The Queen's Empire|Story of Luzhiah

7. Preparing for War

|Luzhiah|

My mind as well as my heart still cannot comprehend everything that happened. I let out a sigh as I turned around and returned inside the hall. I saw the people having fun and celebrating as if nothing had happened. But that didn't matter to me that day, all I want is to hide from the sight of everyone.

I stepped inside the hall ignoring all the greetings of the people that know me. I pushed my way out of the crowd as I try to get out of this place. Just then, I bumped into my brother who looked at me with concern.

"Luzhiah? Why are you running? Are you alright?" He asked. My tears started to come out as he said that, as soon as he noticed how uncomfortable I am, he decided to go and tell our father that it was best for us to go home.

Benjamin wrapped his arms around me as he led me to the carriage without asking. The ride home was quiet and awkward. Benjamin noticed that my mood isn't really great, but he never said anything otherwise. He just let me lean against his shoulders and cry.

As soon as we got home, I immediately ran to my room. But before I got in, I heard my father's voice behind me. "Luzhiah! How you acted at the ball is unreasonable! Do you know how damaged our reputation would be if somebody saw you like that?!" He said furiously.

"Father, please! Luzhiah is tired!" Benjamin reasoned.

Just then, my mom entered the house with confusion. "What is the matter? Why are you guys fighting?" She asked. My father looked at me and gestured that I should go to his study. He then turned to my mom and said, "I'm just going to talk to Luzhiah in private. Don't worry about it, it's just a minor issue." He kissed my mom's cheek and pulled me to the study.

"Father, can we talk about this tomorrow?" I asked.

"No. Now tell me, why did you act out like that in the ball?! You're just giving the crown prince another reason for him to use against us!" He said while pointing at me.

"That's your concern?! Father, my fiancé kissed somebody else at the ball! And what's worse is that I might be the one that ruined their relationship and not the other way around! I'm so frustrated and yet your concern is how I acted!" My temper got the best of me, and every pain I felt led to anger that caused me to act like that.

My father looked at me and his gaze softened a bit. But his pride is too high for him to admit his mistakes. "Luzhiah, this is reality! Wynchell is a prince! It's only natural for girls to throw themselves into him. And that's why you must fight for him! Don't let that princess steal what's supposed to be yours," he said while he tried to comfort me.

"Take what's mine? The crown prince said that the princess was engaged with the second prince since their youth! Tell me, father, ain't I the one who stole him from her?" My heart hurt said those words. It's indeed hard to accept, but all of it seemed as if that's really the case.

"Luzhiah can you please be reasonable? You know that you're the one that the second prince love. Take advantage of that situation to put yourself in an unbeatable position! If you really love the prince, don't let a simple challenge break you apart, fight for it!" He told me, I can't believe all the words that I'm hearing. He's my father! He's supposed to defend me! But at this point, why is he defending him instead?

I let out a sarcastic laugh as I looked at him. "I understand now, you don't care about my feelings. All you care about is the fact that marrying the prince can benefit you!" My father's gaze darkened upon what I said.

"I'm doing everything I can for this family! I'm just protecting our legacy! Now, if you can think of a better way to do that without marrying the second prince then do it fast! Don't wait for prince Lufian to get into power or else, everything our ancestors worked hard for will all be in vain!" His words stabbed right through my heart.