A/N: There will be some focus on Isadora and her father here, but things will get better in Part Three :)

[A Royal Pain In The Ass (Part Two)]

"Daddy, are you well these few days?" Isadora asked, not out of politeness as a princess to a King, but out of concern as a daughter to a father. Her father always tended to take stress the wrong way, and it had unfortunately shown many times on his body. Dora had heard from some of her father's personal assistants that when her father was still a prince, he had been a fine, young healthy man. But ever since being crowned, and losing her grandparents as his mentors, the health of Dora's father had only gone downwards.

The King of Havencrest was supposed to be 55 years old, but he looked close to his seventies at the moment. His health, unfortunately, also revealed an approaching-seventy year old status, given how susceptible he was to illnesses and the number of stress-induced diseases that he had been collecting. If the list of achievements that Dora's father had done during his reign was long, then the illnesses and diseases that he had collected along the way was almost equally long.

"I'm fine, Isa." Her father smiled, clearly still shamelessly lying to her even though she was already 24, and could tell a healthy man from a not-so-healthy-looking one. Her father was also the only person in the entire country to call her Isa instead of Dora. "Tell me about your trip to Silverport. Did Prince Lewis make trouble for you?"

"Daddy," Dora cut through her steak politely without making a sound, stabbing it cleaning before bringing the small bite-sized piece to her lips daintily. She had been taught table manners since she was very young, and even though the only people at the dining table now were her and her father, she was still used to be eating politely. "I want to tell you that it was good, but I don't want to lie to you. Prince Lewis was a pain."

Her honest words made her father laugh, the mirth starting deep within his belly. Dora looked down at her steak, doing her best to hide her smile as well. It was a good thing that at least her father felt nice enough to laugh heartily. With the recent mess concerning her little brother's birthday and her father's naming an heir, Dora hadn't been sure at all if her father would be able to smile or laugh.

"Don't tell Matthew." King Ethan looked around, as if the king of Silverport would suddenly appear by his side eavesdropping. "Matthew likes to think that his son is one of his proudest achievement, but you and I know that Lewis has more water than brains up there."

"Of course I wouldn't tell King Matthew." Dora answered. "Wouldn't it be rather terrible if the daughter-in-law that he always wished he had turns out to be the one who completely ruins his son and heir's confidence?"

"You always did have your way with words, Isa. I am surprised that Lewis is still alive after your two weeks there."

"I have a terribly great capacity for tolerance." Dora answered confidently, chewing another piece of steak. "But enough about me. Other than time spent with Prince Lewis, the state visit went very well, and I have made sure that King Matthew and I discussed many things on my agenda list –and more. Linny will send a report to your office as soon as she can, so let us talk about other things, Daddy. How have you been?"

"I have been very fine, Isa. You don't have to worry about me."

"You taught me not to lie." Dora answered with a small frown. "I am old enough to know the truth."

The heavy sigh from her father came as the reply to her insistence, the pretence falling apart quickly.

"You don't know how many times I have wished that you were a fine young man in just this week alone, Isa. I am sure you also don't know how many times Daddy prayed silently in his mind that Alex would mature just a little bit more and learn from you." The honest words spoke of her father's lethargy, but these were things that try as she might, she could not help with.

"What has Alex done this time?" Dora could not help her sigh.

Dora loved her family very much, but a big problem that she –and her father –had currently was her little brother's attitude.

Because Havencrest's tradition and royal bloodline had always been a chain of males, the law was that a woman could not be the sovereign ruler of the country of Havencrest. Since the title of King was hereditary, it had been passed down from father to son for generations –sometimes passed to brothers' sons when one did not give birth to a male heir. This tradition, unfortunately, had followed them up to Dora's generation, where it was only her as the princess, and Alex as the prince and no other cousins.

The rights to the Crown was naturally the Prince's, and everything would have been fine and dandy... if not for Alex's personality.

Dora was completely flummoxed as to where her brother's personality had come from. Her mother and father had always been very well-natured, and even though her father might have had some stories of a mischievous childhood –and even a slightly-rebellious phase –it could not explain where Alex had inherited his egoistical, ultra-confident, snobbish, irresponsible and insensitive attitude from.

