Be My Princess

Once the door of the Throne Room was closed behind the representatives of the High Council, Josephine rushed to kneel before the throne.

"Please, Your Majesty… show mercy towards my son." She implored. "It was all my fault… it was all my doing and mine alone. Prince Francis only made that mistake with Changadim Kat, but I am the one who ordered Andrew to get that video uploaded and who asked Prince Francis to give a false statement…" Now sobbing, Josephine looked up at the king with teary eyes. "I am ready to accept any punishment that will befall me, but I only request that Mwant Yav show mercy towards my son and grant him Royal Exoneration."

Queen Sophie looked at her husband in worry. His eyes were showing no emotions while he listened to Josephine's plea. She really could not tell whether he was being swayed by the royal consort's act.

"Lady Josephine, if you are attempting to find a way to escape my ruling, you should at least be more convincing in your deceit." The king calmly responded.

Queen Sophie sighed in relief. "After all the grievances she has caused the Throne, it is amazing to see that Lady Josephine doesn't even feel an ounce of remorse." She coldly pointed out.

And before Kat's flabbergasted eyes, the royal consort's expression made a 180 degrees shift to a haughty stance as she stood back up.

"And why should I? My son was born to be king…" She replied in defiance. "In every way." She added while looking straight at the king. "So, what's wrong with me trying to get him what is rightfully his?"

"Josephine!"

At the royal consort's cold response, it looked like the queen mother was about to collapse from the shock; so Kat ran to her side to sustain her.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Maaku," Josephine said with a resemblance of sincerity. "But I was meant to be queen…" She pointed at the throne. "I was meant to sit there with John and Francis! I acknowledge that, after that mistake, it was only fair that I lose my place, but why did my son have to lose his as well?"

Francis looked at his mother in puzzlement. "Maaku, what are you talking about?"

Josephine looked at her son. She never intended to tell her son the truth and, even if she might have already said enough to make him understand that she had not been truthful to him, that was not about to change. All she really wanted at the moment was to speak her heart out for once.

She looked back at the queen mother. "My son was innocent in all that, yet he was forced to lose his rightful heritage while yours…"

"Lady Josephine!" The king interjected loudly. "Your insolence has now surpassed the limits of what I can tolerate."

Isabella was now on the verge of tears. In the past, she had thought that her first daughter-in-law had just chosen to marry the crown prince out of respect for their choice, but then failed to refrain the impetuses of her heart. For that reason, she had been very glad to welcome her back at the palace after her twenty years of exile had finally ended. Never once would she have imagined Josephine to be so power-driven that she would stoop that low just so she could put her son back on the throne. Could it actually be that she had accepted to marry her first son while being in love with the second just because John was the heir to the throne of Ruund?

"Nswann-Mulap Chang, issue an announcement in the entire Royal Estate that Lady Josephine and Prince Francis will be held in confinement until the royal ruling has been publically proclaimed." The King ordered the royal secretary before turning to Angel. "As for you, Prince Angel, your confinement is cancelled as of this very moment. Your reinstatement, however, will only take place after the royal ruling has been proclaimed."

Angel bowed before his father. "Wajikitanyi, Mwant Yav."

⁂

In the quiet afternoon, Isabella was sitting at the veranda adjoining the private sitting room. Two days had passed since the royal hearing, and life was slowly taking back its normal course in the royal palace. With Queen Sophie attending an event at an orphanage organised by a women's association to which she often made donations, Angel supervising the RIS investigation, and Kat busy with her lesson, the bored queen mother was practically counting the minutes until the end of the day.

"Wajinganyi, Maaku."

Isabella lifted her eyes and her expression lit up when she saw King Angel II standing by the bay sliding door.

"Mwaan-ikun! What are you doing back so early?" Isabella asked while inviting her son to sit.

"Well, Angel has done such a good job handling my work in my absence that I barely have anything to do right now." The king explained as he took a seat in a neighbouring chair. "The most important task I have at hand at the moment is to make a ruling once the investigation is over; which will be happening in a day or two given that the businessman and his daughter have decided to testify against Lady Josephine."

Isabella nodded. "Speaking of which…"

The queen mother hesitated for a moment and her son looked at her with intrigue.

"Do you still harbour amorous feelings towards Josephine?" She finally asked.

The king was really taken aback by the unexpected query and, for a few seconds, his eyes wandered away from his mother as he wondered why she was suddenly resuscitating such an old matter. He finally cleared his throat and looked back at his mother. "Maaku, if you fear that my judgement might somehow be impaired because of the past, I can assure you that it is not going to be the case."

"I will admit that this is also a concern of mine. But this is not the main reason why I am asking you this…"

The king slightly frowned as he waited for his mother to elaborate.

"A few weeks ago, the maiden took Sophie out of the palace for a mother-daughter day of fun…" Isabella started.

"… A what?"

