CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

*

Williams is standing by the corner, his hands on akimbo and Annalise is backing the wall, her face in her hands as she cries.

''What have you done?'' The King roars

''I have only merely taught her a lesson?'' Williams says in anger

''What have you done to my daughter ?'' The Queen rushes to her ''Annalise, Annalise what has he done to you, tell me Annalise,'' she pulls her daughter who hides her face away and sobs

''What have you done Williams'' His father comes to him and shakes him ''Goodness, my Princess'' He rushes to Annalisa and then backs again ''Heavens Lord, Williams, tell me what you did to the Princess that causes her eyes to be as red and her wailing as painful?''

''Father, i have only barely given her tit for that, noting more nothing less''

''Speak Child, what did he do to you so that i can accord punishment accordingly..Guards'' The king bellows, his brows furrowed as the guards rush forward

'Your command my king'' they knee

The De Beaumonts suddenly go on their knees ''My Kind, tender mercy..pray tarry for us to know the dimension of what he has done, forgive''

''No!!, if he had hurt my Princess, he would be dealt with..'' Jacob thunders.

Sisse pushes through them and goes to her ''Anna, pray tell, what did the rascal do to you, did he touch you inappropriately, manhandle you?''

''Williams, what did you do, you will lose your head if you do not speak'' Theodore speaks with fear , he grabs his friend, Williams removes his hand

''I would not cower in fear, i only returned her attitude to her and she is wailing like a child''

''Shut up Williams, get on your knees and beg the King for mercy'' His father cautions

Annalise is crying as they try to get her to speak

''Father, bending a knee to the King and asking for forgiveness is not beneath me, however, i would rather defend my case and if he sees that i have done something as evil, then be it as it may and i would accept my punishment ..but..i believe i have not and i only desire that she do not dare do what she did again''

''What did she do that made you do what you did Williams, speak and save us all the wrath of the King'' Adrian tells him, ''Dear God Williams, speak''

Annalise is sobbing, she suddenly rushes to her father ''Papa, i do not, i cannot, i will not marry this vile evil man. See how he..how he-''

''How he what, tell me child and i would visit my wrath on him where he stands''

''He, '' she sniffs ''He tossed me over his legs like a child, and he spanked me hard on my bottom''

Her mother and the women gasps in shock

''He did what?'' The King thunders in anger

''Not once, not twice..and when i tried to move away , he spanked me some more and..oh Papa, he violated me, me?'' she cried in his arms

''Guards, grab him and take him to the east wall, strip him off his clothes and belt him with spikes to dare touch my daughter in that manner...he dare to spank my daughter?''

The guards get up and grab Williams, De Beaumont crawl to him ''My King, tender mercy, please my king.!!!!''

''No, he would be punished. No fear, the audacity, right in the palace he dares to maltreat the Princess..how dare he, take him away!!!''

Donna comes to Annalise and pulls her to her ''Oh my poor child, so sorry we left him alone with you, such disgraceful qualities''

''My King, surely you must want to know why she was accorded that, or are you a king who chooses to listen to his daughter alone and disregard others because of her state in your life Sire'' Williams says as he was pulled towards the door.

''Take him away'' Annalise cleans her eyes and turns to her father ''Papa, do not let him tarry to insult you further with his tone''

''My King, i swear on the gods that i raise my boy properly and..surely he wouldn't have done this entirely on his own thoughts..tender mercy, i would deal with my son but..do not stripe him and flog him my King, tender mercy'' Duke De Beaumont please

''My Queen, he is still a growing lad, he may have overstepped, plead with the king, that he may listen to the cries of a mother''

''My King, please'' Adrian begs

''My King, tender mercy'' Theodore pleads ''Williams is not a wayward man or one who dares to lift his hand on a lady unless..'' he trails off

''Take him away''

Williams uses his hands to wedge the door to stop their movement ''My King, i would gladly accept my punishment, but it would be unfair to allow the Princess the privilege to go scot free even after what she did to a man, i wonder, if Princess are raised that way, to do what pleases them knowing that the King their father would come to their rescue..surely, i see the values are being thrown down the drain and spoilt Princesses takes the lead''

''What is that supposed to mean?'' he turns to him ''What speak you off?''

''Ask her my king, she has a mouth to spew, she has a mouth to take and tell herself''

''I asked you a question, do not dare question me or return it back to me as though you speak to your fellow man, i will have your head Williams De Beaumont in a second your father would not be able to catch it before it hits the floor..what mean you?'' He raises a finger to stop the guards

''Papa, he has nothing to say, guards take him away from my sight!!!''

