Chapter 4

--- HEART BROKEN QUEEN ---

Queen Maria slept so long into the night. She didn't even wake up to go and have her dinner with her husband.

She later woke up and frowned as she stares at the time of the huge wall clock that hung brightly on the wall in her chamber showing 2:20am, as the palace had electricity supply and she didn't switched off her room bulb.

She stretched and sat up on her bed, but as she turned and stared on her bed, she was so shock that she taught she was probably dreaming, and hadn't woken up.

She blink her eyes, rubbing them to see clearly as she saw only one baby, little Princess Miranda on her bed.

"No!" She screamed and she stood up

"No! no no...!" She screamed out alerting the whole palace and began to sob.

"This can't be true, Guards!" She called on the guards, as the time was already 2:25am that she had alreadywoken up.

King Richard ran out from his chambers upstairs, rushing down to the second floor and to her room as he heard her voice.

He steps into her room before the guards, and asked her, "What's going on My love? What's the matter?."

He move closer to her, seeing her scattering the whole clothes on the bed and searching under the bed in hope to see something there and he immediately asked her "What the matter My love!?" but she was ransacking the whole room and later stood up to meet his gaze and asked, "Where's my baby?!." She asked out crying, and the guards and maids that had rushed into the room, and stood by the door froze hearing her question.

They all stared to the bed and discovered only one baby was on top of the bed and the other baby that had blonde coloured hair was missing.

"Where's my baby?!" Queen Maria screamed out again as she went hysterical, while King Richard continued to stare at her bed in surprised and in shock. He managed to gather himself after processing her question and he turns to calm her down, after seeing her charged towards the guards and maids that stood at the door hitting them with her hand that she held into a fist.

"Where's my baby?!, Where's my baby?!" She cried.

King Richard swallowed and went to hold her still, "Calm down my love, we will find her, remember they can crawl a little now, maybe she's still in the palace" He tried to calm his wife as he knew how ruthless she was, when hurt.

"Are you sure about that honey?" She ask him in hope as she wiped off her sobs with her hands and sniffs as she stares at him and he nods not sure of himself.

Turning to face the guards and maids that stood by the double door room entrance, she shouted, "What are you all still doing there?. Go find my baby and no one dares to leave this palace!" She thundered and they immediately scrambled out and left, hitting eachother as they ran out in search for the little princess, searching everywhere, including under the chair, rugs, pot, fridge and even inside the water-closet toilet. Yet they couldn't find the little princess there.

"Did you find her? Did you see her?." The maids and guards asked themselves as the ran up and down ransacking the whole Ubi palace searching for the little blonde princess.

King Richard held his wife to his chest and tries to calm her down, "My love, please you need to get a hold of your emotions, I promise you we will find her." He said as he tried to assure his wife.

He was also stunned to see that his beautiful baby was missing but he needed to as well calm so he could properly think on how to handle the matter with extra caution and not to harming the innocence in the process.

"Your Majesty! we couldn't find her in the palace," One of the guards returned to the room and deliver the message to them.

Queen Maria quickly steps away from her husband's embrace and rebuked him, "You're lying. Go back and find my daughter, else I will deal with you all, go!," She thundered and bursted out criying nto her husband's shoulder again.

"Is okay my love, we will find her," King Richard and he sighed. He helped his wife sit on her bed and he stares at his second daughter who was sleeping peacefully on the bed. He spoked to his wife again, "Am coming My love, let me go and see how the search is going on downstairs and where the guards and maids have probably searched, I will be back." He left.

Queen Maria cried her eyes out, she couldn't believe her eyes, she hoped by daybreak she would wake up from such torturing nightmare. Where was her daughter?. She looked around her room again and stood up. Where was her replica?. She went to her wardrobe and search. "Where's my baby!?," She bursted out crying as she rushed out downstairs going down to the first floor to search for her daughter by herself.

