Chapter 6: The Name Written in Blood
Sophie struggled against the hand.
"Let go!""
A match flared.
The sudden light revealed Dr. Samuel Hart standing beside her.
He released her immediately.
"Forgive me.""
Victor grabbed a candle from the table.
"What is going on?""
Dr. Hart looked toward the king.
"Your Majesty, we need to speak privately.""
Gabriel was already moving toward the door.
"Everyone stays here.""
Madeleine stepped in front of him.
"Who grabbed my daughter?""
The physician lowered his eyes.
"I did.""
Sophie stared at him.
"Why?""
"Because there is something Eleanor hasn't told you.""
Eleanor stood near the fireplace.
Her face had become strangely pale.
"Samuel, don't.""
He ignored her.
"The woman who raised you did not give you the name Sophie.""
Sophie looked at Eleanor.
"Mother?""
Eleanor's lips trembled.
"Your name was changed when you were three months old.""
"Why?""
Dr. Hart removed a folded document from his jacket.
"Because the king ordered it.""
Gabriel turned sharply.
"That document is confidential.""
"It concerns the identity of the rightful heir.""
"It concerns state security.""
"It concerns a child who has spent twenty-four years living under a false identity!""
The physician placed the document on the table.
Sophie opened it.
At the top was an official royal seal.
Below it were several handwritten entries.
Birth name: Alexandra Elizabeth Bellgrave.
Date of birth: December 17, 2001.
Mother: Princess Elizabeth Madeleine Bellgrave.
Father: Adrian Thomas Vale.
Sophie read the names again.
Then she looked up.
"That's not right.""
Madeleine approached.
"Why?""
Sophie pointed to the name of the mother.
"Elizabeth was your sister.""
Madeleine nodded.
"Yes.""
"But you said she disappeared before you married Gabriel.""
"She did.""
Sophie looked at the document again.
"Then who is the woman who raised me?""
Eleanor began to cry.
"My name is Eleanor Vale. I was your father's younger sister.""
Sophie stared at her.
The room seemed to tilt.
"You're my aunt?""
Eleanor nodded.
"I am.""
Sophie took a step backward.
"All this time...""
"I wanted to tell you.""
"But you called yourself my mother.""
"Because I loved you like my own child.""
Sophie shook her head.
"You let me believe I had no family.""
Eleanor's voice broke.
"I let you believe you had a small family because I was afraid the real one would destroy you.""
Madeleine approached Sophie.
"Alexandra...""
Sophie raised a hand.
"Please don't call me that.""
The queen stopped.
Sophie looked at the document again.
Her entire life had just been rewritten.
The woman she had called mother was her aunt.
The mother named on the birth record had disappeared before she was old enough to remember.
And her father, Adrian Vale, was apparently alive.
"Where is my real mother?"" Sophie asked.
Nobody answered.
Then Dr. Hart spoke.
"Elizabeth died in childbirth.""
Madeleine closed her eyes.
Sophie gripped the table.
"So the woman who raised me wasn't my mother, and my real mother died before I could know her?""
Eleanor stepped closer.
"She left you something.""
Sophie looked at her.
"What?""
Eleanor reached into her pocket and removed a small silver locket.
"I was supposed to give you this when you turned twenty-five.""
Sophie opened it.
Inside was a miniature portrait of a young woman.
Dark hair.
Green eyes.
A delicate smile.
Beneath it were three engraved words.
My beloved Alexandra.
Sophie touched the portrait.
For the first time, she felt the weight of a mother she had never known.
Gabriel suddenly laughed.
It was a short, bitter sound.
"Beautiful. Truly beautiful.""
Victor turned toward him.
"What's funny?""
"All this emotion. All these tears. And none of you understands what is happening.""
Madeleine faced him.
"Then explain it.""
Gabriel walked toward the table.
"Adrian was not simply a foreign prince. He was the heir to the old Bellgrave throne. His mother was Princess Helena, the last surviving daughter of King Edward.""
Victor frowned.
"That would make him eligible for the crown.""
"Exactly.""
Gabriel picked up the birth certificate.
"When Elizabeth became pregnant, the council feared that Adrian's child would unite two rival branches of the royal family.""
Sophie looked at him.
"So you stole me to stop that?""
"Initially.""
"What does that mean?""
Gabriel placed the document down.
"Then the crystal awakened.""
Madeleine's expression changed.
"The crystal...""
Gabriel nodded.
"The old kings believed it could recognize the true heir. I never believed those stories until the night Sophie touched it.""
Sophie looked at the queen.
"Why does it matter?""
Madeleine answered.
"Because the crystal is more than an ornament. It is the key to the royal vault.""
Victor glanced toward the ceiling.
"The vault beneath the palace?""
Gabriel nodded.
"For centuries, the crown jewels, the original succession records, and the founding treaty have been kept there.""
Sophie remembered the parchment.
"What does the treaty say?""
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
"That the crown belongs to the bloodline of the firstborn daughter.""
Madeleine whispered, "And that the king is only its guardian.""
The room fell silent.
Sophie understood.
Gabriel wasn't afraid that she would expose an old family scandal.
He was afraid she could take his crown.
A loud crash interrupted them.
One of the guards burst into the council chamber.
"Your Majesty!""
Gabriel turned.
"What?""
"The eastern gates have been breached.""
"By whom?""
The guard swallowed.
