Be My Princess

The king looked at the royal consort with a silent question. Josephine left her seat and came to stand in front of the throne.

"Before everything else, I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to the entire family for not informing anyone about the princes' altercation.

"When I got back to the East Wing last Saturday, I found my son with severe bruises on his face, and in a very distraught state. When I questioned him about what had happened to him, he was first reluctant to answer me. It was only because of the relentlessness of my persistence that he finally opened up to me. He did not reveal much but, from what I could get, it seemed related to the fact that Crown Prince Angel has somehow persuaded himself that the maiden has fallen for my son."

"Prince Francis?"

Francis came to stand next to his mother at the king's call.

"Tell us what exactly happened." The king ordered.

Francis threw a nervous glance at Angel and hesitated a little before speaking.

"I just wanted to meet with the maiden for a moment… but since it was Saturday, I knew she would not accept my invitation; so I used the crown prince's phone to invite her to the Forest Palace for dinner.

"The maids must have informed Crown Prince Angel that Changadim Kat had gone to the Forest Palace because he arrived not long after her and immediately lost his temper when he saw us together.

"The maiden tried to calm him down but he pushed her so hard that she even lost consciousness. I tried to defend myself, but he was just so enraged…"

Josephine had to put in a lot of effort so as not burst into laughter at her son's performance. She really had taught him well.

"It is because my son wished that the matter be kept a secret that we chose not to let the rest of the family know about this." She continued. "We still went to West Wing early on the morrow of that day to see the matter through, but the maiden seemed very eager to forget about what had happened; so we agreed to settle it there. Who could have thought that someone had actually captured the whole incident on video…?"

King Angel II looked at his son who had shown no emotion so far. "What do you have to say about all this, Crown Prince Angel?"

Angel stepped down from his throne, went to stand next to his cousin and curtseyed. "If Mwant Yav allows me, I want to make my statement when the results of the investigation will be brought to you."

Queen Sophie motioned to interject but the king was quick to reply.

"Granted." He said before turning toward the royal secretary. "Have you been able to find out who recorded that video?" He enquired.

"Unfortunately no, Your Majesty. By the fact that there is no surveillance camera inside and near the Forest Palace, and that no one aside from the maiden, Prince Francis and Crown Prince Angel was captured on the camouflaged cameras, we haven't been able to find out who that person is so far."

The king looked back at the three people standing in front of him. "We will wait for the results of the investigation and see what they reveal. Prince Angel will be confined to his bedroom and guarded all the time of day and night until light has been made on this entire matter."

"It's not like he is a dangerous criminal who can try to escape." Queen Sophie protested.

But Angel simply bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty."

…

Kat was still anxiously pacing in the sitting area when Angel walked in, followed by Peter, two others guards, and the Chimangat who stopped after a few steps inside and held up a scroll bearing the royal signet.

"This is a royal decree,

In the lights of the disclosure of a footage showing the crown prince attacking another member of the royal family, King Angel II has decreed that Crown Prince Angel will be relieved of all his princely duties, held in confinement in his bedroom and guarded at all time of the day and the night until such time as the case has been fully investigated and the investigation results presented at the royal hearing that will be held on Monday…"

"What?" Kat let out in bafflement while the Chimangat stoically pursued.

"This decree takes immediate effect and will be broadcasted throughout the entire kingdom."

Kat's mind went blank. In half a daze, she saw the Chimangat bow and walk out, the guards reverently gesture for Angel to go to his bedroom and the crown prince turn to Peter.

"You know what to do." He simply said.

"Yes, Your Highness. Rest assured." The guard replied.

When Angel engaged on the stairs, Kat finally reignited the power of her brain and rushed to cut off his route.

"Wait a minute. What is happening? Something is not right here. How… how come you are being put in confinement when you…"

Angel took Kat's hand. "Don't worry much, Changadim Kat. Everything is under control." He said calmly.

Kat looked at the two guards standing by each side of the crown prince. How was everything under control?

"But…" She started.

"Can you do me a favour?" Angel interrupted.

"What is it?"

"No matter how much you are questioned, can you wait until you are officially called in the Throne Room on Monday before telling anyone what happened at the Forest Palace on Saturday night?"

Kat frowned. "What? But why…?"