''Tarry Guards-'' The king says ''Speak Williams'' he orders

''The Princess had raised her hands on me, her would-be Husband, twice my king due to a disagreement. And i must say she has a good aim because i can still feel her sting on my face!!!!''

Others gasps.

''I had only reacted out of anger, i cannot very well manhandle a woman my King, but i told her if she did what she did again, i would treat her the way spoilt lasses are to be treated, and she did it again. So i flung her over my thighs and gave her a few spanks as they would a child. And she wailed her lungs out, possibly because she didn't expect it or felt i would suck up to her royal arse. If she be my wife, it is necessary that she be respectful and submissive, obviously not stupid but respectful. Surely a man and a woman should have disagreements and i do not expect that she be waving her Royal title in my face when we are within our home..i only ask for respect and i would accord her so as the Royal Princess, but if she be my wife, she becomes my wife first and the title would be a like a cloak she wears over her shoulders when we step outside. You do not expect me to bellow ''My Princess, my princess '' when we be married and walking around the garden or when we be bedding''

Another gasps, Theodore chuckles now..

Williams continuous with the shock registered on all their faces '' I may have reacted wrongly, but Sire..tell me, was it appropriate the way she be acted towards me, not even me her supposed would-be husband, but towards a man because he disagrees with you and you smack him hard twice across his face? Surely, women are such sweet-natured beings, i do not know where she was plucks her attitude out from''

''Enough!!!!'' The king Thunders

''Papa, he is so vile and rude and-''

''Did you raise your hand on a man Annalise?''

''Papa, even the way he speaks..no regards that Royalty stands before him and-''

''Did you raise your hand on a man, especially your would-be husband?''

''Papa...and he just-''

''Annalise Jane-Jacobs!!!!!!''

''He disrespects my crown by speaking to me rudely in a manner that displeases me and -''

''Did you Anna?''

''Yes Papa, and i do not regret it.!!!'' She raises her stubborn chin and stares her father in the eyes.

Another gasps.

''Oh Dear Annalise'' Sissie sighs within

''Oh Child, that would not do, not at all'' Donna speaks, her hands going to her cheeks

The King places his hands on her shoulders and moves her from his body, he turns to the guards ''Leave him be''

''But Papa, surely you would punish him for-''

''I would do nothing, but you would do this right now, apologize to De Beaumont''

Annalise is aghast ''Me, apologize?''

''Yes Princess, you!!''

''I would not dare render an apology to them and much less to him''

''You will, for your behavior had almost made me punish him''

''He spanked me, violated your princess''

''You raised your hands on a man, surely, it is tit for that. Since you have chosen to disgrace your crown, you would wear the disgrace accordingly. You do not act on your whims, we raised you up properly. He is wrong to treat you as a child, you are wrong to deal with him as though you do not have proper manners, you have embarrassed me this day, infront of your in-laws ,so you my dear child would render an apology!''

''I will do no such thing!!''

''Williams, step forward and render an apology to the Princess for your rude behavior''

''Aye my king''

He steps forwards ''My Princess, forgive me..however'' he raises his head ''I deserve respect if we be wedded.''

Annalise ignores him

''Apologize to your husband then if you refuse to render one to the family'' The King orders.

''I said father, i would do no such thing''

''Annalise, the king speaks, you dare disrespect him?'' Her mother speaks

''Very well Mother'' Annalise turns to De Beaumont on their knees ''Stand up, i would give my apology to them alone''

De Beaumont stands up from their knees, ''My apologies for my behavior, but..i am not a lady that would be spoken to rudely, crown or not..i would do what i please and if you do not like that for a daughter in-law, i would advise that you severe this match and free me to be my own mad self. Tell your son, Williams is it, that if he be used to women who are submissive and swoon to his stupid looks, i am not one of them. And if he dares to speak to me the way he did, i would not be using my hands next time. But i do apologize to you Duke and Duchess De Beaumont, my quarrel is not with you. Now if you would excuse me, i must retire from this disgraceful scene..'' with that she turns and walks away, with Sissie and her handmaidens following her behind.

''Williams, leave us..guards usher him to the banquet hall to be fed''

The usher him, Theodore and Adrian follow him out.

