and stepped to the side to invite him in.

"If you do not mind, I would be glad to wait inside," said Prince Zander with his smile forever plastered on his face while he turned to look at the servants who had accompanied him. "Please wait outside for me."

"Yes, Your Highness," bowed the two servants while Prince Zander walked inside the room.

As the two servants turned to leave, they noticed that Prince Maxen was standing behind them, watching them, making them bow politely to him as well. The two servants knew that their master had gone to visit the Crown Prince's wife with a gift in hand but had no way of knowing what it could be. They began to doubt whether this visit was just a cordial one or if there was something else going on behind the Crown Prince's back.

Prince Maxen looked at them a bit more and turned his gaze towards the closed door before he left with his servants following him like a shadow. The two servants stood there in a daze before they peeked at each other to see if their partner had noticed what they had witnessed. Seeing that their partner's expression was mirrored to theirs, they decided it was best to keep quiet and continue waiting obediently like they were told.

Prince Maxen had noticed them since when Prince Zander had knocked on the door. He even saw that he carried a gift with him. Prince Maxen had paid it no mind as he thought it was Prince Zander's way of apologizing for his mother's offense that morning. Another person might ask, "why did he not come to apologize to the Crown Prince as well?" to which Prince Maxen would say, "He will in time." That was how much trust he had in his cousin. He never worried that his cousin would never have his back. Besides, he had more important things to worry about, like his sparring with his trainer that afternoon.

Prince Zander had sat down with his gift and decided to place it on the table in front of him while waiting for Lady Elizabella to come out. He knew that she would sometimes perform for the Queen of Edalelia, just that he had never seen any of her live performances before. Prince Zander wondered if he would ever get to see one when he remembered that he got her to promise him that she would for his birthday. He was never one for actively enjoying the arts, but he understood that specific performances would increase one's prestige.

Imagine someone finding out that you invited someone to perform at your party, and that performer had performed in front of royalty. If everyone heard that you had done that, your social status would increase instantly among the higher nobles.

Well, in Elizabella's case, maybe only her prestige would increase since Prince Zander is technically part of the Royal Family of Glear. Prince Zander's status would stay the same, just that maybe more nobles would know who he was. This was in case it was ever exposed to the public. For now, it would be an unknown party where only a few people would be invited. But just imagine…

Elizabella had gotten the maid's message that Prince Zander had wanted to meet with her. She quickly put her violin away while she put on her shoes. She had been dancing along with her violin and had taken off her shoes so she could move freely. She had not been doing it for long, so she had not sweated. Still, Elizabella had been taught that when entertaining royalty, she always had to be well presentable.

Her dressing room was through her bedroom's ensuite that just so happens to connect to the room she had transformed into her dancing room. She needed to go and get ready to see Prince Zander while her maid entertained him with refreshments. Elizabella made her way to her room and picked out an outfit swiftly, making sure to pick up her pace as not to keep someone waiting in her sitting room for long.

She decided that her hair was fine as it was, which was a braided ponytail that framed her right side of her face. The last thing that she put on was her glasses before she came out to greet Prince Zander.

Prince Zander had picked up a book that was to the side on the table. Elizabella had been reading it and had left it there for a later read. She noticed that he quietly sipped his tea while reading her book, making him look very princely with every gesture he took. Seeing him sitting there while sipping his tea made him look very serene and peaceful, making her think that he seemed too comfortable in her sitting room.

"Hello, Prince Zander, to what do I owe this pleasant surprise," said Elizabella warmly as she approached him and sat on a chair next to his couch.

"Please, as I said before, you may call me Zander, especially now that we live under the same roof," said Prince Zander as he closed the book elegantly and placed it on his lap when he turned to look up at Elizabella.

"Alright, Zander then. What brings you here today?" Elizabella asked as the maid had served her a fresh cup of tea before retreating to the shadows.

