IV. The Impact of Her

~ Six ~

Our heads turned to the stairs behind us.

There stood Mother, accompanied by two female servants.

"What are you doing?" Mother asked as she walked towards us.

"Robert needs to speak with James. He has to tell him something important," Elizabeth explained.

"But, he is still in a meeting with the elders. A gathering such as that is not to be disturbed," said Mother as she looked at me.

"Mother, it is of high importance. Waiting is not an option," I protested.

Mother reached out and cupped my cheek. "My apologies, my dear one, but even the other rulers are not allowed to do so. Every rule, every tradition here is being held sacred. We must obey," she replied.

I was about to speak when one of the doors of the hall slowly opened. Out came an old man with a long, grey beard that reached his torso. He wore a white, thick robe. His feet were visible enough to expose his sandals.

"An elder!" the servants shouted as they knelt immediately.

We followed their actions right away.

"Greetings, O Elder," all of the warrior guards greeted him with a bow.

"Greetings to all," he replied in a calm, authoritative manner. "I heard a bit of a commotion here. Is there something wrong?"

Fear and guilt immediately took over my entire body. My breathing quickened as I tried to keep my thoughts in order. For him to come out of the hall only meant that our conversation was loud enough to disturb their meeting.

I should be glad that an elder noticed us. But I couldn't help but be embarrassed because he called our talks a disturbance.

One of the warriors replied, "Forgive us, Elder, for we did not do our job well. The offspring of King James are here. They said they need to have a word with their father."

"We did our best to explain to him that your meeting must not be disturbed at all cost," the other guard added. "Please, spare the prince of punishment and put it on our shoulders."

As the warriors expressed their protective nature, it made me even more guilty. No one should receive any sort of punishment but me.

I slowly raised my head. "Oh, great one, if I may?"

Everyone gasped as I spoke and looked directly at the elder. The warriors looked at me in horror. Mother immediately gripped my hand and Elizabeth called me out in whispers.

"I plead with you not to punish their warrior guards for they have done their duty without fail," I continued. "I am the one who persisted in entering. But they were obedient enough to tell me that your rules cannot be broken. If anyone is to be punished, it can only be me." I bent down all the way to the floor. My forehead touched the floor and my hands were on each side of my face.

A moment of silence came down upon us. Then, a chuckle was heard. It was from the elder. "All of you are in too much of a panic," he remarked.

I raised my head and looked at the elder, confused. And I was not alone. Even the warrior guards were baffled with his response.

The elder continued, "I am not angry at any of you. My fellow elders and the king of Western Wind already received news of the prince's arrivals from the doves. This is absolutely expected."

Elizabeth and I shared a glance of shock. Eyes widened and mouths agape, I did feel some sort of relief.

"Although, your manner of persuasion has caused a bit of disturbance for everybody inside, young prince," the Elder finally turned his gaze on me. He continued, "As a future king, you should know better than to create such a commotion whilst others are in a very important meeting. A sacred one, to be more specific."