The kings stared back open mouthed. One by one they nodded.
“We accept this demonstration as evidence,” the King of Montaigne said.
“It is a trick,” the King of Gaveron said. “A parlor trick of a cheap magician!”
But he didn’t sound convinced. His voice wavered a little as he said it.
The King of Santelle stood.
“The Council accepts Evangelina Shadow-Storm’s three pieces of evidence: her knowledge of Aeonia’s castle secrets, her dwarf-made signet ring, and her demonstration of shadow magic. We recognize her engagement to Prince Alaric and her claim to the throne of Aeonia.”
King Noam nodded.
“I accept this evidence and support her. She may take the throne tonight if she wishes.”
Lina shook her head.
“No, I will not overthrow you, King Noam. I wish this transition to be peaceful. You will rule as long as you like. Alaric and I will take the throne after you.”
The kings nodded.
“That is a sensible solution,” the King of Montaigne said. “I have no doubt that Aeonia will flourish under your rule.”
“Her identity has been proved,” the King of Gaveron said. “But I do not accept her claim to the throne. There is one with a far greater right to rule Aeonia than this witch.”
“I do not accept her engagement,” the King of Kell said. “The prince agreed to choose a bride from one of our daughters.”
The King of Eldria stepped forward.
“I fail to see how anyone could have a greater claim to the throne than a surviving member of the royal family of Aeonia. King of Gaveron, do you have three pieces of evidence with you to say otherwise?”
The King of Gaveron shook his head.
“There is evidence, but I did not bring it. I didn’t think I would need it tonight.”
“Then you cannot make your claim. As to the question of the Princess Test, their marriage provides a peaceful solution to the question of who will rule Aeonia. I propose that we honor her wishes.”
The Council of Kings nodded in agreement.
“It is done then,” the King of Santelle said. “Congratulations to Princess Evangelina, heir to the throne of Aeonia.”
“And winner of the Princess Test!” Carina said.
Everyone turned to look at her.
“Well, she is, isn’t she? The rest of us may go back to our rooms? We’ve had a long day.”
The other princesses nodded. Fiora stepped forward as if to object, but thought better of it and stepped back into the line.
“Of course you may go,” King Noam said. “Stefan, will you escort these ladies back to their rooms?”
Stefan nodded. He winked at Alaric as he passed.
“I’m glad all your research paid off.”
The princesses filed out of the room. The King of Gaveron smiled at Lina. It wasn’t a pleasant expression.
“Now that you are heir, you will of course attend the rest of our council tonight. It will be an excellent chance to prove your strength. Your nobility.”
Lina leaned against Alaric. She had spent her strength fighting Nog and the Council. She had nothing left.
Alaric held her close.
“Princess Evangelina has expressed her wish for King Noam to maintain his position for the time being. Surely he can handle any negotiations that are needed?”
Lina nodded.
“I support King Noam’s decisions. He will remain the king.”
King Noam hugged Lina and Alaric.
“I am happy for both of you,” he said. “I do have one request before you go. Could you close the roof in case another storm blows in?”
“Of course.”
King Noam watched Lina turn the latch with her ring. The roof slid shut.
“Marvelous,” King Noam said. “Are there other secrets around the castle?”
“Hundreds.”
“I do hope you’ll show them to me sometime. Now go rest.”
Alaric helped Lina out of the throne room before anyone could object. She stood tall until the doors closed behind them. Then she collapsed into his arms.
He picked her up and kissed her forehead.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Put me down. I’ll try to walk.”
“You’ve done more than enough tonight, Princess Evangelina Shadow-Storm. Let me help you.”
Alaric held her close and carried her back to her room. Lina wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder.
51
Alaric opened his eyes. He was stiff from sleeping on a mattress on the floor. He turned his head and searched for Lina. She lay on her bed staring at him. He smiled at her, but she looked away.
Alaric pulled himself to his feet and navigated the sea of mattresses and sleeping people on the floor. Marta had insisted on staying in the room with them. So had Carina. Hilda volunteered to be a chaperon for the night. Bastien had joined her.
And King Noam insisted on stationing guards inside the room just to be sure the new Princess of Aeonia stayed safe.
Alaric stepped over Marta’s mattress and sat on Lina’s bed. He took her hand. She tensed but did not pull back.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“Better. A little.”
Her voice was hoarse. Raspy. She was still bruised, but the swelling had gone down.
“It will take time,” he said. “You will recover. I’ll search that vault for every healing potion for you.”
She smiled.
“Save some for yourself. You fought a goblin single handedly.”
“No, I wasn’t alone.”
He squeezed her hand gently. Lina frowned.
“Alaric, I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I know the idea of an arranged marriage bothers you. You’ve been miserable throughout the Princess Test. I didn’t mean to trap you in an engagement with me. I should have found another way.”
Alaric’s mouth went dry. He had thought this was settled. Did she not want to marry him after all?
“Lina-”
Tears glistened in her eyes.
