by M. S. Brook
“I understand.”
We finished the horses in silence and walked out into the starlit evening, Uncle Leo put his hand on my shoulder. “I have something to show you. Wait for me by the tower gates. I’ll walk home with you.”
Standing by the torchlit gates, I pulled the pendant out of its hiding place. Cupping it in my hand so that no one who passed by would see it, I risked a quick look at the stone, gleaming blue and red in the flickering light. Even my most treasured possession was proof that I was different. I dropped it back inside my tunic.
Uncle Leo reappeared with a leather pouch tucked under his arm, and we walked in silence across the green. We found Mama and Papa in the sitting room. Mama took one look at our faces and put aside her work. I sat between her and Papa on the oak settee and Uncle Leo sat opposite us. I crossed my arms; my heart felt like it was taking up too much room in my chest.
Uncle Leo rubbed his beard and stared into the fire. “I’ve waited so long to tell this that I hardly know how to begin. Daryn and Clare will remember the night I brought a small, dark-haired child into this very room. I told you nothing about her except her given name. But you were willing to take her in and care for her as your own flesh and blood. I could not tell you who she was, for had her identity become known, it would have placed her in grave danger. That is still true today, and all that I am about to say must not leave this room. But the time has come for Aidriana to know who she is. You’ll remember that I told you her parents were lost in the war, but there are a few details I left out.”
For reasons I could not understand, I was suddenly desperate for Uncle Leo to stop—for our lives to go on as they always had before Orabella. Uncle Leo must not have noticed the turmoil on my face, because he kept right on going.
“Orabella saw the truth about you, Aidriana, and I think you saw it too. Your heart has always had an inkling of who you are. It doesn’t fit with what you think you know about yourself, but I have all the proof you need right here.” He patted the leather bag in his lap, his gaze seeming to search out all my hidden places. The trembling sensation swept over me again. I might have run away like I did the night Madam Orabella spoke to me, but this time, I didn’t have the strength of a newborn kitten.
“Aidriana, every time I speak your name, I am making a declaration of your heritage. All these years, you’ve unknowingly carried both of your parents’ names, hidden within your own. You see, your father is King Aidan, and your mother was Queen Riana—you are Princess Aidriana of the Royal House of Enfys.”
I looked at Mama and Papa, but they were too stunned to speak. “How can that be true?” I said slowly. “My parents were lost in the war. You told me so yourself.”
“There’s more to the story,” Uncle Leo said in a gentle voice. “Would you like to hear?”
I gave a tense nod, and he continued. “Queen Riana died two years after you were born. She was not killed directly by the fighting, but the strain of constant war was a factor in her illness. One year later, the king, who had fought off countless attacks, was forced to abandon Ashling Keep and flee to an ancient fortress in the mountains called Eagle’s Hold. This was not long before your third birthday. He gave me, his trusted advisor and friend, the responsibility of hiding you and keeping you safe until he could take you back to Ashling Keep. Thus you have lost your father to the war, though I hope he will yet be restored to you.”
“But…we’d always heard there was a son,” Papa said after a long minute. “We never suspected—”
“Exactly so. That was a ruse, designed to protect Princess Aidriana.”
I closed my eyes and remembered to breathe. For all my wild dreams and fancies, I could never have guessed anything like this…
“The king left several gifts for you, Aidriana, in the event that he would not be able to come for you as soon as he hoped. He wanted you to have the pledgestone pendant, of course, and then there’s this box.” Uncle Leo unknotted the thong holding the leather bag closed and pulled out a highly polished box, beautifully carved with contrasting grains of inlaid wood. He handed it to me along with a small golden key.
My hands trembled so that I could hardly turn the key in its ornate lock. Inside the box, I found a letter, written on stiff, creamy paper, folded and sealed with red wax, and stamped with the royal signet. Under the letter lay a miniature painting, an oval-shaped portrait of a royal couple. I picked it up, noticing first that the king’s dark brown eyes and the queen’s curly dark hair looked just like my own. They were dressed in the royal robes of state, their blouses made of fine purple cloth with ermine-edged fur capes draped over their shoulders. Each wore a golden, filigreed crown, elegantly set with rainbow-colored stones. Suspended on golden chains around their necks were matching pledgestones, just like mine.
I held the portrait so Mama and Papa could see it. Mama was the first to speak, her voice unsteady. “You look just like them, dear girl…you have your father’s fine eyes and your mother’s smile.”
“Yes,” Papa said. He blinked several times, his voice husky. “You do. I can see you in their faces.”
“Oh, Papa!” I pressed my face against his chest and began to sob like a little girl.
“All right, steady on, steady on,” he said, rubbing my tense back and holding me close to his heart. “We’ve had a lot to take in.”
“I can’t read the letter right now, Papa.”
“It’s all right. We’ll sort it out later.”
Mama pressed my hand in her own and said to Uncle Leo, “She’s had enough for tonight, dear friend.”
“There’s no hurry. We will talk it through together. But speak of this to no one. We must go on as if nothing has changed.”
“But what about the woman?” Mama said. “People are talking.”
