The Princess's Handbook

Rule #23: Fight For What's Right

Rule #23: Fight For What's Right

I was still in the library steeling my new found resolve when Lila walked in.

"Your royal highness, finally, I've found you." She said dramatically. I raised an eyebrow as I stood up. "Is something the matter, Lila?" She answered with a mysterious smile. "There's a guest for you in the drawing room."

For a second, I felt the blood rush to my head and I rushed out of the room. I distinctly heard Lila calling for me but I never took notice. Could it be Dante? A guest for me, it had to be him right? He's here for me.

I ran all the way to the drawing room with Lila behind me. I threw the doors opened and my excitement dwindled. The excited smile that graced my face fell. Lila apologised profusely. "I'm sorry, Princess. I should've been more clear. I..." She trailed off as the guy in the room waved her off.

"All is fine, Lila. Thank you for bringing her." He said with a gentle smile. Lila glanced at me one last time before hesitantly leaving the room.

I mustered a small smile at the handsome young man with blonde hair and features that resemble mine in certain angles.

"Hey, big brother."

He smiled at me. "Hello, little sister. I was expecting a warmer welcome. At least a hug? Your dear brother is back for a month after a whole year of being away." He said with his arms wide opened. I walked over and hugged him.

"Welcome back." I said when we pulled away. He studied my expression before saying. "Join me for a walk in the palace garden?" I replied. "Sure."

We were both silent as we strolled through the vast garden filled with flowers and trees of all kinds. After a while, Julian eventually broke the ice.

"I've heard that you and mother got into a fight."

I said nothing. He continued after he was sure I would not say anything else. "I also heard you've made a new friend. Father says he's a nice boy." My heart throbbed.

"He is." I muttered almost to myself. Julian made no sign that indicated he heard me or not. "Now, I've heard many things but no one told me what happened between you and mother. Care to give me some insight, Julianna?"

I pursed my lips. He sighed. "I may have only just arrived but Louis mentioned something happened between you and mother. You're not speaking to each other and you're not even you anymore. I'm guessing there's more to the story than just one of your usual arguments."

We were nearing a bench then and I sat down when we reached it. Julian took a seat beside me and said nothing more. At last, I spoke. "I've been grounded since a month ago." I noticed he raised an eyebrow but said nothing and waited for me to continue. I clenched my fists.

"It's been an entire month since I last went out of the palace gates. For one whole month I've been trapped here, no phone, no friends, nothing. I'm being suffocated."

"All of this because I made a political suggestion. I suggested that we should set up a people's council for our people to voice their opinions and father and mother can decide if these opinions are useful or not. That was all I suggested. Dante and I were talking about it with father in his study but little did we knew mother was eavesdropping outside. She burst through the doors and went ballistic at us."

Julian continued to stay silent.

"She accused Dante of being the one that fed me with the 'ridiculous idea' she said and I quote. Long story short, we fought and she decided to ground me for and indefinite period. She also kicked Dante out of the palace and threatened to revoke his entire family's permanent residency if he dares to defy her. All the while father did nothing and I had to watch mother break off my friendship with my only best friend and lose my freedom."

After I was done, Julian didn't say anything for a while. Finally he opened his mouth. "I understand where you're coming from. Mother was too harsh but you can't exactly blame it all on her for overreacting." I snapped my head towards him in disbelief. Julian raised his hands in a surrender position.

"Hear me out. Do you know who mother was before she married father?"

"The daughter of an Earl." I answered impatiently. Julian shook his head. "Our maternal grandfather was only given the title after the royal family got news of their relationship."

"What do you mean?" I asked sharply.

"Mother was the daughter of a wealthy farmer. She was no noble lady, yes, her family had wealth but they were not nobility. Do you know how long mother and father dated before marrying?"

"Two years, right?" I was starting to sound unsure.

"Mother and father dated for a total of seven years actually, two of them which they were engaged. When the royal family got news of their relationship, they were very against it. Saying that mother is not noble. When father insisted on marrying her, they gave grandfather the title of Earl to make mother a woman of nobility. They announced to the public they were starting to date when they were actually already engaged. Two years later, they married. When people started digging up details on mother's birth, they criticised her for being not regal enough to be queen even though by then she was the crown princess. Mother was under a lot of pressure. The people disliked her and she was bending under pressure. Mother thought that if she became queen, it'll mean no one can talk bad about her anymore because she's the most powerful woman in the kingdom. That she was right. After father ascended the throne, the people started seeing her in a different light. They see her as a great queen even though she wasn't exactly borned noble. So she is very protective of her title. I think mother took it the wrong way when you suggested to form a people's council."

I fell silent and was feeling slightly dizzy having to process all the sudden information. "You're saying mother is against the people's council idea because it'll mean the people can give criticism and she's afraid they will criticise her all over again?"

"I'm saying that yes. That's exactly why." Julian confirmed.

"So all this happened because she has self esteem issues."

"Well, yes."

"Are you serious?" I asked incredulously. Julian frowned. "I'm not saying what mother did was right but I hope you can see things from her perspective."

"Don't worry, I see it from her point of view all right. And because I see it from her point of view, I am not going to let her go on like this. She has no right to ground me and ruin my friendship with Dante because of her self confidence problems." I was angry. Scratch that, I was positively livid.

"Julianna, do not be rash." Julian warned.

"Relax, I won't. I'm just going to sort out my issues with mother. What she's doing isn't right and I'm going to fix that." I stated. I could feel the fire burning within me again.

"How are you going to do that?"

"First, give me your phone." I said. I'll need to make a few calls and pull a few strings if I'm going to let my mother see things from my perspective. This time my mother will not have the last word, it is my turn to do something for my kingdom and for my life.