The Choice

Selena

“All council members and defendants, I want you in court whenever you’re ready!” Colin shouts above the crowd. I ran quickly to his study with the family to grab the evidence and then run to the courthouse. Luckily Liam and Ayla stay behind while the others go on ahead. To be honest, I’m nervous… I’ve never been to court before, but I’m confident that the council is on my side. Does help that all of them are family? When we get there, I can hear the murmurs of the crowd. Probably people are guessing the outcome of today’s gathering. There’s two desks up front for the defendant and the prosecution. The council bench is raised above us. Everyone taking their seats waiting for it to start.

Soon I see Ayla, Danielle, Xander, Rosetta, and Jude all changed from their party clothes into their full royal attire, all of them looking so serious that you wouldn’t have thought they were just at a party mere minutes ago. I’m sitting with Kieran on the defendant bench with my evidence. My hands are all sweaty with nerves. I had heard that the council is even here because if a King or Queen’s task became too heavy for him or her then they’d be able to go to the council. Now they have the power to investigate anyone, including rulers, put him or her on trial and hand out the punishment. Soon the banging of a gavel is rung throughout the room and the trial is about to start.

“I call to order the trial of the king and queen of OakCrown vs our new beta female Princess Selena Stoneshire.” Colin roars out in the room. We all hear a heavy and loud door open and hear chains being dragged on the floor. They come out in plain and simple clothes like a peasant would wear along with silver chains. Again you wouldn’t have thought that they had also come from the same party we all did. Once in beautiful royal suits and gowns being reduced to peasant clothes. I can see my mother’s disgusted face by having to wear such clothes.

“You seem distracted.” Kieran asks me in a hushed tone as he caresses my leg.

“Do I? It’s not every day your biological and adopted family are put on trial.” My voice is shaky with nerves and he grabs my hand.

“I’ve already told you… we’ll make it through this” He leaned towards me to kiss my temple. The gavel rings out again. The crowd hushes again as Colin stands up again.

“Your opening statement Princess Selena. Tell the court what happened.” Colin tells me in a gentle tone. I get up from behind the bench and take a deep breath.

“Members of the council, people of the court. I stand here today… because I was told by my biological father, King Lucian Camus, sent me to live with King Jasper and Queen Anna… because I wasn’t a boy… I’d get a life of being ignored… but yet I was given away because I was a girl, and yet Princess Rosetta gets the life I should’ve had!” People gasp and stare at her! I could feel the tears in my eyes welling. “You know what… I’m tired… I’m tired of fighting every. single. day! I fight to wake up and go to bed! All I do is fight for everybody else, but when is somebody going to feel like I’m good enough to fight for!” I let that hang in the air for a moment as I stare at Kieran. “I’m tired of surviving and I want to live dammit! You think it’s just so easy to get over everything? To just let go of 20yrs of being ignored and abused!? You think I wouldn’t give anything to let go!?” I scream at them and I see their faces drop with sadness and guilt. Sure now they care when they’re being called out on it. “I want to be good enough for somebody too but all I’ve heard my whole damn life is that I’m not good enough! I didn’t think I’d hold a title like my brother Jude or be as special as Gwen! Come to realize I’m not even their god damn daughter! I’m supposed to be yours and you didn’t want me!” I see the shock on their faces as I walk closer to them. “Yeah, I know… King Lucian graciously told me when he and Damian KIDNAPPED ME AS I JUST CAME HOME FROM MY HONEYMOON!” The crowd murmurs again, and Colin beats his gavel again.

“Silence!” The crowd grows louder, and he bangs on it again. “SILENCE!” His alpha voice growls through the hall and everyone grows quiet. “All this because she wasn’t a boy??” My parents don’t make eye contact with the council.

“Oh, wait there’s more. King Jasper had been showing me pictures of men for me to marry since I was 16… I’m now 21… I fought hard for my fated mate even when I didn’t know who he was at the time. So I was given a choice… either marry someone because he was royalty shifter or human or be banished. They pretended to make it special by making it into a ceremony, but it’s not. It’s a fancy banishment. Supposedly a wizard or witch friend of my father’s enchanted those doors to go to specific areas of the kingdom. I had a choice between a dragon kingdom or a wolf kingdom. Also, I also could not shift! I hadn’t shifted in three years until I met Kieran and his family! I’m happily mated to Alpha Kieran Stoneshire of Moonstone pack. Because it’s not some high noble or an important alliance THEY DON’T CARE! The thing is… what was meant to be a punishment ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me. It landed me in the arms of my mate. So in a way I should thank you! I’ll end my statement, your majesty.” I do an unemotional curtsy and I wipe away my angry tears and walk away before Carolina rips them to shreds. Kieran is by my side in seconds calming me down. Trying to comfort me with a hug and letting his scent calm me. The room is eerily silent. I see the council members converse between them as we go back to my seat. Colin stands up with a solemn look on his face.

“We’ve heard enough… before your sentence is revealed you’re given a chance to speak. So if you want to speak now.” My father smugly holds his head high and stands.

“We plead guilty and wouldn’t change a thing.” The crowd and myself all gasp. To know they have no shame in what they did… hurts even more.

“Very well… we hereby strip you of your titles of king and queen and just like you had given your daughter we’ll give you a choice. Banishment or death… your choice.” I look at my parent’s horrified faces.

