The King

I really don't know how long I've been running in the woods or how far I've gotten from the castle. I was running away from my very own wedding. It's of course every girl's dream to get married and marrying the king is of course a very big deal...especially for a girl like me. But here I am, running away from my very own wedding alter but I'm not going to stop or go back. I had decided not to marry the king at any cost even if I had to run away from the palace, knowing fully well it could cost me my life... I just had to risk it.

A lot of things had taken place in the past two months of my life. I remember the first time I laid my eyes on the king, I remember it like it was yesterday.

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"Gina! Gina! Come back here you naughty girl. Give me back my hairpin! Stop making me run..." I said running after Regina our maid's youngest daughter.

Regina who's only eight years of age yet very naughty and troublesome. Despite being the daughter to our maid, I loved her so much like she was my very own little sister, my very own little princess...

Despite being the only child to my parents, I have always wanted to have a younger brother or sister but I guess I wasn't destined to have one or God didn't want to grant my wish. Our house was not too big nor too small, just our perfect single family detached house yet, we were very happy and contented with our lives and not to forget...our house was also very close to the market.

"Come on now Gina, give it back..." I said again running after her as she ran to the sitting room.

"If you want your hairpin, then you'll have to catch me first." She said and winked at me mischievously before she sprinted outside.

"Oh no, don't go outside... Gina!"

What am I going to do with this girl?... I thought to myself and ran after her.

I kept running after her till we got to the market but this time around, something wasn't right, everywhere was as quiet as a graveyard which is very unusual. The market is of course a very crowded and noisy place but today it was really quiet. The people had also assembled themselves vertically, some on the left and others on the right, leaving a lot of space in the middle of market. It was almost like someone great was coming but I decided not to think too much about that. The only thing that mattered to me at the moment, the only thing I needed to do was to lay fingers on Gina.

Just when I was about to get hold of Gina, I suddenly found myself on the floor lying in the middle of the market. I had stumbled and kicked a stone and my foot was in so much pain, but the sound of something caught my attention. Lifting myself up a bit, I looked up, lift my hair from my face with my hand then I saw it.

A white beautiful magnificent looking horse.

Though I couldn't see the person sitting on it, I couldn't help but admire the beautiful horse that had come to a halt a few inches from where I laid. The rider must have grounded to a stop the moment he or she realized I was lying on the ground, obstructing it's path.

Just then, some soldiers dressed and adorned in royal guards attire marched foward and stood in front of the horse and were about to pull out their swords.

Fear instantly creeped its way into my heart and I was covered in cold sweat. I slowly lift myself from where I laid but I felt a sharp pain on my foot and I couldn't help but wince in pain. I looked up and it finally dawned on me that I'm standing in front of no other person but... The king.

Oh my God, I'm standing in front of the king and I just fell at the feet of his horse.

I cursed within myself.

I could clearly hear murmuring from the crowd and I knew I was done for.

What am I going to do? What am I going to say? Is he going to punish me for this? Oh God... Why didn't I just leave the hairpin with Gina? Why did I have to dress up today only to get covered in dirt? Why did I have to come out to the market in the first place? How am I going to save myself

Millions of thoughts pooped in my head, my heart was beating so fast like it was going to pop out of my chest, my hands became sweaty and I couldn't think straight.

Maybe if I apologized he might forgive me and spare me... I thought and immediately bowed my head to the king.

"I... I'm... I'm really sorry Your majesty." I said still bowing. I tried thinking of what to say but nothing came out of my mouth. It was almost like my brain suddenly stopped working.

Just then, I felt warm liquid run down from one of my toes.

Oh no! I had injured my toes and it's bleeding but that wasn't the situation at hand, I have to get out of this mess first before attending to my injured toes.

"Is that how you apologize to the king after throwing yourself at his feet like that? Kneel before the king and apologize properly." One of the soldier yelled at me with a loud and harsh voice. At this rate, I was covered in fear, my heart started to beat even faster, I knew I was in big trouble so I'll just have to do as he says.

"Stop that." The king's voice came in. His voice calm yet authoritative.

I gazed up at him but immediately lowered my gaze and bowed my head. I shut my eyes tightly, silently praying that all this was a dream...a nightmare but it wasn't.

"Look up." The king said again, "look at me."

I slowly moved my face up and gaze at him, getting a better view of his face.

The king who looked like someone in fifties peeked at me, I felt his gaze travel around my body and return his gaze to my face. I felt shivers run down my spine, my legs won't be able to hold up for long cause they were starting to tremble. My whole body trembled and I couldn't tell if it was due to fear or the aching feeling of my foot.

"Let's go." He finally said and looked straight ahead. I moved out of the way and soon they started moving till they were completely out of sight.

I fell to the ground as my feet couldn't hold up any longer, my toes was bleeding and I was in pains.

Still in shock of what just happened, little Gina walked up to me, her eyes filled with tears, apologizing and blaming herself for what just happened.

"Oh Gina... You really don't have to, it's not your fault." I said and hugged her. "You know you look very cute when crying but you're cuter when smiling." I said trying to comfort her and it worked cause she smiled at me. The smile I love to see on her face. Despite the pains I was feeling, I had to take Gina home and make sure she's safe. We got home safely that evening but people were still talking about the incident.

I silently prayed within me that I should never encounter with such incidents for the rest of my life but, little did I know that life had more in store for me.