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C H A P T E R    F O U R

"Nothing is ever predestined. The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings."

- Ralph Blum

The skies were grey mixed with evening blues and the setting sun's orange. Rain clouds curtained the once shining sun and its unreachable glow. A hazy, zigzag line of light separated the scenic sky, dividing into patchy portions. The colours were beginning to fade, smearing into the sky with long blue, orange steaks. The sun tried pushing the clouds away which only caused the skies to darken into a dark, blood red colour.

As always my thoughts lingered around what the sky illuminated to me, the changing of colours as blue turned to indigo reminded me that nothing stays the same forever, even one day the sun will have to eventually set and give rise to newer opportunities and chances. I wanted to stand in my room, next to the window and capture this scene for longer but that won't be happening any time soon.

It's been 2 weeks since I arrived at the castle, it's starting to feel a lot like home, the maids have started saying more than their greetings, Conroy and I have come back on good terms and he constantly sneaks out with me to give me tours of the castle. Henri has been his usual authoritative self, ordering maids and handing me my schedules.

But it has also been 2 weeks since I last saw my family, some memories of them faded a bit and it shocked me how two weeks was all it took to make you forget the people you love, but I know I will never forget them, and after the coronation, I'll get to meet them and explain everything. Oh how I wish it would be enough for them.

I fiddled with the aquamarine on my neck, I asked one of the maids to turn it into a pendant, and they did a great job.

Henri knocked on my chamber door. "Your Social class starts in twenty minutes, I hope you know how tardiness is against the rules of etiquette." He became much friendlier and closer after our first encounter, I found out he was the butler to King Alexandro III and IV and he hasn't stopped retelling to me all the experiences of serving the kings and the Imperial bloodline.

All in all, the Ivories weren't as bad as I assumed them to be, but then again, I was going to be their Queen and it would have been a mechanical response and attitude.

The Ivories respected me, and I respected their decisions. I still felt foreign, nonetheless, I could never feel at place in a place where I will never truly belong. The only way I have coped till now, is by forgetting all my problems weighing me down. My parents, the Ex-Queen and my coronation.

"Tell Lady Sienna, that I will be there on time."

"You know well enough that when she says on time, she means early." he chuckled.

I smiled, but not because of Lady Sienna "I know, Henri."

●・○・●・○・●

"You are late!" were the first words I was greeted by after reaching the Patio outside the ballroom. Lady Sienna was a bit chubby and petite but dont let all the cuteness fool you, she's scarier than Colonel himself, I would know after all the stories Conroy told me, apparently, even the council members are afraid of her.

I looked at my stopwatch, I'm a minute early!" I claimed. Unfortunately, Lady Sienna wasn't going to have it.

"If you were invited for tea and arrived a minute early, what kind of opinion would that make? When they say 5, you must be there by 4:30, start up a conversation and engage with your hosts to make a good impression. Right now, you are not making a very good impression."

Being a Nymph, she was very blunt and rash, one of my least favourite tutors.

"Apologies, Lady Sienna." I Sighed. For the past week we have been focusing on posture, appropriate conversation starters, body language, and dressing up. God knows how I managed to learn all this in a week, but I have to admit I have become much more regal than before, I don't think anybody would ever imagine me being a jobless Amber maid. Sir Jeofrrey on the other hand, allowed me to self-study in my room, and I have to agree studying the History and Politics of Mithalore is so much more interesting when you're in the comfort of your bed.

She clapped her hands and began. "Let's continue with appropriate conversations. Always introduce yourself first, never assume that they know, because it's quite meaningless for a host to start the party without telling her guests who she is, even if the host is well known. Its to put them at ease and encourage people to engage with you-"

"But what if you don't know how to introduce yourself?" I injected. "I Don't want to sound like I'm bragging while introducing myself."

Lady Sienna gave me a bored look. "Then don't make it sound like you're bragging. Honestly child, use a humble tone and don't go too much into detail."

Child? I was going to be Queen, but I kept quiet and let Lady Sienna continue.

"Now, if you find yourself in a prickly situation, where you're given a question you don't want to answer fully, just give them a vague one-"

"A vague answer? But won't that make it seem like I'm uninterested?" I bit my lip at Lady Sienna's frustrated look. No matter if I'm Queen or not, Ivories are Ivories, and they have very limited patience.

"Like I said, it's all in the tone. Now, moving on. If the guests are talking about something you're interested in, listen for a bit, then chime in with your opinion during an appropriate pause. Never interrupt or overlap when another person is talking, it shows your indecency."

