Chapter 44

The month trip back to the Valentina Kingdom would have felt extremely long if it has not been for the company of King Evander.
Iris got quite frustrated about the fact that King Evander was abstaining from sex, but at the same time, their relationship grew into a trusting friendship.
They were a few days away from the Valentina Kingdom when a massager caught up with them.
King Evander brought his horse to a halt to read the letter.
He broke the Spencer seal and opened the letter.

Dearest Cousin

My father met the same fate as our Queen Cerena and my mother has gone crazy because of it.
I hope you can forgive me and come pay your respects.

Your cousin
King Remington Spencer II

“Declared himself king already,” King Evander snorted, and let the wind pick up the letter and blow it away.

The day King Evander left prince Remington sobbing over Queen Cerena’s body....

Prince Remington waited for his cousin to leave when he drew his own sword, ready to end his own life.
“Son!” Queen Reina shouted, coming out of her hiding place.
“I can’t exist without her,” Prince Remington cried.
“Please, my darling son if you must take your own life then first give your young body to your father,” Queen Reina suggested, selfishly instead of convincing her son to live.
“What?” Prince Remington questioned, confused.
“Come with me,” Queen Reina urged him.
“I want to die,” Prince Remington objected.
“I will let you die if you just give me a moment to show you something,” Queen Reina pleaded, thinking, ‘there is no way saving him so his father might as well have his young body and I will trick princess Aisley, and take her body.’
Prince Remington put his sword back into its holder and followed his mother.

Queen Reina retrieved the two mirrors and handed one to Prince Remington.
“When you hear the dinner dong ring three times, then make the following wish: I wish to be a dying man,” Queen Reina instructed.
“Just like that?” Prince Remington inspected the mirror.
“Stay here and wait for the dinner dong. Don’t make the wish before then and don’t fail to make the wish,” Queen Reina said and hoped that he won’t mess it up.
Prince Remington looked at his puffy eyes in the mirror.

Queen Reina rushed to go find her husband and found him hiding out in the tower, where he liked to spend most of his time.
“Come,” Queen Reina said and grabbed him by his hand.
“Where are we going? We need to hide. Look, King Evander has not left yet. He is here to kill us all!” King Remington protested.
“He is on his way to leave. Hurry, come now,” Queen Reina urged him.
“Where to?” King Remington questioned, and allowed her to drag him along.
“You will see,” Queen Reina said and did her best not to think about the fact that she was about to lose her only son.

They reached the dinner dong and, unexpectedly, Queen Reina took her short dagger and poked King Remington in his chest.
“What are you doing?” King Remington gasped grabbing his chest.
“Say, I wish to be a healthy young prince,” Queen Reina said and shoved the mirror into one of his hands.
“What have you don’t to me?” King Remington questioned again in shock.
Queen Reina bang the dinner dong three times, “make the wish, now if you wish to live.”
King Remington fell to his knees.
“Make the wish, dammit!” Queen Reina shouted.
“I wish to be a healthy young prince,” King Remington made the wish, clutching his bleeding chest with one hand.
“Mother?” Prince Remington cried, dropping the mirror looking up at Queen Reina.
“There, there now, my darling boy,” Queen Reina said and dropped to her knees, embracing her husband’s body, but knew it was her son inside. She finally allowed herself to cry.
“Thank you,” Prince Remington coughed as blood spilled out of his mouth.
“Berry me with Queen Cerena under the big oak tree with the double hearts engraved into it,” Prince Remington managed to say and then relaxed as he allowed death to sweep over him.

King Remington looked into the mirror and recognized his son’s face, “NO!”
He dropped the mirror and rushed to the dinner dong.
“What have you done?!” King Remington grabbed his former body. “Son, please, don’t die.”
“He is gone,” Queen Reina said, letting go of the body.
King Remington leaped to her and strangled her, “you killed my boy!”
“My heir!” King Remington cried.
“You will make a new one,” Queen Reina choked out and pointed to his reflection in the dinner dong.
King Remington let go of her, falling on his former body.
“He wanted it. He was going to end his life either way. There was no stopping him,” Queen Reina sobbed, holding her throat.
“I would have stopped him!” King Remington shouted through sobs.
“He has lost the love of his life,” Queen Reina said and got to her feet.
“Where are you going?” King Remington questioned.
“To take his wife’s body,” Queen Reina said and picked up the mirror.
“You are just going to kill Princess Aisley?” King Remington asked in shock.
"Of course not. I am going to make her a queen,” Queen Reina said and walked off, wiping away her tears.

