As Henry entered the room he saw that the party was in full swing. Young couples were dancing, laughing, talking and enjoying their time together. People seeking to make connections were running around doing their best to approach powerful players in the room. Foreign diplomats were chatting with each other and with nobles in various languages, while prince Alexei was doing his best not to be suffocated by the people surrounding him. In a corner his uncle was enjoying a drink with Alfred while Eleonora was chatting with Joshua’s wife lady Mary and lady Gisela. Their husbands were not too far away laughing at something like little children, not caring about the people around them.

‘There they are, the perfect target.’ Henry was certain he had found the perfect people to mingle with, but before he could even take a step forward, he was swarmed by nobles. They either could not get to the prince and settled with the next best thing, or they already got their moment with Alexei and now wanted to get into Henry’s memory.

Greetings were flying from all sides and Henry had to use all his courage not to turn tail and run. The perfumes mixed and Henry was certain that he would feel much better among the knights who were covered in sweat and dirt from the gym.

Still he did his best, and after a good half an hour of pleasantries, supervised by Anna, he finally pushed through to his initial targets.

“My lady Gisela, my lady Mary, mo-mother” Henry said and bowed before the three women. ‘I almost called mother mommy, that would not go well with Anna.’ Henry was covered in cold sweat and turned to see Anna standing there with a pleasant smile plastered on her face. Still he knew that he would have to practice for a whole week because of this slip up.

Gisela was wearing a pleasant smile and looked at the newcomer with warm eyes. “Oh, lord Henry, please join our little group. How do you like the party so far?”

“There are so many people, it is a great honor for me to see so many guests come. I can only say that much, my lady.” (Henry)

Gisela stepped forward and leaned into Henry’s ear, “You sure have grown my little lord, still, do not be too stiff before us, we are practically your aunts.”

“Henry, you do not remember, but apart from Joshua and Mary the first people to see you were duke Benjamin and lady Gisela. They are our old friends and allies.” (Eleonora)

“Now, now, Eli, why are you calling me old?” Gisela did her best to fake being angry but soon giggled and hid her face behind a fan.

The four women then encircled Henry and started asking him if he had seen any girls he might like. The teasing went on for some time before Benjamin and Joshua came into the group and dragged Henry away for some “male bonding”.

“Lord Henry, it is commendable that you can talk to women with such ease, it is not that we are jealous but still remember that at such events one must also take some time and spend it with his male friends.” (Benjamin)

“I will remember your advice, my lord.” Henry was now much more relaxed as he knew this man was his father’s friend, still he had to do his best to make a good impression on him.

“Fear not my lord Benjamin, I am certain our little lord will grow up to be a splendid man, just like his father.” As Joshua said these words he seemed a bit tipsy, but since Henry knew that this man was serious and a true knight he brushed it off as his imagination.

“Indeed, you showed us a good side of you today. Most children of your age would have taken at least one or two breaks before finishing the long line you faced today. Splendid show young Henry!” Benjamin laughed before taking another wine glass from one of the many servants that were running around and making sure no guest was without a drink.

“Thank you for your kind words, I only did what a good host should do for guests who have traveled so far.” Henry felt a bit embarrassed from so much praise, but at the same time felt relieved that he made a good first impression on Benjamin.

As the chat continued on, a new arrival patted Henry’s head from the back. Henry knew there was only one person who would do that in front of so many people.

“Father!” Henry did his best to keep his voice down, but the arrival of his father meant that the conversation would be taken over by the older Sigurdson and that Henry would now have a chance to take a breather.

“Henry, are these two giving you a hard time?” Alfred said with a warm smile on his face. He was doing his best not to seem upset but his friends noticed that they made him angry.

“Lord Alfred, please, we did not mean to steal your son from you. We only kept him entertained until you arrived, right Joshua, right?” Benjamin used his elbow to make Joshua snap out of his daze and agree with him.

Joshua nodded and quickly poured more wine into Alfred's, now half empty glass, while complimenting Henry, “Indeed, our little lord is a great conversation companion. But we are not crazy enough to hog him all for ourselves. Please join us, my lord.”

Alfred’s cold eyes that were chilling the two men down turned warm once more and he joined in the conversation. The three men teased Henry about girls and his fancy attire that featured flowers, much to Henry’s dismay, as he wanted his family crest or a fierce animal design, but failed to get them as his mother wanted him to be cute. The talks went on and Henry learned a lot about the people around him from their conversation.

“Henry, lord Benjamin, Joshua and I have fought in many battles together. They are my friends from my academy days. I hope you will find such good friends someday.” Alfred had a grin on his face as he said these words.

“Remembering something fun, are you now? Perhaps the time you three ‘accidentally’ mixed the wrong herbs in alchemy class?” Eleonora, Mary and Gisela walked over and joined in the conversation.

Alfred was flustered and quickly denied any wrongdoings, “That was really accidental, I swear honey. After all these years you still do not trust me?”

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“Yes, yes, as he said. Gisela you know I would never do something like that on purpose.” (Benjamin)

Henry was feeling a bit mischievous so he decided to throw the three men under the proverbial bus. He wanted to get some payback for their teasing.

Doing his best to look innocent and pure, Henry turned to his father and asked, “What did you do father?”

“Oh, it is a fun story actually…” Joshua started talking but was cut off by the other adults. “I mean. nothing happened my lord, it was a long time ago, so we forgot.” He did his best to get out of the problem he walked into, only to rush into another one.

