Regicide

20. My Kingdom

I walk up to the death trap where I saw my guardian die. I stood close to the edge as people started to form a crowd. My stomach churns again and I feel sick. But my mind knows this is the appropriate thing to do.

Even though I never accepted to this, I'm grateful that Marcelina had organized a town meeting. It was impressive on how quickly she worked. "The princess is now our Queen," she said to people, individuals or in groups or at least to anyone within an earshot. "Town meeting at the Punish Center. The King is gone," and she just walked off and repeated the same thing to others, she explained to me. I was taken back and felt like panicking. I still feel like panicking, but I must show the people that I can control myself in times of distress. I only had a few minutes to walk back to the center, compose myself and prepare a speech.

But as I was leaving the castle, I noticed that the body of Andrew was gone. There was only a small pool of blood instead of a corpse. As I walked to the Punish Center, I also noticed that the brothers' bodies were gone as well. It's as if they came back to life and walked away. Only their own blood replaced their location.

There is plenty of citizens gathered, but not every person in Cove is here. The kingdom may be small, but I should know when the entire population of Cove is in front of me. Doesn't matter; When this crowd hears my address, the news will spread all over the kingdom and everyone will receive the message.

I can hear mumbles of confusion and annoyance. Most of them still disapprove of me, of course, but after I tell Cove what they want from a leader, I can only hope they will look at me with approval.

Once I see that no one else is joining the crowd, my throat gets dry and I feel uneasy. I fumble with my hands, holding my fingers or rolling them into a fist, whichever way looks normal. What do I say? How do I start?

The few words I had prepared have flown away in some forgotten land where no one will be able to find them. I feel naked in front of these eyes. I must look like a complete fool from up here.

As the feeling in my stomach turns for the worse, I spot a familiar face in the crowd. I see Marcelina in the center and she nods in approval. That must've been all the motivation I needed, because once I saw that at least one person had hopes for me, the words flew back into my brain.

I make sure my voice booms so that everyone should hear. "People of Cove... You all know me as Princess Cecelia. But as of today, my name is Cecelia Crawford. From now on, my royal line of family will be Crawford."

The way I speak sounds too forced. But I just need to state the facts and cut straight to the point.

"The king is gone. My... My father has died. Starting now, I am Queen Cecelia Crawford. Please do not underestimate me when I say I understand your frightful conditions. I know that this kingdom has been on a harsh road and you," I move my hand across the crowd," are experiencing the worst of it.

"I know the mess King Lawrence has left will take some time to clean up. But that is my responsibility and task to complete. I want to inform you that you will no longer need to hide in the shadows. You no longer have to grow worrisome of Death breathing down your necks."

The picture of Rose hanging from a noose flashes before my eyes. "I know that most of you have lost many loved ones because of the king's tyranny. I know how it feels..." I mumble those last few words. "I promise you, you will never have to endure the pain and heartache ever again. From now until the end of my days, you will keep your principles and never hide your words from anyone. You will run free from the worries of a superior punishing you just for speaking up. You may break away the chains that your previous king kept you in. You will never have to hide your voices ever again."