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larissabaolibooks · 3 years

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Synopsis

“The Lost Princess” follows the story of Nick Sullivan, a girl that finds out, on her sixteenth birthday, that she is the daughter of a queen and is summoned to ascend to the throne as the princess of Combellmont island. She initiates, then, a difficult and dangerous journey that could put not only her life at risk as everyone’s she loves.

Chapter 1

What do I know about my mom? What a tough question. Besides all the biological processes I’ve learned in school, like genetics and stuff, I only know some physical characteristics: she was tall, the prettiest lady my father has ever known, and she smelled like mint. And that’s all I know because whenever I talked about her, my father always was already drunk and I needed to help him out and take him from his armchair to his bed.

I’ve never tried to pressure him in order to get information, though, since he always looked so ashamed of himself the next morning and I didn’t want to make him feel sad… Or make me sad. After all, the feelings I’ve grown towards my mom were migrating between sadness and anger. How could someone leave their child with some guy she’d only met once and then never tries to keep in touch? Okay, I was lucky enough that my dad was a cool guy and took me in, but this doesn’t make her less guilty at all.

I wonder if she ever wanted to know where her daughter could be for these past 15 years. If she has ever asked herself if I was okay, if I went to school, if my dad treated me nicely… Nothing? Then, after a while, I started to believe that she never loved me. That I was a mistake she made during a U2 concert after tons of beer and that I didn’t matter to her.

I got up from my bed and decided not to think about her. The less I knew, the less it would hurt, and today I was supposed to be happy, right? Because it was my sixteenth birthday. “Happy Birthday, Nick”, I said to myself. My dad was surely still asleep and I would only see him at night.

“Oh, crap!” twenty minutes late meant that I was late to school and this would be my third time this month. I ran as fast as I could and was able to catch the bus. Luckly, the driver was George and he always stopped for me, even when I was running late.

“Andy again, Nick?” he asked.

I nodded, not wanting to talk about it. Third delay of the month… This would make me stay in school after class and then I would be late for work at Tiffany&Thommy, which would not please Miss Picket. Will “I’m so so sorry, but today is my birthday and everything is nuts” work as an excuse? No. Everyone in town knew me and my dad, so it was known that whenever I was late it was because of him.

George offered me a little red box with a white bow wrapping it around and a tiny card. “Hey, you didn’t think I’d forget, did you?”

“George, you shouldn’t have! Thanks” I thanked and my cheeks turned red while I was getting the present, in a mist of hurry and happiness (after all, I was already late and he had taken his time to hand in the present despite knowing everyone was waiting to carry on the trip!).

“That’s nothing, Nick. Tomorrow, tell me if you liked it. Have a great day and a happy birthday!”

I thanked again while I started to look for a seat. The real bus to Abeley High School was deactivated because no one used it. Most of the students didn’t need to use public transportation since they had their own cars or chauffeurs, and so every single day I had to take the only bus that drove all the way to my school, when, in reality, it dropped me off two blocks away. After spending a whole life in Abeley, I was already used to it, but I wished - as if I was about to blow my birthday cake candles - this year I’d get a car. Or that at least my dad would accept that I should start to study at the school he now works at.

I got up when we were getting closer to the stop and hurried up while going down the stairs, and ran to school.

Yeah, I was definitely late. And obviously I had to face Mr. William, after going to the principal’s office. I smiled bluntly, and then tried to sneak into his class.

“Oh, Nicolle! I can’t believe someone hasn’t given you a clock yet. I mean, we have been starting the classes at the same time since 1864, and yet…”

I heard my entire class smothering a laughter as I gave Mr. William the piece of paper that allowed me to take his class, which was prior given to me by the principal, and, then, I went to my desk.

Today’s history class was about smaller islands and countries all over the world. Internally, I kept telling myself that there was no use to learning all of that, once we lived in a small city closer to New York, so that subject should have been self-explanatory to us and, even though Abeley should be a school for rich people, the greatest part of us, including me, would never travel abroad. Like ever. Let alone stepping on a small island somewhere that was probably built to make money from tourists. Whatever. Mr. William had already had his moment of glory today and I didn’t need a lecture anyways, so I decided to loosen my hair and put on my earphones again, as I kept pretending that I was paying attention.

