1 Promise me

Th cry of a baby in Bozao royal Palace threw the Palace into a joyful, sad atmosphere. Joyful because Queen Agatha finally gave birth to a beautiful princess after many years of miscarriages. Sad because the Queen suffered complications while giving birth to the princess and was dying with each passing minute.

King George did everything within his power to save his beloved wife, inviting physicians from neighbouring kingdoms to help save his wife, but the Queen remains at the door of death, her situation was getting worse by each passing breath and no one could do anything to improve her condition.

When Queen Agatha realized she would not make it, She made her husband promise to marry her best friend.

  Yes, she and the king might have been in love from childhood, but things would be different after her death. He {king George} never took another wife, even after years of marriage without children. The royal council had been on his neck to take another wife all those years, but he refused. Now that She was going to die, everything would be different. She might have given birth to a child, but a son is what the king needs. He needed an heir to his throne.

The queen was sure that there was going to be a lot of pressure on him to take a new wife, after her death. However, she did not want to put him in a tight corner because the king's happiness was her priority.

She also wanted him to marry someone she could trust to take good care of her little princess So, her best friend Regina was her perfect option.

"Promise me," she asked with a weak voice while the king was holding her hands' tears rolling down his cheeks, He looked nothing like the imposing king of Bozoa; he was just a husband who was about to loose his precious wife, the only woman he has ever loved.

King George was not ready to loose his queen, but there was nothing he could do at this point. "I promise," he replied between his sob. Queen Agatha smiled weakly after she heard her husband.

She took a deep breath, feeling that she could die in peace knowing that her daughter would be well cared for. The king held on tight to his wife's hands and watched her take her last breath.

He never had imagined that their love story would come to such a sad end, after crying for a little longer, he wiped his tears, walked out of her chamber, straight into the newborn baby's room, Ellen," he called, looking at his daughter, who was sleeping peacefully and smiled.

His late wife had chosen the name. He saw the baby as the gift of the love he shared with his late Queen. At about the same time, the arena of the bells was heard all over the kingdom announcing the death of the Queen.

...

"Your majesty, you must think of taking a new queen," Lord Boston, one of the royal council members, said while they were deliberating in the king's court. It's been a month since Queen Agatha's death, and like she predicted, the royal council was already on his neck.

King George nodded his head in agreement. "I will take a wife, but my late wife just died. How about we wait till the princess is two years old." King George said.

The members of the royal council were pleased with his answer. They were expecting him to throw a fist once they brought up the marriage issue, but to their surprise, he had welcomed the idea. Two years for them was long, but since the king shared a special bond with his Queen, they understood he needed time to mourn her.

So it was set; king George was ready to marry Lady Regina of the house of Tyler in two years.

Regina stayed in the Palace during those two years as the king's betrothed, taking care of the little princess.

During that period, the king set his eyes and ears open in the watch of lady Regina. He wanted to fulfil the promise he made to his wife, but he needed to be sure that lady Regina would love princess Ellen as if she was her own.

Two years went by in a flash, and lady Regina was a sweet mother to Princess Ellen, so the king fulfilled his promise to his wife and married lady Regina.

He hoped to have a peaceful family without siblings' rivalry. He believes that if all the children were brought up in love and unity, they could love each other and protect each other. However, he understood the kind of schemes played within a royal family, and he did not want that among his children.

This was also part of why he did not take in any concubines. He was never close to his siblings, and as soon as his father, the king, died, he was forced to exit his brothers to ensure peace in Palace and secure his throne. He did not want to create the same fate for his children.

Queen Regina gave birth to twins a year after her marriage to the king. It was a celebration period in the Palace and the entire kingdom, as they welcomed little prince William and princess Ema.

This marked the beginning of a new era in the Palace. Queen Regina looked for reasons to scold Ellen. She punished her over little mistakes that could be overlooked but, of course she only acted this way when the king was away.

Princess Ellen never took all of Regina's behaviour to heart. After all, she has been the only mother she knew. Ellen concluded that her mother only corrected her because the Queen did not want her to make mistakes So, she tried her best to be better.

The irony was that the more she tried to be good, the more Regina became vicious. Queen Regina felt her position in the Palace was secured since she successfully gave birth to an heir to the throne. So she did not have to pretend anymore.

"I am sorry, mother," Ellen apologized to Queen Regina when she accidentally bumped into her. Ellen was in a hurry to catch up with her class that morning, and she did not notice the Queen's chamber door opening, which led them to bump into each other.

"I am not your mother," Regina snapped, looking at her with hatred. She was agitated, and it annoyed her anytime she heard Ellen refer to her as a mother. But she pauses when she realizes that Ellen is frozen in place.

"stupid," she cursed under her breath when she realized she had said those words. Not that she regretted saying it but should the king find out, she might lose the favour he showered her. After all, she agreed with the king not to tell Ellen about her mother until she turned sixteen, but Ellen was currently fourteen. What just happened was what should never get into the king's ears.

Once this incident is reported, the king will find out all about her discriminatory treatment. So she immediately posed gracefully and patted Ellen on the head.

"My dear, you need to move carefully. Look, you almost hurt yourself and your mother. Mother is in a bad mood; forget what I just said" Regina patted Ellen as if she doted on her.

Ellen simply nodded her head and acted casual before excusing herself. She was not stupid; she knew that the Queen meant every word that came out of her mouth.

Ellen wondered about the Queen's words as she joined the other noble ladies in the lesson room