"And can you promise me that you will not meet with Prince Francis in the meantime?" He added.

"…"

"Please," The crown prince insisted. "I just ask that you trust me on this…" He added when saw that she still wanted to protest.

Kat met Peter's eyes, and the guard signalled her with a nod to agree.

So she capitulated. "Alright."

Angel slightly squeezed her hand in gratitude and proceeded toward his bedroom. After the door closed behind him and the two guards took post on the outside, Kat followed Peter out of the West Wing and inquired on the reason why the crown prince was being placed in confinement.

"It appears to be the condition upon which the High Council would agree to the king's request for an investigation before he can rule on their request for a change in the crown?"

"A change in the crown?" Kat let out in bafflement. "On what ground?"

"URuund rulers must always demonstrate a great ability to control their emotions no matter the situation they face. The High Council must consider that the crown prince has failed to do so when he got involved with a woman other than the one chosen by his parents and caused problems to the Throne in consequence. Then… this."

"I still think that the High Council is being too harsh with Crown Prince Angel…"

"The High Council places very high demands on the crown. In the olden days, an emperor who failed to meet the expectations of his people could be put to death."

"Put to death?" Kat repeated with an appalled expression.

"The Rukan could only be taken out after the death of the emperor.*" Peter explained. "I suppose that the maiden's History lessons have not yet explored all the political aspects of the times of the Ruund Empire."

Kat nodded.

But Angel's actions at the Forest Palace were intended to rescue her from Francis. Shouldn't that be considered as a sound choice made in a dire situation rather than a failure to show appropriate ruler qualities?

Kat frowned. "Or is it that no one is yet aware of what actually happened at the Forest palace on that night?" She pondered.

That could actually explain why the crown prince was being misunderstood, but not why he was asking her not to say anything until Monday…

What was stopping him from speaking out right away?

"Is everything truly under control like Crown Prince Angel says?" She asked.

But before the guard was able to answer her question, a servant from the Central Palace walked up to them and bowed before Kat.

"Mwant Yav has requested for the maiden's presence in the private office." He announced.

Kat followed the servant up to the door of the private office. When he knocked at the door, the royal secretary opened right away and invited Kat in. The king, queen and queen mother were gathered in the private office, waiting for her.

"Changadim Kat, please have a seat." The king said after Kat curtseyed. "I've been given to understand that you were present at the Forest Palace on the night Prince Angel and Prince Francis had an altercation."

Kat looked at the royal elders with hesitation. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Prince Francis attests that you went there to meet with him and that Prince Angel followed you there and lost his temper when he saw that you were secretly meeting with his cousin on a Saturday." The king continued.

Kat slightly frowned. Why was Prince Francis twisting the story? And why wasn't the crown prince refuting his statement? Was it because she had previously expressed with insistence her desire to keep the whole incident hushed as only a few days where left before her return to Likasi?

Her intention by that had simply been so as to not sully Francis' image before the king. But now, it was Angel's image being sullied before the entire kingdom…

The confusion that was painted all over the young woman's face sparked hope in the heart of the queen. Things were definitely not as Prince Francis had stated them.

"Prince Francis sustains that the crown prince has attacked him because he was not happy to discover that you have chosen his cousin over him." Queen Sophie added.

Kat raised baffled eyes at the queen, opened her mouth but refrained herself at the last second. She wanted to protest but…

"If we fail to prove that Angel's actions were legitimate, the crown will be taken away from him." Isabella piled on. "That's the reason why we need you to help us bring light to what exactly took place at the Forest Palace on Saturday night."

Kat felt a twinge in her heart. The pleading eyes of the two royal ladies were urging her to tell them everything. But she had already promised to wait until Monday… She had to trust that the crown prince knew what he was doing.

"Can you either corroborate or refute Prince Francis' allegations?" The king asked.

Kat slowly stood up. "If Mwant Yav allows me, I would like to wait until Monday before I can make my statement." She requested in a slightly trembling voice with her head lowered.

While the two women looked at Kat in befuddlement, a faint smile traced on the king's lips.

"Did Prince Angel requested that you wait until then before giving your statement?" He asked Kat.

Kat lifted her head and looked at the king with astonishment. How did he guess…?

The king smiled a bit more. "Granted. You may leave now."

Kat curtseyed and left the room.

