[The King's study]
Inside the mildly lit room with a small chandelier of candles, Henry sat on the soft cushioned seat in front of the table, where his father sat behind it opposite to him.
"I assume we'll talk for hours, want a drink?" Maximus said while uncorking a bottle of whiskey and pouring it into two glasses. He didn't even wait for Henry to answer as he had already offered the other glass to him.
With a chuckle, Henry responded by grabbing the glass, swirling it a bit before drinking it in one go, feeling as the liquid trickled down his throat. His face turned slightly pale as a searing pain assaulted his throat. Drinking whiskey is like drinking flames that turned liquid.
"…I think I would've preferred water instead," Henry spoke with a hoarse voice, like an old man having his final breath.
His father simply chuckled in response and took a sip of his own glass, a look of satisfaction coloring his face after.
"So, you've been gone for nearly two months, almost missed your birthday. Was the trip worth it?" Maximus leaned back on his chair and asked him with a scoff, as if expecting his answer to be 'No'.
"Every single second." His answer caught him by surprise.
"You serious?" There was disbelief on Maximus's face.
Henry nodded in return, "Let's just say, the trip taught me quite a few experiences. Did Ser Liam mention anything about where I got stranded?"
Maximus rubbed his chin, "It was the Arendelle Kingdom, right? Didn't expect that place out of all the other islands nearby." There are many other islands with their own Kingdoms near Lioncrest such as the Southern and Northern Isles.
"That's right. I'll keep this short but we'll be expecting a new Kingdom as an ally. I may…have proposed a promise for Arendelle's future Queen. I've talked to her about this and we have decided to ally both our Kingdoms first before forming a Federation."
"A Federation?" Maximus's ears perked up at the unfamiliar term. It sounded foreign to him and yet also professional and political.
Henry then proceeded to explain what it means. There have been cases similar to it in other Kingdoms but they're less structured and more similar to Vessels.
"So you're saying Lioncrest would serve as the central government? Isn't this practically turning them into our Vassal? What makes it different?" Maximus rubbed his forehead in confusion.
"That's what others might think but to those included in our Federation, they will still retain a small influence or power within their own territory. It's like putting them under our wings, we protect them, we fight for them, and in return, they'll do the same for us. It's give and receive kind of situation compared to vassals where their only purpose is to serve without getting anything in return. It wouldn't be wrong to call that slavery."
Maximus gave it a brief moment to think before pointing out, "And you're telling me that Arendelle has agreed to this? I mean, the future Queen of Arendelle gave you her word?"
Henry shrugged his shoulders, "It's the only way to marry her without causing an uproar in both our Kingdoms. I make her my Queen and both our Kingdoms will be deeply tied together that it'll almost become one."
"…This all sounds crazy…" Maximus rubbed his eyes for several moments.
"It sure it but it's the truth."
"Then how about the red-haired girl that you're with earlier? Also the old man and woman? Those carriages? I feel like you're not even telling me half of what happened."
"Hey, I'll get there alright, I'm not keeping secrets. I was just prioritizing which important matters you should hear first." Henry raised his hands and shrugged.
"As for the red-haired girl, she's Ariel. She was the one who saved me from drowning when the ship was wrecked. While I was about to drown and lost consciousness, she brought me to the surface and swam all the way to Arendelle's shores."
His father quickly frowned and interrupted, "That's impossible, it would take her more than a few days to get you there by swimming. Either you're lying or she used a boat. Not to mention, why the shores of Arendelle out of all the nearest islands?"
"I'm not lying. But I'm not telling the truth either. Tell me, father, do you believe in mermaids?"
"Considering you're asking me if I believe in them means you're going to tell me that they are real and this Ariel girl is one, right?" Maximus leaned back on his leather chair and smirked in confidence.
On the other hand, Henry's lips simply twitched in annoyance, "Smartass."
"Keep that name to your brother. Make up a new one for me." Maximus waved his hand and replied in passing.
"So let me get this straight. Ariel is a mermaid, the same kind that was always sung by the sailors about how mermaids would bring misery and suffering to them by inviting a massive storm with their singing, did I get anything wrong?" Even though Maximus was about mermaids as if he was already believing in the legend, there was still a small hint of disbelief in his tone.
"Everything is wrong except the first one. Mermaids sing in the middle of the ocean because they want to help not invite the storm. In their history, humankind has always shunned them at first sight even though they only possess friendly intentions. They noticed that sailors and their ships don't fare well in the storm but since the humans are scared of their appearance, they resorted to their beautiful singing to warn the sailors would change course. They don't invite the storm, they invite the sailors to get away from it."
Henry tapped his finger on the armchair as he continued, "All in all, it's just a massive misunderstanding, all because humans can't accept the fact that there's a species that lives underwater with half-human body and half fish tail."
Don't even mention the living rocks who lives deep in the mountains.
"…I see, but that doesn't explain the fact that she brought you to the furthest island from your shipwreck. Liam mentioned that in the letter. If she brought you to the Southern Isles, or anywhere near that, Liam could've brought you back sooner."
Henry's lips thinned, "…It's not her fault. You have her bird friend to blame for that. I'm not sure of the details but from what I know, she doesn't know any of the nearest islands that night so she seeks the help of her bird friend, who in turn, turns out to be a massive idiot and leads her to the farthest shores he can think of."
"Alright, she's your mermaid friend that was brought to life from the legends of the sailors. How about those two old couples? The three carriages? That man with Liam? Also, those tied bandits who all looked as if they ran around Lioncrest ten times?"
