"No father. I refuse to do this. I will not be forced against my will to go against our own people." Angry eyes stared back into the face of the young royal. The angry eyes of her peers, her constituents and most importantly, her father were staring at her, watching every little move she was making.
The leader of the Last Kingdom stared at his daughter hoping that she'd understand the dilemma his people were currently in. He knew his other daughters would not understand so he made sure to have them moved thousands of miles away to a private academy near the Southern Seas. But something about his middle daughter made him realise how much of a warrior she was – the strength, the passion and her leadership were all features of a head monarch.
The king looked at his throne room, the colour of gold and blue, prominent, a symbol of the rebellion years before that his people had won. He didn't want to force his daughter to do something that went against his own teachings, but he knew that if she didn't follow through, thousands of lives would be at stake. Lives of innocent children, adults and soldiers. All whom had seemed refuge to the Last Kingdom and have stayed loyal because of the love for the royal family and of what they stood for. But above all, there was a far greater cause for deciding to follow the Tradition – a cause that he hopes his daughter will never know.
He knew what he had to do, as he adverted his eyes back to his angry daughter and began to speak with authority. "What you cannot do is go against the Tradition, thinking that it means nothing. You will do this, not for the sake of our people but for the sake of peace!"
"But father, if we were to listen and abide by the laws of our enemies, then our own people will rebel against us. We are all immigrants from different kingdoms and we have all looked for the chance of freedom! And you're thinking about throwing that all away? We all ran away from our leaders for a reason, and now you are going to undo history by forcing me and everyone else who is eligible, to do this?"
"I will not hear any of it Roxanne, you will do this. No more arguments! You will not be the only one who will be sacrificing for the matter. You'll have Cassandra, Nessa and my top guards with you. The other kingdoms will come to our palace and they will be allowed to mate to whoever they please." He pointed at all the other people in the room. "All of you will be sacrificing for a cause greater than yourselves, and the faster you accept this, the easier it'll be for you to concentrate." The others nodded in forced agreement. The princess looked at her father one last time with hate.
"No, mum wouldn't have wanted this! If you loved her at all, you will not do this. Dad, please listen to me. Imagine if we could find her? We wouldn't have to follow the Tradition any longer and finally, she can put to rest all the destruction that had been created long ago. She had great plans dad and so did you – you were each other's shield and sword; you were the one who encouraged her." She stepped closer to her father, clearly seeing the difference in power as he sat on his throne that was separated by deep steps, whilst she stood below him.
"Keep quiet, you will not talk about her." His voice deep and slow, anger blatant as his back straightens impossibly more than it already was.
She knew she had crossed a line, heck, she did it many times before. Bringing up the name of the late queen, family or not, was never left unpunished. The princess stared into her father's eyes; refusing to back down from the argument, refusing to agree without a fight. "And what about Lisa, Melanie, Aniya and John? Have you told them? They're your children too. They have the right to know what's going on! They have a right to know that what our father is going to do will diminish the country that everyone has worked so hard for."
"I will have no more arguments with you Roxanne. This discussion is over. Do not test the little patience I still have." The king growled in anger, his eyes darkening with intensity.
It wasn't that she didn't understand what he was saying. She felt like she knew exactly what he was asking her and her peers to do but the reason why he was forcing upon them alone was still unknown. He was asking them all to give up their freedom just for the sake of peace. Peace that was not always guaranteed. It was rare occasions like this, that she felt like he didn't understand the price their people would have to pay. Their morals, beliefs and ideology would have change if such an alliance were to ever be conceived from the Tradition.
For the first time in a long time, she really looked at her father. He looked like he didn't sleep properly for days or perhaps years. His soft brown eyes seemed darker than normal. His brown hair was peppered with grey. Running a kingdom as vast as theirs for the last three decades was affecting him more ways than one.
"You will regret this father. When our kingdom falls, only then, will you realise the mistake you've made."
With that last thought, Roxanne left her father to think whether the step he was taking would be the right one to take. Hopefully he'll deny the Tradition – hopefully he'll do what is right.
"My loyalty is with you father. If you want us to do this, then everything will go according to my terms." She then turned her attention to the others still present in the room. She knew most of the people there were still angry at her. She could see it by the way they had wiped their faces of emotions. And she also knew she could change that – most of them present were of her father's cabinet ministers and their hearts were always loyal to her father. She knew she couldn't say anything to rectify the matter because she did after all, go against their leader. So, she decided to leave it at that.
As she was walking away, she heard her father's light whisper. "We are the remnants of the rebellion." It was a faint echo that seemed to resonate amongst the people inside the throne room.
They were, in the past, the remnants of the rebellion. It was fact. But will they continue to be the rebellion of the present and the future?
So what do you think of the prologue? Do you think it was good?
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Love, Red xxx
YOU ARE READING
Runaway Royalty
Fantasy"No! I refuse to do this. I will not be forced against my will to go against our own people." Angry eyes stared back into the face of the young royal. The angry eyes of her peers, her constituents and most importantly, her father were staring at her...