Queen Reina found Princess Aisley sobbing away in her room after collecting the other mirror.
“What on earth is the matter? King Evander left,” Queen Reina started walking into the room.
“He loves a dead woman more than me,” Princess Aisley cried, her face red and her eyes puffy.
“Hush dear,” Queen Reina comforts her.
“What is this?” Princess Aisley questioned, looking at the two mirrors.
“Do you want to be his queen?” Queen Reina asked.
“His, queen?” Princess Aisley sobbed.
“Yes,” Queen Reina confirmed.
“Is the king dying?” Princess Aisley questioned.
“He is already dead,” Queen Reina said.
“I am so sorry.” Princess Aisley embraced her.
“Count to 50 and make your wish,” Queen Reina said and held the mirror out to her.
Princess Aisley looked confused and took the mirror.
“I wish to be a queen. That is all you need to say after counting to 50, ok?” Queen Reina coached.
Princess Aisley studied the mirror.
“Start counting,” Queen Reina said and got off the bed.
“One, Two, Three,…” Princess Aisley started to count while Queen Reina left and counted silently with her.
Outside the bedroom, Queen Reina waited until she heard Princess Aisley say fifty and made her wish, looking into the mirror, “I wish to be a young princess.”
“Ahhh!” Princess Aisley screamed at her reflection and tossed the mirror aside, running to her vanity mirror.
“Ahh! Help!” Princess Aisley cried out, grabbing her new face.

Queen Reina heard Princess Aisley and thought, ‘how strange to hear my own voice.’
Queen Reina left and found her husband still at the dinner dong.
“Let the guards take his body to the chapel and have the priest prepare it along with Queen Cerena.

“What have you done to me?!” Princess Aisley shouted, running down the hallway.
“The queen has gone mad with the death of her husband and friend, Queen Cerena. Restrain her and get the healer to give her something to sleep,” Queen Reina instructed.
The guards looked at her and then at her screaming body.
“Do as she says,” King Remington stood up from the ground, realizing the guards will accept his authority now that his former body is dead.
“All hail the king,” Queen Reina said.
The guards sprang into action and grabbed who they believe to be Queen Reina and dragged her to her room, ignoring her kicking and screaming.

Soon enough, a healer came and put her to sleep. Queen Reina followed King Remington to his room, excited to try out her new young body.
“You just lost your son. Have you no shame?” King Remington questioned in disbelieve and poured himself a drink.
After finishing the vase of wine, he demanded another and another until he passed out.

Queen Reina and King Remington buried their son and Queen Cerena under the big oak tree and had it sectioned off as sacred ground. Queen Reina wrote the letter to King Evander on behalf of King Remington, realizing that she will have to take matters in her own hands until her husband comes to terms with the death of his son. Queen Reina was not done with King Evander by a long shot and planned her revenge against him.

King Evander arrived at Valentina Kingdom and half expected Princess Marchelle to come crawling, pleading for forgiveness but she was nowhere in sight.
“Never mind her then,” he said and walked straight to the nursery to go see his son.
Iris ran after him as fast as he could keep up, eager to hold her child again.
King Evander barged into the nursery, “where is my son?” All excited and happy, he looked around but found the nursery empty.
‘Oh no, Marchelle abducted him!’ Iris jumped to conclusion and felt the tears sting her eyes, “where is he?”
“Your majesty, he is in the garden,” a servant said, walking into the nursery that she was busy cleaning.
Iris sigh in relief and followed King Evander to the garden.

“There is my heir,” King Evander exclaimed and walked faster to get to his son that was playing on the small open wedding chapel where he married Queen Cerena.
King Evander scooped him up in his arms and sat down on the steps.
Iris sat next to them, and brushed her fingers over the engraving, ‘Indestructible, like our love.’
Iris looked at King Evander and then at her son, reaching out and brushing the baby prince’s cheek, thinking, ‘we will be a family, our love is indestructible.’
King Evander noticed the smile on Lady Iris’s face and realized that he has fallen deeply in love with her and thought, ‘will the people accept a former servant as their new queen?’

THE END

Thank you for reading. I am still deciding on the sequel and if there is enough demand for it, I will write it. The title will be, ‘BECOMING QUEEN.’ It will focus on Iris becoming a queen and Princess Aisley getting her body back with Iris’s help. You will also find out what happened to Princess Marchelle. Is she dead, captured by slavers, captured by the Remingtons, or coming back to fight Iris for King Evander’s affection? Will King Evander fall for Queen Reina's trap to lure him in? Let me know if you would like a sequel.