Facing these questions, Henry smirked and shifted his sitting position so he would be more comfortable, "You'd better sit tight because I'm about to tell you the most absurd story you'll ever hear."
Maximus's response was leaning back in his chair, pouring another glass of whiskey, and taking a sip before gesturing for Henry to continue.
And so, hours of long rant began.
———
Meanwhile, outside the study room, an entirely different conversation was occurring between Queen Olivia and Ariel.
They were walking on the hallways with Olivia planning to show her around and eventually, the guest room where she'll be staying. In the meantime, they engaged in a conversation.
"So, what's your relationship with my son?" When faced with this question, Ariel only had one answer in mind. She didn't even bother to think deeply about it and simply replied.
"I'm his first concubine."
In an instant, Olivia choked on her spit, not expecting the answer to come out of Ariel's mouth.
Even her husband's concubines are ashamed of their title and here is this pretty red-haired girl who could probably cause war between Kingdoms just for her beauty alone, who seemed very proud of having the status as her son's concubine.
"A-Are you sure? My son isn't married yet and maybe you should think about being his wife instead?" Honestly, Olivia had a good feeling about the girl in front of her. She seemed kind and polite based on their brief interaction these past few minutes.
These past few years, many nobles and even princesses from other Kingdoms have offered countless hands for marriage with her son, and yet not one of them was approved by her.
The girls were either too spoiled for her liking, or just in it for the status, fame, and power that Henry holds. Not to mention, peak beauty is a standard when it comes to marrying royalty.
So when she saw this girl, wearing commoner's clothes that were too big for her size, bearing a polite attitude and beauty, Olivia was instantly hooked.
Perhaps the only thing that she lacks is a background standing as in this kind of world, having an expensive status is everything. You could be strong and smart but you can never be part of the elites who can manipulate everything behind the scenes with their seemingly endless wealth.
Though if she's going to be honest. If there's truly no elite girl who is worthy of her son, she wouldn't mind someone like Ariel despite having no elite background.
Ariel finally responded with a shake of her head, "I'm not sure but he didn't seem to tell you yet. I don't think it's in my place to be the bearer of the news but that place is no longer vacant."
Even though Ariel seemed genuine in not wanting to break down the news, she still revealed it differently.
"What?" Was the response that she received from Olivia.
Who wouldn't be surprised? Her son, the famous Golden Boy of Lioncrest Kingdom has already promised his love to someone else!
Especially during the short amount of time he spent outside Lioncrest territory! Who in the world of women could have possibly stolen her son's heart before Ariel?
"Are you sure you don't want to tell me more about this girl?" Olivia hoped to probe more but unfortunately, Ariel remained stubborn.
"Even if I do tell you, I don't know much about her, only from the stories that Henry would tell me about her. I'm sorry." From the looks on her face, Olivia could tell her expression was genuine.
"He's probably telling my husband about her already…" She murmured to herself with a pout.
"But still, are you really sure you want to settle as my son's concubine? You know, concubines are not quite seen in equal standing as the wife."
Olivia was not trying to steer the girl away from her son or anything like that. It's just that the innocent look on her face made her realize that Ariel has probably no idea what kind of looks the concubines face every day.
They don't receive the same respect as the true wife and not to mention, even their own children have a higher status compared to them as the said children still bear the blood of the King.
She doesn't want Ariel to experience that kind of everyday life just for the sake of chasing love.
Ariel shook her head and responded in a dream-like state, "I'm fine with that as long as Henry sees me as someone worthy of his love." Olivia watched as the girl stares on the ground, "I'm okay being his second if it means he would look at me the same as I look at him."
She watched as the red-haired girl fiddled with her fingers, "I don't care how people would look at me. They don't know me and I don't know them, that's enough reason for me not to care about their opinions." Ariel finally raised her head back up and smiled, "The only person I care about is Henry. That's all."
"…Ariel, I can see that you truly love my son. But love doesn't bloom out of nowhere. There is always a story behind it." Olivia was not asking much, just the reason behind Ariel's decision to bear the weight of being a man's second for the sake of love.
"Well…you can say that he lit up my world. Every single day when I woke up, the people around me would look at me and only see me as my father's favorite daughter or the second-coming of my mother."
"That is until I met Henry. I saw how he'd rather save other people than his own. He's ready to risk his life if it means letting other people see the next day…That…heroic act made me attracted to him."
"And when I talked to him, played with him, he just made me forget about everything, letting me focus entirely on him and myself. When I'm with him, he makes me feel that I'm not just my father's daughter or someone like my mother. I'm just…me…"
Ariel hugged her arms around, as if recalling a bad memory, "One day when I was kidnapped by bad people…I was so scared, I don't have any other thoughts but him and hoping that when I open my eyes again, he would be there…"
"And he did. The fifth time I opened my eyes, he held me in his arms, whispered that everything is gonna be okay and then he brought me to the beautiful ocean…I couldn't forget that feeling…He didn't just save my life that day, he gave me the life that I didn't know I had."
Hearing her story, Olivia couldn't help but sigh in nostalgia, "A classic tale of the knight saving the maiden in distress…My husband once did the same thing years ago…"
Her words abruptly made Ariel look at her in surprise, "His father saved you from the bad men also? Can you tell me about it?"
Olivia simply chuckled and nodded her head, raising her hand and patting Ariel's head, "Yes he did. But it's a very long story, maybe some other time, okay?"