Kingdom Querals

The Betrothal

          One cool and crisp autumn morning, Queen Ella of Ladovia, England was finishing the preparations of the nursery in her hillside palace., She was putting the last stuffed animals on the bookcase, making sure the room was adorned with enough gold and teal jewels, and fixing the ever uneven and misplaced tiara. She was excited for her daughter to be born soon. Princess Scarlet Rose Star would be the first born daughter to the kingdom of Ladovia.There had never been a daughter born to their bloodline before. The whole kingdom was excited to meet the new princess. The king and queen continued to get betrothal offers from all the kingdoms nearby due to the news of the princess being born soon. They had alliances with most of the kingdoms except two, France and Germany. Until they got the letter from King Frank and Queen Emma that a prince was to be born around the same time as the princess. This gave Tom and Ella a chance to form an alliance with France through marriage. They sent their offerings and acceptance to the betrothal to Frank and Emma.
          When King Demetri and Queen Sarah of Pantinia, Germany found out that their son Luke would not be married to the princess they became outraged. They sent a letter to Tom and Ella urging them to reconsider their offer but when they denied their betrothal offer a second time.Tom and Ella were about to leave the palace to go meet with the king and queen of France and to go over the last details of the wedding plans when their children were old enough. That is when they received another letter from the king and queen of Germany.
Dear King Tom and Queen Ella,

We are outraged by your denial of the joining of kingdoms through a marriage between our children. You will regret denying us twice. We will not rest until you have been punished for your actions. W We will have your daughter's hand in marriage. If you do decide to reconsider our offer of marriage and the joining of our two kingdoms then we will be here to listen. Until this happens we will be watching your precious kingdom and family. May your daughter be born healthy and strong and may your kingdom and time of reigning fall.
          The King and Queen of Patinia Germany

"Tom dear, what are we going to do," Ella said, a hint of panic in her voice.

"I don't know dear but if we don't leave now we will be late for our meeting with the King and Queen of France," Tom stated.

"Alright let's get going then."
          As they leave Ella can't stop thinking about the letter they received from Demetri and Sarah. She is afraid of what might happen to her daughter. As she thinks about the letter she realizes that she has been holding her belly protectively.
          Soon they arrived at the grand hotel in the middle of Ladovia and walked into the royal meeting hall there. As they walk in they see King Frank and Queen Emma waiting for them. Frank is a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes. He's wearing the traditional French royal uniform. A lovely blue and purple colored suit and the royal sash. Queen Emma is in a traditional light purple dress that brushes the floor. She is a sight to see with her golden curls reaching the middle of her back and her blue and purple jeweled encrusted crown placed perfectly on her head. You can see that she is about as far along as Ella in her pregnancy.
          Frank and Emma see King Tom and Queen Ella enter the meeting room. They are thrilled to see them. King Tom is wearing his traditional teal suit with his gold royal sash. His crown is sitting perfectly on his head and he walks with great dignity and poise. Meanwhile Queen Ella is wearing a traditional teal dress that is lined with the most beautiful gold trim anyone has ever seen. She has her royal cape on and her tiara is encrusted with the most beautiful teal and light blue gems anyone has ever seen.
          As Queen Ella walks in Emma could see the distress in her face and notices that she holds her stomach in a protective way. Tom and Frank walk up to each other and shake hands. Emma bows to Ella and then sits next to her.
"Emma dear, why don't you take Queen Ella and go have some tea on the terrace while Frank and I discuss the final preparations of our agreement," Tom says to Emma calmly.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Emma and Ella squeal at the same time.
As they leave Tom looks at Frank.
"There is an urgent matter we must discuss Frank"
"What is it?" Frank asked.
"We received a letter from the kingdom of Germany as we were about to leave this morning."
"What about? I thought we had an agreement on the marriage between our children?"
"We do. They are threatening us though because we denied their betrothal offer between their son and my daughter."
"What do you mean they are threatening you and your wife?"
"They said in their letter that they always get what they want and that we should basically always watch our back. We will never know when they will strike and whether they will take our daughter or not. They told us to always keep our daughter close or something may happen to her and that the wedding between our daughter and their son will happen no matter whether we want it to happen or not."
"That's preposterous!" Frank exclaims with anger.
"We must keep our daughter safe. I am worried for her."
          "It will be alright Tom. After all, we are family now. We will help in any way possible."
          "Thank you! We appreciate it."
          "Anytime."
They continue to talk for a couple hours and the women head back into the royal meeting room. They all sign the agreement and head their separate ways. Not long after the meeting Prince Liam Jackson Scar was born to the king and queen of France. Just a few days after Liam is born, Princess Scarlet Rose Star is born to the king and queen of England. Both kingdoms throw a huge celebration in honor of the new prince and princess. Little did they know that in the crowds of the celebrations an enemy was lurking and started the plot against the king and queen of England and baby Scarlet.

