Be My Princess

Kat, on her side, was feeling the urge to follow Angel to his bedroom and comfort him because she could tell that he had really been shaken by her revelation. But she also knew that he wanted to be alone. Sure enough, he did not want her to see him in a vulnerable state.

She sighed heavily. With all that, she did not even get to thank him for saving her from… Her entire body shuddered and she shook her head to try and chase away the memories of the night before, but they were tenaciously lingering in her mind.

When she came to realise that trying to run away from the problem would only make it grow worse on her, she slid down from the bed and went on her knees as she remembered her mother's best advice.

~ When you have something weighing heavily on your mind, it is best for you to let it out; because it will eat you up if you keep it in instead. And, even if it happens that you cannot confront the cause of the problem, or that you have no one whom you can tell it to, remember that you always have God first and foremost to pour your heart to. ~

…

Kat was still getting ready for Church service when Jane came to inform her that the royal consort and her son were at the West Wing, requesting for an audience with her. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the name of the prince, but she maintained a calm façade before the maid.

She came out of her bedroom at the same time Angel was leaving his and felt reassured when she understood that he too was meeting with the guests waiting for them in the sitting area. When they reached the bottom of the staircase, Kat finally noticed the bruises on Francis' face and quickly glanced at Angel. She could now understand why his knuckles seemed to be a bit swollen.

Josephine and Francis stood to curtsey when Angel and Kat got close enough; everyone then sat down, and Angel signalled the maids to leave them.

"My son told me everything about what happened last night." Josephine started. "There's no argument on the despicableness of the agenda he was planning to carry out when he tricked Changadim Kat into meeting with him at the Forest Palace, and I don't intend to defend him…"

The royal consort scanned the faces of her interlocutors. While Kat seemed rather uncomfortable with the situation, Angel, on the other hand, was piercing her with a cold gaze, apparently barely holding himself back.

"So I am here merely as a mother pleading that you forgive my son for his wrong deed." She added at Kat's address. "Prince Francis truly regrets his actions and has already decided to withdraw himself from the Courtship Program in a way of making amend to Changadim Kat."

"Given what would have happened if I hadn't gone to the Forest Palace last night, don't you think that the best way to show his regret would be for Prince Francis to face the ruling of the king?" Angel let out before Kat could respond.

It was rather appalling to him that the royal consort was trying to appeal to the maiden's good heart in order to save her son. And with the discovery of the king's old affair and all that had ensued from it, the crown prince had to dig very deep within himself so as not to lash out at the two people sitting facing them.

"Your Highness is right," Josephine replied in a humbled tone. "It's just… I was hoping that we could settle the matter without having to bring it to Mwant Yav. But if Your Highness prefers that my son faces punishment, you then can give a ruling. We will comply with whatever decision you make."

"In matters that involve the members of the royal family, only the king can make a ruling," Angel replied, implacable.

Josephine noticed Kat looking at Angel with pleading eyes and realised that the young maiden was their only way out.

"You are right again, Crown Prince. But try to understand a mother's heart. I know my son has behaved very poorly, but Your Highness knows that Prince Francis is not a bad person… He just momentarily lost sound reasoning in the fit of despair." The royal consort pleaded. "Just give him one chance… One chance to redeem himself and prove to you that he is not such low of a person…"

"I understand your situation, Lady Josephine; but try to understand mine as well. It would be unwise of me to decide to let go of a matter that requires the ruling of the king alone…"

Kat placed her hand on Angel's to call for his attention. "Please, Crown Prince… I really wish that we could put this whole matter behind us."

Angel's resolve quickly faltered when he noticed that Kat was obviously uncomfortable to be forced to face his cousin so soon after the events that had taken place on the previous night. So, for her sake – and hers alone, he was willing to let go of the matter… for the moment.

"Since it is the maiden's wish, we will not be bringing the matter to the king." He declared reluctantly.

"Thank you for your kindness, Changadim Kat," Josephine said.

She then stood up and everyone imitated her.

"Kat…"

The moment she heard the sound of her name coming out of the prince's mouth, Kat felt a chilling sensation run down her spine, and she unconsciously reached for Angel's hand.

Seeing how the maiden was now afraid of him sent a twinge in Francis' heart. "I am truly sorry…" He simply let out in a choked tone before rushing out.

"I will be taking my leave now," Josephine said before leaving as well.

It was only after the royal consort had left the West Wing that Kat realised how tightly she was holding unto Angel's hand and quickly let go of it.

"Thank you…" She said timidly. "For last night… and also right now."

"I just hope that you will not come to regret your decision." Angel coldly replied before heading towards the entrance.

Kat went after him and cut off his route. "I sense that you might be misunderstanding my reasons; but please try to understand my point of view, Crown Prince Angel… I am a temporary guest here at the palace; Prince Francis is of the royal family. In about two weeks, I'll be leaving Ruund for good, and we will all resume our respective lives with no further interactions with each other. If it is just that he made a bad decision in a moment of weakness, maybe we should just forgive and forget; this way, the royal family does not have to suffer another blow."

