Queen Cordelia and her daughters were still in her chambers getting ready for dinner when Isabel her maid burst into the room without permission.
"Am sorry my Queen,but something terrible just happened and it needs urgent attention"
"And what is that if I may ask?" Queen Cordelia replied her back
"It's about prince Authur"
Now at the mention of prince Authur,both Queen Cordelia and her daughters diverted all their attention towards Isabel.
"And what happened to my brother?" princess Crystabel asked.
"Well.... it's...it's..." Isabel stammered confused on where to start
"Stop all these your confused thinking and tell me what happened to my son" Queen Cordelia said to Isabel with a commanding tone.
"I don't really know what happened your Majesty, but all I know was that the king called for prince Authur in his bedchambers and a little while later prince Fredrick also went in with Rufus Sewell.The next thing I saw was prince Authur being dragged by Martins and the guards towards the palace dungeons"
"What!!!" Queen Cordelia screamed and rushed out of the room with her daughters behind her back pushing off Catherine and Isabel out of their way in the process.
Luckily for them, they met the king and prince Fredrick at the hallway as they were on their way to hall for dinner.
"Excuse me your Majesty but I have to speak to you on some pressing issues" Queen Cordelia said to king Alfred.
"Not now,maybe after dinner" king Alfred said nonchalantly.
"But my lord,it's really important and can't wait" Queen Cordelia pressed on.
"Father please...." Princess Helen said trying to help her mother but was cut short by the king.
"I said later!!!" He bellowed and walked out of them into the hall, with prince Fredrick and Teftler following him.
"Alf....."
"It's okay mother" princess Crystabel said hugging her mother, comforting her."let's wait till after dinner"
"But what about your brother,I need to know how he's faring" Queen Cordelia said almost at the verge of crying.
"Leave that to me i will check on him" princess Crystabel said.
"Okay... thank...."the queen couldn't complete her statement as tears silently poured down her eyes.
Princess Crystabel and her sisters immediately surrounded their mother and began to comfort her.
"It's okay mother,pls don't cry"
"Mother pls be strong, even if we still haven't found out what the problem is pls just try and be strong"princess Helen said and cornered her mother towards the direction of her bedchambers.
Meanwhile at the dungeons prince Authur sat in his cell, crying and cursing himself.
"Why was I born into this cruel world and why do I always receive this cruel treatment from everyone" he said in his mind as he looked at his newfound surroundings.The palace dungeon was a damp, foreboding place, shrouded in darkness and reeking of decay. The air was heavy with the stench of mold, rot, and human waste. Water dripped from the cracked stone ceiling, echoing off the cold, grey walls.
Prince Authur, now found himself imprisoned in this bleak, unforgiving environment. His father's wrath had been swift and merciless, casting him into the dungeon without even hearing his explanation.
As the prince struggled to adjust to his new surroundings, he couldn't help but feel a sense of despair wash over him. The cold, damp stone floor beneath his feet seemed to seep into his very bones, chilling him to the marrow.The only light came from a small, barred window high above, casting a faint, flickering glow over the dungeon. The prince's eyes strained to adjust to the dim light, and he stumbled forward, his hands outstretched in front of him.The sound of scurrying rodents and the distant clanging of chains echoed through the corridors, making the prince's skin crawl. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to ward off the chill that seemed to seep into his very soul.
As he looked around, the prince saw the remnants of previous occupants: rusty chains, old bones, and tattered remnants of clothing. The walls seemed to bear witness to the countless screams, tears, and despair that had once echoed through the dungeon.
Prince Authur's royal attire, once immaculate and proud, was now an eye sore, stained with dirt and grime. His golden circlet, symbol of his royal status, lay broken and discarded in the corner, a poignant reminder of his fallen fortunes.The prince's stomach growled with hunger, and his throat parched with thirst. He wondered how long he would be imprisoned, and what fate had in store for him. As the darkness closed in around him, Prince Authur steeled himself for the long, hard road ahead, determined to survive the harsh realities of the palace dungeon.
Meanwhile Queen Cordelia and princess Crystabel went to see king Alfred immediately after he came out of the hall.
"Pls your Majesty, grant me audience I beg of you" Queen Cordelia pleaded.
"Yes my Queen, you have permission to speak"
"My lord, pls is about my son, our son prince Authur"
Now at the mention of prince Authur's name the king countenance changed.
"I have no wish to speak about him" king Alfred said.
"Father pls hear us out" princess Crystabel begged.
"Freddy pls" Queen Cordelia said still begging the king and giving him her most pitiable look which the king himself couldn't resist.This softened the king's heart.
"Okay, what do you want from me?" the king asked his wife.
"Pls i want him released my lord"
"No I will do no such thing, he needs to learn"
"But my lord he can't survive in there...pls have mercy on him"
"No he needs to learn how to behave so that next time he won't disgrace the royal household"
"But father, you didn't give him the chance to explain himself" princess Crystabel said, defending her brother
"Even when the evidence was clear, glaring at him on the face"
"And what if he was innocent of all these allegations laid against him" Queen Cordelia said at the verge of tears.
"Father you're known to be a just king, pls temper justice with mercy" princess Crystabel pleaded.
