Chapter 5: Prince’s Not Excluded!

Explaining my past life to my father went far better than the first time around, and after some pointed questions about my past life went back to normal for me. This is what I would like to say, except now that they all know that I have memories of my previous life, they have been non-stop doting and teasing me for it. I can't even count the number of times I've been treated like a dress-up doll, especially by my mother, paired with Annabelle, since that day. Like this, a full week passed and I noticed that the maids and butlers seemed more busy than normal. Unable to withstand my curiosity any longer, I asked my mother what was going on during one of our now-daily dress-up sessions, which I was getting increasingly used to and was even starting to ask for certain dresses during. [Momma way evareon so busee?] - Rose [Hmm? Oh, honey, I must have forgotten to tell you with all of the excitement the other day, but your 1st Celebration of Birth is coming up. It's an important event for anyone, but especially for the heir of the Amchier family.] - Mother Lily [...] - Rose [Oh, well, I think of it like a social event where you are introduced to other noble families and even royalty from other countries.] - Mother Lily Seeing that I did not get the full story from the first explanation, my mother immediately continued with more information, which I nodded at. I could kind of see how that would be an important event, but for most children at my age, wouldn't they be a nightmare to control?rol. Since my ability to use the language was a bit difficult, I decided to shelve that thought for when my talking skills catch up with my mental abilities. Seeing that I didn't have any more questions, my mother held up a small ribbon that matched my current dress and asked Annabelle, who had been digging through the closet behind her, what she thought of it. I sighed while thinking about the "party," hoping that I looked adorable, at least not realizing how much I was adapting with that thought. The next week was uneventful, and the day of my Celebration of Birth quickly approached with the mansion getting more and more busy each day. Since I now haa d a limited license to roam the corridors with a chaperone, I was able to see the preparations coming together quickly and could tell it was going to be a huge event just by the sheer scale of work involved. And just like that, the day that I'd been both looking forward to and dreading arrived. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If I thought the days leading up to my Celebration of Birth were busy, then the actual day of the event was a literal hurricane of movement with servants rushing back and forth with trays of food and decorations. To my amazement everyone was able to do this without any major incidents occurring despite how fast they were going, not that I had any time to admire such impressive skill however as I was currently in front of a huge pile of discarded dresses that were apparently "not quite right" with said mountain of clothing gradually getting larger with each passing moment. [Ahh! This isn't cute enough for my baby girl, we need something that brings out her charm!- Mother Lily [I know, but we've already made it through every dress in her size, you'll have to choose one, Mistress Lily!] - Annabelle Now, you two, calm down! I anticipated something like this happening and commissioned the most renowned tailor in the kingdom.] - Grandmother Daisy Coming into the dressing room just in time to stop the 100th round of the same argument, my grandmother presented a well-dressed older woman with cat ears and a cute tail. Barging past my grandmother like she owned the place, she knelt in front of me and held my hand in hers. [Such a wonderful canvas I've never had to work on, what beauty your granddaughter already is! I shudder at the work of art she shall become in her flowering years! - Tailor? [U-Umm... I Rose.] - Rose [And what a beautiful name she has, too. This lowly one is Sherwall. Well, let's get started framing your magnificence in a befitting style!] - Sherwall While I fidgeted and blushed at her over-the-top praises, she clapped her hands, and several other women rushed into the room with bolts of cloth and various cutting and sewing tools. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was in awe over the dress that had been made before my very eyes, like liquid silver, it seemed to shimmer and shift as I moved, and was so dazzling I couldn't take my eyes off the mirror, causing my grandmother to chuckle behind me. [Oh, it seems she loves it, great work as always, Sherwall.] - Grandmother Daisy [This lowly one exists only to properly frame magnificence such as her's! It's always a pleasure working with works of art like your family.] - Sherwall Are you going to attend the party? You are certainly welcome to if you wish, especially with how beautiful you made my darling daughter. Mother Lily [This one must decline as I do not wish to sully such an event with my lowly self.] - Sherwall [But I...] - Mother Lily [Don't mind her, she's always like this. Never one for social events since that last incident.] - Grandmother Daisy My grandmother interrupted my mother and nodded at Sherwall, who nodded back in thanks before ushering out her helpers as fast as they had entered. I, of course, noticed none of this as my eyes were still locked on the mesmerizing image in front of me as I slowly twisted back and forth, watching the colors shift. Laughing at my hard stare at the mirror, my grandmother slowly turned me to face her and looked at me with serious eyes. [Now I must tell you something before we start your big event, which is very important. Are you listening?] - Grandmother Daisy Seeing that I nodded my head while looking at her, she continued. [At this event, an official appraiser from the capital will preside over the most important part, appraising your status and showing it to attendees.] - Grandmother