章 11: Give a respected rank to Prince Sullivan

Ainsley got worried to hear the claims that Dahlia made. "She is lying. I never did that. She is falsely accusing me and mother," Ainsley said.

Daedric asked him to stay quiet while Sullivan was indeed surprised how Dahlia found a way to escape this punishment.

"The Queen and Prince Ainsley want me to be dead. Le-let's live somewhere else, Dear Husband. I am scared to live in the palace," Dahlia said as she lifted her head to look into Sullivan's eyes.

"Dahlia, you are safe. No one can even touch you until I am alive," Daedric said in a concerned tone, "please don't cry."

Dahlia pulled her hands back and turned to face the Crown Prince. "The Queen claims that she is the supreme here. She doesn't see what her son did wrong. Later, she gave me and Sullivan an unfair punishment." She sniffled and wiped the tears from the back of her palm.

By then, the soldiers and other maidservants had arrived there as well. They stopped upon seeing the Crown Prince.

Daedric found out his mother and Ainsley were guilty. They couldn't punish Dahlia when the King had already decided the punishment.

"Only the King can save me and Sullivan," Dahlia said. "Will the Crown Prince take us to His Majesty?" she asked and held his right hand with her hands again. "The Crown Prince cannot ignore the unright behavior of his mother and brother. I plead with him," she requested.

Ainsley got scared and he told Daedric not to believe in her lies. "She is acting. We never wanted her to die," he said.

Sullivan chuckled lightly to hear that. Dahlia was a lot smarter than he had thought. She was the first person in the palace, who would make the Queen bow.

"No woman will cry if her in-laws are good to her. I-I will ask my father for help," Dahlia said as she slowly withdrew from Daedric's hand.

However, the Crown Prince held her hand tightly and said, "I will take you to the King."

Sullivan noticed how Daedric held on Dahlia's hand. He walked to her and pulled her back to his side. He thought about making Daedric feel jealous and wiped the tears from Dahlia's from his thumbs. "You don't look good while crying. No one will kill you," he whispered.

Dahlia smiled finally while Ainsley asked Daedric to stop them. He whispered in his brother's ear, "Mother will be angry if you help them."

"I didn't expect this from you," Daedric said bitterly. "Dahlia, Sullivan, come with me." He turned to walk while they both followed him. She turned her head slightly and smiled mischievously at Ainsley.

"What should we do, Your Highness?" The soldier asked.

"Nothing," Ainsley replied and went ahead to follow the Crown Prince.

He walked beside Dahlia and tilted his head to look at her.

"Why is Prince Ainsley looking at me with his deadly eyes? He scares me, Sullivan," Dahlia said, trying to get close to her husband.

Daedric turned to look at Ainsley and asked him why he was doing that to Dahlia.

"I did nothing, Brother. Sh-she…" Ainsley was at a loss for words. He never knew Dahlia would be this cunning. She turned the tables completely. Now, Ainsley feared that the King might punish him badly along with the Queen.

As they waited for the valet to grant them entry into the King's manor, Ainsley seized the opportunity to speak to Dahlia.

"Dahlia, let's put aside what happened earlier," Ainsley began, his tone softening slightly. "We never intended to cause you harm. You misunderstood Mother's intentions. Her actions were merely meant to instill better behavior in you. If you hadn't slapped me, I wouldn't have reacted so angrily," he reasoned, hoping against hope that Dahlia might be willing to let the incident go, despite the slim chance that she would refrain from bringing it to the King's attention.

"But how can I trust that such a situation won't arise again in the future?" Dahlia countered. "Moreover, the Queen has a history of abusing her power. I don't believe her actions today were justified. It was my very first day in my in-laws' house, and Sullivan and I suffered because of the Queen and Prince Ainsley. I myself heard and saw how Her Majesty spoke so disrespectfully to my husband, and once again Prince Ainsley showed no regard for him," Dahlia asserted, ensuring her words were heard by all present, exposing the tensions within the palace walls.

