Chapter 22 The Southern Kingdom
Janelle
The journey south took three straight days, and I spent every moment fighting the urge to look back.
Darius had appeared like a ghost in the forest just as Princess Sophia's guards began marching me toward my supposed exile. One moment I was stumbling over roots with my hands bound, the next moment the guards were unconscious and Darius was cutting my ropes with swift, precise movements.
"Adrian?" I'd asked immediately.
"Safe," Darius had assured me, though his dark eyes held secrets I couldn't read. "Playing his part perfectly. Sophia believes she's won."
Now, as we crested a hill and I saw the Southern Kingdom spread out below us, I finally understood why Adrian had told me to trust this man.
"It's beautiful," I breathed.
"Wait until you see the capital," Darius said, but something in his voice made me look at him more carefully. The easy confidence he'd shown at Magnus's court was gone, replaced by nervous tension. "Janelle, before we arrive, there are things you need to know. About your family. About why you're really here."
My chest tightened. "What things?"
"Your father wasn't just a member of the Crimson Moon Pack." Darius dismounted his horse and helped me down from mine. "He was Prince Elias of the Southern Kingdom. My uncle."
The words hit me like a physical blow. I sank down on a fallen log, my legs suddenly too weak to hold me. "That's impossible."
"Look at me, Janelle. Really look." Darius knelt in front of me, his dark eyes intense. "Do you see any resemblance?"
I studied his face properly for the first time. The strong jaw, the high cheekbones, the way he carried himself with unconscious authority. And his eyes, the same warm brown as my own.
"We're cousins," I whispered.
"First cousins. Your father was my father's younger brother." Darius reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a small portrait wrapped in silk. "This was painted the day before he left the kingdom."
The man in the portrait had my eyes, my stubborn chin, my dark hair. He wore royal blue and gold, with a crown resting on his brow. But his expression was sad, almost resigned.
"Why did he leave?" I asked, though my heart already knew the answer.
"Love." Darius's smile was bitter. "He fell in love with a witch from the northern forests. A healer named Marina who was everything our kingdom said a princess shouldn't be, wild, magical, independent. When my grandfather forbade the marriage, Elias chose her over the throne."
Marina. My mother's name. I'd grown up knowing so little about her, only that she'd died when I was five, only that she'd loved flowers and sang lullabies in a language I didn't recognize.
"He gave up a kingdom for her," I said softly.
"And lived happily for almost twenty years in the northern forests, raising you in a tiny pack that welcomed exiles and outcasts." Darius stood, pacing restlessly. "Until Magnus decided that happiness was a threat to his power."
"But why now? Why come for me after all this time?"
Darius was quiet for a long moment. "Because three years ago, when Magnus destroyed the Crimson Moon Pack, he didn't just murder rebels. He murdered the rightful heir to the Southern Kingdom."
"My father."
"Your father. And his daughter." Darius's eyes met mine. "You, Janelle, are not just a witch with royal blood. You are Princess Janelle of the Southern Kingdom. Third in line to the throne."
The world spun around me. Princess. Royal blood. Adrian's equal. The words didn't seem real, couldn't be real.
"I'm a servant," I said stupidly. "I clean floors and serve wine."
"You're a princess who was forced to hide in plain sight." Darius's voice was gentle but firm. "And now it's time to come home."
We rode down into the valley in silence, my mind reeling with everything he'd told me. As we approached the capital city, I saw that it was nothing like Magnus's cold stone castle.
"It's like a fairy tale," I murmured.
"It's your birthright," Darius said quietly.
The royal palace was even more beautiful than the city. Gardens filled with exotic flowers surrounded towers that seemed to reach toward the clouds. As we rode through the gates, servants appeared to take our horses, and I noticed they moved with dignity rather than fear.
"Princess Janelle," an elderly man in blue robes said formally, bowing deeply. "His Majesty King Edmund awaits you in the throne room."
Princess Janelle. The words still felt foreign, impossible. But as we walked through corridors lined with tapestries and sunlight, I began to notice something else, portraits lining the walls, and many of them had faces I recognized. My father's strong jaw. My mother's wild hair. My own stubborn expression.
"The royal gallery," Darius explained, noticing my stare. "Your family's history."
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King Edmund was older than I'd expected, with silver hair and laugh lines around his brown eyes. He wore simple blue robes instead of a heavy ceremonial dress, and when he saw me, his face crumpled with emotion.
"Dear gods," he whispered. "You look exactly like him."
"Your Majesty," I started to curtsy, but he crossed the room quickly and pulled me into an embrace.
"None of that," he said gruffly. "You're family, child. You're home."
For a moment, I let myself sink into the warmth of it. This was what having a family felt like. This was what I'd lost when Magnus destroyed my pack.
"I'm sorry about your father," King Edmund said, stepping back but keeping his hands on my shoulders. "Elias was the best of us. Kind, brave, stubborn as a mule when he believed in something."
