The Power Of Forgiveness!

In the kingdom of Valencia, Ricardo Salvinia was summoned by King Louis in the courtroom. Upon arriving, he bowed respectfully in front of him.

“ You called for me, Your Majesty? “

“ Yes, I did, Sir Ricardo. “ He confirmed with a nod. “ Regarding the princess, do you have any news I should be aware of? “

Flinching slightly due to the question the king had asked of him, Sir Ricardo uttered modestly to the king in front of him as follows, “ No, Your Majesty! From this moment on, we still have no clue as to where her Highness would have sought refuge. “

Hearing the response his knight gave him, the king asked sternly, “ Are you sure you’re speaking the truth?”

—----” Of course, I’m speaking the truth, Your Majesty! Why would I lie to you about her Highness’s whereabouts?”

Responding assuredly, the king uttered, “ I don’t know, Sir Ricardo. Why would you lie to me? Would you have a reason to?”

“ I don't understand where you’re trying to get at, Your Majesty. “ Sir Ricardo expressed his deep confusion to the king who said in response quite sternly, “ Your relationship with my daughter; that’s where I’m getting at. “

Confused even more, Sir Ricardo asked, “ What do you mean?”

“ Your friendship with my daughter could have pushed you to help her escape the kingdom, wouldn’t you agree with my logic, Sir Ricardo? “

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Sir Ricardo was stunned even more as this was the second time since Princess Vanessa went missing that the king suspected him of being involved one way or the other in her escapade.

“ Her escape from the kingdom is very strange indeed, wouldn’t you agree with me on this, Sir Ricardo?”

—

“ Not only did my daughter go missing on the same day, but your horse also vanished into thin air. What a coincidence, wouldn’t you say so yourself?”

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Cornered from every side by the king’s accusations and questions, Sir Ricardo was on the bridge of giving in to him when he recalled his childhood friend’s desolate face at that moment and refrained from doing so.

Gazing at the king’s head-on, Sir Ricardo attempted a gamble. “ You have every right to doubt my loyalty and if you so wish, you may have me imprisoned and stripped of my title as captain of the royal guards. “

Gazing at the seriousness in his eyes, the king uttered, “ There’s no utility to go that far, Sir Ricardo. You’re one of my most faithful knights and I believe you would never betray the kingdom and myself at the expense of my daughter. “

“ Understand that I’m simply a father who’s worried not knowing where his daughter could be, but in no way am I doubting your loyalty toward me, your king. You’re dismissed! “

“ Yes, Your Majesty! “

Stepping out of the courtroom, King Louis said, “ You may step out now! “

Stepping out from the blind curtain was none other than Queen Elizabeth Williams. Sitting by the emperor’s side, the empress asked straightforwardly, “ Did you believe him, Your Majesty?”

Nodding to answer his queen and empress, he said, “ Not quite, my empress. When he put his honor and title on the line as he did, I seriously didn’t know what to do on the spot. “

Listening to her husband’s answer, she asked, “ What will you do then?”

Responding, he said, “ I’ll let him be for now. Let's simply watch him and I’m sure we’ll come upon something interesting. “

“ If I’m certain of something, it’s that Vanessa couldn’t have escaped from the kingdom from her wits alone. Someone might have helped her and once we catch that person, our daughter will return to us on her own. Regardless, I’ve got my trap set in motion. “

In the royal garden, Sir Ricardo recalled his discussion with the king and how pressured he was with his questions. Gazing at the sky, he mumbled, “ Vanessa, the emperor will catch up on what I did. I’m afraid I can no longer aid you from here on out. Wherever you are, I hope you’re safe and will remain safe. “

Far in the distance, Vanessa who was soundly asleep woke up suddenly. As she sat up on her bed, she internally wondered, “ Just now, why did I have the feeling someone was calling me? Could that have been Ricardo by any chance? “

Standing by the window of her room, the princess mumbled as she stared at the night sky, “ It’s been two months now since I departed from the Valencia Kingdom. How is everyone back at home? How are mom and dad? “

She was deep in her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door and headed toward it. She was surprised when she saw Sarah standing across her room with a pillow.

“ Sarah, is everything alright? “

“ Yes, it’s just that—------------ “

Unable to finish her statement, the princess concluded on her stead, “ You’re unable to fall asleep, is that it? “

Nodding to ascertain her response, the princess let her inside her room. As Sarah took place beside her on the bed, she apologized, “ I’m sorry, Jennifer. I didn’t mean to barge on you like this. It’s just that I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened. “

“ It’s okay, Sarah. “ The princess held her close. “ I can only begin to imagine how you must be feeling after all the recent events. Take all the time you need and everything shall be alright, I promise. “

“ Lucas also told me something similar earlier. “ Sarah inferred their discussion to the princess who was intrigued.

