"What do you mean, Christopher?" My mother's voice screamed, her eyes opening wide as she snatched the paper from my hand. The cameras followed her immediately.
I watched frozen, as her fingers curled tightly around the slip of paper, showing how irritated she was at the sight of what she had just confirmed. She stared at the names on the page, her lips squeezing like she was about to swear. The weight of her gaze was picked by the cameras but she didn't care.
"Are you telling me that these two." She pointed at them. "Kimberly Dawson and Patricia Hayes are your match?" Her voice trembled with a mix of anger and disbelief.
I swallowed hard. "It's not what I expected, Mother. I didn't..."
"You didn't expect it?" she snapped, cutting me off. "This is an insult, Christopher! Do you have any idea what this means? You of all people have been matched with not one, but two women. LOW CLASS WOMEN. Infact the lowest amongst the low class. Do you understand the implications of this?"
The crowd below us, which had been silent since the reveal, was now murmuring in confusion. I could hear their whispers, and my mother's reactions weren't helping.
My heart started beating fast. This was not just a personal crisis it was a public one, which was already messed up.
"This can't work. It's an insult to our bloodline." She squeezed the paper and threw it down. Everyone gasped. Kimberly and Patricia watching as the paper flew to the ground.
"Christopher Vance will rematch before his next birthday. As for these ladies, kill them." My mother declared, without no hint of empathy or sympathy in her eyes.
People gasped louder, there was more murmuring. Kimberly and Patricia started shouting, pleading and struggling for their lives. They had such a tragic fate. Before I could say something, the king's voice interrupted the rising tension.
"Silence," King Vance's voice rang out in a deep and commanding way, as he rose from his seat beside the queen. His presence filled the balcony, his gaze was calm as he fixed his wife with a look that was colder than I had ever seen it before.
"You will not kill them, My Lady," he said firmly. He was the only one who called her My Lady.
My mother turned her head towards him, her eyes filled with fury. "What did you just say?" she pouted, "These two have mocked everything this kingdom stands for. They mocked the system, they mocked our son's future, and you want me to just—what? Let them walk away?"
"I said no." The king's voice was firm and low, but there was no mistaking the authority in it.
My mother stepped closer, her heels making sounds at each step. "You have no right to stop me My Lord. This is my event. I have jurisdiction over this."
"I have jurisdiction over the kingdom, My Lady," he replied coldly, his gaze never leaving hers. "And I will not allow the system to be questioned. If we execute them now, the entire kingdom will wonder if the test can be trusted."
"I don't care about what they think!" my mother said aggressively. "These women have stained our reputation. This... this mockery..." She waved the her hand in front of me, her face filled with rage. "...is an insult to everything we've worked for...is an insult to the royal family."
I felt my chest getting heavy and heavier each second that went by,but I had to say something to avoid my mother doing something she might regret.
"Mother, killing them won't fix anything. It'll only make things worse," I said, trying to keep a respectful tone. I wasn't sure where the courage was coming from, but I knew that if we didn't stop this madness, it would destroy us all.
She turned to me immediately. "You dare lecture me on what's best for this kingdom, Christopher? Do you think I don't know what's at stake? Do you think I've spent my entire life building this legacy just to watch it crumble because of some… some fluke?"
"I'm not saying it's a fluke," I replied, my voice growing steadier despite the chaos unfolding around us. "But if we kill them now, it'll only prove that the system is flawed. People will question everything—the compatibility tests, the matches, our authority." I took a deep breath, glancing at the two women, still bound and struggling under the weight of the crowd's judgment. "We have to do this the right way. Let's follow the King's order."
The queen's eyes was filled with anger, but I saw a flicker of doubt in them too. She didn't want to listen, but she was a strategist. She knew, deep down, that I and Dad was right. The system was everything. If it was discredited, it would mean the end of our rule. The end of the royal family.
The king took a step forward, taking charge as he addressed the crowd. "Let it be known that the results are final. Christopher Vance's match is Kimberly Dawson and Patricia Hayes." His voice was loud and clear. "And no punishment will befall them. The system will be upheld."
A ripple of disbelief ran through the crowd. The murmurs grew louder, the people struggling to come to terms with what they'd just heard.
The queen sat down aggressively, her face turning red. Then she leaned in and whispered.
"Is this what you want, Christopher?" she asked quietly, it sounded like a warning than a question. "To ruin everything the royal family has built for years? For them?"
"No, Mother," I said, calmly as possible. "I don't want to ruin anything. But I can't just go along with this. I can't… I can't kill them because the system says I'm supposed to be matched with them. It doesn't make sense."
"So defying me in front of thousands of people is now the best?," she hissed, her eyes rolling as she turned away from me. "This will not be the end of this, Christopher. I promise you that."
The king returned to his seat and remained silent as my mother stood up and stormed out, her anger was obvious to all and would make the front papers by evening. His eyes, though tired, followed her movement as she left, as if he were weighing his next words carefully. When he spoke again, it was with a quiet resolve.
"Christopher, this is far from over," he said. "But for now, you must take responsibility for this match."
"Yes, I will."
"We will try to figure out a solution but for the mean time you will speak to both women privately, and you will handle this... situation with care."
I nodded, my heart still pounding, but at least I had a brief moment of peace. The crowd was slowly dispersing, their mutterings continuing, but I knew they were not satisfied with the outcome. My stupid result made them go home without a feast and more questions about the compatibility system.
My mother might not have gotten her way today, but her rage would only grow. I could feel it in my bones.
As I turned toward the women still chained and waiting, their expressions a mix of confusion and defiance, I took a deep breath. " Release them and take them for grooming. Let them wait for me at the B Block." I gave the instructions.
The guards dragged them up, and released their chains. But I couldn't help but notice the green eyes staring into my soul from down, she looked pissed and very bold. Almost like she was conveying a message.
I looked at the screen. "Patricia Hayes Huh?"
Michael came closer and whispered. "Do you like her? She definitely looks feisty."
"I'm not sure." I replied.
The real challenge had only just begun. But my eyes were on Patricia Hayes. Kimberly Dawson didn't mean anything to me.