Kitanna
Chapter 29: HER FOOTPRINTS

Chapter 29: HER FOOTPRINTS

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: THE UNIVERSE ~KWON JIN AH]

Almaria hugged Kitanna with the same energy, but she was slightly taken aback by the action. She was wary of the princess who was holding her, yet she kept a smile on her face.

When Kitanna pulled away from the hug, she smiled, raising her hand to touch the queen dowager’s face. Almaria tried to step back, but she glanced at the crowd, everyone was watching her reaction. So, she stood her ground and allowed the princess to touch her.

"Mother, you look so tired and old. Were you crying for my sake? I missed you too, Mother," Kitanna said loudly enough for everyone to hear as she continued to caress her mother’s face.

"You too, my loving princess. I can only wonder how scared you were, all alone waiting for your beloved mother to come and save you, but I did not. I am sorry, my dear," Almaria said, trying not to push the girl away. She swallowed hard when the princess called her old, but she advised herself to act composed for now.

Khelan who was watching from the side, the emotional moment between his mother and sister, decided to address the crowd.

"My good people of Morado, as you can see, we prayed to the heavenly king for water, and he not only sent water but also the princess. We will have to listen to her story in the royal court. Go home now and rest. You will be invited again in the next half moon,"

The crowd started dispersing to their various homes, while the court officials and the royal family made their way to the main palace. Mubera decided to join them behind, as she wanted to know exactly what went wrong.

When they all arrived inside the royal court, Kehlan sat down on the throne, while Larel walked to sit beside her husband. Almaria walked past her to sit on the queen’s throne.

Kitanna noticed the small movement. She let out a subtle smile but continued to walk until she stood at the center of the courtroom, her back facing the throne.

She first bowed to the king, then she started talking. "Greetings to the king and his wife. Greetings to the queen dowager. I know you are all scared about my sudden appearance. I will say that it is the heavens that brought me back safely because of how much my dear mother has cried for my sake." Kitanna turned to look at the queen dowager, then she smiled sweetly.

"All I remember that night was that I was inside the carriage, but then I slept off. When I woke up, the coach was no longer there, and there I was on a cliff!." The princess was so dramatic with the way she explained her story in full details and body movement.

"Then suddenly, someone pushed the carriage from behind. I screamed and shouted, but to no avail. The carriage fell into the ocean." Kitanna used her hands to cover her eyes as she started crying.

The court officials started murmuring amongst themselves until one of them was brave enough to speak up.

"Princess, did you see the face of the one who pushed you?"

This attracted a nod from other members of the court.

"I was inside the carriage. If I could see them, would I be falling from the cliff?" Kitanna let her intrusive thoughts win. When she looked up, she noticed Nix raising an eyebrow, as if telling her to tone down the way she responded to the officials.

She cleared her throat. "I am so sorry. I am just stressed because of everything I have been through."

Almaria noticed the way Kitanna spoke to the officials. She knew definitely that the princess never took a liking to the men in the court because of their corrupt nature. She made no comment but continued to listen to hear where the story was leading to.

"Then inside the ocean, I struggled and struggled, but it was tough for me to swim. You all know me well, a fragile princess who has lived all these times in the palace. When I struggled for hours and could not breathe anymore, I passed out. When I opened my eyes, I was in an inn, with a woman taking care of me.

"Initially, when I woke up, I did not know who I was or where I was. The shock was too terrible that I could not speak. I started living as part of that tribe, not knowing who I was or my origin, that was why I did not return immediately. I got to find out that some fishermen who were fishing early morning found me at a shore close to a rock, and they brought me back and nursed me back to health. After a few moons, I started having bits and bits of my memory come back to me. I remembered home and my lovely mother, so I decided to take the bold step and return back home." Kitanna bowed to the king when she was done talking.

Mubera, who was standing close to the queen dowager, moved her gaze from Kitanna and rested it on the queen dowager. Almaria was really uncomfortable with everything she had just heard, and her legs kept moving on the ground.

The high priestess touched her shoulder slightly. "You should really calm down. I think she had memory loss. Don’t make it obvious. Act accordingly, Almaria," she whispered for only Almaria to hear.

Almaria nodded, but her heart still continued to race. She squeezed her two hands together trying to keep her cool.

"Welcome back home, princess. It is truly the heavenly king who brought you back to us. We will open an investigation into what actually happened that day. I will not say that I am happy you lost your memory, but looking at it from a better view, it’s better you forget the bad memories of what happened that night. Take your time and rest until you are reinstated as princess," Khelan finally spoke. He was so happy that his sister was safe and well.

Kitanna smiled at Khelan’s words. She moved her eyes to look at the queen dowager, who had her eyes glued on her, before lazily trailing her eyes to look at Nix. "But my king, if I lose all my bad memories, I will become a princess with no soul." Her words caused another inaudible murmur from the court members.

Kitanna twitched her lips. "Not to worry, I have lost that memory already. I am glad I’m back to my family."

Nix moved his lips, but he made no expression still. The princess was making everyone in the room uncomfortable, and she was doing it flawlessly.

After the meeting, Khelan dismissed all officials, and it was just the royal family who remained in the room.

"I will go to my quarters now to freshen up. I will come down for dinner," Kitanna announced. She bowed first, and smiled at her mother, before walked out of the room.

The moment she stepped out, Almaria heaved a sigh of relief.

Outside the courtroom, the evil grin she had been holding back spread across Kitanna’s lips.

"P... Princess?" Clephas called out from afar. He could not believe who was standing there in front of him, looking healthy and very much alive.

"Clephas..." the only person Kitanna missed genuinely. She walked to close the distance between them and pulled him into a warm hug.