Chapter 49 - Winter Star (1)

The Celebration of the Winter Star finally came.

Alexandra woke up early, at first she wanted to go back to sleep but then she remembered what day is it today. She became excited and she wasn't sleepy anymore because of it. She felt very productive and very energetic.

The sound of the door opening was heard and it caught Alexandra's attention. She turned her head to the direction of the door and saw Diana emerged out of the door. Diana noticed her and she looked shocked to see that she's already awake, Alexandra smiled widely at him, "Good morning, Diana!" She said rather cheerfully and Diana couldn't help but smile back. "My, my, you're awake already, young miss. Are you excited about today?" Diana said as she giggled and walked towards her direction.

Upon arriving in front of her, she ruffled her hair and Alexandra paid no mind. "I'm very, very excited!" Alexandra replied cheerfully, the aura which surrounded her felt light and bubbly. Her tone of voice was cheerful and excited. A wide smile was plastered on her face. Diana chuckled and she turned around, "I'll just ready the bath for you, young miss, please wait here as I do so," Diana said and she walked towards the door of the bathroom.

Moments later, Diana emerged out of the bathroom door with a gentle smile plastered on her face. "You can get in now, young miss," Diana said and Alexandra climbed down her bed and ran towards her direction. She entered the bathroom and Diana closed the door behind her.

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After Alexandra took a bath and put on her clothes, Diana was now combing her hair and is thinking about what hairstyle she should do for the miss. Diana loved the feeling of Alexandra's smooth and silky hair as she glided it through her fingers while she styled and combed it. "What type of hairstyle do you want, young miss?" Diana asked and looked at Alexandra through the mirror in front of them, she saw Alexandra think for a moment before she answered. "I want a double twist low buns, like the one you did before!" Alexandra said and Diana giggled at her expression, she was smiling widely. It seems like flowers bloomed around her, her scent smelled like flowers and her smile was sweet and gentle. "Will do, young miss," Diana responded and she started to do the hairstyle that Alexandra asked.

It took her half an hour to finish styling her hair and using a blue ribbon, she tied it around the buns like she was an expert at hairstyling. Diana was really good at this type of things and she was like a professional. She let some small strands of hair fall off and didn't tie it or something like that. It looked elegant and it suited the dress Alexandra was wearing, it was a blue long-sleeved dress but the sleeves are see-through, and it reached her knees.

Alexandra got off her chair and she walked towards the door of her room while Diana followed behind her. She opened the door for her and she stepped outside. Diana closed the door behind her and what greeted their sight is Carlos smiling at them surrounded with an aura almost the same as Alexandra. "Good morning, Miss Alexandra," Carlos greeted and bowed for a moment to show respect. Alexandra smiled at him as she greeted him back in a cheerful tone, "Good morning, Carlos!" The three of them started walking down the stairs quietly and with a peaceful atmosphere that surrounded them.

Moments later, they finally arrived at the end of the stairs where Diana has to depart and do her work as the head maid, "Bye, Diana! See you later!" Alexandra said and Diana smiled at her as she waved goodbye. Diana turned around and started walking towards the opposite direction of them, Alexandra stared at her back for a few seconds before she looked up to Carlos, "Let's go to the garden," Alexandra said and Carlos nodded as a response.

They made their way towards the garden as Alexandra looked around. Everyone isn't that much busy like at her father's palace. They must be busy preparing for the party tomorrow since father also canceled the tea party for today, she thought to herself, saddened because of the thought. How would I deliver the gift? Should I ask Carlos to do it?

It was colder than usual today and it was snowing. She pondered on what she should do, she heaved a sigh and walked around the garden. Admiring each one of the flowers as the sweet scent they emitted surrounded the garden, lifting her mood up. She suddenly recalled something and she gasped as she thought about, do Christian know the path to the palace? She asked herself and her eyes darted at the almost hidden path far away from them. I didn't tell him, did I? She groaned and turned around, facing Carlos.

She heaved a sigh and was about to open his mouth to speak when a very familiar voice called out to her name, "Alexandra!" That voice, her eyes widened in shocked when she realized the owner of the voice. Her head turned in the direction of the voice and she gasped when she saw him. His silver hair which lightly swayed as he jogged towards her, the gentle smile which was plastered on his porcelain face, and his eyes which resembled his father's yet it held warmth and happiness, it was Christian who was making her way towards her. She was stunned to see him here, the celebration starts in the evening yet why is he here so early?

But Alexandra couldn't hide the happiness as she saw him, "Brother!" She said and ran towards him while Carlos watched her and said, "Be careful, Miss Alexandra! You might trip or fall," His voice laced with worry rang inside Alexandra's ears but she didn't listen and just continued to run towards him. He stopped on his tracks and Alexandra stopped a foot away from him. She smiled at him, "Good morning, brother! Why are you here so early?" She said in a gentle tone of voice while still smiling at him.

She noticed a man behind Christian, he was also wearing the same uniform and Crest as Carlos. He's a royal knight but why is he with Christian, it's my first time seeing him, she thought to herself as she stared at him. He unknown man stared back and gently smiled at her, and Alexandra returned the smile. It was a natural response or a habit when someone smiled at her, she will smile back except when it's a creepy one or there was malicious intent. His hair was blonde and his eyes were green but it's not as enchanting or beautiful as Diana's eyes.

