A Paradise Lost

The Tale of Two Marriage Proposals

Queen Raya was almost done preparing herself when her brother suddenly knocked on her door.

“Raya, do you have a minute?”

“Yes, Shiloh.”

Queen Raya dismissed her servants so that she could talk privately with her brother.

“During dinner yesterday, we talk about nominating you to be the queen of the whole kingdom of Maharlika. Do you think you can handle the responsibility?”

“Of course I can.”

“King Magiting and I also had a man to man talk last night about your future. He wanted to ask your hand for marriage. He had been planning to propose to you before but you were absent during the last three annual conferences. He is an eligible bachelor and a great leader in his kingdom. If you will become the king and queen of Maharlika, you will be the most powerful couple in our country. This is the only way to unite our whole country.”

“I am willing to be the queen of Maharlika but I am not willing to marry King Magiting.”

“As a leader, you need to make some sacrifices for the sake of your country.”

“I already made a lot of sacrifices for the sake of my country. I will do everything I can to help and protect my country but I will not marry the person I don’t love for the sake of getting the highest position in our country.”

“So, who are you going to marry then?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“It is of my great concern to know whom you are going to marry because the future of our kingdom lies in your hands.”

“Don’t bother yourself too much if I’m going to marry or not. If I will not have an heir, then I will bequeath the throne to your children. For the meantime, I will do my best to help my country advance.”

Queen Raya joined the kings and queens of Maharlika during breakfast.

“This potion you prepared for us is so magical. Just a sip of it made us so awake.” Apo Lakay said.

“That’s coffee, Apo Lakay.”

“Where did you get this?” King Magiting asked.

“My merchants brought it from Ethiopia. The real taste of coffee is bitter. We added sugar and milk to make it sweet and creamy. Don’t worry, I will give each one of you a pouch of coffee beans that you can plant in your kingdom. We will also teach you on how to prepare coffee from grinding to brewing.”

Everyone clapped their hands.

Queen Raya taught them everything she knew from her travels. She taught them everything she knew about electricity, machines, rifles, and preparing a coffee. She tried to maximize the limited time that was given to them.

At the end of the conference, they were very thankful with Queen Raya for the knowledge she shared with them. She was truly the ultimate game changer of their nation.

“Thank you for the knowledge you shared with us. This is the best conference we have so far. Congratulations for successfully hosting the conference.” King Magiting approached Queen Raya after dinner.

“You’re welcome!”

“I hope you don’t mind me asking. I really mean to ask this to you but I never got a chance. It is either I don’t have enough courage to ask you or it wasn’t the right time yet. I love you ever since I met you. You are such a sophisticated woman. Your knowledge is so advance for our time. I felt like you travelled from the future and brought all your knowledge to our time. I love you not only because you are very intelligent and beautiful. I love you because you are kind and selfless. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Queen Raya, will you marry me?”

King Magiting pulled a small wooden box out from his pocket. He opened the box to show a diamond ring to Queen Raya with one bended knee.

“I know that you are a great and honorable king in your kingdom. With the way you lead your people, I’m pretty sure that you will also be a great father to your children. Any woman will be lucky to have you as a husband. In as much as I love to spend the rest of my life with you, I am still not ready to commit myself to anyone else. There are still a lot of places that I wanted to explore. I don’t know if I will ever marry or not but I fell in love with adventures. I hope that you will someday find the love of your life.”

“I already found the love of my love but she already love someone else. You can keep the ring. Just don’t hesitate to approach me once you’re ready to get married. I will always be waiting for you.”

Queen Raya felt guilty for turning King Magiting’s proposal down. He was a good catch. But what could she do if her heart already beat for someone else.

Queen Raya was glad that the conference was finally over. She wanted to plan for her next expedition but she was too tired. She lied down on her bed staring at the chandelier. She wondered what she would discover in her next expedition. She was about to sleep when she heard a knock on her window. She opened the window and all the tiredness she felt was gone when she saw Felipe smiling holding a dozen of white roses.

“How are you, my queen?”

“I am so tired but when I see your dazzling smile, all my tiredness are gone.”

Felipe laughed.

“I’m sorry if I disturb your sleep. You must be so tired. I’m just here to check on you because I miss you so much. Anyway, I’ll go now so that you can sleep. Good night!”

“No, don’t go yet. I miss you so much. I want you to be with my side. Can you take me somewhere where we can be alone together?”

“Sure, come with me.”

Queen Raya went down from her room through the window. She didn’t went out from the door to avoid the servants from seeing her.

Felipe swept his queen off her feet. He put her down on the white stallion and off they galloped to Lake Danao. They swam on the lake under the stars and the moon. They played like children splashing water at each other and racing with each other as to who was the fastest swimmer.

At that moment, Queen Raya realized that she was more contented with living a simple life rather than being a queen as long as Felipe was on her side.

“I am planning to have another expedition next week.”

“That’s very fast. Don’t you want to rest for a month or two first before exploring another place?”

“I am bored. I really hate the royal life. I prefer being an explorer. I don’t care if I am going to travel for the rest of my life as long as I’m learning new things.”

“Where are you going to go next?”

“Maybe will go down under. Do you want to go with me?”

“Of course, I will go wherever you will go.”

“Thank you for your loyalty.”

Queen Raya hugged Felipe. She wanted to stay that way. She felt safe in his arms.

“Felipe, do you love me?”

“Of course, my queen!”

“Do you love me as your lover or as your queen?”

“You know that I am only a slave and you own my life. I cannot express my feelings towards you not unless you will give me permission.”

“Imagine for one moment that you are not a slave but a king from a land far, far away and you saw a peasant like me. Let’s say the circumstances are still the same on how we met. The only difference are our roles in the society. What are you going to tell me?”

“First of all, I wanted to thank you for saving my life. I will never forget the day you raised your thumb courageously to spare my life. From that moment on, I knew that you’re the only one I want to share the rest of my life with. When I met you, I knew I’d met my match. It was only a matter of time until we arrive at this moment. My heart was once as open as the ocean until you bottled it for yourself. Will you roll through all the tides with me?”

“Of course, I will.”

“Queen Raya, will you marry me?”

“YES!”

They hugged each other.

“Is this for real because I really meant everything I said.”

“Of course, my love. I am willing to give up everything for you even my throne. I love you and I will always do. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Thank God. I don’t know what I did in my previous life to deserve someone like you.”