"Royal soldiers. They claim to be acting under the authority of Prince Adrian Vale.""
Victor looked at Sophie.
"He's here?""
The guard shook his head.
"No, Your Highness.""
He glanced toward the queen.
"But someone has brought a message from him.""
Gabriel snatched the envelope.
He tore it open.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
His expression changed as he read.
Madeleine reached for it.
"What does it say?""
Gabriel refused to hand it over.
"Nothing.""
Victor stepped closer.
"Father.""
Gabriel looked up.
For the first time, he appeared genuinely frightened.
"He wants the princess.""
Sophie stared.
"Which princess?""
Gabriel looked at her.
"You.""
The guards escorted them through the western corridor.
The palace had become a fortress.
Heavy doors were being closed. Soldiers hurried across the courtyard. From somewhere outside came the distant sound of horses and shouting.
Sophie walked beside Eleanor.
Neither spoke.
Finally, Sophie stopped.
"Why did you lie about my name?""
Eleanor looked at her.
"Because Alexandra was the name the king was searching for.""
"But Sophie wasn't my real name either.""
"No.""
Eleanor reached for her hand.
"When I took you away, I gave you the name Sophie because it was the name your mother had chosen for you before she died.""
Sophie stared.
"Elizabeth chose it?""
Eleanor nodded.
"She wanted her daughter to have a life outside the palace. She wanted her to grow up free.""
Sophie looked down.
"So even my name was part of the secret.""
Eleanor gently squeezed her fingers.
"Every lie began with someone trying to protect you. That doesn't make the lies right.""
Sophie wanted to forgive her.
But she couldn't.
Not yet.
They reached the royal library.
Madeleine entered first.
Victor followed.
Gabriel remained outside, speaking quietly with the guards.
Sophie noticed a large portrait above the fireplace.
It showed three women standing beneath an emerald crown.
The queen.
Princess Elizabeth.
And a third woman Sophie had never seen.
She approached.
"Who is that?""
Madeleine turned.
The smile disappeared from her face.
"Princess Helena.""
Sophie looked closer.
The woman had the same green eyes as Victor.
The same narrow jaw as Gabriel.
And the same silver pendant Sophie wore.
"Why is she wearing my pendant?""
Madeleine stared at the portrait.
"Because that was hers.""
Sophie touched the locket in her hand.
"Then why did Elizabeth have one?""
The queen stepped closer.
"She didn't.""
Sophie turned.
"What?""
Madeleine pointed to the painting.
"Look carefully.""
Sophie examined the portrait.
Princess Helena wore a silver pendant shaped like a teardrop.
But the stone was blue.
The pendant Sophie wore was green.
And Princess Elizabeth's hand rested on a small wooden box.
A box with three emerald leaves carved into its lid.
Madeleine suddenly remembered something.
"That box...""
Victor looked at her.
"What?""
"It belonged to Helena. She kept the original succession documents inside it.""
Sophie frowned.
"Where is it?""
Madeleine looked toward the painting.
"According to the old records, it was sealed inside the royal chapel.""
A loud knock came from the library door.
Everyone turned.
A guard entered.
"Your Majesty, we have a visitor.""
Gabriel appeared behind him.
"Who?""
The guard looked at Sophie.
"An elderly gentleman. He refuses to speak to anyone except the princess.""
Sophie felt her heart pounding.
"What's his name?""
The guard hesitated.
"Adrian Vale.""
Madeleine grabbed the edge of the table.
Victor stared at the door.
Gabriel immediately drew his revolver.
"Nobody lets him inside.""
But the guard continued.
"He also brought a woman.""
Madeleine's face turned white.
"Who?""
The guard lowered his voice.
"Princess Elizabeth.""
Sophie stopped breathing.
The woman who had given birth to her.
The woman everyone had claimed was dead.
The woman whose face appeared in the photograph.
She was alive.
Gabriel stepped into the library.
"Lock the doors.""
Victor moved toward him.
"You're not keeping her from meeting her mother.""
"That woman is not her mother.""
Sophie turned.
"What do you mean?""
Gabriel looked at her.
"Because Elizabeth died twenty-four years ago.""
Madeleine's voice trembled.
"Then who is outside?""
The king's eyes moved toward the corridor.
"Someone who has spent twenty-four years pretending to be her.""
A sudden crash shook the library doors.
Then came a woman's voice.
Clear.
Familiar.
And strangely desperate.
"Alexandra! Open the door!""
Sophie stepped forward.
Eleanor caught her arm.
"Don't.""
"That's my mother.""
Eleanor shook her head.
"Listen to me. Whoever is outside knows your name. That doesn't mean she loves you.""
The voice came again.
"Alexandra, darling! Please!""
Sophie looked at the door.
Then at the silver locket in her hand.
For twenty-four years, she had believed she had lost her mother.
Now someone was standing on the other side of a locked door, calling her by a name she had never known.
Sophie approached the handle.
And just before she touched it, the woman outside whispered something that made Eleanor collapse against the wall.
"Alexandra, it's Elizabeth.""
A pause.
Then:
"And I know what your father did to your twin.""
Sophie froze.
Her twin.
The baby in the photograph.
The princess who supposedly died.
The woman outside began knocking again.
"Open the door, my darling. We don't have much time.""
Behind Sophie, King Gabriel quietly raised his revolver.
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And Victor finally noticed that his father wasn't aiming at the door.
He was aiming at Sophie.
