11 QUEEN AGATHA
Back in the kings Court.
Queen Regina took a deep breath of relief. She was surprised that Ellen decided not to expose her in front of the king. She made a mental note to scold the prince later.
He almost got her in big trouble by running that mouth of his. "I have told him to think before speaking, but he seems to be deaf" she said mentally.
She was about to excuse herself when a guard walked in and announced the arrival of the courier from Avalo.
The king nodded his head in approval and the Avalo courier walked in moments later.
"Your majesty," the courier bowed slightly.
"His highness the crown prince of Avalo has received your message. He sent me here to inform you that he would be coming for his bride The day after tomorrow " the courier delivered his message.
"That is a short time to prepare," King George voice out his displeasure.
"His highness understand but the troop from Avalo will travel back soon, since we are now binded by a truce but without the princess how can we be sure," the courier spoke smoothly and clapped his hands.
At the sound of his hands footsteps were heard walking in from the hall. Twenty men walked into the court room carrying large chests.
Your majesty, these are the dowry of the princess," he said pointing to his right where there was six large chests. And these are for the preparation of the wedding" he said pointing to the left where there are three large chests.
"His highness understands the time, so he is supporting the occasion. After all it is the wedding of the crown prince and the first princess of Bozao," the courier concluded.
The king was angry but he was helpless. If the prince can leisurely give away ten chests of gold for a wedding, then he had nothing to say.
" We would make preparations " the king answered.
The courier bowed slightly and left the room with his men. Queen Regina was boiling in anger. Sure she will never allow her daughter to marry the curse prince, even if he is the crown prince, but she was angry.
Angry that the cursed prince decided to give Ellen some face by performing the marriage rite
In fact the prince have over done it. She could already tell that it will be a grand occasion, that will be talked about for many months.
If not for that fact that the crown prince is cursed a lot of families would have been happy to give their daughters to him. After all Avalo was known for it wealth. It was rumored that it had a large gold mine.
She felt a little better, when she remembered the crown prince was cursed, maybe a beast that would torture Ellen if not kill her within the first month of their marriage.
"So what if the wedding is grand, her husband is still a beast nothing to be jealous of, " the Queen consoled herself.
The king had a mix feeling, if only the young man who brought this gift today was not cursed he would have been the happiest father alive.
Just when the Avalo men stepped out, Ellen walked back into the court room. It was amazing how words fly fast. A maid already informed her about their arrival.
"Father," she called to announce her presence.
King George looked up to met his daughter's gaze. "The prince will be coming for you the day after tomorrow," the king informed her.
Ellen's body stiff when she heard her father. She thought she would at least have a month to spend before the wedding. She could not understand why the prince was in so much hurry to marry her.
The Queen finally had a genuine smile on her face when she saw the miserable state of Ellen.
Ellen took a deep breath and swallowed hard. She knew that the men from Avalo came to fix a wedding date, she just never expected it to be that close.
She wanted to know how much time she had to expose the Queen. First she wanted to confirm Ann's words by visiting the oracle of Shiva to be sure that Richard was her bother.
There were so many things she wanted to do but time will fail her. "Father can I have a word with you" she made up her mind to verify Ann's words at the very least.
The king nodded his head, when he heard her question. Ellen waited patiently for the Queen to leave but Regina decided to be ignorant and sat down looking at the father and daughter duo. She was afraid to leave Ellen alone with the king. She was sure that Ellen just learn something about her, that the king could never hear.
When Ellen noticed the Queen was not willing to leave, she decided to make her uncomfortable.
"I want to know about my mother, Queen Agatha," Ellen said.
The king nodded his head again. "Come with me, I will show you her painting," king George said getting up from his throne and leading the way.
Ellen cast a side glance on the Queen as she followed her father. She noticed that the smile on the Queen's lips has vanished and her face was as dark as bottom pot.
Ellen smirk and decided to annoy her some more. "You highness why not accompany my father and I. I heard Queen Agatha was your close friend."
The Queen gave a wry smile but nodded her head, after all she noticed the king approved of Ellen's suggestions.
The king lead them to a hall fill with paintings. He stopped at the Paintings of Queen Agatha." There she is, beautiful as always," the king said with a soft voice full of affection, as he pointed his fingers at her paintings. Ellen noticed the small smile at the conner of her father's lips as he looked at the painting. She did not fail to notice the Queen whose face has turned ugly looking at the king's affection for his late wife.
"My mother is beautiful, don't you agree, your highness? Ellen decided to anger her some more. Queen Regina gritted her teeth silently in anger" Sure she is beautiful," she replied faking a smile.
The king went on telling Ellen more about her mother and Ellen made sure to get Regina's opinion now and then.
Queen Regina felt her tongue was bitter from having no choice but to praise Agatha every now and then as Ellen made sure to request her opinion on things concerning queen Agatha's beauty and good character. After a few minutes, She could not take it anymore, She was close to exploding in anger and jealousy and Ellen kept plugging her wound.
"Your majesty, I would like to be excused. I want to monitor the progress of the preparation for Ellen's wedding as you know we have no time to waste " Queen Regina said.
She noticed how Ellen's face fell when she mentioned the wedding and it made her feel a little better.
Once the Queen was out of sight, Ellen turned to look at her king.
" Father I need to ask you something," she said with a serious note, even if she tried to be casual about it.
