III. The Impact of Her

I knocked as I reached the master bedroom.

“A private meeting is in session,” Bethilda answered.

‘Why am I not surprised that Bethilda is here?’ I thought to myself.

I ignored her response and entered. Inside was Mother and Bethilda, who stood together by the window. I kept my hands behind me as I walked towards them. I kept the appearance of the calm, sweet breeze. But inside of me, a bottled-up fury boiled slowly, only waiting to explode.

“Well, hello, dear one,” Mother smiled as I stood beside her.

I smiled and replied, “Greetings to the most beautiful woman in the world.” I then kissed Mother on her cheek.

“As I recall, I mentioned that a meeting is happening here,” Bethilda interrupted our mother-and-son moment with her sarcasm.

“Dearest sister,” Mother turned to Bethilda with a gentle smile on her face, “Robert was present in almost every meeting that I and James attended. Whether it’s a public meeting or private, we allow our children to talk to us if they need to.”

“You shouldn’t allow that, Amelia. You are not teaching them anything. You and James are merely spoiling them. You should deny them entry when you are in the middle of an important gathering,” Bethilda protested.

“And as I recall,” I entered the conversation with sarcasm, “Only ruling monarchs can make those kinds of decisions.” I smirked as I kept my gaze away from Bethilda. I just had the worst experience of almost losing Lady.

The last thing that I would want to see was the scowl on Bethilda’s face.

Bethilda chuckled. “As you can see, Amelia, your son has no manners at all,” she turned to my direction with her fan in her hand.

I scoffed as I matched her fury with mine. “I would’ve been kinder to you. However, from the very moment you stepped foot into our home, everything about you told me not to,” I answered.

“That is quite enough for the both of you,” Mother quickly blocked the growing hostility. She added, “We are a family. We are supposed to be working together, not against one another.”

“With all due respect, Mother, I don’t think the duchess wants to be a part of our family,” I said as I turned away from Bethilda. “If she truly wanted a harmonious relationship with us, she wouldn’t act as if she was superior to all.”

“Amelia!” Bethilda stomped her foot.

“Robert,” Mother gently held onto my shoulders as she looked earnestly into my eyes, “We are the only family that your aunt has. Your constant bickering with her has to come to an end.”

I sighed as I removed her hands. I held them tightly and replied, “Mother, that advice should be given to her, not to me. She was the one who gave me a reason not to like her.”

The door opened and as our heads turned, it was James.

“Finally!” Bethilda exclaimed as she raised her hands in the air, “The balancing scale has finally arrived,” she remarked as James walked up to us.

Not wanting to wait any longer, Mother ran to James and landed in his wide open arms. They shared a kiss and a tight embrace of longing. They clearly didn’t want to let go of each other.

“Oh, my love,” Mother sighed onto James’ clothes, relieved.

“My heart,” James smiled as he held his queen tightly. His eyes were closed. One hand supported her head and the other held onto her waist. He kissed her hair twice and he pulled her closer whilst he took in her scent.

Mother gently pulled away, her eyes still fixated on him. “When did you arrive?” she asked.

“I have been home for quite a while now. I had to assist Robert with Lady,” James replied.

“Lady?” Mother asked as she turned to me, confused. She returned to James and asked again, “What happened to her?”

James sighed. “She was poisoned and had a brush with death.”

Mother covered her mouth as she gasped, “Who would do such a thing?! What happened?!”

James held Mother’s hand and replied, “We still don’t have any definitive answer. I already told Gonzalo and his men to investigate this matter. And I can assure you, we will find the culprit.” He then kissed her forehead and proceeded to approach Bethilda and me. “What were you currently talking about?” he asked.

“James, your son has no respect for me,” Bethilda complained as she stood before me.

I scoffed as I rolled my eyes. I guess this was the kind of game that we were to play today. And Bethilda didn’t need any sort of problem with it. She seemed to have the knack to ruin my image before the king.

She added as she fanned herself, “He has disrespected me time and time again. I don’t see that he has any plans on stopping this cruel behaviour towards me.”

James sighed as he shook his head. “What was the root of their quarrel this time?” he asked Mother as he looked at her.

“We were talking about a few matters when Robert knocked. Bethilda told him that we were in the middle of a discussion. Robert, however, proceeded to enter. That is when everything started,” Mother explained.

“Bethilda,” James returned to the duchess, “You should know by now that our children are allowed to see us whenever they need to. However, I do agree that it doesn’t justify why Robert entered despite your protest. May I ask why Robert was denied entry?”