Daisy [Bu wone tha...?] - Rose Exactly, yes, you are correct. If we leave it as is, then everyone will see your status as it is currently., That would be fine if it were just the Royal family themselves, but some of those tend to be enemies of our family and would use any information they could against us... Which is why we won't leave it as is.] - Grandmother Daisy [....] - Rose Seeing that I understood the severity of the situation, she smiled mischievously before continuing. [We're going to do a little editing before he gets here, of course, such editing would be easily noticed by the appraiser, but he has already been informed by the Queen, whom we contacted with our plan, and will not out us. The trick is to make the rest of the party-goers not suspect anything out of the ordinary, and I'm going to count on you for that part...] - Grandmother Daisy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Presenting the esteemed Young Mistress of the Amchier family and the star of our event! Lady Rose de la Amchier!!!] - Announcer Guy Amid applause and quite a few gasps of appreciation at my looks, I was presented to the crowd of various races with a very regal bearing, causing me to tense up with nervousness. Behind the crowd, I saw my father whispering into the ear of a matronly lamia woman who was in what looked like a throne, albeit not as fancy, at which the woman looked directly at me and gave me a thumbs up. My mother, slightly behind both of them, watched me with nervousness in her eyes while my grandparents were nowhere to be seen. Remembering what my grandmother had told me was expected of me, I curtsied while letting go of my chapero,ne Annabelle's, and greeted the waiting audience. [Tha yoo fo graci may hoose wi yoor presen, Ei hodon't don let yoo done...] - Rose Closing my eyes while I curtsied again, I felt tears welling up at my obvious mistakes and waited for the inevitable booing. To my surprise, he crowd went wild with applause, with several of them commenting that their child hadn't been able to do nearly as well. Even some of the groups with angry faces joined the applause reluctantly so as not to stand out. Luckily, I didn't have to say anything more as the Announcer Guy took over once more. Whoa, everyone wasn't that impressive? I tell you, your daughter wasn't that eloquent at her age! She has a bright future, this one! And now that we've gotten the introductions over, I'll hand the stage over to our honored guest from the capital! The Queen! - Announcer Guy I would have panicked normally in any other situation, but luckily,y I'd been warned about the particulars of this event as well as the appearance of the Queen, so I only slightly jumped out of nervousness. I wasn't scared, believe me! Holding her hands up to indicate that the crowd should quiet down, the lady that I'd seen talking with my father rose from the throne she was in and gave me a wink before speaking. [Thank you for that rousing introduction, Peter dear, you do a wonderful job as always.] - Queen [Now I know some of you are aware of this, but my husband left our beloved country several years ago for parts unknown while leaving behind his family, which, of course, includes his brother.] - Queen My jaw dropped when she indicated my father, who was standing slightly behind her, as I had not been told about this particular piece of information. Wai, so I was related to the Queen!?!? Oblivious to my shock, the Queen continued her speech. [Of course, being the brother of the Queen's consort affords the family of said personage particular advantages if you will. One of which is having to allow me to interrupt their grand parties whenever I wish, of course.] - Queen Pausing to allow the crowd to laugh at her joke, she chuckled slightly before continuing, ignoring the outliers in the crowd who only frowned at her comment. But more than that, the privilege is the right to use my personal Royal Court Mage for the traditional appraisal that comes with the 1st Celebration of Birth. A fact that I'm sure many of you are jealous of.] - Queen She pointedly glanced at the group that was scowling as everyone else laughed again. [Now, before we get too long-winded and so that I don't interrupt this young lady's big day any further, I present my Court Mage Alphonse.] - Queen Once again, the Queen winked at me while motioning for everyone to turn towards me again. Looking around, I couldn't see anyone else around me other than Annabelle, and I was confused as to where this supposed Mage was, but my confusion was short-lived as a loud pop came from behind me, causing me to let out a squeak as I jumped. Turning quickly, I saw an older man stepping out of a round portal that appeared in mid-air. The man was the very definition of a dapper old man, and, even surprisingly, considering how small the number was in this country, from what I was told, he was human. Bowing slightly to me, he turned to the crowd as the Announcer Guy presented him to another round of applause. Leaning to whisper into my ear, he grinned and winked at me before straightening up to address the crowd. [I've heard about your situation from the Queen, rest assured that we'll keep any buzzards from harming your family.] - Alphonse [Without furter, ado I will now cast the Appraisal spell and show its results to the honored guests so that they may know that this child has nothing to hide and is truly one of elite birthright!] - Alphonse ask that crthe eator of all, the Mother of Creation Glias, to bless me with knowledge of what lies in my vision! Appraisal! - Alphonse Wondering why his chant was different from my grandmother's, I didn't notice the frown on his face when he saw my status before he turned and revealed the fake status to the crowd. Another round of applause followed, and after a few more words from the Announcer Guy, everyone spread out into their groups. A frown still on his face, while he was muttering under his breath, I caught him saying something