“As a father, all I wanted to do in life was to shield her from any heartbreak. You don’t know how many times I wanted to talk to you, just to stop you from seeing her. But I saw your sincerity towards her. And because I wanted Laura to be happy, I trusted you. I trusted your words,” he added. “But look at where we are now. You weren’t able to protect her from the dangers of your realm. You have all the power any mortal could want. All the ability to protect the ones you love. And yet, you were unable to save my daughter. The very person you swore to protect with your life.”
He ended his statement with, “How am I supposed to trust you with the matter of rescuing her if you already failed your prior promises?”
I cleared my throat and replied, “I understand that you don’t want to trust me anymore, Grandpa Ben. And you have every right to deny me of that trust. I am all too aware of my mistakes and inability to keep my word. But I beseech you to give me one final chance to make things right.
“Even if I have to die in trying to save her, I will. Just to make up for all my mistakes and insufficiencies,” I continued. I met his gaze and added, “Please, give me this chance. After I return her to you, I swear that she will never see me again. That will be my ultimate protection on her.” I went down onto the floor and bowed deeply. My forehead touched the floor as I put my face in between my hands.
Silence, once again, occupied the room. Nothing was said between the two of us, but my guilt weighed heavily on me. I was prepared to endure all the pain of this world because of the steps that I took. As well as for all the people that were unfairly dragged into this problem. I would do anything to right all of my wrongs. Especially, towards those that I had hurt.
All of a sudden, the door opened behind me. “Robert?” James’ voice echoed throughout the silent room. His footsteps approached me. He then stood beside me and said, “Stand up, Robert. You can’t kneel the whole day.”
“If this is the only way to ask for Grandpa Ben’s forgiveness, I will continue to do so,” I replied as I stayed in my position.
“Believe me, Robert: no amount of kneeling will be able to set things right,” he replied. “I also want to talk with Grandpa Ben.”
I raised my head and answered, “But—“
“Pull yourself together and head to Bethilda’s quarters. Overseer the departure of her ladies-in-waiting. At the same time, begin the search for her new servants,” he instructed.
“But, James—“
“Just go,” James replied firmly.
I turned to Grandpa Ben and his gaze was locked onto James. James returned the gesture. Slowly, I stood and silenced my groans as I bared my aching back and knees. I bowed towards them and headed for the door.
“Your Majesty,” Grandpa Ben spoke from behind me.
“No need for formalities, good sir. I only want to have a quick word with you,” James replied.
As I stepped out of the room, I turned around to see what was happening. Grandpa Ben bowed as James approached him. When the doors were finally closed before me, I made my way to Bethilda’s chambers.
---*---*---*---
On my way to Bethilda’s bedroom, the guards were already bringing out chests from the duchess’ quarters. The cries of her ladies echoed from inside her room, all the way out of the hallway. I approached the door but stopped before I could enter. With the knowledge that her ladies loved her, that they were her only loyal servants, it ached to hear their sobs with their mistress.
“We don’t want to go, my lady. We don’t want to go.”
“We can’t just leave you here. Who knows how your new servants will treat you?”
“As much as I want to keep you all by my side, I’m powerless to do so,” Bethilda replied gently. Her voice shook as she continued, “I don’t want you to be sent to the dungeons. That would be such a cruel fate for you. And you don’t deserve to suffer for my crimes.”
“So, you’d rather that we be sent away? We will be shamed once we return to our homes. That situation is worse than to be thrown in prison,” another cried out.
No one in the room spoke for a while before Bethilda replied, “I will try to convince His Majesty or His Highness to help you with your future. I will never allow my situation to affect what your life can be outside my walls.”
“But, my lady—“
“I thank you all deeply for your years of service. You were nothing short of loyal and you actively served me without fail,” Bethilda continued. “And for that, I will do everything that I can to look after you all. I want nothing more in this world than to see each and every one of you, happily married, well off and have children of your own.”
She continued, “As you all know, to have my own family is a frustration of mine. All of you aren’t simply my ladies-in-waiting or servants. You also became my daughters.”
The ladies wept even harder after what Bethilda said.
“To be separated from you breaks my heart too much. Words aren’t enough to describe how shattered I am right now. But as a mother figure, the only thing I can do to express my never-ending gratitude is to secure your future,” she explained. “I may be a prisoner of my own home. But I will fight until the very end to give you all a good life.”
She added, “Even if I get punished for leaving my chambers and speaking out of turn, I don’t care. You are all that matters to me.
I took a deep breath in after I held it in for so long. “That won’t be necessary,” I said as I entered the room.