Unexpectedly, her argument seemed to have caused the crown prince's eyes to darken even more. What she could not know at that moment was that Angel was perceiving her statement that she would be leaving for good in two weeks as her openly stating that she did not love him.

"And what if it isn't?"

At that question, Kat stood speechless while Angel went around her and left the West wing.

What if it wasn't a poor decision made in a moment of weakness?

That would mean that Prince Francis was actually the kind of person who could stoop to any level in order to get what he wants. But even though she could not really say that she knew him after only two months of interaction; even if his actions on the night before were already an indication that she did not know him as much as she thought, Kat could not bring herself to believe that Francis was that despicable of a person.

There was no absolute certainty in her conviction. But even if so, she thought that she was doing the right thing by protecting the king from the heartbreak of learning that a recently found son he could not even openly embrace was capable of such a low act. She wanted to draw from that pure intention the assurance that she was not wrong to choose to let go of the matter, but Angel's argumentative query was now raising a dreadful question in her mind. What if, instead of salvaging the heart of the king towards his son, she had done nothing more than simply delaying the inevitable?

…

"I'm sorry you had to humiliate yourself in front of Angel and Kat because of me," Francis said to his mother once they had regained the East Wing.

Josephine poured herself a glass of wine and took a seat on a sofa. "He is so similar to his mother… looking down on us as if we were unworthy to stand in his presence. But soon, he will be the one bowing his head before us."

"It's a good thing Kat was more inclined to let go of the matter," Francis said with a smirk thinking of how naïve the maiden was being. But a flash of regret still passed in his eyes when he thought of the fact that he had failed to get her.

"It is indeed good. And I have to salute your great performance at the end. This will settle in her heart that you truly are remorseful over what you've done."

Francis bowed his head, feigning to thank her for her appreciation, but he knew very well that his heartbroken apology had not been an act.

"But your cousin is not that easy to dupe." Josephine continued. "So we have to quickly make a move before he decides to go see the king despite the maiden's willingness to show clemency. And if the king ears of this, the only way he would ever consider you for the throne would be if his son does something far worse."

"Do you already have something in mind, Maaku?"

"Oh yes, I do. And this time around, the crown prince will not be able to escape from our snare."

…

Unaware of the brewing storm coming up ahead, Kat was rather intrigued by the commotion she noticed when she stepped into the chapel. She walked up to the first row and stopped in surprise when she met Angel's eyes. When he had left the West Wing earlier, it did not even cross her mind that he could be going to the chapel.

Attenders of the third service had already gotten used to seeing Kat every Sunday since her arrival at the palace; and even more recently, the queen mother. But having the crown prince attend two Sunday services in a row was really astounding.

"Walankanyi, Kat! Why aren't you sitting?"

Kat turned around and quickly curtseyed. "Mwanyi mwa vudee, Ngaak. I was just about to."

Isabella took a step forward and finally spotted her grandson. "Angel? I now understand why Kat looked so taken aback." She said as she signalled Kat to engage first on the row.

"Why is everyone so surprised to see me here? I was here last Sunday." Angel argued as Kat sat next to him.

"Precisely! So we were not expecting to see you here until the next big event." Isabella joked. "Like your marriage…" She added with an implied look at Kat.

But, contrary to her expectations, Angel's expression darkened while Kat awkwardly looked down. Very observant, Isabella had been able to perceive the budding feelings between her second grandson and the maiden quite early in their interactions. Thus, she was rather disconcerted to see them reacting so negatively to her tease.

Had something happened between the two of them?

Isabella wanted to inquire, but it was not yet their time to meddle into the youngsters' affair. She had to wait until the Courtship Program would come to an end.

A little after the service started, Queen Sophie joined the trio in front and was just as surprised to see Angel there that the rest of the congregation was to see her.

For Pastor Elisha, it was a very pleasant surprise to see the members of the royal family making close repeated attendances. In all his years of service at the pastoral office of the Royal Estate, that surely was a first.

After the service, everyone headed for the Central Palace but Angel stayed behind for a while. With everything that had been revealed to him, his mind was restless. And with what had happened the night before, he felt that he needed great help on how to deal with the situation.

Unbeknownst to everyone except Pastor Elisha, Angel had the habit of visiting the chapel every time he was facing challenges that raised questions which answers he could not get from anyone around him. He would sit on his own and repeatedly ask questions to God until he would get answers.

When everyone but Pastor Elisha had left the chapel, Angel walked back in, sat down and looked up. He had only two important questions to which he needed answers at that moment:

Should I bring Francis' case to my father?

Should I try to hold onto Changadim Kat, or just let her go?

When Angel finally came out of the chapel half an hour later, Pastor Elisha was standing by the entrance.

Angel looked at the pastor and smiled. "I will be taking my leave now."

Pastor Elisha smiled back and bowed as the crown prince walked away.

⁂

The eleventh week had gone halfway through when a new video was leaked on the internet. That time around, the video had been uploaded around seven in the morning. The RIS Computer Analyst had resolved to develop a program that would constantly scan the internet for every mention of the royal family, and send an alert every time those mentions would pass a set critical limit.

