Julius & Juliana

CHAPTER 14

That night, the king secretly called James while he was about to have his evening bath in the bathroom. He informed him that his daughter was going to meet her lover tomorrow but she didn't mention the time she would leave the palace to meet him. Duncan however told him to come with his guards that are to be the abductors of the man early the next morning. He also said that he would instruct his monitoring guards to wait for them at the entrance gate of the palace, early the next morning so that they can wait together and secretly follow his daughter to where Julius would be waiting for her when she is ready to leave. James concurred with the idea and also informed his guards about what he had been told by the king, promising them great rewards for a neat job. They are to capture him, cover his eyes with a black piece of cloth and take him to the unknown area where they will be feeding him so that he could stay alive until Juliana complied with their demand.

Juliana, who was now in her early twenties, got up the following morning with so much joy and happiness as if she knew that Julius was going to propose to her that day. Julius meanwhile was in his mid twenties by now and was looking forward to having her as his wife as soon as possible. He wondered how she would feel or react when she finally realise that he is actually a prince and not a peasant that he's been pretending to be. He knew she would accuse him of deceit once more, which she doesn't like but it wouldn't matter as she would have said yes to him and he could then explain why he had kept his true identity from her all these while.

When it was time for her to go out, she put on her best make-up as she usually do when she's going to see him. Although the make-up only did little to improve her stunning beauty. She waved goodbye to her father and promised to return back home as soon as possible. As soon as she left in her favorite car accompanied by two guards, the king sent for James's guards that have been waiting somewhere around the palace. The two guards that have accompanied Juliana were among her father's monitoring guards. In fact, he was the one who usually choose the guards that go out with her for protection each time she was leaving the palace.

James guards followed Juliana's car at once but were careful not to be seen or noticed. The monitoring guards that left with Juliana have been instructed to allow themselves be easily captured and tied to trees, after which the guards of James would later come to their rescue after they've locked up Julius in the hidden place.

Juliana met Julius already waiting for her at the place they've agreed to meet as usual. He was well dressed and looked more like a prince than a peasant. It was the best look that Juliana has ever seen of him. They were at a restaurant having lunch together. They had a little conversation as they were eating and feeding each other. The guards were outside including those of James, waiting for them to come out so that they can capture Julius and take him away.

When they finished eating, Julius stared at Juliana in a way that she began to wonder what was going through his mind, then he got up from his chair, knelt down on his right knee and brought out a small parcel which he opened to reveal a very beautiful and expensive ring made with diamond. Juliana opened her mouth in astonishment as she marveled at the ring. No one was watching them as their table was surrounded by empty tables with the only two people other than them in the restaurant being far away from noticing them. "My body and soul have accepted to have you as my wife and I will be the luckiest and happiest man alive if you say yes to me. And so I ask, will you marry me?" Juliana was flabbergasted to reply him as she continued to stare at the ring in amazement.

Julius had to wave his hand before her face and ask again before she joyfully replied "yes, yes I will marry you my love." He took out the ring and put it on her finger, then she stood up and hugged him and they began snogging, forgetting that they were in a public place. It was till a waiter forged a cough, having seen them kissing so passionately that they stopped and decided to go to the beach to continue their day before it would be time to say goodbye and return to their respective place of residence.

But just as they came out of the restaurant and were walking towards her car, James's guards came out of their hiding place and captured Julius just as they've been told to do. Juliana called on her guards but she only came to see them tied to trees after the abductors had left with Julius, together with the car she had bought for him, which he had driven to meet her. She quickly entered the car she had come with along with her guards, having collected the keys from one of them that was tied and sped off in attempt to follow the abductors car to know where they were taking Julius but she wasn't quick enough and she missed them.

She sorrowfully returned to the palace later than she promised and slumped down in a sofa right in the presence of her parents crying so hard. They asked her what the problem was and she replied that Julius was taken away by unknown men and she wasn't fast enough to follow them. They asked about her guards which she didn't come along with and she replied that she had left them tied to trees and didn't untie them as to punish them for not being able to defend themselves and prevent the incident from happening. Her father consoled her and told her that the men may just be mere kidnappers and may not harm Julius but will only demand for a ransom, so she should calm down and wait for them to give her a call using Julius's phone. Juliana began to suspect her father of having a hand in the incident due to what he had said but she still found it hard to believe that he had anything to do with the kidnap of Julius.

By late evening that day, the guards that were tied came back on their own just when king Duncan was about sending some guards accompanied by Juliana to go and get them back to the palace for questioning. They said that they were brought halfway to the palace by the same men that have taken Julius and in the same car but they stated that they had showed the men the way back to where they came from. They said this to avoid any form of suspicion of having anything to do with the incident. They also said that the men had taken away their guns before tying them that's why they couldn't attack the men at first, having been injected with sleeping substances during their battle with the men without the princess knowing. They further explained that the men came to them unexpectedly behind them and by the time they saw them and wanted to attack, the men grabbed their necks and injected them with the drugs, so they were helpless and got easily tied to trees.

They also informed Juliana that the men have sent a message to her after dropping them off, saying that they will give her a call anytime soon to demand a ransom before they could free Julius. The guards added that the men have told them that they knew about Juliana from one of her shows in which the Mc had addressed her as a princess and they have planned to kidnap her or any of her relatives ever since then. Although the guards only said this on their own to save the king from being suspected in having a hand in the incident.