Jorne blinked and narrowed his eyes.

If they had the vial that Malory is talking about and get it as evidence…A witness to state what it could be used for or…That’s right! Use this time to find more on her and possibly get a bigger punishment! With the person that Lady Venus is, she would be bound to have more that we could find!

“If you cut off her hands, give her the vial to stop her from getting pregnant, then I will feel more at ease for what she has done.” Kael stated. It seemed obvious that he wanted her death instead, so this was probably the only thing he would agree too…

Jorne looked up and raised his eyebrows…Cut off her hands?

That doesn’t really stop her from doing tricks still but…

What to do?

What she was caught doing will not be a death penalty. What they could contain in evidence, to stop someone from getting pregnant, could be helpful to get a bigger punishment, so they could start from there and keep her detained while they investigate.

“Malory, do you know where she kept the vial?”

Malory nodded, “Her…Quarters.”

Looking at Kael, Jorne said, “If we find enough evidence on Lady Venus, we could get her into the cold palace, or beheaded.”

Kael looked at Malory and sighed, “Whatever Malory wants.”

Nodding at Kael, Jorne then looked at Malory, even bending a bit to be closer to her height. “Malory, there could be a chance for a deeper punishment for her crimes. If you can show me where the vial is, it will help us achieve justice for you too.”

Malory blinked and nodded. She was still glad that she had not taken the first option of taking that vial, even though she did feel humiliated. What was a little bit of bullying though…She was used to it…Losing the ability to become pregnant though would have made Kael sad. So, the choice had been easy…

***

Without my knowing, evidence was being found to led Lady Venus into a deeper punishment.

I didn’t know that perhaps I was saved from never becoming a mother. I didn’t know that Lady Venus was never to come back to her quarters. I didn’t know that Jorne was going to do his utmost to gain justice for me and what she had done to me, even though he didn’t want to involve me directly. Actually, the deeper that Kael, Malory and Jorne looked, the more evidence they found against Lady Venus. They even found a source that led to the passing of Madeline, able to find justice for her as well, even though her life was already extinguished…And so, it really was an easy type of decision upon Lady Venus’s fate…And that was that she could not stay alive…

With all the times that I babysat little Jordan, with Neil by my side, I didn’t know that Malory and Kael had been busy. I saw them, well Malory more then Kael, but I thought they were just forcing me to take the child to teach me!

I liked it yes, the little boy was a little joy to beheld but…Why did they keep such a secret from me!?

I didn’t know for a while actually, right up until the public found out, that was when I finally learnt that Lady Venus was being beheaded and that the General, Malory and Jorne had been busy all this time to achieve that possibility.

To be honest, I felt better that Lady Venus would not cause any trouble to me anymore. I did dislike her and did not know how I could obtain some kind of revenge on her for what she had done to me.

Jorne told me upon what Lady Venus had obtained and even wanted to do to me and I was appalled…

…Lady Venus was just one of those women that wanted everything…She felt like she was above everyone else and that she deserved everything she got and everything she wanted.

How was it that Malory and Lady Venus were related? They were so different!

A few weeks had gone by since we had returned now, and I’d say that Lady Venus’s beheading was the event that really was the biggest out of them all!

Other things happened though, and some were good, while others…Weren’t so good…

The weasel had to hand over the books, granted, that was a hilarious moment and I wish it had lasted longer!

I had so much fun sticking my nose up to that weasel after so long of bowing down to her!

I had a lot more power then before and honestly, I was in a fighting mood still, so I took the books roughly, stating a simple ‘Thank you’, not giving her much else!

Ahh! Yeah, the daggers from her stares would have killed me if I didn’t have some type of power shield over me. Well, she just had to get used to it and that was that!

It was after the weasel handed over the books to me that everything else slowly fell into place too. My guards finally saw how doted upon I was by everyone and finally put my safety first. I did have my fun with them though, which Jorne doesn’t think helped, but I believe protecting a fair maiden, to a man, was much easier to tolerate in my eyes…And that was what I emphasized on my one sided conversation with them!

The new maid that served me did start of by being the weasel’s person but…I seem to have switched her and so when I found out, I could only pull a face onto Jorne!