“You may be able to get out of it. Once the Council leaves, I can disappear. The world forgot about me once. They can do it again. You’ll be free. You deserve to be free.”
“Lina, I don’t want to be free. Don’t you dare disappear. I love you.”
He raised her hand and brushed it against his lips. Lina shuddered.
“Don’t say that. I saw your face after I kissed you. You don’t have to pretend.”
“Lina, I expected you to slap me or worse up there. I was too shocked to react. I thought you’d hate me for killing your family.”
“Why would I hate you? You didn’t kill them. You had no part in that.”
“The Council of Kings blames me for my forefathers’ actions. I thought you would as well.”
She shook her head. A tiny gesture. Alaric wiped a tear from her cheek.
“If anything, I should apologize for trapping you,” he said. “You’re a hero. You sealed the darkness away twice. You shouldn’t have to marry me to save Aeonia from Gaveron.”
The corner of Lina’s mouth twitched up into a smile.
“I want to marry you.”
“Why? Why would you want a second rate prince without noble blood?”
“Alaric, I haven’t known you long, but I have seen your heart. You are the noblest person I’ve ever met. You are kind enough to share your breakfast with a complete stranger. Brave enough to attack a goblin with a piece of glass. Selfless enough to enter a completely miserable marriage to save your country. To choose the more miserable marriage to make sure you didn’t bring unhappiness to another. I saw you were about to choose Fiora.”
Alaric shrugged.
“If someone had to be miserable as a result of the Princess Test, it should be me. It was obvious Carina didn’t want to marry me. And it was very obvious that Fiora did.”
Lina laughed.
“After spending so much time with the royal family of Kell, I’m seriously reconsidering our trade relationship with them.”
Lina laughed.
“I can’t blame you. It might be a good idea to put some distance between us while they cool off. You’re sure this engagement doesn’t bother you, Alaric?”
“Bother me? Lina, do you have any idea how magnificent you are? You sacrificed your whole life to save Aeonia. You worked to protect us when none of us believed in you. You’re twice as brave as I am. Your story has been my inspiration since I was a child.”
“I wouldn’t trust that story too much.”
“Then it’s a good thing I loved you as Lina before I knew you were Evangelina Shadow-Storm.”
She blinked.
“Truly?”
“I swear it. Ask Stefan or Marta. They knew it before I did. I love you, Lina. I want to marry you. I want to rule by your side. We’ll protect Aeonia together.”
Alaric bent over Lina and kissed her gently. She wrapped her arms around him.
“Ahem.”
Alaric sat up. Hilda glared at them from a chair by the fire.
“As your chaperon, I cannot allow such behavior.”
Alaric sighed.
“What sort of behavior can you allow, Hilda?”
She thought for a moment.
“You may hold hands.”
They waited, but she didn’t continue.
“And?” Lina asked.
“Anything more would be inappropriate. Be grateful I’m not regulating the time you spend in each other’s company. When I was young, engaged couples were only allowed an hour of chaperoned time together each day.”
Alaric looked at Lina.
“What about in your century?”
“I don’t know. I was never engaged in my time.”
She reached for his hand.
The sound of fabric ripping filled the room. Carina stood.
“Blast, I’ve torn my sleeve. Hilda, will you take me to have it fixed?”
Hilda narrowed her eyes.
“I’m not falling for that trick, Princess. I am not leaving them unchaperoned until the wedding.”
Carina shrugged at Lina. The torn sleeve of her nightgown dangled around her wrist.
“I tried. You’d better invite me to the wedding.”
Lina and Alaric smiled.
“Of course we will.”
Epilogue
Queen Marta gripped Lina’s arm as they exited the carriage. Moonlight bathed the archive in a soft glow, and the fresh scent of the ocean filled the air.
“Why are you so nervous?” Lina asked. “Do you think it is a mistake to tell them?”
Marta swallowed.
“No, but they’ll be the first to discover the secret in over a century. That’s enough to make anyone nervous.”
Lina raised an eyebrow. Marta shook her head.
“I’m probably being silly, but what if Noam is angry that I lied? He thinks he married a goat herder. What if-”
“He doesn’t love you when he discovers you’re a member of the royal family that has been protecting Aeonia for a century? Marta, that makes you better, not worse.”
Marta swallowed again.
“I know. I keep telling myself that. The other members of the Society weren’t happy when I married him. They thought it was a mistake to get involved with the new royal family.”
Lina stopped just in front of the archive door. She turned and met Marta’s gaze.
“It will be alright. I told Alaric a far more fantastic tale, and he believed me. Noam will understand. If anyone in the Society objects to this, send them to me.”
Marta smiled at Lina and knocked once on the archive door. Simon opened it.
“Thank goodness you are here! Everyone else arrived some time ago. I have had a hard time keeping them here without explaining what is happening.”
Lina smiled.
“Thank you, Simon. We’ll tell them right away.”
Lina and Marta walked towards the group gathered at the front of the archive.
“But what is this about, Alaric?” King Noam said. “Why are we here?”