"Like his daughter," Darius said with a small smile.
"Exactly like his daughter." The King's eyes twinkled. "I hear you've been causing quite a stir in the north. Attempted regicide, they say?"
"I didn't try to poison anyone," I said quickly. "I was framed."
"Of course you were. Magnus isn't subtle about removing threats." King Edmund's expression darkened. "But you're safe now. This is your kingdom, Janelle. Your people."
"What about Adrian?" The question burst out before I could stop it. "Is he safe? What's happening with Sophia?"
"Ah, yes. The Ashwick prince." King Edmund's expression became carefully neutral. "An interesting young man, from what I hear."
"He saved my life. Multiple times."
"And you love him."
It wasn't a question. I nodded, not trusting my voice.
"Love is a powerful thing," the King said thoughtfully. "It can move mountains, topple kingdoms, change the course of history. Your father proved that when he chose your mother over a crown."
"But?" I could hear the unspoken word in his tone.
King Edmund sighed, suddenly looking every one of his years. "But sometimes love isn't enough. Sometimes duty must come first."
My heart began to pound with dread. "What do you mean?"
"Janelle, you are the last heir of Prince Elias's line. The Southern Kingdom needs you. Not just as a symbol, but as a leader. As a queen."
"I don't want to be a queen," I said desperately. "I just want justice for my family and to be with the man I love."
"What you want and what you need aren't always the same thing." The King's voice was kind but implacable. "You have responsibilities now. To your people, to your father's memory, to the future of this kingdom."
"What are you saying?"
King Edmund walked back to his throne, his steps heavy with what looked like regret. "I'm saying that sometimes we must sacrifice our personal happiness for the greater good. Just as your father did when he chose love over duty."
"That doesn't make sense. You just said he chose love."
"He chose love the first time," Darius said quietly. "But when you were born, he made a different choice."
I turned to stare at him, ice forming in my veins. "What choice?"
"He arranged your betrothal," King Edmund said gently. "To ensure the alliance between our kingdoms would be unbreakable. To guarantee that his daughter would have the protection and power she would need to survive in this world."
"Betrothal?" The word came out as barely a whisper.
"You were promised in marriage at birth," the King continued. "To someone who could protect you, guide you, help you claim your rightful place as a leader of our people."
"Who?" I asked, though part of me already knew. Already dreaded the answer.
King Edmund's eyes were sad but determined. "To Prince Darius, my son and heir. Your cousin and your future husband."
The throne room spun around me. Darius stepped closer, his face a mixture of apology and resolve.
"Janelle," he said softly. "I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you differently, but.."
"This is why you helped me," I interrupted, everything suddenly making terrible sense. "Not because you wanted justice. Not because you believed in what was right. Because I'm your property."
"That's not true," Darius said urgently. "I helped you because you're family. Because Magnus murdered our people. Because what happened to you was wrong."
"But also because you're bound to marry me."
"The betrothal can be honored or broken," King Edmund said carefully. "That choice is yours. But understand what you're choosing, Janelle. Darius will be king someday. As his wife, you would be queen of the Southern Kingdom. You would have the power to protect people like your pack. To ensure justice. To prevent future massacres."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then you remain a princess with a comfortable life but no real power. And Magnus continues to rule the north unopposed."
The choice was obvious, and I hated every part of it. Power and duty, or love and helplessness. Justice for my people, or happiness for myself.
Just like my father had faced twenty years ago.
I looked at Darius, really looked at him. He was handsome, intelligent, and brave. He'd risked his life to help me. Under different circumstances, I might even have grown to care for him.
But he wasn't Adrian. He would never be Adrian.
And somewhere in the north, the man I loved was trapped in his own impossible situation, forced to marry a woman he despised to protect the kingdom he'd someday rule.
"I need time to think," I said finally.
"Of course," King Edmund said gently. "Take all the time you need. But remember, child, sometimes the greatest act of love is letting go."
As servants led me to a beautiful suite of rooms, I caught Darius's arm. "Did you know?" I asked. "When you helped me escape, when you brought me here, did you know about the betrothal?"
His dark eyes were honest and sad. "I've known my whole life that I was promised to Prince Elias's daughter. I just never expected to fall in love with her."
The words hit me like a thunderbolt. "What?"
"I love you, Janelle," he said simply. "I have since the moment I saw you in Magnus's court. Everything I did, every risk I took, yes, it was for duty. But it was also for you."
He walked away before I could respond, leaving me alone with the weight of impossible choices and the knowledge that somehow, my story had become even more complicated than I'd ever imagined.
Three men loved me. One I could never have. One I was bound to by law and duty. And one whose heart I was destined to break.
The fairy
tale kingdom outside my window gleamed in the afternoon sun, beautiful and peaceful and utterly foreign. I was a princess now. But I'd never felt more trapped in my entire life…..