Chapter 113 THE PRINCES SUSPICION
The mark revealed itself only to her.
A faint pattern beneath the skin.
Dark.
Faintly glowing.
Like ink rising to the surface after years buried beneath flesh.
The guards saw only her weakness.
“Get her out of here,” the older one said. “She’s losing her senses.”
They pushed her again.
Athalia stumbled.
The pain spiked.
Sharp enough to steal her breath.
And that was when she heard it—
A low, distant vibration.
She quietly stood up.
Just as the guards were about to push her away again, the sound of approaching wheels echoed .
A royal carriage.
The carriage rolled through the gates, escorted by royal guards. The emblem of the crown glinted beneath the late afternoon sun.
The guards straightened instantly.
The gates opened.
Inside sat two men.
Prince Kaelion and Maeron, the chief Adviser.
Maeron leaned back casually, glancing through the window.
"It seems someone is causing trouble already?" he said with a smirk.
Kaelion followed his gaze.
At the gate stood a woman arguing fiercely with the guards.
Then she turned.
For a brief moment, their eyes met.
Kaelion froze.
His heart skipped.
"It's her…"
He remembered her immediately.
The same woman he had met weeks earlier near the outer palace gate.
The strange woman who had been kind while he waited to reclaim his position as heir.
Before he could speak, the carriage stopped.
Athalia suddenly rushed forward.
"Maeron, Get down here!"
Her voice broke with emotion.
Maeron stepped down from the carriage, confused.
"Is that an order?" He said in annoyance.
The woman ran slowly toward him.
"Maeron! It's me!"
He frowned slightly.
"How do you know my name, though."
"My Lord..." A guard cut in before Athalia could speak. "Every
one knows who you are."
"Yes..." The other guards nodded
"Well I'm sorry, madam… but I'll be grateful if you leave here and avoid further embarrassments." he said slowly, handing her some money.
Her face fell.
"You… you don't recognize me? It's me. Queen Athalia"
Maeron looked surprised but then....
But later, Maeron couldn't hold himself back and laughed. Then Maeron studied her worn clothing, her tired face.
"You are mistaken, madam. She's dead. You should know that."
Athalia staggered slightly as if struck.
"Look at me well, Maeron." Athalia yelled.
Maeron was getting disgusted.
"Please take her away." He ordered the guards.
They nodded.
He really could not recognize her. For no one had seen the queen any closer than Lira, Selene and King Adrian.
However, Kaelion had already stepped down from the carriage.
His gaze never left her as she explained to Maeron.
Kaelion walked closer.
"Athalia," he said quietly.
She looked at him, startled.
"You… know my name?"
The guards and Maeron looked puzzled.
Kaelion nodded gently.
"You just called it now." He said.
There was a sigh of relief and they looked less surprised now.
Athalia's head fell again.
"I remember you. We met at the outer gate weeks back."
She looked at him and her eyes widened in recognition.
"You…are that boy." she whispered.
Then suddenly anger returned.
"Who are you? What are you doing in the palace?" she demanded.
She gestured toward Maeron.
"You stand beside him like a servant, yet you speak like a noble."
Kaelion used his magic on Maeron.
"He is my sister's son. So no one is anyone's servant here." Maeron answered. "The King wouldn't allow me treat my family unfairly, would he."
Athalia looked at Kaelion thoroughly, but he had made everything that could make him recognizable as prince taken away.
Athalia had to believe them.
"Please I need your help." Athalia gestured to Kaelion.
"Maeron is unwilling to help me, so please help me." She continued.
"What do you want me to do?"
She pointed toward the palace.
"I demand audience with the king, please."
Maeron chuckled.
"And why exactly?"
Athalia lifted her chin proudly.
"Because I am the queen."
Silence followed.
Maeron burst into laughter again.
The guards snickered.
Even some nearby servants tried to hide their smiles.
But Kaelion did not laugh.
He studied her carefully.
The shape of her face.
The eyes.
"Why does she keep saying she's my mother?" Kaelion thought.
Then there was a strange pull he could never explain. It had happened when they had first met at the gate, and it was happening now.
"A moment," Kaelion said calmly.
He turned to Maeron.
"I will handle this."
Maeron shrugged.
"Very well, Your Highness. But be careful of the kingdom's jokers."
Athalia blinked.
"Your… Highness? Or did she hear wrong? Who said it?"
Before she could react, Kaelion gently guided her aside toward a quieter corner of the gate.
Away from the others, Kaelion reached into his cloak and removed a small pouch of coins.
He handed it to her.
Athalia stared at it, confused.
"What is this?"
"For your troubles," Kaelion said softly.
Her pride flared.
"I am not begging!"
"I know," he replied gently.
She looked at him suspiciously.
"Then why do you give me this instead of an answer to my request?"
Kaelion hesitated.
Then he said quietly,
"Because I believe you."
Her breath caught.
"You… believe me?"
He nodded.
"I cannot promise anything now," he continued. "But I will speak with the king on your behalf and will find you."
Athalia's eyes filled with tears she struggled to hide.
"You will?"
"Yes."
She slowly accepted the pouch.
"Thank you… young man."
She wiped her eyes quickly and turned to leave before anyone could see her weakness.
As she walked out through the gates, she never noticed Kaelion watching her with an expression filled with conflict.
The moment she disappeared beyond the gates, Maeron walked over with a grin.
"Well done, cousin."
The guards laughed.
"Another clever woman trying to claim royal blood."
Maeron leaned against the carriage.
"She saw a prince and thought she could earn a few coins."
One guard chuckled.
"Probably rehearsed that story on the way here."
Another added,
"Next week someone will claim to be the king himself."
Laughter filled the gate.
But Kaelion did not join them.
He kept staring toward the city where Athalia had vanished.
Maeron noticed.
"You don't actually believe her, do you?"
Kaelion spoke quietly.
"I might not, but I have met her before."
"So?"
"She cried when she saw me. Probably because she thinks I believe her."
Maeron shrugged.
"People cry around royalty all the time without knowing."
Kaelion shook his head slowly.
"No… it wasn't like that. It..."
Maeron sighed.
"Don't be too soft, Prince Kaelion."
The prince remained silent.
In his mind, one thought refused to fade.
The way she looked at me…
Not like a stranger or like a beggar.
But like a mother who had finally found something she had lost.
"Her kids will be proud to have her." Kaelion thought.
Kaelion finally murmured quietly,
"I am certain of one thing."
Maeron raised a brow.
"What is it?"
Kaelion's voice was barely above a whisper.
"She is a mother. But somehow I feel she's mine."
The laughters suddenly felt very far away.