Typical Edward advising her to think only of the moment. He probably said it to all the women he danced with. Alessandra's mind wandered back to Stephen and wondered what he would have said when they had been able to dance earlier. Would he have said the same thing? He was so different from the older prince despite a very close resemblance between them. Her mind took a turn and drifted to who she liked best. She found herself pausing at the thought. Edward was charming but she had no idea what laid beneath all the bravado. Stephen was shy and quiet almost to a fault. She has never been able to talk to him longer than a simple hi or how are you because he had always looked like he didn't want her around. And that makes Stephen a mystery to her as well. In the end, she had no answer to the question she asked herself.

For a few seconds she looked distracted as the thoughts ran through her head. But when Edward asked about her age, she snapped back to the present. "I'll be turning 18 in two months." She promptly replied and gave him a smile to cover for the momentary distraction. She chuckled when he mentioned remembering her at 5 years old. "I must have looked so silly then. Always playing in the garden and always ending up covered in mud from head to toe." 

At the mention of the queen planning a party for her, she shook her head. "Oh, no, no. There's no real need to throw me a big party." She stated, personally preferring a small celebration over a big ball like the one they were in now. She glanced towards the Queen and found her watching them both with a big smile on her face. Almost like a mother to her, she realized that the Prince was right, the Queen would insist.