A/N: See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.
Chapter 6: A Woman Who Fears the Lord
"Well what did you tell him?" Emmet questioned his sister later on that night as they were standing around together in the living area of his guest suite.
"I told him I needed some time to think about it. He told me he wanted me to keep the ring in the meantime."
"Liz, allow me to ask you a simple question. Are you in love with William?"
"Yes," she answered honestly without a moment's hesitation.
"Then what's there to think about? Tell him yes. Get married. Be happy. Live happily ever after."
"It's not that simple, Emmet."
"Actually, Liz, it is that simple."
"Not when the person you're in love with just happens to be the ruler of a country! Emmet, don't you understand? If I marry William, I won't just be marrying the man I love. I'll be marrying a royal position. If I marry him, I'll be saying yes to a job I may not be qualified to handle. I'm just an ordinary woman. I'm a simple, boring housewife-turned-bookstore-owner. I'm not royalty. I'm not a queen."
"In William's eyes, you are. And in mine as well."
"Thank you, Emmet. I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I'm not so sure. I can't even bear the pressure of being in the same room with Hyacinth. If I can't merely be around Hyacinth without breaking teacups, how on earth will I be able to handle the pressures of being a queen? I'd be an absolute nervous wreck in every single social situation I ever encountered. I'd be a terrible embarrassment to William. I couldn't possibly do something like that to him."
"Don't be silly, sis. William wants you as his wife and as his queen, and he wants you because of the kind, gentle, intelligent, wonderful woman that you are. He's well aware of the fact that you get nervous and break teacups occasionally, and he couldn't care less. He loves you."
Unable to think of anything else to say at the moment, Liz simply picked up the black velvet box that had been sitting on the coffee table, opened it up again for about the hundredth time that night, stared at the royal engagement ring, and sighed.
Two days later, Liz was able to have some time alone with William. He cleared his schedule so they could spend the afternoon together, and they had a lovely time eating lunch with one another in his suite. They talked, laughed, and caught up with each other, and it was delightful. But as soon as they were done eating, things turned serious.
"William, I've done a great deal of thinking over these past couple of days about your marriage proposal," Liz told him rather solemnly, and William could easily sense that this was bad news.
"Uh oh. Why am I starting to get the feeling that your answer to my proposal…is no?"
"William, I love you, and I love Priscilla. I love you both dearly. And there is nothing in this world that would make me happier than becoming your wife and joining your family."
"But?"
"But, I know that if I were to marry you, that would make me the Queen of Askana."
"That's right."
"William, I'm not a queen. I'm just a simple, ordinary woman. I can't even handle a coffee session with my next-door neighbor without going to pieces. How on earth would I be able to handle all the things I would have to do as a queen without falling apart and breaking everything in sight?"
William chuckled a bit, and he assured her, "Liz, when I was old enough to begin making appearances as the Crown Prince of Askana in my late teens, I always got the jitters. I was particularly terrified of appearing on television in front of tens of thousands of people. I've tripped dozens of times, and I've broken my share of glasses and cups and things. It doesn't matter if you're nervous or clumsy. It only matters what kind of person you choose to be; the way you choose to treat other people. The last Queen of Askana was perfectly graceful and poised in every situation. She never got nervous. She never dropped things or spilled things. She always seemed to know what to do and what to say. She was so charming. But underneath all of that, she was one of the most cruel, mean-spirited, emotionally abusive people I've ever had the misfortune to know. There's a verse in Proverbs that says, 'Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.' Ann appeared to have it all together on the outside. She was charming. She was beautiful. She appeared to be everything the Askanian people could possibly want in a queen. But on the inside, she was so very cruel that she drove her own child to a suicide attempt. And it took a long time, but the truth finally started coming out about her, especially after our divorce. The public eventually saw through her façade, and the last thing they want or need is another queen who's poised and charming on the outside and cruel on the inside.
