24 THE LAST DAY WITH THE QUEEN

It was almost night when the moon was about to replace the sun. The dim sunlight was giving the last smile of the day to the earth.

The day was getting darker as minutes ran out. The people of the Neville kingdom were being informed about the traditional royal wedding that was going to take place tomorrow. Everyone appears to be busy with one thing or another. One doesn't need to ask if there was an event that was coming. By the look of things around, you won't require any explanation.

Some people were selected to decorate the place that will be used for the ceremony. Although everything was in order, some designs were added to make the place look more beautiful than it usually looks. Moreover, this was the same thing they did the previous time the wedding ceremony was fixed. Even though the present design was more than the previous one, this was because everyone was happy that the princess is finally getting married after what they have passed through. Everyone in the kingdom was aware of what was going on in the palace. It wasn't some secret that the princess didn't want to get married, but everyone tended to pretend as if they weren't aware of what was happening. Nothing anyone can do about it because it is the king's choice, you dare not question him, even the kingdom's elders.

Queen Mei was in her room thinking of how tomorrow was going to be. She knew that she wasn't going to witness the ceremony, and it was eating her up. It wasn't her fault, though, king Dingbang was the one to be blamed for this. She was afraid if prince Gen decided to ask her if he didn't see her occupying her seat by the king's side in the ceremony.

Prince Gen didn't bother to ask about the queen's whereabouts the previous time because his mind didn't even travel that far to notice that queen Mei wasn't around in the ceremony room. Peace of mind was far away from her. Queen Mei never knew that she wouldn't witness her daughter's wedding ceremony when she gave birth to her.

"Let peace, unity, and love be their daily bread in their marriage. Let her find every reason to obey her husband. Let anything that will make her regret us for giving her out to a man she didn't wish to marry never comes up in her mind. I know that I wasn't a good mother, but I still love her as my daughter." Queen Mei mumbled some words of prayers to her creator as she lay on the bed. Tears were dropping down her cheeks and no one was there to comfort her. King Dingbang wasn't back yet, so she was left alone in the room.

While king Dingbang was happy, queen Mei was a bit sad and also happy at the same time. She was sad because Princess Fen was getting married to her cousin's brother without her knowledge, nor did prince Gen know it. This secret was kept away from them for peace to reign. Although getting married to someone from another kingdom, even if the person is related to you, wasn't considered an abomination. Unless the person is a sibling of yours, who you were given birth to, by the same parents.

Princess Fen was in her room thinking about how tomorrow was going to be. Her heart pounding in her chest as if she was going to marry a ghost. She hasn't seen how weddings are being celebrated. The only celebrations Princess Fen has witnessed are the feast being held in the kingdom.

She needed someone to mentor her on how she was going to behave in the ceremony. If not, she might end up disgracing herself in public. The only person in that position is Shu. Even when her mother has advised her on certain things, she hasn't met her to discuss anything concerning the ceremony.

"My only prayer is that he shouldn't spring up one day and say he is tired of me and decide to dump me for another woman. I know I can't choose what he should do and what he shouldn't, but please, he shouldn't leave me whenever I need him." Princess Fen cried out.

Princess Fen's thoughts have gone far, as she reminds herself that women don't always have the right to choose what they want their spouse to do and what not to do. Every man has the freedom to do whatever he wants, especially princes, unlike females or princesses who are not entitled to decide whatever they want. This seems unfair to princess Fen, but there was nothing she was going to do about it. The only thing she needs to do is to be submissive to her husband, but will she really be submissive if he treats her badly? That's what princess Fen thought she couldn't tolerate from any man. According to her, she feels she isn't a toy that anyone can just play with and go his own way. Anytime she remembers that Shu was following her to the kingdom, she does feel a bit relieved, knowing fully that she won't suffer anything if Shu is always there for her.

"Let no one make choices for you," that's Shu's words.

Princess Fen lay silent on her bed as she imagined tomorrow's wedding ceremony.

A sudden knock came from the door.

"It must be Shu," Princess Fen thought to herself. She immediately climbed down from the bed and headed to the door as if she were already expecting someone to come and keep her company.

Immediately, princess Fen opened the door, she was shocked to see her mother standing at the door.

"Moth… Mother, what are you doing here?" Princess Fen stammered as she asked her mother in surprise as if she wasn't happy to see her. The truth is, princess Fen was always ready to welcome her mother to her room, but she never comes, nor does she allow her to go to her room. Even when the first marriage day was fixed, she never came and visited her. Why did she change all of a sudden?

Her mother was in her room yesterday and today again, she is here? It seems like a dream to princess Fen.

"Am I not allowed to come in?" Queen Mei asked as she saw princess Fen standing confused in front of her.

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking of something." Princess Fen apologized as she made way for her mother to enter the room. Queen Mei stepped into the room.

Shu was coming to princess Fen's room, but when she sighted the queen entering the room, she decided to stay back.

Princess Fen gently closed the door. She went to the bed and sat down as she crossed her arms over her chest with an angry face. Queen Mei stood and examined Princess Fen's mood before moving over to her and sitting on the bed beside her.

"It's okay. All will be fine, my beautiful angel." Queen Mei said as she cared for princess Fen's hair. Princess Fen didn't utter a word, instead, she remained silent.

"You see, marriage is a good thing unless you decide to make it look bad by not adhering to the orders given to you by your husband. Your father and I do fight sometimes, but he ends up winning all the time because he is my husband and my king, so I'm under him in all aspects of life. You just need to know that your husband's choices come first before yours. Failure to do this, calls too many unwanted things into your family." Queen Mei encouraged princess Fen.

Princess Fen paid attention as she listened to her mother, but during listening to her, princess Fen's heard something that wasn't pleasant to her ears. "Your husband's choices come first before yours," it sounds weird to her ears. That's what she hates the most about marriage. 70% of your daily life is being controlled by your husband and the remaining 30% is for the woman.

"Mother, why would he be the first person to make choices for me? Am I not meant to make my choices?" Princess Fen asked her mother in a high tone.

"That's how it's done. But I can't really tell about prince Gen. He might be a different person from other men. But I believe that all men are the same." Queen Mei responded.

"Mother, if this is how it will be, then let's call off the wedding." Princess Fen almost yells at her mother.

"No… don't say that. I believe that he won't harm you. By the look on his face, he must be a nice person. I'm just telling you this, in case you come in contact with it. Moreover, Shu is always there for you. You will always be fine." Queen Mei said. It was already dark and princess Fen and queen Mei discussed for almost two hours because that was the last opportunity she had to discuss with her precious daughter.

Queen Mei advised Princess Fen on how she was going to behave tomorrow during the ceremony.

After their discussion, Queen Mei left for her room. She came and Saw king Dingbang laying on the bed.

"Where are you coming from?" King Dingbang asked her.

"From our daughter's room." Queen Mei answered.

"I hope you didn't tell her why she is giving out because she can decide to change her mind, and we will end up in another mess. I want to avoid punishing her if she gets me angry again." King Dingbang said.

"No, I didn't." Queen Mei responded.

"Better. If not, I would fry you in a frying pan." King Dingbang jokingly said.