This is part three of Royal Pains. If you would like to read from the beginning, you can find the link here.

“You dare claim that my husband, your king, would ever bear a child with a lowly peasant such as you! That is simply preposterous!” The queen continued her tirade against my mother as if there were no one else around, “It is unlikely that you have ever even laid eyes on his highness before now.”

King Tennesley, looking as confused and unsure as I felt, stepped forward to announce, “Yana, that is quite enough. I believe you have caused the scene you were hoping for, maybe it is time we disperse.”

“Husband, my king, surely you do not believe these undesirables. They are obviously lying in order to infiltrate the palace. Perhaps they are even spies!”

“That is enough! Yana, you have clearly made your point, and we will certainly clear all of this up. However, this afternoon has filled us all with emotion and we must be objective with situations as serious as this. We will disperse and meet again separately in due time,” the king spoke with authority that dared anyone to question him, but no one did. After giving the king, my mother, and me a vicious glare, Queen Yana quickly turned and walked out of the throne room.

“Emmalie, Maddox, I believe we have much to discuss. Please follow mister Gragler to your chambers and I shall call upon you on the morrow. I must tend to my” he sighed forlornly before continuing, “my wife. I bid the two of you a good night”

Following the esteemed king’s orders, we followed the butler to our chambers were my mother explained to me how she had met King Tennesley, then Crown Prince Tennesley, as a maid in the palace. She explained how they believed themselves in love, but as a prince, he was not allowed to marry anyone below the status of a noble and though he attempted to persuade his parents, they were fated to be apart. Not long after a single night of passion, my mother realized she was with child, so she resigned from her position and, because she had no family, set off to find work far away. She explained how worried she was when I joined the King’s army, how she worried that I would meet the king, my father, and how he would react to the revelation.

She worried that I would be mad, and I was but not at my mother. She did what she did because she thought it would be best. I cannot fault her that, and I told her so.

The next afternoon, while my mother and I were waiting for the king to call for us, we continually heard servants whispering about the queen’s temper, her constant fights with the king, and her growing distaste for the servants. We speculated that her meeting with her husband did not go the way she had hoped or expected, but we did not worry ourselves with the drama of the palace servants. My mother was able to meet with a few fellow maids that stayed on at the palace during the eighteen years she was gone, while we awaited our fate.

It was about three hours before dinner when we were approached by a steward, who led us to the king’s study and possibly the most awkward moments of my eighteen years.