I woke up to see both my mother and grandmother sleeping at the end of my bed. Well, they looked like they had a good time together last night. I didn't wake them up because I wanted them to rest for a little while before facing another day of busy life in court. So I slowly got off my bed to take a bath. I just told my servants to keep the noise down because they were still sleeping.

I got ready for the day and was already dressed up. I waited for them till they were already awake. They were surprised that I was the first one to wake up and that they slept in my chambers, but I told them that it was okay. As expected from what I heard last night, they talked to me about their plan.

"So while we are all here, Alex. Catherine advised you to get to know your suitors because you might meet your future husband through them as well."

"I agree," I said, and she was shocked because I believe she wasn't expecting me to agree.

"I told you she'd like my plan, Mary."My grandmother smiled.

"Well, I heard you talking last night and I already thought of my answer last night too"

"Oh! We thought you were already sleeping" mother said.

"I was just resting my eyes." I laughed.

My mother couldn't say anything because she was overcome with emotion.

"Nevertheless, Mary, why not invite her suitors?"

"Yes, maybe if we got back to Scotland."

"No, why not here? Charles would really agree to this. Plus, I know he wants to know every one of his niece's suitors. You do know that he's overprotective of his niece." The Queen Mother explained. I laughed because it was accurate.

"Okay, but can you ask Charles about it, Catherine?"

"Of course, but go with me because I bet he'll be asking for the names of these suitors"

"I bet Uncle Charles would do a background check on them."

"Yes, he most definitely would do such a thing as that too."

"I'll come with you to Uncle Charles."

We ended our conversation and headed out of the chamber to take a bath and dress before going to see Uncle Charles. They were taking too long to get ready, so I went to see him first, and minutes later, they arrived together.

"Uncle Charles!" I smiled.

"Charles, we need you." Catherine butted in.

"Oh, why? What's wrong? " The King answered.

"I'm planning to have a party for Alex. Here, maybe tomorrow. It's for her to meet her suitors so that she can pick from them. " Catherine explained

"Oh yes, finally! Of course, anything for my niece" He smiled.

"Mary, may I have a list of their names? I'll make sure to get each of their information. " He grinned.

Okay, so I have this list of her suitors"

"She actually has a total of 21 suitors."

"Oh my goodness!" I wasn't expecting that many. "How come I didn't know this, mother?" I added.

"Okay, Mary, just give me the list, and I'll ask my men to provide information on these gentlemen. For the good of my niece. " He said

"Mother, please be the one to handle the decorations for the party together with Mary."

"Thank you, Charles."

"Okay, no problem, but I shall go ahead. I'll be in my office if you have any concerns. "

As Uncle Charles left, Grandmother had already announced the party to the servants and guards in the court while my mother was writing the names of my suitors. It got me curious. Therefore, I read as she wrote down the names.

------

"Prince Carter of the Netherlands"

"Prince Charles of the Netherlands"

"Prince Miguel of Portugal"

"Prince Thomas of Australia"

"Prince George of Poland"

"Prince Markus De Bourbon"

Wait, isn't Markus De Bourbon the son of King Antoine of Navarre? The House of Bourbon is the next successor of France after the House of Valois. I bet they'll realize this soon. His uncle was Louis De Bourbon, my mother's ex-lover, who attempted to seize the throne from my father. Hmm. This seems suspicious.

"Prince Magnus of Greece"

"Prince Tomas of Spain"

What? Tomas? It's kind of weird. He's my cousin, the son of King Philip and my aunt, Queen Elisabeth.

"Prince Casper of Sweden"

Better erase him as he's getting married soon.

"Prince Marco of Italy"

That name, Marco, is very familiar, though I can't remember when or where I came across his name before.

"Prince Carlos of Germany"

"Prince David of Switzerland"

"Lord Henry of England"

Oh, an English man. That's actually new. I do hope it is a good one.

"Lord Christian of Scotland"

"Lord Timothy of Scotland"

"Lord Gabriel of Portugal"

"Lord Martin of Italy"

"Lord Lukas of France"

"Lord Dimitri of Germany"

"Archduke Stefan of Hungary"

"Archduke Albert of Australia"

------

I have 21 suitors. Well, actually 20 if we remove Prince Casper. That's hard to choose, especially if I'm going to get to know each of them. We brought the list to King Charles, with Queen Mother Catherine reading it out loud to us.

"Markus De Bourbon. Hmmp. Won't this Bourbon stop? He's even after Alexandra now. " Catherine said

"Mother, you've got to calm down. He may have good intentions toward Alex. Who knows, right? " King Charles said.

"Tomas?"

"Yes, Catherine." Mother nodded.

"Tomás, her cousin, is he serious?"

"Okay, so now my nephew, who is your cousin, likes you." Charles laughed.

"It's actually weird for me. I was also shocked, though I think Spain has to do something with this, or if not, this is out of desperation to claim the throne. " I honestly said.

"There's an Englishman here. That's new. " Catherine mentioned

As Uncle Charles read the list, he then said, "Hey, it's King Marco of Italy."

"He's no longer a prince now. He's a friend of mine. A very nice man. I should invite him over, and you might even like him. " He chuckled.

"Actually, his name really sounds familiar to me; it seems like I already know him and possibly met him in person." I said

"Charles, go invite him over before the party." Catherine demanded

"Would you like it, Alex?" Uncle asked.

I nodded, and he smiled in response. Our conversation ended there, and in an instant, an invitation was sent to King Marco. He's really familiar, but I can't remember his face. We might have met when I was travelling. Actually, I had a best friend named Marco, but I called him Markie since it was the childhood name that the children in our academy used to call my friend. We went to the same special school for royalties. I forgot much of it because it was years ago when I was still a child.