"Thank you for coming, Lily," said the queen with a big smile. "Are you tired? You should rest and have tea. Let me deal with the boys."
"Ah.. Your Majesty is too kind," said Lily. "We are fine."
"Give Jorei to me, so you can rest a little bit," Emmelyn offered. "I miss this baby so much."
"Well, then... here you go," said Lily, finally gave in. She handed over her chubby baby to Emmelyn. "Are you not tired? Jorei is quite heavy now and you are also carrying your baby in your womb..."
"No, it's nothing," said Emmelyn with a chuckle. She then told Lily how healthy and fresh she always felt lately after Mr. Vitas advised her to walk a lot. "It really helps. Being active makes me feel fresh and healthy."
She sat on the sofa and put baby Jorei on her lap and teased the chubby boy incessantly. Emmelyn was suddenly in a very good mood. Apparently, she was really missing Lily and her boys. This surprise from the queen meant so much to her.
Emmelyn turned to Queen Elara and whispered her gratitude. "Queen Mother, thank you so much for inviting Lily and her children to come to the royal palace. I miss them dearly."
The queen smiled sweetly. "Ah, no need to thank me. I miss them too. I haven't seen the youngest son after he was born. So, I think this is the perfect timing to meet all of them."
Mars did tell his mother about his intention to make Emmelyn and Lily close. He explained his plan to the queen that after he ascended the throne, he would find a good position for Athos in the capital, so he could move here with his family.
Queen Elara was supportive of this plan because she knew how hard it was to be alone in the capital without friends. She had met Lily several times and grew fond of her.
So, Queen Elara thought, Lily would be a good lady-in-waiting for Emmelyn once she became the queen. It was crucial for a queen to have a good support system to do her day-to-day duty for the kingdom.
Lily was tired, but she was soon energized by the warm welcome that she and her sons received in the royal palace. Athos immediately went to see the king to talk about Southberry and reported his meeting with Mars when the prince stopped by in his castle during the trip to Wintermere.
King Jared also interrogated Athos about the wedding between Mars and Emmelyn that he officiated at the beginning of spring.
Fortunately, Mars already explained everything to his cousin, so Athos didn't feel surprised or caught off guard by the king's interrogation. He explained everything well and King Jared couldn't really find anything to blame him with.
It was the crown prince who insisted that Aeron should officiate his wedding to the woman that he loved. As a governor, Athos only did what the future monarch asked him to do.
If anyone was to be blamed, it would be none other than the prince himself for his stubbornness to marry Emmelyn.
However, the king knew better. He had tried to punish Mars for taking a stand to defend Emmelyn and for the fact that he married an enemy, a princess who tried to kill him, but King Jared couldn't proceed with the punishment because his wife interfered.
Now, King Jared could only let Mars continue his marriage with that woman. As long as Emmelyn didn't try to do anything harmful.. then he, King Jared, would learn to accept her into their family.
***
Lily let her older boys sit by the queen's sides, each on her right and left. They were educated by their parents and behaved really well. They accepted cakes from the queen with smiles on their faces and always said thank you.
Deep inside, Emmelyn hoped Harlow and her other children would be as sweet as those boys. She quite liked Prince Louis, the oldest one. He was so handsome and well-mannered. His eyes shone with intelligence.
He would sit sweetly in his place and listened to the grown-ups conversing with great interest. Emmelyn thought the boy must be really smart, from the way he paid attention to the people and the environment around him.
Ahh.. if Harlow was a baby girl, Emmelyn would love to have her betrothed to Prince Louis. She smiled sheepishly at this thought.
Gosh.. what was she doing? Harlow was not even born, but she already thought about finding her a fiance?
She realized she had turned into one of those overly-enthusiastic mothers she often saw in courts. Always meeting other mothers and talking about matching their children with each other.
She rubbed her belly lovingly and whispered sweet words to Harlow.
Jorei, who was sitting on her lap, laughed when he saw Emmelyn rubbed her belly. The baby reached out his hand to also touch her belly and this made Emmelyn laugh.
The three ladies were in such a good mood. They spend all the afternoon talking about the children, the latest fashion in the capital, and even some gossips about the ladies in Southberry and Draec.
It was such a good day.
***
Lily and her family stayed in the royal palace for one whole week. Athos did some royal duties while he was in the capital, while Lily spent a lot of time with Emmelyn and the queen.
After one week, they asked permission to visit and stay with Athos' parents. Duke and Duchess Greenan lived near the capital in their big land. They would love to see their daughter-in-law and grandchildren too.
With a heavy heart, Emmelyn had to let Lily go to meet her parents-in-law.
"It's okay. We will be there only for one week," said Lily reassuringly. "We will be back here after we visit Athos' parents. We will stay for another two nights before we return to Southberry."
Emmelyn could only nod. She wished she could join them to see Athos' parents. However, she knew her place. They were not her family, so she didn't have any right to go with them.