The Announcement ~
The next day at the palace, the king called for a royal meeting. All seven kings from the seven provinces in the kingdom were to be present in the meeting. All relatives of the royal family are also supposed to honour the king's royal meeting.
The meeting was to be held at the palace's great hall. The king's throne was placed, and seven other specially decorated minor sets were arranged beside it for the Queen's.
This was going to be Elizabeth's first public appearance as the king's wife, not as his bride. For that reason, Elizabeth was given proper and thorough attention.
The king had ordered the finest dresser to dress the queen and the finest makeup artist to enhance Elizabeth's beauty, making her look wonderful for the royal meeting.
Elizabeth felt touched by the king's affection for her as she glanced at herself in the mirror. She was putting on a long baby-pink gown with embroidery delicately patterned like a flower. The gown covered most of her body, and the pink linen covering her shoulders down to her hand made her bare skin visible.
Already beautiful, Elizabeth was given a very light, simple makeup. Her hair was neatly woven and styled, so that a few strands fell beside her eyes.
Kira walked into the dressing room holding Elizabeth's crown."My Queen looks so pretty," Kira praised, placing the crown on Elizabeth's hair.
"Indeed. I feel so privileged to be your makeup artist, my Queen." Everybody in the room nodded in agreement, including Kira.
Elizabeth smiled warmly. Elizabeth had been thinking about all that had happened the previous night. She couldn't tell anyone, not even Kira. She didn't know whether it was something to tell Kira or Jasmine. Elizabeth concluded that she would have to wait to meet her parents before speaking up.
"Is anything the matter?"Vivan, who was Elizabeth's makeup artist, asked. She noticed a change in Elizabeth's mood. Kira also saw the look on Elizabeth's face and felt the need to ask.
" My Queen, are you feeling alright? Is the dress too heavy, or is it the crown? should I..."Kira began asking Various questions to find out what had made the queen look a little off.
"No, I'm fine. And stop calling me my Queen, I don't like it when you call me that. "Elizabeth smiled at Kira. " Even you, Vivan. You both sound too formal."
"But we can't, you are the king's wife and our Queen," Kira tried to opt out. "But still I insist. It gets a little bit lonely here sometimes with almost everyone treating me like god."
"But the king will behead us if he finds out, "one of the many maids in the room said in fear.
"I insist. Ok, let's do this, you get to call me by my name when no one is around." The maid and dresser didn't seem to agree to the queen's request. Suddenly, someone knocked at the door and informed them that it's time for the queen to come out and walk side by side with the king into the great hall.
Elizabeth gave herself a final glance in the mirror. "I'm ready," she breathed, then left the room.
All guests were patiently waiting in the great hall. They all sat down according to their Various statues before the royal butler loudly announced the entry of the king and his wives. Everyone stood up and bowed as the king walked steadily and majestically towards his throne with Elizabeth by his side and his wives behind.
"Long live his majesty and her majesties," the crowd said in chorus before taking their seats.
"I appreciate you all for honouring my invitation to the palace. It was an urgent one, and I'm glad you all still responded with immediate actions. Well, the reason for this meeting has to do with this realm, our people, and our kingdom." King Arthur spoke with a deep, powerful tone.
"We all can very much recall the tragic death of my mother, The Queen, and how she sacrificed her life to protect me from my father." There was a sad look amongst the gathering. Everyone was aware of how the great queen died to save her son, Arthur; it was a tragic loss to all the kingdoms.
"No matter how we have tried to protect ourselves from the evil king, my father somehow still tries to find a way to harm us. "Little wispher started going around the hall. Elizabeth saw her parents smiling brightly and proudly at her. She wished she could talk to them, but she knew she needed to be patient for the right time.
"My king," a man from the Etric tribes stood up, "what news have you received? Please do not hesitate to tell us."
King Arthur's eyes turned dark and scary. Looking at the crowd, he sat lazily on his throne and spoke, "A Few months ago, I began having strange dreams, most of you might have heard the rumors, I suppose."
One of the men from the chanz tribe stood up to respond, "My king, we won't deny that we have been hearing various rumors from the palace, but I would really like to understand how that could be of great trouble to you. You are the great king Arthur of Austro. Why would a mere dream bother you?" Some of the men began to nod in agreement and understanding.
King Arthur gave a light chuckle. " This isn't a matter of mere dream or nightmare; it was more like a warning. I sent men to go and seek concerning my dreams, and they came back with news."
Everyone looked at each other, curious and confused. What could be the news that was brought to the king? Was it connected to a threat from the other realm, or was it connected to THE KING?
King Arthur stood up from his throne, and the congregation arose in union. King Arthur looked at his seven wives and the seven tribes of this realm, and breathed deeply before his eyes turned dark and the room's atmosphere grew cold.
Everybody could feel the cold chill on their skin as the hair on their bodies stood, alarmed and unsure of what to expect next from the king's mouth, because surely when the king rises, he makes a decree.
"I, King Arthur, first and only son of the great King Frederick, King of the Seven Kingdoms and Province of this realm, hereby make a decree this day. It should be noted in everyone's heart and by every witness here that henceforth I forbid the birth of any male child from my bloodline". Said the king with a great voice that struck the heart not just of the royal family but even of the elders and councils, inevitably, Elizabeth.