I nodded. Taking down as many notes as I could in my notebook.

She clapped her hands again, "Ok now, let's do some case-studies. Your guests are talking about politics and you disagree with what they're saying, but they still ask for your opinion, what would you do?"

"I'd give them my opinion, if they're interested to know, then why not?"

Last Sienna slapped her forehead. "Ok, let me explain that scenario properly, what if they're talking about a political party they like, but you dislike and they're just tricking you into giving them a reply they could potentially use against you, then what would you do?"

I thought about it for a few seconds, "I'd agree with the few of their opinions that make sense and then give them my point of view without giving away my direct opinions in strong words."

"For an Amber, you have done well." My jaw clenched, but then I remembered she was a nymph, waiting for a reaction from me, but I kept myself collected and nodded in gratitude.

"But, nevertheless, you still have a long way to go, Ivory standards are high, and you havent reached the first level yet, but that would be enough for tea today..."

Tea? "What is happening at tea?"

She gave me an innocent look, "Oh, didn't anyone tell you? You have tea with the first-born royals today. The first-borns of the neighbouring kingdoms are coming to meet the future Queen, it's customary. These foreign relations could help you somewhere when you're Queen, I'm sure Patrik must have mentioned something, at least!"

I clenched my fists. Tea party, with the first born royals? What am I going to do? I haven't even reached the first level of Ivory standards.

Lady Sienna clapped her hands again, with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Now, now, let's start with your posture again, they need to be firm but elegant..."

●・○・●・○・●

"Henri!" I boomed as I entered my chamber. Conroy, who was at his post outside my chamber, jumped in fright, while Henri stared at me wide eyed. "How was I not informed about today's tea party?"

Henri, still in shock at my outburst, spluttered. "Why, your Highness, Lady Sienna must have said something about it, after all she was preparing you for the party this entire week."

Lady Sienna, the second person I am going to banish once I become Queen, after Colonel Stephen. "She told me nothing of the sort!"

Henri shook his head, "Patrik must have mentioned it to you during your conversations, I'm sure of it, it's a very important occasion, he wouldn't have just left it out."

I rattled my brain for any instance where Patrik might have mentioned anything about a foreign tea party, but I couldn't remember any. "What am I going to do!" I wailed. "The tea party should be in an hour and I haven't the slightest bit of idea of what I'm going to say or do!"

I was losing it, one thing a person holding power can never do is show his vulnerability or rage. I learned that while the Colonel, Conroy's father, was giving all the new guards their leadership speech.

"I can push it back another hour if you'd like, your Highness. As for what you're expected to do, everything that Lady Sienna has taught you so far; social and dining etiquette. There will be questions about your ruling methods, but nothing you can't handle, I hope."

I sighed in relief, "Henri, I don't know what I'd ever do without you."

He chuckled. "Like I said, I've served kings and Queens before, there isn't much I can't do for you." He gave a slight bow. "Your, Highness." and left.

Conroy still looked in shock. "Never yell like that again. I think I can feel my heart in my mouth." I gave him a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, still getting used to having so much to do, life as an Amber was so much simpler."

"Trust me, I know, I've seen so many during my posts near the entry gates, all they do is make, sell and repeat."

Sometimes I forget Conroy isn't an Amber. Its a lot easier to bond with him than any other Ivory, his mother was a cook while his father was a locksmith before he got posted as colonel. I still despised him, no matter how many times Conroy insisted that he was like that with every Amber. But I couldn't confront him, not until I'm Queen. Right now, I was just tolerating, waiting for when I would gain the crown and destroy the caste barrier.

"What type of Ivory are you?" I questioned.

"Don't know. I'm not eighteen yet, remember?"

I blushed, of course, how could I forget? "Right, sorry."

"S'kay.I hope I become a Terra or a Pyro, imagine my fingers flaming, that'd be cool."

I laughed, surprisingly it came our naturally. The silver moon ceremony was next week, yet another occasion I had to prepare for. I wasn't even Queen yet and my schedule is already full.

'Would I have to go for the Silver Moon ceremony?' I asked. I despised being an Ivory, and getting powers would mark me as a permanent Ivory. I didn't want that, I didn't want to make the Ambers think I was rejecting them for powers and royalty, not that they'd know I was an Amber anyway.

"Probably, you're going to be Queen, I'm pretty sure you'll be leading the entire ceremony." My face fell. Of course I had to.

"Ok-well. Could you call my maids, I want to get changed for tea."

