The waitress escorted us to our table, where we waited for my date to arrive. I ordered a glass of water while waiting. I looked up from my menu to see Kennan Smart walk into the restaurant. He was looking around like he was meeting someone here. His head turned to the right, and he made eye contact with me.
I quickly pulled my menu up to cover my face and my eyes, but I could already sense he was walking this way.
Shit.
“Violet,” he said when he made it to the table.
The last thing I want to do was be civil with the man is trying to take away everything I worked so hard for. It was one thing to be kind to the people who had only laughed at me. It was a whole different level of acting to pretend I didn’t want to throw my water in his face. He killed innocent people to try to prove a point.
“Kennan,” I said.
“It’s good to see you,” he said.
“Mhmmm like-wise,” I said half-heartedly.
“Don’t you have someone else much more important to meet with than me? I’m sure they are waiting for you.”
I hoped that would be enough of a suggestion to tell him to move along. I didn’t want my date, whoever he was, to see Kennan here talking to me. I don’t like Kennan, and I want the topic of him avoided altogether.
“Actually, you are who I am here to see,” he said.
In disbelief, I looked over to Madison. Her face was all red, and her eyes were wide. She had no idea that this was going to happen and was just as in shock as I was. I couldn’t be mad at her as much as I wanted to be. Tommy was grinning ear to ear.
That son of a... he will be lucky if I don’t slash his tires for this.
Without waiting for an invitation, Kennan pulled out the chair beside me and took a seat. I suddenly felt very uncomfortable and cramped.
When Kennan looked down at his menu, Madison mouthed to me, “I’m so sorry.”
“I can’t do this,” I mouthed.
“Sorry,” she mouthed again.
Kennan looked up from his menu as the waiter came back to take our order. He ordered for himself, and then had the gull to pick something off the menu for me.
“I’m sorry,” I told the waiter, “but I don’t want that. I’ll have the chicken fettuccini instead, please.”
He nodded his head and crossed my old order off his notepad and wrote down the new one. Kennan never indicated that this bothered him. He just sat a little straighter and flashed a smile at the waiter who left after taking Madison and Tommy’s orders.
In front of me, Madison and Tommy were having a conversation about something. They were whispering, and it sounded a little heated. Was she telling him he was an idiot for inviting Kennan?
“So…” Kennan said quietly so that only I could hear.
“So…” I repeated back.
“Have you thought any more of my offer?” he asked.
“I refuse to give it a second thought,” I told him.
I know before I said I couldn’t keep turning him down and that I needed to buy us more time, but this is it. I am done playing his games.
“The answer is, and always will be, no thank you.”
“So you are prepared to lose your precious Kingdom over pride?” he asked.
“No, I’m prepared to fight for it to prove a point,” I answered.
“And what might this point be?” he asked.
“The point is that you are an arrogant, self-centered little rich boy. Money and power aren’t always going to get you what you want. It will be your demise,” I told him.
I didn’t mean to threaten him, but the words just worked themselves in there before I could stop myself.
“Well then,” Kennan said, “I’ll see you on the battlefield at some point.”
“Yeah, but first, I have to end the war against Corone. However, they don’t seem too eager to accept the terms of the declaration of peace. I wonder if a certain someone has something to do with that,” I said.
“Hmm maybe they do, and maybe they don’t,” he said, confirming what I already knew.
We were at a stalemate, neither side willing to budge. We both accepted that war was coming, but when and who would initiate was still up in the air.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Axel, I have to tell you something that might make you mad,” I said.
We were in the library with Trinity and Wisdom as well.
“What is it, Violet?” he asked.
“Well, do you remember hearing about my friend Madison?” I asked.
“Yes,” he answered, already not liking where I was going with this.
He was not Mad’s biggest fan.
“Well, she asked me to go on a double date with her and her boyfriend. She was nervous about going one on one to the date, so she asked me to come along. Her boyfriend invited a guy to go with him as well. And this is the part you aren’t going to like,” I said.
“Get on with it,” he said, not liking the anticipation.
“Kennan Smart showed up as my date.”
Trin sucked in a large breath, and Wisdom’s eyes went wide. Axel slammed his fist down on the table, and the sound echoed through the room. I tried not to flinch. Axel wasn’t mad at me; he was angry at the situation.
I wasn’t sure of that, but it’s what I had to tell myself to continue.
“When Madison and Tommy were conversing, Kennan asked me about his offer. Of course, I told him that it was never happening. He told me to expect war, and he pretty much implied that the reason that Corone hasn’t signed the peace treaty yet is because of him,” I said.
“I knew it,” Wisdom called out. “That damn meddling boy can’t stick to his own Kingdom’s affairs.”
“We can’t be engaged in two wars,” Trin said. “We don’t have an army large enough…”
“Actually,” Axel cut her off, “Queen Clarissa’s troops are on their way here to receive training. So it would be two armies against two armies. If we had to make it work, we could.”