King Richard got downstairs first and helped in the search. He had first went to Prince Mike's room on the second floor that was guarded by two stationed guards and yet little Princess Mary wasn't there. How was these possible, he looked around his son room and only Prince Mike was in there sleeping on his bed, he shook his head and went back downstairs to interrogate the guards and maids on the first floor as it had been three hours since they were all searching the palace and yet they haven't seen the little princess yet. No clues, no traces, it simply meaned she was nolonger in the palace, no he doesn't want to believe that.

King Richard went downstairs and as he arrived, he saw his wife slapped a maid hard across her face, "You fools!," She cursed as she left the maid and went to hijack the guard, guarding her room door, "Tell me?, Didn't you see my child crawling out or you know where she is?," She questioned the guard, whom she held by his collars and shook him to respond.

"Your majesty, I swear I was up all night and I didn't see any baby crawl out. I did not see any baby I swear," The guard spoked his innocence.

"Shut up!," Queen Maria pushed the guard away and walked backward. She fell on the sofa behind her and she curled her legs upward towards her chest and she began to sob, shaking her head in regret as tears poured out from her eyes like tap.

King Richard breathed out and came forward to cover his wife view away from the guards and maids as he stood in front of her, facing the guards and maids. It was already after 4am and yet they still hadn't seen the little princess, nor spot any little trace of her.

"Joseph!" King Richard called, and Joseph stepped forward, stepping out from the rest of the guards and maids in the living room.

"Give me the names and records of all that has been going on these palace. Whom left this palace lastly, and whatever suspicious thing you noticed," King Richard stated as he stared at the rest. Joseph nodded and stepped back.

King Richard turned to face his wife two personal guards that were stationed to guard his wife's room as he knew his wife wasn't in her right frame to give him any clue so he spoked to the two guards, "I have already contacted the police and soon they will be here, tell me the truth Lawrence and Victor, whom did you allow into my wife chamber and where is my daughter?!" he questioned them calmly.

"You majesty, we didn't allow anyone in.." Victor's voice trailed as he spoked to the king.

King Richard went to him and dragged him up by his collar too startling everyone as they hadn't seen the king turned violent before. He let go of Victor and landed him a hot slap and the living room fell into utmost silence and they heard the police siren next breaking the silence.

"I will ask you this question for the last time, Who did you let into my wife's chamber and where is my daughter?!" King Richard thundered with blue veins pupping out his neckline.

"Your majesty.. to be honest we didn't, but wait oo, I think it was only .."

"Only Who?" King Richard held on Lawrence collars, "Only who?!, Speak to me, where did you both connive and kept my daughter?!" King Richard questioned.

The policemen stepped into the royal mansion and bowed at King Richard,

"Greetings your majesty, we got your calls from the station, how may we be of help?," The first police officer questioned as he stepped forward.

"You are welcome" King Richard replied as he finally let go of Lawrence's collars and turned to shake hands with the first police officer.

"Officers, My little daughter, Princess Mary Wilfred all of a sudden is missing from this palace and these two guards are the prime suspect behind her kidnap," King Richard stated as he pointed towards Lawrence and Victor whom stared at the king in shock.

"Your Majesty we are innocent" They quickly responded and pleaded.

"Shut up!" The police officer thundered and they stiffened.

"Officer I am innocent I swear, I did not see the little princess, it was only Martha that had gone into the Queen's chamber several times" Lawrence said and Queen Maria stood up from where she sat crying, "Martha!, Yes where's Martha?" Queen Maria questioned as she turned and stared around at the rest if the maids and guards that stood downstairs on the first floor inside the living room..

They all turned to stare at the queen, including her husband, "Honey yes I remembered last night I had asked Martha to clean my room, I remembered I slept after that, where's she?," Queen Maria questioned as she looked around again in hope to see Martha as she wiped her tears with her handkerchief.

Seeing that no one named Martha stepped forward, King Richard frowned and stared at his wife in disappointment. "Officers take them away, we will continue with the investigation from there," he told the police officers whom bowed before the king, "Yes your majesty," They replied in unison and went to handcuff the two guards that was stationed to always guard Queen Maria's chamber.