The Crown cannot Help You

Chapter 25: The Apology

"Auds, come here." Her father beckoned warmly, a smile brightening his face.

He sat tall upon the golden throne, with his arms resting upon the sides and his feet flat against the stone floor.

Audelia's eyes widened in amazement, staring at her father as he commanded the room before him. His voice was loud in a way she'd never heard before.

"Auds." Her father whispered again, looking straight at her.

Audelia grinned back, only taking her eyes away from him to briefly look towards her nanny who had been gripping Audelia's arm in order to keep her still. Her nanny nodded her head and released her arm, giving Audelia all the permission she needed to sprint towards her father.

She ran through the throne room, the crowds of people separating for her. Audelia then clambered up the large stone steps until finally, she had reached her father.

He opened his arms wide, and she jumped into his lap, laughing as he closed his arms around her.

"I have to continue with my job, so if you want to stay here, you'll have to be quiet." He stated gently. "But we can go swimming after this."

Audelia nodded her head so vigorously she thought it may come off. She loved spending time with him no matter what they were doing.

"Alright." He said with a laugh, adjusting her in his lap before directing the person closest to them, to begin speaking.

Audelia didn't listen to the old man who'd come forward to speak. She just stared curiously at his appearance. He was tall and had wrinkled skin that hung off of his skinny body.

His clothes were dirty and ragged, making Audelia wondered why he didn't just change them. Her mother would have never let her go outside wearing clothes that dirty.

The man spoke quietly at her father for a short while, but the entire time he did, he appeared to sway on his feet. His frail body moved from side to side and his eyes looked distant, making him appear as though he would collapse upon their polished stone floors at any moment.

Audelia wanted to offer the man a chair but kept her mouth shut as her father began speaking.

His commanding voice echoed around the room as it always did and Audelia decided to start listening again.

"The weather has been perfect for growing, so it must be your fault that your crop failed." Her father boomed.

"No, your majesty, it was the soil. The soil has been rotten this year making it so the plants couldn't survive." The man said back, his voice wavering as he spoke.

"No, my kingdom provided everything you needed, the way it always does. This incident was your fault." His father yelled back, making it obvious his words were final.

"Please your majesty! We will starve!" The man begged, his eyes wide with fear as he saw where this was going.

But her father's face grew stone cold, he leaned back against his golden throne and his eyes moved to look beyond the man before him. "This is an issue the crown cannot help you on."

With that, the man was escorted from the room.

~

Audelia didn't move for the first few days after Tabitha had revealed who her father truly was. She just sat in her bed, drifting in and out of sleep as her mind examined every memory of her father.