Isabella chuckled at the king's baffled expression. "Exactly everyone's reaction when we heard about it…" She commented. "But, as shocked as I was that Kat was able to convince Sophie to leave the palace for an entire day without guard or protocol, I was even more shocked by the effect it had on your consort. It was as if a new Sophie had come back that night… Only, I soon remembered that it was, in fact, the Sophie she used to be when she first entered the palace…

"When I asked Kat why she had done such a thing, she told me that she wanted to give Sophie one day where she would not be treated just like the queen. A day where she gets to simply be a woman, a mother or a wife…"

For a moment, tears filled the queen mother's eyes. She closed them and breathed in and out heavily.

"I asked Sophie if she was happy…" Isabella said when she had regained her countenance. "She told me that her only memories of genuine happiness can be summarised to the day she became your wife and the day she gave you a son.

"She also told me that, in everything she was taught from childhood and when she entered the palace, she was never once taught what to do when her husband does not grow to love her or when her husband has his heart set on another woman… to this day, she can't even tell where your heart truly lies."

The queen mother could tell from her son's expression that he was not aware of the turmoil his queen was in and that he was now understanding the sense of her query.

"Maaku, I can assure you that I do love my queen." The king replied. "I don't have feelings for the royal consort anymore. I even assure Sophie of that when she seemed perturbed by Lady Josephine's return…"

"I suppose that you have told Sophie that… but have you shown her that?"

To that, the king had no answer.

"Mwaan-ikun, you are such a great king that, sometimes, it seems like you have the ability to read the heart of your people and meet their needs before they are even voiced out; how is it that you are unable to understand the heart of the wife who has been standing by your side for more than two decades?

"In all the years I was with your father, there wasn't even one day where I could have doubted his love for me. From the day we professed our love to each other to the day he left us, I never missed to receive a rose from him. Whether he was taken by the kingdom's affairs, out of the kingdom or bedridden, there was always a rose personally chosen by my Angel placed on my pillow at the end of each day. That gesture, in all its simplicity, was enough to always assure me of my place in his heart."

Isabella leaned closer and placed her hand on her son's. "Love cannot only be said; it must be demonstrated."

"Wajikitanyi, Maaku…"

The queen mother smiled. "Don't be too disheartened by this, Angel. I too have failed Sophie as a mother. But this situation has helped me realise how palace etiquette and royal duty can easily make us forget to be a family because we constantly interact through the lens of our royal statuses. Things must have been easy for your father and me because our love developed out of the palace, but I think it is important that we all learn to balance between our formal and our personal interactions."

Isabella finally leaned back on her chair and closed her eyes, leaving the king to reflect on everything she had just shared with him.

"I always feel that I would be betraying John even more if I were to live happily after what I did to him…"

Isabella reopened her eyes and looked at the king. The last time she had seen her son that vulnerable was when he was standing before his brother's dead body.

"Angel, are you telling me that you are choosing to be miserable in order to make amendments to your deceased brother?"

The king looked down.

"So, because your brother died in consequence of a mistake you made, you have decided to punish yourself for the rest of your life?"

"Maaku…"

"Mwaan-ikun, do you know why God asks us to forgive when we are wronged and to ask for forgiveness and forgive ourselves when we wrong others? This is because guilt and grudge have similar destructive power. When we keep them in, they overpower us and eat us up from the inside. And most of the time, we end up hurting ourselves and the people around us.

"Mistakes are unfortunate and can have horrendous consequences sometimes, but they turn into failures when we don't learn from them, pick ourselves back up and move on. And deciding to punish yourself in the foolish thought that it will appease the soul of your deceased brother counts as a failure to me.

"Guilt is not repentance, mwaanaam. When you repent, you acknowledge your wrong and decide to turn away from it; this is supposed to free you from guilt, not bind you into it. God forgives when you sincerely repent; so try to forgive yourself for your mistake and stop making your brother the bad guy here."

The king slightly frowned. "How am I…?"

"Will you consider a man who rejoices in the pain of others as a good person? Even in the case of people who have taken pleasure in hurting you; if you enjoy seeing them in pain, then you are no better than them.

"Do you really think that John would take pleasure in your perpetual penance if he were still with us?"

"…"

"John knew how you felt about Josephine from the beginning…"

The king looked at his mother in disbelief.

"He confided in me when we informed him that Josephine was our choice for him…" Isabella continued. "He too had feelings for her, but he was ready to give up on her if it had turned out that she was requiting your feelings."

"I never knew…"

The king was flabbergasted at how little he knew about a matter that concerned him so directly.

"John married Josephine because she chose him. Your affair must have shocked him mostly because it made him realise that he was chosen only out of duty… that's why I don't think that he would ever hold a grudge against you if he were still with us. So stop self-punishing yourself for the past because your consort is the one suffering the most from it."

