A Regretted Promise

King Ronald sat in his study. He had imprisoned Sir Riley, only to have him escape. To tell the truth, Ronald did not feel that Sir Riley was the murderer. But there still was the flower, and Sir Riley would not tell him where he supposedly lost the flower. He had said that he would sometime, but not then. Ronald had warned Sir Riley that not telling everything would only make things worse, but Sir Riley stubbornly refused to tell him.

Not only this matter had made his life chaos, but the fact that they discovered an enemy spy from Siddel. He had managed to get into the ball. When he was discovered, they barely missed capturing him. This probably meant a war with Siddel, and probably with its ally Ronté.

Doctor Harrison stepped in.

“Sire,” he said, quietly, “The princess would like to speak to you.”

Ronald hurried to Jewel’s room. He stood by her bed.

’What is it, my dear?”

“Papa, I must tell you something, but first let me ask this, is it true that Sir Riley is imprisoned?” Jewel asked softly.

Ronald started in surprise. Then he asked sharply, “Jewel, what does this knight mean to you?”

Jewel lay still for a moment, then said quietly, “Papa, I know you have promised me to Prince Leos, but, papa, I don’t love him. I love Sir Riley.”

Ronald’s head span. Could this be true? That his daughter loved a simple knight? And that he himself promised his own beloved daughter to someone that she did not love? When he gained control of himself, he gazed at his daughter.

“Jewel are you sure that you love Sir Riley?”

“With all my heart, papa. Please, don’t make me marry the prince, I despise him.”

“My daughter, I have promised you to Prince Leos. Now that I know that you love Sir Riley, I know not what to do. I do not want you to be unhappy. I wish that somehow, I could give you to Sir Riley. If I could, that would be wonderful, but I don’t see how I could do it without breaking my word.”

“Please, papa.”

“Well, I shall do my best. I love you dearly, and don’t wish to see you unhappy. If only I knew before now, I wouldn’t have this mess.”

King Ronald, left. His mind was whirling. How was he to get out of this? He wanted Jewel to be happy, but he could not break his word.

End of Chapter Seven

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