See…People like me! Apparently, I look very beautiful, but I also have some ‘charming’ personality! So, my prince, don’t you see that it’s me that they serve, not their jobs! They should dote on me just like you do! Haha!

It was times like these, where I was full over myself, that I made mistakes and I would hear a snicker…Or a chuckle…

I would see a smile that would be erased like it was never there…A turn of the head…

Those little…

Just as I would get slightly angry, the new maid would come to me and shake her head right in front of my face!

“Princess, it is no wonder that it was quite a sad time when people had heard of your death all that time ago…” With my maid saying this, it was only then I realized that I was more liked that I had originally thought. Yes, the maid and guards didn’t trust me at first but when they all looked back to that strange Crowned Princess at the beginning of the marriage to the Crowned Prince, they couldn’t help but laugh. Their hearts seemed to store away what they held for me back then and it was just opened back up again now.

Of course, no one seems to understand how I disappeared, or when, as it was never explained but…It was quite obvious that I had come to the palace for some time, people thinking I had disappeared upon the ‘death’.

If I had known that I had some sort of good reputation, maybe I wouldn’t have worked so hard but after I came to know that I really did have a few loyal people just after a couple of weeks of returning, I totally relaxed!

Elijah and I were getting along fine but Jorne was getting upset and told me that I can only see Elijah with him from now on…It was good because the two brothers saw more of each other but bad because I saw Elijah a little less. He had helped pass the time I suppose…We even got the little prince to hold little Jordan!

Prince Elijah had his fourteenth birthday, and I had my twentieth birthday. We did a gathering for the new extended part of Setchra, that used to be the Icklish country.

One bad thing that happened was that Theo died. Over the space of two days, he stopped flying around and ended up cuddling up to us often, even cuddling Jorne.

I don’t know if Jorne knew or not, because he didn’t get mad at the bird, but I had absolutely no idea!

I knew he probably wasn’t feeling well but I did not think that it would become such a huge…

Yes, I was sad. I was so sad that I did spend some time near where he was buried.

…He was there for me through all of it!

Through the time that I was the ‘abandoned’ Princess, through how the Princess had ‘died’ and he had noticed me before anyone else did!

He helped me know that my father had even left the capital, he helped me laugh…He will be a bird much missed, even my father was a bit upset at his passing…

Malory was another matter entirely. She had done something that surprised the heck out of me, and I didn’t cry for a while through my shock. She had stolen a feather from Theo, upon their first meeting, and kept it hidden all this time, to have then put upon his grave…

I had no idea…

Malory was going to miss him! I was going to miss him so much! So very much!

I almost felt like I had the right to be mad at him for passing away like this! He was leaving behind so many people that respected him, a bird…Even Jorne!

Jorne was quiet the day after Theo’s passing, holding me while I either had tears flow down my face or I just staring into nothing as I remembered Theo.

The next day was a bit better, as Jorne had made me talk about Theo and we laughed.

What really made me touched is that Jorne had a small tablet made for Theo’s grave, making me cry all over again!

Another bad thing was that Icklish did have some kind of rebellion or something but Jorne didn’t even leave for it. He is going to though…To leave. He was going to go back and bring the way Setchra lived to them. He talked to me about the difference and I knew some of them, because I had traveled before, but some other differences did make me frown. What was good about Setchra, and its way of life, was that other ways of living was not against the rules, it was more so that Jorne wanted people to know another way at the very least but he really did want to force the issue! It was his way because it was ‘better’ and that was that!

…I guess it does take time to get other people to see other ways to live when they did not get brought up with it so…I…Wasn’t looking forward to his leaving for a couple of months to do this.

I wanted him to stay…

Of course, though, like when I had thought of this before and still to this day, I try and tell myself that I’ll be fine!

My father did leave, though…

We didn’t really spend much time together beforehand, but it seems that he was needed to…To help with the rebellion and all…

We really had only spoken twice…

The first time my father came, we had not spoken for the first three minutes and then, me being myself, ended up pouting at him when he said that he was leaving.

