It took a little while for the laughter and silliness to fade away, long enough that the maids had served the tea and left again. It was only when the room was empty of everyone except their family did the atmosphere calm down a bit.

Placing another cookie on her plate, Alrik asked lightly, "So what did you really call us here for, Father? There are no upcoming events and none of the guards have mentioned any threats, so it's unlikely an issue with the kingdom. But if it were something small, you would've just discussed it with us over dinner. Which means that it must be something 'official', even if you're trying to keep it as unofficial as possible."

Father sighed, exchanging a quick glance with Mother, before setting down his teacup and facing them directly. "When did you get so mature, Alrik? Just the other day you were taking your first steps and now you're acting like a military strategist."

The tips of Alrik's ears turned pink but he answered calmly, "Someone has to be serious. If it were up to you and Aleydis, we'd been running off on adventures every other day."

Their father pouted, "What's the good of being king if I can't go on picnics occasionally?"

Amusement laced their mother's voice as she chided gently, "Alexis."

He rolled his eyes, teasing back as he refilled her teacup, "Marie."

As much as she loved her parents, the waiting was driving her crazy. Allowing her silliness to fade away, Aleydis glanced at Alrik before turning her attention back to their parents. "So, it must be quite serious, if you both are trying to avoid talking about why you called us here."

Their father sighed, finally looking straight at them. "You're right, princess. This is not an easy topic to discuss. You see, the Council has been insisting upon meetings all this week and we haven't been able to delay the subject any longer."

She and Alrik both grimaced at that. While they couldn't openly disrespect the Council since they were made up of Elders from both commoners and nobility, none of the royal family overly cared for them. The Council wanted them to be more like the larger kingdoms or even the empire, instead of the small but thriving kingdom that they truly were.

Aleydis wrinkled her nose. "Is that why you insisted upon my princess lessons? Are we having some sort of fancy ball or something?"

Mother nodded, "Ah yes, about that. They were the ones who insisted that you get an etiquette teacher, I had wanted to teach you myself. However, I've been so busy with various projects that I simply haven't had the time. I hope that she hasn't been too rough on you, my darling. I did my best to pick out one who wouldn't try to crush your beautiful spirit."

She fiddled absently with a cookie, picking her words carefully. "She seems to have a very firm idea of what a princess should be. But she is nice, I swear."

Alrik said firmly, "Make sure and tell us if they aren't, even if they say not to. Just because we're a small kingdom doesn't mean they can look down on us."

Aleydis hummed happily, having just finished this subject in her studies. "Yes. Our kingdom is the oldest continuous country on this continent. Older even than the empire, which has been around for 1500 years. It's because our country is small and has had no desire to conquer other countries, as well as having alliances with other countries that we've been able to enjoy peace for so long."

Her mother smiled, looking pleased. "That's right. Have you finished studying the country and the royal family?"

Aleydis nodded happily even as Alrik went stiff next to her. She looked over to find him holding his cup tightly, frowning as if the tea had just insulted him. "Alrik? Is something wrong?"

He offered her a small smile but it seemed strained. After a moment, he turned and faced their parents. "Please tell me that the Council isn't pressuring you about either the Succession or about marrying Aleydis off in an arranged marriage."

Their father scowled, his expression turning thunderous. "They haven't dared, nor will they, if they're smart."

Mother sighed, gently tapping his hand to get him to relax. "They haven't dared to say anything. Yet. But they're growing bolder by the day and it won't be long until they start pushing for things that are outside of their area of concern."

Aleydis blinked, hearing the concern in all of her family's voices. Her recent studies had helped her to understand a lot more about both their country and the royal family. While it was true that they were a monarchy and that the royal family's word should be law, the third king had established the Council to prevent the royal family from slipping into tyranny. It was meant to be a fine balance between the two in order to help the kingdom flourish.

However, recently there had been a light drought for the past three years. No one knew if it was going to get better or worse until the rainy season arrived in a few months. This meant that they might need assistance from their allies to help keep their people fed, and many of their alliances were overseen by the Elders and the Council.

Excitement filled her as she realized what was going on. Setting down her cup, she winced when it clacked loudly from the force. To distract from her mistake, she said quickly, "They want you to choose the heir, don't they?"

That was another thing. Most countries and the empire chose their heirs by order of birth and even gender. Even if Aleydis had been an only child, she would never have been permitted to inherit the throne of the empire simply because she was a girl. It would be her husband, chosen by the emperor, who would rule while she was relegated to an ornamental role. 

Colbini had never done that. Instead, they permitted all of the children of the royal family equal opportunity to take the throne. If the eldest one did not want the throne, then any of the younger ones could step up and accept the role. All of the royal children were given access to the same education and training, so that there was no more qualified candidate than the other, except by natural inclination. Then, once the heir had been chosen, the other children weren't immediately shipped off to other countries, forced into confinement, or even killed so they wouldn't pose a threat to the throne.

No, all of the royal children were given the opportunity to remain in Colbini and either take a support role for the heir or simply live their lives in peace as a citizen of Colbini. Although all the other countries had protested that this method would never work, it had kept Colbini peaceful for thousands of years.

Their father looked troubled when he answered. "Yes, they're pushing for us to choose the heir before the rainy season starts."

Their parents wouldn't look so troubled if it were something simple, so there must be a hidden element between them choosing an heir. It was just a formality anyway since everyone knew that Alrik was going to be the next king. So why the deadline?

She snickered as she suddenly realized what the Elders were probably trying to do. "They want you to choose Alrik, so they can trade me for grain if the drought gets worse."

Their parents didn't answer but they didn't have to, their silence saying more than their words would've. Alrik jumped up, his hand wrapping around the hilt of his belt dagger as he started toward the door. Their father called firmly, "Alrik, stop!"

Alrik stopped but didn't turn around. His voice was furious as he spat, "You heard what Aleydis just said. How dare they even think of such a thing?!

Their mother answered softly, tiredness lacing her voice. "They haven't outright said anything. And even if they are considering such a thing, we have iron-clad laws about the royal family and being used as pawns. Aleydis is safe, my son. Their schemes will never see fruition. Both your father and I will make sure of that."

Silence stretched for several long minutes and Aleydis didn't dare move or say anything. Just when she was certain that Alrik would go confront the Council anyway, he sighed, turning around and coming back over to sit next to her. Her hands shaking just a little bit, she hated when her family was upset, she poured a fresh cup of tea and offered it to him.

He took it gently from her, reaching out and carefully patting her head. "It's okay, Sprout. I'm fine now. Didn't mean to make you worry."

Aleydis sat close enough so that their knees touched and mumbled, "I just don't want you to be upset because of me."

He smiled at her, nudging her knee. "I could never be upset with you or because of you. So you don't need to worry about that."

He waited until she smiled back at him before turning his attention to where their parents were watching them closely. "So, if you're not planning on acceding to the Elders's wishes, why did you need to see us?"