Chapter 9: The Truth Beneath the Chapel
Elia read Mara's letter by the light of a small candle.
Her hands shook so violently that the paper rustled against her fingers.
My dearest girl,
If you are reading this, then the person who raised you was not the person you believed.
Elia swallowed.
She continued.
I have loved you as my own. But I have also carried a terrible secret, one that was never mine to keep.
On the night of the nursery fire, I was ordered to take one child beyond the northern border. I believed I was saving a princess.
But when I reached the chapel, I discovered that the child I carried was not the only one who needed saving.
Elia looked at the portrait of the two babies.
One wore the silver swan.
The other wore the black crown.
The royal physician had discovered that Lord Voss intended to control the succession by eliminating one of the twins. He had been bribed to exchange the bracelets, then told to record one child as dead.
The king knew there was a conspiracy. The queen knew that one child had to disappear. But neither knew what the physician and I had discovered.
Elia's throat tightened.
There was more.
Mara, the woman who raised you, was not the woman who gave birth to you.
Elia stopped reading.
She looked at the words again.
Then she pressed the letter against her chest.
For nineteen years, she had called Mara her mother.
For nineteen years, she had believed she knew the shape of her life.
Now even that seemed uncertain.
A final paragraph waited near the bottom.
*You must find the original birth record. It is hidden beneath the royal altar, inside the compartment marked with seven stars. Do not trust either bracelet.
Do not trust the names written on them. The truth is in the blood, but the answer is in the song.*
Elia's eyes widened.
The song.
The lullaby.
Before she could continue, a sound came from the stairs.
Someone was approaching.
She quickly folded the letter and hid it beneath her uniform.
A shadow appeared at the entrance.
"Elia?""
It was Isabelle.
Elia stepped backward.
"What are you doing here?""
Isabelle held a lantern.
"I followed you.""
"Why?""
"Because I wanted to know what Mara left behind.""
Elia stared at her.
"You knew she had a secret?""
"I remembered her. Not clearly, but I remembered her voice.""
Isabelle descended the last step.
"When I was little, Lord Voss used to take me to the old infirmary. He told me Mara was a traitor. But whenever I asked about her, he became angry.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"I was afraid.""
Elia looked toward the portrait.
"Did Mara raise you too?""
Isabelle lowered her eyes.
"Only for a few months.""
Elia's expression softened.
"What happened?""
"Lord Voss found her. He took me away and told me that if I ever spoke to her again, he would send her to prison.""
Elia stared.
"Then you were the child he kept?""
Isabelle nodded.
"I grew up in a house outside the palace. I had tutors, guards, beautiful clothes. I was told I was the rightful princess, but I wasn't allowed to speak to anyone about my childhood.""
Elia felt a painful understanding settle between them.
"Did you know he was lying?""
"No. Not until tonight.""
Isabelle approached the chest.
"What's in the letter?""
Elia hesitated.
Then she handed it over.
Isabelle read the first few lines.
Her lips parted.
"She raised you?""
"Yes.""
"Then who raised me?""
Elia looked at her.
"Apparently, nobody who loved you enough to tell you the truth.""
Isabelle's eyes filled.
For the first time, neither woman seemed to see the other as a rival.
They were simply two young women who had lost the same childhood.
Isabelle turned the portrait over.
On the back was another inscription.
The silver swan remembers. The black crown obeys.
She frowned.
"What does that mean?""
Elia examined the bracelets.
One carried seven stars.
The other bore a tiny black crown.
"Maybe the bracelets were used to identify us.""
"But Mara said not to trust them.""
Elia nodded.
"She said the answer was in the song.""
Isabelle looked toward her.
"Then sing it.""
Elia shook her head.
"I don't know the whole song.""
"I do.""
Isabelle began softly.
"Sleep beneath the silver moon...""
Elia joined her.
"Little swan, the dawn comes soon...""
They sang the lullaby together.
At first, nothing happened.
Then a small golden line appeared along the edge of the chest.
The two women stopped.
A hidden compartment opened beneath the velvet lining.
Inside was a folded document with the royal seal.
Elia reached for it.
But before she could open it, a voice sounded from the staircase.
"How touching.""
Lord Voss stood at the entrance.
Two guards flanked him.
He carried a pistol in his right hand.
"Two little princesses playing with their family treasures.""
Isabelle immediately stepped in front of Elia.
"Don't come closer.""
Voss smiled.
"You should have stayed in your chamber.""
"Why did you lie to me?""
The chancellor sighed.
"Again with the questions.""
"You knew about both of us.""
"Of course.""
"You knew Mara had raised me.""
"Yes.""
"And you told me I was the only princess.""
"Because you were easier to control when you believed you were special.""
Isabelle's face twisted.
"You used me.""
"I educated you. I gave you a future.""
"You gave me a false name.""
Voss glanced toward Elia.
"And she was given a false life.""
Elia clutched the document.
"What happened to Mara?""
The chancellor's expression became flat.
"She refused to reveal the location of the original birth record.""
"Did you kill her?""
"I gave her every opportunity to cooperate.""
"Did you kill her?""
Voss raised the pistol slightly.
"She made a choice.""
Elia took a step forward.
"She chose to protect us.""
