The night was full of tossing and turning beneath the cotton and silk beddings. I had no idea how today would be. But here I am, being made my hair, utterly nicely dressed, and ready set for a word with his highness. My mind was full of the thoughts of the princess. The factual statement of her being my sister and the minimal statement that she belonged to the queen's family, as Lady Elizabeth had stated, But one thing was clear: the king's quest would be rejected. No one, in history has ever rejected a king's proposal, especially in regard with him being among the highest ranks. His decisions, despite how difficult they would be, were supposed to be accepted and fast enacted. After my hair was all done, I, without a word, walked out of the room, and as if all waited for me, I was greeted with the faces of everyone downstairs gazing onto me. I did not know what to do but just walked steadily down the stairs, being directed by one of my guards. This was no laughing matter; it was neither a toss of the coin nor a call for hope and success. My heart waited for the worst, and knowing I was set to leave made things even worse.
The carriage was steadily placed outside, and it seemed we were to use one of them, with two guards placed at the front to aid each other in redirecting the huge brown horses. From the viscount's place to the king's place was not quite far, but the silence between the viscount and me made it farther and more disturbing than usual. We finally arrived at the big gates of the palace as the carriages were set to enter. I had not even stayed in London for a long time, but I was already being chased away. As we alighted, the king's royal family awaited us outside. "Welcome, Lord Hirlvington." His highness stated, in a high and welcoming tone, as his children smiled at the acts. The viscount just nodded a sign of thank you and followed the king as requested. We were first invited to have breakfast with them. Breakfast was the greatest gesture of appreciation when it came to anything to do with different family's gatherings, with their children being the subject. After breakfast, at first, the viscount entered a certain room with his highness, and then, after a lengthy talk, I was called upon by the guards. My eyes had not even once met those of the princess. I felt that looking at her would make me remember how much my yearns were for her. She sat quietly next to her sister, and all I looked at was how she steadily picked up and ate the bread on her plate. I followed the guard steadily and quietly as sudden nervousness and anxiety embraced my body. This felt like torture, and there is nothing I wanted more than to just leave and run far away, but where? On entry, the King sat on one of the big chairs, while the Viscount sat on the chairs in front of the large table that separated the two. The room was quite huge, more than that of the Viscount's; on one side, large sofas, chairs, and curved arm chairs could be seen. On the other side, a large shelf of books was observed, and each showcased its plurality of fullness since other books were just placed on top of a certain table arranged in a corner near the left side window. On the walls, paintings of all the kings and queens were showcased, and on top of the place where the king sat, one large painting of his family was showcased, with him included. This was not the time to assess the house, but I had to at least observe, for I knew this might be the last day the king would yearn to see me. "Sit here, son." Lord Hirlvington stated, showcasing the seat that was opposite him. I uttered a certain thank you underneath my breath and then kept quite waiting for the judgment, or maybe being thrown out. "Willock." The king stated I did not have the slightest idea how to act around kings and queens. I raised my eyes in his direction and met his gaze. Deep down, I was quite tensed, when I heard him continue, "Why did you ask for a dance with the princess and have no intentions for marriage?" This was not just a question; it was more of a reprimand and a command. I had no words for that; my fingers fidgeted beneath the table, and my body tensed at his gaze. "I believe the Duke taught you better than that boy." He stated again, and with that, I nodded. I was the type who never knew how to reply on the occasions that I was in the wrong. I just either nodded, shook my head, or just gazed. "Then what happened to the teachings? Give your king a quite needy explanation." I looked at the king and then at the viscount, who nodded as if telling me to speak. With that, I heard my voice state, "I wanted the courtship and the dances, but marriage was never part of the plan. My want is for the princess to be old enough to understand that she wishes for no one but me." He sarcastically laughed at that and stated, bloodshot eyes shooting onto me, "Is the princess a game to you? Is she as stupid as you say?" I knew my words had somehow been wrongly interpreted by the king. It was not this; the situation was different, but saying it here would make things much more difficult for me. My head was blank. The princess would hate me for sure after today. She sure would, and I had nothing in me to stop her from the hate. I knew I deserved it. "She is his sister." The viscount stated it in quite a firm and deep tone, which also shocked me from my position. I looked at him with some eyes that said, This was not the plan', but the words were already stated. The king was also shocked, and for the first time, he set down his crown, took one of his cloths, and wiped some beads of sweat that maybe had been showcased on his forehead. "What do you mean?" He stated it in quite a low tone, not wanting any guards to hear. "You know what I mean." The viscount stated and for the first time, it was the viscount's voice that was filled with range. I suddenly felt the tension in the room, one of utter shock and the other of anger, like a beast that had been tamed for so long. If I were to become a part of this, maybe I would be a smaller beast, but this was my trouble, and I had to be as calm as possible. The King stood from his seat and started pacing from left to right, then suddenly left to look for one of his big books on the shelves. He came back, opening each page, and then stated, "How is he to be my son? The child she bore died on the fateful day with the Lady, Lord Hirlvington. Are these the tricks you now want to play on me? I asked all the midwives on that night about the whereabouts of that boy and they never stated of his survival." It had become a sudden placement of truths and wrongs. I felt like interfering and stating that she was not related to me. I was okay to leave the palace and go to the lake far away. "Were you there at his birth, as you claim?" The viscount asked, and after the king's quiet nature, he continued, "This boy,,, was the lad with whom no one wanted to lay eyes on. None wanted to speak to. This boy was the one with whom not even you cared to know how his mother was doing but was busily drinking and enjoying the desires of other women. But we don't care as much about all that. We just want you to understand our main reason for rejecting the proposal. Wouldn't it be a big abomination for a brother to marry his sister?" The king was suddenly quiet and stopped flopping the old book he had come with. He suddenly focused all his attention on me, studying me, my facial features, and everything. He seemed taken aback by the viscount's words when he stated after a lengthy study, "It sure would." "He leaves for Lake Tigris today. There he will stay, accompanied and guarding Lady Islas stone. I hope you understand." For the first time, I saw the king stutter in his words. All of this seemed too hard to process. He seemed deep in thoughts of comparisons and disagreements. "Lady Isla's stone, in Lake Tigris? Why?" Were the words he stated. At this moment, he did not even seem like his highness, as many termed him. He felt normal, a little worried and scared for the first time. All this happened as I was watching both of them and reading their facial expressions. "Father told me it was her favorite memory when she was young." I stated with caution after feeling both of them were talking and none took into consideration that I was in the room. After stating that, all eyes were redirected to me. "You sure are..." The king suddenly breathed out the words when the viscount disrupted him: "It sure was her favorite place." The king did not have any more words to say. I knew I had to leave, and knowing the king had already known, maybe this was the part where I would face the wrath of being a bastard. "He leaves today, my King. Wish him a safe journey, for he greatly apologizes for his acts. He never knew of this bondage." The king did not have the words to say that, but just gazed at me and nodded when we rose and bowed in front of him as a sign of respect. As we left, he suddenly stated in a firm but low tone, "Willock..." We both gazed back at him, and he continued, "We.., I hope you grant me time to catch up on, for my absence in your life. I will provide one of my set and ready guards to protect you in the lake. I will visit someday." And with that, we just left the room.
At the corner of my eye, I saw the princess watching me, maybe hoping for some words with me, but today, I had none. Not even the slightest, but at least it was not as bad as I anticipated. The princess being my sister was the only word that lingered in my brain. Her beauties were meant for another, not me. How sad.