That Was You

Queenie turned and looked at her father’s face. King Darian seemed so happy, and his eyes became teary. He saw to Queenie.

Although his daughter couldn’t be proud of him, like her fathers, King Darian always loved her. A father’s gaze on the daughter he loved so much.

Her father’s eyes made Queenie’s heart feel calm and comfortable. She still thought about what was on to her. Before her death, she behaved so stupidly? Queenie was busy with herself when her father was the victim of her stepmother’s cheating.

After she got her second life, Queenie understood why her father wanted her to marry. He wanted Queenie to have a sense of responsibility. That showed in his eyes.

King Darian and all awaited Queenie’s answer to her willingness to become the future wife of Prince Fabian. Although Queenie knew the Prince had cheated, she couldn’t give a wrong answer, making King Darian feel shy.

“Yes, I do,” Queenie said at last.

Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Great expectation arose in the heart of every guest presented in the palace hall. King Darian hugged his daughter, full of happiness. Queenie felt her father’s body trembling with joy as he hugged her. Only Queenie could understand his face and expression.

While Prince Fabian smiled with relief, He got Queenie, a beautiful girl, as a wife. Now, their plan was complete.

Queenie walked to the right of Prince Fabian. King Darian walked with queen Obelia on his left behind him. They were all toward the outside of the palace. The Queen walked gracefully next to King Darian. They were to attend the Lake festival and meet Bright River Kingdom’s people.

The sound of drums in the percussion and the fireworks explosion accompanied as a sign That King Darian had arrived. On the outside of the palace, the people waited for the King. They felt full of joy. This Festival would be extraordinary. King Darian would introduce his future son-in-law.

They were arriving in front of the people. King Darian went up on the stage and started his speech.

“My people, God has blessed the Bright River Kingdom with incomparable happiness today. As a sign of the kingdom’s love for all people, the Lake Festival has brought us another joy.”

King Darian turned to Queenie and Fabian. He gave a sign that both would come forward and approach next to him. Queenie’s memory flashed back to the time before death took her life. She always held Fabian’s hand. Prince Fabian was very confident that Queenie was very crazy about him.

But the Queenie today wasn’t the same person. Queenie didn’t want to humble herself. Queenie’s attitude toward Fabian was so cold. She and Fabian advanced and approached King Darian without joining hands. Fabian looked with pride at his future wife. But Queenie ignored Fabian’s friendly gaze.

“My people, I present to you. Prince Fabian of the Kingdom of Nicundhra. The future husband of your beloved Crown Princess. Princess Queenie!” The King introduced in a fiery tone.

Everyone present cheered happily and joined the happiness of the King. Even in their hearts, they sneered at Queenie. The Crown princess was impossible to do her duty. She would sit majestically and didn’t understand what to do as heir to the throne.

Many pitiful glances turned towards Prince Fabian. It forced Prince Charming to have a useless wife. All the people knew Queenie was just a spoiled princess and a troublemaker.

The King continued his speech.

“To celebrate our gratitude and happiness, then at this Lake festival, the coins that will distribute to all of you will be more than usual!”

They heard a rumbling sound again. This time, the people of the Bright River Kingdom were so happy. Fifty gold coins for each person were enough to keep them alive for a year. Then now, the King would give more. The people’s love for the King increased.

“The palace guards will soon distribute gold coins. But, as a symbol, I want one of you to come forward and receive a gold coin directly from my daughter’s hand. Princess Queenie herself will choose one of you.”

People whispered to each other. Each of them hoped to be chosen by the Princess and could shake hands directly with members of the royal family. Queenie saw a young man standing among the hopeful faces at the edge of the crowd. She then pointed at the young man.

The royal guards swiftly immediately picked up the young man to go on stage. He will receive gold coins directly from the hands of Princess Queenie. The young man smiled proudly. While walking among the palace guards, he waved his hand.

Arriving on stage, Queenie immediately approached the man. A servant came with a tray containing two bags full of gold coins. The young man looked admiringly at the beautiful Princess. When Queenie took a coins bag and handed it to him, the man suddenly froze. The smile on his face instantly disappeared.

He looked at Queenie’s hand. There was a black mark on the girl’s wrist. That was the same mark as what he saw on the hand of the girl at his house last night. The young man knew because he held the girl’s hand to check her pulse. He did it to ensure that the girl who fainted in his garden was still alive.

After seeing the same mark on Princess Queenie’s wrist, he looked at The Princess’s face. His eyes almost jumped out in surprise. He hoped his eyes were not playing with his mind. The Princess wore royal clothes and luxurious decorations. He could recognize the girl.

Queenie only smiled at the reaction of the young man before her. She approached and said so softly.

“Hello, Deril,” a simple word that only Deril could hear.

The boisterous voices of many people made Queenie’s voice only reach Deril’s ears. No one noticed Queenie’s greeting to Deril. Then she handed Deril two bags of gold and walked away.

Deril felt amazed, the greeting confirming that Princess Queenie was indeed the girl who had been at his house last night. It turned out that the girl was serious about her word. She was the daughter of the Darian King. All she said about herself was the truth. Deril was stunned to realize the situation in front of him.

Two bodyguards arrived and asked Deril to leave the stage and return to his place. As he walked off the stage, Deril didn’t stop staring at Queenie. That girl was no longer the girl who was at his house last night. She was a king’s daughter.

Deril glanced at Queenie, glancing at him. She smiled sincerely at Deril. Deril’s heart suddenly beat faster. Princess Queenie smiled at him and called his name. She would like to say hello to Deril. Now Deril’s feelings were mixing.

But that girl was now the Bright River Kingdom’s Crown Princess. She was also engaged. Perhaps Deril would never see her again. Deril returned to his home with a lazy step. The gold coins that were supposed to make him happy now made him sad.

Darian King and all members of the royal family turned inside the palace. They would be prepared to attend the engagement party of Princess Queenie and Prince Fabian. The King and the princes of both kingdoms would come tonight.

Queenie returned to her room to rest for a while and changed clothes. So did the King. Queen Obelia requested permission to inspect all food preparations for the party. But Queen Obelia went to the back garden of the kingdom to meet with Prince Fabian.

“You hear that, Obelia! She is the Crown Princess of the Bright River Kingdom. So all my intentions of marrying her will be useless!” Fabian hit an apple tree that was nearby.

He felt distraught. All he sacrificed would be nothing because it turns out that the one who would occupy the highest government in Bright River wasn’t Queenie’s husband. King Darian said only Queenie herself would be the heir to the kingdom.

Queen Obelia saw Fabian’s anger. Queen Obelia smiled and approached the young man before her.

“Calm Down, Honey. Our plan is just beginning. Your marriage to Queenie is only a gateway. You will live in this kingdom. Make it easy for us to meet and make all the plans.”

Fabian looked happily at the beautiful woman in front of him. Even though she was Queenie’s stepmother, their ages weren’t much different by looking. King Darian was lucky to have the beautiful, young, intelligent Obelia as his second wife.

After some time, Obelia and Fabian dissolved in a lovely kiss full of burning desire. They didn’t know there was a witness to see what they did.