She prayed hard that this day would not come but unfortunately it seemed like she had not been praying hard enough. Her mind a scatter, her heart torn and her body feared for herself and for her future. The old king was now dead. According to rumors he had died due to natural causes and now her fate had fallen upon her. Her dreadful fate.
As one king dies, another shall take his place.
And the new king would be none other than Min Yoongi. The one and only son and heir to the throne. And how was all this made relevant to her? To become the rightful king, the prince royal was required to marry the crown princess and that was none other than herself. Rhea, the youngest daughter out of many of the King and Queen of Thebe's children, as soon as she was born, she was promised to the son of King Mimas and Queen Phoebe. And the day she had reached the ripe age of 18, it was required of her to reside within their kingdom to prepare her for her betrothal with the crown prince.
Not only had she heard of the rumors, but had witnessed it herself the cruel and wicked ways of the prince royal. To the king and queen, he was their beloved prince, but their people knew better about his ways behind closed doors. He had the thirst for blood, slitting throats in his bed and skinning men for his own pleasure. Although having many encounters with him, he had never shown his aggression or laid a finger on her nevertheless, she shivered every single time his piercing eyes would stare down at her.
Rhea jumped in place and whirled her head as there was a firm knock on her bedroom door. With an anxious sigh, she stood up from the edge of her bed and straightened out her black mourning gown.
"May I come in, Your Highness?"
After hearing the voice from the other side of the door, she exhaled one more time but this time from relief. "Please, come in." She answered softly.
The royal chamberlain had opened her door and stepped inside. Ever since she had come here, the one person who truly had taken care of her was Seokjin. Not that the Queen and former King were never nice to her, but it had been Seokjin who had always been someone she confided in.
She avoided his eyes, afraid that she might burst into tears at any moment. On official duty as the kings personal advisor, the man had a hard face and was firm with every decision and order he made but with her, he was always ever so gentle.
"Your Highness." He looked upon her with soft eyes, "The queen has asked me to come for you."
"Must I go?" She finally looks up at him with glossy eyes and the moment he made eye contact, she had broken him. With a heavy heart, as the new kings loyal advisor, he extended his hand out to her.
Rhea took a deep breath and sucked it up. Lifting up the front of her gown, she didn't reach for his extended arm however, and walked pass leading the way to where she expected the queen to be. She headed straight to the queen's quarters and there she found the queen in her mourning gown, standing and staring down at her dead husband.
Seokjin had broken the silence first by addressing the queen and presenting Rhea just as he was asked to. The queen had yet to acknowledge her presence as she stared hard at the grey body that lay on their bed. Her heart thumped hard against her chest, awaiting anxiously for the next order although she already had an idea about as what was about to come.
"My son shall become the new king." She finally spoke up and turned towards Rhea. There was hope in her eyes, the kind of hope that Rhea dreaded but she bowed nonetheless hating the fact that there was nothing she could say or do against the queen. Refusing the queen would mean an insult towards her own mother and father. She would be a disgrace to her royal family therefore she did not dare to say a word. By the corner of her eye, she noticed Seokjin stiffen.
"We shall proceed with the ceremony once the arrangements for the funeral are over." Seokjin had announced and the queen nodded towards the advisor.
"They are to consummate the marriage the same night of the ceremony." The sentence had Rhea shiver at the word. The queen, ever so elegantly strided towards Rhea and palmed the smooth skin on her cheek. "I have seen the way my son looks at you. He seems to adore you very much and I would believe in no time you will produce me a grandchild soon after."
Rhea had choked at the thought. She could feel the bile at the back of her throat threatening to come up. The way Yoongi had always looked at her was nothing out of love.
"The King- my husband would had loved to see his sons ceremony but alas, his disease had consumed him to early, too fast." The queen proceeds to wipe a single tear with her white napkin she had kept hold in her hands. Rhea had not realised that she was already trembling.
"I am sorry to have call upon you like this. Please go ahead and inform your betrothed the good news. He will be even more delighted it was you to have bring him this news."
"My queen, maybe I could-" Seokjin tried to interject but the queen shook her head and pulled Rhea into an embrace.
As the queen finally let her go, Rhea curtsied and the moment she turned she held her hand against mouth. She needed to leave this room. This place. Now!
Going through the doors, her legs took her as far as possible but the acid had gone way past her oesophagus and she couldn't hold it in anymore. Falling onto her hands and knees, she let go all of her stomach contents onto the beautiful bed of Portulaca roses. There were barely anything in there but she released everything she had.
She did not even realise she was sobbing once she had emptied all her stomach contents.
Seokjin had followed her the moment she made a run for a clearing and could do nothing but feel helpless as he watched her heave heavily. Her shoulders moving up and down as she breathed and sobbed hard. He had held the guards back, letting her have her privacy. No one needed to know that the crown princess was having a panic attack.
There was little he could do for her. Within the palace walls that was. There had to be a way to send word beyond the palace walls. He had to act fast before the reign of the new king begins.
