"I do not understand what you mean?" I play dumb which angers my mother more. "This jumpsuit is still designer so you do not have to worry about me wearing something that everyone else could be wearing."

"I know that but this wasn't one of the three gowns that I picked out for you. I chose them because they would be appropriate for today's dinner. This jumpsuit isn't. Mayor Kazaks does not need to see your legs so defined."

"That is what it is about? Are you scared that people are going to find out I have legs because that is not a secret. And how is a gown with a huge slit though the leg any more appropriate?"

"Those gowns are more suited for a princess than that jumpsuit. I don't know why anyone ever brought you it? My mother shakes her head at me and walks away. "There is no time for you to get changed now so please Alexandria, go and sit down over there and wait patiently until the mayor arrives."

I know what is best for me, there are only so many buttons on my mother I can press before she truly explodes and with her being queen she could get me killed if she wanted to. I don't think she would go that far though. I sit down on my chair at the table and avoid eye contact with my mother who is sat at her place at the head of the table. She looks every part the queen with her blonde hair perfectly in place and her green eyes looking stern, knowing she has the most power in this room and the rest of the country. Her eyes are the only thing I inherited from her; mine are the exact same shade of green. The rest of my looks came from my father who had the same dark hair as me, people used to call him the 'Dark King' though that wasn't a good thing. One day he went away to the other side of Strongway for work purposes and never came back. He was killed.

My mother locked herself in her room for months, refusing to come out which didn't help her public image. For a while there was no official ruler of the country and then one day my mother came out of her room and things went back to normal. I still don't know what happened to make her come out of her room.

Thankfully I don't have to sit in the banquet hall with my mother for too long as Louis escort Mayor Kazaks in.

"You're Majesty." He says while bowing to my mother who has stood up to greet him.

"Mayor Kazaks, it is so nice to see you again." She says politely.

"It is nice to see you too. You're Highness." He then turns his attention towards me and bows. I go over to him and greet him.

"I hope you are well." I say to him.

"Better for seeing you princess." He says to me. I walk back and take my seat again.

"What brings you here?"My mother asks him. In her world there is no such thing as small talk.

"There are numerous reasons for my visit. I'm not sure where to start." He says and it takes everything I have not to groan with boredom. "I'll start with what is happening in the Cold Lands.  The A Group has increased in numbers quite radically over the last couple of months. I don't know what it is like in other zones but it is getting bad here."

"The A Group? I thought everything on our side was under control?" I ask my mother.

"I thought it was too. You say there has been an increase in numbers for a couple of months. Why didn't you tell us sooner?" she asks the mayor.

"We thought we could manage it and for a while we did but they have just been growing stronger." I see my mother rub the sides of head in stress and it is in times like this I remember that she is only human as well.

There are two main rebel groups in the world which we have split into groups A and B. Group A are the rebels from Strongway who hate us, the royals, and attempt to bring us down. They do this by attacking their own country, hoping to get our attention. I think their main aim is to get a change in how the country is run but my mother refuses to back down. Group B are the rebels from Shadowfell and are normally the biggest threat though they have been quiet lately. They have been responsible for numerous attacks on the country but in return we have our own group of rebels, which we sometimes call the C group, who then attack theirs. There is never an end to the violence.

"If the rebel numbers are growing in the Cold Lands then they could be growing in the other zones as well. Or at the very least they'll start attacking the quieter zones such as the Desert." I state sharing glances between my mother and the Mayor. "A meeting should be organised between all the mayors of the zones so we can have a clear understanding on how strong the A Group is. We need to do this." I look over at my mother who sees shocked that I have taken so much authority.

"I appreciate your concern Alexandria but I think I can handle this by myself." She says to me and then she turns her attention by to Mayor Kazaks, "I take it there have been attacks?"

"Yes your Majesty, there have been two this week alone in some of the poorer districts of the zone. One hospital was destroyed completely."

"In that case we attack back. Start by trying to find out the rebels bases and we'll also get to work with rebuilding the hospital so then I and the princess will be able to make an appearance to reopen it."

"That won't work. They'll only keep attacking more innocent people until we agree to what they want and who knows how many lives could be lost by then. And I also can't believe you are trying to make this a publicity stunt. For once this isn't about us." I interrupt my mother. I see the mayor shift uncomfortably in his seat and then look back at my mother glaring at me.

"Alexandria, I am telling you for the final time that you need to keep your mouth shut. You may have recently been learning about battles but that does not mean you are equipped to deal with one. You are still a child." Now it is my turn to shift uncomfortably because I know that if she could, my mother would be shouting at me right now instead of using her calm voice. The one she uses when she is around company.

"Actually your majesty, I think the princess may be right. A meeting might be a better place to begin with and then when we know exactly how big the A Group is then we might be able to stop them." Mayor Kazaks says to both mine and my mother's surprise. My mother agrees to this plan and a date is set for the meeting later in the week.

I notice that a tension has grown in the air since the talk of the rebels so I decide that for a while I will keep my opinions to myself. No one talks while we wait for our starter to arrive and when it does all that is said is how good it tastes along with the butlers asking us if we would like ore to drink.

