The banquettes and royal party were held in the Scottish Court on the second and final days of the wedding ceremony. We let the food and liquor flow first before the traditional game was held. The Queen and her husband are the hosts. Both of them should be present, but it looks like only the Queen is here with us.

"Mother!" I called her.

"Alex, have you seen Darnley?"

"No, why?"

"Where could he be? He's not in his chambers? "

"He's not there. Plus, the guards said he woke up and fled early. "

"Huh? Why? "

"I don't know"

We searched for Darnley everywhere in the castle, but the Queen of Scots tended to act normally and continued entertaining the guests. They might not actually care about Lord Darnley; he's not that well-known compared to other royals. We all know that he is only an official royal by marriage.

Princess Claude, my aunt, went to me and asked for my time to talk privately.

"Why is that, Claude?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Sure,"

"I need advice."

"What for? Are you okay? "

"Yes, but actually Luc and I..."

"What's happening?"

"We are not that good. We're not actually together. It has been awhile since we got back together physically, but not as a couple. Just a husband and wife by name and law. "

"Why so? Is this still about Leith? "

"Sadly, yes."

"Oh"

"But he's not here anymore. He's neither present nor around you anymore."

"I know, but I kept him a promise and I don't want to break my promise."

"The only thing Luc and I are staying together is because I promised that I'd only give him an heir."

"Why not try and give him a chance? Nothing is wrong with breaking a promise. "

"Well, for me, it's wrong."

"I understand, but if you know that your promise will no longer be fulfilled because Leith is nowhere to be found, you have to break that promise to allow your husband, Luc, to love you. "

She smirked

"Thank you for your kindness, my niece."

"I'm here to help." I smiled.

We went back to the party. I came to my friends to ask how they were doing.

It looks like Markus and Isabel are getting really close, just like Antoinette and Lord Tristan. Count Vincent looked like he also liked Anastacia. How about Prince Charles? I haven't heard any news about him or Rebekah.

"Hey girls!"

"Hello Alex! How are you? "

"I'm fine. How about all of you? By "you," I mean you and your guys. "

"Oh, Markus is such a great man!" Isabel said. "He looks handsome too." She added

"Same with Count Vincent." Ana raised her hand. "He also gave me a gift and told me that he was really supposed to talk to me when he first saw me."

"Oh, maybe that's faith." I winked at Anastacia as they laughed.

"Lord Tristan is a kind gentleman. I find him very generous and kind-hearted. I think I already love him by the way he speaks. " Anne said.

"That's great news! How about you? Bekah? "

"Well, you are right. He's a bit rude in a way. Like he's not that aware of what comes out of his mouth. " Bekah explained.

"Why?"

"He's too judgemental."

"Yes, I heard that too."

"Why not Carter?"

"No, I should look for someone else rather than the brothers."

"Speaking of brothers, why not my brother? He's a baron and a man in his own right. I'm sure your father would like him. He may be a bastard, but he still has the blood of a royal. "

"But you know my father."

"Yes, I understand, but at least try."

"Where is he, by the way?"

I looked around to check where my brother was. I saw him and summoned him to join us.

"Hello, Alexandra, and ladies."

"Brother, I would like you to meet my ladies." I said, "Lady Anastacia." Ana smiled at him.

"Hello, there." He greeted.

"Lady Isabel"

"My pleasure." Belle said.

"Lady Antoinette"

"Nice meeting you," he said.

"Lady Rebekah"

"Pleasure to meet you, Philippe," Bekah said.

"It's nice to see someone like you here." He said and stopped for a while. "Shall we go for a dance?"

"Uhm."

Rebekah looked at us. We cheered and told her to go for it.

"Sure, why not?"

"Okay, let's go. Excuse us, ladies. "

He smiled and left us standing there. We looked at them while talking.

"They would make a great couple."

"Let's give them time to get to know each other."

"That would be great for her."

Suddenly, our own partners came to us to ask for a dance.

"Would you like to dance, love?" Marco asked me.

"Of course."

We took the dance floor, sharing it with other guests and my friends. Seeing them happy with a man is like seeing them grow ever since we were children, and now they have met their opposites to share their lives with.