“I’ve asked her to say that she was still unwell, overwrought by her perilous journey, as indeed, she was. She understands the danger and will keep silent in future. I will say good night, then.” The door clicked shut behind him.
With my face still buried in Papa’s damp shirt front, I said, “No matter what happens, you will always be my Mama and Papa.”
“Yes, little Princess,” Papa said, “that will always be the same.”
Chapter 14
I slipped out of the cottage at first light, clutching the box with the portrait and unopened letter inside. As I walked across the green to the tower, the rising sun splashed its glory on an untouched sky, bathing the tower’s sandstone walls in a rosy glow. “All this belongs to my father,” I whispered to myself. To my newly opened eyes, every dressed stone, every proud turret, was perfect.
I walked around the south wall to the herb garden and took a seat on a damp stone bench. Now that the shock had worn off, I was eager to know what the king had written to me so long ago. The letter lay nestled against the silky, sky-blue lining of the box. Written in an elegant hand was the address: To the Princess Aidriana of Enfys, care of Sir Lionel Wells, Warder of the Key of Ashling.
Sir Lionel Wells? Even the address held a revelation for me. Uncle Leo had a title he’d never told us about. I picked up the letter and turned it over to examine the red seal. The royal signet, the intertwined letters H of E, was clearly imprinted in the hardened wax. I slid the blade of my penknife under it, taking the greatest care not to damage the wax image. Once unsealed, I hesitated, staring at the folded paper. What would it say? Would it tell me what my flesh and blood parents were like? What they felt and thought about me when I was born? Or would it be full of instructions for what their heir should do?
Finally, in the way of a swimmer plunging into a cold lake, I took a deep breath and opened the letter. It was written in the same beautiful style and hand as the address. I began reading.
My dear daughter, Aidriana,
If you are reading this letter, you will of course know that I have been delayed in coming for you. Indeed, I can
scarcely bear thinking that I may be separated from you for a long while, but I must take the precaution of writing this in case the worst comes to pass.
I have done the best I know to keep you out of danger, entrusting your safety to my most loyal officer and friend, Sir Lionel Wells. He will see that you are protected and well cared for.
I know you must be overwhelmed with questions and perhaps sadness too, especially in regard to your mother, Queen Riana. I can tell you that she adored you. She spent the days after your birth tenderly caring for you. I loved to hear her laughing and singing over you. But two years after you were born, she fell ill with a terrible fever. The healers did all they could, but she succumbed.
Not long after that, the Northlands came under deadly attack from the war bands of Domaine. We have fought them on many fronts, but now they threaten to lay siege to Ashling Keep, and we do not have the strength to withstand them for long. I have made plans to abandon the keep for now, but we will not give up the fight. Today we leave in a large company to draw away the attention of spies. Later on, under cover of darkness, Lionel will steal you away into hiding. I hope to come for you soon, but if I am delayed, know that I will come as quickly as I am able.
As I write this letter, you are sleeping peacefully in the arms of your Uncle Lionel. At nearly three years of age, you have the curly dark hair of your mother. I fancy I can see an echo of her lovely face when you smile and laugh. Dear sweet Aidriana, I would give all the treasure of the realm to keep you with me, but for your safety I must let you go.
Quickly, there is one other thing you must know. While you were yet in your mother’s womb, a woman known as a seer spoke over you. She said this to the queen: “As you push this child into the world, you will push light into the darkness. As surely as the sun rises, a new hope dawns in the land. The realm shall be restored as in ancient times and victory shall come to you borne on the wings of a song.”
This is your promise, Aidriana, and it is waiting for you.
Forgive me, this is a weighty word for a young lady who has just learned that she is the daughter of kings, but you must know that you have a destiny. You must not allow the light of Enfys to be extinguished. I regret that you have to live in troubled times. But I know that I will be so proud of you when I once again see your sweet face and look into your laughing eyes.
I remain always your loving father,
King Aidan of Enfys
Ashling Keep
Year of our Realm 1577
I carefully folded the letter along its stiff creases and exchanged it for the miniature portrait. I studied the faces for a long time.
Queen Riana’s face was appropriately serene for the formal portrait, but her eyes were laughing as if her efforts to restrain her mirth only made it break out elsewhere. Her dark ringlets, so elegantly dressed for the occasion, were the exact color of my own unruly curls.
So much about her was familiar. If only I could have known her. But she was lost to me before I was old enough to understand who she was.
And the king. Would I ever see him again? He had survived that desperate flight from his fortress at Ashling Keep, but where was he now? I looked at his warm, brown eyes—like my own, Mama had said. His face was kind and open, his jaw firm; his small, neat beard was dark, as was his full head of hair, cut to shoulder length and worn loose in the Northern custom. I closed my eyes and fancied I could remember him. I did have early memories of a smiling, dark-haired man, but I’d always thought it was Uncle Leo. Could it have been my father? I was nearly three when I last saw him…perhaps I would never know.
In the portrait, the sparkling crown sat securely on his head, set with pledgestones, each reflecting a different color. Painted along the bottom margin were the golden scepter and Shield of Enfys, symbols of his authority. Truly they were a noble couple, and I was their descendant. Princess Aidriana of the House of Enfys. How would I ever get used to it?
