26 Living Arrangements

By the time the first guests arrived, the village was well under construction. It did not require my additional involvement for the next week. The blueprint was already given for the building of remaining complex society, the shops in the market place and the barracks that will station a small number of troops that were under the direct command of my father for the protection of this new village.

To completely finish this project, it will require an additional two months, but I was sure that by the time my birthday celebration ends, the village will be habitable. The rations were transported by my father to help the early growth and stability of the village.

The first guests to arrive were the kings of our neighbouring forces that shared a border with us. These two kings were also friends with my father and had fought with him in numerous wars under the leadership of our emperor Shisha ji.

I had made myself presentable wearing a traditional special outfit fit for this occasion. I was expected to sit beside my father all day long welcoming our guests from near and far, as this was a celebration to introduce me to the surrounding powers and develop my bond with the younger generation.

The two kings were followed by two boys around the same age as me. They first greeted my father and then me. My father seemed to already know them, seeing the familiarity he showed in greeting them. He later explained that it was just last year that he had went to attend the sixteenth birthday celebrations of the boys. They were of similar age and considering that their fathers were such good friends, they too interacted more after they were introduced on their sixteenth birthdays and now it has been one year since they have been in frequent touch with each other.

I greeted all the guests politely. The kings were then accompanied by my father to their respective tents for relaxation, while he informed me to escort the young princes to their respective accommodations.

For the past week most of my focus, after coming back in the capital was to completely understand the preparations that were made by father for my birthday celebration.

He had explained to me that this was to be my first interactions with the other prince and princesses. I had to accompany them around the capital all week and this required me to be familiar with the capital as well as the additional preparations that were done in honour of my birthday.

Generally, this was not something that needed to be told to a prince, as they would spend most of their time in the capital till their sixteenth birthday and the chance for a such a grand celebration will have them be personally involved in the preparations. This was not quite true in my case.

For the entirety of previous year, I had been busy with the highway project. I had barely returned to the palace six times in as many months. I certainly had no time to waste roaming the streets of the capital. The fifteen years prior to that were not something that I myself had experienced. All of what I knew regarding the capital was but a memory that I had acquired from the previous prince.

That was the reason the I spent the previous week familiarizing myself with the capital and the preparations. I also did some basic correction in placements, hygiene and entertainment that had been arranged.

I led the princes to the tent that had been prepared for their stay. The accommodations had been divided into four areas by me. This was one of the first changes I had made after looking into the preparations.

Previously the accommodations were divided into two sections only. The first section was the guests arriving with boys and the other section was for guests arriving with girls.

After the changes, the first area was for the accommodation of kings. The second section was for the accommodation of their queens or concubines that arrive alongside them. The third section was for the prince and their friends. The last section was for the princesses, their friends and their entourage.

From what I understood, such gatherings were the only times when the young princes and princesses get to travel and experience other kingdoms without the need of close relationships. This was the most important reason I divided the groups into four. This was my way of showing them consideration, by providing them with some level of freedom in my birthday celebration.

This was especially so for the few princesses that were to arrive.

Another factor for this change was the ease in appointing the maids and manservants throughout the residential area. Most male nobility were used to teasing and harassing the female maids and workers, especially at a time of celebration. I could do nothing regarding the king and the senior entourage that followed them, but I could at least control to the young princes that arrive.

The section with the prince's accommodation had all male workers and manservants, with strict instructions to the maids and female workers to decline any order or invitation to go near the section and if anyone forces or threatens them, they are to report either to me or the captain.

The section with the princesses was the most beautiful among all the accommodations. There was a beautiful, long stretching garden in the centre and the tents were placed all around it. In the middle of the garden there was a small pool with exquisite water lilies and lotus flowers. I had made preparations for relaxation surrounding the pool. There were tents erected surrounding it and special chairs were made to sit and relax.

These special chairs were made as a replica of lounge chairs that were usually placed around swimming pools in high class accommodations from my memory. These chairs were accompanied by umbrellas in case someone wishes to sit under the sun while enjoying the pool.

The area was to be surrounded by guards who had been instructed to not allow any male to enter the area of the princess's accommodation. If someone wishes to have an audience with the princesses, then they were to be asked to wait by the border and the maid stationed near them will convey the message to the respective princess. If the princess wishes to speak, then she will come outside.

This was all done to increase the comfort of the princesses that were to attend and provide them a sense of security.