While I was dancing with Marco, he said. "Now that your mother's wedding is done, I wonder when we will have our wedding?"

"Uhm."

"Well, I'm sorry. I should wait."

"No, it's okay."

"I don't want to pressure you. I'm sorry"

"When would you like it to happen?"

"It's your choice, love"

"Maybe next month? "

"Next month would be great."

"Okay, so it'll be next month."

"Let's just pick when the date is soon."

"Sure my love"

I went to my mother while she was talking to Rizzio.

"I can't start the festivity without Darnley." She said.

"Oh, Mary, no one gives a damn about the groom! " Rizzo exclaimed.

Afterwards, the attention of the guests was called to listen to the Queen. The Queen has already announced the instructions on how the knotting game works. As I led the guests to the chamber where the game would be held, the Queen continued to instruct us on the procedures. After that, the guards are ordered to open the door for the players.

The game had already begun, so I grabbed a ribbon and looked around first. While Uncle James came to check on Lady Greer and the baby, I saw her sitting down with Baby Rose watching the game as he grabbed a ribbon for them.

I saw my mother holding her ribbon and following the trail to its end.

"Mother"

"Alex, how's the game?"

"I'm having fun since this is my first time playing the knotting game."

"It's our tradition here in Scotland."

"By the way, have you already seen Lord Darnley?"

"Not yet,"

"But Catherine's already handling that."

"How?"

"Look"

She pointed out Catherine was talking seriously to Lady Lennox.

"I can see that."

"It must be hard for Lady Lennox." I laughed at what she said.

"Well, you know your grandmother and her capabilities."

"Yes, I surely do."

"She's most likely the one who knows where he is."

"That's possible."

"Once Catherine's done, we'll be talking about it. Would you like to help? "

"Yes, of course."

"I'll call you later. Let's go back to the game, shall we? " I nodded.

We went back to the party. I followed my trail and it ended up in the cake. I slowly grabbed the small statuette where my ribbon was tied. As I look at it, it's a statuette of the bride and groom, the statuette to be put on top of a wedding cake. Was this a sign? For my wedding? I've been asked several times today about it. We've decided to wed next month, but we don't know the exact date yet.

I secretly kept the statuette to serve as a souvenir of my first experience of playing the traditional knotting game in our country. I looked around again. Almost everybody was done following their ribbon. When I saw my mother, she waved at me. I think that was the sign for our meeting about Darnley. I followed her to a separate chamber.

"Where's Darnley?" Queen asked.

"He's meeting with the Vatican." The Queen Mother of France said

"What?! How came I didn't know about this? I'm still the Queen! Every meeting with the Vatican is supposed to go through me. "

"What is it about?" I asked.

"Lady Lennox doesn't know why he's meeting with the Cardinal. I tried everything. I even threatened and blackmailed her. "

"Grandmother! You didn't have to! "

"I had to do it, my child. That's how you set boundaries for your enemies. Let her know her place in this court. "

Suddenly, Rizzio came in, interrupting the conversation.

"Mary"

"Rizzio! I would like you to meet Catherine de Medici. "

"The Queen of France, Catherine de Medici, Queen Mother of France and France's Regent?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Oh my god! I adore you so much. "

"Thank you, dear," Catherine smirked.

"What brings you here, thou?" Queen Mary asked.

"I was just looking for you to give this piece of cake."

"Oh no, thank you, Rizzio"

"Well then I shall have it." He smiled.

"So how do we get to find where their meeting is?" Mary asked.

"We can get to one of his men." Catherine said.

"But how?"

Then suddenly, Rizzio butted in.

"Uhm. I know how. I can get you to the location. "

"How Rizzio?"

"I slept with one of his men. The Cardinal's secretary"

Catherine smirked and said, "Hmm." Rizzio smiled. "I didn't judge." She added.

"Ehh."

We let Rizzio do the job of finding the location of the meeting. When we came back to the party, the Queen finished the game by ending it with a beautiful speech and thankfulness on behalf of her husband's absence too, and the guests were led back to the banquettes to settle down.