“Dr. Sosin tampered with them,” Queen Dorothea said.
“And now he’s dead. I want to talk to Dr. Crane, see what else he knows.” I studied the Queen’s expression at my suggestion since she was always so protective of her doctors.
“Yes; do that,” she said to my surprise.
“What about Bethany—the real Bethany?” Victoria offered up to the group.
“We’ll find her,” I said. “Once the palace is secure, getting her back will be the next priority.”
“And Piper?”
“I thought you said you found her?” the Queen asked.
“No; I found Constance. Piper is supposedly with Duke Hendrix, but I don’t know where he is,” Victoria said.
“Duke Hendrix is with them as well?” Queen Dorothea sounded exasperated. “It feels like the whole kingdom has turned against me.”
“The head of the snake may already have been cut off,” I said. “We haven’t heard from Kale yet. If it’s anything like the Mackenzie estate—”
“Duke Mackenzie escaped,” Victoria snapped.
“Maybe we’ll be luckier with the King.” The Queen rose from the table. “I need a drink. Anyone else?”
“Water would be great,” Victoria said.
I agreed, and the Queen disappeared into the kitchen.
“I don’t like the fact you’ll be sleeping out there with someone trying to kill you,” Victoria said once the Queen was gone.
“I’ll be okay. I need him to make another attempt so I can end this quickly.”
“But if anything happens—”
“Nothing will,” I reassured her, reaching across the table to take her hand in mine. She’d been through so much—more than any girl should, let alone one of her young age—making her tough from her trials.
When the Queen returned, she looked disappointed and carried three glasses of water. “This place needs to be stocked now it’s in use.”
“I’ll make it a point to bring food as well,” I said.
“And wine,” the Queen added.
“I can do that,” Victoria said. “I want to be useful.”
The Queen agreed to let Victoria gather fresh food for the bunker, starting with a two-day supply. I was confident this situation would be handled by that time. Queen Dorothea provided each of us with the combination to the bunker door, making us the only three people in the Kingdom to know the current combination.
Victoria and I left together to fulfill our respective duties. Once on the main floor of the palace, I kissed her before parting ways. I told her I’d send Pax to the kitchen to help her carry the food and drink down to Sub-level Three. The truth was, I didn’t want her to walk through the Sub-levels alone. There were enough staff members up there during the day to feel safe, but the lower levels were now nearly abandoned and felt increasingly treacherous.
Once on my own, I called Tabatha to get a location on Dr. Crane. While I was still en route to the primary conference room, she called me back to confirm he was in the palace.
“Have him meet me in the conference room as soon as he can get there. Tell him the Queen is waiting.” I knew that would bring him running. I couldn’t have him blowing me off.
As expected, Dr. Crane arrived at the conference room only minutes after I did.
“I was told the Queen requested to see me?” he asked, scanning the room, looking increasingly skeptical at the fact that I was alone. “I suppose I arrived too quickly.”
“No; you’re actually right on time,” I told him. “The Queen called this meeting, but will not be joining us.”
“I don’t understand.”
“She requested we talk,” I clarified. “And that I report back to her with a detailed account of our conversation.”
“I see…” His eyes narrowed, but he pulled out a conference room chair and sat. He leaned forward and steepled his fingers. “And what is our topic of conversation?”
“Tell me about what happened with the girls at the Choosing Ceremony,” I said.
“Dr. Sosin and I have already discussed this with the Queen directly,” Dr. Crane snapped.
“And now she’s asked for you to discuss it with me. We want to make sure we have all the information, to make sure we have a complete narrative.”
“Where is she? I want her to be present for this.”
“She’s not available right now.”
“Then we can reschedule.”
“If you haven’t noticed, the Queen is dealing with some serious issues and allegations,” I said calmly. “We need to all do our part to keep this Kingdom in one piece—and to keep her safe. Do you not agree? Dr. Sosin was murdered. And just last night, I had an attempt on my life.”
Dr. Crane’s expression changed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know about last night.”
“Why would you? I only just told the Queen.”
His steepled hands fell as he leaned back in his chair, which squeaked and rocked as he did so.
“I know your team has been an integral asset to the Queen for many years. She is indebted to you for all you’ve done to keep her daughter alive. And while I don’t agree with the decision to clone her, it turns out I’m indebted to you for that as well.”
“You fell in love with one of them. Victoria.”
I nodded.
“They’re very special girls,” Dr. Crane said.
“Which brings me back to the Choosing Ceremony. What happened?
Dr. Crane let out a long breath. “They each have bio-chips attached to the interiors of their skulls. Once the girls reached a healthy two years of age, they were implanted to help monitor their conditions as their bodies grew and matured.”
“And these acted as the kill switches?”
“Not at first. But along with exporting information, the bio-chips can also be programed to monitor additional functionality. The kill switch was added a few years later as an extra precaution on termination of the experiment.”
“These are girls’ lives we’re talking about,” I said angrily.
