I ate another bite of my chicken glazed in sothing sweet. Scrumptious. Maybe being a future royal could afford access to the royal dining hall more often.
"Princess Alina, I must say I imnsely enjoyed the ball to celebrate your birthday. The fireworks were absolutely stunning." My mother started, clearly less distracted by food than I was.
"They were huge! And colorful. Like stained glass but brighter!" Abrin was much encouraged having been included in the conversation. His more reserved temperant leant itself to being more on the shy side. I smiled at the bold little man growing up before .
"Definitely one of my favorite things from the evening as well. Fireworks are always so lively." Queen Valerie bead toward Abrin. Alina most certainly followed her mother's example when interacting with children. They had a knack for it.
"They were marvelous! Like paints splattered in the sky!" Liliana added, not to be outdone by my brother. She, in contrast, blood wherever she planted herself. Bold and gregarious, I envied my little sister's natural ability to fit in almost anywhere.
My mother smiled and gave an airy laugh. Her youngest two children certainly were keeping her on her toes. "I would have thought Miss Galena would have put you both to bed hours before those fireworks." It was not the reprimand it could have been, simply a fact.
Abrin and Liliana shared a look of mild terror. They had revealed themselves.
"Liliana snuck out of bed and we watched them from my window. I'm sorry, Mama" Abrin threw Liliana to the fire.
"They woke up, Mama. I wanted to see." Liliana looked down at her plate, avoiding eye contact with my mother.
"Thank you for telling ." My mom cut her eyes to Abrin and then Liliana. They would all be having a talk about that behavior later, but the sparkle in my mother's eye told she understood. "Those fireworks were pretty spectacular. A fitting celebration, Your Highness."
Abrin smiled and nodded. Liliana was less enthusiastic. She always tried to please my mother and had disappointed her multiple tis tonight.
"Thank you. I cannot take all the credit for them, but I did enjoy them as well" Alina gushed. Modesty and humility grounded her words.
The king was apparently done with his chicken now too. The next course was sothing leafy. The salad that was placed in front of dropped with so type of dressing that was delectable.
Honestly, I am not sure I could go back to regular food. My mother's cooking always satisfied in the past, but it did not compare to the palace cook's creations.
My brother was less adventurous with his culinary experiences. He pushed the salad from side to side of his plate unimpressed.
"Father, have you heard of anything like that petition this morning?" Alina inquired.
King Caderyn chuckled, "Yes, Dear. I had to recite it once myself". The tone of his voice implied that he stated sothing obvious.
"Not that petition, Father." Her tone sounded slightly wounded. "The one about the fire in the field? Seems very strange to ." Alina further explained herself.
"I have never heard of such a thing. I do hope that gentleman was sohow mistaken." Queen Valerie interjected, handling her daughter with more gentility than her husband.
" I had not heard of anything like that before, but no need to worry. I'm sure the investigation will sort things out. Think no more of it and we shall speak of it no more." Was that worry in the kings voice?
The king dismissed the topic with a flick of the wrist, and likewise the course. Cutting that course so short made it the shortest course so far by a wide margin, much to Abrin's delight.
My plate was replaced with a chocolate cake dessert. It had to have been at least 7 layers. At least that ant I was sowhat closer to my pillow. The day weighed on . One bite of the cake and my pillow montarily did not matter. Heavenly, light, fluffy bites filled my mouth. My tastebuds rejoiced. If I could have access to the royal dining hall more frequently, maybe I would just eat desserts for a while.
The queen turned to Liliana, "Did my daughter get to tell you about all her planning today? I'm sure you would love to hear about the flowers she picked." Queen Valerie coaxed conversation from my now timid sister.
"I do like flowers," Liliana offered ekly.
"I would enjoy hearing about them too, Your Highness," my mother added.
"Well I picked white lilies for the arrangents in the foyer. I think they will look lovely there.." Alina started sharing her work she did earlier . I was no help at all with flower picking.
"Lord Jacob, have you told Jack of our etings?" The king asked my father in a low tone while the ladies continued their discussion.
"Our etings, Your Majesty?" My father countered.
"Yes." The king added as though the three of us knew what he was aning. My father and I exchanged blank looks.
"I'm sorry. I have not. What would you like him to know?" My father was as lost as I was.
King Caderyn explained, "Jacobson will attend all Swordsman council etings until further notice"
My stomach sank. I had expected to join those etings, but not for so ti. I had no idea what they discussed and expected to be briefed closer to when I would be a swordsman. I am not sure what I've gotten myself into.
At least I better knew what would be expected of . Sohow better knowing the expectations of my future job did not settle my nerves. My father never spoke of what happened in these etings.
Sotis they convened at early hours or ran late into the evenings. Father usually ca ho looking weary and rundown. Not always, but the ratio leaned in favor of exhaustion. Guess I would soon find out what weighed on my father so heavily. I only hope that I have enough fortitude to withstand what lay ahead.
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