Chirping birds and rhythmic gentle howling winds were the melodious tunes I awoke to the following morning. An involuntary smile curved on my lips as memories of  the previous night resurfaced. Joe, my Joe! After I'd agreed to his proposal, he'd scooped me up and sealed the promise with a kiss. A moment that still made my heart flutter. We had stayed up most of the night, catching up and planing the future. By the time midnight approached, my eyes were droopy but I wasn't ready to leave him just yet. As if noticing my reluctance, he lit the fire place, brought blankets and lay them on the plush carpet in front of the yellow flames. He then topped his handiwork with a bunch of pillows. Turning towards me with a wide grin, he said, "so, I know we can't do certain things but I'm not ready to say goodnight yet. Spend the night with me? I promise to keep a safe distance between us." He outstretched his hand towards me. I took it and let him pull me to my feet. I was led to the temporary bed spread and sunk into it. "I love you Princess." Were the last words I heard before drifting into a dream filled world.

Now, I opened my eyes to behold his perfectly chiselled face. I giggled at the distance between us, or rather the lack of. "Good morning Princess." He whispered, eyes flattering open.

"Morning love, I didn't wake you did I?"

"I've been awake for a while now. I couldn't bring myself to wake you, you looked so calm and gorgeous."

"You don't look half bad yourself."

"How'd you sleep?"

"Peacefully, this carpet is surprisingly comfortable. What about you?"

"The best night ever!" He closed the gap between us but before he could give in to his desires, pulled away letting out a frustrated groan.

"What?" I asked.

"I can't wait to get this whole Mario business over with so we can finally be together." My cheeks flamed at the raw emotion behind his tone.

"Why do we have to wait on Mario?" I asked as an idea formed in my head.

"I don't follow." His brows furrowed as he locked eyes with mine.

"I mean, that guy has wrecked enough havoc between us, for far too long. Why are we waiting for him so we can be together? His opinion really doesn't matter anymore."

"What are you saying my love?"

I propped my elbow on the carpet to support my head. "Marry me!" I said. "Today!"

"What?" His lips curled into a smile.

"I mean it. At this point, after all that has happened, I don't care if it happens in a cave. I want to start living for me, for us! Not for the throne or Garviland's rules but for me! Whoever has a problem with it when I finally get crowned can go kick..." My rumbling was cut of as his lips slammed on mine.

"Let's do it!" He said after pulling back. "Let's get married today."

******

"Wait, what?" Asked Halima, eyes scrutinizing me over her steaming cup of tea.

"We are getting married! Today!"  I giggled plopping onto the bar stool by her kitchen counter.

"Uhm, but you are still married to Mario." She said slowly, as if talking to a toddler.

Her puzzled look brought me back to earth. I hadn't explained Mario's marital situation to her. I had rushed into the kitchen after I'd left our makeshift bedroom and announced the news. Sighing, I quickly delved into the story that Joe had shared the previous night. By the time I finished, I had an audience. Everyone was present.

"So, you were in on the plan to take over the throne?" Giovanni asked Mariana who was quietly enjoying her coffee.

"Not the plan to take over the throne. I didn't even know there was a plan to begin with. I was first brought in a couple of days after Joe disappeared. I remember because it was all over the news. Anyway, my sister, Gina, told me that she and Mario were getting a divorce. He later called me to house sit the mansion in Kitusburge. I was out of a job and he was paying well so I agreed, without informing Gina of course. She's a major drama Queen and I didn't need the drama, I just wanted the money. Anyway, my house sitting job came with a catch, I was to keep Joe sedated..." She said that last part, slowly. Lowering her gaze into her cup of dark liquid, she continued. "I didnt recognize him at first, Not until Mario started sending him those videos, when I saw that they all contained the princess, I put two and two together. I then confronted Mario who came clean,  the breakup was a rouse to throw off anyone else who might already know of Mario and Gina's union. So the plan was, once he married the princess, he would replace all the Duke's in the duchies, with his own people."

"So you voluntarily continued to sedate another human being in someone's basement without a second thought?" I asked, sudden rage rising within my chest.

"I'm not proud of it, but I've done that for him before. I've kept people who owed him money under sedation until someone paid what they owed."

Silence reigned as we all let the words sink. She was a criminal, sitting in our midst as though she was one of us. What is she turned and compromised everything we were working on? I wanted to take a rope and tie her in the basement myself. Calm down. Said a new silent voice. Another thought slithered into my mind, Joe had trusted her, why? Maybe not all was as it seemed.

"So what changed your mind?" Someone asked, voicing my exact thoughts.

"When I discovered that this  whole plan was my sister's greed for power, I was done. I'm on your team when you are after revenge but this wasn't that. The princess hadn't done anything to deserve that kind of betrayal and neither had Joe. One day, I watched him break down and cry over her and somehow that broke my resolve to turn a blind eye. So we made a deal, I help him bring down Mario and Gina and in return I get my freedom back."  

"She wants to lead a different life, the decision is yours princess, she wants to do better." Said Joe , his chest vibrating against my back.

All eyes were on me, I let the question hung in the air, as my mind moved a mile a minute. Finally I made a decision, the least I could do after she had saved Joe's life was offer a second chance. "You help us catch him and your sister and you are pardoned...so how is he  planning on a coup in a monarchy? Only members of the same family can take over a duchy." I said, breaking the building tension.

Mariana exhaled, "Yet he managed to replace the two dukes who were slain four days ago with regular citizens. Well, at least to the rest of Garviland, they are common folk, but to us they are Eduardo, my cousin and Martin, Mario's cousin." A collective gasp filled the room.

"He's preparing for a coup by eliminating everyone else and their heirs!" Said Alexander softly.

"Yes," continued Mariana, "and that's just the beginning. He won't stop until he has replaced all dukes, either by killing them or blackmailing them to back him. So once you get coronated, you are just a ceremonial Queen. In essence, he and Gina would be controlling everything. After a while, they would have probably gotten rid of you." She sighed landing a remorseful gaze on me.

Everyone's eyes followed hers. Their pity unsettling me to my depth. Joe's hands encircled me from the back. "Are you ok?" He whispered as I leaned into him.

"Yeah," I said. "Do we have a plan to take them down?" I asked, with renewed confidence.

"Yes, but its one that will need to be implemented in a few days time. I reached out to my police friends and they will try and contact some people in the palace, and in the various Duchies, Once we have enough people on the inside and  everything else is ready, we move." Said Giovanni.

"Well, we don't have a few days because my coronation is in two days. However, we do have time for a wedding!" I announced, receiving my fair share of confused looks. 

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Thank you for reading and all the awesome feedback guys.

God bless you all.

June.