Estevan
The whole room fell silent, I looked into Morgana's eyes.
"The story is quite simple, Princess Charlotte ran off with General George to get married, believing me to be a monster and put a substitute in her place."
"My daughter wouldn't do that!" Calixto intervened.
"But she did!" I said, looking into his eyes.
"No, she wouldn't do that because it's stupid!"
"No one here knew the princess's face, that made it easier to put a woman with the same features as her in her place and offer something good in return" I began to speak and walked around the room "If you married me and stayed for a week until Princess Charlotte came back and took you, the cost would be your freedom. You faked the princess's death and you'd both be free to live your lives!"
Morgana looked away and focused her eyes on me.
"So my daughter is out there alone..." Morgana looked dumfounded for a moment, she raised her face "You haven't said who the substitute princess is yet"
"That's beside the point, we're talking about your daughter."
"Of course it is, I want to see her, show me!"
"No!" I said in a firm voice.
"You're going to talk to her," said my father, making me turn to him abruptly. I frowned and he approached me, holding my arm. "Don't worry, Alexia will be well protected by the guards who know her secret."
"We'll wait here," said Calixto, sitting down with a look on his face.
I went out of the room after my father, knowing that he was going to look for Alexia.
"Dad" I shouted "Dad, I don't think that's a good idea!"
"We should avoid conflict and give them what they want, Alexia will be in a room full of guards, there's no way she can be hurt. They'll know it's her anyway!"
I stopped walking, realizing that my father was right, and went towards the window, taking a deep breath. I felt more nervous than before, simply because things now involved Alexia's presence too, and I knew that Morgana had done a lot of harm to her and that I hated her.
Alexia appeared a few minutes later in the corridors with quick steps and a rigid countenance, surrounded by ten guards.
"How did they react?" She asked when she saw me at her side.
"So far the situation has been handled," I said and she nodded.
My father stood in front of me, Alexia fiddled with her nails nervously.
"I told Acácio this is a bad idea," she said nervously, "Morgana hates me!"
The doors opened again and the guards entered, followed by my father, me and Alexia.
Morgana and Calixto, who were waiting, seemed to argue before we entered, their eyes stopped on us and followed Alexia.
"What is this, a joke?" Morgana asked in a harsh tone of voice "Where's the replacement princess?"
"That's not..." Calixto started to say, but stopped.
I let out a sarcastic laugh, he didn't even know her name despite living under the same roof for years.
"Her name is Alexia Silver Sanches," I said. "Yes, she was Princess Charlotte's maid, of which they made an agreement and now Alexia is married to me and is the future queen of Olimper," I said.
"That's ridiculous, a maid?" Calixto asked in disbelief. "Are you mocking us, replacing my daughter with some maid?"
"Let me speak to her alone," said Morgana, taking everyone by surprise, "without the interference of the king and the prince."
"No"
Alexia touched my shoulder and led the way into the room, turning to me and my father and saying.
"Leave us alone," she asked. I nodded my respect for her decision and my father and I left, leaving Alexia and the kings of Torrem in the living room.
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Alexia
When the doors closed I turned to Calixto and Morgana, she was behind one of the sofas at a good distance and then she walked around the sofa and came towards me.
"Your..."
I took a step back and the guards armed themselves.
"What's this W I'm being threatened by Olimper now?"
"Your Majesty, it's not that, they're just making sure I'm protected," I said.
"Don't play nice, that's what you wanted, isn't it? You were jealous of Charlotte and wished you could be her, but believe me, you'll never get close to being her!"
Little did Morgana know that in my mind I was thanking her for it, I could hardly see how cruel her daughter was, I didn't mean to open her eyes.
"I know you're angry"
"Angry?" Calixto asked. "We're furious! My daughter is gone and they've taken a servant in her place."
"No Calixto, they haven't, they've concealed Charlotte's disappearance and left her maid in her place, I'll rip your throats out!"
The guards armed themselves again, I touched the surface of one of the swords and looking at them I said:
"From now on, no one will lift a blade!"
They lowered their swords and Morgana let out a sarcastic laugh.
"You got what you wanted, didn't you?"
"Believe me, when I accepted Charlotte's proposal I only thought of being free. My only reason for staying in Olimper is Estevan, you have no idea what I'm going through Morgana!"
"Poor you, you must suffer a lot to go from being a servant to the future successor of a kingdom, you're a worse snake than I thought, I should have left you to die on the streets of Torrem, but I took pity on you!" Morgana seemed to be spewing embers out of her mouth as her eyes promised a silent murder "I regret taking care of you!"
"Looked after me?" I repeated the words in a high-pitched, incredulous voice: "I used to mop the floor until I collapsed from exhaustion, I got tired of being kicked, the cold that made my bones ache, the poor conditions, the sick nights so that the next day I would have to keep up the pace of work when I was only six years old, you used me as a beast of burden, you cursed me, you took it out on me, you burned my body with cigarette butts which I smoked in hiding at the time and thanks to you, your daughter followed suit. She mistreated me for years, I arrived in Olimper with my hands bandaged because of her!"
My eyes watered, I was about to collapse from the memories.
"You know Charlotte didn't want to marry Estevan, she was in love with George. If she decided to run away and never look at your face again, it's not my fault!" Morgana approached me quickly and raised her hand to slap me, but I held her arm firmly.
"Let go of me, you bastard!"
She raised her other hand, which I held as well; the fighting lessons had given me good reflexes.
She thrust her hands forward and I let go. Morgana staggered a little in her high heels and looked at me angrily.
"Where's Charlotte, what have you done with her?"
"I didn't do anything to Charlotte, when she came for me I found her on the border between Olimper and Zaim, but she decided it would be better to kill me. I almost died, she ran away again and I never saw her again!"
"How can we believe the things you say, you could have killed our daughter yourself!" Calixto said.
"I have no way of proving anything King Calixto" I said sincerely, looking him in the face "But Queen Morgana had a discussion with the princess the night before we left, Charlotte made it clear that she did not wish to marry Estevan, but George"
"Are you trying to turn my husband against me?" Morgana asked angrily, I opened my mouth, but she wouldn't let me speak "If you're asking for war!"
Morgana approached me with calm steps, her eyes blazing, she said close to me:
"Wait for the day when I see your body in the square to appease the fool you've made us out to be, I'll find my daughter and give her to you so that she can kill you because you wanted more than you could have, you mocked us and hope that my daughter is alive, because if you've killed her on the ship I won't kill you, I'll make you suffer for the rest of your life until your flesh perishes and your body gives way from pain and anguish, I'll tear your skin like paper, record what I say because it's my promise to you Alexia! "