Chapter 45 - Reason

I opened my eyes for the second time that day. It seems that I have fallen asleep again. After talking to the butler and hearing everybody else's explanation of how we were rescued from Ronaldo's murderous attempts, I have decided to rest. It was more like my body cried for it. Recovery was the only option I had. As I pulled myself up, agonizing pain spread on my stomach, radiating on the surrounding areas.

"Your majesty," Van said, coming to my rescue. She placed a pillow behind me and gave support so I could rest on it. "What are you doing up? You should get more rest."

My eyes traveled the room. The window curtains was parted an inch, informing me that it was twilight. I've slept for hours. "Where's Talia?" I asked, shifting my gaze to Van.

She sat on the bed beside me. "She's arranging some things." Van patted my shoulder. "There, there your highness. Isn't it a bit soon to crave for the princess' body? Gosh! That wound will bleed if you start doing your activities. Can't you wait for a couple of days?"

"Is that what you think about all the time?"

She frowned. "Why mock me your majesty? On breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I usually think about food. And. . . And sometimes I think about science too." I arched my eyebrow. "For example," she said, clapping her hands together. "I appreciate the periodic table. It tells us many things."

"Oh? What?"

"Have you seen Gallium which stands for GA, and Ytrrium which has a Y symbol? Totally gay." I snorted. "Still not convinced?" she said, starting to get on a roll. "I know my way to art and literature too. Even music. Have you heard of Depussy your highness? Totally my favorite pianist."

"I think you meant Debussy?"

"Yeah, same guy. And when it comes to literature, who doesn't know Shakespeare?" she said. "He wrote Juliet x Juliet right? For the two chicks getting it on? My kind of story."

"You got the wrong author."

She waved her hand in dismissal. "Yeah yeah. . . Anyway your majesty, there's also Charles Dickens. He's my favorite gay writer. From his surname alone, we know what's going on right?"

"I'm getting dizzy now Van."

She mocked zipped her lips with her hands. "Ok, I'm Van Gogh-ing to shut up now." The silence only lasted for ten seconds. "I was really lonely. You were asleep for a long time," she accused.

"Where's Brooke? Why didn't you talk to her?"

Van rolled her eyes. "She instructed me to stay by your side. I think that girl is still half in love with you like I am."

"What?"

"What?" she asked, as if nothing happened. I stared at her, lost. "What do you want for dinner your majesty?"

"Nothing." I attempted to stand up. My whole body still ached, especially my stomach. Why was I only feeling this now? Maybe the shock of waking up earlier made my wound go unnoticed. "I'm not really hungry."

"Talia will get mad at me," she complained, supporting my arms as I got out of the bed. "And where are you going? You're not well yet."

"I'm heading to the bathroom. I want to clean myself." My knees were wobbly as I placed my weight on it. Bloody hell. I was still too weak for comfort. How did I even manage to get out of the bed alone this morning? "Don't worry, I'll tell Talia that it's all my fault that I haven't eaten yet. She'll forgive you."

"Okay your highness." Van guided me to the bathroom by placing my arms over her shoulders so she could carry some of my weight. The girl was strong as a bull. She pulled the bathroom door open.

"Okay, I can take this."

"No fair! I want to see."

I smirked. "You have a very vivid imagination right? Just use that." I proceeded to the bathroom alone and shut the door on her hopeful face.

When I re-emerged, I was already wearing different clothes. My bathroom was equipped with a walk-in closet as well, so I merely chose from my old wardrobe. Van came running to my side as she saw me enter the room. "You smell good," she said, taking a deep sniff.

"You want something, don't you?"

"What makes you say that?" Her features rearranged to complete surprise.

"You've been buttering me up for the last thirty minutes." I chuckled. "Do you know that I used to do that with my adoptive parents? I recognize your style."

Van scowled. "And here I thought we were getting along fine." She paused. "Err. . . Do you remember about that thing we talked about before?" The girl sounded worried. I knew what she was getting on even before she spoke it.

My feet halted. "You are welcome to stay with me and this house for as long as you want Vanessa. You are family now." I placed a hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to work here if you don't want to. As long as I have your loyalty, you can come and go as you please. Consider this place as your home. I'm sure my adoptive parents won't mind." I had to hide a smirk. My parents would gladly do anything I asked of them.

She got teary eyed. "You know how much I'm gulping right now so I won't cry in front of you? My throat hurts your majesty."

"I'll seriously kick you out if you do that," I said to appease her. She sniffed a couple of times. "Oh, by the way Vanessa. Where is that woman?" Her eyebrows raised in question. "The one we took with us from the villa. I want to speak to her in private."

