CHAPTER FIVE

He was nervous, his eyes constantly wavering over to the stairs where his bride was suppose to emerge from but it has been long now and there was no sign of her.

The guests and the crowd were getting impatient and talked amongst themselves. He was tempted to go up there and drag her down here so that they can get over with everything.

Just when he was losing it, the bride walked down the stairs with her chief bridesmaids holding her long adorned with diamonds wedding dress. It beautifully clung on her hour glass body making her irresistible to the opposite sex’s perverted eyes. He couldn’t see her face clearly because of the veil on her face.

He couldn’t take his eyes off which was happening for the first and above all he had a weird funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. It wasn’t bad weird but just fine weird. He swallowed a big lump in his throat when she came to stand by his side.

Maybe she didn’t place her foot right and missed a step, she slipped and threatened to fall. He acted in repulse and caught her by the waist. He felt a current travel through his veins followed by some tingling.

“Are okay?” he husky asked looking down at her. She just nodded instead of saying something or anything. Taking that as her nature he sighed and helped her up on her feet.

Hope was feeling weak in sickness. She couldn’t believe that she was doing the same thing her mother was accused of for years before she passed on. She was going to deceive a man who was in love. Hot tears stained her cheeks as she faces the royal priest who was blessing them wholeheartedly. She wanted to rip off the veil and inform them it was all a scam. A sham and that she wasn’t the princess like everyone thought.

He had showed her mercy once and helped her once before and now she was betraying him by replacing his bride. He was never to forgive her for this.

“Your highness do you accept to take Princess Odette daughter of King Usiad of Husbat kingdom as your legally and lawful wife. To love and to cherish her all your life. In good and in bad times. In health and sickness?”

“I do,” he easily said as he slipped the diamond ring in her ring left finger. Hope gawked at it. It was a simple three piece diamond ring yet big and gorgeous.

“Do you Princess Odette accept Prince Lucian son of King Josh of Khumalo Kingdom as your legal and lawful husband. To love and cherish him all your life. In good and in bad times. In health and sickness?”

I am not Princess Odette. I am Hope! Hope! And I don’t want to get married to the prince. I don’t and I never did! Princess Odette where are you? You are the only one who can reveal this deceit.

“Princess?” the priest snapped her out of her thoughts.

She sniffled and swallowed up a sob. I am sorry my prince. To save my life and that of my family I am forced to deceive you like this. Please forgive me for this.

“I…I…I d..do,” she strutted and with shaky hands slipped the silver diamond enormous ring in the prince’s finger.

“I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride your highness.”

She suck in a sharp breath when he reached out for the veil. She squeezed shut her eyes and tears streamed down her cheeks.

Lucian took his time as he lifted the veil. He knew what to expect. Princess Odette in her heavy make up and heavy jewelry. There was nothing new about that. There was no need of the veil in his view. Then her tears caught his eye and he immediately swirled the veil over.

The crowd gasped audibly and Hope slowly opened her eyes.

“What is the meaning of this?!” the King stood up from his throne.

Lucian was shocked beyond words. Instead of asking himself what she was doing in the Princess’s dress he was rather asking himself why she looked so sad. Why was she crying? Why did it bother him so much to see her in this state?

“King Josh what is the meaning of this joke? Who is this girl? What is she doing in my daughter’s dress? Where is my daughter?!” King Usiad asked angrily.

“My King please calm down. We will get to the bottom of this,” Queen jezebel butted in. “Can we discuss this in private as a family?”

Just like that the guests were dispersed with the promise that the confusion shall be cleared tomorrow morning.

••••

Everyone was silent and watching. Glancing at each other with no guts to be the first one to say a word.

“I just want to know what you did to my daughter! Where have you taken her?” Queen Luna asked her fuming in anger. “Tell me!”

Hope shakes her head. “I was telling the truth before and even now I…I am saying the truth. I don’t know where the princess is. When I got to the room she wasn’t there.”

“Why would we believe you huh? You are afterall a poor commoner who would do anything to trap a rich man even if that man is a Prince. The blood of a mother runs through the daughter’s veins! People like you can never be trusted.”

She bit hard on her lip as his words cut deep into her heart. She wasn’t like that! Her mother wasn’t like that! They were not like that!

“I am telling the truth! My prince believe me I would never do something like this,” she sobbed looking at him pleadingly. “All my life I wanted happiness and less drama. Why would I do this then? I don’t even value the concept of marriage. I never wanted to get married to anyone. Believe me I haven’t done this.”

“Then care to explain what you are doing in the Princess’s wedding dress? Why were you at the wedding dais instead of the princess?” Prince Aston bellowed at her making her flinch back startled.

She dared say a word against the Queen but her eyes averted to her directly but she avoided her gaze.

“What happened? You have nothing to say?” The King grumbled. “Do you know the punishment of your crime young girl?”

“King Josh you can punish her later. For now I just want her to tell me where my princess is!”

“I am telling you I have no…”

A crack of a door opening cut her short. Everyone stared at the door and standing with pride and joy was Prince Klaus with Princess Odette by his side smiling.

Hope was stunned to see her in the arms of another man and the rings on their fingers were proof that they just wed. How? When? Why?

“Odette?” King Usiad astonishingly demanded.

“Your highness my apologies for getting you worried. Odette and I had to do this so that she and I can be together and be able to love each other with no restrictions,” Prince Klaus explained.