"Sure, and tonight we're touring the west wing, in case you've forgotten."

"What is in the west wing? Butteries and more offices?"

He gave me an 'Are you serious look' "The castle isn't just made up of butteries and offices, the west wing is off limits, because it's where the Ex-Queen chamber is, and you'll be inheriting it, so why not tour it now?"

Ex-Queen, my mother. No one ever mentioned her, except those vague times where Katricia had to explain who I was to the council members. I nodded, and said I'd be there before he left. Hopefully tonight I'll be getting more answers.

●・○・●・○・●

"Your Highness." My maids greeted me, and curtsied. "You called?"

I nodded, "There is a royal tea party in the evening, do you think you could dress me up?" It took some effort to get that out of my mouth, I wanted to stitch my own dress, it was something I've been wanting to do ever since I saw the tailoring room and all the lovely silks and fabrics. I wanted to feel like how it used to be, me helping mother with the sewing, even if mother isn't here and it would be just me. But there was no time or chance for me to go back to what I used to do. The council was always keeping me busy and I wasn't allowed to go to the servants quarter in the east wing to ask if I could help.

"Would you like us to stitch a new dress for the occasion?" The head maid, Olive asked, I had read her name tag while she was doing my hair once, and her position was written underneath.

I sighed. "No, just modify one of the dresses I haven't worn yet."

She nodded and the maids set to work, Olive and her assistant worked on sewing pearls and jewels on a slim blue dress, while the other maids did my hair, makeup and my nails. I couldn't help but think about what my parents and Bree were doing right now, while I was getting decked up and inheriting the kingdom, father must be working double with my absence and mother wouldn't have stopped crying, Bree would probably be threatening all the Ambers for any information she could get.

My jaw involuntary clenched, my parents back home were keeping their nose to the grindstone and I was living a lavish life, it sounded selfish and conceited, but the truth was, if I could go back to my parents and my Amber lifestyle, doing the things I love with the people I love, I would have. But this was not in my hands, and I wasn't doing this for myself, I was doing this for the Ambers, I was not going to sit around and act like a Queen when there are people who are giving me my luxurious life at their expense. I was going to have power over the Ambers, and I was going to make sure that they weren't the only ones subjected to me.

"All done." a maid quietly whispered, "Do you not like it?"

I realised I was glaring at myself in the mirror, "Oh no! It's lovely!"

The maids then curtsied and left the room with a slight nod. But I had to admit, what they did was truly amazing, my auburn hair was tied back into a bun with a couple curls let loose and my makeup was minimal but still made me look much more royal. The dress did not look anything like how it was before, they added a thin layer of transparent fabric on the skirt, the pearls added a new shine and the small diamonds on the collar and the rims of my dress made it look even more stunning. Not to mention the fantastic white embroidery peeking out from the top of my dress.

I sighed softly, I would have never been able to do this so quickly and elegantly, maybe not getting the job was a good thing, hopefully in the future, I'll get better and re-apply, that is, if I'm not accepted as Queen by the kingdom.

Henri marched in, followed by Conroy.

"You look wonderful, Your Highness." Henri marvelled and Conroy nodded his head in agreement.

I blushed, "It's the maids you should thank, they did an amazing job on me."

But Henri didn't reply, instead he glanced at his watch, a habit of his, I've observed, whenever we are close to a deadline. "The first-borns are in the grand hall, waiting for you to greet them and preferably, take them to the pavilion outside."

I gave myself a once-over and followed Henri out, with Conroy close behind me. Patrik and Padgette were waiting outside the grand hall doors, and Katricia was pacing around like a mad lady.

"Your Highness! They arrived earlier than expected, we couldn't keep them occupied for any longer. You must follow what Lady Sienna taught you the past week, and try to remember you're not making a first impression of yourself, but of the kingdom. Don't ruin your chance."

It was blunt but needed.

I straightened myself up and tried to look confident. "I won't"

Katricia walked towards me and took out a piece of paper. "The guards will introduce them to you first." She read out. "Then you'll be giving a short introduction, DO NOT mention anything about being an Amber, for all they know, you were brought up by Ivorial parents and found by the council, they can, under no means, know you were raised as an Amber."

"What about my mother?" The words tasted bitter on my tongue, my mother was at home, with father, waiting for me to return, to me, they were my parents, even if mum didn't give birth to me. "The Ex-Queen? Do they know about her, or is that hidden from them, like how it is from me?" I didn't mean to make myself sound sour, but it happened anyway.

