"Mother, you're mistaken. She's not Amity," Prince Arsh corrected his Queen Mother. Several times he tells his Mother that I am not Princess Amity but the Dear Queen still does not listen.
She had previously emphasized my real name to her Son. She became stubborn and only believed what she said. It doesn't matter that Prince Arsh corrects my name because his Mother is very sure of every word he utters so it will be difficult for me to get through to the Prince's Queen Mother.
She knows me.
We both knew what she was saying was true.
She knew who my parents were.
She could no longer hold both my cheeks. Her eyes narrowed as she repeated my real name. She seemed to hate me for those looks. Full of anger.
I was so nervous because I knew she really knew me. Add to that that she is very angry with me. If the looks are just deadly, I've been thinking about it before.
The Queen shook her head again. "I can't be wrong, Arsh. The young lady's son of your Father's mortal enemy is with you today. She is the only daughter of the man who ruined me. The root of why our family was ruined." She made me look even worse. “What are you doing here? I don’t want to see you because when I look at you, I also see the people who caused Valor and me to break up. Because of your parents, I am here today and suffering! I hate your family!”
The Dear Queen did not take her eyes off me. Tears welled up in her puffy eyes. Her anger turned to tears. I couldn’t figure out why I felt any pain. There’s something about me that I want to hug her because of too much conscience. I know where it draws the anger. I couldn’t avoid her looks because I felt, I just deserved it. I can't complain because her bad looks at me are nothing compared to the pain and suffering she suffered because of my parents' actions.
I want to apologize even though I don’t know what happened in the past, the whole story between King Valor’s family and our family. But I don't want Prince Arsh to confirm that his Mother is telling the truth. I don't want him to know who I really am in this world. That's why I stopped talking and pretended to be confused by what the Dear Queen wanted.
"Mother, maybe you're just tired. Come and I'll take you to your room. You need to rest," said Prince Arsh. He forced his Mother's hand away from my grasp. He pulled the Queen away and he turned to me. "Wait for me here, Zariya. I will only deliver my Mother when she can rest."
I just nodded.
Before Prince Arsh led his Mother, the Blessed Queen first turned to me. No words came out of her mouth but her eyes spoke to me. Those eyes, eyes of hatred and anger.
I watched them turn around as they walked away from me. I look at what Prince Arsh says is the room of the Dear Queen. That was evident from the fact that there were several kerosene lamps hanging from each pole of the house where she was staying. That’s the only house here. It’s not big but it’s enough space for a person to live in.
My eyes went back to the two. Prince Arsh rested one hand on his Mother's shoulder while his other hand held a kerosene lamp that served as their light on the dark road. He carefully supports his Mother. The Prince's actions show that he took great care of their Queen Mother.
I can already feel the numbness in my legs because I have been standing before.
Prince Arsh left me another gas can. This is what I use now to find a seat. I didn't take long to search because I saw a small rock on the side. I went there and sat down right away. My knee weakened because of the attitude of the Dear Queen. I was consumed by intense nervousness earlier.
I could feel his anger. It almost killed me with the painful looks she was throwing. If she could just hurt me, she would have slapped me earlier.
I can't blame her.
My Father King was really at fault for King Valor's family. He is the reason why their family is not whole now. He brought heavy problems into their lives. Because of the envy and misunderstanding of former friends, they lead to ‘this’ point.
"Sorry if Mother mistook you for someone else." I raised my head when I felt that Prince Arsh was right in front of me again. He sat down next to me. He took a deep breath before continuing to say. "Even I was shocked at her posture. It looks like her illness is already serious."
I turned to him for the last thing he said.
"S-Sick? Your Queen Mother is sick?" I asked, confused.
Prince Arsh was still staring blankly. "Since I took her away from the palace, I noticed that her behavior changed. She became lethargic, sometimes I even caught her secretly crying and all of a sudden she would scream and get very angry. I couldn't talk to her politely and well, I only got a nod and a shake of the answer. However, I am still happy because she still knows me and even my four other siblings. Every time I visit her, she always greets Ravi, Cozen, Dern and Nesh and even Father, she never forgot."
Nothing can really beat a Mother's love for her husband especially for her Children. No matter what trials he faces, her Son is still the one she will draw strength to continue and fight.
"If you don't mind, Prince Arsh, may I ask why the Dear Queen is here? Why don't you take her with you to the palace even though she's still alive?"
When I arrived at the palace, I fully assumed that the Queen of the Kingdom of Norland was dead. Even all the people in the Kingdom were convinced that the Blessed Queen was no more. They didn't know that it was just hiding here on the mountain of Puhon.