The First Meeting

          It has been five years since the birth of Princess Scarlet and Prince Liam. The two children have had play dates as infants, but today was the day that they were gonna finally meet each other and remember their meeting.
It is close to noon in Ladovia. Scarlet had the morning off from lessons to prepare for Prince Liam's arrival with his parents. Scarlet is wearing a beautiful teal and green dress. She dances around in her room while her royal kitten Rose is laying on her bed. Rose is watching Scarlet dance and play. Soon her mother comes in to see Scarlet.
"Scarlet darling, what are you doing?" Ella asks.
"I'm playing pretend and pretending to defeat my enemies with the power of dance!" Scarlet exclaims while smiling.
"Oh sweetie! You keep letting the imagination live on and continue to be my happy little girl. We must get going though. You have dance lessons in the dance hall in a couple minutes, then Prince Liam will be here with his parents to visit."
"Yes mother." Scarlet says she has to stop playing.
They arrive at the dance hall a few minutes later. Scarlet gives her mother a hug and kiss then walks into the hall. The dance instructor scowls at Scarlet and tells her to begin. She puts on the music and watches Scarlet dance around the room.
Meanwhile back in the throne room, Prince Liam arrives with King Frank and Queen Emma. Frank and Emma are wearing the same outfits they wore back when they all got together to discuss the royal engagement before the children were born. Prince Liam is wearing a blue tux with a purple sash. He carries himself with great dignity and respect.
"King Frank! Queen Emma! Welcome back to Ladovia!" Exclaims Tom.
"Emma this must be little Liam." Ella states while noticing Liam standing behind his parents.
"It is a pleasure to meet you." Liam states.
His parents smile at him and are proud that he is being polite and upholding his dignity and status.
"Tom, Ella, where is your daughter Scarlet?" Emma asks politely.
"She is currently in the middle of her dance lessons in the dance hall." Tom states.
"It is a pity she can't be here. I wish she could have come along but we let her miss her morning lessons so she would be prepared for your arrival." Ella explains.
"When will I get to meet her? I have been looking forward to meeting the princess all day." Liam asks.
"If you would like to go see her, she is in the dance hall. You are more than welcome to go there. We will call a maid to escort you." Tom replies.
A few moments later after Tom calls for a maid Liam is being led down a maze of halls. They finally arrive at the dance hall where two hefty looking guards stand outside the doors. Liam thinks this is strange that there are guards stationed outside of the hall but just shrugs it off. Just as he is about to enter the dance hall he hears a loud bang and then screaming.
"Princess Scarlet Rose Star, how many times must I tell you! You must keep each book on your head and hold your dance stance with dignity and pride. Just because you are the princess doesn't mean I will let you slack off or even mess around!" screams the dance instructor.
"Madam, I am trying as hard as I can. The books are so heavy and my feet are getting tired." cries Scarlet.
"I don't care if your feet are getting tired or if the books are heavy. Any other princess I have taught never complained as much as you do. If you complain one more time I will double your lessons for next week and you will have a reason to cry! Do I make myself clear!"
"Yes Madam!"
Just then Liam sees a petite little girl stand up off the ground and brush off her dress. He is mesmerized by her beauty. He then sees he grab the books, place them back on her head and start to dance again. Just then the instructor sees the door open a hair and glares at him. He gets nervous and backs away from the door and closes it. Liam decides that he will make his way back to the throne room but has forgotten his way. He starts to retrace his steps and comes upon a large door with a kitten face on it. Curiosity then gets the better of him and before he can even think twice he is already stepping into the grand room.
The room is adorned with green and teal colored wallpaper. There is an enormous canopy bed sitting in the middle of the room and pillows are piled high on it. It has a green and black comforter and a cute little bed next to it with a black kitten sleeping peacefully on top of it. There is a desk in the window bay and shelves adorned with books of every kind. He then sees the princesses' name painted so elegantly up on the wall near her bay window seat. There is a locked cabinet filled with all sorts of jewels and tiaras. He is so amazed by the beauty of the princesses' room that only when the kitten rubs up against him does he realize that he has overstayed his welcome too long.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my room?" Scarlet asks Liam as she enters her bedroom.
"My name is Prince Liam Jackson Scar of France." Liam replies and bows.
"That still doesn't answer the question of why you are in my bedroom. Don't make me call my parents and the guards."
"Please don't do that princess. I got lost on my way back to the throne room and saw the painting of the cat on your bedroom door and got curious. I promise I don't mean any harm to you at all."
Scarlet then starts to relax.
"Alright I guess I can forgive you for intruding. Do you like it though? My room of course."
"Yes princess, your room is so beautiful. It is perfect for a princess like yourself."
Just then both of the children hear the door open and Scarlet's mother squeals.
"Scarlet Rose Star, how dare I find you in your room with the prince alone with no escort! We have been over this that you are to never be left alone with anyone without permission or knowing who you are with!" Ella screams.
"Mother, I came back to the room to get ready for dinner tonight and found Liam in here. He said he was trying to find his way back to the throne room and got lost and got curious when he saw the cat painted on my bedroom door. I'm sorry we were alone together, mother. I promise it will never happen again." Scarlet responds.
"Your majesty, it is my fault. I didn't realize whose room this was until I saw your daughters' names painted on the wall and when I was about to leave the Princess came in and found me here. I promise I didn't mean any harm to your daughter, it was just an accident." Liam states defending the princess.
"Well seeing that you both are about to turn five and this was an accident I can accept the apologies but next time please ask for an escort back to wherever you want to go. Don't go wandering off on your own anymore please." Ella states.
"Yes mother."
"Yes, your highness."
The children then follow Ella back to the throne room and both families go to dinner in the great dining hall.
This is just the beginning and already Liam is falling in love with Scarlet and how she carries herself. He makes a secret vow to himself that he will never let harm come to her and he will always protect her. His kitten will never be harmed, he thinks to himself and he means it.