"The palace is busy and noisy because they are preparing for the party tomorrow, Lysander told us the way towards your palace," Somehow, his tone of voice was sad at his first sentence and Alexandra noticed it. She realized why that's because they were preparing for the party tomorrow for the people of the empire yet they aren't preparing for the celebration of the winter star for the emperor's family today. Even Alexandra couldn't help but feel sad. "I see," Is what Alexandra could say. So that's why they know the path to the palace, she thought to herself and her eyes darted at the man behind him once again as if she was curious to know who he is. Christian noticed this and he cleared his throat, "This is Gabriel, he is my personal knight. I think this is the first time you saw him but he is also one of the knights my father trusts, he knows who you are and was there when you were born," Christian said as he pointed at the man behind him who just waved and smiled.

He wasn't like Sir Philip when he first saw her, he was calm and didn't have the same reaction as Sir Philip did. It was just like Carlos' and Alexandra was glad as she heaved a sigh of relief.

Alexandra nodded her head multiple times as she stared at him and smiled back. But why is it the first time I saw him? Shouldn't he be on standby outside when Christian dismisses him or something like that? Alexandra asked herself and returned her gaze back to Christian who was still smiling at her, the sadness which she saw from him earlier disappeared just like a bubble popped in the air, it was quick and there was no trace.

"You must be asking yourself why it's the first time you saw him because personal knights should be near the one they are guarding or serving but he's just inside the library, lurking or walking around the shelves on the second floor at the opposite side of ours or at the 1st floor," Christian explained. Seriously, can he read minds? Alexandra asked herself and her mouth shaped into an 'o' as she nodded repeatedly as an answer.

"Would you like to go inside and have a chat?" Alexandra asked and pointed the palace with the use of her thumb. Christian looked at the palace and his mouth made an 'o' shape before he returned his gaze back at Alexandra, a smile crept up his face as he nodded as an answer. "Gladly," He responded and Alexandra smiled at him before she turned around and walked towards the direction of the palace while Christian and his knight followed behind, and Carlos walked beside her.

Upon arriving inside, Alexandra led them towards the living room which was not far away from the stairs. As they arrived in front of the door, Carlos opened it for her and she entered inside along with Christian and his knight. As Carlos entered, he closed the door behind him and followed Alexandra towards the couch where she sat facing Christian. He stood still just beside her.

"Your palace is pretty big," Christian suddenly said.

"Thank you, Diamond Palace is way bigger than Wistalia Palace," Alexandra replied back as she smiled. She can't think of what topic they should talk about, maybe talking about books will do since they always talk about it and they are interested in it. "By the way, I have read the books that you suggested to me. Do you know the book Claymore?" Alexandra started and when she said the word 'Claymore', it suddenly piqued Christian's interest. It was the book Gilbert was reading and he read it before, Christian nodded as a response and wondered how she knew about that book. Maybe she found it inside their library and thought it was interesting, Christian thought to himself.

"Yes, I do. It was a story about a knight, right? His name is Clark, I believe," Christian replied and Alexandra's smile widened. "Yes, yes, the ending is very tragic," Alexandra said, her voice laced with sadness as she recalled the ending of the story. It was hard to move-on or forget that book since it left quite an impact at her especially the ending. "I feel sad for the girl," Christian said with a sad expression on his face.

"Me too, the person that she loves died in the war. People rejoiced for their victory against their enemy yet she was crying because he died," Alexandra answered, recalling each one of the sad events in the story. She cried while reading it and her heart still ache as she remembered the story. To their personal knights' eyes, they don't act like 7 or 8-year-old kids (Since in this world, they looked like 2 years older than their age but they acted like their age), they are like mature or old people, probably because of the books they read and how intelligent the two are.

Silence surrounded them and Alexandra wants to break it, it felt uncomfortable and awkward. It was choking her and if she doesn't speak, it feels like she can't breathe. "I met Prince Gilbert," She can't address him as brother yet, they are still not that close enough nor she was allowed to call him. Christian's eyes widened in shock for a moment. "I see, how did you find him? Rather, where did you find him?" Christian asked in a curious tone of voice. Alexandra smiled first before she answered his question, "In the garden and at the treehouse on the courtyard," Christian's eyebrows furrowed when he heard her answer.

"There's a treehouse in the courtyard? I am not informed," Christian said with a confused expression. It seems like he doesn't believe her. Christian rarely goes to the courtyard or wander around, he prefers to be in the library, reading books for hours until his eyes get tired or something occurred which required his attention or presence. Alexandra giggled at his reaction, "Yes, it's rather far away and near the forest," Alexandra stated.

Christian nodded multiple times before he spoke, "By the way, can I stay here? I mean, can I eat lunch here? I might be eating alone in the palace since father's busy and my brothers are away because of the party in their academy," Christian asked rather shyly as he averted his gaze. Alexandra tilted her head sideways slightly before she smiled widely at him, "It's a pleasure! I always eat by myself, it would be fun to have someone or a company to eat together," Alexandra said in a cheerful tone of voice and Christian couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you very much," Christian said in a voice filled with gratitude and happiness.