If he had stated that he was leaving last, we might have had a decent conversation, but he said it first and from then on it was a disaster!

The second time we talked we were more mature. We stood there, looking out into the horizon and he brought up my Princess duties and I brought up his father duties. We both said that we would miss each other and that there was no reason to make his leaving emotional.

I agreed but we still hugged for quite a while. It felt like I had lost him for years, only to get him back for a couple of weeks to lose him again!

When I had said this, he told me that he wouldn’t be gone for so long this time and rubbed my back. This time, I knew where to send letters…This time, I knew where he would be…

But…My father was one of those men that always seemed to have a secret and I felt like he did this time as well…Always a secret.

What is it!?

He smirked at me before he left and gave a little laugh.

As I had watched him leave, trying to figure out why he acted like that, it never occurred to me upon why he acted like that.

Of course, there was another world out there, you know…Like the King’s world…

The King was meeting with Wedge, Jorne and even sometimes Kael and so they had thought and talked about many things and so…I probably would never figure out upon why he smirked and laughed.

There were two reasons my father acted that way…

One was that Jorne was adamant on not leaving the capital until I was pregnant!

Yes…The fun that the King and Wedge was having over this was something I was missing. They joked with Jorne about this since it had come to be, and this was why Wedge left earlier. It was because the Crowned Prince had a more pressing matter in the capital!

The King could only laugh and accept his friends wish to take leave to the south, as he too wished the same. His Majesty, the King, thought that he would already be a grandfather by now, but they really were quite late in that department!

The other reason was because Wedge had a sneaking feeling that I would probably demand to come along with Jorne when he was to leave anyway.

He didn’t know if it would happen or not, he just felt like it might happen.

…Let’s just say that if I do end up in front of him down in the south, he would not be surprised!

To a strange degree though, time was of the essence. And so, Wedge was gone not long after the rebellion had started.

Kael had been asked to go as well but he declined, making the King dislike him.

It was practically a decree!

After all, Kael was accepted so openly, only for him to decline a King’s decree!

What is that!?

But, after a day, the King had no option but to just wait until Malory was ready to leave too…Which is why the King so readily accepted beheading as a punishment for Lady Venus…Well, with other reasons too but this was a big reason.

King’s must have some certain type of luck because the event of Lady Venus being beheaded seemed to be what brings him just that!

If it had happened on the day of the beheading, or even the day after, it might have been looked upon as a unlucky or unfavorable event but…I found out that I was pregnant two days before the beheading.

Jorne had thought it would happen sooner, as I had showed signs all that time ago on the way back to the capital but…No pregnancy pulse was felt until just before the beheading and so…The child had not been conceived until they had returned back to their own quarters in the palace.

Jorne could only sigh to this, thinking that the woman really did own his life! She really hadn’t wanted to get pregnant until she was ready and that’s what had happened!

…How else could he explain it!

And my thoughts? Well, I was happy.

Actually, Jorne’s happiness was enough for everyone but then, on top of everything else, there was the King’s and even Elijah’s!

Malory was happy too!

Ah, I felt like my world turned to honey just because of one event!

Everything seemed to be riding upon this pregnancy!

The Crowned Prince was finally getting an heir! The Crowned Prince this, the Crowned Prince that!

Yeah…My world was quite filled after that!

Well, there was one day that the honey sort of disappeared for a while, and that was when Lady Venus exited, but otherwise it quickly returned.

I didn’t watch the beheading, I was not only already told not to, because it may bring bad luck to the child, but I didn’t want to watch it anyway.

Someone’s head being chopped off wasn’t something that I thought as entertaining.

Nonetheless, it really was a chapter in my life that was now finished.

The times when I was an abandoned Princess, a ‘dead Princess’, trapped as a maid and trying to get out of the palace to find my father, they were long gone…

I was now going to be a mother, in the future I was going to be the Queen and for the life of me I was going to do a good job!

But…I was going to do a good job and be myself while at it!

Jorne stated that I was fine just the way I was. He said that I was also still learning and that he didn’t want to pressure me and so…I won’t run away! I like it here…This is my home now…

And I will slowly grab a hold of my place, my status and do the best that I can!