IV. The Impact of Her

~ Sixteen ~

Horrified, James' eyes widened.

Carefully, James placed his fingers on the table. In a low voice, he replied, "Please, do not tell me that this Benjamin that you mentioned–"

"Is the prince of Eastern Sun?" I finished James' question. "Unfortunately, you are correct."

James slammed his fists on the table. The loud thud echoed throughout the entire room. "Be very wise about your assumptions, Robert," James gritted through his teeth. His brows furrowed and his eyes squinted. He continued, "For a maid to be suspect is already unbelievable in itself. But, to accuse the son of our greatest ally is a monstrosity!"

"My accusations are valid, James," I replied.

"And what are those, may I ask?"

I took a deep breath and explained, "Mallory hates Laura because I chose Laura. Benjamin hates me because Laura chose me. It only makes sense that they will try and make things harder for me."

"Have you asked Mallory about this?" James asked.

"Nana Olsa is still looking for her. I am still hoping that Mallory is innocent from all these. But, I have a strong feeling that Benjamin is behind all of it," I replied.

James closed his eyes as he stood upright. After a sigh, he remarked, "All because of a mortal, we are entangled in such a mess." He then opened his eyes and glared at me. James continued, "Now, you have seen that as monarchs, we must never stray from our predestined life. And as Immortals, we should never associate ourselves with humans."

James continued as he walked towards me, "As the future heir of Western Wind, you are the hope of peace and unity of this kingdom. But instead, you have brought chaos and possible bloodshed on us." He stopped beside me and faced me. "Why are you acting like this? Has the mortal bewitched you?" he asked.

"Don't you dare speak ill about Laura," I growled as I turned to him. "If you have only one specific image of a mortal woman in your head, she is not like that."

"Then why have you been acting so foolishly? Why are you defying the rules of our realm? Why did you neglect the sanctified principles of being an heir?" questions came from James' mouth without stopping.

And I was surprised by this. I was shocked that James never considered that possibility: that the refined and respected heir of Western Wind could be this... unruly.

"James, by how you treated me all these years, did you not think that I would retaliate?" I asked with my eyes narrowed. I continued, "All those years of abandonment and neglect, did you really think that I would be fully committed to you and your principles?"

James' eyes widened. Horrified, he took a step back. "You... you dare retaliate against your king?!" he shouted as he pointed at me. "I have given you everything you could ever want. From riches to power, everything was given to you on a silver platter." He stepped closer to me and asked, "How could you do this?"

I moved my face as I ignored him. My hands balled into fists as I held my breath. I didn't want to say it. I did not want to tell the truth.

"Why?!"

"Because, I hate you, James! I hate you as a father and I hate myself for that!" I screamed. "You never gave me what I truly needed as a child. Duty always comes first for you because you are the king," I sobbed as I continued. "But I know I shouldn't hate you because you don't have a choice. At the end of the day, I still had to understand you."

James remained still. His eyes were frozen wide but they slowly watered. His jaw clenched as I cried in front of him.

As his child, I never paid attention to the riches, to the power, to the fame. Those were not the things that I needed. What I needed - what I longed for - was James. His time. His presence. His attention. But then, as king - the father of a nation - he couldn't do that.

I resented him for so long, I didn't know what to do anymore.

That was why I strived to be better than him. I wanted to be different from him and his actions. But in doing so, I brought this problem onto us.

I sighed as I wiped my tears dry. "I understand if you don't want to help me," I said as I turned to the side. "I don't expect your full support for my cause. But I want to correct my mistakes. And if I have to do this on my own, I will," I explained.

I grabbed the note and left the room in silence.

~*~*~*~

Finally, evening arrived. And I hadn't left my quarters after my argument with James.

Mother and Elizabeth attempted to pay me a visit but I refused to accept them. I wasn't in the proper state of mind to see anybody right now.

Whenever I looked at the dreaded note, James' horrified look would appear in my mind. The guilt due to the pain I caused bothered me constantly.

That was why I never accepted the truth on why I was already against him. How I was right now was derived from how James treated me. But, at the same time, a part of me still believed that he didn't want that.

I let out a sigh as I pinched the bridge of my nose. I caused a lot of problems for everybody. Perhaps, I wasn't truly worthy of the title as heir. If this happened during my time as heir, what could possibly have happened if I was made king?

Another knock came upon my door.

"I'd like to be alone, please," I answered as I looked out the window.

The knock persisted. Then, a voice spoke from the other side of the door, "Your Highness, it is I, your page."

I groaned as I headed for the door. I opened it and snarled, "Can't anybody in this castle understand that I want to be alone?!"

My page and guards knelt. "Forgive us, Your Highness. But I bring urgent news from the Medicine King," the page replied.

My eyes widened. I pulled my page up and asked, "Where is he right now?"

"He is currently in the guest room."

With my page and guards behind me, we rushed to Grandpa Ben's quarters.

~*~*~*~

"Your Highness," the guards bowed as we approached the room.

I asked as I pointed at the door, "Is the Medicine King inside?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

I knocked thrice before I entered. As the door opened for me, I was stopped with what I saw.