“Love? You love each other?” Queen Luna asked in disbelief.

“I know all of you are shocked but this is the truth. I love Prince Klaus and not Prince Lucian. None of you asked me what I wanted and needed. I actually thought that maybe the fourth prince will fall in love with me but that Ray of hope was crashed when he abandoned me to tend to a mere servant. He chose a servant over a princess and now you all see that he has married her. Moreover who would want to get married and associated with a son of a concubine. Father, you were not getting your daughter married to a prince rather a pauper. The royal family’s peon.”

“For money. For riches. For power you found it pleasurable to marry my elder brother? Just because I am a son of a concubine you found it desirable to run away from our wedding and marry yourself off to my elder brother?” Lucian painfully inquired.

“What were you going to give me? You have no power or anything of your own in this palace. I didn’t choose the third prince because of the wealth but out of true love. One thing you can never be capable of. Monsters can’t never fall in love. I suggest that the king take immediate measures to check if the prince didn’t defy the girl.”

“He won’t dare!” he sternly said.

“I still advice the king to seek out the royal physician for a check up.”

“Well…. This was definitely unexpected. It’s a turn of events and we are shocked however it has been done. The two are married now King Usiad and if you are against this union then I won’t stand in your way.”

“I just want my daughter’s happiness and if she is happy with the third prince then I give her my blessing.”

King Josh grinned in delightfulness when he realized that he still had his golden goose. He turned and glanced at Hope and Lucian.

“The royal physician will surely be called to check up the girl,” he ordered. “And if it is discovered that the prince has indeed broken the cherry pot then he shall be banished from the kingdom together with his mother and his wife.”

Hope wiped her tears and fiercely stood in front of Lucian like a protective shield and that surprised everyone. Just now she was crying and sad and now she looked like a wounded tigress protecting it’s cub. Lucian shockingly watched as she faced his father with determination in her eyes and she had no hesitation.

“A lot has been said. The princess runs away from her wedding and marries another secretly and nothing is said about that. No one is questioning this so called love but a common servant is questioned when she has been forced to sit in place of the princess. No one is concerned about the girl’s ordeal. Okay I accept it. I am wrong and the king has the right to call the royal physician to check me up. I will willingly do it because I have nothing to hide nor have I done anything wrong. Go ahead and check me up however I have one question for my King. How will you repay my self respect, pride and dignity which you would have deprived of me? When a girl is given birth she has her self respect, pride and dignity with her and these three things matters most to a woman more than anything. Now I ask you your highness how will you compensate me for ripping them away from me? How will you save my face from humiliation? And my husband? What will you answer to him? I will go through with the test but first answer me your highness. How will you bring back my dignity and pride as a woman.”

For the first time the king was rendered speechless. Even his royal advisor didn’t know how to respond to such a question and demand. Queen Jezebel was even more shocked to realize that the girl could talk. She had surely underestimated her capability. Lucian and his mother were the only ones staring at her in admiration.

“He might be a son of a concubine princess but he respected and honored you. He waited for you at the dais patiently but you didn’t show up. He might not love you but he cares and respects you by standing at that isle for you,” she added. “Seeing that the king has nothing to say I presume there’s no need for the physician and I ask to be excused,” she bowed and bolted out of the room.

She gathered her wedding dress and dashed through the gates of the royal palace to her house where she had some explanation to do.

Sarah hugged her son caressing his back. “Its late. Your wife must be waiting for you, you should go to her Lucian. She needs you right now, like you she was forced into this.”

“I know mother and I am certain that the Queen has a hand in this game. She has played many ruses before and this time I am sure it was her. I saw how Hope looked at her during the argument.”

“Yes I saw it too. It means she has long planned to marry Princess Odette off to her son. She knew very well that the King would accept anyone who marries the princess but would reject anyone you marry who is not the princess. Lucian, you do understand right?”

“Hope is my wife and I intend to spend my life with her. I married her. You have once told me that marriage is a promise of infinite union and I dare see it otherwise mother. Father can say and do whatever he wants but I would never divorce my wife.”

Sarah smiled teasingly at him and nudged his ribs. “Hmmm….is that so? Okay now I get as to why you like her. She’s wise and fierce, for a moment I thought I was amidst hell's fire. She is as calm as a morning dew, pure as snow and a raging storm when she’s mad.”

Lucian smiles at her. “Mother I don’t love her but yes she fascinate me. She’s an interesting person.”

His mother tilted her side to one side at a specific angle and hummed. “Not yet but soon enough she will be a woman who reigns your heart. Very soon. Now go to your wife and let me sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.”

“Good night mother, I love you.”

“Good night son. I love you too.”

His anxiety was back once again. How was he going to face her? How was he going to calm her down? He still remembered what she said about marriage earlier on. He wasn’t expecting her to be ponies and rainbows with him now but he hoped she would at least be friends with him because that’s all he needed from her. Or that’s what he wanted to believe.

He was in the hallway on his way to his room when Tobias his knight confronted him.

“My prince! My prince!” he panted.

“Tobias? What is it? Why are you looking so stressed?”

“Your highness , it’s the Princess Consort.”

“Hope?” he panicked. “What about her? What has happened to her? Tell me Tobias I am raving mad.”

“She…she has gone missing from the palace. Her personal maids went to the chambers to get her ready but she wasn’t there.”

“No…,” he whispered and ran off with Tobias behind him.