CHAPTER 44: THE ASHANTIS [3]

King Elyndor had just finished putting on his robe in his chamber, preparing for the council meeting that would begin in a few minutes. As he adjusted the fabric over his shoulders, a knock came at the door.

"Come in," he called.

The door opened, and Queen Serenya stepped inside.

"You asked for me, my King?" she said.

"Oh yes," he replied with a warm smile. "My beautiful and intelligent wife, Queen of our kingdom."

The Queen sighed softly. "When will you ever grow out of these constant praises of yours?"

"And when will you ever grow out of being worthy of them?" the King replied without missing a beat. "I may regret many things, but you, my dear, are not one of them. You are a blessing to me, indeed."

They stepped closer and held each other for a moment.

But then the Queen gently pulled back and her expression suddenly turned serious. "Will we keep standing here exchanging sweet words, or will you tell me why you summoned me? Because I can see you’re dressed to be somewhere important." She said, looking at his robe.

"Oh, yes," the King said. "I’m dressed for the council meeting. It would be starting any moment from now."

The Queen rolled her eyes. "Ah, those boring, dreadful meetings. I wonder how you never get tired of them."

"It’s not that I don’t get tired of them," the King said. "I am exhausted of them. If it were possible to never attend one again, I would gladly embrace that. But as it is, it’s my duty, my love. And with the kingdom unstable as it is now, I have no choice but to go. I can’t afford to skip."

He paused, then said, "But enough about that. Let me tell you why I called you."

"It’s about your daughter, Nyella..."

The Queen cut in. "Your choice of words tells me she has done something displeasing. Because that’s the only time you refer to her as my daughter. She is our daughter, whether right or wrong."

The King raised a hand in surrender. "Alright then... our daughter, Nyella."

"Exactly," the Queen said. "So, what did our daughter do?"

The King narrowed his eyes slightly. "Wait, are you telling me you have no idea what I’m talking about?"

"How could I?" the Queen replied. "You just called me here and said you had something to discuss about our daughter."

"Alright then," the King said with a calm voice. "Have you not noticed her frequent disappearances from the palace?"

The Queen’s lips pressed together, and she stayed silent.

"She now goes out and spends hours away from the palace," the King said, his voice carrying a hint of frustration. "She skips her practices, lessons, and duties... and wanders off to who knows where. She does all of this knowing full well that eyes are watching her, and people have started talking. How do you think it reached my ears?

"There are all sorts of rumours spreading in the capital, that the princess leaves at night to meet boys. Others say she sneaks out because the palace feels too suffocating. And there are more... worse ones."

The Queen folded her arms. "The King Elyndor of Ivarion is worried about a few whispers about his daughter leaving the palace because of that, he had kept his councillors waiting in the high hall and is questioning his wife, the Queen, about those baseless rumours? Really my King, really?"

"These are not just rumours," the King replied firmly. "You and I both know she truly does leave the palace, so don’t sound naive."

"Then why listen to the rumours?" the Queen asked. "Have you spoken to her? Have you asked her why she does it?"

"No," the King admitted. "And that is why I’ve called you here, you are her mother. Maybe she has told you."

"And you, my king, are her father, so... besides, she hasn’t told me anything. Not directly though," the Queen said.

The King leaned forward. "Not directly... which means you do know something, at least indirectly. So tell me, what is it?"

"Nothing." She said.

"I don’t believe that, I know that face, and I know you... Why do you think I called for you first? You who likes to know everything... Tell me, my queen, what’s that? The king pressed.

The Queen hesitated, then said, "Well, it’s nothing serious. She just goes out to make new friends and to see how beautiful the outside world is. That’s all I know."

The King shook his head. "I don’t believe that."

"Well," the Queen said coolly, "believe whatever you want. But remember this, you have to trust Nyella. She is our daughter, and the future heir to your throne. She is not a little child anymore. Trust her. And if you doubt her, use what happened during the last war as proof of what she’s capable of."

The King frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

The Queen’s eyes narrowed slightly. "How do you think we won that battle? Do you think the army rallying, the people fighting, and the dragon appearing were all a coincidence?"

The King looked confused. "Was it not? Wait... you mean she knew about the dragon beforehand? You mean she knew the dragon rider?"

The Queen stayed silent.

"I asked you a question," the King said.

Before she could answer, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" the King called.

A guard stepped in and bowed. "There is a message for you, my King."

"Speak," the King said.

"The council is already waiting for you," the guard reported.

"Alright, or is there something else?" the King asked.

The guard shifted uneasily. "Some people are also requesting an audience."

"Who?" the King demanded.

The guard hesitated, his voice was low. "It’s..."

The king’s eyes narrowed. "Speak, boy. What is it?"

The guard swallowed hard. "The... the Ashantis, Your Majesty."

Both the King and Queen immediately turned toward him.

"The what?" they said together.

"..."

"..."