Loyalty and Royalty

LOYALTY AND ROYALTY

(2nd Samuel 11: 1-5)

She had retired to bed when she heard the door bell ring.

She checked the time: it was 9pm.

She wasn’t expecting any visitors. Who could it be?

She ignored it: whoever it was would probably go away if she didn’t answer the door.

But the visitor was persistent: the door bell continued ringing...

She got up angrily and opened the door and she was shocked at what she saw, shocked at who her visitor was.

The Royal Fleet was at her door, 2 officials from the Palace stood by it. “Good evening, ma’am. His Royal Highness asks to see you…”

She was surprised.

Then alarmed!

“My husband: is he okay?”

“He is fine, ma’am: I want to believe he is in contact with you often.”

“We spoke last night, but I haven’t heard from him since then.”

“Don’t worry, ma’am: I can guarantee you your husband is fine. Let’s not keep His Royal Highness waiting…”

“I’ll go dress up: give me a minute!”

She rushed back inside.

The King wants to see me!

Why?

What is going on?

She opened her wardrobe and looked at her clothes.

What should I wear?

Should I wear makeup?

Should I dress formal or informal?

Should I wear jewelry?

I wish I had more time to prepare, she thought. Good thing I have taken a bath already!

She picked an outfit and got out as quickly as she could…

The drive to the Palace took 3 minutes: her house was close by.

She had never entered the Palace before, even though her husband was one of the 30 soldiers in the Inner Caucus of the King. The Country was prosecuting a war with their neighbors, so her husband was at the war front. She had imagine something had happened to him and the King wanted to tell her personally.

As she entered the Palace, she was met by a chaperone.

“Welcome, ma’am. His Royal Highness will be with you in 10 minutes: I will take you to his waiting room. Follow me, please”.

She followed, walking through the corridors in the Palace, taking in the elegance and beauty. Power is good, she imagined.

She had never met the King before, she had only seen him on TV, online and in the newspapers and magazines. Her mind went back to her husband: she couldn’t shake off the feeling she was here for some bad news…

She remembered when they met, 3 years ago. Her husband had always been a soldier. He was drafted into the Inner Caucus of the King just before they got married 14 months ago. He was given a year off after their wedding, he had since been back on duty for the past 2 months. They have been communicating through phone and video calls since then. Her husband was loyal to her, loyal to the King. She looked forward to having him back from the war front as soon as possible.

In that moment, the door opened and the King walked in.

“Good evening, Your Majesty!” she curtsied.

“Ah! Good evening, ma’am, how are you doing? Sorry for keeping you waiting…”

She looked at him: he was taller than she had imagined.

And more handsome!

He smiled at her, showing a perfect set of teeth.

“Your husband is fine: I just spoke to him”, he said.

“I know you have never been to the Palace, let me take you round.”

He held her hand and squeezed it softly.

“This here is the Music Room…”

She looked inside: there was a grand piano, a big harp and other musical instruments.

“I wrote a lot of songs in here”.

“You write songs, Your Majesty? Woah! I’m impressed!”

“You are? I’m flattered! I hope to impress you more…”

He showed her a few other rooms.

Then he opened a double door and switched on the light. “And this is the Royal Bedroom, ma’am…”

In that moment, he squeezed her hand again. He had been holding it all the while.

She blushed and looked away.

He noticed.

He pulled her close and kissed her.

She looked into his eyes and saw THAT look.

“Your Majesty, I’m married…”

“I know, ma’am.”

“I want to be loyal to my husband, Your Majesty”

“Ah! Loyalty! That is a very good thing, ma’am. But you have seen my Palace. You can feel my power. I can tell you one thing: LOYALTY is good. But ROYALTY is better!”

He kissed her again.

She kissed him back and put her arms round his neck as he switched off the light…

Shalom,

Haruna Daniels