“I understand that, but you have to realize, the experiment didn’t start out that way. It was an exploration of options. Successful cloning had never been done in this Kingdom, but Dr. Sosin had studied with a doctor in Northeria who had. In fact, his assistants were clones he’d created. I unfortunately didn’t get the opportunity to meet him before he died, but I did meet his clones once. They were remarkable young women. Under Dr. Sosin’s direction, I knew we’d be just as successful. And to his credit, we have been—we succeeded with remarkable young women of our own.”
“Did this other doctor use embedded bio-chips?”
“The ones we used were bought from him. They were customizable to whatever they monitored, so we tailored them to our specific needs. And I can anticipate your next question—yes, the kill switch was our addition, per request of the Queen. I would think you’re enough of a confidant now for her to tell you the truth. With Dr. Sosin leading the charge, we fought against such a design.”
“Because you wanted to see your experiment through.”
“Of course. But as they grew—these were our girls. Our daughters. More ours than the Queen’s, anyway. The Queen wanted them out of sight and out of mind, until it was time.”
“Time to choose the next Princess…” It was a difficult sentence to say, and horrible to think about. And I was a part of the whole horrendous process.
“At the Choosing Ceremony, the Queen demanded you push that button,” I asked. “Three girls fell. Four remained standing. Why?”
“Bethany was excluded for obvious reasons,” Dr. Crane started. “The others should all have fallen. The ones who remained either had their bio-chips damaged or reprogramed. We never had the chance to examine Victoria, but Piper’s and Constance’s bio-chips had malfunctioned.”
“The Queen said Dr. Sosin tampered with them.”
“If he did, he damaged them, not reprogramed them,” Dr. Crane said.
“So, the three gir
ls with fully functioning bio-chips fell—but didn’t die.” I let the second part of my sentence linger in the air for a moment while I watched Dr. Crane’s expression.
He did not stay silent for long.
“Yes; on his own, Dr. Sosin was working on taking the experiment to another level. The rest of us found out too late. Using the chips, he began augmenting their minds. He succeeded—or failed, depending on how you look at it because the secret work got him killed.”
“And who killed him?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Dr. Crane said. “I believe it was one of the remaining girls who escaped. And any one of us could be their next victim.”
“Maybe one of them was in my room last night. Why didn’t you report what you knew about the remaining girls?”
He leaned into the table, his hands balled into fists. “I did. I told the Queen.”
I had nothing to say to that. I could accuse him further, but had nothing to back it up with. I knew the Queen confided in these doctors more than anyone. As much information as I’d gotten from her as of late, I knew it still wasn’t everything. She’d always have her secrets.
“At least two of the remaining girls seem to have become mercenaries in the name of the Queen, both posing as Bethany, but the Queen didn’t send them.”
“Maybe it was Bethany—and maybe the Queen is lying. Queens have been known to do that from time to time, when it serves their purposes.”
“You don’t have to remind me of that,” I said sourly. “But I believe her this time.”
“Well I don’t know anything about it. I’ve been focused on the Princess—here—and not the chaos presently brewing outside. All I know is, all of our girls are currently missing.”
“Victoria’s back. She’s with the—Princess.”
“That must be very good news for you. Where is the Princess now? I was informed you moved her this morning. She’ll be needing a treatment before the day’s over.”
“I’ll bring her up to her room when needed,” I said, trying to sound as accommodating as possible. “Just tell me when and I’ll get her to you.
“I don’t want to inconvenience everyone. We’ll come to her.”
“No inconvenience at all.”
“What’s with the secrecy? We’ve cared for her since she was four months old.”
“There is a threat in the palace. My only concern is to keep her safe.”
“And healthy,” he added.
“You have to admit, she’s never really been healthy,” I said, which definitely struck a nerve.
Dr. Crane turned beet red. His fists tightened and he looked like he was about to lash out, either verbally or physically. But he didn’t. He remained quiet, then finally said as his regular color returned, “Please bring the Princess to her room at seven.”
21
Victoria
The Queen and I worked together to get Princess Amelia into bed. This was typically the job of the doctors, but the royal bunker was one place even they weren’t allowed to go. She was heavier than I would have thought by the look of her, but I knew I wasn’t in the best of shape and my injuries still made everything ache.
“I love having you both here,” Princess Amelia said as I tucked the covers just under her chin. “It’s like our family is finally complete.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” the Queen said, leaning in to kiss her on the forehead.
I didn’t exactly share in the sentiment, but I was happy to be there with them, safe in this fortress of an apartment. “Goodnight,” I said and kissed her on the cheek. “You’ll be safe here. You’ll be safe from now on.”
“Both of you will,” Queen Hart added, gesturing to me to head for the door. She followed and closed the door behind her, then strolled straight to the couch against the wall and collapsed onto the soft leather.
“I wish he wasn’t out there,” I said, taking a seat on the couch across from her. A glass coffee table stood between us.
“Prince Byron will be fine,” she said, and almost sounded like she believed it. “He is on the lookout now—the hunter, not the prey. This will all be over soon and we can return to our normal lives in the château.”
“I’ve never had a normal life in the château,” I said. “My normal life is nothing to be envied.”