"Did you not say that you had more things you wished to be discussed at the start of the evening." My mother asks Mayor Kazaks in attempt to make conversation.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot. An inside source told me that Prince Robert of the Maximes is going to propose to is long term girlfriend. I don't think this will help your image. The public here already seem to dislike you as royal family and the fact that the Maximes will have an engagement will only make them wish you were more like them." He says to us and I see my mother's face drop.

"Why will it affect us?" I ask him.

"His fiancé was from their northern zone, she was just someone he met on one of their trips though it then sparked to a romance. To the public of Shadowfell it looked like something more, it was a connection with them. The royal family wasn't hiding themselves away from the public, instead they were embracing them. Also with the help of Kiera, Roberts soon to be fiancé, she has been able to guide the royals with decisions, knowing what will help the public. Since her embrace the Shadowfell's public have grown to love the monarchy more. Even people over look up at them though there is a rivalry between the two countries.

The people of Strongwell feel like a bigger effort could be made to feel like they have a say in what happens in their country. I hope you don't take offend to this but the two of you have always been distant. Especially you Queen when the King died. There is no bond there and that needs to be fixed. Then you might be able to win over the public but until then nothing will change and rebel groups will grow bigger. This engagement will only spark that further." I soak everything that he is saying in and I realise for the first that people hate us. I always knew that we were disliked and that there were rebels groups but they have been around since before the unspeakable disease. This pure hatred is new though.

"How confident are you that your inside source is right?" Mother asks Mayor Kazaks.

"Very, I'm also confident that Kiera will say yes to the Prince's proposal even if it is just for their country's image." He informs us. The room no longer feels tense but instead more solemn as the realisation hits us all.

Throughout our main meal everyone is silent, possibly thinking of way for us to redeem ourselves but I can't think of anything. How do you make people who hate you suddenly like you? You don't.

"We could throw a ball." My mother says suddenly while we are eating dessert.

"How would that help?" I ask.

"First of all we would make it mandatory viewing so everyone has to watch. It will be to show the people of Strongway that we are better than them of Shadowfell and that we can easily outdo them."

"I don't think that will work though. The public do not care about how big our ball gowns are compared to Queen Maximes. They care about how they are getting treated." I tell her.

"Well in that case we could invite a family from each zone to come to the ball. They may even be able to stay over. It gives us a chance to connect with the public and show them that we are better than the Maximes." I look over at Mayor Kazaks hoping to get some help but he just shrugs his shoulders obviously unsure what he should say himself.

"If you think that is best then that is what we shall do your Majesty." He says to my mother.

"We'll be able to discuss this with the mayors from the other zones later in this week and they can then choose which family to take. It will have to be done quickly though, someone find Louis and tell him to start making arrangements." The last part was said to one of the waiters who scuttle's away rather quickly.

I hear my mother begin to mutter things under her breath about whether the ball should be themed. I honestly can't believe this is what she thinks is best. I know that if I hated someone and they showed off everything they owned, it wouldn't make me like them. Instead I would probably begin to hate them more. If it was me, I would want them to do something that would change my life around but in a positive way and with long term affects. A ball may be fun for the families that attend for a night but it will not benefit them in the long term. This is what my mother doesn't understand, that not everyone has the riches that we do.

"I hope you realise that I have to go now. I'm sorry that I have not been able to deliver any good news for you but at least later this week we'll be able to make a start in destroying the rebels. Goodnight my Queen." The mayor says this before he is escorted out by one of our guards. He was starting to get a little bit tipsy.

"I'm going to go to bed too. I'll see you tomorrow Mum."

"Not so fast." She says to me. "The next time you attend a formal meeting you will make sure you hold your tongue. You are not even close to finishing your training yet and until then you have no input on any discussion. Thankfully the next meeting you attend won't be for a long time."

"What about the zone meeting that you have just planned?"

"You have proved tonight that you are not ready for more responsibility and until you start acting in the way you should, and by that I mean being more interested in the title of Queen and understanding the way I run things, then you do not get to attend the important meetings. Maybe if you hadn't of disobeyed me so much tonight then the situation could be different."

I hear everything that she is saying but I don't believe it. I know that if I say something now then I'll say something I will regret later so instead I make my way to my room. When I get there I see that Louis is waiting by my door.

"How was your evening your Highness?" he asks.

"I don't think it could have gone worse." I tell him knowing that it is true. I really don't understand why little girls grow up wanting to be princesses.

***
A/N: Welcome to another #RoyalWednesday. I hope you have enjoyed chapter two. It's still pretty much an introduction to the characters and the settings but we're getting closer and closer to things happening.

The photo in the banner is one that kaseyswift7 made for me and she has made a few others that I will share over the next few weeks.

Also THE PROLOGUE AND FIRST CHAPTER GOT OVER 100 READS! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

So what did you think of this chapter? What do you think of Princess Alexandria and the Queen? Where do you think the story will go? Let me know with a comment!

I also want to give a shoutout to rzwrites because she has been so supportive of my last book Fingerprints (which you should go read) and also with this one. You should definitely check out her book The Dare!

Don't forget to tag people to read this is you have enjoyed it so far. Also leave the name of your book and will check it out at some point.

Don't forget to vote and comment. Goodbye for now!