Chapter Thirty-one

An array of opened books on various topics lay before him, while scattered papers detailing the history of the two nations were placed neatly on different corners of the table. He swiftly navigated from one book to another in search of a solution. It felt like the day drew nearer the more time he spent in his pursuit for an alternative. His quest came to a halt when he stumbled upon the familiar term "treaty" in one of the books resting on the table. Adrian's face lit up as he realized that the answer had been right in front of him all along.

Now came the challenging task of persuading his father and the King of Kaneria to abadon the wedding and opt for a treaty instead. He sat down and began his research on treaty, reading everything and anything about it, how it works and the conditions involved. He felt a beam of hope as he read in-depthly on the subject. He turned to his laptop, his fingers clacked on the keyboard as he began formulating his very own treaty with a smile on his face.

The sounds of birds chirping on his balcony and the early rays of the morning sun sipping through the curtains and resting on the surfaces of the room apprised him that it was already dawn. He stayed up all night creating a treaty containing certain conditions pertaining the two nations. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table as the files transferred to the plugged in flash drive.

Adrian exited the room when he was eventually done in search of The King, holding the flash drive firmly in his hand.

He passed by the throne room but stopped in his tracks when he heard familiar voices of his parents conversing.

Taking a deep breath he walked in, the room grew silent as they stared at him with mixed emotions.

"Adrian? What brings you here?" Queen Elena asked as he drew closer to them.

"Good morning Mother" He greeted whilst turning to The King acknowledging his presence "Father!".

King Robert gave a light nod to the greeting "How are the wedding preparations going son?".

Adrian hesitated for a moment before he finally replied "Actually I came to talk to you both about it".

They both exchanged looks before diverting their attention to him.

"What about the wedding, Adrian?" Queen Elena asked, she shot him a knowing look. Adrian understood her intention and walked closer to them, tightening his grip on the drive.

He took a deep breath before speaking, "I want to call off the wedding!" He announced.

King Robert's forehead puckered, Adrian couldn't discern if he was enraged or perplexed.

"I don't want to marry Jasmine because__" he paused, diverting his gaze from his parents questioning stares "__because I don't love her, I am in love with someone else and I wish to spend my life with her. I know that calling off the wedding will have major consequences and I have thought of a solution for that, we could arrange a treaty for__"

"Enough!" King Robert's voice echoed in the room, silencing him. He looked displeased at Adrian "You want to call off the wedding?" He scoffed "You do know what is at stake, right?".

"Yes Father, but…"

King Robert raised his hand and Adrian kept mute. "What ever feelings you have for the woman you claim to love bury them!" He ordered "They are just infatuations and they are distractions. You will marry Jasmine and that is final!".

Rage nearly consumed him on hearing his Father's statement "No Father, I won't!" He said, his nostrils flared. Queen Elena's gaze shifted from her son to her husband, pondering on the actions she should take.

King Robert scoffed "What makes you think that you have a say in your wedding?".

Adrian couldn't stand what he heard, if he didn't want to come to terms with him then so would he "I am not going to marry Jasmine Father and you cannot force me to do that. I would rather abdicate the throne than spend the rest of my life with her!".

Queen Elena gasped hearing that. "Adrian, you wouldn't__"

"Sorry Mother! I would leave this here whenever you feel like going through it!"

Adrian said, placing the flash drive on the floor, he stormed off leaving them stunned.

"Can you believe our son?" King Robert asked, still astonished by his son's outburst.

"I cannot believe that you said those words to him!" Queen Elena said, facing him, looking vexed at him.

"I only told him what he needed to do!" He stated.

Queen Elena looked furiously at him, "You turned down his request, Robert!" She yelled.

"He just has an infatuation with a woman which would wear off sooner or later!" He said in a lighthearted manner.

"Gosh! You sound just like Your Father, Robert! I just can't with you!" She yelled and got up from her throne, leaving a flummoxed King.

