"My daughter is getting married to no one," King Henry’s voice resounded in the hallway. Roselyn, who had been hugging Victoria for a while stiffened at the words. She broke from the hug and turned around to face her father. What was wrong with him nowadays? Wasn’t this what he had always wanted? To see her happy? And now that she had found the happiness she had been looking for, he was acting differently? No! She couldn’t allow it! She couldn’t allow him to control her life. And just because she was a princess or his daughter didn’t mean she had no opinions of her own. She had to speak for herself. This was concerning her life after all.

"What do you mean I’m not getting married to anyone else?" She asked with a straight face.

"My Husband? What are you saying," Felista interjected. "Don’t you see how happy our daughter is....."

"Who said I don’t want her to be happy?" He cut his wife. And then turning towards Roselyn," Listen my daughter. Alexander is not the man for you. You know that Valoria will go to war soon. What if he dies in that war, or something happens to him?" He asked. He thought this would knock some sense into Roselyn’s mind. But that was not his aim. He couldn’t afford to let Lord Richberry down. He had promised to bring Roselyn back, after which a hefty amount of gold had been bestowed on him.

"If not him, who then? That fat Lord Richberry? I can never get married to him," she said biting her lower lip. Never again in her life had she raised her voice at her father, nor defied his words. What had gotten into her?

King Henry was stunned by his daughter’s words. Was this the same daughter he had raised? The Roselyn he had raised would do anything he said without a word. And since she came into Valoria, he had seen the rebellious nature in her. And that would make things difficult for him. She could defy him as a king but not as a father.

"Look, Roselyn. It’s either you come with me or you cease to be my daughter. And for your information, Lord Richberry has already paid the bride price. I only came here to get you back to Arcadia." He breathed heavily before he added. "Make your choice wisely."

"What are you saying? Don’t tell me you are planning on disowning our daughter. Can’t you see that she’s happy staying here?" Felista interjected. All her husband had been doing all this time was lying to her. And the gold that Lord Richberry gave to him, he had told her that it was a token of gratitude for protecting Richberry’s property. But why would he do this to his own daughter? His own blood and flesh.

"Stay out of this. The decision is hers to make," he said and turned to look at a confused Rosleyn. He could see the fear and insecurity on her face. But on that face was a trace of hope and determination and he could only guess the answer she would give him.

"If seeing me happy would make you disown me, so be it. I have made my decision father," she said facing him with a determined look. "I just hope that one day you’ll find a place in your cold heart to accept me for who I truly am. I love you, both you and mother. But there’s a time that comes and I have to spread my wings without any help. I have to soar the skies alone, even if it meant being abandoned by the ones I love." A tear fell down Roselyn’s face as she said those words.

Roselyn couldn’t believe that a time would come when her father, of all the people, would disown her. Had it been her mother, the story would have been different. But now it was her father. The person she loved and adored most.

"It is decided then," Henry said. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"No! This can’t be happening. Tell me you’re not going to disown our only child." Felista was now in tears. How could her husband be so heartless?

"She made the decision herself wife," Henry said. A slight tremor could be detected in his voice. Maybe he cared after all. But at this rate, there was no turning back. He was a king, and a king never goes against his word.

"With the power bestowed to me by the court and my ancestors," he began.

"No! Don’t do this to our child. Please!" Felista was now begging. Sir Brandon stood as still as a statue. Whatever was happening was taking place so fast that he had to blink to confirm if it was real. And now that he saw Felista in tears, it all turned out to be true. It then dawned on him. Roselyn would be disowned by her own father. But what would be his take on this? He was Roselyn’s personal knight, bound to her for life. Only death would do them apart. But that was if she was a princess.

Now he was confused. His oath of loyalty stated nothing about such a situation. And never in his life had he thought one would occur. But now he was witnessing it, and it was really confusing him. What the hell was he supposed to do? He cursed whoever made those rules for having left out such an important detail. But he was a knight. So he made the only decision a knight would make.

"I strip Princess Roselyn of her powers as a princess, and the daughter to the king of Arcadia." Henry finished his mantra. "Congratulations Roselyn. You are no longer a princess nor a daughter to the king of Arcadia. And to the kingdom of Arcadia, you’ll be regarded as a stranger," he forced a wry smile.

"I agree," Roselyn simply said, and a tear fell down her cheek. She eyes her father without breaking eye contact with him. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her defeated.

"I will keep going now," he said. And turning to a stunned Felista," Let’s go, wife."