"I came to apologize for my mother's actions earlier today. I am sure that you know that my father passed away roughly ten years ago, and ever since then, my mother has not been well. I know that that is no excuse for her behavior, but still, as her son, I need to apologize on her behalf," said Prince Zander, very eloquently as he reached for the gift box that he had prepared for her. "I have also brought you a small gift. I hear that your favorite tea is Blue Angel Tears. I just so happen to have fresh tea leaves that my mother brought back from Edalelia. I hope that it is to your liking."

"Thank you, Zander, for your gift," said Elizabella as she received the small gift box and placed it on her lap before opening the lid and smelled the tea leaves. "It smells great. I will make sure to use it properly." **

"I am glad that you like the gift," said Prince Zander with a pleasant smile before he looked distressed. "Please, in the future, whatever my mother may say, please pay it no mind. I think that she is more upset that our life changed drastically after my father passed away. She may have gotten used to being called the Crown Princess for years, and suddenly she felt like a nobody. She said those words because she is upset that a new Crown Prince and Crown Princess have been established. It may bring back bitter memories for her."

Seeing him look upset made Elizabella think that there really was something that the Royal Family was not saying. She understood that the death of a loved one could bring bitter memories, but time is supposed to heal all wounds. For Lady Primrose to still be so sore, there must be something else that makes her upset.

"I understand. Your mother is still mourning, or maybe she never had the chance to grieve properly. Understandably, she may have bitter sentiments over the whole ordeal," said Elizabella calmly as she gave him a look of understanding with a gentle smile. "I have heard that you two left soon after your father passed away. Maybe she wished to mourn with close relatives at the time but never had the chance. Perhaps it is a good thing that she came back to be with her family."

Hearing her words, Prince Zander froze momentarily before he came back to his senses. He understood his mother better than anyone. He understood that what he had told Lady Elizabella was just a ruse to get her not to be so upset with his mother now and in the future. Well, what he told her was not too far off from the truth, but it was still far from what Lady Elizabella thought was the truth.

"…Yes. I hope that she will be able to go back to normal and be carefree again," said Prince Zander, never knowing that he spoke from the heart.

Elizabella had noticed that he had frozen before and knew that something was not right. She assumed that Prince Zander knew the real cause of his mother's erratic behavior but was not planning on telling her. She kept her gentle smile as she sipped her tea and saw that Prince Zander was getting uncomfortable over their current topic.

"Before you came here, I was working on a new song. I still have not been inspired enough to give you your birthday gift, but I feel that I may have something in the works," said Elizabella as she changed the subject, making Prince Zander calm down.

"Is that right? I cannot wait to hear what you have in store," said Prince Zander with a gentle smile on his face as he gave her a tender gaze.

Elizabella did not seem to see his affections for her as she only felt that he was usually very charming and did not know how to "turn it off," sort of speak. They spoke a bit more before Prince Zander left her room. She sat there looking at her empty teacup in her hand. Walliams, who had been hanging in the shadows since Prince Zander came in, noticed that his Lady was zoning out, prompting him to call out to her.

"What are you thinking about, my Lady?" he asked as his shadow jumped inside hers and got comfortable in the darkness.

"Prince Zander cares a lot about his mother and seems to cover for her a lot. I am sure that this is not his first time going to apologize for her behavior. I understand that she may not be all that well in her head, but he will not be able to indulge her for the rest of her life as he would leave the nest someday. He is turning eighteen soon, and I feel that he is too dependent on his mother. I admire that quality that lets one respect their parents. Still, there is a difference between respecting them and being too reliant on them," said Elizabella as she fiddled with her teacup before placing it on its saucer. "Maybe he needs a wake-up call."

Walliams saw that his Lady's eyes sparkled before getting up again and heading into her dancing room where she had left her violin.

** **SPOILER** I had based the royal society closely on Great Britain's. One of their rules is accepting all gifts willingly, no matter how weird it may seem. I need to explain this now because ML will reject FL's birthday gift for him later and how shameful it appears in front of the others, but that will be for a later chapter. **