War of the Roses

29. Regret

"Care to explain what in hell is going on? I gave you one very specific order, you had one single problem to solve and I return only to find out that my orders fell into nothing." Philip's anger was evident in his voice and in the way he hit the hard wood table with the open palm of his hand, completely ignoring the pain this act was inflicting.

"Fist of all" Said the queen mother very calm while taking a seat in front of her son's desk. "You need to watch the way you talk to me, you might very well be the king but I am you mother. And no it was not one single problem I had, you left for moths leaving this kingdom and all its problems to me. That particular problem which you speak of was created by you in the first place, so don't you dare come and blame it on me now. Remember I wanted to get rid of her before, and you Philip stopped me from doing it. Now his highness the king wishes to do what he thinks is right and expects all of us to follow. Well guess what? is too late, in case you missed her physical state, that girl is very pregnant. Do you even imagine the magnitude of the scandal ? you clearly don't. When I learned she was with child I thought that the best course of action for this kingdom's sake was to keep her here under our control. Her and her bastard child can be a threat for you and to the family you and Samira might have one day. Imagine what our enemies will do if they get a hold of her and her child? All I did was cover your back Philip. Now that you are finally back, is up to you to handle this your way, you're the king after all.

Philip ran his hand through his hair, realization coming over to him. His mother was right, he was ashamed of his actions, he was not able to get rid of Lady Alice specially now when she was carrying his child. How was he going to keep Alice here? Samira was very shaken the minute she noticed Alice evident pregnancy. God he was worried to death for Samira and his child, the physician explained very well how delicate the beginning stage of a pregnancy is. If something ever happened to his wife and their child because of his selfish behavior he was never going to be able to forgive himself.

"Your highnesses, the physician is here to speak to the king." interrupted the guard at the door.

"Make him come in." Philip's answer was immediate.

The physician walked in the room, the look on his face clear proof of the bad news he carried.

"My lord." Bowed.

"How's the queen and our child?"

"The queen is resting at the moment and the child seems safe for now."

"What do you mean for now?" Philip asked.

"Like I said before, the queen is in the very early stages of the pregnancy, this means the child is very vulnerable and when the mother experiences severe changes of strong emotions this can affect the child. The queen comes from mourning the loss of her father, and now upon her arrival... well we all know that the queen was not too happy to find out"
The old man had to look down embarrassed to bring up this topic to the king himself.

" I... I understand ... " Said Philip with nothing but regret and shame in his voice. "You can leave now, and thank you."

Pacing around the room, deep in thought and processing all that transpired in the last hour was all Philip could do at the moment. The burden of guilt weighted heavily, he knew this was all of his own creation, there was no one to blame but him. He hated himself for being selfish and immature, more than one innocent and undeserving person will suffer the consequences of his actions. How devastatingly quick one can destroy all they hold dear, all in the blink of an eye can crumble before your eyes and there's nothing you can do to make it stop.

Samira laid in bed as per physician instructions, tears no longer coming out of her eyes, not because she had no reason or desire to cry but perhaps even her eyes couldn't take the despair and disappointment her heart was feeling at the moment. She was glad to be alone, Esma had gone to fetch some tea, as if a cup of tea could calm her broken heart, she only said yes to to tea in hopes to be left alone and gather her thoughts to begin to from an idea of how to move forward with this new situation.