Beffiting a Queen

Chapter 6: The truth

After my morning with the mysterious masked stranger, he left as fast as he came into my life. I couldnt get him out of my mind, but i didnt have time to think about him. The ball would be commencing in a couple of hours and i had to get dressed for the occasion. I wasn't invited as a guest, but rather as a handmaiden. Luckily Queen Gwenovere had allowed me to bathe and wear a dress for the occasion.

The castle's seamstress was also kind enough to scrumaage up a beautiful gown for me. She had made me a beautiful violet dress that looked as though flowers were blooming from the bottom of the dress. If my mother were still alive, she would have loved this dress. The bodice of the dress also contained beautiful silver gems that seemed to glisten with the light. 

As i stepped out into the ballroom, i was met by my father who turned as pale as a ghost at the sight of me. My step sister stood next to him and watched him walk towards me. He had no idea he had met me the day he came over to talk about engagement details, but i couldn't blame him. My demeanor that day was terrible. My hair and face was full of dirt and my dress was torn and tattered. He asked about my family and inorder to keep my identity hidden I concocted this elaborate story about my father dying at war and my mother being admitted to an asylum after becoming insane due to his death, which eventually led to her untimely death. I felt bad for lying, but i had no other choice.

With sadness in his eyes he told me that i reminded him of someone he loved very much. I wanted to scoff at his words, but i had to pretend i actually cared about his pain. He began by telling me that she had long dark hair like mine and that her violet eyes were as beautiful as mine. As he was about to ask my name, the king of Tritania stepped into the room and walked over to my father. 

He overlooked my presence and asked me to remove myself for a moment. I had finally met my dear old grandfather and i hated him more than ever. The manner in which he spoke was condesending and authoritarian. As i walked away, i accidently bumped into prince Adrien and as he held onto my arms my step sister walked towards us and pulled me to the ground. Prince Adrien angrily dragged her outside by the shoulder and i quickly got up and ran outside to the balcony. 

I found it hard to breathe in the tight dress I had on and the thought of being in the same room with those i despised, made me want to run and never look back. I felt so alone and I wanted the touch of my masked stranger to come and comfort me, but I knew he wouldn't come. I took a deep breath and walked back into the ballroom where queen Gwenovere was announcing the engagement of Prince Adrien of Cyrcania and Princess Lucinda of Deltania. My sister looked directly at me from across the room and gave me a smile. I knew she hated me, but now that she knew Adrien would be hers, she felt a sense of relief.

If only she knew that I was already developing feelings for a masked stranger with sad eyes. During the entire ball my father couldn't keep his eyes off me. I had the that feeling he knew the truth about me, but how could he? There was no record i had ever been born and although i was one of the only girls in town that had violet eyes, he could never prove my identity. 

I knew Queen Gwenovere wanted me to stay hidden from sight, so i used that as an opportunity to observe my grandfather. The ballroom quickly became filled with guests. The beautiful gowns worn by the women of the kingdom were like something out of a fairytale. The twinkling lights that surrounded the entire room enhanced the beauty of the women wearing their prettiest things. 

Prince Adrien and Princess Lucinda were the only couple allowed to dance in the middle of the room, where they could be gawked at and admired. In the corner hidden away from sight i felt like a complete outsider. I knew i didnt belong here, but part of me wanted to be a part of it. My mother had once been a part of this superficial world. She was garceful and beautiful to the very end. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and i hated them for it. 

I was no longer needed in the ballroom so i hurried to my room and took off my dress. I loved the gown, but i felt better in my own tattered clothing. As i changed back into my only dress that had been handsown by my mother and had seen better days, i decided to scope out info on my grandfather. I needed to learn as much as i could about him and  i wouldn't be able to do it from inside my room.

I snuck onto the third floor of the castle and went into the bedroom that Queen Gwenovere had instructed me to prepare for my grandfather . I began to look through his things and I had no idea what to look for, but I knew there was something there and I had to find it. I had found a note that my mother had written to my grandfather a couple years ago and in it she  told him about my existence and how she wanted me to be raised in the castle and next to it was a note my grandfather had written. In it, he instructed someone to find me and  dispose of me because my existence would ruin his plans for control over the kingdoms.

I couldn't believe my own grandfather wanted me dead. He only cared about power and nothing more. I even found articles that proved he had killed my grandmother who was from a small village in the middle of Tritania. All of a sudden I heard someone trying to come into the room. I had to get out of there as soon as possible, so I went to the window and took with me my mothers letters and as I began climbing down the balcony, I lost my footing and almost fell to my death. 

A soft hand had held on to me and as I was pulled up, I was face to face with the masked stranger. As we stood face to face, he pulled me close to his body and held me tight. With an angry face he asked, 'were you trying to kill yourself?' I wanted to tell him what I was up to, but I didn't want to get him involved. As I made sure I still had my mother's letters, I let out a sigh of relief.

As it started to rain, we quickly hurried out of the castle and went towards the garden, he took me to a secret passageway that had been hiding behind the large thorn bush near my bedroom. The dark passage way seemed to go on forever and as he led me down further and further, I felt like I was back in the asylum. When we finally got to the end of the passage way, he handed me one of his shirts and told me it was all he had. He lit a fire and for the rest of the night as the rain fell, we sat on the ground near the fire to keep warm.