Rocky, princess of the Cayor's kingdom, just got married into a far away land, as a peace treaty. Her husband, the King Hassan, is known for being a cruel man, greedy for wealth and blood. A true tyrant.
But are the rumors true? The man Rocky sees...
The queen spent two weeks in bed to recover. Her painful trip to the southern regions of Chad as well as her clumsy delivery left her with internal damages and serious blood loss. Luckily, the royal healers were able to stabilize her condition.
She was most grateful that her son was fine. He gained more weight and was overall healthy. Every day, Rocky could feel her love for him growing. He was a sweet baby that barely ever cried. He spent most of his time sleeping or staring at his mother as she breastfed him.
His sparkly, curious eyes, became Rocky's favorite thing in the world.
Now, what she feared was to expose her child to the entire kingdom. The king had organized a celebration party for his birth. It was a mandatory thing to do and during that party, people would meet the young prince for the first time and his name would be announced.
It would also be Rocky's first time showing up in public after everything that happened.
She dreaded it.
The king already told the citizens that she wasn't going to be executed and just as expected, people weren't pleased. Rumors claimed that the king wasn't the real father and it was just another one of her tricks.
Though there was no act of rebellion yet, Rocky was fully aware of the hatred, which she deserved. She only hoped that it wouldn't be directed toward Hassan or her child as well.
Yet, anxious or not, she had to attend the ceremony. Aided by a few servants, she wore the expensive and very heavy gown prepared for her.
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As Adama helped fix her crown, she felt a rush of emotions. Birni would have been there too if circumstances were different.
"Your majesty must not address the public at any time during the ceremony." A female guard told her. "She also must not leave the king's side or, in fact, step away from her throne while the guests are in the room."
Rocky nodded. The guard had a long list of dos and don'ts she had to follow. It was for her protection, considering that some of the citizens would be allowed to attend the ceremony and some could try to end her life out of anger.
"Your majesty is also strongly advised to not act out of emotion. No matter what she hears or sees during the ceremony, she will remain unbothered as much as she can."
Rocky nodded again.
"I will be by your side all the time." The guard added in a softer voice. "You don't have to worry about getting hurt."
"Thank you."
She was ready. She stood up when the door to the room opened and in came Rocky's mother. She was holding the newborn prince. Rocky hadn't seen or spoken to her mother since she returned to the palace. The servants left as well as the female guard who would wait outside.