Dora didn't like to speak bad things about people, but she had seen Alex behave around his own schoolmates, and it was definitely not desirable for a prince at all. Being the son of the King, Alex was definitely treated with lots of respect and much more forgiving eyes by everyone in his school. However, Alex had taken complete advantage of it, going so far as to make the principal of the school kneel down in apology for something that Alex did wrong. Using his position to get something he wanted was something Alex had been unafraid of doing, and the boy knew that he was going to be the King one day –by hook or by crook.

The realization that he was going to be responsible for almost ten million people as a King was still not striking seventeen-turning-eighteen year old Alex who still could not be responsible for his own belonging and actions.

"He started a fight with the son of one of the Lords." King Ethan sighed, pausing in his food to take a sip of the blood red wine. "He refused to apologise just because the son of the Lord called him a 'decorative prince' to the Crown."

This time, even Dora could not stop herself from mimicking her father's sigh. Could Alex's personality be her fault? Dora had been 7 when Alex was born, and by then she had already been trained to carry herself off as a dignified little lady of respect. She had treated her brother kindly (at least she think she did), but it had been inevitable that a young boy could never feel very close to his sister especially if his sister always behaved very upright and ladylike.

Dora had tried her best to change the way she dealt with her brother –appealing more on emotions and trying to connect to him on a deeper level –when he started to show his personality flaws, but it had been too late by then, and Alex had only waded further and further into the dark pool that she could no longer hope to drag him out of.

"The Lords; they still want him for a Crown Prince?" Dora asked tentatively, knowing that it was the root cause of her father's biggest worry at the moment.

Because of Alex's current situation, King Ethan was deathly afraid of handing over the country to his son who was soon about to celebrate his Coming-of-Age ceremony. Once Prince Alex was officially 18, he would be announced an heir to the throne –which usually was a good thing –except that being an heir meant that Alex had more responsibilities (and more chances to show the country his character flaws). Other than protecting the face of the Royal family, neither Dora nor her father wanted the country to fall into uncertainty after seeing Alex flounder and make a mess of himself, because that would bring a whole new slew of problems from the both of them and the country's welfare.

Thus, to avoid that messy situation, Dora's father was doing his best to persuade the Lords to reconsider Alex as a candidate for heir at least until Alex had shown some improvements. However, the only biggest problem with the persuasion process was the simple fact that other than Alex, there were no other candidates. No more choices. Zilch; because Dora was a female and could not be considered a candidate.

To get the conservative, traditional Lords to agree on postponing the naming of Alex as an heir was already a major hurdle for both Dora and her father to get over; they didn't even want to think about trying to push for Dora to be a candidate for the heir of the throne despite all of her capabilities.

"The Lords want someone they can bully." King Ethan answered softly, looking sadly down at his salad bowl. Dora knew that her father's sorrow had nothing to do with the greens in his meal. "Alex can be moulded according to what they like after they break him from the pressure."

"Alex does have to learn many things." Dora found herself repeating this sentence more and more often as her little brother came closer and closer to his eighteenth birthday. She wasn't sure if it was because of his title as a prince, or if boys just matured slower as compared to girls naturally, but nothing changed the fact that she felt that Alex was completely unprepared for his own future as King. Comparing herself when she was 17 to Alex now, Dora didn't want to brag, but knew that everyone agreed that she was a very capable and reliable princess of the country by then.

"I am ashamed to say this, Isa, but if Alex still doesn't show signs of being aware of his position, I have plans to send him somewhere with a good trainer to force him to grow up."

"Daddy!" Dora exclaimed in surprise at her father's sudden declaration, eyes going wide. "Are you really sure?"

The reason for Dora's surprise was easy –her father was one of the kingdom's most loving and doting father. It was the same softness that had caused her little brother to go astray to this extent, but Dora had never imagined that her father would be able to stand letting her little brother suffer. Both of them had known that Alex needed to know a little suffering to get him off his high horse, but for the past seventeen years, King Ethan had never had the heart to arrange for a situation that ran along that line. Whatever Alex had wanted; their father had done his best to give it to him like the poor loving-but-too-busy-for-his-family father that the king was.

"If I am really at my wits end trying to convince the Lords' decision, yes." King Ethan gave his daughter a weak look. "I do hope that I am not pushed to that corner, but to be on the safe side, do keep a lookout for anyone that might be a good mentor to your brother and keep me informed, Isa."