“That’s beside the point,” I said.
“Then we are right back where we started from. The whole purpose of having the northern alliance was so that our troops outnumbered theirs. Now we are looking at equal numbers.”
“Wars have been fought under much worse circumstances,” Wisdom cut in.
“We now have the advantage of trained magical knights. I have about two hundred magic workers ready to charge into battle; their skills are a wide variety, all very helpful to the cause. Tate exploits their magic workers; they are worked to the death, many not living past thirty. They are rapidly losing magical talent over there. We have a tactical advantage, magic.”
“That is true,” Axel said.
“So it is decided then?” Trin asked, “We are going to fight two wars at once?”
“I don’t think we have any other option,” Wisdom answered.
“Excuse me, I need to go inform Clarissa of what happened. I also still wish to keep my magic a secret, so please keep that in mind,” I said, getting ready to leave the room.
“Actually, there is one thing I need to tell you,” Axel said. “I’m not sure how you are going to like it.”
“What is it?” I asked, my hand still resting on the door.
“There is a man here claiming to be your father,” he said.
I didn’t know what to say. I’m not even sure if I heard Axel right. How could someone from this world show up claiming to be my father when I was born in another world? He would have to have an emerald too, or Mom knew about this place and kept secrets from me.
Both of those options seemed so unlikely. I laughed at the thought.
“Violet, what’s so funny? Are you okay?” he asked.
“Something isn’t right; that’s what. Either way, someone is lying to me, or these damn emeralds aren’t as rare as we had previously thought. I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”
I stormed out of the room, seeing red.
How dare someone pretend to be my father
! What could my father possibly want from me? Did he show up expecting I would hug him and tell him about everything he chose to miss? That’s assuming this man is actually my father. If this was an impersonator, there would be hell to pay…
☼
An hour later, I was in the throne room watching the knights bring in the man claiming to be my father.
The man was average looking in every sense of the term. He had medium brown hair; it was kind of short but wasn’t even close to being a buzz cut. He was of average height for a man. He didn’t look starved but didn’t look plump. He was just average.
The longer I looked at him, the more I recognized certain features. I have only seen one photograph of my father. If I tried really hard and worked my imagination as much as possible, I could lap this man’s image over the one I had of my father. Besides the signs of aging, it wouldn’t be a far stretch for this guy to be him. Somehow that angered me even more than the thought of him being an impersonator.
He was escorted to stand in front of my seat. The knights took two steps back from him. Enough distance to give us space, but they could quickly put their hands on the man if things went wrong.
He got down on a knee and then looked up at me.
“Violet Victoria Brown, you are so much more beautiful than I had imagined,” he said.
I snorted out loud.
It wasn’t graceful or ladylike, but my emotions were running wild. He came in here, and the first thing he does is compliment me in an attempt to brown-nose his way to my good side. I am not nearly as naive as he must think I am.
“Cut the crap,” I told him.
He looked down at his knee on the stone floor.
“Why are you here? How are you here? Are you from Arlington, or here? Don’t even dream of lying to me,” I told the man that looked like he might be my father. In my mind, I am referring to him as my father, not my dad.
Dad is a title you save for the man who raises you, who you adore. The man who makes it his sole mission in life to protect the family he helped create. This man has done none of that. Wisdom is more likely to be called Dad than this man. At least Wisdom has been here from the beginning of my journey in the Morthlands to help me sort through all my problems and teach me things.
“I am from Tate, and I came to Arlington using an emerald similar to the one you use. I met your mother and fell in love. We had you, and everything was going well until I found out what was happening back in my Kingdom,” he said.
“Are you kidding me?” I asked.
“How stupid does Kennan think I am? Why would I ever trust someone from Tate? How could he think I would fall for such a rouse?” I said.
I was feeling so angry I wanted to lash out at the man. I stopped myself, though. I will be forever known as a powerful but kind Queen. That’s what I choose to make my legacy, and lashing out only ruins that image.
“You’ve met Kennan?” he asked me.
“Of course I’ve met Kennan, isn’t that quite obvious?” I told the man.
“Well, your cousin has a way of being allusive when he wants to.”
My head began to spin at the words. For the second time today, I wasn’t sure I was hearing people right.
“What did you just say?” I asked.
“Your cousin has a way of being secretive when he wants to be,” he repeated.
“How is Kennan, my cousin?” I shouted at him.
I was feeling so sick to my stomach. I would have given anything to be able to empty it, but I couldn’t here. There was a time and place for those things.
“You didn’t know?” he asked me.
“Of course not, and I don’t think he does either,” I told the man.
“That may be true. I thought his father would have explained these things to him. I guess not.”
“You know Alexander?” I asked.
“Yes, he is my brother,” he said.
It felt like everything I knew was crashing around me.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Breathe. You can get through this. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. My own cousin had kissed me. I still couldn’t get over the nausea I was feeling.
Axel was standing next to me, willing me to keep myself together. So I will do what is needed of me.
