After Seren finished her work in the Vermillion Palace, she had to return to her residence for some important matters. As such, after having her midday meal, Princess Ayira had to come see Seren in the Queen's palace to answer the Queen's summon.
The Queen's lady-in-waiting escorted the young princess to the Queen's study. When she entered the study, Ayira saw Seren not sitting in her chair behind her desk, but rather, in the lounge area of the room where a luxurious couch and several comfortable seats surrounded a table. That made her less anxious.
She immediately curtsied before the Queen.
"Ayira Ivanov greets Her Majesty the Queen of Megaris."
Seren silently observed the fifteen-year-old princess, the youngest of her husband's siblings. Her appearance, rather than the elegance expected of a royal, was oozing with shyness and nervousness. It was a rather adorable and refreshing sight to see, especially since Seren had just met the First Concubine, Lady Clarisa, in a meeting earlier.
She had seen Ayira many times before, but she never had the chance to interact with her closely. Seren could see how much the Fourth Princess resembles her beautiful mother.
"Have a seat, Princess Ayira," Seren instructed her calmly. On the table, fresh tea had been prepared for the two of them.
Ayira felt her nervousness return as it was the first time she was interacting with the Queen alone. She had a good impression of the Queen after her visits to the Vermilion Palace. Seeing how fairly she dealt with the matters inside the royal harem, not to mention her own mother spoke well of Seren, Ayira knew there was no reason for her to be scared.
'But still, she is the Queen.'
With her head lowered, Ayira chose to sit in the chair directly in front of Seren. Seren could see that the young princess was nervous and smiled behind her veil.
"Princess Ayira, Lady Tyra mentioned to me that you can play musical instruments."
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty."
"According to her, you play the zither best. In fact, your skill is on par as the musicians we hire on our royal balls."
Ayira shook her head, her eyes on the untouched teacups on the table. "Lady Tyra is praising me too much!" She then realized the pitch of her voice had risen, and so, she swallowed her anxiety and tried to speak slower this time. "I mean, Your Majesty, I can play the zither but not sure if it's good enough like Lady Tyra claimed..."
Seren wanted her to be comfortable with her and spoke, "You can look at me, Princess Ayira, or do you feel scared of me because I have these scales on me?" As if to highlight her point, she raised her right hand to show off the snake-like scales on her skin.
Ayira immediately shook her head and looked at Seren straight in the eye. She then flinched and lowered her head again.
"N-No, Your Majesty. I dare not...You are the Queen...so..." Ayira felt loss for words as she felt like she had offended the Queen.
"Then do look at me when you speak."
Only when the young princess peeked at her veiled face did Seren speak again.
"How about you taste the tea first? I personally brewed it for you. It might help you feel more comfortable."
"Y-Yes! Thank you, Your Majesty! I'm honored--"
Several minutes later, Ayira was able to relax her stiff shoulders as she finished the cup of freshly-brewed tea along with several tasty cookies.
Seren found it a good chance to start their conversation. "Do you know why I summoned you?"
"No, Your Majesty." Ayira smiled timidly. "Did I do something wrong?"
"I called you here because I need your help."
"Help?"
Seren nodded. "I want you to teach me how to play the zither." She glanced at Lady Tyra who was quietly standing on one side. "Lady Tyra told me that you can help me best."
Ayira felt puzzled. "But, Your Majesty, you can hire any teacher, and any renowned musician will respond, even come running at the chance of teaching you--"
"See, if I hire a teacher, His Majesty will know it," Seren said with a sparkle in her purple eyes. "I don't want His Majesty to know it."
It puzzled the young princess even more as she could not understand the situation. Hiding music lessons from the King? Was there a need? She knew his brother's personality, and he would not be mad even if he learns his wife wants to play an instrument--
Lady Tyra looked at the princess. "Princess Ayira. Rest assured. Once you successfully teach Her Majesty the zither, don't you think it will be a pleasant surprise for His Majesty?"
Seren had sincerity in her eyes as she stared at the younger lady. "I promise to be a good student to you."
Ayira still felt hesitant and heard Seren again, "Won't you help me?"
'Will she play the zither for my Second Brother?' It did seem like a thoughtful surprise. Ayira nodded lightly. "I will help you, Your Majesty."
Seren was pleased to hear her agreement. "If you do not have any plans for the day, shall we start right now?"
Seren could not wait to learn it as soon as possible.
On one side of the study, Esther's zither was placed in the study the same way the previous queen had left it. A cushioned sitting arrangement was made in front of it where the two people could sit comfortably.
"Oh, this zither...?"