"Why did Your Majesty grant the maiden her request?" Sophie let out as soon as the door of the office was closed behind Kat.

"Mwaan-ikun, it is obvious that the maiden does not agree with what Prince Francis has stated," Isabella added.

"I know that, Maaku." The king calmly replied. "There is definitely much more to what Prince Francis has stated. Something Angel wants us to discover on Monday."

The two women looked at each other in puzzlement, then the queen turned to her husband.

"But, my King, don't you think it would be better if we knew what they know? That way, we would be able to help them."

King Angel II held his wife by the shoulders. "My Queen, give more credit to our son. Angel knows what he is doing. He surely has a good reason to stay quiet for now, and an even better one to wait until evidence had been collected before making his statement."

"But, how much can he be able to do when he is confined in his bedroom?" Sophie argued.

"If he needed our help, he would have asked for it. Moreover, he knows that, in all this, we need to keep our impartial stance. My ruling would immediately lose its fairness if it were discovered that I've been trying by all means to clear his name."

…

Just like Queen Sophie and Queen Mother Isabella, Kat had a hard time sharing the king's assurance. She had come to understand that Angel had chosen to wait until the investigation was done because he wanted to find evidence that would corroborate the statement he was going to make. But as the week dreadfully ran to its end, there seemed to be no glimmer of hope that the investigators would ever be able to bring light to the truth of what had really taken place in the princely abode on that fateful night.

On Sunday afternoon, Kat chose to go for a stroll in the garden immediately after lunch. Spending time with the royal family had become unbearable. The entire lunch meal had felt like a torture with Angel's empty seat across the table from her constantly reminding her that she was the reason why the crown prince was currently confined in the solitude of his bedroom, Sophie and Isabella's gloomy expression pressuring on her decision to remain silent until the morrow, and the fact that she could not confront the prince serenely eating next to her on the reasons for his recent actions.

When she decided to walk back to the West Wing, she stumbled upon a conversation between the queen and her mother-in-law. From the veranda adjoining the private sitting room where they were sitting, they had not seen Kat approach.

"It seems as if the investigators have not been able to find a single piece of evidence that could exculpate Angel." Queen Sophie let out in a dejected tone.

"None at all?"

"None, Maaku. At this rate; the crown will definitely be taken away from Angel."

Isabella took the queen's hand. "Don't lose hope, Sophie. We still have Kat's testimony."

"That's true, Maaku. But what assurance do we have that her testimony alone will be enough to prove the legitimacy of Angel's action?"

Kat took a step backwards. Queen Sophie was right! The only tangible evidence of what had happened that night was the video recording of Crown Prince Angel beating a seemingly defenceless Prince Francis to a pulp. With no evidence to corroborate them, hers and Angel's recounts of the incident would be considered substantial and by no way conclusive enough to clear his name…

Kat turned around and ran in the direction of the East Wing. Even though she had promised Angel not to do so, she had to meet with Francis…

She had to convince him to change his statement!

The young woman rushed through the alleys of the garden and soon got to the East side of the Royal estate. She was about to take a path leading to the East Wing's outside corridor when she spotted Francis walking towards the lake next to which his mother was sitting and redirected her steps in their direction. But, as she drew closer, she progressively noticed something amiss about the scene playing before her eyes.

In the midst of the tense atmosphere the entire palace was plunged into since the moment the video had been uploaded to the internet, Lady Josephine and Prince Francis seemed to be… celebrating?!

Kat was so taken aback by what she was seeing that she stopped at the level of the arcade that sort of marked the entry and exit point of the garden, and watched from a distance as Francis, a bottle of wine and two glasses in his hands, joined his mother where two wicker lawn chairs and a table had been set for them. With a bright smile plastered on his face, the prince uncorked the bottle, poured the wine in both glasses, and passed one glass to his mother.

He then raised his glass to make a toast. "I raise my glass to the most amazing strategist of all times: Her Highness, Lady Josephine. Former crown princess of Ruund…"

"But soon to be mother of the new crown prince of Ruund," Josephine added as she raised her glass as well.

"Only you could have thought of turning my moment of misfortune into an opportunity to snatch the crown away from Angel for good," Francis commented with admiration.

And before Kat's befuddled eyes, they clung their glasses against each other then emptied them.

_____

*Authentic fact