I'M HERE BESTIEEE

"CRYSTAAA!!" I crash into Felix with a hug and grin.

"BESTIEEE!" I grin.

Prince Paris coughs from beside us and I peel myself from Felix.

"My apologies your highness. I greet the second prince of the empire," I bow.

"Not what I was coughing about," He mumbles.

"And I apologize for hugging my bestie even though I'm engaged," I grin. "I shall be careful in front of the others."

"Don't worry," Felix smiles. "The junior duke has no interest in me,"

I nod vigorously. "Don't worry about it second prince."

"Let us go in. I brought Sir Felix along because he was in charge of interior design for your debutante." Paris sighs. "Your debutante was gorgeous."

"Thank you," I smile. "Felix has an incredible eye for color."

"You flatter me Crysta," Felix grins.

"If the wedding goes as planned then I will talk to father about granting you a title," Paris smiles.

"With all due respect," I butt in. "If the people of the empire were to know that Albert is favorited without him doing anything for the people, then troubles could arise, second prince."

"I am aware," The prince smiles. "But no one said when the title was going to be granted."

"You're just like that old geezer," I mumble. We follow the prince to the crystal palace where the wedding was being held, and I stare at the interior.

"I really think this is already decorated over the top," I mumble.

"I think we could actually take things down," Felix adds. "Who decided upon all of these?"

"Mother empress," Paris mumbles. "Shall I tell her?"

"Tell her that as a wife and fiancé, I already have my own crew," I mumble. "Oh also! Let her know that I'll handle this with Felix."

"Alright," Paris smiles. "Anything else?"

"Where's Prince Albert?" I look around for the prince.

"He's taking care of our little sister," Paris smiles. "Would you like to meet the royals in advance?"

"I think... it would be best to say a quickly greeting," I hum.

"Ah I'll stay here, "Felix smiles. "I'll note down some ideas from the staff and Fred and Daisy can accompany me,"

"Alright," I smile. "Stay safe you three,"

"Then this way," Prince Paris was in the race to become crown prince alongside Prince Terrence.

"By the way Prince Paris," I smile. "How has Princess Elena been?"

"She has been well," Paris smiles. "She's actually rather curious about you so please come by to our palace to visit sometime."

"Of course," I grin.

Prince Paris. A spitting image of the first concubine of the king. His first love and best friend. With Purple eyes and silver hair, he was a heartthrob to many of the other noblewomen. Amongst the siblings, he's the tallest, and he's a wonderful man. His wife Princess Elena was dark-skinned and the princess of the nearby Aadila kingdom just southeast of the border of Diana. Both of them are incredible people and he's well suited for the throne if the nobles wanted to continue down ruling like they currently do.

The issue then lied in this. Paris has never experienced the slums for himself. In the original story, Crystalia's husband ends up in the throne after throwing a revolution with the help of the underground. The noblemen in the empire had grown so corrupt that changes without a revolution or tyrant would not come. The revolution overturned the empire and started a new age with a different emperor. That emperor just so happened to be his youngest brother. What a complicated family tree haah.

The emperor had five concubines. Each concubine was added over time as he fell in love with someone new. The empress was surprisingly calm about it. Well, the empress had a harem of her own so it wasn't like either of them calmed down that much. Only the appointed concubines' offspring with the king could wield the throne. The empress was also cursed to not be able to bear a child with anyone other than the king out of safety precautions.

Albert was the son of the third concubine. The third concubine who was loved by all died while conceiving Albert. No matter how many mages were summoned the Emperor and Empress weren't able to revive her. Her last wish was for Albert to be taken care of properly.

The royal family was already famous for doting on their children immensely and Albert was no exception.

"We're here." Paris opens the gates to the Emerald palace. "Albie! Your fiancé's here!"

"Coming!" The Prince rushes down the stairs with a little girl in his arms.

"Big brother!" The little princess reaches for Prince Paris as he grabs her from Albert's arms.

"Hi Lala baby," he kisses his sister on the forehead. "How are you doing today?"

"Albie brought me around his backyard maze!" The little girl giggles.

The youngest daughter of the family was 10 years younger than the youngest prince. The empress herself gave birth to her so it was a symbol that the emperor and empress were finally back together. She also happened to be the princess that everyone doted upon. Thinking of that, the empress was 15 when she had Terence. What a nightmare.