“ Oh yeah? “

“ He told me I should forgive Martin to be able to forget and move on, but I don’t know whether I have the strength to carry it out. All that happened in the past months is still weighing heavily on my mind and I don’t know if I’m ready to take such a step. “

“ What do you think, Jennifer? Have you ever been in a situation similar to mine? “

Recalling her kingdom, especially her parents and the way they parted ways, the princess responded sincerely to Sarah, “ Of course, I have been in a similar situation as you are, but it wasn’t quite the same. “

Intrigued, Sarah asked, “ What happened? “

Seeing the reluctance in her gaze, Sarah thought of backing off from the subject and that’s about when she heard the princess say the following, “ My parents and I had a heavy dispute as a result of me leaving the house, but not a day goes by that I don’t miss them. I wish I could be with them right now, but—------------”

Intrigued even more, she asked, “ But what, Jennifer? What’s stopping you from returning to your parents? “

Brushing off the subject, she said, “ Let’s just say that my freedom means a lot to me right now and I’m not about to lose it just yet. Selfish, right? “

Thinking she would receive a judgmental response, Sarah said, “ I don't see how you could be called selfish, Jennifer. I haven’t the slightest idea what might have occurred between your parents and you to the point that you decided to leave your home, but I’m sure of one thing—----”

“ And what is that? “

“ Whatever it might have been, I’m certain it was something important and not futile. I’m certain it might not have been easy for you to decide to leave as you did. They may not understand it now, but I know a day will come when they’ll understand your motivations behind such a decision. “

Touched by Sarah’s honest response, Jennifer grinned slightly and said, “ You might be right. In the same way that you listened to me, I’ll tell you this, the power of forgiveness is detrimental to those who forgive, but even so to those it is sought against. Now, let’s sleep! “

Hours later, as morning rose, Mrs. Evangelina walked inside the room to wake Jennifer aka the princess, but was surprised to see her daughter Sarah sleeping by her side.

“ What’s Sarah doing here? “ She mumbled as she said, “ Seeing them like this, they look like sisters. “

Waking first was the princess and upon seeing Mrs. Evangelina standing there, she uttered, “ Good morning, Mrs. Evangelina. “

“ Good morning, Jennifer. “

Glancing at Sarah who was still deep asleep, the princess said, “ Sarah couldn’t fall asleep last night, so I let her sleep here. “

“ Sorry that my daughter had to impose on you like this. “ Mrs. Evangelina said apologetically to which the princess retorted, “ It was no trouble at all, believe it or not. I’m an only child and I always dreamed of having a younger sister who would come to me to seek advice. Sarah is like that younger sister to me and hearing her out last night was my greatest honor. “

In the middle of their discussion, Sarah awoke and saw her mother. Before she could say anything, Mrs. Evangelina turned and said, “ I’ll wait for you girls downstairs. “

“ We’ll be right there. “

As Mrs. Evangelina left the room, the princess told Sarah, “ Don’t be concerned about your mother. I already explained everything to her before you woke up and she understood that you needed someone to vent out your feelings to. “

Moments later, Sarah and Jennifer aka the princess joined the others downstairs for breakfast.

As Princess Vanessa was enjoying breakfast joyfully with the others, she was unaware of the dangers that were slowly approaching her freedom.

Meanwhile, in the Valencia Kingdom, Sir Bastian approached the king with news regarding the princess.

“ Your Majesty, Princess Vanessa was spotted in a village under our jurisdiction. She’s been residing there for the past two months. “ Sir Bastian announced to the king assuredly.

“ Any news about Sir Ricardo’s missing horse? “

“ None, Your Majesty! “

At the same time, Sir Ricardo was training with his squad when Lady Daniella came running over.

“ Good day, Lady Daniella! “ The knights greeted her, but her unsightly composure altered her brother who asked, “ Is everything alright with you, Daniella? “

Retorting, she said, “ Would you spare me a moment of your time? “

Gazing at the seriousness in her gaze, Sir Ricardo left his knights to train on their own before leaving with his sister.

Returning to their lodging, Sir Ricardo asked Lady Daniella, “ What was it you wanted to tell me? “

“ It’s terrible. Princess Vanessa was spotted in one of the neighboring villages and the king as we speak is on her tail to fetch her back to the kingdom. “

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