Everyone’s goal in Abeley was to get into an Ivy League and, for the unlucky ones like me, the ultimate goal was to get a scholarship or a way out of this town. It felt weird not knowing what to do or what I’d like to become, but when people ask me about what I would like to be when I grow up, I used to lie and say I’d like to become a lawyer. Knowing my dad’s behavior, it would make total sense and that was enough to get me out of that subject during conversations, after being told that I should “hang in there” in order to become what I used to say.

The truth was that it would be enough if I turned eighteen and convinced my father that we should leave this town or state. To build a new life in which we weren’t pity case or a subject to gossip spreaders.

Tiffany&Thommy was a library and bookstore two blocks away from my school. It used to be owned by two brothers who have lived here since the city was founded, and I was a part-timer there. After Mr. Thommy Picket’s death, his sister needed help and I offered myself, as I needed money because my dad’s salary as a Spanish teacher was not something we could brag about.

I apologized for being late to Miss Picket and she (with her always pleasing humor) told me to find my computer and sit down before her nephew could find the cash register and steal everything they’ve made so far, like he did last month,

“Good evening, Nick. Are you early again?” I hear Rupert saying with his annoying British accent. He was sitting on my chair, staring at me with his weird brown eyes and dark hair.

“Yes, Rupert. And thank you for keeping my seat warm. Now you can go.” The best solution with him was to use irony and sarcasm. After all, wanting or not, he was the future owner of that store and his aunt wasn’t looking that good anyway.

“I don’t know why my aunt keeps you here. Or why did she hire you in the first place.”

“Your aunt knows me since I was born, we live in the same neighborhood and she trusts me.” I was as rough as possible and then started to browse through the record book on the decrepit computer.

He kept there, looking at what I was doing, as he was laying on the counter. I waited until he left for five minutes, but I was never known for my patience.

“So? Do you want a book or something?” I asked, trying to smile.

“Not really.” he replied and kept staring at me. Then, he nodded and left.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down, while I watched him leave.

On my way home, I decided to open the present given by George when I was already on the bus. It was a little pendant shaped like a heart. Those in which you can put a picture on both sides. I loved it. I’m going to choose a picture of me and my dad, I thought as I got off the bus.

The weather was terrible as always and the fog made me put on my hood. When I was close to my building, I saw a man wearing a suit leaving and getting in a luxury black car that was parked on the other side of the street. I had no idea someone in town had something to do with the White House, I thought, trying not to laugh as I passed by the lobby.

The elevator was, once again, being fixed and it would take at least forty-eight hours return, so I went up the stairs hearing some of my neighbors complaining about the elevator like that would fix it faster.

After finding my keys, I saw my dad sitting on his armchair that, this time, was facing the door. He looked more tired and sadder than usual and was holding a letter.

“Dad?” I called, leaving my backpack in the hall and getting closer to him.

“Oh, Nick, you’re here” he answered and I could see that his eyes looked swollen and red. He has cried. I sighed and looked at the table, but I didn’t see any beer bottles there.

“What happened?”

“I need to talk to you. And I ordered pizza, so you don’t need to cook today. Change your clothes and take a bath, I know you must be tired.”

“That’s okay, dad. I’m fine” I claimed, feeling a little bit afraid.

He didn’t say anything else, just stood up and went to his room. I kept staring at him while he closed the door.

Ordering pizza on my birthday was almost a habit, but the conversation part… I started to bite my upper lip and picked up my backpack on the floor, but refused to take a bath. I felt nervous and anxious and waited to hear if his bedroom door would open so that I could leave mine.

When I left, he was in the living room. He had opened and served himself with a pizza slice and soda. He looked a little better as he smiled, so I sat down.

“Happy birthday, kiddo.” It was all he said, giving me a sad smile. We started to eat after that.

After I finished, I felt like something bad was about to happen and I realized he was looking at me, God knows for how long, and that the letter he was previously holding was still there, in his hand. I stopped and looked at him, wanting to know for how long he would stare without saying anything.

A couple minutes had passed, but it felt like an eternity to me. Then, he finally started:

“Nick, did I talk about your mom yesterday?”

I took a deep breath and felt a little bit relieved to realize that it wasn’t something that important after all. I was used to that kind of conversation, even though it made me sad, since he usually stood up for her in the end.

“Yes, dad, but just the usual, you know, blond, tall, smelled like mint” I remembered while I was taking my dish and got up.

“Nicolle, sit down, please” he stared at me with his blue eyes and it looked like it was an order.