"It will be a little hard, Daddy." Dora admitted. "The people who do not fear upsetting Alex are already working with you and cannot spare time to bring him to hand."

"Even if his mentor has to be someone from another country, I am willing to let Alex be taught. It will be good exposure for him as well." Her father declared, and Dora supposed that it was the best last-resort move that they would undoubtedly have to prepare for. Flipping through her internal list of the man people she knew and would possibly be suitable for a mentor for her little brother, Dora wasn't surprised to find very few names that fit the criteria; and even lesser who would possibly be available for her brother at the moment.

She needed someone who had no care for titles, but yet not someone who was irresponsible. A person of complete frankness, basic manners, but no care for hierarchy of powers.

Dora wasn't sure why, but her mind suddenly brought her to the men that she had met in the airport. More specifically, she remembered the thoughts that had been running through her head when she had been sharing polite conversation with the man in the limousine –while his brother nodded asleep beside him.

"I have someone in mind, Daddy." Dora announced quickly. "But he only just arrived today, and he said that you sent a letter to him and his brother, requesting to talk to them."

"I sent a letter to him and his brother?" King Ethan understandably looked confused because no king was expected to remember every single letter that he wrote during his office hours.

"Yes, I met them at the airport today on my way back and gave them a ride here. He showed me the letter, and you were rather brief in it. You mentioned in the letter that you had to talk about to them about their mother." Dora explained, almost making through the last of her meal slowly during this long conversation. Her father was still picking at the salads, clearly not appreciating his strict diet imposed by his personal royal doctor.

"Ah... Dante and Vergil?" The names seemed to pop up on her father's lips as he brightened up in remembrance. "They are already here?"

"Yes, I brought them here. I expect them to be requesting for your audience shortly after our meal."

"That's great..." Dora was a little curious to see her father's surprise fading away to a distant smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She got the feeling that her father wasn't aware of the slight-smile, as he picked up his fork again, his appetite somehow coming back upon hearing the news that the twin brothers had received and responded to his letter in kind. Curious but not wanting to spoil the mood, Dora was silent for a long period of time as she watched her father take a few slightly-happy bites from his salad, even going so far as to humming softly.

What the hell were Dante and Vergil? Miracle workers? How was it possible that the knowledge of these two men arriving at the palace could make her father so cheerful all of sudden; particularly after fretting about her little brother?

"Isa, remember the many stories I told you about your aunt?" Her father suddenly asked to break the silence, and Dora had just finished her plate of steak and had been settling the food with wine while she nodded.

"They were my bedtime stories." Dora smiled at the remembrance. Before Alex had been born; when she was much younger, her father had done his best to spend as much time as he could with his precious little daughter, and always did his best to make sure that at least he was there to tuck her to bed every night. Then, because Dora always loved a good story, King Ethan had been forced to stay for bedtime story-telling sessions, which somehow always ended up as stories about his little sister.

"It has already been twenty eight years since she ran away." Her father said with a longing glitter in his eyes. "Time really flies."

"You never told me why she ran away." Dora noted with surprise. Because it had been very long since they last talked about her aunt who had apparently run away from the palace, Dora realised that she had never known why her aunt was the case of a run-away princess. Back when she was younger, her father had promised to tell her the reason when Dora was older, because it was an 'adult reason' that her aunt ran away.

"I didn't?" Her father seemed slightly surprised. "I thought I did."

"You always said it was 'an adult reason' and promised to tell me after I grew up. Is 24 old enough to know this adult reason, Daddy?"

King Ethan chuckled a little at his daughter's soft tease. "It isn't much of an adult reason actually, Isa. I only said that when you were young because I didn't want to you get any ideas from your bedtime stories."

"So, why did she run away?"

"She fell in love with a man she wasn't supposed to. She argued with your grandparents for as long as she could, rebelling and rejecting all the other princes that were making their advances on her because of her beauty and elegance. Back in those times, transport was a lot worse than now, and yet princes from all over the world travelled to Havencrest specially to see her. Yet, of all of them, she chose one man who did not suit her position and title."

"She eloped?" Dora confirmed, not very sure to feel shock, surprise, or awe. If she was being completely honest with herself, Dora was rather sure that she would not be able to do something as brave as eloping. The fact that she hadn't found someone worth eloping for aside, Dora felt that she owed her entire life to not only her father, her family, but also to her country. The Princess was meant to serve her country, and without the country's reverence of the royal family, Dora would just be another girl on the street. She could not imagine giving up this post just to be able to love a man.