The computer had sent an alert within ten minutes after the video that barely lasted for a minute was uploaded. But by that time, the short video was already creating an online uproar inside and outside of Ruund that was unlike that of the previous leaks.

The level of gravity of the content of the video and the reaction of the viewers was to the point where the royal family was unable to even delay the emergency audience the representatives of the High Council were requesting to have with the king; so King Angel II had to put an end to his leave a bit earlier than prescribed.

The meeting was taking place in the Throne Room, and given the degree of importance of the matter, no one aside from the royal family and the royal secretary could be of attendance.

Kat was feeling as if her head were about to explode. The pressure generated by the situation was so unbearable that she felt a strong need to talk to someone in order to lighten the weight on her heart. But that was not possible… Her family had indeed called her to inquire on the situation at the palace, but she knew that she was not allowed to discuss the details on a royal matter of such seriousness.

After restlessly pacing in the West Wing sitting area for a while, she decided to look once more at the uploaded video. The image was not very good but still clear enough for anyone to be able to recognise Prince Francis being propelled into the living room of the Forest Palace; then Crown Prince Angel walking towards him, grabbing him by the collar and punching him repeatedly.

In the video, one could clearly see Angel's face distorted by rage; as if the person who had recorded it had purposely captured his expression to make him look scary to the viewers.

"Who recorded this?" She wondered.

Given the quality of the video, it had to have been recorded from a cellphone. So the person who did it had to be from the palace. An outsider would have never been able to approach the Forest Palace without being caught by the guards…

…

Just like Kat was racking her brain to try and figure out who could be the person behind that new leak, King Angel II was raising the same question and many others in his mind while listening to the plea of the Head of the High Council, David Kakes.

In the spacious Throne Room, the royal thrones were placed on the highest level of a three-step stage. The princely thrones were on the second level, left of the king's throne. At their right, on the first level, was standing the royal secretary, and two rows of ten seats each were set down the stage facing each other along the aisle facing the throne, where the rest of the royal family was sitting, facing the representatives of the High Council.

To present his petition, David Kakes was standing in the aisle, at the level of the fourth chairs.

"A request for a change in the crown was already envisioned in the case involving Miss Natacha Irung. Although Miss Irung's public admission of wrong has led the High Council to interrupt the process of submission of an official request, it was still retained that all of the things that have happened in the past weeks would have not taken place if Crown Prince Angel had not gotten involved with a woman who was not the one chosen by the Throne. Now, in addition to such show of lack of respect for our traditions, we are now presented with a video recording where the crown prince is viciously attacking another member of the royal family for a reason that needs to be clarified.

"It is the prime quality of any Ruund ruler to be able to bridle his emotions and always show soundness and restraint in every circumstance. Over the crown prince's repeated failures to do so, the people is gradually losing trust in his capacity to rule and has started to request for a change in the crown.

"In its quality of mediator between the Throne and the uRuund people, the High Council of Ruund that we stand before you to represent officially requests that the princely crown be taken away from Crown Prince Angel and that Mwant Yav chooses for himself a successor from the royal family who will be presented to the High Council for appraisal before approval.

"If a successor cannot be found within the royal family, the charge to find a suitable successor to Your Majesty will then befall the High Council."

The king nodded. "Twajikitish, Mwant Kakes." He said as the high-counsellor bowed. "I understand your position, and I consider your request to be legitimate."

The Head of the High Council respectfully bowed once more before he regained his seat.

"But as king of Ruund, I am always required to make judgements on the basis of conclusive proofs. I, ergo, request for a joint investigation to be conducted by the RIS and police investigators selected by the High Council in order to find out the core reason of the princes' altercation. Next week Monday will be held a royal hearing where we will be presented with the results of their investigation. And, after careful analysis of all evidence collected and the testimonies of all parties involved, I will make my ruling."

The three representatives looked at each other and nodded, then David Kakes stood up. "Your Majesty's words are of wisdom. But, the High Council still has a concern. The spirit of people is heated with the need for answers. If the Throne remains silent, protestations will rise. Let the decision for an investigation be made public, together with an announcement that the crown prince will be taken off all his princely duties and kept in confinement throughout the duration of the investigation, in order to convince the people that the royal family is not overlooking the matter." He requested.

The king looked at George Chang and nodded.

"It shall be done according to your request." The royal secretary declared.

The high-counsellors stood up, curtseyed then took their leave. After the door of the Throne Room closed behind them, the king looked at the members of his family one after the other.

"How come I was not informed of this situation before it got to this point?" He asked in reference to the altercation between Angel and Francis.

The royal family had urgently called the king as soon as they had been made aware of the new leak, but had not given him much detail on the subject. By the time he had arrived from the Kapang residence, the representatives of the High Council were already waiting to be received. Hence, he knew nothing more about the case than the video recording that had been sent to him while he was still on his way.

"That is because we too were not aware of this matter until we were shown the video." Queen Sophie replied while looking fixedly at Lady Josephine.

As the person sharing an apartment with Prince Francis, she could not have failed to notice his bruises…