about not hearing about something. I wasn't sure what he was referring to, but I didn't get a chance to say anything before he ducked back into the portal that had been left open and closed it behind himself. Annabelle took my hand again and led me towards where my father and mother were waiting beside the Queen. The other nobles, apparently obeying some unspoken rule of conduct, watched me pass without approaching as I made my way, with Annabelle's help, to the Queen. [Ara Ar, a she's even more beautiful than you said she would, be Lily. She'll make a fine "woman" when she reaches the flowering.] - Queen [Ei ss nie ooo mee ooo Majistee] - Rose Noticing her emphasis on the word woman, I realized that she had heard the entire story from my family and was teasing me, but I was too nervous to acknowledge her comment and curtsied stiffly while greeting her. [Oh, and so polite as well, if only my son were so polite when he was your age. Where is that boy anyway?] - Queen [He should be mingling with the guests, Your Majesty.] - Butler [We'll let him have his fun, but moving on, I've been wanting to meet you since I heard about your... circumstances... from Daisy. I'll have to discuss with your parents as to the best time for a little face-to-face. - Queen [...umm?] - Rose [Never mind that, now I'm sure that you would rather go have fun with the other children rather than keep an old woman company. Run along now.] - Queen Seeing that she was finished with the conversation, my mother moved forward and, curtsying to the queen, leaned down to hug me before motioning for me to join a group of children slightly older than me. She and her father then moved towards the rest of the nobles to socialize, leaving me in Annabelle's care. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Don't you know who I am?!? How dare you take the embarrassment me like this!- Unknown Voice Moving towards the gaggle of children, I could hear a voice yelling above the others, and, curious to see what was going on, I pushed my way through the crowd. It was surprisingly easy to push through since I was larger than the other children with the extra size from my tai, and I quickly saw a red-scaled dragon-kin child holding down a dog-eareded child with his foot while yelling at him. The attendant for said child seemed at a loss for what to do in this situation, with both parties being higher than he was on the social ladder. My blood boiling, I rushed forward and, using my larger size, pushed him off the smaller boy before leaning down to see if he was okay Su rprised that someone had stood up to him, the dragon-kin boy didn't put up much of a fight, and after making sure the dog-eared boy was okay, I motioned for him to leave before rounding on the dragon-kin child. [Don doo mean thins ike tha!] - Rose [Wha! How dare...! Who do you think you are?!!] - Dragon-kin Boy [I Rose! And this may party!] - Rose My finger in his face as I preached in broken sentences, I realized that to an outsider, this exchange would be hilarious, a toddler putting a child several years older than her in his place with baby talk. The problem was that I wasn't an outsider, and it was my sentences that were broken, not someone else's. Luckily, the other child was able to bring himself under control, and, marking sarcastically,y he bowed while introducing himself. [Well, wel,l it is a pleasure to meet the Lady Rose in such a place, my mother told me a lot about you...] - Dragon-kin Boy [Yoor momma?] - Rose I cocked my head in confusion, loosing my momentum completely lost on me as I was unaccustomed to conflict. Smirking once more, the boy nodded before continuing. [Yes, my mother, the Queen, speaks quite highly of your family... I'd hate to have to put in a bad word about "any" of them.] - Prince? Immediately realizing what he meant, I slapped him, and while he was holding onto his cheek in shock, I spoke down to him in the most serious voice I could muster. [Ever threetin mii familie nn fron oo mee!] - Rose I hmphed and turned to leave, everyone who had been watching me gushing over how brave I was, leaving the Prince alone with his attendant. Unseen by me, the Prince continued to hold his cheek in silence for several minutes after I left. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [I saw what you did there, Young Miss, veeery impressive for your age.] - Older Voice Jumping at the sudden voice behind me, I turned and saw a thin man who looked to be in his late 30s. He was dressed in a pinstripe suit and flanked by two very intimidating bodyguards. On his head were two ears that looked like wolf ears. Annabelle, who hadn't noticed him approaching either, quickly moved in front of me protectively, causing him to laugh. [Don't worry, Miss Maid, I'm not here to cause the Young Miss any trouble, I only wanted to make a connection with such a promising young lady.] - Older Man [Ahh, how rude of me to not introduce myself. I am a humble merchant who goes by the name Loki. I was invited by special request from the Queen herself, of course.] - Loki Bowing after his introduction, his eyes seemed to hold a dangerous glint for a fraction of a second before returning to a cheerful gleam. [Now I'm sure that Miss Maid wouldn't want me to keep you from your party for too long, and I still need to greet my patron, so why don't we leave it at that for now? Rest assured, I will be watching your future exploits with great interest. - Loki Leaving just as quickly as he had appeared, he left and headed straight for the Queen's throne to "greet his patron" like he had said. Confused as to what that was all about, I glanced at Annabelle, and she shook her head to show that she didn't know either. I didn't get much time to think about it, though, ass I was rushed by several nobles seconds later, trying to establish friendly ties with my family. I greeted each as politely as I could as the party continued onward, feeling like this was the start of a new chapter in my life.