Night Changes

"Absolutely not! I have nothing to do with this kingdom and I refuse to let my children be a part of it!" Queen Kathryn said to the Prime Minister of Serphia.

"Please try to understand, Princess.." the Prime Minister began to say but was interrupted by the Queen.

"Queen. You keep forgetting, Minister. I'm not your Princess anymore. I'm the Queen of Morteal."

"My apologies, Queen. Our King, your father, sacrificed his life for this kingdom." He continued.

"And that's why I'm here. You told me my deceased father wanted me to attend his burial. And I honoured his wishes. But I'm afraid I can't do anything more than that." Kathryn was very stubborn. She would not be persuaded this easily.

"Our kingdom is in a grave peril. Our enemies are upon us. They have given us an ultimatum. If we don't crown our next monarch before the next sunrise, they will charge upon us. We are not strong enough to fight them off. They believe the King had no heir and thus have attempted to threaten us. The whole kingdom is looking up to you. Please, you have to help us!" He was practically begging her by now.

"I understand, you need me. There was once a time when I needed help. Where was this kingdom then? Why didn't anyone support me?"

"We are truly sorry for our mistakes. We need you. There is no one else who can get us out of this problem" he was losing hopes. He knew how strong willed their Princess was. Once she made her mind, no one could change it.

"If I may, dear?" King Arnold said to his wife. She curtly nodded. He continued, looking at the Minister, "I would like to have a word with the Queen. Do you mind giving us some time?"

"Of course. I'll be outside. Just call for me when you have an answer." He stepped out of the room.

"Don't even try. You know how much I hate them. I will not allow my child to stay here and become just as cruel as them" Kathryn said as soon as they were left alone.

"Will you just listen to me, please?" He politely asked. She sighed, but nodded. "Do you know why I fell in love with you?"

"Because I was strong and beautiful and stubborn?" She gave him a smile. She loved talking about the time they first met. He was sent to Serphia by his father, so that he could mingle with the faeries and learn more about them. And then he met her.

"Yes, that. But also because you were so nice to the people of your kingdom. They all adored you. They were always eager to spend more time with you. And you were so kind. I loved that about you" he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Kathryn sighed, "I see where you are going with this. Yes, I loved spending time with these people. They were all my people. But when the King exiled me for getting married to a human, they all silently watched my humiliation. They didn't do anything to stop him. I no more think of them as my people"

"What happened to you was cruel. I understand your anger. But they are still your people. They need you. Show them that you are still the same caring and kind person that they knew as their Princess" he explained to her.

"That kind and caring person died the day I was humiliated Infront of my whole kingdom."

"I refuse to believe that. You are always so kind to the people of Morteal."

"That's because they accepted me."

"And the Serphians will accept you too. Just give them a chance."

Kathryn thought about it for a moment and then concluded, "Fine. But I'm only doing this because you asked me to do it. I trust you. If you believe this is the right thing to do, then I will do it." Arnold warmly smiled at her and called for the Minister.

"Have you made your decision?" The Minister enquired.

"Yes. Yes, we have. After careful consideration, we have decided to help you. I may have left the kingdom behind, but I'm still a faerie. Just like you. We are willing to do whatever we can to help you at your time of peril." Kathryn declared.

"I shall call for Prince Albert. He will be here by tomorrow evening" Arnold said.

"I'm afraid we don't have enough time. The coronation needs to be done by the next sunrise. We can't wait for another day" Minister explained.

"Then Princess Angela shall be your next Monarch." Kathryn said.

"Angela? Do you really think she can do it? She's our little Princess!" Arnold was very protective of his daughter and he could never accept that she was a grown up. But he knew that she was as capable of ruling a kingdom as Albert was.

"She's always going to be our little Princess" Kathryn said affectionately. "But I think she is mature enough to rule a kingdom. Besides we need Albert to look after Morteal. He cannot possibly manage both of the kingdoms. It would be nice to put a little responsibility on Angela's shoulders."

The Minister smiled enthusiastically. "Shall I make the preparations?"

"Yes. Angela's in the gardens. Send her a message to come visit us" Kathryn ordered.

-------------------------------------

"Queen Angela of Serphia" The Minister conducted the coronation ceremony and declared Angela as the new Queen of Serphia. Now Serphia had a monarch and their enemies will have to back out.

Angela looked spectacular in her golden gown. She had grey, almond shaped eyes, just like her father's. She was extremely beautiful, just like her mother. She had the characteristic pointed ears that every faerie had. Her new crown was resting perfectly on her silky blonde hair. She raised from her throne and waved at her subjects. They enthusiastically cheered for her.

Angela was all alone in this strange place. Her parents had left for Morteal the very next day after her coronation. They apparently had some important business to attend to. Up until a few days ago she had never even met a faerie, besides her mother of course. Though she was technically half faerie, she did not know even the slightest bit about the faeries. Her mother never talked about her life before she met her father.

The Minister was being very helpful. He would help her at every step and advice her on every action of hers. He had told her all about her mother and her life in Serphia. He also told her a lot about the former King, her grandfather. She learned all she could about the faeries, their life, their rules, their manners, their customs, their festivals, their culture, their enemies, their friends. In about a month, she had learned everything she could about them. Theoretically speaking, she was ready to be the Queen. But practically speaking, she was yet to interact with her subjects.

Up until now, the minister was conducting all the business. Today was the first day she was going to stand infront of the Serphians and try to solve their problems. She took a deep breath and opened the doors to the courtroom and purposefully strode towards her throne. But her steps faltered when she heard whispers.