"Many people are blissfully unaware of this fact, Elizabeth, but the cold, hard truth is, the vast majority of people who are political leaders in their countries are basically evil to their core, and I'm not just talking about elected leaders. I'm talking about royalty, too, and yes, that includes royalty in England. You would be utterly shocked at how many prime ministers, presidents, and royals in countries all over the world have ties to things that are not only illegal but downright gruesome. I'm talking about things like child trafficking and child pornography and pedophilia and the worst kind of abuse imaginable. It may sound crazy, but it's a sad and tragic fact that almost nobody becomes a political leader or a celebrity in any facet of the entertainment industry without selling their souls. I mean literally selling their souls. To the devil. To Satan, himself."
"How did your family escape that fate?"
"Three hundred years ago, one of my ancestors, King John Alexander I, ascended the throne after the previous king, his childless great-uncle, died of pneumonia. Like many other royal dynasties, his great-uncle put on a big show of ruling in the name of Christianity and believing in God when in fact, he was involved in a number of occult practices and satanic rituals behind the scenes. King John Alexander was different. He was a Christian, and not merely a Christian in name only like so many other fake and phony politicians. I do believe, based on his writings, that he was serious about his relationship with Christ. And he didn't just talk about it. He lived it. As soon as he came to the throne, he brought all of his great-uncle's evil practices to an abrupt end and publicly asked our entire nation to pray to Jesus for forgiveness. Afterwards, he worked tirelessly to bring an end to all the corruption that had been taking place in our government under his great-uncle's rule. New libraries and universities and hospitals were built. He helped the poor and the sick. He was a wonderful example to his family and our nation as a whole. And mercifully, through the years, most of his descendants have followed his example."
"It's obvious that you have," Liz said with a gentle smile.
"I've tried, but I have made many mistakes. When I was a young man, my parents tried very hard to get me to understand how terribly important it was, not just for my own eternal destiny, but for the sake of our entire nation, for me to come to faith in Christ. At the time, I saw it was silly, religious mumbo-jumbo, and I refused to listen. I rebelled because I resented being born into this life. I didn't want to rule a country when I was grown. I didn't want tens of thousands of lives on my shoulders. I wanted to live for myself and do my own thing. But as I grew older and I found out for myself what kinds of things were really taking place on the world stage behind the scenes, I realized just how right my parents were.
"What happened to my brother and my sister-in-law is only the latest attack my family and our country have faced. Things like that have been happening practically my whole life, from within and without. But the battle for Askana's safety is never physical. It's always, always spiritual. Ever since the reign of King John Alexander I, our country has taken a stand against the darkness, and whenever a country or a single person does that, they basically paint a big red bullseye on their back. When I ascended the throne at age thirty-one, I knew I couldn't protect and care for my country all on my own, and I've always relied on Christ, both for salvation and for help with looking after my country. And thankfully, He's always been there for me, even in my worst times when I was most distant from Him."
"I feel so foolish," Liz quietly admitted. "I first trusted in Christ for salvation when I was in my teens, but then after I lost my fiancé, Andrew, and my marriage to Frank went downhill and he left for Saudi Arabia, I felt as though Jesus had betrayed me and let me down, and I grew so distant from Him. All these years, the only reason I even continued having anything to do with the church was because Hyacinth would always drag me to church services and functions. And yet here you are, having carried a burden I can't even begin to imagine, and you're doing such a better job of clinging to your faith than I have."
"Don't praise me too much, and don't be too hard on yourself. I didn't always do such a good job of clinging to my faith. But thanks be to God, who never leaves nor forsakes His children, I'm still in the game. And so are you. Say yes to me, Liz. I love you. I need you. And what's more, the country of Askana and in fact the whole world needs you. With all the evil leadership in this world, we desperately need every God-fearing, honest, kindhearted person we can get our hands on. There are so many cruel people in positions of power. If someone gentle, patient, loving, and generous like you steps up to the plate and uses her position to take a stand for what's right, it could make a powerful difference for good in a world so torn apart by selfishness and greed. What do you say, Liz? Will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife? Will you stand by my side and help me try to make a positive difference in this insane world we live in?"
After a long silence, Liz looked at William with tears in her eyes and said, "Yes. Yes, William, I'll marry you."
William then threw his arms around Liz, gave her a long, hard, passionate kiss, and joyfully spun her around and around as she laughed out loud.