Royal Prince's Fated Love

Chapter Seven

Mrs. Ford was worried about Dan's sudden change pertaining to his relationship with Princess Diana. Not only had it been her greatest desire to see him getting married to her, but it was also appropriate for him to marry someone of royal blood. What would become of her friendship with the queen of the South if the marriage did not come to fruition? No, she was not prepared to allow him marry any other girl other than Diana. She sighed as she rose from her seat and walked into the King's chambers.

The King saw her coming and dismissed some orderlies who had been tending to him. She walked hesitantly towards him and took her seat next to him, her head bowed. Time dragged by, punctuated by solid silence.

"What is the matter with you?" King Ford could not bear the silence any longer. "I'm sure there's something behind such a somber mood. Speak out!"

"Your Majesty, it is not my wish to overburden you with trivialities. However, our son's marriage is not something that we can take for granted. Despite our efforts to ensure that he gets a befitting wife, I'm sure you are aware of how he has been trying of late to render the said arrangements futile. I'm saying this because Princess Diana was here in the morning, but he seemed disinterested in seeing her when we asked him to come home over the phone. Finally, the poor girl had to go looking for him in town, or wherever he said he was."

"How come you didn't inform me about her presence here?"

"You were having a court with the other officials. Besides, I thought he was going to come so that she could not have gone by the time you finished."

"I don't understand why he agreed to the engagement if he had any doubts. I thought they were mutually agreed, or did you hoodwink him into believing that he was going to marry an angel?"

"She might not be an angel, but I believe she is full of excellent qualities befitting a queen. Besides, they have known each other since they were in highschool. This abrupt about-turn of his is quite perplexing."

"Feelings change over time. Could it be that he has discovered something different in her that we aren't aware of?"

"The more reason I'm suggesting that you talk to him."

"Trust me to talk to him, but it's not my business to convince him if he has his own reasons."

"What are you insinuating? Aren't you the king and his father, and the one supposed to guide him accordingly?"

"Woman! I'm the king of the kingdom, not of personal matters of the heart. He is the only one with the right to make decisions regarding his love-life. Don't they say that it's the wearer of the shoes who knows where it hurts? He is an adult now, and the least respect we can give him is to allow him to make his own decisions in that perspective."

The queen was about to say something when Prince Dan walked in accompanied by Princess Diana and her friend.

"What a coincidence! We were just talking about you," beamed the queen.

"Well, you may have your seats," the king invited.

"Thank you, your Majesty," Diana and her friend chorused as they took their seats.

"The reason why we were talking about you is as regards to your fast-approaching wedding," continued the king. "Being your occasion, you are supposed to lead in the preparations as far as your preferences are concerned."

"Your Majesty, I fully agree with you. I came here so that Dan and I would brainstorm on the same. However, I'm slightly taken aback by his suggestions," Diana responded.

"I don't understand what you mean by his suggestions. Dan, would you mind shedding some light on that?"

"Dad, with all due respect and without any prejudice, I think that we are rushing the whole marriage issue. It has come to my realization that I'm yet to know Diana fully. That needs some more time. It would be disastrous if we were to force ourselves into a situation that we might regret for the rest of our lives."

"Are you aware that the wedding is scheduled to take place exactly two weeks from now?"

"I'm sorry to say that I wasn't consulted on the same. I'm wondering if it is my wedding we are talking about, or someone's. I would like to put everything conscipicuously clear. I'm not ready for this wedding."

"What!" Wondered his mother. "We have already sent out invitations and spent a lot of money in the preparations. Do you even understand the magnitude of shame you are likely to cause to us?"

"I want you to come out clearly on what is it that you are holding against Princess Diana," stated the king.

"Nothing other than the fact that I haven't known her well enough to make my commitment."

"How much time do you think you'll need to know her? Is that to say that you are having second thoughts about her character?"

"To be honest, her character is one of the things in question. I would need more than a whole year to make my decision."

"No! That can't be!" Lamented Diana. "If only you realized how much I love you, you couldn't be having the audacity to talk ill of my character. Why don't you have the courage to tell your parents that you are fooling around with that pathetic, ignoramus girl?"

"You are entitled to your own opinion, but what I can't stand is your irritating habit of jumping to conclusions without proper grounds."

"Let me get one thing clear," intervened his father. "Is there another girl that you are seeing? Who is she?"

"I'm not seeing any girl as per what she is insinuating. It is her unfounded suspicions that are making her think ill of that girl I almost ran over the other day. Diana's selfishness can't allow her to understand why I should empathize with her simply because she happens to come from a challenged background."

"What exactly did you do to her?"

"After I took her to hospital, I realized that she was a very qualified girl with no job. It dawned on me that Max was in urgent need of somebody to assist him in view of my wedding preparations. Consequently, she has been hired and today was her first day to report. Unfortunately, it happens that Diana has been monitoring me with the help of this friend of hers and she thinks that I'm cheating on her. Frankly speaking, I feel suffocated by her unfathomable suspicions and jealousy. It is trite knowledge that only the one who knows about cheating can suspect others, and I'm sorry to say that I doubt about her behaviour while she was studying abroad."

"It is quite disgusting of you to impugn improper behavior on me!" Diana burst out. "If you have found someone else and you don't want my love, you should not besmirch my reputation. Gosh! I shouldn't even be listening to this kind of garbage," she said as she stormed out of the room.

"Diana wait!" The queen called after her, but she gave no heed. "Do you see what you have done?" She asked, turning to Dan.

"What have I done other than stating facts as they are? It is good that you have witnessed her pretentious attitude, not the one she has been portraying. I want you to judge by yourselves if this is the kind of woman you want to sentence me to."

"But she is right to be protective of you," his mother observed. "I think that's more of a show of her love for you. Besides, it is you who accused her of cheating without any proof."

"Well, may I know your stand on this marriage?" The king asked after a long time of silence.

"I'm not ready to be condemned to a life of misery."

"Are you aware that breaking the engagement and calling off the wedding would have serious repercussions not only to our relationship with the Southern King, but also to setting a bad precedence to your brother?"

"I'm sorry, Dad, but I'm sure that we are grossly mismatched. As for my brother Bob, I know he is capable of making his own decisions. However, if it may be of any consolation to your relationship with King Kane, I suggest that you consult with Bob if he might be willing to marry her. If he consents, it will save you from cancelling the wedding."

King Ford became speechless as he recalled the circumstances surrounding Bob's birth. He remembered that he and his wife had been married for five years without her succeeding to conceive. Doctors had opined that she had undeveloped ovaries and therefore incapable of conception. As time went by, she realized that he was desirous of having an heir to the throne and advised that he took one of her maids. He had followed her advice only to realize later that she was already pregnant with Dan. Meanwhile, the maid had also conceived. The two were delivered in the same month, with Dan preceding. Currently, Bob was away supervising some projects within the kingdom.

"That's preposterous! How can you suggest something like that?"

"No, it is not. Just in case Mum hasn't told you, he and Diana used to get along quite well before she and Diana's mum decided to turn the tables."

"What! Is that true?" He asked the queen.

"It is true, but they were just friends."

"I can't believe it! Get out of my sight both of you! As for you Dan, I want you to think over the impending wedding and give me your decision within two days!"