There were dozens of people standing on either side of her. Most of them gasped when she entered the room. They started whispering about her. "What is she wearing?" "Doesn't she know red colour is for funerals?" "She should have at least tried to understand our customs." "Honestly, this is an insult to us." "She really wants to start her first day wearing the colour of sadness?" "Well what else can you expect from a human?" And many more such things.

Angela winced as she remembered the Minister telling her about the customary colours of the fairies. Golden for Happiness, Blue for Victory, White for Weddings, Black for War and Red for Sadness. She still kept her head high as she reached the throne and turned around to face the room. The Minister was standing on the right side of her, closer than the other people. She gestured for them all to take their seats.

"My choice of clothes today might offend some of you. And I apologize for that. But I'm sure you won't feel the same once you hear the reason for my choice." The reason was that she forgot it because of the chaos that was her life. But she couldn't let that drag her down. So she thought of a good enough reason. "Today I'm going to sit on the this throne for the first time. The last person to reside on this grand throne was our beloved King, my grandfather. He was a great king and he sacrificed his life for us all. And today I cannot help but remember him. And that is why I'm wearing red. To mourn him and to honour him."

She swept her gaze across the room and stopped when she reached the Minister. He smiled at her and gave her an encouraging nod. "So let's begin the day with a moment of silence for the late King." Everyone bowed their heads for a moment of silence. "Let's start" she said after a moment and took her place at the throne. She tried to solve as many problems as she could. Whenever she got stuck, she would look at the Minister and he would say, "We will discuss about it and let you know".

After a long and hectic day, she couldn't wait to go to her chambers and get some sleep. Just when she thought everyone had left, another group of people came in. "Can you please take care of this? I am very tired" she said to the Minister. He nodded and went ahead to address the group. Turns out they weren't here to solve a conflict. Some of the Serphians had decided to throw a party next week, to welcome their new Queen. And they were here to invite her to attend the party. She graciously accepted their invitation.

-------------------------------------

For the party, Angela deliberately decided to wear a green dress. It would not offend anyone, she thought. But, oh how wrong she was. When she entered the ballroom where the party was being conducted, she saw that every person there was wearing golden clothes. The Minister winced when he saw her.

Once again, she was followed by whispers. "Why isn't she wearing golden?" "Is she not happy to be here?" "Doesn't she know that a party is an occasion of happiness?" "A good Queen should always follow her subjects' customs." "Does she think she can just wear any colour on any day?" "Once again she has proven that she is never going to learn our customs." "Well what can you expect from a human?"

Angela tried not to break her spirits, but it was very difficult with all the whispers. She managed to stay there for about an hour before she gave up and left the party. She could barely contain her tears as she ran towards her chambers. She had messed up everything. The last time she wore the wrong colour, she had made up some lie to cover up her mess. But this time, there was nothing she could do. She felt miserable. She wished her parents were here. Or rather she wished she was in Morteal. She missed her home, her brother, her friends, her life. There she was this perfect Princess that everyone loved. Here she was a horrible Queen who just didn't fit in with her subjects.

That night, she cried herself to sleep. Next day, she decided to take the day off. She informed such to the Minister and stayed in bed all day long. She didn't feel like doing anything. She felt like she was a failure, like she was not enough. She just wanted to give up on this whole thing and go back home. But that was not an option. This was not some project that she could just give up. This was her life now. This was her kingdom and she had to be strong enough to handle it all. By the end of the day, she had cheered herself up and decided to have dinner in the dining room instead of her chambers.

She got dressed and opened the door. A girl, around her age, was standing there by the door. Her hand was raised, as if she was about to knock the door. She softly laughed and said, "I was about to knock."

Angela politely smiled at her and asked, "I'm sorry, do I know you? I don't think I have seen you around here."

She began to speak, but was interrupted by the Minister who had just walked in. "She's Sophia, my daughter. After, uh, yesterday's fiasco, I thought you might need some help. But after I saw your reaction to the whole thing, I realized that what you need is a friend. Sophia is around your age, I think. I know friendships can't be forced, but I know you two and I really believe that you can be very good friends."

Angela smiled at them both. "I agree. I really do need a friend. And I hope Sophia will be willing to help me out."

"I would love to help you. And just so you know, I really think you are going to be a great Queen." Sophia's words were like a spark of hope for Angela. This friendship was already making her feel better.

"Thank you, Sophia. It means a lot to me. I was just going to have dinner in the dining room. Would you like to join me?" Sophia nodded and they both walked towards the dining room. "Also, do you mind staying here with me for a while? Just till I feel comfortable. I feel that as a friend, I am allowed to make such a request." Angela was happy to have a friend again. She might not yet fit in with all the other people, but she surely did fit in with Sophia. Little did she know, that this was the turning point of her life.

Sophia giggled and informed that her father had already asked her to move in here. For the next few weeks, Sophia accompanied Angela everywhere. Angela would always have Sophia approve her dresses before she wore them. She had learned not to trust her own judgement when it came to dresses. Sophia had a lot of friends and she introduced them all to Angela. Angela would spend all her day in the courtroom, taking care of her duties as the Queen of Serphia and she would spend all her evenings, making friends and getting to know her subjects.

Within a year, everyone in Serphia adored and respected their Queen. No one anymore said spiteful things about her. No one despised her for being human. She now fit in as well as the last King did. Sophia always held a special place in her life and they both became greatest of friends. Sophia was the reason Angela could blend with the Serphians and she always remembered this. She honoured Sophia like she would honour a sister. Their friendship set up a great example to the fairies as well as the humans. Angela made herself and her parents proud. She was one of the greatest rulers Serphia had ever seen.

----------------END--------------Moral : Friendship is one of the most important thing in life.