I had no idea what was going on, but if it was serious enough for my dad to boss me around…

“Okay.” I agreed, sitting down again.

He looked like he was trying to control himself so that he could continue his speech.

“Nick, you know your mom handed you in when you were only six months, right?” he asked and I nodded, leaning on the couch. “Child, what I have to say is serious and I need you to handle it until the very end.”

He paused. The pizza I ate started to move around in my stomach, bothering me.

“Your mom didn’t leave you here because she wanted to, but because she needed to keep you away from the place she lived in. She had to leave you here, with me, so that I could take care of you and make you a good person. When I met her, we spent the whole week together. She told me about her world and I realized it wasn’t easy. Our story wasn’t just a concert and a single night, and I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner. Actually, I’m sorry about everything I have to tell you today… You can’t imagine how much it hurts to tell everything like this. But the point is: she loved you, as much as I do love you. And last week, I discovered that unfortunately your mom has passed away.” He told me with every strength he had, even though he let some tears roll down his cheeks, which he cleaned fast. Then, he took a box from the table, one I haven’t seen before, opened it and showed me everything that was inside.

“I thought that it wasn’t a good idea to tell you, dear. You always seemed hurt about your mom, but, then, today I received a message and now I have no other choice but to tell you the truth. The man that came here earlier wanted to wait for you, but I begged him to let me speak with you first. I needed to tell you the whole story. You’ve probably already studied about Europe and must know that there are a lot of small countries there. Your mom lived in one of those countries. Actually, your mom ruled one of them. When I met her, she had just received a convocation to claim the throne of Combellmont and, like any 18-year-old girl, she wanted… An adventure before her real life began. Like in the romances she used to read.

“We met when I went to live in New York. She came on a trip, running away from her hotel, and we met in the middle of Central Park. It was love at first sight and we had the best week in the world. Nine days, to be exact, but she always needed to go back and sleep at the hotel, so I left her on the street corner so that the guard that escorted her would be aware of me. Until the last day, when her sister saw and denounced us. She was grounded after that and I got beaten up by her guards. And well, I thought I’d never see her again, so needless to say it was a surprise when she came back, fifteen months later, knocking on my old Brooklyn apartment with you in her arms. She asked me to take care of you, keeping you safe and sound, away from her world. She asked me to give you a normal life until the day she would come back and explain everything. That she would do it once you turned 18… I wished she had time to do that…

“Ever since, I could only watch you grow and kept collecting everything that I saw about her. Her marriage with an ambassador that was twice her age, her coronation as queen, the birth to her first child for the media, the death of her husband and, most recently, her own death, not long after giving birth to her second child. Oh, Nick, I would have loved to tell you all of this at the right time, but it so happens that you need to know it now. This afternoon, your mom’s kingdom counselor came in and brought this letter to you. You see: with her death, it would be pleasing if her oldest royal child ascended to the throne, but she’s only a kid! And as you are, in fact, the oldest of them all… They demand you there for some kind of training. And, being crystal clear: you are obligated to do this, or they will appeal to judicial measures to make you do it anyway. They can even take you by force, Nick.” After hearing all of that, I ran to the bathroom. My head was spinning, my face was wet with sweat and tears, and I wanted to throw up every slice of pizza I ate. My dad didn’t even dare to chase me, he just let me go.

I was overwhelmed, to say the least. My head was exploding with the wave of information I’ve received and I’ve never been so shocked in my entire life. I don’t know how long I’ve stayed there, hiding, puking, crying. I was hugging my knees against my chest, just hearing my heartbeats. How come my life turned upside down in less than one hour? My mom, a queen. Country, children, baby, my dad, kingdom… Those words were spinning in my head and making me dizzy. How come my father hid everything from me? How come my mom found it better that way? And, mainly, what was I supposed to do now? I had no clue how someone could actually obligate me to do something, after all, besides taking care of my father and the house, I’ve never had to lead, or been a leader.

https://www.inkitt.com/stories/romance/748079?utm_source=shared_web

https://www.wattpad.com/story/274223573-the-lost-princess

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larissabaolibooks · 3 years

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Chapter 2

For God’s sake, did I behave that badly throughout these fifteen years to deserve this? And what did they expect me to do? Did they expect me to go to a country of which I’ve never even seen a picture, assume the throne that I “gained” just by chance and take care of a child and a baby? And how come they can “take me by force”?