"And am being just, I won't be swayed by emotions.Authur would remain at the dungeons until he has learnt his lessons and that's final" the king said and went over to his writing desk, with the intentions of attending to important affairs of the kingdom.
"Pls my lord,have mercy on our son" Queen Cordelia pleaded refusing to back down.
"Enough!!!" The king bellowed.
"Father can we at least see him and give him food" princess Crystabel requested.
"Okay, you may do as you please but am not releasing him just yet" King Alfred said granting princess Crystabel her wish"
"Thank you your Majesty" Queen Cordelia and princess Crystabel said bowing their thanks before leaving the king's presence.
Immediately they left the king's chambers, princess Crystabel rushed to the kitchen where she met Emma the chef and the rest of the kitchen maids tidying up the kitchen.
"Greetings my lady" Emma greeted princess Crystabel as she enters the kitchen.
"Good evening your highness" the rest of the maids greeted her at the same time.
Princess Crystabel responded to all the greetings with a nod from her head before turning to Emma.
"Is there anything food left?" she asked
"No my lady, we just cleared everything"
"Nothing at all, bread, cheese.... whatever" princess Crystabel inquired.
"There's still some bread left over from the afternoon's meal my princess" Emma replied back.
"Okay go get that for me and also some butter, dates, a basket full of fruits and water" princess Crystabel said to a maid and the maid rushed out to carry out her orders.
"My lady there's still some cold chicken left, i could wrap it up for you if you wish" Emma said.
"Thank you" princess Crystabel said nodding her head in approval.
The maid the princess sent came in with all the food on a big tray.
"My princess" she said trying to get the attention of princess Crystabel.
"Follow me" princess Crystabel commanded and walked out of the kitchen, with the maid at her heels.
Queen Cordelia met with her daughter halfway to the palace dungeons.She was accompanied by her maid Catherine who carried blankets and a latern.
"Your Majesty" Varoons the officer in charge of law and order in the palace.
"Am here to see my son" Queen Cordelia said.
"This way your Majesty" Varoons said leading the way to prince Authur's cell.
Inside the cell prince Authur was still soloquizing and cursing himself
"Why am I always blamed for everything my step brothers do.I can't understand why they hate me this much and even my father supports them without even finding out what happened in the first place.Sometimes am forced to ask if am truly his son because of the unfair treatment.Sometimes I wish I wasn't born to pass and witness all these pains"
"Authur, son are you alright?" Queen Cordelia asked bringing her son back from his thoughts.
Prince Authur turned towards the direction of the cell's gates and saw his mother and elder sister and his countenance changed to that of happiness.
Varoons opened the cell and left them after bowing to the Queen.
"Are you feeling okay?" Princess Crystabel asked as she set the food tray which she had collected from the maid down beside her brother.
"Am fine" prince Authur replied weakly.
Queen Cordelia immediately began to check on her son for any sign of injury
"Am fine, mother" prince Authur said trying to stop his mother from stressing herself.
"You must be farmished" princess Crystabel said as she passed him a big chunk of bread she had cut from the bread loaf.prince Authur quickly devoured it after muttering his thanks.
Queen Cordelia scanned the cell surroundings and was not happy with the condition her son was in.well there was little or nothing she could do about it as the king was thickheaded on releasing him.
"Catherine" she called out to her maid.
"Yes your Majesty"
"Pls spread the blankets and see how you can help make this cell a little bit comfortable.
"Yes your Majesty" Catherine said and got to work immediately.
"Authur my dear, I know you must be feeling wronged by now because of all that played out this evening against you.You must probably had cursed the day i gave birth to you, you must probably also be angry at your father for punishing you unjustly and leaving your step brother roam scot-free after laying such accusations on you after committing such a crime.In all these i want you to let go and forgive your step brother or rather your step brothers for all they had done.It will be hard, i know but for what you have to achieve in the future,i beg of you to let them go.I want you to make up your mind this day and face your life challenges.I want you to stand up with your head up high and refuse to be intimidated.Remember that's the race of life is not for the swift, but for those with a focused understanding and determination.Stand your ground and become the best in all you do.My son focus on your future and how you want it to be and the only way to do this is to, make up your mind." Queen Cordelia encouraged her son as he silently ate his meal.
"It's not going to be easy, but at least give it a try"
"I will try it's just the way father passes his judgement, it's always in favour of Erics and his brothers.Sometimes I even wonder if he's my biological father" prince Authur said.
"Shut up! don't ever mention that again" Queen Cordelia scolded her son."Never you let that silly thought ever get into your head again because it's tantamount to calling me an adulteress.I carried you in my womb for nine months and king Alfred is responsible for this pregnancy that brought you into the world so never think so again.Like i said make up your mind on how you want your life to be, Okay?"
"Yes mother have heard you"
"Please try and adjust to your surroundings for now as we are still begging your father to have mercy on you and release you from this filthy place"
"Yes Authur we will continue to plead on your behalf" princess Crystabel said as she and her mother got up to leave the cell.
"Please take care of yourself" Queen Cordelia kissed her son and went out of the cell with her daughter and their maids following them behind.
Prince Authur then laid down on the blanket placed on the cold floor while reflecting on what his mother told him.