Recognition flickered in her eyes. "Oh her. . . She's in the 3rd floor guest room. Isn't she your mother the queen?" I shook my head. "I don't know what's going on, but I'll pretend to agree so you won't think I'm weird," she said.

"I already think you are, but who cares?" I turned to the door. "I'm going to talk with her. Talia might come back anytime soon. Cover for me will you?"

She had a panicked expression. "What will I tell her? When it comes to you, the princess turns Amazonian."

I hobbled to the door. "Tell her I went to the garden to talk to beautiful girls." My hands sought the door knob and pulled it open. Van muttered bloody hell under her breath. "And stop saying that," I said as I stepped out. "You just got here and you're already sounding British."

"Vajoyna," she said, snickering. I closed the door behind me.

Instead of taking a couple of minutes to reach the third floor, I had to do it in fifteen. My body was not suited for walking yet. I was really getting dizzy. On my way there, maids passed me. Some of them offered to help, which I refused with a polite smile. Others blushed upon seeing my face before hurrying down the hall. I would often get such reactions from people around me. What was wrong with them?

When I reached the third floor, I spotted a maid heading to my direction. "Where is the other guest who looks a bit like me? I asked, as soon as we were hearing distance.

"She's in the room at the end of the hallway master."

"Thank you." A hesitant look passed on her face. "Is something the matter?"

She blushed. "I just wanted to say that I. . . We're all glad that you're finally home miss. It's been months." I smiled at her before walking away. They were usually awkward around me. Only the butler, Chandra, would dare talk to me before I left. Guess they must have missed me huh.

Before long, I reached the bedroom that she indicated, stopping in front of the door. I knocked three times and waited. "Who is it?"

"Cybele," I answered. She instructed me to come in. As I closed the door behind me and had the chance to look around the guest room, I spotted her in one corner, seated on a chair in front of a small round table, sipping her tea.

"Join me." When I was already in front of her, she placed her cup down gracefully. We studied each other.

"You look so much like her," I whispered, gazing at her straight nose, her intriguing green eyes, and her dark hair. Everything that I missed.

"And you look so much like me."

"Touché." I nodded, still unable to take my eyes off her. "How did you manage to keep it a secret, even from me? Did my father know? Did you know about me? And are you alright now?" I only managed to breathe after I finished my last question.

Her eyes lit up as she chuckled. "Slow down Cybele. We have the whole night to talk about this." She sipped from her cup, a look of satisfaction crossing her face. "The English make good tea."

"Ironically, I still prefer coffee," I murmured. "So? Can you answer my questions?"

She sighed. "You're just like your mother." Something flickered in her eyes. "I missed her. I don't think I can be whole again without the queen."

"You're the queen too. Or am I wrong?"

She shook her head. "Even with our situation, I've never yearned to be the queen. The throne always belonged to her." She set the cup down. "Tell me Cybele, what would happen to a monarchy if instead of a single successor, twins are born?"

I frowned, understanding well where the conversation was going. "There will be an outrage. How can you choose between the two on who will succeed the throne? There can only be one."

"Exactly, which was the reason why our parents kept us a closely guarded secret."

"Us?"

She nodded. "When your mother and I were born, our parents announced to everyone that there was only one successor. We were never introduced, even to the nobles. It was on our 7th birthday that it finally happened when I agreed to stay in the shadows."

I reached for her hands. It felt soft like my mothers. "God forbid, why would anyone desire that for themselves?"

"Because I longed for a simple life," she answered, giving me a smile. "I wasn't suited for that position. When I decided that on such a young age, the former king and queen, your grandparents had a villa constructed for me." Her eyes twinkled. She answered the question before I uttered it. "That exact villa that burned years ago."

"This is so confusing for me," I said, removing my hold on her.

"Let me continue then," she murmured. "I grew up in that villa. Only a handful of faithful servants knew that it was built for me so they could serve me. My parents and sister would often visit there so I wouldn't get lonely. It continued on for many years. Even if my twin and I were living apart, we were always very close. We even used to write letters to each other."

She piqued my curiosity. "What were the letters about?"

"Your mother's life in the castle." She paused, pouring herself another serving of hot tea. "At first, it was the simple exchanging of information, then after a year on our 8th birthday, she told me that she met a boy. A very special one."

I watched her stir the tea with her spoon. "Was it my father the king?"

"Yes. . . They were childhood friends." Her eyebrows furrowed. "My sister, your father, and Esmeralda. . ."

My hands balled into fists. I felt the stirrings of anger. "If they were friends for that long, how could she have betrayed my mother and father?"

