Chapter 9

Meanwhile at the King's room in Anastasia, the capital city of Annville Empire

...

King Richard sat at his throne in his usual majestic style as he listened to Harry's complains. "Father, I think it's time me and Julie consummate our marriage ", said Prince Harry. It had been 2 years since Harry and Julie's engagement. Prince Harry could now wait no longer. "I love Julie from the bottom of my heart. All the time, I am thinking of her. I cannot even perform my duties properly now as I constantly have her in my mind. It's high time we should get married now", Harry complained.

Although, he did wanted to marry Julie desperately, it wasn't because of love. He hated Julie more than she hated him . It was because of his greed for the throne. When Julie was born, the King had announced that she will be the future queen of Annville Empire and the Annville kingship will continue through her bloodline. This means that whoever marries her will be the next king of Annville. Harry could no longer tolerate to delay the marriage. Once it becomes official that he is the next king of Annville, he can easily eliminate King Richard and take over the throne. After all, he was an adopted son of King Richard and the king will trust him blindly. It will be easy to trap him. However, Harry must first marry Julie

"You are probably right. I will talk to Julie about this. If she agrees we can consummate the marriage as soon as possible", said the King after a long thought. It was true, that Julie was getting older and mature day by day. She must get married now. And so far, Prince Harry was the best candidate for her.

" She is a little immature now. She doesn't know how to act like a queen. Word had spread in the castle that she is too friendly towards commoners, especially Jack. I am afraid the people are taking this in a wrong sense and making stories about our innocent princess. But don't worry, everyone's misconceptions will be cleared once she marries me.", said Jack in a polite tone. He was careful not to offend the King and at the same time, encourage the king to hasten the marriage. Also, he had accused Jack of being too casual with the Princess. The King will certainly be alarmed! "Ha-Ha", laughed Harry. He won't let Jack live peacefully after he beat him infront of so many soldiers.

"You are right. I will talk to Julie. You may leave now", said the King after a long pause. It was true that he had pampered her daughter too much. Perhaps she would become more mature and get to know the kingdom affairs better once she is married to Prince Harry. After all, Prince Harry was a man of great talent. Yes she must marry her to Prince Harry!

....

Meanwhile at the palace gates.

"Attention! Princess Julie is entering the castle!", shouted the palace guard. Immediately, everyone stopped what they were doing as the soldiers stood in attention. Nobody moved a muscle. The sound of galloping horses got louder as the princess entered the castle. Behind her were a hundred Royal Regiment guards. But wait, where was Jack? The soldiers moved their eyes in panic as they searched for Jack

"Quick, call Prince Harry. There is a dragon at the outskirts of the city. Gather the troops!", shouted Julie tearfully. She regretted why she shot the arrow at the dragon. Her carelessness had just cost Jack's life. Why was she so stupid?

Noticing the panic in the Princess' voice, the soldiers immediately did as they were told

In less than a minute, Prince Harry along with King Richard and his ministers entered the training grounds. What had happened? They had never seen Julie so afraid.

"Relax Julie. What is the matter?", said the King slowly. It was normal for him to tackle these kind of situations.

"There is a fierce dragon at the outskirts of the city. It can attack Anastasia any moment! Jack had sacrificed himself to save me and is fighting the dragon at this moment", shouted Julie, bursting into tears. Although she knew it was impossible for Jack to last even 1 minute with the dragon, she still had some hope. She regretted why she left him alone with the dragon.

As soon as the King heard this, he was stunned. A dragon? How can a dragon suddenly appear out of nowhere? These creatures don't even exist.

" I am sure the princess must be mistaken. However, we cannot take any risks. There are citizens living in outskirts and there are crops growing which feed the people. Harry, lead a group of soldiers to see what is going on in the outskirts of Anastasia.", said the King. His decision was wise and everyone agreed upon it unanimously.

"As you wish, my King", said Harry as he mounted his horse.

"Avoid any conflict. Just take a look what is going on and report to me ", ordered the King as Harry disappeared with his troops