Chapter 15 A Second Bloom
“No! No, of course not. Um…” I hesitated, scratching my head.
What can I tell him that won’t make me sound insane? That I’m actually Liliana? I really should’ve thought this through.
“Um…” I rubbed the back of my neck until a certain book sitting on top of a pile of books next to his chair caught my attention. A book I had been dying to read since before my murder. “That book…”
"Hm?” He glanced down at the book. “Oh. This was a book that Princess Liliana had been wanting to read, but I never got the chance to give it to her.”
My eyes lit up. “Can I—” My blurt cut short when his eyes narrowed and he scooted the book out of my view.
I frowned. Right… That’s his precious Princess Liliana’s book. I’m just an outsider in his eyes.
“I’m waiting,” Jackson said, wanting to get back on topic.
“I don’t know how much you’ve heard, but Queen Victoria asked me to come to Embercrest because something happened to Her Highness. She never mentioned that Princess Liliana had passed.”
Captain Jackson rubbed his chin. “Go on.”
Is this actually working?!
“Princess Liliana had written to me saying that she’s been feeling uneasy, as if someone was watching her. I didn’t think much of it, but if she was right, then murder was the only thing I could think of why her death was so sudden.”
“You’re clever,” Jackson commented. “And you’re correct. She was alone, so her murder was planned. Since it took place in the royal garden, that narrows the number of suspects since only people in the palace are allowed in there.”
“Wait…” My blood ran cold, goosebumps crawling across my skin. “You’re saying you think it was someone close to her?”
“It’s a high possibility, yes.”
“No… N—no, that cannot be. There’s no way,” I whispered, covering my mouth.
“Nobody can be ruled out.” He leaned forward, his elbows propped on the chair’s armrest in thought. “Prince Henry took Princess Amina’s hand far too quickly. I’ve never trusted the Barrens. Drakeveil doesn’t have the best history with Embercrest.”
“I mean, he… well,” I hesitated.
“Princess Liliana had a lady-in-waiting. She could’ve grown jealous.”
“Maribel?! Never! She was her best friend!”
“I looked into the woman’s background. Maribel Ashwood spent half of her childhood here, but she came from outside Embercrest. I couldn’t dig anything else up about her. Personally, her background is too mysterious for my liking. She became one of my top suspects when she disappeared after Her Highness’s murder.”
“H—huh…?” The cup of tea swayed in my weakening hands. His hand shot forward, steading my arm.
“Careful. If you spill your tea on my couch, you and I are going to have a problem.”
“Sorry, Captain. This is just a bit much. Wait, what about Princess Amina?” My hands clutched my warm cup. “She—she betrayed her own sister!”
“Perhaps.”
“Perhaps?”
“When Her Highness was a baby, Princess Amina was always carrying her, always smiling, always kissing her cheek. I could tell she truly loved her little sister. Somewhere down the line, I noticed they grew distant. But that’s still her sister.”
I huffed, looking away.
I don’t know anymore. I thought I could trust Prince Henry. Hell, apparently I don’t know my best friend as well as I thought I did!
My head shot up. “Queen Alessia!”
Jackson tilted his head. “The Barren queen?”
“She had it out for Princess Liliana from the beginning.”
“Had it out for her?” He sat up. “How? What did she do to her?”
He really is overprotective of her.
I glanced away. Talking about being ‘bullied’ wasn’t a proud thing to admit. “From what I heard, Queen Alessia treated her as if she were an inexperienced child.”
Jackson scoffed. “They want an alliance and then pull things like that… Typical Drakeveil royals.”
“Captain, I…” I bit my lip.
All I’ve ever done is sit on a damn throne.
He tilted his head. “What is it?”
I couldn’t choose my fate as Liliana. But now?
I looked up at him, my turmoil and doubts melting as I barked, “I want to help find Princess Liliana’s murderer. And I—” I took a sharp inhale. “I want to be a knight!”
Jackson cocked a brow. “You? A Ray? Want to be a dame?”
“Princess Liliana never got to live her dream before she died. The least I can do is live it for her,” I said.
The captain winced, looking away. “Damn it, there you go giving me that look again. Overflowing with fire and bravery.” His voice quieted. “Just like hers.” Jackson took a breath, crossed his arms, and looked down at me. “You want to be one of my knights?”
I nodded eagerly.
“Hah,” he scoffed, this time with a wry smirk. “Dame Robin, aye? I think I can turn a thief into a proper knight.”
My smile beamed. “Cap—”
“Hold it! I never said ‘yes.’ You’ll have to do something for me first. Entertain me, and we’ll see.”
I swung back my head, chugging the tea, and then gave a determined nod. “Yes, sir! I’m ready for anything you’ll want.”
I’m not ready for this!
My numb hands ached from shoveling hay, plowing the dirt, and cleaning up horse feces. A horse I had recently given water farted near my face; the putrid breeze swept my hair, and I gagged.
This is it. This is where I puke.
Again, my empty stomach resisted.
“You’re welcome…” I croaked, pinching my nose. The gray-dappled horse snorted in response.
As I left the stall, I gasped for air and coughed. “I never thought an animal so beautiful could be so foul,” I wheezed, walking through the stables. I stopped next to the stall with a white horse inside. His ears perked up when he saw me, and I smiled kindly. “You’re the sweetest one here.”
“Okay, here we go,” I said, squaring my shoulders and looking through the notepad Jackson gave me. “Done, done, done… Oh.” My heart dropped at the last thing I had to do.
Brush Ruby’s mane.
Jackson’s warning was still fresh in my mind: “I want every tangle brushed out of her mane. Just don’t look her in the eye, or you’ll piss her off to high hell.”
I peeked at Ruby’s stall. The dark red and black horse was already staring me down. Our eyes locked, and her gaze narrowed sharply—sparking like the fires of hell had ignited.
She narrows her eyes exactly like the captain’s! Gods, spare me.
The wooden brush trembled in my hand as I slowly approached her stall. Ruby snorted fiercely, stomping her hooves as I went inside, my eyes pinned on the ground.
”H—Hi Ruby. Um, nice horsie, sweet horsie, you’re so, uh, so pretty?” I scrambled for words. The compliments didn’t help. Ruby’s black tail lashed as she growled.
Is this what Captain Jackson meant by ‘entertaining’ him?! For someone so devoted to my past life, I didn’t expect him to be such a sadistic man!
Inches away, Ruby neighed, rearing up. I yelped and tumbled, her hooves rose high.