Chapter 78: The Guests Arrive

"I can still direct as it is practically a grade to do so. Per semester, I need to do at least three that will be graded. I just liked to produce something every month for fun. However, I think that I will need to either be more careful about who stars in my productions or to have myself recorded," said Elizabella as she had calmed down long enough to answer Leader's question.

"Will you recording yourself not bring more problems with your new family?" asked Beast as she felt slightly irritated from earlier.

"I do not believe so. I do not think that people are even aware that I have starred in my own productions in the past," said Elizabella as she thought of her past productions. "I wonder how people will feel if they found out that I have already shown myself singing, dancing, and ultimately acting long before my last video where I am professing my love."

Her last words seemed to bring different emotions from the ones listening. It pained Leader to hear her say that, but he quickly hid his thoughts as he understood that he no longer had a chance with her. Prince Zander's gaze turned darker again as he had already calmed himself enough to hide it from his face properly.

Prince Maxen was in a daze as he understood that the video she had produced was not to profess her love for him but to quiet the masses on the rumors circulating at the time. He also understood that her friends would doubt their relationship from the beginning. This thought made him feel a little awkward as he was aware that they would look at him, condemning him for being the third wheel in her previous relationship. He sighed as he was not sure how to act around her friends.

A butler came in announcing that the rest of the guests had arrived. His announcement brought everyone's thoughts to the present, and the three royals excused themselves before they stood up to receive the guests as the hosts. The group remained where they were seated and pondered over what had just happened. Beast frowned as she looked around at her friends.

"What was that earlier? I thought that we were goners," she said as she felt goosebumps on her arms and remembered that her back had felt cold.

"It was a tremendous pressure, alright, but I am not sure where it came from," said Leader as some of their friends seemed confused with their speech. "Could it have been Prince Zander? He seemed to be glaring at my head earlier."

"I felt him from down here, but the pressure came from somewhere else," said Darian as he wiped the sweat that had formed on his head, and he was never able to wipe before.

"Do you think that Beauty is in danger?" asked Beast as she continued to frown while the rest who had wanted to ask questions swallowed their curiosity to understand Beast better.

"Wait! What is happening?" asked Starfish with a confused look on her face that mirrored some of the others.

"Do not worry about it as I am sure that if we were in danger, Walliams would have alerted us," said Leader in a daze.

"Oh! I almost forgot about that little cutie! I am sure that he was in Beauty's shadow, so why did he not come out to play?" asked Ivy as she had excited clapped her hands then stopped to ponder.

"Beauty's social standing has changed since we last saw her. Walliams has always been her bodyguard that she treats like a brother. Do you think that her new royal family would understand their relationship if she continued to keep him out to play?" said Darian as he glanced at Leader and sighed. "Beauty may be our friend, but she is now far from our reach. I am sure that after this meeting, we will part ways and keep the memories that we shared. After all, she is not going by her real name and title."

"It is all those jerks' faults that she had to change," said Beast as she sighed, and her eyes turned cold. "I hope that they get what is coming to them."

Leader remained unresponsive as he heard his friends speak. He understood that they were speaking up on his behalf earlier when he sighed gloomily.

"They seemed not to have noticed that our Beauty has changed completely," thought Leader sadly.

The three royals had made their way to the foyer, where they stood in wait. They heard many footsteps as a group of people came in. Three young men entered with great poise and elegance. They were second cousins to Prince Zander and Prince Maxen that were similar in age. They had played together when they were children and would often keep in contact with each other. Coming to Prince Zander's birthday party was an obvious choice for these three.

Two of them were brothers, and the third was their paternal cousin. The five cousins shared the same great grandfather, who was a previous King of Glear. Because of this, the three newcomers came from Ducal families. They each had a shade of the trademark flaming red hair that the Royal Family of Glear all shared.

Behind them was the only female that had been invited other than Elizabella. Lady Margarette came in with great elegance as she made sure that each of her steps left a lasting impression. Knowing that every guest would be of higher positions than her own would make any guest feel uneasy. However, Lady Margarette knew the other guests from school as they would often hang out before Prince Maxen got married.

