IV. The Impact of Her

~ Thirty-One ~

My eyes widened as I stared at both of them.

"Well, confused and shocked at most. Because your decision wasn't something a victim of such a horrible experience would say," Elizabeth explained.

Mother then entered the conversation, "What came as a shock to me is the fact that you were given power to govern over the forbidden part of the kingdom. How were you able to do that?"

I gestured towards the door so the three of us could start walking. I gave way to Mother and started, "After I was able to talk with the pirates, my immediate thought was to give them what they want. And all they wanted was a place to live. A piece of land that they can call their own.

"When they mentioned that Grandmother previously gave them the northern borders of our kingdom, I knew what I had to do," I continued. "But I had to make sure that James would hand over the borders to me."

When we arrived at the door, Elizabeth asked, "Why were you so confident that James will agree to your bargain?"

Elizabeth's question caught me by surprise. Truth be told, I had my doubts that James would follow through with our deal. James would never allow himself to have the lower hand in anything. His pride, his ego couldn't cope with that kind of a situation.

What happened today was extremely miraculous.

"A part of me was uncertain about that. We all know that James doesn't want to be on the losing end of anything," I answered. I continued, "But, I needed to take that risk in the hopes of saving lives and prevent any possible riots. Especially from their people."

Mother turned around with a smile. She offered her hand and invited me to come closer. I took her hand before Mother did the same for Elizabeth. And my sister happily obliged.

"It may not seem like an achievement. But I couldn't be more proud of my children," Mother said as she squeezed our hands lightly. She continued, "To have the mind of a ruler is different than having the heart of one. And to know that my children have both is such a blessing."

"With all honesty, I accepted the thought that you will be disappointed in me," I remarked as I lowered my gaze.

"And why did you think of such a thing?" Mother asked as we stopped in the middle of the hall.

I turned to them and said, "I am the future ruler of our kingdom. And I seem to be the weakest link. I don't have James' manner of ruling. I don't even think that I am fit to rule any sort of kingdom. Not even a small patch of land."

Mother sighed before she pulled me in an embrace. And she kept me in her arms whilst she rubbed my back. Mother replied, "Don't ever think so low of yourself. Don't, not even for a second." She then pulled away, cupped my face and continued, "Every ruler is different from each other. Each ruler has their own strength. And the same thinking applies to you. No ruler is perfect. And just like everybody else, you are given the space to make mistakes, to learn and to grow.

"So, never believe that you are not worthy of anything just because you are unlike a certain ruler. Even your father," Mother added.

"And if we are going to be completely blunt," Elizabeth entered the conversation, "If you say that your weakness as a ruler is your heart, it has served you well today."

I took my time and looked at the two of them. They beamed with pride and it gave me some sort of comfort at such a trying time. To be given the assurance during a period of uncertainty warmed my heart. I always doubted my abilities to rule. But with Mother and Elizabeth as my guides, I had a bit of confidence with myself.

Our warm moment was then interrupted when James' page rushed towards us. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the king is asking for you. As well as for Their Highnesses."