"They don't know of her either, and it's best kept that way. Hopefully you'll find a suitor, it'll make the whole process of the coronation much easier."

Suitor? They want me to get married? "What!" I exclaimed. "You can't get me married! I'm only a week of eighteen! I'm too young!" I prayed my face wasn't as scarlet as I hoped.

Conroy was stifling laughs and Patrik clicked his tongue. "Of course you need to find a suitor. You most definitely cant rule an entire kingdom on your own, like you said, you're too young."

"I have you and the council," I pointed out. "And Henri too! I don't need a suitor or a husband!"

"But the kingdom needs a king."

"King Alexandro IV looked fine ruling alone, why can't I? From what I know, he was crowned King when he was fifteen. Fifteen!"

Katricia began pacing around again, Patrik looked like he was going to reply but Henri stepped in. "Perhaps, we could discuss this later, the guests are getting impatient."

I was riled up, which was something a host was not supposed to be. I regained composure and let out a breath. I'm fine, I'm Queen, and I'm definitely not getting married. I recited this mantra in my head quite a number of times before Katricia opened the door to the Grand hall.

To see it was well decked up is an understatement of the century. The hall changed its snowy theme to a royal shade of red. Jewels hung from the chandelier, making the lights bounce off into different directions making the grand hall even more grand. The sofas at the sides were filled with guests both adults and children, who must be the first-born royals. It was odd though, there were only Queens sitting beside their children, no kings.

At once the chatter in the room halted at my entrance, one by one, each family stood up in a line under the chandelier.

The foreign feeling intensified as I stood in the middle of the grand hall, the room was filled with Terrors. Ivories From different places, travelling through different lands. I didn't like it, I didn't like that I was forced to sit through a whole evening with them,but the more I learn from them, the more I can use against them.

"Stephen Richett is going to introduce them, you must curtsey after every introduction." Henri instructed, despite the nervousness, I found myself nodding slightly. I stared at the unfamiliar faces, each of them held a story, each of them were writing their story, and this is me writing mine.

"Queen Lynne Fu, and Princess Lanying Fu, from the kingdom of Orane." a lovely lady stood up front, she wore a silky red gown with a cross collar, whose long and loose sleeves hung at the ends. Her skin was rather pale and her eyes were pointed at the edges, she looked intimidating, but her warm smile took my focus away. Queen Lynne pressed her palms together in front of her chest and bowed slightly. I took this as my que to curtsey.

"Your Majesty." I greeted, "The council and I are elated to host Tea with you. And your daughter." I added the last part after noticing a girl standing beside her, she had the same abony hair as her mother, and dressed just like her, she could be somewhere my age..

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness, and yes, Lanying was looking forward to this visit for weeks, we all need something to look forward to, especially after the unfortunate loss of King Alexandro IV." Silence fell in the hall after Queen Lynne finished her greeting, in respect to the dead king. I felt bad for not knowing him properly, all I did have was a preconceived notion of how he let the Ivories trample over the Ambers without any forethought. It was enough for me to seem disinterested in him, but it didn't stop me from feeling guilty all the same.

Queen Lynne and Lanying stepped aside, near the door while Richett called the next family.

"Queen Gisela Uwe and Prince Walter Uwe of Zedour." Out came the Queen of Zedour and her son. Zedour, one of our allies during the northern wars. I had read about them in a newspaper article, it helped me a lot with my history studies.

Queen Gisela wore a smooth sage green blouse with a thin dress over it and a pinafore on her skirt. Prince Walter wore a sage green short and a pair of overalls on the top, completed with a coat, he looked to be at least twenty years old. Walter looked nothing like his mother, except for the fact that they shared the same last name.

"Your Majesty," I bowed to Queen Gisela, but she barely battered an eyelash but shamelessly stared at the Colonel. I held back a scowl. "Your Highness." I curtsied to the Prince, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Kingdom Of Zedour. I racked my head for any articles I read about them, but got nothing. "Hope you had a wonderful trip."

"Huh? Oh the trip? Quite exhausting really. I could use a cup of tea, especially after you adamantly changed the party timings and showed up so late." It took all my willpower not to burst, but I kept a cool facade.

"My apologies, Your Majesty, there were matters that needed to be resolved."

She let out a 'Hmph' and went ahead to stand close to Colonel, who took a rather large step away from her. Prince Walter sullenly followed his mother.