I took a deep breath, trying to organize my thoughts, then got up and took off my clothes. I thought that taking a bath could help me, so I turned on the shower and tried to think of what I should do first. I eventually concluded that I would figure out everything I could about my mom and maybe after that I could untie a lot of tight knots that were tangling my brain.

I got out of the bathroom, wore my most comfortable pajamas, that was one of my dad’s red flannel and blue pajama pants I got as a Christmas gift three years ago. When I left my bedroom, my dad had already left and I took that as an opportunity to sit on his armchair, bringing the box he showed me earlier closer to me. On the box, there were a lot of pictures and newspaper articles about her. And she was pretty! Wavy blond hair and big brown eyes that looked like mine. According to the articles, her name was Caroline Marie Rodriguez DeValence II (well, that sounds like a royal name) and looked happy in most of the pictures. I mean… She was smiling, at least. As far as I knew, there was nothing about me or about her life when I was born, but, in between the pictures, I found something that surprised me.

Inside an old envelope, with only a stamp on, there were a lot of pictures and when I realized what they were all about, I gave up on the rest of the box to focus on that specific envelope. They were pictures of me with her. Pictures of which I could obviously not remember, but now that I saw them, it was as if I could feel the love she felt for me. Among them, one got my attention: we were close to a fireplace, she was sitting on a big and white armchair, wore kind of a navy-blue blanket and I was on her lap, with a little dress with lots of laces and, as I narrowed my eyes to look for the details, I realized the laces were pink and white. In the pictures, the ones she was holding me were different from the others. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t looking at the camera. She was looking at me. Without even bothering if there was a camera. And she smiled differently than in the other pictures I saw on the box. In another one, I was laying down on her lap and she was holding me, facing her, or the camera. There was one in which I was sleeping on a baby crib… Another thing that I noticed was the resemblance. I looked like her in a peculiar way, but I didn’t know how to explain.

I checked the hour on the clock above the TV and it was past midnight. I gathered all of those pictures again and put them on the box, then took a deep breath. What was I supposed to do now? The first option that came into my mind was: go to sleep. Tomorrow I have school, right? Or will they take me tomorrow? By the way, who would take me there?

I got the box again, willing to learn more about the place my mom ruled, but, as I was about to open it, a red light crossed the room and I stopped.

“Dad?” I called and then I saw the light again, crossing the room and disappearing. After that, I heard a gunshot.

I ran to my dad’s room and opened the door, finding him on the floor.

“Nick, get down!” he shouted.

As I looked down, I noticed that the red light was right on my chest, so I got down quickly and right after that a gunshot hit the wall in the corridor.

“What’s this? What’s going on?” I shouted, crawling to my dad.

“I don’t know. They told me they were going to get you peacefully. They said they needed you.” another gunshot. This time, it broke the window and there were pieces of broken glass everywhere. My dad wailed and I noticed he was shot.

“You’re hurt? They shoot you!” I screamed and attempted to look for my dad’s phone.

“I’m alright. You need to get out of here, Nick” he asked, holding his right arm so that I couldn’t see the blood mark.

I shake my head. I wouldn’t leave him there and I didn’t know what to do or what was happening. When I found the phone, I pressed the button to unlock, but when I was almost calling 911, someone broke into the front door.

It was the end. To me and to my dad. I held him in my arms and kept typing, until I saw the shadow of a tall man coming into the dark room with a gun in his hand.

I closed my eyes and waited for death, but it didn’t come. I heard the noise of gunshots and felt as if the man was coming closer, until everything stopped.

“He ran away.” I heard a robotic voice coming from the radio.

I dared to open my eyes and besides seeing that my dad was still alive, I saw the tall man, the same I saw when I came home after work, staring at me.

“Then get here. We need to take the princess.” and, then, he turned off the little device he was using and squatted down. “Everything is fine, Princess Nicolle. You’re safe now”.

***

After being led by counselor Isaac (because I couldn’t move), he started to help my dad and, after that, he introduced himself and told us that we just faced a terrorist attack. Someone followed him and Jean - who was another member of Combellmont royal guard -, discovered where we lived and waited until dawn to attack. They thought it was a kind of “total cleaning service”, in which neither me nor my dad should have survived.

“Princess, do you mind if I start to gather your stuff or would you like to leave them here?” I heard Jean ask and I stared at him.

It took me a while to remember that they needed me to pack my bags to go.