“Why, indeed?” Stefan said. “Dragging me here in the morning is one thing. Dragging me here in the middle of the night is something else entirely.”
The rest of the princes ignored the conversation. Prince Marcus, Alaric’s youngest brother, gazed around the moonlit archive. He stood taller than his father and had curly blond hair and a sprinkle of freckles across his face. He seemed completely content to study the patterns of moonlight on the mirrors.
Henry, Cael, and Benjamin stood in a group apart from the rest. They looked almost as nervous as their mother.
“Here,” Alaric said. “Lina will explain everything.”
Everyone turned to her. In spite of her reassurances to Marta, Lina’s heart beat faster. This secret had been kept for a century. Luca had hidden their family well. But the King of Aeonia needed to know the truth.
Alaric wrapped his arm around her and smiled.
“Lina is not the only secret that was hidden away. She would like to tell you more about the past so that we can move into the future together.”
King Noam glanced at Simon.
“This isn’t a royal secret, is it? Everyone in the room can hear this?”
Simon bristled. Lina spoke before the archivist could.
“Simon already knows about this, Your Highness. He has kept this secret his whole career.”
“Really?” Prince Marcus said. “Are there hidden scrolls somewhere? That would be marvelous.”
“Yes, what a treasure,” Stefan said. “More information.”
Lina squeezed Alaric’s hand and cleared her throat. It would be best to say it quickly. To get it over with. She didn’t want to lose her nerve.
“Your Highness, this concerns the war. When your ancestors took over the rule of Aeonia.”
The light faded from King Noam’s eyes. Everyone grew serious.
“Go on,” King Noam said. “I assume you have made yourself familiar with that incident even though you were asleep at the time?”
Lina nodded.
“Yes, but the story you know is not complete. My brother Luca was a court enchanter at that time. He opposed the king’s actions and refused to aid him. He sheltered members of the royal family who did not wish to fight. Luca hid them as efficiently as he hid me. Those who fought died, but those who hid lived safely for the rest of their lives. Their descendants live still.”
The princes turned to King Noam. He kept his face smooth and expressionless, but emotion wavered in his voice.
“You are sure about this, Lina? Not everyone died? They weren’t killed?”
She nodded.
“Luca used his magic to hide every trace of them just as he did with me. He was surprisingly good at it.”
“But you were asleep. Much easier to hide.”
“Not necessarily. It took a lot of work to hide all traces of me. Luca had to erase records without being obvious. I think he even tried to make the wolf statue look older by wearing away the marble before burying it in moss. But he hid the royal family in plain sight. They became goat herders.”
“Oh.”
King Noam looked at Marta.
“Oh! So you mean-”
Marta nodded.
“I would have told you if I could. I’m sorry.”
King Noam stared at her. Henry, Cael, and Benjamin were tense. Ready to run, Lina thought.
Then King Noam laughed. He took Marta’s hands and kissed them.
“All this time I worried what you thought of me. How you could marry a man whose ancestors had such blood on their hands. But you were protecting us all along?”
Marta nodded. She laughed along with him.
“Yes! Your ancestors were simply bad at searching. And I suppose Luca was good at h
iding.”
“Luca was a master of pranks,” Lina said. “And hiding that many people would be a sort of prank. He probably enjoyed the challenge. Most of the goat herders are descended from the royal family. Marta and I are distantly related.”
Stefan gaped at his stepbrothers.
“You were princes this whole time?”
They nodded.
“That’s it, then. No more goat herder excuses to get out of princely duties. I fully expect you to greet the next ten ambassadors who visit!”
Henry straightened his tunic.
“We weren’t always looking after goats, you know. Most of the time we left suddenly we were helping the Society of Evangelina.”
“You’re all part of the Society?” Marcus asked. “That’s fantastic! Can I join? I’ve always wanted to, and they wouldn’t let me!”
“The Society is an excuse for Luca’s descendants to meet,” Marta said. “We couldn’t risk a member who was an outsider.”
Marcus ducked his head.
“But now that you know, I see no reason you can’t join.”
“Really?”
Marcus beamed at Marta.
“When is the next meeting?”
She chuckled.
“I’m not sure. The Society’s role will change now that Lina is awake. We have guarded her since Luca died, but I’m sure she’ll need help in other ways now.”
“Will you tell everyone?” Alaric asked. “Will we make a royal decree?”
Marta shook her head.
“No. Not now. This needs to remain a secret for the time being. The country needs time to accept Lina’s return. The Society needs time to adjust to our new roles.”
King Noam frowned.
“I would like to tell them sometime. It would ease my mind for everyone to know the truth about the royal family.”
Marta smiled at him.
“Of course. Sometime soon, I hope. But not now.”
He nodded.
“For now it is our secret,” Lina said. “We’re a family, and we’ll need the resources Luca left behind to protect Aeonia. I still suspect someone helped Nog escape. I hope the magic in the vault will help me find out who did it.”
Marcus’s eyes lit up.
The Princess and the Pea (Fairy Tale Adventures Book 1) Page 25