Gisela took a step forward and, unseen to the men, gave Henry a wink. “Are you telling our little lord Henry that we are old, so old to even start forgetting things?”

Joshua was now on an island, his two friends abandoned him in hopes of putting all the blame on the poor knight. Still they were not so lucky and the three newcomers quickly each gave their own husband a piece of their mind for giving Henry bad ideas.

The atmosphere quickly returned to a friendly one and Henry was able to enjoy the little jokes and stories the grown ups were sharing.

“Lord Alfred, lord Benjamin, it is time.” These words from Anna turned the men's eyes sharp. Like wolves following the pack leader's orders the two dukes moved towards the crown prince and his followers. “You too, my lord Nicolas.” (Anna)

“As you wish my lady.” Nicolas tagged along with the two and they quickly pulled the prince out of encirclement.

Eleonora whispered into Henry’s ear. “Daddy and the others are helping the prince take a bit of rest. You can use this opportunity to talk to him, but don’t burden him, greet him and if he wants to talk let him talk.”

“His highness sure is strong, to be able to stand for so long and chat with so many people. I would have a splitting headache by now.” Gisela was full of admiration for the boy who was braving through the storm right before her eyes.

“Indeed, we sure are lucky with his being the future king.” (Eleonora)

“You two, don’t gossip like that. It is not proper.” (Anna)

“Don’t take all the fun out of this Anna, if not for the gossip I would not be able to survive these kinds of events. Not that this one is like that, I have Eleonora and my cute little Henry.” As she said these words Gisela pinched Henry’s cheek.

***

Soon the three men returned with the prince in tow. He looked exhausted and grateful for their help. Still he could not say it out loud.

Doing his best to seem regal even when completely exhausted, Alexei cleared his throat and spoke to the men before him, “My lords, what did you wish to discuss with me?”

“Not much, I wanted to have you take some rest, after all we can’t break you at such a young age, now can we?” Nicolas shrugged his shoulders while telling his nephew the truth.

“Uncle…” Alexei wanted to refute his uncle, after all, the others present in this circle were high ranking nobles, his future subjects. A future king could not allow himself to be seen as weak even at such a young age. But before he could even begin his sentence Nicolas raised his hand to stop him.

“Alexei, the people in this circle are trusted vassals of your father, even more importantly they are good people who would not go against the kingdom. Once you wear the crown on your head the burden you are feeling now is going to increase several fold, so you need to learn not to wear the mask in front of everyone. If you keep everything bottled up you will go insane, you will end up fearing your own shadow.” Nicolas wanted his nephew to learn important lessons sooner rather than later. It was one of the reasons he brought him to this party. The one place pretty much all of the loyalists would gather.

“Still, uncle, I cannot start acting the same way I act behind the closed doors of my room. There must be a mask worn all the time, it protects both sides after all.” (Alexei)

“Alexei, relax, sit down for a bit and just enjoy the stories, there is no one in this room that will dare to disturb this particular circle of people, not for a few hours at least.” As he said this the gaze of the archduke swept over the room. All eyes were on their table, but soon they gave up and started talking among themselves, awaiting their next opportunity.

Alexei nodded as he knew there was no point in going against his uncle. He was a strong, powerful man who abandoned many things to serve the kingdom. Alexei knew his uncle as a kind and loving family member, his fathers best friend and confidant. Whatever Nicolas did was for the kingdom and its benefit.

“Just sit and relax, Your highness. Henry here is also taking his rest, talk among yourselves and eat some cake.” (Alfred)

“I will take you up on that offer, lord Alfred.” Alexei gave up and decided to go with the flow, after all, he was getting winded and needed to rest real bad.

He sat down right next to Henry who was enjoying his cake. Henry saw him and got up, but Alexei stopped him and joined in on the feast.

“Young Henry, how are you enjoying your party so far?” Alexei decided to enjoy some cake while chatting with the host. He planned to use this chance to learn a bit about the boy.

“I am enjoying it very much, Your highness. Thank you for joining me. Would you like something brought over, is the meal to your liking?” Henry heard the conversation the adults had with Alexei so he knew the prince was still not truly relaxed and was going with the flow.

“The cake is exquisite, do compliment your chefs.” Alexei’s brother is a year older than Henry, so he knew that children at that age were, to put it mildly, prone to constant mood swings. This knowledge made Alexei do his best to keep Henry happy and not walk into any situation that might cause him to cry or complain.

As they talked about various subjects Alexei noticed that Henry had calluses on his hands and got curious.

“Lord Henry, how did you get those?” Alexei said, pointing at Henry’s hands.

“I train with the sword every day.” Henry was very proud at the fact that he never missed a single day of training and that his hands had calluses that proved his body was starting to adapt to the sword.

“Good job, keep it up and I am sure you will be a great knight one day.” (Alexei)

“Thank you, Your highness!” Henry was happy that someone from the outside world was acknowledging his hard work.

The two had broken the ice and the conversation was now flowing much easier. As the talks went on Alexei was pleasantly surprised by the kind and gentle boy who answered in a manner his brother could not achieve, not even before their father.

But all good things must come to an end. The nobles, dignitaries and merchants who still did not get to say a line or two to the crown prince started moving closer and closer to the group.

“Your highness, I am afraid your break is over.” Nicolas had an apologetic look on his face as he said these words.