"So, have I answered all of your questions?”
I snapped out of my thoughts and returned to the table. I sat face-to-face with Edwin, one question still looming heavy in my mind. "Am I really adopted?"
His face lit up, a beaming smile crested his lips as if he'd finally made it to the main event. "Absolutely."
I hung my head to my chest. "Are you sure? You said you'd already left the castle before the curse was broken, is it possible you don't remember as clearly as you say?”
“Just because your father wasn't speaking to me doesn't mean I didn't still have my sources on the ground. News of a baby boy abandoned on the castle doorstep travels very fast in certain circles. Besides, what would be the point of lying to you about this? I have nothing to lose or anything to gain at this point."
"Then where did I come from? I'm sure I must have parents somewhere, and how come I look just like my mother and father?"
Edwin shrugged. "I can't say much for the appearance, maybe since your mother is a simple commoner you share a similar look with the other common city folk. But who you are and where you come from is a mystery I have yet to solve. No one saw anyone coming or going from the castle that night. Nothing appeared unusual about the basket you were left in. It's as if you appeared out of thin air at the exact right place and time. Besides, what's better to smooth over a rough patch in the kingdom than a lavish wedding and a male heir."
The weight of the truth bore down on my ribs and crushed my lungs. The taste of the Jasmine tea burned in my throat as it threatened to return. I wasn't really an Aldric. My parents weren't my parents, and at least a handful of people at the castle had helped them lie to me for eighteen years. The betrayal squirmed and twisted through my stomach as if I'd swallowed the lie and let it grow into a full-sized demon now struggling to claw its way out.
"If you don't believe me, you can ask them yourself. You live in a kingdom of secrets, dear prince. You’d be wise to learn that truth now.”
I grabbed my forehead and rubbed my temples, a sharp pain stinging behind my eyes. "I think I should go. Thank you for everything."
I thrust the chair back and started for the exit, the world spinning and hazy.
Edwin’s chair screeched across the floor as he flew to his feet and grabbed tight on my right bicep. "You can't just leave."
"And why not?" I stared Edwin down, but his expression wasn't harsh as I would've expected. The fight faded from his snarl and was replaced by a wide-eyed, gaping mouth stare. He ripped his hand from my skin and staggered back, falling into his chair without taking his eyes off of me.
"What are you trying to pull with me, boy?"
I shook my head, the fog of confusion getting thicker by the second. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't mess with me. I felt it, coursing through you. Who sent you here?"
"Veda. Veda sent me to talk to you, but what are you babbling about? Felt what?"
He held up his hands, palms apart like holding an imaginary ball as he leaned toward me. “You can't feel it? That electricity charging through your blood. Feel it in your marrow?"
His words jumbled in my already crowded brain. I tossed my hand into the air and headed for the door again. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but I need to go."
“Your Highness, you can't leave here. Not yet. If you go now before I can stop the curse, the guards will come for him and I may never get the chance to help him."
"My mother would do anything to save him. I know you said their love was built on hate and tragedy, but no matter what has happened in their past she loves him more than anything and he —“ I pointed toward the cage in the yard “— loves her more than his own life. She would let you help him any way you could. She would even let you come back to the castle if she thought it would make things easier."
Edwin shook his hands in front of himself. "Oh no. The temples are a sacred place for the guardians of the light. I do my best work in the peace and quiet of the mountains. Besides, if we returned your father to the castle the entire kingdom would be looking at the gate night and day. It would be a disaster."
The pulse of a memory. Running through the streets as the reporters chased Veda and me. Hunting us down like wild dogs. Trapping us in the corner. Her lips so close to my lips. The longing look in her clear eyes. The last time I saw Veda smile. "You're right. But I need to tell her that he's alive. She deserves to know what's going on."
"Just like she told you the truth?”
I charged towards Edwin, my patience non-existent, but he cowered his arms up covering his head. "Fine. I'll let you go, but you are only to tell your mother that he's here. She's welcome to come to visit if it makes her feel better, but I can't have anyone else charging up on my mountain. You understand?"
I nodded. Whatever nonsense Edwin spewed before seemed to change his opinion of me in a hurry. Either that or he’d lost a grip on his sanity. Or maybe I did?
"I'm serious. If you dare to tell anyone else I will open the cage and let your father run forever if he would even make it down this peak alive."
"I've got it."
I ran down the gilded steps and through the yard to the cage. My father sat in the corner, the same spot I’d left him last night. He looked up for a second and saw me standing by the bars, then hung his head again and stomped his large feet against the floor.
"We are going to find a way to break this curse, I promise. And I'm going to tell Mom to come."
I cringed as the word ‘mom’ came out of my mouth because if what Edwin said was true she really wasn't. I didn't even have one.
I stuck my fingers in my mouth and whistled, and the looming shape of Alizeh quickly emerged over the early evening sun.
A restless feeling overcame my body, a sudden urge to be off this peak, or to scream, or even just to fall to the ground and curl up in a ball, but I needed to do something and I needed it fast.
Alizeh landed and I tossed myself on top of her back. “Alizeh, to the castle.”
