The King's Unbreakable Wife-Chapter 101: Plans for the future (1)

Tobias stayed with Hazel until it was time to send her off with her family. As much as he would like for her to stay in the palace for them to properly celebrate their engagement, she had to go so he could bear with all the conversations that would need to be had.

"We need to talk," Tabitha said, standing beside Tobias to watch the Wallaces leave.

"Is it something that will make us clash or something that will be useful to me? I am not over how adamant you were about making her take a pointless test. All of you were going to hurt her," Tobias said, not sparing a glance at his mother.

He heard all about the so-called test the doctor liked to do and it made no sense. Whether or not the girl was a virgin was a hunch and the test was merely an excuse to experiment.

Tabitha stayed silent for a moment, thinking of the best answer that would not have Tobias getting more angry at her. "We have the best doctors in the kingdom and all have different ways of doing things. I do not understand their methods-"

"We’ve got good and bad doctors here. A few have been great at creating new medicines after years of studying and taking risky trips all around the kingdom or outside of it to learn more. Then we have some who enjoy experimenting. Hazel is not to be anyone’s test," Tobias said, watching the carriage safely sent through the gates.

"I did not want to test her as I have heard that the test hurts-"

"You wouldn’t listen to the fact that I did not touch her. Even when everyone else in the room stood strong it should be trusted that Hazel and I did nothing. How is it that her family believed me more than my mother?" Tobias asked, finally turning to his mother.

"You’ve built yourself up a reputation of being a flirt. I’ve recalled a few times you left the palace and the guards had to drag you out of bed with a woman to bring you back here. How was I to believe that the two of you who snuck off once into the garden did nothing? Why did you feel the need to run away from the guards watching you?" Tabitha asked.

She could trust Tobias if he stopped giving her reasons not to. He was not being the most honest and well-behaved person these days.

"Do not lie mother. The guards have never pulled me out of bed with a woman. I’d appreciate it if you don’t start rumours now that Hazel will be living in the palace. I’ve never tried making a woman like Hazel sleep with me. Regardless of what you and many others think, I have some lines I don’t cross. I’m done," Tobias said, turning around to go inside.

Now that the selection was over and Hazel was out of the palace, he didn’t need to be speaking with anyone other than if the court started making noise.

"Tobias," Tabitha called, walking behind him as she was not finished yet. "I am sorry."

"For what exactly? You’ve been having a lot to apologise for these days," Tobias replied, continuing to walk ahead of his mother.

"I cannot tell you if you walk ahead of me. It is not an apology for anyone’s ears but yours so please, slow down," Tabitha pleaded.

They were just on the right path to making amends and one day had ruined it because she was trying to settle the court.

Tobias stopped so his mother could catch up to him.

"I apologise for my actions earlier. I still stand on the fact you make it hard for me to trust you these days. I was trying to follow what the court wanted because it would avoid a mess later, but I will admit that I refused to listen to you because you ruined the selection," Tabitha confessed.

"The queen failed to take control of the selection. That is what the court is already saying. I failed one of my only duties of following tradition. It was only three days to go and then this would have all been over. This would have ended without anyone pointing fingers. I know that you are upset with me trying to pick your wife, but must you be against me so much to make it hard for me?"

Tobias sighed as though he was angry at first he could not stay that way when his mother sounded on the verge of crying. "I didn’t mean to make life hard for you, mother. I wanted to end the schemes I heard were happening because of my interest in Hazel. I wanted to be with her and not put on a show as if I cared for the other women."

"Honestly, isn’t it time that we take back control of the palace? You allow the court to order you around. They do as they like because you are so quick to please them. We are the royals," Tobias said, reminding his mother in case she forgot.

The court was here to help them care for the kingdom. They had no place to question who was picked to be the next queen or create a fuss over the selection being over.

"When I am king, I will end the selection," Tobias revealed.

There were better ways for a king to find his queen.

"You cannot-"

"Do you even know why it started in the first place? One of the old kings welcomed many women of different ages into the palace so he could fool around with them, whether they liked it or not, and then he picked his queen. Still, he kept a few that he liked around. No one uses the tower on the east side of the palace because one of the women jumped from there. Our library has pretty interesting books," Tobias said, enjoying the look of horror on his mother’s face.

It was a well-covered story since the only books with this part of history were here in the palace and not just anyone could read them.

Tobias had started to enter the library near the time his father started to speak more of him becoming king and rather than learn everything from his tutors, he visited the library to learn the hidden secrets of the palace. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

"I will say that a good job of turning around the selection was done, but there were a few kings who still slept with the women in the selection. Those crazy bastards would laugh in our faces for wanting to test Hazel. I’d rather not torture any more women and princes to go through this so it will end with me," said Tobias.

"You cannot...Wait," Tabitha said, touching her head.

"Oh, don’t tell me that you weren’t aware of how it started. Men had beautiful daughters. A king wanted to sleep with all to see that he was making-"

"Enough!" Tabitha yelled, not wanting to hear any more of it. "Regardless of how it started, it has changed into something different."

"Who is to say that one king in the future won’t realise that he could do as he pleases and change what the selection is for? You’ve become quite sheltered by rarely leaving the palace so you don’t know just how messed up this world is. Of course, the palace isn’t exactly a place filled with innocence," Tobias said, looking around at the pretty cage.

"What we want now differs from what the people in the past wanted. Why should we continue to follow the rules the dead made so they could reap the benefits? I’ll try not to get you stressed by listening to the court’s complaint. If that is all, I would like to leave."

"I won’t get in your way of whatever you plan to do as king, but some traditions do bring the kingdom some joy. You sound as if you are planning to enter a battle with the court when you become king. Please protect yourself, Tobias. I do not want to ever bury any of my children," Tabitha said, fearing it might happen if Tobias were to battle the court.

These men had gained great power over the years and were well-connected with other powerful men all over the kingdom.

"I have no intention of dying. I can’t leave Hazel alone in the palace."

"Of course," Tabitha said, smiling because of his answer. "There is nothing for us to do right now. Do you mind joining me in having some tea with your sister? She must be curious about what happened and it’s been some time since we sat together."

"Once the court’s anger has passed, I will be like myself again," Tabitha promised. "I will help her become a great queen."

"I love the mother that I had before the selection started so I will trust that you will take great care of Hazel when this settles. I will join you for tea," Tobias answered, putting an effort into moving forward by joining her.

It would be easier for Hazel to join the family if he wasn’t at odds with his mother.