The messenger
A FARAWAY LAND
“Your majesty, King Arthur lost the war to Carl.”
“What do you mean, he lost the war?”
“Your majesty, it was like King Carl already knew, king Arthur would attack, and was very prepared. It didn’t even take time for his troops to defeat Arthur’s troops.
The King Luther Scoffed. “I never should have underestimated Carl,” he said.
He had also thought Carl would be weak, due to the incident with Zara, but he was wrong.
“I have to admit king Carl is a true king, because only a true king, stays ready even amidst his own problems.”
“Your majesty, what will you do now that Arthur has failed?”
“It was my fault for overestimating him, I should have known that he was incapable, so now, I’ll have to wait a little while, so Arthur can recuperate, from his defeat. Because I need him to be ready when the time comes to attack Everton.
…
Meanwhile, it took Arthur half a day to get back to Neptune because he was no longer with a large troop, and he didn’t stop to rest.
Once again Carl has defeated him and hurt his ego. He knew that he was going to be the laughing stock of other nations for a while.
“Arnold,” Arthur yelled angrily. Arnold had not gone with Arthur to the war because he was looking after Neptune.
“Your majesty,” Arnold greeted with a bow.
“You. If you and your mystery person, hadn’t given me such bad advice, things wouldn’t have gotten so bad. from now on, never give me any advice, ever,” Arthur yelled angrily. Although he couldn’t blame everything on Arnold, because he was also at fault for listening and he should have known that Carl couldn’t easily be defeated.
“I apologize, my king. I should have known, it wasn’t that easy, I should have let you carry on with your plan,” Arnold apologized.
…
IN EVERTON
“My king, there is no need to send a message to King Arthur, because a messenger from Nedal is here,” Jerald told Carl.
Carl immediately tilts his gaze to meet him, with a glint of hope in his eye.
“But are you sure he has the lotus?” Carl asked with a curious look.
“My king, I think he does, or else, why would he come all the way from Nedal instead of sending a message,” Jerald replied…
Carl’s eyes shone with happiness immediately Jerald said that.
“Where is he now?” Carl asked.
“He’s in the throne room with the council members, and queen Catherine,” Jerald replied with a small smile. He was happy to see the ray of happiness in Carl’s eyes.
…
“Greetings your grace,” The messenger, bowed in respect.
“Greetings to you too,” Carl replied, sitting on his throne. “Can you tell me the reason you are here?” Carl asked even though he was aware of why the messenger was there.
“Your Grace, I’m here because king Neil has sent me to discuss the matter in regards to the purple lotus,” he answered.
“What matters? Do you have the lotus?” Carl asked eagerly.
“I do your grace, I have the purple lotus,” the messenger replied.
“Really?” Carl asked to be sure.
“Yes, your grace, that’s why I’m here.”
Carl couldn’t contain his happiness. The thought that he would soon be with his queen, that he will be able to hug and kiss her, brought a huge smile to his face. Not only Carl but everyone in the room was delighted by the news. Finally, their queen was going to be with them again and things would go back to normal.
“If you have it, then please hand it over and I’ll compensate King Neil with whatever he wants. Be it horses, salt, rice grains, gold, silk, or whatever,” Carl said, giving Jerald a signer to get the lotus from him.
“Your grace, gold, horses, or whatever you have just mentioned is not what king Neil want’s in exchange for the purple lotus.”
“Then what does he want?”
“Your grace, King Neil wants you to get married to his daughter, princess Nadia in return for the purple lotus.”
What he said, left everyone present in the throne room gobsmacked. Did he just say that the king will have to marry the princess of Nedal? They whispered amongst themselves.
“What do you mean?” Carl asked.
“Your grace, King Neil, agrees to give you the purple lotus, but only if you agree to marry his daughter, the princess of Nedal,” The messenger explained.
“How could he ask that of my son, isn’t he aware that he’s already married to princess Zara of Azrael?” Catherine rasped, enraged that they would ask for such a thing in exchange for the lotus.
“King Neil is aware, but he wants to form an alliance with Everton.”
Carl frowned, clenching his fist. He didn’t know that they would be so selfish. He was willing to give them whatever they wanted, but it didn’t mean he was ready to marry someone else, even if that person should look exactly like Zara.
“I will not marry your so-called princess,” Carl growled angrily.
The messenger shivered slightly but stood his ground.
“Your Grace, you’re aware that queen Zara would die if you don’t accept the offer,” he said.
“And you are aware that I could kill you right here and have the lotus,” Carl countered, standing up from his throne, with anger visible in his eyes. he looked like he was about to remove the messenger’s head…
Although the messenger was afraid and almost peed in his pants, he didn’t let it show. But he swore in his heart that if he got out of this alive, he would never face king Carl again.
“Your grace, everyone know you to be an honest and just king, if you kill me here, what will people say?”
“I don’t care what people say, I just care about saving my queen.”
“Your majesty, he’s right. If you kill him and take the lotus, it won’t leave a good impression on people’s minds. Not just Everton, but other nations will condemn you,” one of the council members reasoned.
“Yes, your majesty, you have to reconsider.”
“What do you mean, reconsider? are you trying to say our king should marry again?”
“I don’t see anything wrong. After all, he is the king and is allowed to have as many wives as he wants.”
“Only a womanizer like you would suggest such a thing. After all, you have three wives and still not satisfied.”
“Just shut your mouth. Who are you calling a womanizer? you incompetent fool.”
“How dare you call me an incompetent fool?”
The whole hall was in chaos as the council started to quarrel amongst themselves. Some agreed that Carl should marry the princess to save Zara’s life, while others did not.
“Carl, I think you should agree for the meantime, then after you save Zara, you would think of a way out,” Catherine reasoned.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“Yes, my king, your mother is right. If you want to save queen Zara, you have to agree, at least it’s better than asking king Arthur for help,” Jerald also reasoned…
Carl closed his eyes and sighed, thinking about what they had both said, and they were right agreeing to King Neil’s condition, was better than asking Arthur. Because he knew Arthur’s condition would be far worse. But still, he didn’t want to get married to anyone else.
“Silence,” he yelled after a while, putting an end to the quarrel amongst the council members.
“I have made a decision, and my decision is…