This story follows the life of Princess Maiena, the second and youngest child of King Thaddeus-- the strong, wise, and uncompromisingly orthodox ruler of Reidonia which is a kingdom set in the modern age with customs, laws and traditions that seem t...
"Papa, how can you do this?!" Princess Maeina's voice cracked as she clenched her tiny fists. "Have you absolutely no regard for my feelings? Don't you care at all about my virtue?"
"Of course I do, my darling. You are the most precious thing to me." King Thaddeus replied as he held his daughter's hand.
"Then why?" She bit her quivering lips as she held back her tears.
Damn it! I hate seeing her like that. If it were up to me, those flowers shouldn't have left the cargo plane they were on and should've been immediately flewn back to Etazuré with a swarm of hornets and fire ants.
"You don't have to love me for this, piccolina, but it is in the best interest of our country to accept Etazuré's apology." The King explained.
"See?" She scoffed bitterly. "I got it right the first time. My feelings and virtue don't matter." A tear trickled down her cheek and she angrily brushed it away.
Shit! That made me both extremely angry and heartbroken at the same time and my initial thought was to shove all of the flowers to the courtyard and set fire to all of them. All else be damned!
"It's not like that, Maiena."
"What then? How can you even trust them, Papa? What if these flowers are poisoned?"
"They're not. Every single rose was checked by the customs department." The King explained.
"Of course." The Princess sneered. "I apologize for my stupidity, Your Majesty. Your daughter can't be smarter than a spoon."
The King sighed in frustration but still gently reasoned with his daughter who was justifiably upset over his decision. "My sweet Maiena, please. Let us sit in the drawing room so we can discuss this properly."
The Princess shrugged. "Alright." She replied and placed her hand on her father's palm who escorted her to the room.
***
"A war?" She frowned. She was seated on an antique armchair by the window. Rays of sunshine that sifted through the curtains gently touched her beautiful face and wrapped her in their radiance. It amazed me how graceful she still was and breathtaking in her ethereal beauty eventhough she was obviously upset.
"Yes, Piccolina. That is what Prince Alphonse threatened to do and it was a very real possibility after the humiliation and injuries he suffered. Many Kings have waged war for less." The King explained.
"Humiliation and injuries that he deserved!" She pointed out.
"I agree." The King said. "If I was the one who found him in your room, he would've been dead and I would've been the one bringing war to Etazuré's doorstep with their dauphin's severed head." King Thaddeus replied behind clenched teeth with such dreadful intensity that brought chills to everyone in the room including the Princess who inhaled sharply.
"If Sir Aidan hadn't listened to you, the dauphin would've been dead and I would've still brought war to them with gratitude for a valiant and loyal Knight." The King continued. "Why did you stop Aidan from killing the dauphin?"
Princess Maiena slowly lifted her eyes and fixed them on me. "Because I cared about hi... his actions and what the consequences could be. If he had killed the dauphin, the damage could have been irreparable and I didn't want Sir Aidan to be in that much trouble. He saved me and that was all that mattered at the moment." She spoke with her stare trained on me and I felt each word in my heart.
The King then held the Princess's hand and she turned to look at him. I never knew someone's gaze being peeled away from me could hurt so much in my chest that the pain was almost physical.
"I see that you understand, mi cielito. You stopped Aidan because you knew even then what Etazuré could do in retaliation. You didn't want your hero to suffer such consequences. If war happened, the whole nation will suffer-- our soldiers, all our friends, Nikolai, myself, even you and most specially innocent citizens. We can all be brave to the point of stupidity, amorita, but why should we risk all that when we can go through a more peaceful path?"
Princess Maeina sighed. "I understand, Father."
"I knew you would, piccolina." The King smiled gently. "Besides when the Etazurian King reached out to us, he brought news."
"What news?"
"Prince Alphonse is no longer the heir to the throne. He was deposed from his position and exiled from court for the humiliation he brought to his family. His younger brother Philippe is now the new dauphin." The King told her. "We should take that as a win and walk away from all of this in peace. We don't have to trust them, we just have to do what's best for the kingdom."
"I can live with that." The Princess said.
***
A/N:
The end.
Just kidding. 😁
Here's the prompt for this chapter.
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