"She was accused of betraying our Father King. After five days since my Mother gave birth to Nesh, my youngest brother, our Mother met King Hellion and there my Father caught their secret meeting. My Father thought that he was betrayed by the two but the truth is, King Hellion meant for them to meet so that Father could see and think badly of them. King Hellion had long liked our Queen Mother but no matter what he did, he could not get our Mother. Until he decided to break up our family just to get revenge and he won. So my Mother was very angry with King Hellion."
I am sad because my Father’s envy led to that point. Even the harmonious union of the couple he was able to destroy. The naïve Princes were deprived of the Mother for several years.
He didn't even remember the relationship he had with King Valor before he finally fed on anger and envy. Many were hurt and hurt because of his actions. I never thought this was the case with the character of King Hellion, my Father.
The Queen Mother was further affected by the five Princes. She did not even prove to herself that she had done nothing wrong. The accusation that there was an intermediary between the two of them and King Hellion was not true. She did not prove her loyalty to King Valor.
"But I can't blame what my Father King did to punish my Mother. He was very hurt because he thought it was his own friend who stabbed his wife. He was blinded by the false accusation."
I could not speak due to extreme shock. No words could come out of my mouth. I don't want to say anything because I don't know enough about what happened then.
Prince Arsh continued the story. "But did you know that in the end, my Father's love for our Children still prevails over his wrath? Because death will be the punishment for anyone who betrays the King but I begged my Father not to continue the execution to our Mother. I begged in front of him as we both cried. The death penalty could not be changed but my Father made a way and he allowed me to take Mother away from the Kingdom. He just let everyone know that my Mother had died and buried immediately. Even my brothers did not know about what my Father and I had done."
So, he was referring to the only person who knew where the Queen was because only Prince Arsh hid it. He is the one it refers to.
I don’t know why Prince Arsh is telling all this to me? Is that how he trusts me so much? He is revealing a secret to me today.
I stared at him just as he turned to me. Our eyes met. He slowly took my hand and held it. "Zariya, I said all this because I have a lot of trust in you. I know everything you found out tonight will remain secret."
I did not hesitate to answer. "You can count on it, Prince Arsh. It will remain a secret between the two of us."
I will not take a step that could harm the whole of Norland because my mission also depends on it. My priority is the security of the Kingdom. Even if my Kingdom itself could make me a traitor-in, just protect the Kingdom of Norland. So that as much as possible, they will not doubt my loyalty to King Valor's family.
The Prince withdrew his hand. He stood once again with his palm in front of me. "Come on? Let's go back to the palace."
I smiled and then placed my right hand on his palm. He helps me stand up. When I stood up, he still did not remove the grip on my hand but tightened it.
"I thought it was going to be a good night. I thought it would be nice to introduce you to the first woman I loved," there was a hint of regret in his voice.
"Your Queen Mother is the one you refer to as your first love?" I can't believe my question.
He laughed softly when he saw my reaction. "Yes, it's my Queen Mother. Who do you think?"
I averted my eyes in embarrassment. I was very judgmental because another woman I thought was the first woman he loved besides Haya Kaira. I thought Prince Arsh had another ex-girlfriend.
"No, I thought there was another woman who came into your life before Haya Kaira."
He gently touched my face and forced me to face him. "The real man loves his Mother first because that's where you can prove that he will love you rightly too."
Spontaneously a smile drew to my lips. He's a real man, indeed!
"My Mother is my first love and I will make sure you will be my last love, Zariya."
I wanted to lose my heart because of the excessive force of its pulse. What is he doing to me now? I can’t feel this way.
To avoid my feelings, I decided to invite him back to the palace. The tunnel immediately appeared in front of us. We crossed over there and soon we were in the far room of the servants' home.
We walked carefully so as not to make noise so that no one would wake up. The night was still deep and everyone was still sound asleep. Just a few steps we walked we were right across from our room Kharim Celia. Prince Arsh also stopped first and then let go of my hand that he had been holding earlier.
"I'm going to sleep, Prince Arsh, and you're going to rest as well."
"Next." It smiled at me. "I'm happy to be with you tonight," he added.
I smiled back at him. I also enjoyed being with him and getting to know his Queen Mother even though the result was not good.
Prince Arsh has said goodbye and is leaving. I first stayed outside our room until he was finally out.
I turned around and faced the door. I was about to turn the doorknob when I suddenly turned to the farthest room, to the hallway where we had come from and where the secret tunnel that Prince Arsh used to travel towards his Mother could be seen. I stared at it for a long time because I felt like someone was watching me. Even before we entered the portal, I felt that someone was following us but I just ignored it.
But now, I have a strong feeling that someone has really followed us before.