At the kingdom of Tario, King Vincent sat on his golden throne with Princess Gwen standing next to him.
Madam More walked in and bowed low, respectfully.
"Your Highness. Your Grace."
Her King flashed her with his famous breathtaking smile.
"Madam More, thank you for coming. How is my queen?"
Her eyes lit up. This question, she could answer from her sleep. "She is stunning, brilliant and gracious, Your Highness."
Her response told him nothing he did not already know.
"I take it the trip went well?"
"Oh, yes, My Lord. The kingdom of Olympia was very welcoming."
That was nothing he did not expect. It was no secret that the kingdom of Olympia was desperate for the alliance with him, as were all the other kingdoms.
"Is she looking forward to being your queen?"
Madam More swallowed her saliva. That question was what she feared when she heard that her king summoned her.
"She is, My Lord. This is for you."
She quickly passed on the diary given to her by Queen Helen and hoped that it would indeed get her off the hot seat.
"Thank you, Madam More."
She curtsied, relieved.
"I am your servant, My King."
With that, she hurried out and let out a loud sigh when she reached the outside, where Sir Freddy was patiently waiting for her.
Princess Gwen narrowed her eyes at the king.
"I thought lying to the king was a punishable offence."
"It is."
"She just lied to you, yet she lives."
"I know."
"And you are doing nothing about it?"
He flashed her a knowing smile. He was aware of his reputation for being ruthless, but that side of him was only reserved for his enemies.
"I have learned, dearest Cuz, that some people lie for their selfishness, but others, it's out of love. Those I can never punish."
Princess Gwen's eyes widened.
"Don't tell me!"
She really hated his reputation with woman. Not only was it costing him the very thing he wanted, but Madam More was at least ten years older than him.
He bursted out in laughter, her reaction too predictable.
"Not her, silly, him," he said while looking at the direction of Freddy, who was anxiously waiting for Madam More.
She sighed with relief, finally understanding his statement. "Freddy coached her."
"Obviously."
No longer worried about Madam More, her curious eyes landed on the floral book in his hands.
"And that?" She quickly snatched the diary from him and started reading.
"Gwen," his warning did nothing to deter her.
"Wow!"
"What?"
Her exclamation piqued his curiosity, causing her to giggle before reading out loud.
"My dearest Vince. You must have heard of my embarrassing milestone by now. Apparently, it is not wise of me to question the maker on the necessity of it all. I hope you do not mind because I am doing it anyway. Couldn't the maker have come up with another way of ensuring reproduction and advancement of the human species without losing one's blood and risk all the embarrassment of messing one's gown?"
"Give that back to me."
Princess Gwen giggled more, moving a distance from him and continued reading.
"Do you go through embracing milestones too? No one tells me about these things. I am even restricted from reading the biology books in our library. I fail to understand the logic behind it. If these things are part of our nature, why then are they a taboo?"
"Gwen, give it back right now."
"This is the most exciting thing I have read in ages. Please let me read to you. Please, please," she pleaded but he could not budge. Now that he knew what it was, he just couldn't.
"No."
She returned the diary with a pout and sulking face.
Alone in his chambers, King Vincent could not put down Princess Zaria's diary.
"Dearest husband to be. I have been made aware of the crimes you are accused of. I had an honour of meeting your parents and loved them dearly. Please accept my deepest condolences for their untimely passing. I do not believe that you could have possible done such a horrendous act. We have never met, yet in my heart I know you. I hope you will remain strong and resilient, for this is only a test. Our fates are entwined, they have been since my existence. Therefore, it is only fitting that I must confront the hypocrites when they gather for the multi-kingdom court tomorrow. By the way, you shall not die and make me a widow before we even wed."
Laying on his bed, his eyes fixated on the ceiling to prevent his tears from falling.
His future Queen spent all her childhood loving him, while he spent his, hating her.
The sweet, innocent and genuine words throughout the whole book came to a rapid end after the chapter that left him weeping.
"I turned sixteen years old last week. Sweet sixteen, it is called, but there is nothing sweet about it. I thought you would finally show up this time, but you didn't. I thought you did not show up for all my previous birthdays because you somehow did not receive my invitations. That maybe you were too busy attending to urgent matters in your kingdom. It turns out that I was too stupid and naive. You hate me so much that you wish I died at birth. I can not think of anything I have done that would make you hate me so. I wish you returned the first letter I wrote you seven years ago. I wish you told me how you felt, then I would have stopped bothering you. You don't have to wish me bad faith. You are the King and the law for the kingdom of Tario. Although never done before, I am confident that if you make your disagreement officially known, I will be able to convince my parents to accept the dissolution of the treaty between our kingdoms. This is my last letter to you. My mind and heart will be permanently cleansed of you."
He read the heart-wrenching page over and over again. Each time, his guilt eating at him like an ingested acid to the stomach walks. He had not slept a wink by the time dawn approached and could not get himself to wake up when the sun shone through his chambers.
He ignored the several knocks on his door until his door opened and his cousin walked in.
Princess Gwen's heart sank when he saw the state he was in.
"Vince?"
It was obvious to her that he had a rough night. She guessed that the diary opened next to him was the possible cause.
Seeing her concern, he sat up and explained himself.
"She wrote me a letter every month from the day she turned eight years old. The envelopes were so colourful with hearts and flowers everywhere. I was so annoyed by her persistence, I never bothered to read them."
Princess Gwen's heart broke for her beloved cousin.
"You can't keep beating yourself up about this, Vince."
He shook his head, refusing to accept her advise when he knew how wrong he was. He pushed the diary towards her.
"Read the last page. She was so innocent, loyal and loving. I crushed her."
Princess Gwen was quiet for a few minutes, reading the emotional words of a broken-hearted sixteen year old. She was teary by the time she finished.
"She made a conscious decision to permanently shut you out. What are you going to do?"
"I have no choice but make her hate me more."
He had thought about his next move and made his decision.
"That does not make any sense."
"She does not want to marry me, but I can never let her go. I am bringing our wedding date forward."
"How is that going to make this better?"
Princess Gwen was no longer very close to Princess Zaria, but she knew from their previous interactions that she was not the type to just accept being forced into anything.
"It will give me a chance to redeem myself when she is my wife."
"And if you can't?"
"It's not an option."
He just could not think of any reality where he did not have her love.
"Even the greatest of kings can't command love, Vince."
"Inform Freddy to send messengers to Olympia right away," he insisted, but she would not let him make another mistake he will regret.
"That would be before her birthday. The treaty only comes into effect when she turns twenty-one."
He cursed under his breath, got off the bed and started pacing around the room.
"She loved me once, she will love me again."