Chapter Ten—Protests

When I arrived, the door was wide open. My guards stood on the other side of the hall. Maids ran in and out of my room, carrying different kinds of cloth. I stepped into the room, and everyone was touching my things whilst Bethilda stood in the middle of the room.

“Leave my room before I send you all to the dungeons!” I shouted, causing everyone to stop. All the maids fell on their knees, their foreheads touched the carpeted floor.

Bethilda turned to my direction as well. “Robert!” she greeted with arms wide open. “Isn’t it beautiful? Your room needs a lot of adjustment, it’s too… well, dark,” she walked towards me.

Looking around the room, it didn’t feel mine anymore. The curtains were changed from thick, dark red drapes to thin, light yellow ones. My bed was made into a blue monstrosity from its white predecessor. They were removing all of my red velvet carpets only to replace them with dark blue ones. Princess Lorain’s flowers were moved to the window. My writing desk was moved to the right, under my royal portrait.

“As much as you’re my aunt, you are trespassing and touching everything in this room without my permission,” I replied, trying my best not to explode. “Before I fully lose my patience, I would like for you to take all the maids and your materials out of my room and to never step foot here ever again.”

She giggled, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Robert, I’m your aunt. Your relative, a part of the family,” she smiled. “As I’ve heard, you allow family members inside your room as I think I do have the right to be here.”

“No!” I shouted; my voice echoed from my room to the hallway. She quickly removed her hand. “You are a relative, but you are not a part of the immediate family. You have no right to step into my room without my permission,” I continued, stepping closer to her and she walked back. “Before I disrespect you completely, leave my room now!”

The maids rushed out of my room and Gonzalo finally arrived, standing behind me. “Your Highness, I heard you shouting. Is there something wrong here?”

“Didn’t his father tell him about the changes I’m making in this castle?” she turned to Gonzalo, confused. “Dear child, I’m doing this for your mother,” she returned to me.

“I don’t care what you told my father. All I want is for you to get your big, fat behind out of my room now!” I screamed again.

“Your Highness, please calm down,” Gonzalo held onto my shoulder and arm. He then turned to Bethilda, “Your Grace, forgive the young prince. But what you’re doing isn’t the norm here. Even if Their Majesties are sick, they never did overall changes in this castle, most especially with the rooms of the princess and the prince.” He added, “And before they do so, they would ask permission from Their Highnesses before proceeding.”

She cleared her throat. “If that is what His Highness wishes for,” she replied, lowering her voice. “My deepest apologies for intruding your personal space, young prince,” she curtsied. She left my room, her head low.

Gonzalo then turned me around to face him. “Are you all right, Your Highness?” he asked.

I let out a deep breath out, hanging my head down before answering, “Now that she’s not inside my room, yes. I feel much better.”

“I will have the maids come back to put everything back to normal and to remove everything that the duchess brought in,” Gonzalo said. “I will oversee everything as well.”

“Thank you, Gonzalo. I will stay here to make sure everything is returned to its proper place,” I nodded.

He gave a quick bow and left my room. I looked around my room in disgust. How dare she touch my things and assume that she has the right to do so?! How rude and inconsiderate of her!

♔♔♔

An hour passed and my room has been returned to its original state. As the maids were leaving my room, Elizabeth barged in, burning red and full of rage.

“Brother, may I share your room with you for the rest of Aunt Bethilda’s stay here?!” she asked, breathing heavily.

“Why, what’s wrong?” I asked, walking towards her.

“Aunt Bethilda entered my room without permission and changed everything!” she complained. “Everything has changed to a lighter color and it’s painful to my eyes! She thinks because I am a princess, everything in my room must be all prim and proper!”

“But Elizabeth, you are the embodiment of prim and proper in this castle,” I teased. “I thought those kinds of things never bothered you.”

“I may be all prim and proper but that doesn’t mean my room has to embody that! And if I wanted that to be the design of my room, I would’ve done it myself!” she replied.

“I think it’s time to have a word with James,” I answered. “He doesn’t respect our privacy and our free will. I would’ve stayed silent but now, it’s not something worthy to be tolerated.” I then turned to Gonzalo, “Where is James right now?”

“As of this moment, I believe he’s in his study, Your Highness,” Gonzalo bowed.

I headed to the master’s bedroom, Elizabeth and Gonzalo by my side. James better has enough explanation before we lose all of our patience regarding this matter.

♔♔♔

When we got close to the door, we overheard a woman’s laugh which was clearly Bethilda’s voice. We barged in and the doors swung open, creating a loud thud as they hit the brick walls.

“Oh my!” Bethilda squealed.

“Oh my isn’t enough to express it,” Elizabeth snarled.

“Robert! Elizabeth!” James shouted as he stood up from his chair. “What did I tell you about knocking before entering?” he continued as he walked over to us.