Of course she could not claim that she would definitely hold the same opinion after she found a man she loved.

"Yes, she did." The smile on her father's face didn't look like one belonging to an elder brother who watched his little sister run away with a man twenty eight years ago. From her bedtime stories, she had always gotten the idea that her father had doted and loved his little sister very much while she was still in the family –which made it rather weird that her father didn't seem to be angry about the eloping.

"You are not angry at her for eloping?"

"Why would I?" King Ethan was practically grinning now, as if he were revealing a terrible secret that he had been keeping for the past twenty-eight years. "I approve of it. In fact, I helped her to it."

"You did?" Dora's shock was much more pronounced now.

"I loved my little sister with my life before I met your mother, Isa. Her happiness was mine, and when our parents –your grandparents –forced her to go for marriage interviews, she always came crying to me telling me that she wished badly that she wasn't a princess at all. There was no way for me speak up for her since I was the prince and expected to agree with the Lords and our parents. But when she met that man, she became so happy that I knew it was time for me to let her go. I sent her off in the middle of the night, and she never turned back. I'm sure she led a very happy life outside the walls of the castle with the man she loved so much to give up her title as a princess."

"Wow, Daddy..." Dora said. "I didn't think that you were so..."

Her father laughed at her loss of words, clearly understanding why she was stuck for words.

"I know you can't decide whether it was admirable or foolish for me to do something like that while I was young, Isa. But back then, I was just a prince, and I loved my little sister. If I could do something to make her happy, then so be it."

"Did you keep tabs on her after she ran away?"

"Unfortunately, no. She tried to send letters back, but your grandmother was determined to cut off all ties with her. They intercepted her letters to me and burnt them all. I never got down her address."

"Oh my." Dora put hand over her lips to hide the 'O' her mouth made in shock. "How could Grandmother do something like that?"

"I don't exactly blame her. Your grandmother was just afraid that I would do something stupid and try to follow your aunt's footsteps. It was just a big waste that I never got to find out how happy my little sister became after she ran away."

"Did you try to find her after you were crowned?"

"Of course." King Ethan washed his salad down with wine. "But I was too late. She passed away twenty years ago."

"What?" Her father was really full of surprise today, wasn't he?

"You don't have to look so shocked, Isa. It's okay, I have had twenty years to reconcile with that fact. It's just that I was always searching for more... searching for evidence that I did the right thing to send her off with the man that she loved. I talked to him before they left; and he really loved her with all her heart. Back then, I thought there was no better couple in the world than them despite how mismatched they were. You and I both know that there a million ways a couple can break up, and yet both of them gave up so much for each other. Even if your aunt broke up after she ran away, I wouldn't have known a single thing. So, after I found out that there was no possible way that I could ever talk to her alive ever again, I searched everywhere for evidence that she was happy all the way until she died."

"Did you find any?"

"I just did." Her father was grinning now. "That's why I sent-"

Her father's speech was interrupted by polite knocks on the door, and the King's personal attendant was invited into the room shortly thereafter.

"My King, I regret to interrupt you in your meal with Princess Dora, but you have guests. Mr Vergil Sparda and Mr Dante Sparda have come requesting audience with you with utmost haste, bringing a letter you penned yourself."

"Ah, they are already waiting?" King Ethan seemed almost excited, and Dora could not help her amused smile as she watched her father down the rest of the wine in his glass. "Sorry, Isa, but Daddy has to go."

"Do go ahead, Daddy." Dora reassured. "I will see you tonight at the gathering."

"Ah, yes, the gathering tonight..." Her father slowed a little in his progress for the door, pausing to turn and look at her in the eye. "Please dress your nicest tonight, dear Isa. I have an announcement to make."

"Of course, Daddy." Dora promised.

Her father the king was humming softly as he walked out of the door, looking almost as if he had a spring in his step. Dora could not help her helpless shake of head.

Whoever this Dante and Vergil Sparda were (despite how normal they had appeared to her if she ignored Dante's manners and Vergil's confidently striking formalities), they were definitely miracle workers if they could bring smiles to her father's face by just the mention of their names.