“Gentleman,” I addressed the knights standing next to my father. I cringed at the thought of the word.
“Please take this man to a room in the guest wing, he is to be treated as a guest, but he will not be left alone. Are we understood?”
The knights bowed their heads in agreement. They escorted their charge out of the room. As soon as the doors closed behind them, I was wrapped in a hug from Axel. I let out a huge breath.
“I certainly wasn’t expecting that,” I told him.
“Me neither. Are you okay?” he asked me, already knowing the answer.
“No, I am not, but I will be. I think I need to go talk to Clarissa. She needs to know that we are declaring war so she can prepare.
☼
“I will start preparing my knights. They will be informed that you will also command them alongside me, and they are to follow your orders,” Clarissa told me.
“Thank you. I hoped we would be able to settle things with Corone, but Prince Kennan has a hard time keeping that nose of his where it belongs,” I said.
“Oh, I agree, and his sister as well. I’ve never liked her,” Clarissa shared.
“I only met her recently, and I couldn’t agree with you more,” I replied.
We were conversing over the large table in the library. Knights were stationed in the tunnels behind the walls. This was becoming to be such an inconvenience, but something in me was telling me to leave the tunnels open. If someone did attack the castle, it would be an excellent place to hide.
I looked at the door as it opened, and Wisdom walked into the room. He bowed at us before speaking.
“Your Majesties, I have some news about the magic workers that had been imprisoned in the basement,” he shared.
“Oh, finally! I’ve been waiting for news about them. How are they doing? Is the money we set aside enough to cover everything?” I asked.
“As you know, some of them chose to join in my training sessions and sign up with your army. These new knights are adjusting well. They are channeling their aggression into making sure nothing like that can happen to them again.”
He looked like he had something else he wanted to say on the matter, that Clarissa couldn’t hear. I’m hoping that he would tell me that the Knights agreed to keep my magical talents a secret.
When I became Queen, I sent a few knights to the village that I stayed in on my first journey to the castle. They were instructed to ask its residents to keep my talents secret. They were to be given some more livestock to hopefully help with their farming efforts.
Wisdom cleared his throat to regain my attention. “The magic workers who did not sign up as part of your armies have been spread out throughout the Kingdom. They’ve been given either houses or small severances to buy a house. They have been instructed to blend in and start new lives. They all asked me to thank you for what you have done for them,” Wisdom finished.
“That’s terrific,” Clarissa said.
“It is indeed. Thank you, Wisdom,” I said.
“I have things that need to be tended to. Is there anything else I can do for either of you before I leave you, your majesties?” Wisdom asked.
“No, we are doing fine. Thank you again, Wisdom,” I said, kindly dismissing him.
Wisdom nodded his head once with a tiny bow, and then he left the room. I looked back at Clarissa.
“I’ve been thinking, what if I retract the peace treaty I sent over to Corone, which they have blatantly ignored? It would make a bold statement, and we can make a carefully planned attack. We have to assume that Tate’s army is closely monitoring the situation in Corone. If we place an attack in Corone and Tate is forced to assist, we would be forcing Tate’s army to split. We could sen
d in a large army to storm the Tate castle, and we could rid ourselves of them for once and for all,” I shared.
“That’s interesting, I see why you think it has potential, but we need to be careful. There are all kinds of things to consider; public opinion and more rebel attacks for starters. We haven’t been able to accurately measure how large the Tate army is for some time now,” Clarissa countered.
“No, but I have someone who has a lot of explaining to do. Giving me as much inside information as he can, might just solve that last worry for us,” I informed her.
“Then see to what you must. I support your decision, just make sure we aren’t charging headfirst into a stone wall,” she said.
I understand her saying completely. Lately, all it feels like I’ve been doing is charging headfirst into a wall.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Iwoke to the sound of commotion out in the hall. It was one of those rare nights where I decided to catch up on my rest. Traveling between the worlds exhausted me, even though I was doing it in my sleep. Eventually, I’d ask Wisdom to figure out all the mechanics behind the travel, but there are too many things on his plate right now. He is already exhausted as it is, we all are.
I heard a pounding on my door, and it was very far from a friendly knock. It sounded like forceful blows, and the door shook with each blow it took. Someone was trying to break in.
Was the castle under attack? It had to be. There were screams in the hall, and I could see large fires in the village surrounding the castle. I jumped out of bed and rushed to grab my sword from under my bed.
I had just enough time to grab the sword and turn around to face the door before it caved in. The wood splintered into large pieces.
Once the intruder stepped into the room, I could see why the door was in pieces. The man was massive, to say the least, his shoulders had to be twice the size of mine. He had a long mop of curly brown hair and unkempt facial hair. He was wielding a sword double the size of mine.
“Queen Violet, I’m glad you are here. You’ve saved me the trouble of having to search for you. Let me make this quick and painless unless you wish to surrender to my Prince,” the big brute said.
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