"She chose to destroy everything I had worked for.""
Isabelle moved closer to the chest.
Voss noticed.
"Careful, Princess.""
"You promised I would become queen.""
"And you will.""
"Then why are you afraid of her?""
He looked at Elia.
"Because some people are dangerous even when they do nothing.""
Elia glanced at the open compartment.
The document was still inside.
She had no idea what it contained.
But she knew Voss could not be allowed to take it.
"Why did you want one of us dead?""
The chancellor's eyes narrowed.
"Because your father made a terrible mistake.""
"Which was?""
"Having two daughters.""
He took another step down.
"The succession laws of Valoria recognized only the elder child as the primary heir. Your father had promised the old families that there would be a single successor. When the twins were born, he believed he could keep both children alive and settle the matter later.""
"Then why didn't he?""
"Because the queen insisted that both girls be protected.""
Eleanor's voice suddenly rang from above.
"And I would insist again.""
The queen appeared at the staircase.
Prince Adrian stood beside her, followed by Captain Rowan.
Elia stared.
"Captain!""
Rowan smiled faintly.
"Still alive, young lady.""
Adrian drew his sword.
"Put down the weapon, Voss.""
The chancellor looked toward the staircase.
"How did you find us?""
Victoria stepped into view.
"Your guards talk too much when they believe nobody is listening.""
She held a small key ring in her hand.
"I found the passage.""
Voss's expression darkened.
"You have all made a terrible mistake.""
Eleanor descended.
"No, Malcolm. The mistake was allowing you to remain in my family for nineteen years.""
She looked toward the chest.
"Is the original document there?""
Elia nodded.
The queen approached.
For a moment, she looked at the two young women standing together.
Then she reached for the paper.
"Let me see.""
Elia unfolded it.
The document contained two names.
Two dates of birth.
And two small marks drawn beside the names.
The first was a silver swan.
The second was a black crown.
Below the names was the physician's original declaration.
But the ink had been damaged.
Only part of each line remained.
Eleanor leaned closer.
"Read it.""
Elia tried.
"Princess... Isolde... silver swan...""
The next name was blurred.
"Princess... Isabelle... black crown...""
Then the final sentence was visible.
The child marked by the black crown shall inherit the throne, provided the silver swan remains beside her.
Adrian frowned.
"That makes no sense.""
Voss laughed.
"It makes perfect sense.""
He lifted the pistol.
"The black crown was always the symbol of the true heir. The silver swan was merely the guardian.""
Eleanor turned toward him.
"You knew?""
"Of course.""
"Then why did you try to separate them?""
"Because the guardian would never allow the heir to be controlled.""
The queen's expression changed.
She looked at Elia.
Then at Isabelle.
One of them had been raised as a servant.
The other had been raised as a princess.
But the old document suggested that the child who was meant to rule might not be the one everyone had believed.
Isabelle stared at the black crown bracelet.
"Which of us has the mark?""
Voss smiled.
"That is what I have spent nineteen years trying to discover.""
He raised the pistol toward Elia.
"But I no longer need to wonder.""
A shot rang out.
Elia screamed.
Adrian lunged toward her.
But the bullet did not hit her.
It struck the golden support above the chest.
A heavy wooden panel broke loose and crashed onto the floor.
Dust filled the hidden room.
When it cleared, Lord Voss was gone.
So was the original birth document.
Captain Rowan rushed up the stairs.
"Seal the palace!""
Adrian grabbed Elia's hand.
"Are you hurt?""
She shook her head.
Then she looked at Isabelle.
The other girl was staring at her own left wrist.
Something had become visible beneath the thin fabric of her sleeve.
A small black birthmark.
A crown-shaped mark.
Elia looked down at her own wrist.
Beneath her faded cuff was a pale golden mark.
A swan with outstretched wings.
The queen began to cry.
"No...""
Adrian looked at them.
"What is it?""
Eleanor reached for Elia's hand.
"The symbols.""
"Which one is the heir?""
The queen slowly raised her eyes.
Then she whispered the words that changed everything.
"The black crown was never meant to belong to the heir.""
Elia stared at her.
"Then what does it mean?""
Eleanor turned toward Isabelle.
"It marks the child who was born to protect her.""
Outside the chapel, a bell began ringing.
The sound came from the throne room.
Once.
Twice.
Then three times.
Captain Rowan rushed back inside.
"Your Majesty!""
He was out of breath.
"What happened?""
"The council has assembled. Lord Voss has announced the coronation.""
Adrian went pale.
"Of whom?""
Rowan looked toward Isabelle.
"Princess Isabelle.""
Then he held out a sealed document.
"The chancellor claims the original king's will names her as the only legitimate heir.""
Eleanor took the parchment.
Her hands trembled.
At the bottom was King Edmund's signature.
And a final command.
Should the guardian ever return, she must kneel before the heir.
Elia looked at her golden swan birthmark.
Then at Isabelle's black crown.
For the first time, she understood why Mara had hidden her.
She had not been hiding a princess.
She had been hiding the one person who could stop the wrong princess from taking the throne.
May you like
And tomorrow morning, the entire kingdom would witness the coronation.
Unless Elia could discover what her father had really written.
