The royal family was associated with countless terms and ideas. But the one that had been glaring in Amara's eyes as she grew up was a single word—rules.
With rules came restrictions.
With restrictions came hidden shackles.
And shackles were suffocating.
Amara didn't really have much power in her hands. Nor did she have much say in the family. Her father was the King, and her elder brother was the ultimate Crown Prince. She was just a powerless princess who had grown up in luxury.
But when all is said and done, what can come from whining? When has misery ever fulfilled anyone's wishes?
A person had to stand up, gather their mess by themselves, and face their fears. Difficult. Very difficult. Amara had felt it in her bones when she stood before the King and announced that she wanted to leave the palace—to go out and study.
What followed her declaration could be summed up in one word—chaos. But in the end, she made it. She managed to leave the palace and see the outside world on her own terms.
So, Amara concluded, rules that bound you were meant to be broken.
Just as she was doing in that moment—breaking a rule that had existed in the royal family for years, a rule she had broken religiously every year without fail.
A rule that—
Amara treaded inside the place with great familiarity, holding a bouquet of roses close to her chest.
—forbade women from entering the Royal Mausoleum.
Eventually, her footsteps came to a halt in front of a quiet chamber, near a raised marble platform intricately carved with floral patterns and the royal crest. The tomb, crafted from white marble, had a surface polished to a reflective shine. Carved onto the tomb was a lifelike statue of a beautiful woman, lying peacefully as though in eternal slumber, her hands resting gently on her chest.
At the base of the tomb, an elegant inscription read:
Queen Seraphina Renaldi, Beloved Mother and Sovereign of Monteluna. In her reign, she brought peace. In her rest, she remains our guiding light.
"Mother," Amara knelt and placed the flowers in front of her mother's resting place. "I'm late this year."
...
Like every year, Amara had locked the gates after stepping in and dropped the key back outside. When it was time to leave, she took a completely different route to exit the royal mausoleum.
Stepping outside, she checked the time. Good. She had barely taken 35 minutes, even though she had asked her friends to handle things for an hour.
Sybella and Leah were going to be pleased with her meticulousness. She took a step forward as the thought crossed her mind, but her steps halted when two men stood in front of her, blocking her path.
"Princess, His Majesty has been waiting for you."
And then it dawned on Amara that her father's meeting had probably not taken as long as Lady Juliette had estimated. A pity.
In the royal meeting room, people were clamoring on the sides while a man sat on the throne in the center, his forehead resting on his hand.
When Amara's presence was announced, the room fell silent, and the King raised his head to look at her.
Callahan Renaldi, Amara's father, was a man in his mid-40s, and his age was evident in the slight lines around his eyes and the graying streaks in his dark hair. Yet, when seated on the throne, he exuded quiet authority, his presence glowing with the aura of a wise and composed king. Despite the signs of age, his features remained undeniably handsome, with a strong jawline and sharp eyes that carried the weight of his responsibilities.
"You are here."
Amara took a few steps forward and curtsied. "Your Majesty."
"I heard that you breached the premises of the Royal Mausoleum again."
The King's words had just dropped when the meeting room erupted into an uproar, with people raising complaints about her conduct right in front of her.
"It is unwise for the princess to go against the ethics of royalty and act so willfully."
"His Majesty has been benevolent, but Her Highness never repents. Alas, the ancestors..."
"Your Majesty, this matter should not be disregarded lightly this time..."
Some voices whispered, while others were loud, dredging up sins Amara had supposedly committed ever since she opened her eyes 21 years ago.
Amara stood quietly, half-expecting someone to accuse her of breaking the rules by crying when she was born. Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—they didn't delve that deep. However, some ventured as far back as the incident when her mother had passed away, recalling how she had snuck into the royal mausoleum for the first time.
Suddenly, the room fell silent.
Amara looked up, only to find that, at some point, the King had risen from his seat. Following his movements, everyone else in the room stood up as well.
Amara followed her father's gaze and turned to see the woman who had just entered the room. Her face was slightly pale, and her steps weak as she was led in by her attendants, but her eyes remained determined. "It seems that the princess did break the rules, but at the end of the day, she is a daughter. It is only natural that she would want to visit her mother on this day,'' the woman who was entering the meeting room said softly.
"But, Your Majesty..."
"I understand, Lord Marcellus, what you are trying to say. I am but a weak woman with no understanding of the ways of court."
The man who had spoken paled and stepped back.
"But in the end, I am a subject of His Majesty just like you, and I speak of what I see. The princess may have broken one rule, but her visit to the late queen is evidence of her filial piety. How can anyone shame her for that?" As she spoke, the beautiful woman gracefully raised her hand and wiped away invisible tears—as Amara would put it—with the back of her hand. She then turned to face the King. "If I have been impudent or naive in my words and actions, please punish me as you see fit, Your Majesty," she said, her voice trembling as though grief-stricken.
"You did no such thing, my queen" the King replied, crossing the distance between them in a few large strides to support her. "You are all dismissed."
Amara paused, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief, and mentally gave herself a thumbs up as she moved to quietly retreat with the rest of the officials.
But just as she took a step, the King's voice rang out.
"The Princess shall stay."