"Are you here for the wedding management?" Albert asks, taking his sister back into his arms.

"Yeah," I smile. "My assistant is already jotting down any color schemes we can use. Would the princess like to see her older brother's wedding venue?"

The princess nods shyly and Albert leads me back to the venue.

"Blue." Felix hums.

"That really pretty sunset scheme!"

"We can't reuse a theme for a wedding!" Felix whines. "It's gotta be unique!"

"Purple for royalty!"

"Who uses purple at a wedding though," Fred notes.

"SEE?" Felix sighs.

"We're back," I speak up. "We brought the princess so please try to control your volume. Don't scare the little one,"

"Yes mam"

"Alright Crysta," Felix sobs. "But we need a color scheme."

"What color do you suggest?" I turn to Albert.

"The dress is going to be white, but I would like to think that perhaps we can go with something other than white for the overall colors." Albert hums. "Perhaps gold? Or we can do something else,"

"What do you think Princess?" I smile at the little girl.

"I like pink!"

"Well we're both dark-haired," I mention. "Your eyes are yellow and mine are darker than navy."

"We could do a sun and a moon theme but you aren't a blessed of either,"

"But you're blessed by both," Albert hums.

"Actually I'm curious. Aren't all imperial family members blessed by the sky or abyss?"

"I'm blessed by the abyss,"

"Then let's just have a black wedding," I shrug. "Ah... the galaxy... the afterparty can be based on stars. Shall we have a stereotypical royal wedding?"

"I want Big brother Albie's wedding to be big!" the little princess speaks up. "but big brother Paris says that it's important for both people to agree for a wedding."

Albert thinks over it himself and sighs. "Red it is then. You'll be wearing the royal robes on top of the dress you have so it should be ok. Which color is being paired with red though?"

"A pale purple, a pale blue, pale colors for purity, and darker colors if you want contrast." Felix notes.

"Dark blue?"

"Have you started making the wedding dress yet?"

"No," I shake my head. "I just got it designed today,"

"Gold trim!" The little princess speaks up again. "Or yellow. Something that would show that Albie is not lack... lacking."

"Good job darling," I smile. "I'll let my father know to add gold trim where he thinks fits best."

The princess smiles.

The little girl liked praise. While the other nine princes and princesses all received praise while young, they proved to be beyond their time. All of them improved the empire drastically for the nobility, and everyone was busy by the time that Iyla was born. All of her siblings as busy, and while the maids treat her well and she's taught incredibly well, she doesn't have anyone to tell her to take it slow. Perhaps that was the curse for being born the latest.

The other two princesses pushed the imperial family further into fame when they finally debuted. Princess Lilith pushed for the same rights that men received for women, and Princess Freya had built multiple hospitals in the villages to help people heal better. Both princesses were incredible, so I imagine the pressure on the youngest would be even bigger.

"Princess," I smile. It was worth a try. "May I take a walk in the garden with you?"

The young girl eyes me and Albert speaks up. "How dare you-!"

"I wanna go with sis in law!" The girl reaches for me and I take her from Albert's arms.

"One scratch on the princess and you're-"

"Dead," I smile. "I know Albert. I'll be back before the sun hits four."

I carry the princess to the rose garden

"Did big sis have something to tell me?"

"Do you get tired?" I ask.

The princess freezes. "Why?"

"I'm not sure," I mumble. "All of your siblings are incredible people, and since you're the youngest, you're expected to do even more than them since they set the standard."

The princess looks down and I hear her breathing grow ragged.

"It's ok to breathe every once in a while," I crouch down and open my arms. "What is expected is not always fulfilled. It's ok to breathe and think for yourself."

She cries and I just hold her. Maybe it hurt to see someone cry, or maybe it resembled watching myself carry the weight of the family when I was still alive. We stay like that for a while and when she finally calms down she makes a request.

"Please keep this a secret," She mumbles, already worn out. "Also-"

"Please close your eyes," I place my hand over her eyes and I clear the swell. "Please take care of yourself princess. Come over to my estate whenever you'd like,"

She nods weakly, and the rest of the day passes.

Did I give everyone in the story trauma-