Chapter Five

FIVE YEARS LATER.

Almond graduated from the University in the city and secured a good job as a doctor in one of the finest hospital. He had kissed his father and was told by his aunt whom he lived with in the City with her husband and two children that his father was held hostage by the king in their town, untill he returned back home to become a palace guard. It pained Almond though that his father wasn't there to celebrate his big wing with him.

Aunt Ester was also a nurse in a government teaching hospital in the city they lived in. City A was buzzling with lot of people going up and down the road their various daily activities, Almond stop in a carfare to but his lunch as he had close from his morning duty in the hospital he was working with..

After eating he retired back home to his aunty house as he was still living with his aunty and her husband as they both had two kids, but their children wasn't around as they were all grown up with families too. Aunt Ester was an elder woman, but she prefer her nephew and niece calling her aunt as she felt it sounded more better than calling her "ma", which made her look like a Granny.

"Almond you need to return back home to your father, the last time i went to his house it was very unkept and I was the one whom had locked it," Aunt Ester spoked, "I don't want your father to live his last days on Earth without seeing the man you have grown to become, I don't even know how the palace and Royal family in that town is treating him"

Almond was quiet, Everytime he returns home from his friends place and decided to come stay with his aunt whom was like a mother to him, as she was his father younger sister, she always remind him to go back home to his father, but he do not like it. In as much as he misses his father, he couldn't go back home to go and waste his youthful years serving the Royal family and besides he heard that their village was already begining to develop unlike how the town was when he left it. He really want to go back home, if not for anything but for his father.

Almond thought about Clara, she must have grown big as she was the only female friend he had in the village and he saw her like a younger sister to him, he frowned remembering the past memory he had with her, she was the one whom saved him, if not he could have been in the village by now and not amount to anything significant apart from being a palace guard that his village and town people people wanted him to become.

"Aunt can I eat my food in peace" Almond said.

"Almond!" Elderly Aunt Ester frowned at him, "If anything happens to my brother in that palace I will never forgive you" Aunt Ester said.

"That's it, am done eating, since you don't like me coming here to your house, you could have at least told me, other than reminding me all the time about my father, do you think I do not miss him?" Almond screamed out and Aunt Ester stared at him in horror, never had she seen him burst out like that, he used to be a calm boy and doesn't even have time to quarrel with his fellow street boys that usually bully him in the past, She frowned knowing he was indeed hurt and missing his father, she had thought he never cared about her older brother, but she was wrong.

Observing his outburst Almond quickly apologies, "Am sorry Aunt!" He bowed his head as he apologized to the elderly woman he has always seen as parent.

"Is okay son I can understand" Elderly Mrs Ester said as she went back eating her food but Almond couldn't eat his own food again, he stood up and went inside,he was totally unhappy, no matter what he seem to archive in life it was nothing to him, without his father.

His graduation day, he watch how many other student brought their parent in their graduation but his none other than his aunt whom came late, what was the joy of him becoming a medical doctor, when his father was still in the village suffering. Almond frowned and decided to go back home but first he has to prepare himself.

***

Meanwhile while Almond was worrying about his father, his father Mr Jude has already adjusted to the palace rules, working as one of the butler in King Cartus chamber, he wasn't allowed to attend the council meeting again, so he focused on his work as one of a servant in the palace. Even though he was an elderly man, he seemed to enjoy the palace more than when.he was at home, as in the palace he doesn't seem to be lonely anymore.

Mr Wilfred and Mr James had thought he wouldn't even last up to a week in going errands for the Royal household, but Mr Jude put all of them to shame. Although his first two weeks in the palace receiving training and coaching lessons on how to serve the Royal family wasn't easy for a man in his sixties, but he was determined to prove them wrong, and was highly grateful to King Cartus, for not sending him to the dungeon.

"Mr Jude, Princess Fina request your audience" One of the palace guard came to call him, from where he normally stay.

"Okay tell Princess Fina I will be with her shortly," Mr Jude replied the palace guard.

Princess Fina had grown up into a beautiful young lady, and she was highly against her father for having the elderly man come work in the palace as one of their servants, since his son has ran away, Princess Fina thought it best not to punish the father for his son's son. So she developed a soft spot for the elderly man, and Norman request for his audience whenever she was bored reading, as her mother doesn't seem to have her time either.

Her father had been pressurized to marry another Queen so she can birth him a son, at first he didn't seem to agree to it, and later he finally agreed. The new Queen, Queen Anna wasn't the kindest. At first she had pretended to be good and calm, but after she became Pregnant for the king, she had became a tigress, punishing anyone at any slightest provocation, even on things she could have just overlooked, she want to show and exact her powers at all times

Queen Anna was five years older than Princess Fina though, but she still hated Fina and her mother and kept on scheming on how to change king Cartus heart against Fina and her mother, Queen Finds, if possibly, she really wanted them out of the palace, so she can be seen as the only Queen of Elly Kingdom.