**3rd Person POV**
Charlotte and Reginald sat side by side in the carriage that had picked them up once they had dropped on dry land. Their grandfather had told them they were returning home. It was not however the home they knew; it was the one they had been born in and never had a chance to grow up in. They had asked for their aunt but Rowan had to tell them that their dear aunt had passed on. It was a tearful moment for the two of them but like the children they were, they could not understand the gravity of the loss. The only loss that weighed on their mind was that of their mother whom nobody would tell them anything about.
“Would Aunty Emily tell us about Mother?” asked Charlotte to the handsome man Rowan had handed them to. He looked at her with a warm smile that did not reach his eyes and said, “We'll have all the answers soon, okay?”
“Mother is dead, isn't she? The bad guys killed her,” said Reginald. He had been thinking about this for a while and it seemed to him to be the only logical explanation. Mother had not been the one to rescue them nor had she been the one to bring them back home.
“Your mother is fine, okay?” returned Tyler. He hoped with all his heart that what he had said was true. When Regina had gone under he had lost hope that she would make it out alive and sane.
Charlotte was about to ask Tyler if they were soon home as she had begun to feel queasy and she was convinced that she was going to throw up soon. However, the carriage was stopped before she could ask her question. Tyler motioned for the twins to remain extremely quiet. He came down to attend to the disturbance; he had not expected that they would be stopped as he had been assured that they would have a quiet trip.
“What's the matter?” he asked the guard that had stopped their carriage.
“I have given him the pass but he insists on checking the carriage,” returned the driver, defending himself from Tyler's accusatory glance.
“There are too many people smuggling things with special passes. We have to be thorough,” came the response of the guard. Tyler's eyes narrowed in on the man trying to decipher if he was just too enthusiastic about his job or was trying to ask them for a bribe.
Tyler moved closer to the guard and said, “See… but just then he noticed a burning red mark on the man's neck which his uniform had failed to cover. Tyler grabbed the top of the man's shirt and tore it open; the man disappeared that very instant like he had never been there. If it were not for the piece of clothing he has ripped off, he would have thought that he had dreamed the whole thing up. With speed, Tyler entered the carriage and was relieved to see that the children were still there.
“Lord Tyler, is everything alright? Are the bad guys still after us?” asked Charlotte looking up at him with her big eyes. Tyler did his best to remain calm but he was certain he was failing at it.
“We're fine, okay? We're going to be just fine, okay?” responded Tyler.
The moment they reached the palace, they were greeted by Lady Tristan and Queen Emily who were all smiles to see them.
“Lady Emily, we must speak,” Tyler tried to keep the fear out of his voice but Emily could sense it. Emily nodded and they walked out of the yard. She led him to a quieter place.
“George, he's here. I saw him on the road. I think he knows…”
“I have sealed the palace, okay? He cannot do anything to them here,” Emily returned.
“But if he knows and…”
“He can do nothing to them. I will keep them safe, I promise.”
“The Council of Elders…”
“That is why Lady Tristan brought them here so they are untouched by the politics of Dagen's court. They will not leave the palace until George has been defeated.”
“Okay.”
Meanwhile, as Lady Tristan brought them into the palace, they were intercepted by Harriet. She froze when she saw the two of them. She had last seen them as babies but she would recognise them even if they were adults.
“Well, children, this is Princess Harriet and trust me she is very pleased to see you,” said Lady Tristan with a smile. She had not told Harriet about bringing the twins here or that she had known where they were all this time and she had made Emily swear secrecy.
Harriet could not process anger at the moment. She was in shock but the only thing she could feel was immense relief. She stooped low to swoop the twins into her arms and began to sob.
She cried for a very long time and the twins began to cry even though they had no idea why she was in tears.
“Harriet, can we save the tears for later? You're making them cry too,” remarked Lady Tristan.
“I can't… I just can't,” responded Harriet as she sobbed even harder. Lady Tristan had to look away to blink back tears. This was very emotional for her too but she did not want to break down in front of the children.
“Mummy is dead, isn't she?” asked Charlotte between sobs.
“Huh…uh. She's not… she's not… don't say things like that,” replied Harriet whose sobs had not ceased.
“But you're crying, people only cry when someone dies,” said Reginald.
“That's not true. These are happy tears,” cried Harriet.
“You are weird,” the twins said at the same time as they removed themselves from Harriet's hold.
“Huh?” Harriet blinked in confusion.
“People don't cry when they're happy; they laugh or jump or something. You made me think my mummy died,” returned Charlotte wiping the tears on her face.