King Robert looked heavenward, the words of Queen Elena resounded in his ears. Being compared to his own Father was one of his biggest fears. His Father loved him but terrified him. After he became King, his sole aim was to right all his Father's wrongs in order not to hear those words but he still did.

He heard a light tap on the door which grabbed his attention. Walter popped his head into the room.

"May I come in Your Majesty?" He asked.

King Robert smiled on seeing a very old friend of his. "Walter, I am glad to see you!".

The old man walked in with a tray, a tea pot and two tea cups were placed neatly on it. He noticed the flash drive a few feet from him, he inched closer and got down to pick it up, placing it on the tray.

"Your Majesty would you like some?" He asked, making his way towards a table in the throne room, setting down the things on the tray quietly on the table.

King Robert got down from his throne and approached him. "No Walter, you know how much I detest…" he kept quiet when he noticed the sparkling white liquid Walter poured in one of the cups.

Walter lifted one of the cups and handed it to him, King Robert received it gladly.

"Sometimes, a bit of champagne is required once in a while!" He said simply.

"Thanks for this!" King Robert said whilst taking a sip.

"I saw His Majesty down the hallway on my way here, he didn't look happy at all!" He said.

"Really?" He asked taking another sip.

The old man sighed "I am guessing you must have turned down a request of his!".

The King let out a breath "He wants to call of the wedding Walter, he claims to be in love with someone else!" He said. "I just think it is an infatuation! He is even willing to abdicate the throne if the wedding is not called off!".

"Sounds serious" Walter said thoughtfully, before turning to him, "Why do you think that it is an infatuation, Your Majesty?",

"Well…"

"Don't tell me that you have forgotten what it means to love someone. What if he is actually in love with her and wants to marry her. What will you do then?" He asked.

"I don't think he is that serious about his feelings for the woman, right?" He sounded unsure of himself.

"Well, I hate to disagree with you but he is!" Walter said.

"What?"

Walter nodded "I have seen the look in his eyes, Your son has fallen deeply for her. He has had plenty of sleepless nights just trying to figure out a way from his predicament, sometimes I feel pity for him, going through so much length for someone who may not reciprocate his feelings due to reasons best known to her!" He sighed, gazing at the flash drive "He must have found a solution it seems!".

King Robert followed his gaze, the look in his face softened as he stared at the flash drive. He picked it up and looked it over.

"I hope you make a wise decision like you always do, Your Majesty!" Walter said in a state of a bow "Just hear him out old friend!".

Hearing Walter call him 'old friend' made his face lit up.

"Thanks for always being there for me Walter and for this" He said with a genuine smile, raising the tea cup with champagne in it "Are you sure that you don't need a promotion?".

Walter chuckled "I love my job, Your Majesty. Even though it sometimes becomes a bit unbearable I still find comfort in it!" He said.

"I will take my leave now!" He gave a final bow and left the throne room.

King Robert watched him leave and stared at the flash drive determined to go through whatever was in it.

* * * *

"So, that is what have been happening in the past week?" Jasmine asked, closing the book she held.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Emily replied.

"How dare he__" she seethed, balling her hand to a fist "How dare he plan to call of the wedding for her?" Her face reddened with anger.

Jasmine turned to Emily, her face transposed to a smile "Thank you Emily for doing a good job, I will handle everything. The wedding will hold no matter what he tries to do." She said with a smirk.

Emily gave a light bow before exiting the room. She was exhausted, following the Royal family for the past one week was not an easy feat, especially with the fear of being discovered. Keeping track of the Queen's movement especially when she went to meet Caroline wasn't the easiest, since she is known to be very clever but fortunately for her she wasn't seen. Emily pondered on what Jasmine would do now that her suspicions since the engagement ball became a reality.

She just hoped that it wouldn't be something terrible that would lead her into a big trouble with the Royal family, it would cause a huge problem if she mishandled the situation.