“I’d rather you call the ambulance and let me take my dad to the hospital!” I begged.

“Impossible.” he said and crossed his arms. I kept staring at him.

He wore a black suit and was tall, but he had more muscles than Isaac, which made his suit look tight around his arms. Isaac had brown hair and his eyes were narrow and brown too. As for Jean, he had black hair and dark green eyes that were waiting for me to react.

But I heard a painful muffled moan coming from my dad and noticed that Isaac took the bullet that shot his right arm, closer to his shoulder.

“What the-”

“Nick, everything is fine” I heard my dad saying, as he was holding onto the kitchen balcony.

“He needs to go to the hospital.” I said.

“No. We can’t risk your safety. If, after we leave, he still wants to go, we’ll call an ambulance.”

“What’re you saying’? He’s coming with me! I mean, I’m only leaving if he leaves too!”

“Nick-”

“No. Don’t even bother.” I shouted. “I don’t know where I’m going to, I don’t know what I’ll do, but whatever you expect me to do, I’ll only do it if my dad comes with me.”

Jean and Isaac looked at each other and I didn’t know why it looked like they were having fun. My dad was staring at me, holding his shirt that now was ripped off and had a whole due to the gunshot.

“If I say that he’ll come, will it make you come faster?” Jean asked, coming closer.

If his intention by getting closer to me was to make me frightened, it didn’t work. If he wanted to kill me, he would’ve done it when he entered the apartment, but it didn’t happen. He was there to help Isaac to take me, so he wouldn’t hurt me, would he? Testing the courage I’ve never used before, I got up, crossed my arms and walked towards him.

“Yes.” I replied.

After that, Jean smiled as if he was talking to a little kid.

“Pack your bags, princess. We’re taking you both to Combellmont.”

Leaving the apartment was a ridiculous process. As I tried to put everything I didn’t want to leave behind on my bag and helped my dad to do the same, I heard Isaac and Jean calling the police and minutes later two police cars arrived with their lights on, but, thank God, with their sirens off.

“I ask them to come discreetly.” Isaac complained between teeth.

“They are police officers from a small town, Isaac. Whoever attempted this attack will not come back. They probably know they shot someone and, after that, you got in the apartment.”

“For God’s sake, princess! Get out of the window!” Isaac shouted, entering my room and putting me away from the window.

“Hey! No touch, please” I said, trying to get away from him.

Isaac let me go.

“We can leave now, princess.”

He grimaced and rolled his eyes. I took my backpack and purse, but Isaac moved himself and took them away from my hands. After that, I went to my dad’s room to help him out, but he decided to take only a backpack. Beside my stuff, I asked them to take the box that had pictures and articles about my mom, and my dad sealed it with duct tape everywhere he could.

After a while, we were being escorted by Isaac and Jean and all of our neighbors were watching us. As far as I could tell, we would be the subject matter for tomorrow’s gossip in town, and this was confirmed when we got into a black Mercedes and were escorted until the border of the town by two police cars.

“We are flying solo, Charles. We’ll be there in about an hour or so. Everything is clean until now. You know what to do. Reserve the entire floor and prepare the princess’ suite.” Jean ordered his phone and after hearing a short answer he hung up. “Tighten your belts.”

I obeyed and soon I found out the reason for that order. Jean drove at high speed and everything was blurry.

“Hey, I don’t know how y’all drive in your own country, but here we have rules and transit plates” I warned and felt my dad holding my hand.

Jean looked impatient and nervous. He pressed the steering wheel and took a deep breath before telling me: “I’m sorry, princess, but that’s necessary since we’re only two trying to deal with an emergency.” I couldn’t explain why but I got pissed off whenever he called me princess. It didn’t feel like I was a princess at all.

I held my dad’s hand and kept staring at the blurry road.

Even at dawn, New York looked chaotic and its lights were quite hypnotic, but when we stopped by a hotel, I couldn’t control myself and got really euphoric. That is, until Isaac opened the car door and I had to pretend that everything was normal.

“Here you’ll be safe, but I recommend you stay away from the windows and don’t talk to anyone but your dad.”

I arch my eyebrows without answering and followed Isaac, as Jean was behind me and my dad was by his side.

“Just to be clear: we can’t afford this place” I said, looking around.

Everything was golden and white. The reception was huge and, since we passed by the revolving door, I counted five chandeliers until we got to the front desk.