Jacob, embarrassed turns to them ''My apologies for the Princess'' he says in anger

''No my king, our apologies for our son, he has acted inappropriately, he should be able to exercise control. That is a rare quality of a man''

''Nevertheless, both of them had acted beneath them, not a good sign my king'' Donna says sadly ''These two would kill themselves under thesame roof. She is stubborn and he too is, it is a poor match my King..surely with this they cannot even be in the same room without knives flying, my king, tarry for us to think over this match''

''But my Lady'' Duke De Beaumont starts

''The Queen is right my Lord'' Brianna says ''They hate themselves going by what happened, surely this two would refuse any marriage between them, maybe this would be a good match''

''But Brianna, they are young and ..'' he trails off and then he continuous ''I believe if we give them time to get to know themselves they would be joyous with each other. Pray tell, during your match, did we love each other? Surely we had our differences. Take Adrian for one, he hated his missus when i did the match, he fought against it but now, we are blessed with two beautiful angels and another on the way, his eyes follows her everywhere and would die for that lass. i do not think the Princess and the young Duke would be any different and ruling it out just because o a ruffle is...too quickly considered. ''He turns to the King ''My Williams is a good boy, a good boy''

''He is stubborn, he has no fear'' The King states ''He didn't cower like others even when talking to me even when he was staring at the face of his punishment''

''My King, forgive my son..i would caution him and would make him-''

The King is shaking his head ''No, that is not it. I love my daughter, she is my everything but it saddens me when she acts in ways that displeases me. But i do not love her less. But, i want her to be better, her recent behavior is a thing of worry and that had bothered on my mind when thinking of a match..i felt marriage would tame her, i was wrong''

''You were wrong?'' Duke De Beaumont states''But my King..you want to call off the match?'' He says , his brow creasing ''But my King..my son is a good boy, a good boy...he acted wrongly but-''

''So you would call off the match altogether or just from the Beaumont's?'' Donna inquires touching his arm

''If it is your desire my King, we would accept your decision'' Brianna says sadly

''No, my King, take a night and think it through. I promise to make my boy behave, he would i assure you and-''

The king turns away ''No, what i mean is that i thought marriage would be what that would tame my daughter, i was wrong. Because it is not marriage that would tame Annalise, it is a man, and not any man, a man who can stand his ground when she bellows, who can correct her when she is wrong, who can point it out to her without fear or considering her crown..a man who she cannot rebel against and feel he would cower in fear when she calls my name. It is not marriage that would tame my Annalise, its a man..'' He turns back to them '' It is not when she be wedded and kept in a home and begin to breed children, it is when she learns to respect her husband and no man can be able to tell her what she has done because they would fear her, fear her crown, fear me. But Williams, knowing all this still think it right to correct her, albeit wrongly and still stood his ground when i made to deal with him, telling me to my face my daughters' bad qualities and how he would not accept it , Princess or not.''

''My apologies my King, oh my Williams is a disgraceful lad, he would crawl down here and apologize for his behavior''

The King smiles sadly ''Yes, his aura is evident..and he had learned to use it to his advantage. But..i see something differently here ..''

''What is that my King'' Donna stares at him

''That young Duke Williams De Beaumont can be the only lad who can tame our Princess.''

Duke De Beaumont smiles, ''Surely, i believe that too''

''But see the way they are ready to claw out their eyes, husband?'' Donna shakes her head ''Do you think you are wrong, maybe we should consider if Lord Middleton has found other matches that would suit our Princess's preference''

''If we consider that, you know she already do not wish to be married and her preference would be like a pin in a haysack and if she actually do pick one, he would be kissing her royal arse and be controlled by her and not be able to caution her in her wrongs, we do know how she likes to have her way, he would not be able to tell her to sit or stand and she would do what she pleases. But with Williams, i do not see that possibility, instead, i see a strong hand, one which isn't her father that would tolerate her every whims and caprice, one who isn't her mother who always gives in, one who isn't just a man who wants to please her crown but a strong hand of a man who would not be considering all this but doing what he feels is right and the right way she should behave in his home.. i see this..that Williams would be the antidote to her madness, albeit how painfully she may take it, he would be a quench to her fire. ''

''So the match stays on?''

''Aye my good friend, i do accept Williams De Beaumont as my son-inlaw and husband to my Princess, let us fix the date of the wedding after the Debutante ball ..''

Duke De Beaumont is happy, his wife smiles, Donna doesn't.

''My King, what if you are wrong, what if it becomes a disaster?''

''When she be married, she can no nothing but build her home or remain in a bitter marriage, i believe with time, she would realize the first is most important than fighting her husband on a daily and if what i envision is what would happen...then, our Princess would be better''

She sighs ''If you believe so, i believe so''

''Aye My Queen, we have to hope for the best!'' Brianna says

''Indeed.''

''Come, let us take a walk in the gardens and allow the men to themselves as i see my husband's eyes twitching to talk politics now that he be done with the talk of marriage'' Donna holds on to Brianna's hand and they leave.

''Alan, pray tell, how is it with the problems in the East Province, any word form the conglomerate council?''

''My King, yes.. they have come to a conclusion on the matter''

''Pray tell''

They continue to discuss