I replaced the miniature portrait and opened the letter again. “You must know that you have a destiny.” What did that mean? It sounded like he thought I was meant to unite all the lands of the realm. But how could I, a young woman, do such a thing? He had not been able to do it himself. The queen was attacked and killed by illness, and the king forced to flee his ancestral fortress, his land overrun by Saduk’s Blackcoats. If that brave, good, noble couple could not unite the realm, how on earth could I?
I was drowning in questions when Uncle Leo found me. He sat down beside me, and I handed him the letter without a word. He took a moment to read it and then looked up. “You can trust that every word of this letter is true. I was present when the king wrote it in his own hand and sealed it with his signet ring.”
He handed the letter back to me, and I tucked it away in the box. “I hardly know how to thank you for all you’ve done,” I said, “for being my protector all these years. The more I learn about my past, the more I realize that all along you’ve been quietly working on my behalf. What would have happened to me if not for you?”
“It has been my pleasure to serve you, Princess Aidriana. And in so doing, I have carried out the express wishes of my king.”
I’d never heard that tone in his voice, and it made an impression. “There’s so much I want to ask you. For one thing, I just learned you have a title.”
“Mm, yes. I’m a Warder of the Key, but that’s a story for another day.”
“You owe me a lot of stories, Uncle, and someday I’m going to call in the debt. But can you tell me anything more about the king? When did you last hear from him?”
“Remember about five years ago, when I was gone for an entire summer?”
I nodded, remembering the summer before my warrior dream. It had seemed like he’d never come back.
“I found King Aidan under relentless pressure from Domaine. I don’t have to tell you that it wasn’t easy to leave him in danger, but he sent me back to watch over you. Truth is, I could have done little except to be with him.”
The years hadn’t softened the bitter sadness that seeped into his voice, and I felt my throat tighten. After a moment, his face relaxed, and he met my eyes again.
“I could not save the king, but I have succeeded in fulfilling his greatest desire—I have kept you safe and protected the lineage of Enfys. You are now the hope of the realm.”
“But how can you say that? You know me. How could I possibly be the hope of the realm? That’s madness!”
“You’re right. I know who you are. Better than anyone. And you will know too—much sooner than you think.”
“You frighten me when you say things like that. How can I ever live up to your expectations, which now seem to be the king’s expectations?” Once I’d started, I could no longer hold my fears and confusion inside. Uncle Leo sat and listened like he always did, unruffled by the tempest that broke over me.
“I can’t do this,” I said. “Not by myself.”
“Perhaps you won’t have to.”
I looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“Perhaps you will find the king. I believe that he still lives.”
Hot tears prickled my eyes, and I looked away.
Uncle Leo sighed. “Look, don’t try to take it all in one bite. It’s been too sudden. I didn’t intend for it to happen this way, but the timing was taken out of my hands. All I can advise is to be patient. You will come to know in your heart that it all fits together.”
“But what about Mama and Papa?”
“I wouldn’t worry about Daryn and Clare. Their love for you will never be breached. The tragedy of your birth parents and the circumstances in which the king was forced to leave you will only serve to make them love you more.”
I felt my throat squeeze again, and I swallowed hard. “I’m afraid they might feel that I don’t need them anymore. If I do find the king—and I want to more than anything—what happens to Mama and Papa?�
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Uncle Leo’s eyes were kind. “I know the king. He would never take anything from you—or from Daryn and Clare. Nothing good will be taken, only goodness added.”
I blinked back the tears, and he said, “Sometimes the circumstances of life can be formed to our will. At other times our situation is given to us already fixed. The Songmaker has seen fit to give you two sets of parents. Each has loved you and given you something of great value. From the king and queen, you received your life, your name, and your destiny. Daryn and Clare nurtured you and taught you how to live. Now it’s up to you. What will you do with your inheritance?”
“I wish I could be as wise as you,” I said. “Then I’d know exactly what to do.”
He laughed and tugged on his beard. “You see these gray hairs? I’ve had to earn every one of them.”
Our secret made my family more united than ever. “I understand now why you have such a strong desire to be a warrior,” Mama told me, and Papa agreed.
“You were following what is in your bloodline. We’re so proud of you!”
Mama, Papa, Uncle Leo, and I determined to go on with our lives as if nothing had changed. Because of his position in the council, we did not even tell Uncle Fergal. But many in the Household still looked askance at us. I wondered what they suspected and if they would be disappointed if they knew the truth. I was glad that the busy time of planting was upon us.
My friend Nieve would sometimes tell me what people were saying. “I heard that you might be of the king’s family,” she said one day.
“You’d have to ask Uncle Leo about that. He’s always said that my parents were lost in the war.”
“But don’t you wonder about them?”
I looked away. “More than you could ever imagine.”
“I’m sorry, Aidriana. I don’t mean to pry.”
Her sudden, contrite expression made me laugh. Nieve laughed too, not at all abashed. “But it’s just so interesting. I don’t have any other friends who might be royal.”
