As soon as she stepped into the dining room she was welcomed by the gaze of those who had been impatiently waiting for her and the king at the table for more than five minutes.
A couple of minutes after she sat down to eat her meal, her father walked in and she was not aware of how it all started but she was supposed to stand up but she remained seated as she watched her step-siblings stand up and her father sat down. When he was confortable and gave them a nod, they all sat down too.
"My sincere apologies, I am not aware of that tradition. That tradition never existed when I was here as a princess with my mother as Queen," Rose apologize to her father with a slight bow of her head.
"It is okay, you don't need to do it. It is all because of formality," her father accepted her apology with a broad smile lifting the corners of his lips.
"Oh, I see. Family's familiarity," Rose said with an obvious hint of sarcasm as she looked at the Queen who was comfortably seated on the very seat her mother once sat on.
"Important formalities," her step brother who she has been trying to ignore his existence along with that of his sister suddenly commented on what she said.
Rose slowly raised her cold gaze from the dish before her which had almost frozen under her gaze and fixed that gaze on her step brother who she almost regarded as insignificant. "Who are you?" she found herself asking no matter how hard she tried to bite back those words.
The Queen could not hold back her gasp. "You . . ." she began clearly agitated.
"I saw you at the banquet but you clearly did not get introduced to me," she told him with a serious expression.
"I . . ." the boy's face immediately turned red. It seems all the years of training on how to keep his emotions under check failed him at the end of the day. He clearly hated her guts since she came to take the position of the heir he has always had.
"He is Prince Peter, your half-brother," her father introduced calmly in a composed manner that Rose could not help but admire. "She is Princess Sharon, your half-sister. You three should try to get along with each other."
"You two are quite good-looking," she said with a fake smile. She was trying really hard to keep her emotions under strict control. She was in the palace but that does not mean she should act hostile to the replacements.
"Thanks," she heard the soft of voice of her stepsister appreciate her for the compliment in an elegant manner that had her praising the young girl on her mind.
"No need for the formalities, I could not help but admire your appearances after all you resemble the king," she immediately added as she picked her cutleries and began eating.
It was the Queen's turn for her face to get all red and angry.
Rose scolded herself really hard for talking in such petty manner. She should at least try not to act immature. She bit back all the other sarcastic words that tried escaping as swallowed them down with her food.
"The ball on Friday . . ." her father began saying before he began eating his meal. Getting the attention of all those at the table, her continued, "You should all get ready for it."
They all agreed except Rose who continued eating her food in slow elegant movements. She was elegant enough for a daughter of a wealthy family but she knew she had short comings when compared to a member of the Royal so she decided to try her best to do the right thing in the most elegant manner.
"I heard the princess will be able to pick a fiancé from the ball. Have you ever attended a ball?" her stepbrother asked her mockingly.
She ignored him making him more worthless than a mosquito disturbing you which you will use something to blow off your face or ear. She continued eating her meal.
No one spoke again during the meal. When the meal was over, the king invited her to his study. She followed him as requested.
"How do you find your new assistant?" he asked her as he sat down behind his huge brown polished wood desk which was placed in front of a bay window.
"Good? She seems nice. Thanks," she replied respectfully.
"I know you might not like your step-siblings it is normal because after all they were living in a life of luxury while you were out in the middle of nowhere struggling to live but that should not make you speak to them in such manner.
"If you do, it will only make you look petty and immature and that is not a good image for the future Queen to have. They might get annoying but try to get along with them no matter how much you hate them or how much they taunt you.
"Protecting your image is equal to protecting your position as Princess. The moment your mother's reputation got ruined, that was the moment she lost the support of the people. You can seat down if your legs ache," he offered her a seat only after he was done scolding her along with giving her a few advices.
"No, I am okay. I am sorry for the way I spoke during dinner. It was a wrong thing for me to do," she apologized sincerely.
"Your mother had faith in you, that's why she told you to remain in the palace. Don't make any mistake and watch your actions too."
"I will. Thanks," she appreciated. Hearing such advice from her father, she felt convinced that he cared for her deeply and wanted her to get the throne at the end.
It was weird because she could not find a reason why he will want to do such a thing since she clearly took away his son's position from him but that did not matter much to her as her mind was filled mostly with how he was worried about her.
"About the ball, is it necessary?" she had to ask. She was not totally ready for the bombarded schedule she had for the few days of the week.
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom "Yes it is. It is to introduce to the noble society. I invited your ex-family," her father replied as he pulled out a book from his drawer and wrote something she could not read from where she stood on it.
"You shouldn't have bothered," she told his seriously. She knows fully well that he was aware of what happened to her in the Whitfred's mansion, why then did he invite them?
"I wanted to show them how you are living now and you did not deserve the treatment they gave you and one day you were going to rule over them," her father informed her.
She found his reason plausible but also not too plausible because she has no intention of intimidating them with her present status because after all they were rich not powerless themselves and she did not hate them. "There is no need for that," she told him seriously.
"I have invited them already. You can also get to meet a few young men during the party and get someone who will earn you a few points."
"You know I can't, considering my present status," she said showing him the rings she wore on her index finger instead of her ring finger to prevent it from getting too much attention.
"You will have to. As time goes on, you will have to have one even if it is just for show off. Or should I talk someone into it?"
"No. No one else should know. I will take care of things like that. I don't really need much as far as I get to keep my position as the heir," she informed him.
Her father stood up and walked to her with a frown. He stood very close to her with a sad look in his eyes along with pity. "I know you don't love him and it is a marriage contract. What if I find someone who is strong enough to fight you off his hand?" he whispered to her in a manner that no one else will hear.
"No, I am fine," she said stepping back. "It might be what it is but I am willing to stay with forever. I love him," she whispered strongly. "Besides, he is someone I can trust."
"Trust builds up slowly. If you want someone you can learn to trust, you will find him during the ball and he will be the ticket to you being a Queen without a war from northern kingdom."
"Are you threatening me with an impending war?" she frowned as she completely stepped away from him.. The shock and disappointment in her eyes were obvious.
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