“I will say one more thing to them.” I stand up from my bench and walk to them…. “You are after all the people who ‘raised me’...” They bow their heads with a murmured ‘your highness.’ “I want you to know that I’ll forget you after this moment and never think of you again… but I’m sure you will think of me every single day for the rest of your life.” I walk back to my bench and hide my face in Kieran’s chest.

“Guards take them away for now and put them in a holding cell while we get their punishment set up.” A heavy guard takes them away and I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. “We’ll take a ten-minute recess.” The crowd talks amongst themselves as I just start bawling into Kieran’s suit. Soon two magical doors are in the middle of the floor and I’m having flashbacks to when this happened to me… Colin motions to the guard and the heavy door is opened again with the clanging of chains being dragged on the floor.

“I’m sure this looks familiar to you, and I’m also sure you know what this does. You are now faced with the choice that you had given your daughter. Only this time I don’t think yours has a happy ending. You have a choice… dragon country… or bear country…” Gasps are heard in the crowd and my mother looks at Colin with disgust, but says nothing. “Choose wisely… this will be your new home, and you will lose contact with everyone here!” I can hear them whispering between them and I know they don’t like either choice. We don’t have excellent relationships with dragons and bears, but it’s better than here where everyone hates you. They walk very poised to the doors, and walk towards the bear door.

“So you choose bear country?” They nod their heads solemnly. “Very well. Hope you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, because you will… a lot.” Mother has a disgusted look on her face but has no choice, she has no power here anymore. If anything, this was the more graceful punishment that they could’ve given them. “Very well… off you go. Have a pleasant life in bear country.” Mother is about to open it, before a chair screeching the floor is heard.

“Wait!” Jude stops them and everyone is shocked. Clearly this wasn’t planned. “There’s half to the story that Selena doesn’t know… my half. What happened after she went through the door.” Uuhh.. this is totally unplanned. He takes a deep breath and gets down from the council stand. He walks up to me with a sad look.

“I’m sorry for not helping you while you lived under Oakcrown. As heir, I should’ve helped you, and yet I was too conflicted to know what to do, but now as I see you here, as I hear your story. It’s finally time to come clean. Mother and Gwen had been plotting against you for a while. They knew where you went, but didn’t know it was your mate. They just thought Moonstone was a joke. Some small country pack that you’d be lost in. Dad just carried on like life was normal pretending your banishment never happened, pushing Gwen to marry some royal whoever, and unlike you Gwen didn’t mind it. That is until the Christmas ball where she met Damian. I didn’t think it was fair that you were cast out for wanting your fated mate, while Gwen and mother were cheering that she found hers. I supported you with your engagement and mating ceremony. I had to sneak off and pretend to be at some royal business whatever to be there, but I didn’t care. I wanted to see you happy.” He took another deep breath. I guess this had been on his mind for a while. I hugged him. “Despite what my parents may think. I don’t hate Kieran, I support you and him. He’s a great guy from what I’ve seen. And as new Oakcrown King I fully support you.” He smiles sweetly to me only for the moment to be ruined by a scream.

“NO!” Mother and father shout at him. He turns and walks to them angrily.

“Considering you’re on the verge of banishment, you don’t have a say on what I do now! I’m free to be the King I want to be! I won’t be shedding any tears over you leaving!” They gasp at him and he walks back to us. “Please feel free to come and visit anytime, and you as well Liam and Ayla. He too was banished because he wanted his mate. This isn’t the first time they did it and I’m glad it stops with me. No one else is getting banished because they don’t want an arranged marriage. Now off you go!” Before mother and father could object, he pushes them in through the bear door and everyone is just stunned! You could hear a pin drop. He smiles at me and hugs me again. Colin with a smug look on his face looks proud of him too. Jude goes back to his council seat and goes back to his stone cold, no expression face.

“Well… that just happened. Uuh Thank you representative Jude Westwood of Oakcrown.” I think Jude broke Colin. Liam and Ayla look just as stunned. I guess he’s over his shyness. “I guess that ends the first trial, we’ll continue this tomorrow. Court adjourned.” Jude, Liam, and Ayla come down from their council seats and just rushes towards me.

“Did that really just happen?!” I laugh out my question. “I can’t believe you did that!”

“Well, any representative has a right to hand out the punishment, and I was tired of waiting. They needed to get out of power a long time ago.” Not denying that, but wow.

“No offense little brother, but I didn’t think you had the guts to do it. Now you just shocked an entire kingdom. I think you broke Colin and Arabelle.” We all laughed and gave each other a group hug.

“Well like you, I’m turning over a new leaf. I think we might’ve struck fear into Gwen and Damian as their trial is coming up soon. I hate that pretty much my entire family that I lived with is now gone.” Oh, yeah.. but soon he sniffs the air like he’s looking for something.

“Jude? What’s wrong?” I asked him with concern. He keeps sniffing the air like a madman. “Jude what’s going on!?”

“My mate is here! Meadow breeze and wildflowers… she’s here!” He walks around the room to find… Danielle?

“Well, what do ya know… our little brother isn’t so little anymore…” Liam and I just smile at him as he and Danielle giggle at each other.

“No, he’s not… but at least Oak and Pinecrown will have an alliance now.” We laugh as we remember what our parents taught us… alliances are everything. Liam hugs me again and I go back to Kieran and smother him with a kiss.

“One down… two to go.” I snuggle into his chest and look at my siblings. Liam is happy with Ayla, Jude is starting his romance with Danielle. During the chaos we can find something to be happy about.