Lady Tyra acknowledged her guess. "Since its former owner isn't here, it belonged to Her Majesty now."
Ayira carefully sat on the cushioned arrangement while her student sat next to her. To her surprise, she found out that despite the years, the musical instrument seemed brand new, as if time had not aged the wood. The strings were also still in perfect tune.
"First, shall I do a performance?" Ayira said as she plucked a string, the movement of her fingers elegant. With the zither in front of her, she felt less nervous, trying to imagine how she often played for Lady Saira. "I will play something so Your Majesty can see how it's played."
Seren nodded as she was excited to hear the younger lady's music. Ayira played a simple yet beautiful tune which made everyone present--from Lady Tyra to the ladies-in-waiting-- mesmerized by the melody.
The longer Seren observed how graceful the young princess was as she played the zither, the more she praised her in her mind again and again.
Once she stopped, there was clapping from Seren and her servants.
"That was beautiful," Seren praised and the servants chimed in to praise as well.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Ayira said in a polite tone as she bowed to her lightly.
After that, Ayira started to teach Seren the basics of a zither, and the young queen paid great attention to each of her words, trying not to miss anything that Ayira said.
The first day of the class lasted for an hour. Ayira was happy with how fast the Queen was learning, and for a moment, both forgot the differences in their status and started to interact like young girls who were friends.
After realizing the time, Ayira spoke, "For today, this much should be enough. In our next lesson, I will test how much you remember. Then, you need to choose a simple song to practice and we can focus on that. I am sure it won't take long for Your Majesty to be able to play it well."
"That, I will look for an appropriate music sheet." Seren then playfully bowed to pay her respects to Ayira as her teacher. "In a few days, please teach me well enough to play at least a chord."
"If Your Majesty keeps practicing, it is more than possible to even do the melody."
"I will be in your care."
By then, the servants brought a new set of tea and snacks for the two royal ladies. Once they finished it, it was time for Ayira to leave. "Thank you for the tea and snacks, Your Majesty."
Seren accompanied Ayira when leaving the study. As they passed the front of the Queen's chamber, they saw Drayce coming towards them. Both flinched, as if something pricked their conscience.
Seren didn't expect him to show up at this hour as he would usually be in the Grand Palace, busy with the kingdom's affairs.
For a moment, she felt nervous. She worried if he caught the sound of the zither and that made him come to check. She threw a wondering look at Lady Tyra as she was sure Lady Tyra had put a spell around the study so no sound would escape the room.
"Ayira?" Drayce said, surprised to see his youngest sister with his wife.
Ayira felt her palm turn sweaty. The Queen had ordered her to not tell her brother anything about their secret music lessons. She didn't know what to say once her brother asked for the reason for her being in the Queen's residence.
Unfortunately, her fears materialized the very next moment.
"Why are you here?" Drayce asked.
Seren felt a wave of anxiety, fearing that he would discover the truth, but just then, Ayira stepped forward and hugged her brother.
"Brother, I am upset with you!"
Ayira was Drayce's most cherished sibling, not only because she was the youngest, but also because she had always been the sweetest towards him.
It was somewhat to be expected given her position and personality. Though, she only had the liberty to act spoiled with the King and Ruven--Keiren was an exception because she was scared of the eldest one.
Drayce patted her head and asked, "Upset? May this poor brother know what he did to upset his little sister?"
Seren felt shocked at the sight. She didn't expect Draye to be like this with his siblings.
During her wedding ceremony, she had witnessed him interact with the First Prince, Prince Keiren. She thought just like with his eldest brother, Drayce must be distant with the rest as well.
In fact, had she ever seen anyone in this kingdom act like this with this King? This man who everyone feared to the point they called him a Devil?
However, Seren was yet to witness Ruven and Drayce's interaction and she didn't know she would be getting another surprise.
"Brother didn't come to visit me in the Vermillion Palace and I missed him." She pouted like a little girl. "Are you telling me that since you are married, you don't miss me at all?"
Drayce chuckled, "How can that be? I even brought a gift for you from my last trip."
She looked up at him as her innocent eyes blinked a few times. "Really? Where?"
"In my study," he replied.
"Let's go then," Ayira said as if she could not wait to get her gift.
Drayce patted her head and looked at Seren. "My Queen, do you want to come with us?"
Seren nodded and the three walked towards the King's residence with both ladies on his either side.
On the way, Drayce's ears caught something and smiled. He glanced at Seren. "You are going to meet my younger brother."
Seren had heard that the Third Prince had arrived in the royal palace, but she was yet to get the chance to meet him.
"Prince Ruven?" she asked.
"Hmm," Drayce nodded and they continued to walk.
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