“Yes, you do. Not officially, but you do” I heard Jean saying behind me.

“Good night, gentlemen. Who placed the reservation?” the receptionist asked before I could comprehend what Jean was saying.

“Combellmont’s royal guard” Isaac informed and handed in a card with small and golden letters.

The receptionist opened up her eyes in shock and noticed me for the first time, then kept staring at me for a couple seconds. Then, she typed something really fast and handed in two cards for two different rooms. She wished a good night, took the phone and started talking to someone.

“C’mon” my dad said and I followed them around.

We headed to the elevator and stayed there for an eternity. To my embarrassment, every time we stopped somewhere, Isaac and Jean didn’t let people get in, until we arrived at the floor in which I would stay the night and I counted three more guards waiting for us. One on the left side, one on the right side, one closer to a door. The door to my room.

“Good night, Isaac. Jean.” The one closer to the door greeted the two and looked like he was trying not to laugh.

“Step away from the door, Charles.” Jean replied, rolling his eyes.

Charles pretended like he didn’t hear it at all and then bowed at me.

“Good night, princess.”

“Good…?” that was all I could say.

Charles looked a lot like Jean, but had more hair, bigger cheeks and less muscle. He didn’t look like he was a guard, but one of my classmates, maybe one of those that were addicted to sports and that stuff.

“Step away from the door, Charles.” Jean repeated.

Charles moved away and Jean opened the door.

“Your suite, princess. Your father will be in the other room. As I’ve said, please, stay away from the windows. I’ll stay here, watching your door, so if you need anything you can call me.” I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t say anything. I had nothing to say, actually. So I got inside the room and Jean came after me, putting my backpack in front of the bed while putting the box and my purse on the bed.

“Good night, princess. We’ll head to Combellmont tomorrow” and, after realizing I wouldn’t say anything, he left.

End of the chapter. Let me know if you liked! Don’t forget to comment, like and shared with your friends. See y'all soon! 💜

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larissabaolibooks · 3 years

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Chapter 3

I couldn’t sleep. I walked around the room, controlling myself not to go near the windows, took my phone and thought about calling Rupert, so that he could warn Miss Picket that I had to leave town, but how could I explain something like this? He’d probably think that I was joking or drunk. I felt like I was about to faint and a terrible headache started to shoot me down.

“Jean?” I called, going closer to the door and we opened the door at the same time.

“You called, princess?”

“Can you get my dad? I’m not feeling well. I need… something” I said, sighing.

“Your father is already in his room, resting, princess. Do you want me to call a doctor?” He looked rather reluctant.

It felt like I was about to cry and I raised my hand, denying the suggestion.

“No. Can you get me a painkiller or something? Anything.”

“Sure, what are you feeling, princess?” He asked and I noticed he was about to grab my wrists, but he stopped.

“Just… I… I don’t know.” I couldn’t express myself clearly, so I just closed the door and Jean didn’t stop me.

I looked at the box that was on the floor, beside my backpack, and sat on the floor, in front of it, starting to open it. I couldn’t care less about the tears and hiccups that were filling in the room.

After throwing the top of the box away, I spread the pictures on the floor and kept staring at them for a long time, until I heard someone knock on the door.

“Excuse me, princess, may I come in?” someone asked. A voice I didn’t recognize.

“Yes.” I answered, cleaning the tears with the back of my hands and trying to control myself.

“Hello?” I heard and, when I turned around, I saw Charles. “I brought you the painkillers you asked before. Oh, you’re crying? Do you want me to come back another time?”

I heard Jean clear his throat and Charles looked at the door, where Jean probably was standing.

“You can come in” I said and Charles obeyed, closing the door, but not before I heard Jean clearing his throat even higher and stronger.

“Something tells me that he’s going to be cruel when reporting about me” Charles whispered and got close to me, sitting on the floor beside me, but half a meter away. “I brought you medicine, soothing pills, vitamins… What do you need? I mean, miss… Princess.”

“I need you to stop calling me princess for starters” I took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, prince….” he stopped and tried not to laugh. “I’m sorry, but that isn’t something we can control. It’s the way we show respect for the royalty. We learn this as soon as we grow up.”

“I’m not from royalty. I don’t even know where y’all live, how do you expect me to become a princess?”

“We don’t. You are the princess. They are calling you ‘the lost princess of Combellmont’. And everyone is waiting for you.” He confessed, as he offered me the medicines, asking me to choose one. I chose the painkiller, as I’ve asked Jean before, and a soothing pill.

