The whole stadium rose as soon as the announcer made them aware of the arrival of the most esteemed patron to grace the games; King Robert Goodman.
“We love you our King!” chorused several sections of the stadium as the King slowly made his way past them; across the racetracks towards the podium where he was going to deliver a message to officially open the national games.
All cameras were upon the King, and the video images of the royal family were on each of the eight big screens around the grand stadium.
Next to the King was his Queen, Linda Goodman; his wife of almost thirty one years. She held the King’s hand and with her free one, waved at the over-excited crowd.
Right behind the King and Queen was their only son, twenty year old Prince Scott Goodman. For almost ten years after their wedding, Linda Goodman couldn’t get pregnant for some reason.
It was a horrible time, especially for Linda because the pressure to ‘give Robert a child’ didn’t just come from her family and Robert’s. Most of the pressure came from the rest of the kingdom. The people wanted their Queen to perform ‘every queen’s basic duty’; which was to produce an heir to the King’s throne; otherwise let another capable woman step in as Queen.
And for ten years King Robert Goodman had to pull every trick out of his hat to suppress national calls for him to marry another wife who was capable of giving him children. According to tradition, A King could not afford to be childless; it was a sign of irresponsibility towards the future of the nation. So King Goodman was under pressure to take another wife and give the nation the heir they so wanted.
That was why Linda Goodman believed that having Scott when she did; was nothing short of a miracle. When she realized that she was pregnant, she didn’t go to her regular private doctor for confirmation; she went to one of the public hospitals so that the news of her pregnancy spread throughout the kingdom within minutes.
Indeed, Linda Goodman’s unborn child had not only saved the Queen’s marriage; it had also saved her from the shame of being forever remembered as the woman who couldn’t give the King an heir to his throne!
The twenty year old prince was the darling of the nation. Of course, the young ladies throughout the kingdom were more excited about Scott Goodman than everyone else. Scott was not only handsome and smart and the most eligible bachelor of his time; he was also a very athletic and outgoing character. He was a very friendly young man who didn’t care too much about the excessive security that was provided for him.
So he too, waved excitedly at the cheering crowd, as he walked right behind his parents. As his smiling face appeared on the big screen; many young ladies screamed ecstatically, shouting “I love you, Prince Scott Goodman!”
The focus slowly shifted back to the King and Queen as they reached the podium. The King leaned in to kiss his Queen and say a few sweet words to excuse himself while he stepped onto the podium to handle the national duty at hand.
But as he turned to take the only step up onto the podium, the king suddenly blacked out. He already had one leg on the podium’s step but he couldn’t get enough strength to lift the other; and neither could he reach for anything to hold onto. In an instant, the King lost his balance and started falling backwards in his unconsciousness.
The entire stadium turned quiet as everyone held their breaths; hoping that their King would not hit the ground in full view of the entire nation. The cameras quickly cut their feed to the big screens; obviously to prevent broadcasting of the embarrassing incident.
An alert member of the royal guard stepped forward and tactfully caught the King, holding him back to an upright position to make it seem like he was still in control of all his faculties. And as if by some sort of miracle, the King regained his consciousness. His legs were a little weak but the alert royal guard quickly urged him, “My King, you must walk up to that podium this instant. The people must not believe that you are not well enough to give a simple speech!”
The guard was entirely correct. And King Goodman urged himself back to composure and made it onto the podium, unassisted. The cameras sent images of a seemingly strong and healthy King to all the big screens; and the crowd killed the silence with great cheers and jubilation.
The whole incident lasted only a couple of seconds.
Starting with a little joke about the mishap and laughing it off as ‘one of those things’, King Robert Goodman went on to deliver his short speech before proceeding to his seat, from where he’d watch the sporting games for the rest of the day.
But as soon as he was comfortably seated; and the cameras shifted focus to the competing athletes; the queen turned to King Goodman and exclaimed, “Robert, it’s time you considered the surgery; the blackouts are getting worse!”
The king nodded reluctantly. He knew exactly what his wife’s words meant.
He cast a glance towards his only son and wondered if the lad was nearly as ready as he needed to be for what was coming
