Ridiculousness

Seymour looked at his daughter, perplexed. Her request was unexpected and almost impossible to fulfill. Curious to know why, he leaned forward, smiling at her warmly.

"Why do you want to meet His Majesty, dear? Is something the matter?" A myriad of possibilities flashed through his mind and his heart skipped a beat when one notion dominated everything else.

'Did Sylvaine fall for His Majesty's charms? Does she like him?' A shiver ran down his spine when he thought of the possibility. It was the most bizarre prospect he could come up with and immediately, his King's foreboding gaze appeared before him, jostling him from his thoughts in fear.

"Father, what's wrong? What happened?" Irene jolted up to see the old Duke mortified all of a sudden. His face was pale and his forehead was heavily beaded with perspiration.