Unloving His Majesty

Royal wedding

“Is he king yet?” Princess Zania asked her friend as they strolled in the garden.

Lady Celia let out a laugh, knowing how her friend was going to react to her response. Her friend seemed to expect the worst from the prince and she did not understand why.

“No. His Highness has insisted on both of your coronations to be after the wedding.”

Princess Zania frowned at her friend’s words. The prince previously had his coronation and became king before the wedding. She wedded him as a princess while he was already a king. It made his people to belittle her despite the fact that they were meant to be equals in the coalition.

“Sneaky bastard,” she mumbled when it occurred to her that he desperately needed her tribe to think he is genuine. He did not need to do that previously because she had bought into the whole sham.

Lady Celia studied the princess. She could not understand why her friend, who was usually so accommodating, was so cold towards the prince. Her people and elders were already won over by the charming prince, who was willing to do anything to get them satisfied with the coalition.

“Zania, talk to me,” Lady Celia urged. “Your wedding is tomorrow, yet you have sent back designers the prince sent to design your gown,” she added. Everyone in the island was talking about how in love the prince was with the princess. Everyone was excited about the wedding, except the bride.

The princess shrugged her shoulders before letting her friend in on what she believed to be her second chance.

“Maybe he changed,” Lady Celia suggested. The prince secretly met her a multiple times. He seemed to care a lot about the princess. He wanted to know what she loved, which music she liked and what food she liked because Princess Zania refused to play any part in the planning of the wedding. Lady Celia could not believe that the considerate and caring man could be as cruel as her friend was saying.

“Please don’t. He executed you. I had five miscarriages before he executed me too. That man can never change, and I will be damned if I waste my emotions on him again,” the princess snapped angrily. Her blood boiled every time she thought about what the prince did.

Lady Celia let out a sigh and changed the subject. The Prince clearly got to her friend. At least she understood her friends’ reactions. She hoped that the prince had indeed changed and that he would be able to win her friend over.

That evening, the prince met his best friend and the royal informant.

“The princess has no wedding gown, Your Highness. It does not seem like she plans on remaining your queen,” Sir Lucas informed the two men, who exchanged disappointed looks.

“This is the recording of her conversation with Lady Mary,” the informant said before passing on the recorder and left the two men, dejected.

“She definitely knows,” Sir Luke concluded after listening to the recording. He could not think of anything else that could make the Princess come up with such drastic measures. “What are you going to do?” he asked his friend who seemed lost in his own world.

“Consummate my marriage tomorrow and every night until she feels and believes in our love again,” the prince said decisively.

“If she turns you down?” Sir Luke asked. It seemed to him that the princess was hellbent on never letting his friend close to her.

“It is not an option,” is all the prince could say. He had made up his mind to do anything to sweep his wife off her feet.

“I bet Mary’s father has already convinced the elders to disregard the custom,” Sir Luke pointed out. They all knew how cunning that old man was.

“I am betting on that. Collusion against royals is a crime worth losing an elder status and even death,” the prince declared before jumping on his feet.

“Where are you going?” Sir Luke asked when his friend headed towards the door.

“You will see,” the prince said mysteriously while his friend ran behind him.

“Prince Maxwell and Princess Zania are tying the knot today!” the presenter beamed on the national television station. The day of the wedding had finally come and the island came to a standstill. People were so excited, they lined up the streets at dawn.

Princess Zania had already worn the least elegant gown she owned, despite her best friend’s objection when her royal stuart walked in with a letter and five designers behind her. She ignored the excited women who immediately started laying out an exquisite white gown with hundreds of diamonds adorning it.

Her last wedding she wore the best gown the royal designers could make. She did not care about any of that this time. She did not even care what the chefs served, nor the decorations for the event. All she cared about was the decree she successfully sent to an abroad human rights committee. She had the confirmation that they would intervene should Prince Maxwell go back on his word. Her people and the game reserve will be protected.

Opening the letter, she quietly read.

“My Queen. I know that you do not trust me and have no reason to. I am grateful that you will be my wife. I made a vow before the fallen kings to treasure you all the days of my life and will do just that. I hope that we can give our people the life they look forward to and the royal wedding they are eagerly waiting for. Yours truly, Prince Maxwell.”

Princess Zania let out a sigh before passing on the note to her friend.

“You did agree to project a united front for the people,” Lady Celia reminded her friend who was the least excited about the wedding. Their people would only believe the coalition if the prince and princess convincingly showed them that they were united in this.

“And he is using that to his advantage,” the princess sneered.

“Well, the gown looks exquisite,” Lady Celia beamed while her friend rolled her eyes at her. It seemed to her that her friend was already won over by the prince.

“I will wear the gown, but it won’t make me love him. I never will,” she vowed.

A few minutes later, the designers were thrilled to see their work come alive. The fishtail lacy dress with a sweetheart neckline hugged the princess tightly and accentuated her gifted bust and tiny waist. The delicate material hugged her round buttocks before opening out and cascaded on the floor for over a metre behind her. The hundreds of diamonds that adorned the whole gown glimmered as the princess walked, reflecting the light shining on them.

The jaws of the women in the room dropped in awe. Their future queen was no doubt the most beautiful bride they had ever seen.

“Something borrowed. More like a long awaited present,” Lady Celia said with a throaty voice before placing a diadem of pure diamonds on the princess’s head.

Princess Zania blinked back her tears. She knew that famous piece very well. The diadem was her late mothers. Prince Maxwell’s tribe had claimed rights to the million dollar piece. Many lives, including Lady Celia’s parents, were lost before her father let it go.

“This is a show of faith, dear friend,” Lady Celia told her emotional friend, who was becoming more confused by the princes intentions. In their previous marriage, he flat out refused to give her the diadem. It was the only thing she ever wanted back, but he had given it to his mistress instead.

It was thirty minutes later when the princess walked down the stairs, to find her father’s most trusted man waiting for her.

“You are seraphic, my queen!” Lord Blake beamed with a throaty voice. “Your father would be so proud,” he added before embracing her and leading her to the white carriage outside.

“I know that you are not very fond of the prince, but he seems to be genuine. I have ears in the other tribe. He has made it clear that you are off bounds. He has even fired some of his elders,” Lord Blake informed the princess, who seemed lost in her own world. The road to the cathedral was a quite one for the princess. It helped that her best friend kept Lord Blake chatting, while she processed his words. She wondered which one of his elders Prince Maxwell fired.