She placed the spoon on the saucer, her gaze landing on my eyes. "I only discovered that years after." I gave her a quizzical look. "That day when you came to the villa, your mother and father was planning to introduce you to me. Growing up, my twin couldn't keep me a secret from her husband, so he knew of me as well. You were the only one left in the dark, together with the people. On that faithful meeting, we had no idea that Esmeralda was scheming against the queen." She paused.

"Go on," I urged. "I'm dying to know."

"Sorry," she mumbled. "It's painful for me. . ." She took a deep breath. "That night, I was awoken by the smell of something burning. I called out to the servants, but no one answered me. As I got out of the bedroom, everything was on fire, the curtains, the paintings, everything." She gasped, as if she was in that very space while she recounted the story. "I ran to my sister's bedroom, only to discover her dead body. In my shock, it took a while before I got moving. The doors were sealed off, and basically every exit in the villa save for one."

"The escape tunnel," I murmured in realization.

"Yes. I went there quickly, inhaling the smoke along the way. I stumbled in the darkness until I was able to make my way out." A tear dropped on her hand. She brushed it away. "I walked barefoot calling for help. None came. . ." She gulped. "I learned from the news that you died with your mother and father, so I went to the palace to ensure that the throne will be secured. Ronaldo saw me and took me to Esmeralda. They thought I was your mother."

I stared at her in shock. She was a victim to this as much as me. "I'm glad you're alive, but why didn't she kill you immediately if she thought you were my mother? Esmeralda I mean."

Her expression turned dark. "Oh she wanted to alright, but I think she saw that it would be better if I were imprisoned to a far off place, which was exactly what she did." She smirked. "Esmeralda would come around a couple of times a year to boast how she got the throne from me. Then after she got bored with that, she reverted to a different kind of story."

"What kind? I didn't take Talia's mother as the type of person who loves fairytales. If anything, she was the wicked witch."

"Despite her evil ways, I think Esmeralda still thought of your mother as a friend," she said.

My face contorted to an angry mask. "I don't think so. Friends don't kill friends."

"Calm down Cybele. . . Think of it this way. Esmeralda has known your mother for a long time. It's only natural that she would yearn to talk to her from time to time, even if she doesn't know that it was the wrong person."

"I can see where you're coming from, but I still refuse to believe that." My voice was hard. I was stubborn when it came to this.

"Understandably so," she said. "Anyway, from what I gathered each time Esmeralda would talk to me, she didn't want the throne because she sought power. She took it because she was heartbroken." My companion gave me a look. "Esmeralda was in love with your father, but the feeling wasn't reciprocated because it wasn't spoken from the start. She knew that she had no chance."

I stared at her as if she lost her mind. "What about Talia's dad? Wasn't Esmeralda in love with him?"

"No. . ." She clasped her hands together. "Esmeralda used him to get her own successor. Ronaldo was the same case. She used him to get what she wanted too. That woman had no love left in her. It died when the queen and king got married. I don't know if she cares for her daughter, but all of this was a ploy to get revenge to your mother for getting the love of her life."

Migraine was threatening to explode at the back of my head. "That's purely insane."

"Anger can make us do a lot of things." Her gaze bore into mine. "It's like desiring to kidnap your enemy's daughter out of revenge even though you're in love with the girl."

"How did you know that?"

"Chandra and I had a long talk while you were asleep. You did a lot of things over the years that I can't say I approved of. But because I know the reasoning behind it, it makes me feel sympathetic towards you." She sighed. "I know how it is Cybele. I nearly lost my mind back there. It's been too long that I was alone, locked inside my own thoughts, waiting for Esmeralda to change her mind."

I stood up and walked the length of the room. Different thoughts were running in my head. After I have made a decision, it was the only time that I faced her again fully. "I think you should regain the throne. You deserve it more than I do." Her answering laugh startled me. "Is there something funny about that?"

She wiped her mouth with a napkin before saying, "Do you think I can just march there and tell everyone about our story? No one will believe me."

"But your face is like my mother's. They have no choice but to agree."

"And what? Tell them that I am the queen who rose from the dead?" She smiled at me. "I don't want to live her life. I've been doing that inside Esmeralda's prison for far too long."

I went back to her side, kneeling. "But you can tell them that you're my mother's twin."

"I refuse," she said without giving it a second thought. "It will ruin the reputation of my own parents. I will take this secret to the grave Cybele, and so will you." Her face softened as she touched my cheek. "Besides, everyone who knew of my identity is dead. If I came barreling down to the palace, they'll accuse me as an impostor who rearranged her face through surgery. It is equivalent to death."

"Then what can we do?" I asked, standing up. "After learning your story, I've become more determined to stop Esmeralda. I thought I could let it go. But her monstrosity has to stop. No matter what the cost."

"You're the only one who can answer your own question Cybele. At least now you know why everything happened."