Chapter Forty- Eight: Questions and Answers

                                    

                                          


                          
Elaine gripped my hand tightly, her entire body shaking as we entered through the front gates of the palace. 
                          
"It's okay Elaine, the King is fair, he will not behead you if you accidentally misspeak." I reassured, remembering the fear I had felt when the King had asked to meet with me after my coming of age ball. 
                          
"A-are you sure? What if he finds out that I accidentally stole a fork from a restaurant when I was twelve. He won't cut off my hand, right?" She asked, sounding as if she was about to cry. 
                          
"Trust me, if you were to be convicted for something as small as that, then I would have been executed multiple times by now." I said, sighing as I thought back to my many mistakes before and after remembering my past life. 
                          
The two of us were directed straight to the throne room without delay. As one of the most powerful families in the kingdom, it would take at least an hour before we were able to see the king, and that was on a good day. If we were meeting with the King as soon as we arrived, then that meant that the situation was dire. 
                          
"Woah," Elaine gasped, forgetting her fear the second we had entered the throne room. The room was just as you would imagine it. A large hall with a high ceiling decorated with beautiful murals that depicted a 'revised' version of the kingdom's history. The path to the throne was lined by marble columns and statues, along with a wide velvet carpet that looked as if was made with threads of gold. Three large thrones sat atop a raised platform, each large enough to fit at least three people. The grandest throne was placed in the middle where the king sat wearing his formal attire and a large crown. It was a pretty big crown, was it heavy? Did he have neck pain if he wore it for too long? 
                          
After Elaine and I bowed and said our greetings, I was met with a familiar pair of emerald green eyes. 
                          
"How are you?" Philip asked, descending down the steps that lead up to the throne. 
                          
"I'm okay," I answered, hoping that there was truth to my words. 
                          
Prince Philip nodded with a smile and reached over to give my hand a quick squeeze before turning to Elaine. 
                          
"And you Miss Elaine, this must be your first time visiting the palace. How do you find it?" He asked, chuckling as she jumped at his greeting. 
                          
"Um, yes sir! I mean, it's very nice, sir, I mean your highness-" Elaine spluttered, her face turning red as she looked to me in horror. She was probably scared that she was going to be punished for accidentally calling Prince Philip 'sir'. Though I'm not sure why she was so afraid when she had seen me use many profane words to address the crown prince in the past. 
                          
"You can speak comfortably Elaine, I am the same person you saw a week ago." Prince Philip comforted, trying to hold in his laughter. I glanced up to see that Ryland was also grinning as he stood behind the Prince's throne. The two had probably been dealing with many heavy issues all day, so it was nice that they were able to laugh... even if it was at Elaine's expense. 
                          
"It is nice to finally meet you Elaine Clemence," The King greeted, a smile spreading across his face. Out of everyone in the room the King looked the most drained. It looked as if he had lost weight since I had last seen him which was most likely due to the fact that he could barely get any sleep as issues arose one after another. 
                          
"I apologize that we are meeting under such grave circumstances, it would have been nice if we were able to chat freely for a bit. However, right now I must ask that you tell me about the forest. My son has informed me of what happened, but I would like to hear it from the two of you directly." The King said, his tone growing solemn as the smile left his face.