Who she did not know was Prince Zander, as she had only had slight interactions with him in the past. Princess Aphra was a classmate that she did not ever get to know before as they did not share common interests, or so she thought. When Lady Margarette later found out that Elizabella was Director Ginny, she had sought to get to know her better to be picked for any future dancing roles. Sadly, since Director Ginny was experimenting on her productions, she only used a ballerina for her first production and never looked for another one.

As she realized that Director Ginny was not casting any ballerinas, she quickly lost all interest in getting to know her better as she had decided to focus on her dancing. Maybe in the future, she would cast another ballerina, and Lady Margarette would play the role.

From what she knew of Director Ginny, she never paid attention in class but always had perfect scores on her grades. Many people were envious as she never seemed to struggle in class. They would leave her alone, though, since she was a scholarship student that could only keep it if she kept her grades up. Meaning she had the brains to be arrogant in class and not pay attention as even the teachers were used to her not concentrating on their teachings.

The new group paused their steps as they came in front of the three royals and looked at them. The three young men grinned and bear-hugged Prince Zander as they quickly ran up to him.

"Look at you! You are so old now! How does it feel to turn eighteen?" asked Radulfus, who was the eldest of the bunch at nineteen. "Pretty soon, you will also be getting married like Wolf here."

"What married? I still have not gotten a girl to fancy me," said Prince Zander as his cousins were squishing him. "Please, I need oxygen as well!"

"Haha! Zander, how are you today? Wait until you see my present!" said Drystan as he was already eighteen. "I cannot wait to show you!"

"Zander, I am sure that you would rather like our gift better," said Emerick, who was also eighteen. "Radulfus and I got our father to agree to gift it to you."

"What is it?" asked Prince Zander curiously while Emerick gave a mysterious smile.

"You will have to wait until you open your gifts," said Emerick with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Well then, I cannot wait," said Prince Zander as he smiled cheerfully to his cousins. "You guys have met Princess Aphra before at their wedding, right? Say 'hello' to her."

"Yes, that is right. How are you doing, Wolf and Aphra? How is married life treating you?" asked Emerick as he wiggled his eyebrows up and down with a wide grin, making Prince Maxen want to roll his eyes while Elizabella bashfully lowered her head with her ears tinting red.

"The first thing that comes out of your mouth is never a good thing," said Prince Maxen as he playfully reprimanded his mischievous cousin, who gave a hearty laugh.

"Well, out of all of us, you are the first to marry. Forgive us if we are curious to know more about your married life," said Emerick as he continued to laugh.

"I see," said Prince Maxen as he looked at his cousins' curious gazes and realized that they were all wondering the same thing, making him appear shy while coughing to clear his throat. "You know, I do not feel comfortable to talk of such things."

Hearing him say this, his three cousins gave him wide grins.

"We understand," said Radulfus with a knowing gaze while Prince Maxen understood that they had misunderstood him.

"Yeah, sure. I am sure you single lads would understand what married life really means," said Prince Maxen as he tried to make his cousins not ask him anymore about his marriage with Princess Aphra.

"Hahaha! Ouch! Are you bragging in front of us? We are all still young, and we will soon find a nice girl to share our future lives together. Just because you found someone to want to marry you so young does not give you the right to make fun of your older cousins," said Drystan in a playful tone. "Besides, who asked you to get married before us?"

The cousins laughed merrily as they continued to tease each other while the two girls stood quietly to the side. Lady Margarette had tried to keep her gaze on the ground as she was afraid that it would linger on Prince Maxen, who was busy bantering with his cousins. She was finally curious enough to look up at Princess Aphra, who stood elegantly next to the two princes.

Lady Margarette was surprised to see that even though she was not included in the cousins' bantering, she did not seem out of place or awkward in her stance. She kept a graceful smile on her face giving a gentle aura. What had surprised her the most was that this was not how she remembers her in class. She slightly frowned as Lady Margarette remembered that on most days, Director Ginny would sleep in class or daze lazily outside the window.

It dawned on her that she had never taken the time to get to know her. Seeing her looking so natural standing next to the man she fancies made her think that there was no room for her. This thought made her feel sour in her heart as she was slowly starting to realize that Princess Aphra was a strong rival for her. Someone who does not try to be the center of attention but can capture people's gazes makes for a strong rival indeed.