The cry of a baby in Bozao Royal Palace threw the palace into a joyful yet sad atmosphere. Joyful because Queen Agatha finally gave birth to a beautiful princess after many years of miscarriages, and sad because the Queen suffered complications while giving birth and was dying with each passing minute.
King George did everything within his power to save his beloved wife, inviting physicians from neighbouring kingdoms, but the Queen remained at the door of death. Her situation grew worse with 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 had been in love since childhood, but things would be different after her death. King George had never taken another wife, even after years of marriage without children. The royal council had been pressuring him 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 was what the king needed—an heir to his throne.
The Queen was sure that there would 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 the perfect option.
"Promise me," she asked with a weak voice while the king held 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 lose his precious wife, the only woman he had ever loved.
King George was not ready to lose his queen, but there was nothing he could do at this point. "I promise," he replied between sobs. Queen Agatha smiled weakly after hearing her husband.
She took a deep breath, feeling she could die in peace knowing that her daughter would be well cared for. The king held tightly to his wife's hands and watched her take her last breath.
He had never 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, and went straight into the newborn baby's room. "Ellen," he called, looking at his daughter, who was sleeping peacefully, and he smiled.
His late wife had chosen the name. He saw the baby as the gift of the love he had shared with his late queen. At about the same time, the ringing 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 deliberated in the king's court. It had been a month since Queen Agatha's death, and like she predicted, the royal council was already on his neck.
King George nodded in agreement. "I will take a wife, but my late wife just died. How about we wait till the princess is two years old?" he said.
The members of the royal council were pleased with his answer. They had expected him to throw a fit once they brought up the marriage issue, but to their surprise, he welcomed the idea. Two years was long for them, 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 kept his eyes and ears open, watching 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 were 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 sibling rivalry. He believed that if all the children were brought up in love and unity, they would love and protect one another. However, he understood the kind of schemes that occurred within a royal family, and he did not want that among his children.
This was also part of why he did not take any concubines. He was never close to his siblings, and as soon as his father, the king, died, he was forced to exile his brothers to ensure peace in the 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 period of celebration 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 began looking 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 Regina's behaviour to heart. After all, she had been the only mother she knew. Ellen concluded that the queen only corrected her because she 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 had successfully given birth to an heir to the throne, so she no longer had to pretend.
"I am sorry, Mother," Ellen apologized to Queen Regina when she accidentally bumped into her. Ellen had been in a hurry to catch up with her class that morning and did not notice the queen's chamber door opening, which caused 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 mother. But she paused when she realized Ellen was frozen in place.
"Stupid," she cursed under her breath when she realized what she had said. Not that she regretted saying it, but should the king find out, she might lose the favour he showered on her. After all, she had agreed with the king not to tell Ellen about her mother until she turned sixteen, but Ellen was currently fourteen. What just happened was something that should never reach the king's ears.
Once this incident was reported, the king would 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 said, patting Ellen as if she doted on her.
Ellen simply nodded and acted casual before excusing herself. She was not stupid; she knew the queen meant every word she said.
Ellen pondered the queen's words as she joined the other noble ladies in the lesson room.