Oh My, I Messed Up the Story

Al didn't show after twenty minutes of waiting by the wall so I gave up on that idea and tried looking for the staff entrance. There had to be someone there who would recognize me and let me in.

The risk with this idea was that I might run into one of Sigmund's informants. I didn't want him knowing I had left the castle. That could only result in trouble.

Thankfully, luck was on my side today. I ran into Marcy as she was heading out to personally pick the best strawberries in the market to use in strawberry shortcake.

"Katie! What are you doing over here?" she asked, bewildered.

"I got locked out," I said sheepishly. "Think you can sneak me back in real quick?"

"But what were you doing out in the first place?"

I couldn't tell her the truth. She worked for Franz and he couldn't know we were trying to escape. Not right now, anyway.

"I was out for a bit of fresh air," I lied easily. "I hate being stuck in the palace. I'm used to having freedom to roam in the earldom."

Marcy bought my excuse, making a thoughtful expression. "I can see how it would be a difficult adjustment. Still, this was dangerous. At the very least you should be taking Prince Alpheus with you."

I couldn't exactly tell her that he ditched me, either. It was too embarrassing. For someone who claimed to love me, he had forgotten me far too easily. He would have to pay for this later.

I pretended to take her words under advisement and let her lead me back into the castle. Once inside, I made it back to my chambers painlessly enough. I was used to sneaking around undetected in this place.

"Alpheus McLeod, you are in a world of trouble," I growled when I opened the door and found him sitting near the fire in a daze.

He looked up at me miserably, not registering the annoyance on my face. "Is that even my name?"

All of the fight drained out of me. I sat down and hugged his arm in an attempt to comfort him. Nyla was right. He was upset because he believed her.

Al sighed wearily and stared into the flames.

"Of course I'd heard of the Kanta region. The previous king started encroaching on their territory because of the rich mineral deposits hidden in the mountains. They didn't have a formal military or the power to fight back against a nation as large as Annalaias.

"My father—or I suppose, the current king—continued the conflict, eventually putting out an extermination order to seize the mountains by force. Thousands were killed. What few survivors remained fled, primarily to neighboring countries. I learned about all of this in my history lessons growing up. But I never…I didn't know what they looked like.

"Once I got home I looked up every book I could find on the Kanta region. Nyla was right; with my eyes I have to be from her clan. The raids were conducted when I was an infant. But how did I end up with the royal family of Annalaias?"

His eyes were bloodshot when he looked back at me. I could feel his heartache and confusion and it shook me to the core.

"It explains a lot, though," he chuckled bitterly. "Why no one here ever treated me like a member of this family. Because I'm not."

That was the final straw. I climbed onto his lap and wrapped my arms around him in a fierce hug, burying my face in his neck. His entire world had been turned upside down today. How could I not comfort him?

I didn't want to jump to conclusions. We didn't know for sure that he was a full-blooded Kanta clansman. He might still be the queen's son. But it was awfully suspicious that the raids happened when he was a baby.

Besides, wouldn't the king have executed her for treason if she gave birth to an obviously illegitimate child? But the queen had definitely been pregnant according to everything I heard. Everyone thought Al was the third prince of this nation.

"I think you might benefit from talking to Nyla's mother," I said quietly. "She might be able to help you figure things out. She might be the only other person we can find who would remember what happened during the raids."

Al tightened his hold on me. His hands were trembling.

"I need to talk to Franz first. The king and queen won't tell me anything about this but I might be able to force it out of him."

I didn't like the sound of forcing it out of him but I couldn't dissuade him. It wasn't like there was another member of the royal family who would be willing to give us the answers we were seeking.

"You want to do that now?" I asked hesitantly.

Al nodded. "I need answers. Today. Too many things about my life here haven't added up. This might finally help me make sense of it all."

His logic was undeniable. So we quickly changed out of our servants' attire and went to confront Franz.

He didn't seem surprised to see us, probably assuming we were here to visit Mariela like usual. We were invited in warmly. Mariela was happy to see us, which made me feel a bit guilty because we hadn't come for her.

"Out with it, Franz. Tell me what you know about the circumstances surrounding my birth," Al said in a brittle voice.

His mouth rounded into an 'o' in surprise. "I do not believe I know what you mean."

"I know we don't share the same father. Tell me the truth—did your mother give birth to me or not?"