Hello Cousin

At the Chen household;

"Is everything ready?", Mrs Chen asked. "Yes ma'am, the guest room has also been designed according to his preferences", reported the senior maid. Nari couldn't believe her mum was putting in this much effort into welcome Nicholas - her very much annoying cousin. Well to be fair, his dad was dropping him off and it had been a while since her mum saw her eldest brother again. That was probably why she was preparing this much. 'Yes, that's it', she convinced herself. Her cousin didn't deserve to be treated this nicely.

After some time, three cars pulled over in front of the house. Nari, her parents, along with some servants were already standing at the front porch to welcome them. Waiting for your guest by the door was an act that showed you truly honored their visit. That didn't do any good to erase her complaining pout and her frown. Soon the car doors swung open and Nicholas and his Dad stepped out from the car in the middle. The chauffeur closed the door with a soft thud afterwards. The two cousins had different expressions on their faces once they saw each other. Nari had a scowl on, while Nicholas's face brightened with a smile.

Mrs Chen instantly reached out and hugged her big brother as soon as he got closer. "Lia! It's been so long, how are you?", Senior Yang asked before breaking away from the hug. "I'm fine but I'm even better now....I've missed you all so much! How are the others?", Mrs Chen asked referring to her three other siblings -- a boy and two other girls. "They're all good. Thanks so much again for looking after my Nick here while his mum and I are away", Senior Yang said. "It's no trouble at all. Nari has been looking forward to seeing him again", Mrs Chen replied. They both gave each other knowing looks before they both erupted in laughter. "Hopefully, they won't kill each other", Mr Yang sighed, "Nari probably hates me a lot right now", he added. "Not as much as she hates me for agreeing and looking forward to his arrival. Besides, it's about time they get along", Mrs Chen commented as she guided her brother into the house for a little chat before he had to leave.

Meanwhile, Nari just kept on glaring at Nick, who had a smug smile on his face. "Hello cousin", she finally forced the words out after some time. "Nari!!", Nick exclaimed and pulled her into a hug that she quickly ended. "Still have a grudge against this lovely cousin of yours huh...Why are you being so cold?, didn't you miss me at all?", he asked with a sullen expression. Nari just rolled her eyes at him. "Are you seriously asking me why?! Last time you were here you played so many nasty pranks on me!". Nick couldn't resist the urge to chuckle as he replied, "Come on, it can't be that bad... You're overreacting". "You shaved all my hair off! I had to use markers, eye pencils and beanies for months!", she shouted angrily, pent up anger taking over. Nick smirked and leaned in closer to her so he was at the same eye level with her. He'd experienced his growth spurt early and Nari was...well...short. "Okay okay my bad, but I've grown a bit more now. Besides, don't act like you're all innocent either. I hope you've at least grown to be more mature now instead of being a petty daddy's girl", Nick said his smirk growing wider at her exasperated expression. 'Daddy's girl!!', she fumed with flared nostrils when her dad suddenly walked towards them.

"Uncle!", Nick greeted cheekily as he hugged Nari's dad. "Nicholas, you've grown up so well. What are you still doing outside?, I just finished having a conversation with your dad, and I must say you're growing up to become quite an impressive prince", Mr Chen remarked. Nick was born royal as the son of her uncle Yang ( King Yang of country K ). The only difference with their kind of royalty was the fact that they'd disregarded a lot of unnecessary traditions and focused more on their business, leaving the rule of the country to rest a lot more on democracy. They'd infact given full power to democracy, though they were called upon sometimes for their opinions in serious matters concerning the country.

Nari stood there as she watched her father compliment Nick on his school work as well. Nick had always been really smart, but he didn't like the idea of skipping a grade which was why she was in a higher class than him....she just couldn't wait to be done with school. Nick on the other hand was completely comfortable with where he was. He was transferring to a new school in the city of country Z, but he didn't mind. He had his best friend Yujun Han ( the second son of the Han dynasty in the very country Z they were in ), who'd also decided not to skip because of Sumi Lee. His parents already had a magnificent house in the city, but had to quickly fly back to country K since something urgent came up. They couldn't leave Nicholas alone in a new environment which was how he ended up in her house. Nari sighed. Her cousin wasn't only smart, but he was also really good looking too. He had warm brown eyes and platinum blonde hair which highlighted his features all the more. He also had a cute mole beneath his lower lip that gave a charming appeal. She sometimes felt inferior to him because he was the ideal type of child without even trying.

Nick left soon after to settle in his room, when a thought popped up in Nari's mind. She turned towards her dad as she asked, "Dad, how come none of the history keepers are royalty?". "Who says? we've had royal history keepers, it's just that they're not allowed to rule over an empire. The reason is simply because being a history keeper is a draining task, we sometimes pass out at some point because of our special ability especially if it's a deep vision. That put together with running an empire would never work, so the crown would eventually have to pass on to someone else". "What if the person is greedy for power and doesn't want to let go of the crown?", she asked curious. "The special ability never chooses wrongly, it would never pass on to a person with a dark heart. Anyway, I think it's better we're not allowed to rule. It won't be good if the history keeper got too attached to a kingdom to ensure fair records and not ones manipulated to please their empire", Mr Chen explained and Nari nodded. "Hmm, that makes sense" "Hey instead of bombarding me with questions all the time, why don't you hang out with Nicholas and take him around", Mr Chen suggested. "Me? hang with Nick?, tch, I'm pretty sure he can manage on his own since he so mature. Besides, he's smart brain will pick up on things quickly and his best friend is here too so he can hang with him instead. He doesn't need me for anything", Nari whined childishly and Mr Chen could only gape at her.