"Queen Hannah Fionn and Prince Liam Fionn from Bastenia." Now both of them looked lively dressed. Queen Hannah wore a puffy long sleeved blouse with a lovely yellow pinafore dress on top. Her son, who looked half my age, gave me a toothy grin, he wore a yellow oversized coat and some iron shorts.

"Your Majesty." I curtsied to Queen Hannah. "And to you, little king." I winked at the boy, who erupted in a fit of giggles.

"I will be soon, I have a plan on kicking mommy and daddy out." he whispers in my ear, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear. Queen Hannah pressed her lips into a thin white line

.

"Liam." she said through gritted teeth. "That is not something' you tell somebody'!" Her accent was a thick lilting brogue, somewhere from Ireland, I suppose.

I smiled. "It's quite alright, I'd be taking every chance I can get to become Queen too." it was a lie, I'd never want to rule the Ambers, or worse, the Ivories. "Have a lovely stay."

She hummed in response and Liam tugged on her skirt while following her to stand near Queen Lynne. "Can we keep her?' I heard him whisper.

"Queen Rosalie Beaufort, Prince Lucas Beaufort and Prince Pierre Beaufort of Coslitus." By far Queen Rosalie must be the well dressed Queen here. She wore a satin light brown V-neck robe with gold embroidery and pearls. Her skirt was filled with layers of thin and transparent fabric making the skirt look puffy, but elegant at the same time. There were feathers and pearls in her hair, and her make-up was done perfectly.

Her son, who was standing next to her, looked well polished as well. He wore a black suit with a neatly ironed shirt underneath, and some trousers. But Queen Rosalie's second son, on the other hand, was dressed quite shabilly. He was almost covered from standing beside his mother, but you could still make out his wrinkled shirt and crumpled sweater on top, he clutched a satchel that hung on his shoulder, and his sword hilt hung on the other side. Both princes looked too identical to differentiate in any other way.

I curtsied, but before I could greet them, the well-dressed prince stepped forward with a rose in hand.

"Pour la belle reine." He gave me the rose and took my other hand and kissed it. I couldn't stop the giggles and the blush forming on my cheeks from the thoughtful gesture. "Pour toi." I smiled and curtsied. I could sense Conroys closer presence beside me, he must be suspicious of the prince's actions.

"Welcome to Mithalore Your Majesty." I curtsied to Queen Rosalie, who gave me a wide smile.

"I feel very welcomed, indeed." Though she was from France, she didn't let the accent spoil her english. "Merci.'

She took a couple of steps to the side, to let me greet the second prince. "'Your Highness." I bowed. He looked at me thoughtfully before giving out his hand for me to shake, which I complied to.

"Call me Pierre." He said simply and left to stand near his family. He was an odd one.

Colonel then called out to the last family waiting. "Queen Aisha Malik and Princess Fatima Malik of Savaria." Two ladies stepped in front of me, both were tall and of the same height, though one looked aged and the other was younger, but easily older among the first-borns. Queen Aisha was dressed in a blouse with armour on top, along with a white scarf that contrasted with their dark-toned skins.

I curtsied. "Welcome Queen and Princess. How was your journey to the castle?"

"It's a pleasah to be 'ere. The views 'ere in Mithaloh are beautiful." To some, Queen Aisha's accent might have been frustrating to understand, but I found it fascinating to hear how she pronounced each syllable.

"All is well with us." The princess waved off. It was then I noticed the sharp swords which had no scabbard, that hung on their skirts.

I looked around the room for someone to clue me on what I had to do next. Patrik and Padgette were deep in conversation with each other. Henri was engaging with the guests I had already greeted, and Conroy's eyes were clues to the French Prince who handed me the rose. It was Katricia who came to my rescue.

"Take them to tea." she whispered subtly in my ear. "Henri will lead the way and you can follow after the guests.

I cleared my throat. "How About Tea? I'm sure it's been a long day for all of you, and tea is an hour overdue."

A crowd of agreements echoed in the room. And like Katricia had said, Henri asked the guests to line up as he led the way out of the grand hall. The guests followed behind him, followed by Richette, followed by the guards, then Conroy, and lastly, me and the council members

"Tea is only an hour, you can excuse yourself whenever you'd like. I'll be standing near the gates if you need any help." Katricia whispered in my ear as we exited the grand hall. "You'll do well, I'm sure."

I gulped. I wish I was sure too. Too many royals, too many Ivories, all suffocating me, especially the stories they're keeping, definitely the stories.

Whats your favorite type of tea?

Mine is matcha tea and chamomile tea.