The Royal Contract

He felt his world go crumbling down on his feet.

“What do you mean gone?” He had to ask again, unable to accept his words.

He wanted to think that he might have misunderstood his friend’s meaning. Well, it was what his heart wished to believe.

“You know what I mean. Eida left and had no plan of returning.” Evan repeated, probably hoping that he would finally accept the inevitable.

Of course, his brain grasped fully what his friend said. His mind could fully function again. But his heart refused to acknowledge that the woman he loved had left him.

But why? That was unclear. He needed an explanation coming from her.

.....

“Did she say why she was leaving?” Lance asked his friend, hoping he had some answers.

He was sure that Eida loved him. Despite what she said that night, he could tell she was lying. Words were no match to her actions.

The only fault he made was that he believed her at that time. If only the accident did not happen, he knew he could have salvaged the situation.

He could have convinced her that what they had was real. She did not have to leave him.

“She said she did not love you.” Evan indifferently said as he walked closer, looking straight at his face. He stared at his friend’s eyes, hoping to see a hint that he was not telling him the truth, but he could not find one.

Still, he refused to believe Eida again. He had to find her, but how when he was confined in this bed, unable to move.

Evan and Amelia. They would help him find her.

“Where did she go?” Lance hoped that Evan might have an idea so that he could talk to her. Make her see that she did not have to leave and that they could still make this work.

“She did not say. She asked that you stay away from her and not try to find her.” His friend answered him, but it was not what he wanted to hear.

“No, you are lying,” Lance shouted, unable to control himself.

Suddenly, he winced in pain when he tried to move out of his bed, only to fall back on the mattress with a thud.

He did not plan to take his anger with his friend, but Evan sounded like he was not on his side but hers. “Don’t you see, she is lying to herself.” He mumbled in between his pain. “She loves me.” He said defeatedly.

His loud voice probably alerted the guards posted outside as they rushed inside to check on them. A few seconds later, nurses also entered the room.

“Is there a problem here, Sir?” One of the guards asked, looking from him to his friend.

“No, there is no problem.” Evan took charge of the situation. “The Prince was just in pain.” He added.

Lance finally waved his hands to the guards and the nurses to leave his room. He did not want to see anyone else except Eida. But how?

Then, the last person he wanted to see entered the room just as the other people exited. “What is going on in here?” His father asked as he continued further inside the room, looking from him to Evan questioningly.

“Is this your doing?” Lance turned to his father. His voice was loud enough but not too loud to disturb the people outside, just like earlier.

He groaned again, not only in pain but in his misery, knowing in his heart that his father had something to do with this. Eida did not just stop loving him. His father must have done something to scare her away.

“What did I do?” His father asked innocently, seemingly baffled by his question. But he was not falling for his act.

His father was a good man. He could not deny that. He would do anything to serve his people and do what would be best for their Kingdom.

But it was also his major flaw. He believed that his family, specifically him, would be the best candidate to take the throne. Although he had lived his life serving their Kingdom, he still believed there was more to life than just becoming King.

He could only surmise that his father never approved of Eida for him, driving Amelia down his throat for him to marry because of the false promise of the throne.

“I know you have something to do with Eida leaving me.” He voiced his suspicion, not caring if Evan was in the room.

It might even be possible that Evan might be more aware of what was happening around him. He had been unconscious for a while. Many things could have happened during that time.

But he would get to the bottom of this once he was well. He would find Eida and set things straight. He was not going to give up on her.

“Eida left because she knew it was the right thing to do. She did not love you.” His father calmly answered him. “She was only using you for her story.” He continued, walking straight into the side of his bed to stare at him.

His father did not deny his charge. He did have something to do with what happened to him and Eida. He could see it in his eyes, the contempt in their depths.

“You should be thankful that I discovered it while it is not yet too late.” His father persisted, not waiting for him to respond to his accusations about the woman he loved.

“You are lying.” He countered, unable to fathom how his father could say those words about Eida. She would never do that to him.

“I am not. You can investigate if you want, but evidence would show that I am telling you the truth.” Count Thomas responded to him, standing firm with his words.

“I will do that. Once I am out of this bed, I will find out about the truth.” He swore to his father.

“I am only looking out for you and your best interest. I hope you will see that.” His father shook his head as if he was disappointed with him for not believing his words.

“I know you always have, but this is my life. You should stop meddling with it.” Lance spoke again, desperately imploring his father to understand him.

“Ok, but let me just say this last piece of advice before you shut me out of your life.” His father moved forward and held his hand. “I love you, son. It is the only reason I pushed you hard to achieve your dreams.”

“But...” His father was about to say more when he paused as he looked into his eyes. “Eida is not the right girl for you. I hope that you will see that. You will discover things about her that might hurt you, and I only want you to prepare for that.”

His father did not even flinch at his words. He seemed convinced that he was only looking after him against Eida.

But Lance knew everything he needed to know about her. He doubted he would find anything more about her that would shock him.

Eida’s life had always been an open book to him, so he had nothing to worry about if he discovered something new about her.