Country M.
In a castle-like hall, an elderly woman knelt alongside with long train of ladies and men. Each of them had their heads bowed not daring to raise it. It was like they were awaiting their verdict.
A man in his mid-fifties dressed in a dark-colored suit like a businessman man paced up and down. His hair had become greyish in the span of a few hours. His face darkened like charcoal.
A pretty woman sat dejectedly on a high chair in the room, her eyes were reddened from crying for so long.
At that time, the door opened into the grand hall, a man around sixty years or older dressed in a butler suit escorted a group of uniformed men into the Hall.
"Your Majesty!" The group of men bowed deeply when they got to the man.
"Speak!" The man voiced sharply.
"The investigation has been carried out, Your Majesty" the courageous one among the men reported. He stood at least five feet away from the angry man. Who knew what he would do.
"Tell me, where is my daughter now?!" The woman who was sitting and sobbing before heard his words and rushed down to the center of the hall.
She grabbed the jacket of the man who spoke and forced him to raise his head. Somehow, the angry man pulled her back and gave her a look of caution.
"Do not dirty your hand!" The angry man berated his wife.
"My daughter.. sobs" the pretty woman turned around and cried in her palm. The angry man saw this and sighed. He pulled his wife into his arms and pat her back gently. His cruel expression toned down a bit.
"Reporting to Her Highness, the princess cannot be found!" the subordinate answered.
"C-cannot be found?! What do you mean! My daughter... my poor princess.. sobs" The pretty woman cried harder.
"Calm down woman and let me take care of this! You bunch of useless men! How dare you tell me my daughter, the only princess of this country cannot be found! You no longer fear the royal wrath?" The man roared.
"That is not it, Your Majesty!" The legs of the men shivered and threatened to give way beneath them.
"Then what is it? The princess ran away from home herself?" The man questioned.
"T-that seems to be the case, your Majesty!" One of the men responded hurriedly.
The man paused, it was as if he gave the matter a thought. It was not an absolute like to think that, after all, everyone in the mansion knew the princess-like to sneak out at every given chance.
However, there had not been a single time that she escaped successfully. The men would catch her and bring her back. About a year ago, she had stopped trying to escape when she noticed she always failed.
Could it be that the Princess had been planning her grand escape from the mansion since then? That is not possible! Even if she ran away, they would still catch her.
"Are you all incompetent? Even if the princess did escape from under your nose, can you not trace her? Are you telling me that she ran off without money? Her accounts cannot be traced from her transactions? Is that what you are telling me now?" The man berated angrily.
"Si— Your Majesty! We have done everything, you can do a double check... The princess has really grown this time, she left no trace at all. She did not even make any transfer on her accounts!" One of the men explained. He felt really wronged but he could not express it.
"ha..ha..ha... The princess has really grown indeed!" The man laughed scornfully. He waved his hands and dismissed the men. It was tiring to reason with a bunch of fools.
'"All these children! Why do they grow up! Did she not learn from her brother? That one suddenly disappeared when he was 12 and was not found. Now, the daughter also ran off! Are children meant to be this cruel to their parents?" The man voiced bitterly.
The wife leaning in his embrace cried harder. She could only accept it too. She knew that her children were smart and they couldn't have been abducted. The most likely truth was that they really did runoff. But, why did her dear daughter run off too?
"Your Majesty... why don't we try to make her return... we can just freeze all of her bank accounts?" One of the men suggested.
"Go ahead, freeze it! Simpletons... If she needed the accounts at all do you think she would have not used them from start? Just leave the accounts. Let her spend her money as she pleases. If she wants a life of her own then so be it! Did her brother and her think my wife and I cannot live without them?!" he snapped.
"Husband!" The wife yelled. The words of her husband hurt her, she wanted her daughter back... and her son too!
"Quiet, woman!" he said but his hands contradicted his speech. He soothingly rubbed his wife's back. He also missed his children. But he wanted to be a father who will not restrict them. And that is what he had always done.
He feared his children will leave him so he lock them up in the mansion. The reason why he did not try to pursue them as expected when they ran away from home is that he also wanted them to be free. That was the only chance he had to let them go. He believed that they would return when they wanted.
"I want my daughter... my princess... my little prince..sobs"
"Is our son not found already? He will return home himself alright, we are old already, we should just take care of ourselves and let those children be" He said to her.
"Where is her nanny!" He removed his gaze from the men and turned a fierce gaze to the elderly woman kneeling and the ladies.
"I am, Your Majesty" the woman voiced with a shaking voice.
"You know what you did wrong? The princess was right under your care and she disappeared without a trace. What have you taught her all these years? To be cunning? Just go and receive your punishment according to the offense of your negligence, all of you!" The man instructed.
"Thank you for your benevolence!" The elderly woman and the ladies who waited on the princess bowed and scurry out of the room. They were obviously grateful to the man for his leniency. Being punished is better than being sacked.
The men seeing that the women had been released quickly backed away following the lead of the butler. It was a good thing they did not have to pay for these matters with their lives. They had to say that this king was indeed merciful.
Country M had a system of government where the state had a Prime Minister and a Monarch. The power of the two units was on par and they checked on the excesses of each other.
The monarch of the country naturally came from the ruling house. They were perceived as the highest powers of the country and cannot be looked down upon.
The present monarch, King Herman Hattatra Hernandez (XXVI), and his wife, Queen Margaret Anne Hernandez was the parent of Princess Halona Helmime Hernandez. The runaway princess was Halona!
If King Herman and his wife Queen Margaret knew that their beloved Princess Halona was in another country, in a small house trying to curry favor with another lady, they might not be able to bear it!
The king comforted his queen for a long time before she finally became calm. He escorted her to their royal chamber. He understood how his wife felt. The house looked quite bustling with so many people but without their children, there was no difference from it being empty.
He allowed his runaway children to run for as long as they wanted because he believed it was a way they could also learn. If they remained where he was, he might not be able to let them off his sight. He was sure they would return at the right time.
After discovering the country where his first son, the crown prince was, he planned to rush over to find him. They only had clues but did not know the exact location of the crown prince. However, with the princess running away too now, he planned to stop his search and let the children be.
He ran his fingers through his wife's hair and whispered. "They will return, soon".
His voice seemed to calm his wife and her breath even as she dozed off. He did not realize the woman in his arms had fallen asleep but he continued to soothe her scalp.
Even though he was a king, he never allowed his title to affect his relationship with his wife. He always performed his duties as a husband.