As she voiced her thoughts aloud, Dahlia couldn't help but harbor a silent vow within her mind: 'You all made my Sullivan suffer, and I will ensure you pay for it,' she was firm in bringing justice to Sullivan.

Sullivan was astonished to witness how Dahlia took a stand for him once again. It bothered him. He wasn't used to anyone's care, but Dahlia truly cared for him.

The valet came outside and told the Crown Prince that the King had allowed them to see him.

"Dahlia, this will never happen again," Ainsley said.

"I don't believe Prince Ainsley. I realized how much Sullivan suffered here because you all see him as a courtesan's son, and I want justice for him," Dahlia stated. She walked ahead while the valet stepped aside from her way.

Daedric frowned to hear her. She was never in favor of Sullivan living in the palace, then how she changed her perspective toward him.

The three princes walked in and saw Dahlia had curtsied the King.

"I thought you would be in the garden with Prince Ainsley," King Iramo said. He gazed at his three sons, wondering what happened this time.

Dahlia began speaking and narrated the incident to the King. "I want justice, Your Majesty."

King Iramo furrowed his brows together and questioned Ainsley why he did that. "Summon the Queen," he instructed his valet. "I will never allow violence against my daughter-in-law. How dare you go against my decision? Did I not make it clear already?" The King demanded the answers from Ainsley.

"Forgive me, Father. It was a foolish mistake. I am ready to apologize to Princess Dahlia," Ainsley said as he stepped up.

"I don't trust Prince Ainsley. Because he is the legitimate son of the King, he likes to abuse my husband. Even the Queen does the same. I think the palace is unfair to my husband and that's why it is unfair to me," Dahlia asserted.

The King hummed and waited for the Queen to enter. Finally, Verlina entered the private chamber. She bowed to the King and lifted her head.

"The Queen went against my order. May I know why?" King Iramo interrogated her.

"Your Majesty, I wanted to discipline Dahlia. She misunderstood my intentions and named it as violence from the in-laws," Queen Verlina responded, giving justification for her response.

"Her Majesty ordered us to take me and Sullivan to the courtyard for punishment. That is considered violence not disciplining," Dahlia corrected her, gazing at the King. "Because I slapped Prince Ainsley then I should have been punished, not my husband. The Queen was biased. She didn't punish her son while she treated us unfairly," she elaborated to the King.

King Iramo looked at Sullivan, who stood silent. "Did you find it unfair?" He questioned him.

"His Majesty is asking the wrong person. To survive here, Prince Sullivan will never tell the truth," Dahlia affirmed.

"Is it so, Sullivan? Answer me. No one ever brought to my attention that you were treated unfairly," King Iramo said.

"It was always unfair, Your Majesty," Sullivan replied.

"Your Majesty, Sullivan should not have survived in the first place. We provided him with everything, but he made mistakes. He is an illegitimate son of yours, who can never equal your other sons," Queen Verlina reminded the King.

That remark hurt Sullivan, but he remained silent because that was the only way for him to live in the palace. Dahlia glanced at Sullivan after turning around. She felt anger surge through her veins. She got to experience what Sullivan bore all these years.

"I think the Queen punished me because I chose Prince Sullivan over her son. I cannot believe she is so insecure from a person, who doesn't even hold an equal rank as the other princes," Dahlia stated and turned around again to face the King. "The Queen must be punished for what she did to me or else, the King has to fulfill my one wish," she said, keeping her head down in respect.

"What do you want, Dahlia?" King Iramo asked.

"I want His Majesty to give a respected rank to Prince Sullivan," Dahlia pronounced in her humble tone, "an official rank. Because I'm from a high-ranking noble family, I believe Prince Sullivan deserves the top official rank."

"That cannot happen," Queen Verlina objected to her.

"Will Her Majesty love to get the flogging then? No lesser than one hundred," Dahlia stated as she recalled how Sullivan was once given such a punishment.

"The decision is up to the King. To end this unfairness, His Majesty has to choose either one of these because I won't stay quiet. I will make sure every person in this kingdom will know how the royal daughter-in-law is being treated by her royal mother-in-law," Dahlia pronounced with a determined tone.