“What did we say about interfering with the designs of our rooms without our permission?!” I snapped back, walking towards them.

“I don’t think your children are entirely concerned about the well-being of their mother, James,” Bethilda entered the conversation, standing behind them. “These changes are very important for the recovery of the queen.”

“I suggest that you close your mouth before I shove a shoe in it!” Elizabeth threatened, grabbing her shoe in the process. Gonzalo quickly held her back. Elizabeth wasn’t in her forgiving mood.

“Don’t you dare disrespect your aunt in such a way!” James shouted at Elizabeth.

“And you have no right to shout at Elizabeth when we were the ones who were aggravated!” I stood in front of Elizabeth. “This woman,” I pointed at Bethilda, “This lady that we’ve never seen before has the audacity to barge into our rooms and act as if she has the right to make changes, changes that we don’t approve of! She disrespected us!”

“I asked for your father’s opinion and permission,” Bethilda interrupted once more. “He agreed to it.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, you old hag, the rooms you entered were our rooms,” Elizabeth replied. “That means that entry to our rooms requires our permission!”

“I am the king of this castle, the head of this household. My permission, my decision is above all else!” James fired back.

“In that case, you’re not worthy of being a ruler because you don’t listen to people lower than your stature!” I spatted.

“I don’t think your children have a manner of respect for hierarchy, James,” Bethilda continued to give her unnecessary remarks.

“One more word from that mouth of yours and I swear, I will not hesitate to get one of the apples in the garden to close that hole in your mouth!” Elizabeth shouted once more as I stopped her from moving any closer.

“Elizabeth!” James shouted at her once more.

“You have no right to stop my sister from expressing what she feels!” I pointed a finger at James. Gonzalo held onto my arm as well. “Mother would rearrange our rooms, but she never did so without our permission,” I continued. “And third, you were never a proper father to us so why would your decision come first before ours?”

No one spoke after my response. James was stunned. Bethilda was confused. And Elizabeth held me back, putting a hand on my chest.

“Elizabeth. Robert,” a weak voice called from the door. We turned around to see Mother, supported by Linda and the two other maids as she walked into the room.

“Mother!” I rushed to her, supporting her and stopping her from walking.

“Mother, what are you doing?” Elizabeth asked as she followed along with James and Bethilda. “You shouldn’t be out of bed.”

“Amelia dear, you should be resting right now,” Bethilda added. “Linda, kindly escort her back to her bed.”

Mother stopped her maids before they could even obey. “I was told that my children were having a quick yet loud conversation with you and their father,” Mother said, pausing in between words. “I’ve decided to come here to see what’s going on.”

“Sweetheart, you should go back to bed,” James replied, walking towards her. He knelt in front of her after. “Matters such as this shouldn’t bother you right now.”

“Bethilda,” Mother turned to her sister, taking a deep breath, “As much as I appreciate the changes that you’re doing for the improvement of my health, I would like for you to put their rooms back to the way they were.”

“But Amelia—”

“Dearest sister, my children can manage their rooms,” Mother took a few steps forward, the maids and I still supporting her. “What you can do is to make sure their rooms are always clean. I beg of you, please do what I say before Elizabeth explodes.”

Bethilda looked at us, baffled. She wasn’t expecting that Mother would take our side on this matter. She bowed her head, “Of course, sister. I’ll have the maids take care of the princess’ room right away.”

“Thank you,” she smiled. She then turned to Elizabeth and me. “As for the both of you, can you calm yourselves and watch your words?” she scolded. “I know you don’t like what your aunt did but there’s no reason for you to be disrespectful.”

Elizabeth let out a deep sigh. “I will be staying with Robert as I wait for my room to be fixed. His room was lucky enough to avoid this issue.

“Elizabeth,” James called her once more.

Mother smiled, caressing Elizabeth’s face. “There’s no need to be sour about this. Your room will be restored by tomorrow.” She gave the three of us individual kisses on our forehead. “I’ll head back to my room now. Please, stop shouting.” Linda replaced me, supporting Mother by her hand and arm. Mother slowly turned around and carefully made her way back to her room.

When Mother was far enough from James’ study, I turned back to Bethilda. “If Elizabeth’s room isn’t restored by tomorrow, I’ll see to it that Mother will not be pleased about it,” I threatened. “Let’s go, Elizabeth,” I held Elizabeth’s hand, walking out of the study with Gonzalo right behind us.

♔♔♔

As the maids prepared my bed for Elizabeth, I prepared my couch, making it comfortable enough to sleep in. My couch wasn’t as big as Elizabeth’s. I do envy her sometimes, but I don’t usually use it.

“Thank you for letting me stay here, brother,” Elizabeth smiled as she approached me.

“You’re always welcome here, Elizabeth,” I smiled, fluffing the pillows as a final touch.