6
1st June
Red and yellow bubbled on the horizon as dawn threatened to boil over and flood the night. Keeping my eyes open proved harder every mile as we descended through the sky toward the castle, but the obligation to tell my mother that I found my father helped me battle on.
Alizeh circled the city then gently landed in the front courtyard of the castle. The eerie stillness of morning clung to my skin like the early dew clung to the blades of grass beneath my feet. Two guards rushed from the main castle door, swords drawn and ready to fight.
"We weren't expecting you, Your Majesty," the first guard said as he stopped in his tracks after recognizing me as the intruder.
"Not to worry. All is well. But I will need someone to take care of my friend."
Alizeh nuzzled her head into my shoulder and made a gentle cooing noise. The mouths of the guards dropped to their feet but took their orders like the professionals they were.
"Yes, sir. What exactly do we do, sir?”
"Talk to the kitchen about some food, meat or fish and any other scraps they can spare. Then show her to the ponds in the garden to cool off. I don't want her going far right now as she will be needed again shortly." I leaned into Alizeh and smiled. She'd been my truest companion over the last few days. And not once had she let me down.
The second guard sheathed his sword and circled around Alizeh, his arms outstretched and his brow furrowed. “Excuse me, sir? Do we get a leash, or…"
I cuddled Alizeh closer to me. “Absolutely not. This magnificent animal is a guest at the castle and will be treated as such."
They both nodded although the uncertainty of my request cut puzzled looks into their faces.
“If you treat her well she will follow your commands without any complaint. Trust me, you’ll love her.”
I rushed across the courtyard and through the front castle entrance as Alizeh clucked at her new handlers. The sweet smell of home flooded toward me and eased some of the te
nsion in my shoulders, except it also left more questions that I needed to have answered. The trip to Edwin’s had left an unresolved feeling itching in the back of my brain, but my happiness would have to wait.
"You’re back, Your Majesty." Griswold greeted me in the foyer with a beaming grin. He helped me slip off my coat and brushed my shoulders off. “We weren't sure when to expect you. I'll alert the kitchen of your arrival and have them prepare breakfast."
"Thank you, I’m starving. But tell them to hold off for a little while, first I need to speak with the queen.”
Griswold clasped his hands together as the beginning of a frown started across his lips. "I'm afraid your mother did not make it to her chambers last night. She has been working late into the night in her library, and has asked not to be disturbed."
I smacked him on the shoulder blade and he lurched forward from the force. "Trust me, she will want to see me. And I promise if she gets me in any trouble I'll be sure to tell her that you did everything you could to stop me."
"Very good, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you? Do you have a plan for your feathered friend outside?”
"The guards will take care of Alizeh, but if you could put together a few of my mother's favorite snacks and put them in a bag that would be wonderful."
"Planning a picnic to cheer her up? That would be lovely. She’s been extra dreary with your father still missing and you disappearing for so long.”
"Not exactly. But I do hope it will make her feel better."
I ran for the stairs and stopped short where the rug met the tile. "One more thing, Griswold, has anyone come to the castle looking for me?”
Griswold shook his head. ”No, sir. Should I be expecting someone?”
My shoulders dropped as a sharp pain of disappointment stabbed into my gut. "Apparently not."
Lantern light flickered from under the library door and painted pictures with spark and shadow across the stone floor. I wrapped my knuckles against the wood. No one answered.
Instead of waiting, I turned the knob and slowly pushed the door inward so as not to frighten my mother if she were lost in thought. The last time I'd accidentally done that, she knocked over the lantern and nearly burned down an entire half of the castle.
But this time she sat upright in her ornate armchair, rather than hunched over her desk. Her head had fallen back against the chair, and an open book still sat clutched at her waist. I watched her chest rise and fall as the slow, steady breaths of sleep escaped from her open mouth. Dark blue tired skin ringed her closed eyes.
I shimmied the book from her grasp and her hands flopped limp into her lap. I glanced at the pages. A spellbook written in an ancient text. Symbols and primitive line drawings edged the margins of the pages and I shivered at what some of these writings might mean. What evil they might intend to conjure. I’d had enough of magic for a while.
I pulled a quilt from the large trunk near the shelves of picture books I used to scan through as a kid, and laid it gently over her chair tucking the edges around her shoulders. She looked small curled up in the blanket. Fragile in a way she never let show in daylight. Wouldn’t show if she knew these moments even existed.
"Sweet dreams." I kissed her forehead and lowered the lantern light. Shadows darkened across her face and I tiptoed toward the door.
A soft murmur stopped me at the threshold.
"Fallon, honey, is that you skulking away in the dark?”
My hand hovered over the door handle. “Yeah, it's me. You were sleeping so soundly, I didn't want to wake you."
"Well, hopefully not too soundly. I've heard I snore when I'm exhausted."
She shifted in the chair, positioning herself more upright as the quilt fell loose into her lap. She grabbed the hem and twisted her fingers through the multi-colored squares of cotton. "Did you just get back? What time is it anyway?”
I walked back across the room to her side. "It's not long after dawn, and yes, I got home about fifteen minutes ago then came straight to see you." I took her hand and enveloped it with my own, her fingers cold as ice against my skin. "And by the way, Griswold wanted me to tell you that disturbing you in here was completely against his instructions."