“How wonderful!” I mocked after taking the pills and drinking the water Charles brought.

He smiled and I noticed a small cut on his lower lip.

“You’ll have everything you wish to adapt yourself to this new life and you can always count on your aunt, who’s very anxious to meet you.”

I tried to remember where an aunt fits in this whole story, but I just howled.

“I hate all of this.” I looked at the box and the pictures. “I hate not knowing what to do, where I’m heading or what’s waiting for me.”

Charles looked impressed with my reaction, so he got up and told me: “It’s late already.” He was about to call me “princess” once again, but controlled himself. “Go to bed and lay down. I’ll put the box on your side and, if you allow me, I’ll put the armchair closer to the bed and I’ll tell you everything you’d like to know about your kingdom.”

He raised his hand and I held it while he helped me get up. Then, I went to bed, laid down, just to realize I was wearing the flannel, my pajama shirt and jeans. Charles waited until I laid down, motionless, and, after that, he put the box beside me. He went to the armchair and brought it closer to the bed, sitting on it.

“If you allow me, just for tonight and I beg you to keep this a secret, how should I address you?” he asked.

“Nick.” I replied.

“Okay, Nick. My family and friends call me Chuck, except when I’m at work… Then, Jean insists on calling me Charles.” he explained.

“Are you and Jean family?”

“Siblings” he replied and then amended: “He loves to play the older brother role.”

“I have siblings too, right… Chuck?” I asked with an involuntary smile on my lips and yawned, feeling the effects of the soothing pill.

“Two. Princess Rafaella and Prince Hugo. And, as I’ve said before, you also have an aunt, Princess Antonina. They are introduced this way to the public, however, inside the castle, they allow us to call them Ella and Nina.”

I saw Chuck coming closer to the box and he took some newspaper articles, but I just closed my eyes and kept listening to what he was saying.

“Your mom was the most loved queen and she really dedicated herself to Combellmont. Unfortunately, she died right after Hugo was born and, since then, Nina is the one that takes care of your siblings. She’s always really adorable with everyone in the royal guard, even though people that maintain the castle say otherwise. To me and to my brother she’s admirable. Her health was always fragile, so she doesn’t really go outside the castle, but she has been going out to pronounce and she was the one that revealed your mother’s testament, she was the one that assumed your existence. It was shocking to everyone, but it didn’t blemish your mother’s figure. Your mom was strong. I mean, she preferred to leave your custody to your dad, married King Louis and then he had that sad ending on the Adriatic sea…”

I wanted to ask about what happened to King Louis, but I fell asleep and didn’t remember anything else that Chuck told me after that.

***

I woke up to the room maid taking the pictures that were under me, since I tend to move around a lot while I’m sleeping and ended up sleeping on the pictures and newspaper articles. When we exchanged looks, I didn’t know who was more scared, me or her, and, after whispering an apology, she bowed and left the room, probably to warn one of the guards that I was already up. Then, a couple seconds later, Jean entered the room.

“Good morning, princess. Should I ask them to bring your breakfast?”

“Where’s my dad?” I asked, rubbing my eyes and sitting on the bed.

“He was waiting for you to wake up, but decided to eat breakfast with the guard this morning.”

This morning? I looked around, looking for my phone and, when I found it, I noticed it was past noon.

“Why didn’t you wake me up? It’s late already!” I exclaimed as I got up, staggering around the room.

“It wasn’t necessary.” Jean replied just like that.

I snorted and shook my head, entering the bathroom. When I left, after brushing my teeth and pulling up my hair, the breakfast was already in my room, with three different breakfast carts laying around the suite table.

“Wow, who’s gonna eat with me?” I asked, wondering if they’ve called a meeting now.

“It’s a diverse menu, princess. I advise you to get fruits, water and milk” Jean suggested, hiding a smile. “And your aunt would like to talk to you. She’s worried and wishes to see you even if it’s online. May I bring the notebook for a call?”

I replied, shaking my shoulders without knowing what to expect. I opened each closed tray on the carts, picking eggs, bacon, sausage and bread. I poured a glass of orange juice to myself.

When I was about to finish my dish, but had my fingers and mouth dirty, Jean brought the notebook and put it on the table, in front of me, when I waved to a woman with short blond hair and narrow brown eyes and pointy nose.