“I just couldn’t bear the sight of my room,” she groaned, sitting on the couch. “The way she changed it, it’s like I returned to the time when I was only a thousand years of age. It looked ridiculous.”

“I got here just in time to stop her from destroying my room,” I replied, sitting beside her. “Where were you when it was happening to yours?”

“I was in the library, as usual. I was going to take a quick nap when I saw the commotion happening inside my room,” she answered. “When I saw it, the only thing that crossed my mind was to run to yours.”

I let out a smile at her story. Elizabeth being in the library wasn’t surprising. She’s known as the child who adores reading the most. We’re both studious but she preferred reading different topics.

I stood up, “Why don’t you take that nap that you were supposed to have? I have something else to do.”

“Are you sure I can take a nap here?” she asked, worried.

I laid a kiss on her forehead as a reassurance. “I will see you later. Take your rest.” I turned around and proceeded to the stables.

♔♔♔

As I was walking down the hallway, I came across Gonzalo. “Gonzalo.”

“Yes, Your Highness?” he bowed.

“Are you doing anything right now?”

“I just finished showing the maids where to put the materials,” he replied. “Also, I talked to the maids regarding the situation with the princess. Should I bestow any punishment from you?”

“There’s no need for punishments. As long as they learned their lessons, that’s enough,” I answered. “And speaking of Elizabeth, would you check my room from time to time? My sister is taking a nap. I know I have my guards placed there but I would like for you to make sure nothing happens to her and to my room.”

“Of course, young prince,” he said. “I would do what you ask.”

“Thank you.” I proceeded to the stables.

♔♔♔

“Lady, you never failed to impress me,” I smiled as I brushed Lady’s mane. “We’ve been together since I was child. We rode plains and muddy terrains. And you still look majestic.”

“You treat a horse with so much love, so much care,” a voice came from behind me, a voice that I wouldn’t want to hear right now. “Should I become a horse, would you treat me just the same?”

“Mallory, I’m not in the mood to have another argument with you,” I said, focusing on Lady. “I have too much in my mind right now, too much in my life right now. I have no time to waste on having another discussion with you.”

“Is it because of Laura?” she asked, footsteps approached me from behind.

Keeping my mouth shut, I focused on taking care of Lady. She’s now aware of my feelings for Laura but that doesn’t mean I have to explain anything to her.

“It’s Laura, isn’t it?” she repeated, standing beside me.

“Why does it matter?” I finally turned to her, irritated. “What’s it to you? If I said it’s Laura, what would you do?”

“That day that I introduced you to her, I saw how you both stare at each other,” she started. I went back to brushing Lady as she continued, “I saw the horror in your eyes, the pain in hers. I’m not that stupid to not notice your actions and feelings hidden behind your eyes.”

I walked to the well, carrying a bucket. “And what do you want for me to do?” I asked, drawing water from the well.

“She’s not my friend anymore. Did you know that?” she asked.

I pulled the rope to bring up the bucket. “Does it look like I care if she’s not your friend anymore?” I asked, turning to her with an eyebrow raised. I removed the rope from the bucket and returned to Lady.

“You don’t care because you’re happy about it,” she said, following closely behind me. “You’re happy because I won’t be in your way. I won’t be a problem to your growing relationship together.”

“If you want to think about it in that light, that’s your opinion,” I answered, not paying any attention to her. To keep my patience intact at this moment was a struggle. I don’t know what she does with her time but it’s like she always has time to bother me.

“You’re not even affected by it?!” she raised her voice.

“Should I be affected by it?” I asked, turning around to look at her. “It’s your decision to break your friendship with her. I didn’t tell you to do that. You’re the one who made that decision. Just like the decision you made to introduce us to each other.”

“I chose you over her!” she shouted, poking her finger on my chest as she pointed at me. “She stole you from me!”

“I would like to remind you that I didn’t tell you to choose me.” I put my hands behind my back. “And she didn’t steal anything from you. She didn’t steal me from you. I have feelings for her and I don’t have any for you,” I explained. “There’s a big difference between you and her.”

“Robert, can’t you just—” She stepped closer towards me, her hands in front of her.

I stopped her, pushing her away from me but not hard enough to make her fall onto the floor. “I would like to say these words again because clearly, you really don’t understand what I’ve been telling you all this time: I cannot love you in the same way you love me because I don’t love you like that,” I gritted out of frustration. “The only thing I can offer you is friendship. You’re a sister to me and that’s the only kind of relationship that I can offer.

“But Robert—”

“Your Highness!” someone shouted from the kitchen. Gonzalo came rushing in, panting. “Your Highness, Her Majesty is calling for you right now,” he said, trying to catch his breath.

I put the brush down. “Please return Lady to her place. Give her food and water,” I instructed before running to the master bedroom.