“I understand you’ve had it difficult and I won’t coddle you and say that becoming the new Princess will be any less so, but it will be different and rewarding and you’ll be continuing this royal journey with the man you love. Soon, it will be time to start planning the wedding.”
“The wedding… I haven’t even thought of that,” I said, sinking back further into the couch. “I have no idea where to begin.”
“You will have the best people and resources at your disposal. You’ll be able to help as much or as little as you like, give input when you wish, and delegate completely when you don’t.”
“Will the Royal Family of Easteria come for it?”
“I would think they’d want to be present for their own son’s wedding.”
“I know; I was just thinking of their situation—with the war going on out there.”
“It’s true their kingdom is not in good shape, but another important aspect of a kingdom is morale, and a royal wedding would do wonders for morale. The people of Easteria would see it as hope that Westeria would never abandon them in their time of need—that the bond between our two great kingdoms is solid and only growing.”
“I suppose so,” I said. “What are they like?”
“They’re very proud people. They are only the second generation to their name, so they’re still proving themselves as the future of their kingdom. They’re tough and come from a working class. Stern, but not overbearing. Queen DuFour is beloved by her kingdom, fighting to lessen the gaps in social class. King DuFour is trying to secure their name for generations to come. We have that in common, though I have a greater history to disappoint. This war could destroy the DuFours and they would simply become another name in the history books.”
“Not like the Hart name.”
“The Harts have built much of the Westeria you see today.” She paused and looked as if she was going to hold back what she was going to say next, but finally continued. “I may not have accomplished some of the great things my predecessors did, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let the Hart family die with me.”
“Do you think they’d accept me if they knew who I truly was?”
The Queen looked like she didn’t want to answer this either. “You are my daughter and they are very lucky to have you joining their family.”
“But I’m not, am I?”
“If you’re not my daughter, then whose daughter are you?” the Queen asked boldly.
“No one’s, I suppose.”
“You can go on believing that, or you can accept that you are mine. Princess Amelia is your sister. And this is what’s left of our family, in these locked rooms. You may not have been born with the Hart name, but you bear it now. You must accept that Victoria Sandalwood is no more.”
“Or perhaps she never existed,” I countered.
“I’d like to believe that,” she said and ended our conversation with a smile. “It’s been a long day and I’d like to get some sleep.”
I couldn’t have agreed more, even though I didn’t know if I’d be able to thinking of Prince Byron a few floors up. I was exhausted, not able to remember the last time I’d had a good night’s rest. Even though I should have slept well the night before, the Ramsey estate retained its horrific hold on me, making for a restless night in Johanna’s room. I had been tempted to sneak into the kids’ room late last night to curl up with the girls, but in the end, I hadn’t wanted to disturb them.
The Queen checked the security system before retreating to her bedroom. I turned off the remainder of the lights and went into the bedroom that had been made up for me. I’d brought down some clothes and personal items from my room upstairs—the Yellow Room. When I w
ent in, there’d been medical equipment against one wall since the Princess had been sleeping there since her mysterious return. Of all of us pawns in this royal chess match, Princess Amelia was always the most heartbreaking.
I washed my face and brushed my teeth, then changed into a purple silk nightgown. This room was not the suite I had upstairs, but far from the closet of a room in the Ramsey basement. This one actually suited me the best.
He’ll be okay tonight. I know he’ll be okay. I couldn’t wait to see the Prince tomorrow, if nothing more than to ease my worried mind. I only hoped it would allow me to still sleep so morning would come quickly.
After twisting my hair into a bun and turning off the lights, I slipped under the covers and stared into the darkness. A small nightlight spilled warm orange light from the bathroom to keep the room from succumbing to complete blackness. There were no windows, or curtains, so there’d be no sunrise to alert me that I’d made it to morning.
I gazed over at the alarm clock. It’s going to be a long night.
I shut my eyes, but Prince Byron’s face never left me. I wanted to know where he was, what he was doing, what was happening upstairs at that very moment…
I was going to drive myself crazy, so tossed thoughts of the Prince from my mind—but this only allowed all the other issues to creep in—like Kale, Lady Ramsey, Constance, Piper, and Bethany. Then there were the other clones who’d apparently risen from the dead and gone rogue. And Duke Mackenzie was still out there—I was sure we hadn’t seen the last of him, even with Frank potentially gone.
The minutes ticked by slowly. When I closed my eyes, the haunting memories attacked with a vengeance. When I opened them, all I could do was stare at the clock and watch the seconds sluggishly count.
After nearly two hours of this sleep-deprived limbo, I got out of bed and ambled over to the kitchen for a glass of water. There were dim emergency lights near the floor throughout the space, which provided me enough light to get around.
As I leaned against the counter sipping on my water, I tried to clear my head so I could finally get some rest. On the counter sat a bowl of fruit from several cases of fresh food I’d brought from upstairs. All that had been here were food items and condiments in cans and sealed bottles. Even though everything was sealed, many of the cans and bottles still looked precarious. I stole an apple from the bowl and bit into it.
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