On the way to Zariya

King Phillip's POV

I sighed in impatience as I stared out the window, my hands fiddling with the blue tunic I was wearing. "Phillip! Stop playing with your tunic, you are going to wrinkle it!" That would be my sister Scarlett. I shot her a lopsided grin as I raised my hands as a gesture of surrender before saying "Sorry, sister dearest. But pray, do tell what else am I supposed to do?" "Well if you seek a release from boredom than you may wind my wool as I knit socks for your future nephew," she responded, hand cradling her bump as we spoke. I grinned in excitement as I thought of my future nephew. Scarlett was 6 months pregnant and despite me insisting that I could handle it, she demanded to be allowed to come on the journey.

"Have you decided on a name yet?" asked Leanne, my youngest sister, offering Scarlett a cookie as she spoke. "No. Charles and I have a few options in mind though," answered Scarlett carefully. "Are you seriously not going to tell us the gender of the child, or the name?" questioned my younger brother Edward. Scarlett nodded, blue eyes alight as she did so. Edward groaned and tugged on his raven hair in mock-frustration. Leanne giggled at him before frowning at me. "What? Why are you frowning at me?" I asked. "Because your crown is all crooked!" scolded Leanne leaning over to fix it, brown hair brushing my nose as she did so. Upon fixing my crown she smoothed my blond curls before smiling, apparently satisfied with her work. I shot her a grateful smile before asking "Are we any closer to Zariya?" "Not any closer than 5 minutes ago which was the last time you asked," answered Edward, teasing grin present on his face. I scowled in response.

"I know you are worried about this trade agreement Phil, but you don't need to be. You have been planning this since your coronation," soothed Leanne. "The only thing you need to be worried about is the royal family. The King and Queen rarely interfere in trade agreements, preferring to leave it to the Crown Prince and his sister. The Crown Prince is notorious for being handsome and silver tongued. His sister is the opposite. She is famed for her beauty as well as her harsh words," added Edward with a frown on his face. "But you needn't worry Phil, everyone who meets you adores you," said Scarlett shooting a glare at Edward and smile at me. "Who knows? Perhaps Alynthi will find itself a Queen on this trip," teased Leanne. "I don't know about a queen, but I hope we will have a trade partner and a good relationship with Zariya. The tension between the 2 kingdoms has been on a steady rise for the past few years and the last thing I want right now is a war," I said, worry clouding my mind.

As soon as I finished my sentence the carriage drew to an abrupt stop. "We must be here," said Scarlett. I nodded and took a deep breath to gather my courage before I stepped out of the carriage.

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