‘Oh, I would love to hear her reason for this one,’ I thought to myself.

“James, what we discussed was very important. I can only allow you to interrupt such a meeting,” Bethilda said. She continued, “We were talking about the change of curtains here in your castle. But then–”

James and I suddenly snickered. James was quick to stop himself. Perhaps, it was out of fear that he would offend Bethilda. But I struggled to keep a straight face. Slowly, my attempts faltered and I finally let out a laugh.

Bethilda looked at me and she was even more furious. “Have I said something to amuse you?” she asked.

James struggled to put an end to his sniggering. “When you said you spoke about important matters, I expected to be related to the kingdom’s economy,” he replied as he tried to get through his words without bursting into laughter. “But to call the manner of changing curtains as some sort of emergency… that is hysterical.”

“Well, James, if you haven’t noticed,” Bethilda’s hands were now on her waist, “Your curtains have done nothing to collect dust for years. Doesn’t anyone in this kingdom know the meaning of sanitation?!” she ranted as she threw her hands in the air.

I fell to the floor and laughed as she rambled on. I couldn’t help it anymore.

Her eyes shifted between James and I. “I presume that I amused the two of you,” she snarled.

“I don’t want to say this. But to call something simple to be a heavy matter may have established your idiocy,” I answered as I tried to suppress my giggles. I continued, “Also, when you said they collected dust, you made me realise that you can be hilarious and stupid at the same time.”

Her mouth hung open as she was clearly insulted. “I don’t think I appreciate the message that you are trying to deliver, young prince,” she spat. “May I ask for an explanation for your baseless theory?”

I took a deep breath in as my laughter came to a halt. However, I was still sniggering, which made it harder to speak still. “First, you don’t need to hold a meeting to change the castle curtains. Only melodramatic people will do that,” I said. “And second, how can they be that filthy when you just changed them when Mother was sick?” I added.

As soon as I finished my answer, James turned around and laughed even more. His laughter was too contagious, I laughed once again. Bethilda’s logic was too hilarious, my stomach was in pain and teams formed within my eyes.

I couldn’t breathe and James’ face had turned red. For once, I found Bethilda incredibly amusing!

“I must say,” I wiped my tears, “You annoyed me a while ago. But your idiocy has made my day,” I snickered.

“Robert, please,” Mother tried to reprimand me even though she, too, was struggling not to laugh.

“But, do not mistake this instance as looking like I am suddenly fond of you. Because I don’t. Your stupidity has just become a source of entertainment for us,” I added.

Bethilda’s nose fumed as she watched us bask in the moment of laughter. She walked over to Mother and crossed her arms. “Sister, I believe we should resume our discussion tomorrow,” she remarked.

“Are you certain?” Mother asked as Bethilda headed for the door. Mother covered her mouth with her hands as she didn’t want to embarrass Bethilda even more.

She turned around with an irritated glare. “Your family has shown no respect for family discussions. They call it stupidity and by the looks of it, they are enjoying it,” she said. “And as I can tell, you are about to join them as well.”

“We shall see you at dinner, then?” Mother asked Bethilda.

“I wish to have my dinner served in my room tonight, if you don’t mind,” Bethilda replied as she turned with her head up high. “Now, if you would excuse me, I have something to take care of.” She walked out of the room, not even taking a second look.

James and I sat across from each other as we were still recovering from what happened.

“What were you two thinking?” Mother asked as she walked over to us. She was obviously frustrated and annoyed. But her eyes still implied that she also had a bit of fun.

“Oh, my darling,” James said as he slowly calmed down, “Don’t act as if you didn’t enjoy it.”

A smile slowly crept up on Mother’s face before she snickered a bit. “I admit that it is a good laugh. But why did you have to embarrass her in such a manner?” Mother replied, guilty from how Bethilda was treated.

“We were only being blunt with her, Mother. We didn’t mean to make fun of her. She brought it upon herself,” I said as I took deep breaths.

“I believe that the both of you had your fair share of fun today,” Mother said as she crossed her arms. She continued, “It is best that you get rid all of your laughter now.”

“Really?” James asked, his eyes wide opened.

Mother nodded as her lips formed a firm line.

James and I looked at each other before we bursted into laughter again. Who wouldn’t be in this state?! Any person, any Immortal - any being, for that matter - would laugh their guts out if they heard what Bethilda said.

Finally, we stopped laughing and began to catch our breaths.

“Whoo!” I exclaimed, elated.

“That has been very entertaining for us,” James remarked as he turned to me. “Don’t you think so?”

“I agree with you on that, Father!”