To Be A Queen✔️

Chapter 5

Adaeze's POV

Growing up as a princess instead of as a prince I have always known that I was not going to be King of our lands.

But I never thought that father would go as far as finding me a husband. He always told stories of how he found mother who wasn't even a princess and how he married her against all odds which after they lived happily ever after.

Once I was introduced to womanhood and words traveled that the princess of Umunri Kingdom has reached marriageable age,  Kings and princes from far and wide had come for my hand in marriage. I had declined all of them.

Growing up, I had learnt that were  a King has no son his brother or his brother's son or one of his kinsmen takes the throne.

But were the King is the last from his clan and has no sons but has a daughter, whoever marries the Adaeze (princess) automatically inherits the throne.

As a child I had thought that I would inherit the throne when I come of age. Father had allowed I and my sister to sit at the foot of his throne and listen to his meetings with the elders, especially during the days were he has dispute matters to settle.

He would ask us what we understood from these meetings when we were alone with him. When we were older he started asking us for advice from time to time.

That was when I had become bothered because he had stopped taking us to the meetings with the elders. How was I going to learn to rule the Kingdom? I had thought. He only allowed us to the throne ground if he had disputes to settle.

I had asked him about it and he had told me that he didn't want to bother us. Being a curious child I had asked one of  the elders I had met one day when father was away. He had happily told me all about how a woman is not supposed to worry herself with matters men should settle.

And how I will be married off because as a woman I wasn't fit to sit on the throne. I had asked my father and he said it was true. 

And that was when I made up my mind that I will never take a husband and fight for what is mine instead.

The following morning I woke up early called my maidservants and asked them to dress me in my regal attire. I had strolled to the throne grounds when the meeting had commenced and sat down on the chair meant for my late mother.

I was indirectly stating my claim and I was ready to fight for what is mine.

One of the elders had boldly told me to leave that women had no place in deciding political matters. I had bluntly told him that he had no right to walk me out and that the only one with such right was the King.

They had all turned and looked at my father telling him with their eyes to walk me out and punish me. My father had quietly resumed what he was saying without saying anything about my presence.

All the elders kept scowling till the meeting was over. After they had all gone I thought that my father would berate me. Instead he told me the time and day of the next meeting.

I have attended every meeting from that day onwards till last two nights when he told me I was getting married to a STRANGER!!

I promised myself that I will rule my Kingdom. And I will fulfill that promise no matter what it will cost me.

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I didn't sleep a wink last night, yet I didn't come up with any plan on how to stop this wedding. When I had heard that my marriage to this Prince now a King was a promise I knew that my father's hands were tied. Now it was left for me to find a way and I don't have a clue.