She chuckled, a glimpse of her old light shining for a brief second. "Of course, he did. I'll be sure to commend him for his obedience, as always."
"But I couldn't wait. I have news."
She turned her body toward me, every part of her tuned into my announcement.
"I found Dad. He's still in his beast form, but he's okay."
"Oh my gosh, Fallon. You have no idea how much relief that brings me." She dove forward wrapping her arms around my neck and squeezing tight. I struggled to breathe against her grip but rested my head in the crook of her arm, the familiar rarity of it giving me a sense of calm that I so desperately needed.
"So is he here?" She tried to let go and jumped to her feet, but I held her steady in her chair.
"No. I found him on one of the highest mountain peaks. He'd gone to visit one of the wise men of the temples and he's still up there with him."
"Oh," her excitement dialed back several notches. "But he is safe, right?”
"Yes. He’s locked in a cage —"
She jerked forward again. “A cage? He's not an animal, he's…"
"I know. But as long as he is still not responding to his human side he is a threat to himself and everyone else. At least in the cage, we will know where to find him when we find a way to break the curse. Have you had any luck with that?" I nodded toward the open book on the desk.
She rubbed her hands over her face and stood, stretching her arms above her head with a tiny squeal. "No. I've been searching, and I've enlisted help from some of the oldest witches in Enchantia, but no one seems to know anything yet."
"I'm sorry. I'm sure we'll find something soon, but in the meantime did you want to see him?”
"Of course, absolutely." She rushed toward the door. "Let me tell Captain Amir, and he will arrange for a full unit to accompany me. We can bring him back here, and even if we need to put him in the dungeon for a little while, I can stay with him until it's all over."
I waved my hands in front of me. "Wait. You can't tell the captain. I promised that I would only tell you where Dad is. If I go back on that, I'm worried that they may let him go again."
"That sounds absurd. Why wouldn't I be able to take my guard with me?”
"The temples are a sacred place. Plus, if Dad gets overly excited we might lose him again. At least on the mountain, he is safe, and there won't be anyone trying at the castle to catch a glimpse while we deal with this nightmare."
She shook her head, her hands on her hips, but slowly it seemed the logic started to make sense. Edwin’s words coming out of my mouth tasted strange, especially since he’d used them to calm me and now I’d turned around and used them on my mother for the same reason.
"Fine. I'll do whatever I need to get your father home. But he needs to be here with his family, in his home."
Family? Is that really what we were?
She opened the door and the dim light from down the hall filtered into the room.
"Can I talk to you about something first, before you go?”
She paused with her hand on the doorknob, a deep ‘v’ forming between her eyes as her eyes narrowed. "Of course, you can always ask me anything."
"As I've been researching the curse and my duties as king I've come across some information that doesn't seem to make any sense."
She closed the door and leaned against the wall, the seriousness of my voice likely setting her off. I sat on the edge of the desk and rubbed my sweaty palms together, staring at them as they generated heat between my hands.
"I've heard that it's possible, I might be adopted."
She crossed her arms and let out a huge breath deflating into the wall as her head tipped toward the ceiling. “Oh, Fallon. Your father and I honestly hoped you'd never find out, or at least that we’d to be the o
nes to tell you. I’m so sorry.“
"So it's true?" I jumped up from the desk and she rushed over placing her hands on the sides of my face.
"Please don't be angry. We never wanted to hurt you so we decided to keep it a secret until you were old enough to understand. Then as the years went by we realized that you were always ours and we never wanted you to doubt that."
I took her hands and pulled them away, as my own began to shake and heat rippled through my blood. If they never wanted to hurt me, keeping secrets was not the way to do it. "Then tell me now. Where did I come from?”
“I don’t know.” She clutched her arm over her stomach and rested the other hand on her forehead as she paced between the bookshelves. "It was the night your father proposed. It was late at night and there was a knock at the door. Griswold answered, but there was no one else there, just you lying in a basket wrapped in a thin blanket. The guards never saw anyone. Whoever it was managed to slip past the gate and disappeared into the night. We searched for whoever left you with us, but no one turned up. Not one clue as to where you came from. Your father and I so wanted to have children, but he always worried that his curse might one day affect his own children so we decided to raise you as our own. Only you. We’d never even dreamed of having another child.“
"You adopted me because I was convenient?"
She paused, her brain spinning in her eyes. Maybe trying to find the right words. Or maybe hiding more of the truth. “Of course not. We both loved you from the second we saw your little face. During the time spent looking for your parents, we grew into a family, even before we knew it was even a possibility. There was no question that you belonged with us."
"How many people know?" I knocked my fist against the desk and a cup of pencils fell to the floor with a crash.
She winced and watched them roll along the floor, but didn’t dare lose her connection with me to gather them up.
"A few of our trusted people in the castle, most of them have already long passed on.
From what I know, the only ones left to know the truth are Griswold, your father and I, and the Council."
Fallon: Son of Beauty and the Beast (Kingdom of Fairytales Boxset Book 6) Page 15