"Wajikitanyi, Maaku…"

Isabella leaned back in her chair, a faint smile floating on her lips. She was truly happy that her son had been able to open up to her on such a deep matter. Yes… seeing how internal wounds could be carried along for so many years just because of lack of communication, the royal family really needed to improve on their personal interactions.

⁂

The investigation was over by the following day. The Irungs' testimonies, the confession of Francis' personal guard, and the recovery of deleted messages from the royal consort's cellphone had played a major role in helping the investigators finally link Lady Josephine to all five incidents. Sitting in his office on that afternoon, King Angel II was reading the last page of the investigation report Luke Tshisol had submitted to the royal secretary. When he finally reached the end of his reading, the king leaned back in his seat, his mind restless.

This was the greatest challenge he had ever faced since he had accessed the throne. His ruling, along with the reasons thereof, would be publically heralded all over the kingdom; which meant that Francis' action towards the maiden would have to be revealed to the public…

The king redressed himself and rested his chin on his clenched hands.

Both as a king and a father, he resented the idea of letting the people know of Francis' lowly act. But as much as he felt that he was partially responsible for the prince's current state, there was no way to keep that truth within the highest sphere of the kingdom otherwise there would be no way clear Angel's name.

"My king seems troubled…"

It was only at the sound of her voice that the king finally noticed his wife standing in the doorway, a tray carrying a little cup containing tablets of medicine and a glass of water in her hands.

As the king faintly smiled, Queen Sophie walked up to the desk and placed the tray on it.

"Rulings are certainly difficult when they involve people that are close to us." She said.

"I wonder how my father felt when he was faced with the same situation." The king commented.

"It must have been difficult for him as well, but probably not as much as for my king. For Taatuku, it was his son's widow; and he knew that his decision would affect the life of his grandson. However, my king is faced with the woman you once loved… and the son she gave you."

The king's eyes widened as he stared at his queen in befuddlement. Sophie took a seat in one of the chairs across the desk.

"I stumbled upon the late crown prince on that night…" She answered her husband's unuttered question. "I had gone out for an evening stroll and found him sitting on one of the benches when I stepped into the inner courtyard. He was rather distraught; so distraught in fact that, as soon as I sat next to him, he started to pour his heart out.

"I don't think he really intended to tell me everything; he must have just wanted to unburden his heart at that moment. So I silently accompanied him and lent him my ear for as long as he needed to talk, then I walked back to the East Wing.

"It never once crossed my mind that he would…"

"He did not." King Angel II quickly interjected.

And it was the king's turn to relate his conversation with Lady Josephine at the Forest palace.

"How did you know that I knew?" He asked in the end, curious about the reason why his queen was deciding to reveal what she knew at that moment.

"I was not sure whether my king already knew this or not. I just thought that, like twenty years ago, it is something the king needs to know before making his decision."

The king was once again taken aback as he repeated: "Like twenty years ago…?"

The queen nodded. "I knew Taatuku's ruling would have an effect on Prince Francis' life… I was hoping that the king would consider the young prince's plight and make a ruling that would not result in him having to leave the palace. Regrettably, it was not the case.

"But I think the late king had no regret in the ruling he made because he knew the whole truth. So this is the reason why I chose to reveal this to my king, now that he too is about to make a similar ruling."

King Angel II looked at his wife in amazement. How was it that, twenty years ago, and even now, she was making such a decision while knowing that it could benefit the woman who had caused her so much hurt?

"I now realise how tremendously blessed I am to have you as my queen…" The king let out.

The queen was now the one to lose a bit of her countenance as she did not expect such a reply from her husband.

Angel II left his seat and circled his desk to get to his wife. He then took her hands and helped her up. "I've not been the best of husbands to you all these years… I hope you can forgive me for failing to hear your heart's plea."

"My king…"

"I love you, my queen. Forgive me for not telling you this as often as I should. From now on, I promise to show you both in words and in actions how true and deep my love for you has grown to become."

Queen Sophie was truly at a loss of words, overwhelmed by a long yearned joy as the king wrapped her in a tender embrace and tenderly kissed her forehead.

…

A little after the queen had left the king's office, Angel came to see his father.

Angel hesitated a bit. "What has Your Majesty decided regarding Prince Francis' case?"

A faint smile traced on the king's lips. Angel must have understood the conundrum the king was facing when it came to publically revealing what the prince had attempted to do to the young maiden.

"It is true that such a matter should not be revealed to the public as it can seriously affect the image of the Throne. But by getting that video uploaded on the internet, Lady Josephine has somehow tied our hands," The king explained. "There is no way for us to clear your name and reinstate you in your Crown Prince status without revealing the reason why you had to fight another member of the royal family in such a manner."

"I figured the same thing, Taatuku. Nonetheless, I would very much like to keep Prince Francis' act from being publicised; so I have come up with a way to both clear my name and avoid divulging the whole matter to the public. But we will certainly need the approval of the High Council in order to implement it…"