“Oh, my sweet niece!” she exclaimed and covered her mouth with her hands.

I pointed a finger and got up so that I could chew the food without her noticing it and, only after that, I sat down to talk to her, while cleaning my mouth and fingers with a napkin.

“Good morning” I said, forcing myself to smile.

“It’s already evening here, darling.” she informed me. “I just need to know if everything is okay. I heard about the terrible attack you and your father suffered and I hope you’ll be here immediately.”

“Ah, yeah. It was nuts, but everyone is fine.” I confirmed, without knowing how to express myself.

“Oh, Nicolle. I hope to meet you soon. And your siblings are anxious.” she said with a short smile.

I nodded once again, not saying a word.

“I imagine how hard it must be, but we have a lot of time for you to adapt yourself and you’ll have every support we can give you. By the way, I think you already know that, but I’m your mother’s sister. Your aunt, Antonina, but everyone calls me Nina around here and you may as well call me Aunt Nina.”

“Okay.” I replied.

This time, she noticed I didn’t know what to say, so she decided to say goodbye.

“I’ll let you have your breakfast in peace. I’ll be waiting for you and your room is ready for your arrival. See you soon, darling.”

“See ya… Aunt.” I said and, after that, she hung up.

I took a deep breath and continued to eat. After all, I was really hungry.

After taking a shower and being amazed by the bathroom box that would fit a bed inside, and by the bathroom itself, that was probably the same size as my bedroom back in Montgomery, I started to try to ignore whatever I was feeling.

As I ran my hands through the glass, I saw a pair of frightened eyes with lots of eye bags. My eyes. But I refused to let the doubts tangle my brain again, so I dressed up and left the room to meet my dad.

“They wanted me to ask for permission to let me in.” he said with a grimace when we met.

I howled, shaking my shoulders, got closer to my dad and hugged him.

“Calm down, Nick. I’m still recovering.” I let him go, trying to see his arm. “I’m fine, but I came here to talk to you.”

“Okay, what’re you telling me now? That you’re an FBI agent? That I’m half alien? That my mom was a mermaid? Actually, that’s something I’d like to be true…” I provoked him.

“Nick, I’m going back to Montgomery.” he said.

I stared at him.

“What’re you sayin’?”

“Dear, I want you to understand me… I know that you must be confused with everything that’s going on, but all of that was predicted in your destiny. Your mom was the one that was supposed to be here, explaining everything to you, but, sadly, she couldn’t do it.” He started, then sat on the chair that Chuck sat the day before. “All of that, you being a princess, you having the right to become a queen… It was something I already expected. Caroline wanted to keep you away from all of that, but she made me promise that I’d take care of you and educate you so that you’d become a good person, which you are.’’

I couldn’t believe in what I was hearing.

“You started learning Spanish when you were little because that’s Combellmont’s official language. I did everything I could to keep you in Abeley because I wanted you to have the best education in town. That’s why I insisted you should try Ballet, swimming classes, music classes… I did everything I could so that you could be who you’re now… A princess.”

“What’re you sayin’?” I repeated, feeling desperate.

“And I know that you’ll be well treated and will have a future with great people that will take care of you. The care that you always needed and that I failed to give. Even after the accident… You know how much I regret that, but now you can leave all that behind and follow your life! Start a new story.”

“So that’s it? You really intend to leave me like that? Do you even understand what you’re doing to me?” I wanted to shout, but kept talking between teeth so that Isaac and Jean wouldn’t come in and interrupt us.

“Nick, I’m not leaving you. I’m freeing you! You’ll start a new chapter of your life and I’ll be in Montgomery if you ever need me. If you need me, I’ll be there.”

“I need you now, dad!” I couldn’t manage my tone this time.

“I’m so sorry.” he concluded and, after that, he got up. “But I’ll not come with you. You don’t need me as you feel like you do. And after you are crowned, what good would I be? I’ll always be treated like a burden to you. You’ll be better without me.”

I didn’t feel like crying and asked myself if I had cried so hard yesterday that I had no tears left today. As bad as this news was, I could only feel anger and disappointment. Seeing that I had shut down, my dad walked towards the door.

“I’m sorry, Nick. I’ll always be your dad and you’ll always be welcomed in your old life.”

Then he left, leaving me there. Alone.

End of the chapter. Let me know if you liked! Don’t forget to comment, like and shared with your friends. See y'all soon! 💜

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