"How kind of you to wait until the child is some age before you kill him. Won't you be married by then princess? You are of age," Cyrus asked. He heard many of the servants speaking about who the princess might get married to. He didn't hear Amelia speaking about her future husband but she could not avoid the time when suitors would visit the castle.
"Thanks for reminding me. I want to marry someone who will keep me in the castle. I'm not planning to marry a prince of another kingdom or I will have to leave. Why? Did you hear the news about my marriage?" Amelia turned on her heels to listen.
"I have heard nothing more than the servants curious to know who you will end up with. I was certain the reason your father called you today would be to speak about it. It's suspicious that he hasn't," said Cyrus. From what he had seen between the king and princess, Cyrus expected the king would have shipped his daughter off somewhere by now.
"I have found it weird he hasn't brought it up since my last birthday. There were suitors there that day but I ignored all of them because they were chosen by my father. I will choose my own husband myself. I have to do so quickly before my father thinks he found one for me. When will this all end," Amelia sighed, rubbing her temple with both of her hands.
There was so much she needed to do after turning eighteen which was the age for her to start looking for a husband. Her father no doubt saw her marriage as being useful to him. He could marry her off to the son of a neighboring kingdom to strengthen their ties and avoid feuding with each other.
As they made their way to the temple, Amelia passed townspeople who were granted access to the castle to pray for their loved ones fighting in the war. It was a judgment made by her mother. Normally, the townspeople wouldn't be able to enter the castle so easily because they could be a spy looking to hurt royalty.
Amelia was saddened by the sight of the women and children balling their eyes out with the hope that their son, brother, or father might return home safely. "Have you heard anything about our battle with the northerners? Are we losing?"
"Both sides are putting up a good fight but I am afraid king Killian has joined his men and taken out a good amount of your guards at the border. They might all be praying for nothing," Cyrus said looking at the people on the ground outside of the temple.
"Oh right, your people don't take part in praying. Do you wish to return home Cyrus?"
"One day but for now, I will stay at your side. This is as far I can go princess," he said when they reached the entrance of the temple.
Amelia wondered why the northerners never stepped foot on holy ground. Cyrus would never tell her. Maybe one day she would be able to find out. The people of the north and those in the Blackwell kingdom were different from one another which was why the two were always at war. They were never able to agree with one another.
"Stay out of sight Cyrus. Many know of you as my guard and those praying might try to attack you. I will be out soon," she said to avoid him being attacked. She noticed how some people at the temple were looking at him already.
If they gave him the chance, they would see that Cyrus wasn't a bad person. He wasn't a warrior for the northern king. He was merely a villager caught by the Blackwell guards when they invaded a village in the north. Still, she couldn't fault her people for not being welcoming of who she chose for a guard. War was happening all around them and no one was going to pity their enemies.
Amelia made sure Cyrus had safely gotten away from the crowd before going into the temple. She could feel the stares from the people all around her who were excited to be in the presence of royalty but dare not approach the princess. They could only bow as she passed by.
"Good morning," Amelia greeted the crowd to break the awkwardness. It didn't make sense for royalty to ignore their people. Her mother raised her to be much better than that.
"Good morning princess," the crowd responded. The majority of them weren't surprised she had acknowledged them. She was Anne's daughter after all. They were wary of the guards who would say something to them for approaching the princess. Someone had been jailed after touching the king without permission.
"Please continue to pray for your loved ones and don't mind me. I hope that they are all safe and will return soon-"
"Why'd you make them go out there in the first place?" An old man pointed his cane at Amelia.
She smiled ignoring his actions as he was just missing whoever had left for war from his family. They should all know that she had nothing to do with who went to war. Her father didn't involve her in those things. She was always told princesses shouldn't concern themselves with war which was funny because then they would marry off the princess to end the war. The war's outcome did concern her.
Amelia was certain her ideas would be helpful but they would never be heard. The old man didn't offend her one bit. It was easier to point fingers at her than at the king. "I am sorry that your loved ones have not returned home yet but they signed themselves up to fight for this kingdom. Fight to ensure that everyone in here wakes up without having to worry about enemies at their doorstep."
"I have come here today to pray for those out there protecting us. I will speak with my father to send you news about the people you are missing. And I will pray that this war will be over soon."
The old man wasn't satisfied with her words but he knew he couldn't fault her for coming here to pray with them. He cleared his throat and went on his way.
"Alrighty," Amelia said, seeing that he wasn't going to push her any further. Like everyone else, she got down on her knees to pray. "Please let Annabelle's child be a girl," she prayed.