by Nikki Gaspar
***
It was official. Rosy’s recipes were magical. I managed to finish everything and enjoyed every bite. The only problem was that I couldn’t decide which one was my favorite.
I didn’t know how long I stayed in the dining area, but I would guess at least an hour because the murmur of customers was now gone. Rubbing my full belly, I stood and decided to find Rosy.
From the house’s doorway, I found her speaking to a group of men who were wearing suits. There were no more customers, and the door sign says that the shop was closed. I didn’t realize that establishments here close so early.
The wooden floor creaked when I stepped into the shop, and all eyes turned to me at once. My step faltered, and chills ran down my spine because the men looked like they could kill me with their bare hands.
“I’m sorry to disturb you,” I said nervously.
I turned around and was about to step back into the house when Rosy called after me.
“Claire, please come here.”
When I reached the group, Rosy placed her arm over my shoulders as if aware that I was trembling inside from the men’s continued stares.
“Claire, these men are part of the king’s guards. They have something to tell you,” she said.
I have been in Bellanmuse for about three hours, and the king’s guards are already after me? Have I done anything illegal?
I should have made better research on the country before I booked the plane ticket. This is what I get for being impulsive.
“Hi, miss, I am Major Krisham,” one of the men said, offering to shake my hand. He’s young for a high-ranking officer, maybe in his early twenties.
“My name is Claire,” I said, reaching out with my right hand. I noticed that his eyes went straight to my star-shaped birthmark.
“Am I in trouble?”
“You are not in trouble, Miss Claire. We are here to invite you to the palace. The king especially requested your presence because he wanted to meet foreigners like you who visited our country for the first time.”
Huh? Since when does a king invite random tourists to their palace? What if they put me in jail or a torture chamber once we are out of Rosy’s sight?
But even if I say no, Major Krisham’s arms were almost as big as my whole body. He could easily grab my neck and carry me like a rag doll straight to the palace.
With resignation, I said, “Okay.”
Chapter Seven
The king’s guards reacted to my assent like Santa Claus announced that Christmas came early this year. They fought the grins threatening to form on their faces, but I could still see it. What if they were proud of their job well done in convincing their potential victim? I didn’t even make it difficult for them! At once, everyone prepared to leave, giving me no chance to change my mind.
“Our cars are outside. Please follow us,” Major Krisham said.
Once the king’s guards were outside the shop, I turned to say goodbye to the kind lady. “Thank you, Rosy.”
“You’re welcome, Claire. I am so happy to meet you. You will be okay, trust me.” Her eyes watered again, and she hugged me tightly.
I opened the door to leave, but remembered something and looked back at Rosy. “I cannot pick a favorite. All of them are the best that I have ever tasted.”
***
Three black, expensive-looking cars were parked in front of the shop. One of the guards stood beside the one in the middle and opened the door when he saw me—indicating that I should get in.
We were silent for the whole journey. The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror from time to time, but Major Krisham who was seated beside him was busy texting on his phone.
I wish I didn’t finish all those bread now. I could scatter some crumbs to help the police follow me if ever these men decided to bring me to a secluded area, kill me, and hide my body.
About fifteen minutes into our travel, I noticed that we were getting nearer to a mountain. The establishments were fewer, and there were more trees.
“We are near the palace now, Miss Claire. You can see it already,” Major Krisham said, gesturing with his hand.
I followed his hand’s directions and gasped. That was the biggest building I have ever seen. The palace was situated at the top of the mountain. Its many turrets were carrying flags that swayed with the breeze.
“It’s even more beautiful up close,” Major Krisham said, amused at my reaction.
Robbers would have a hard time penetrating the palace because aside from the high walls, the opulent gate was manned by a platoon of the king’s guards and all of them were as big as Major Krisham.
As the gates parted, an amazing sight was revealed. Almost pressing my nose to the car’s window, I admired the beautiful garden on both sides of the driveway, which brings life to the cold palace with its colorful flowers and benches situated under the shade of trees.
Mom and I always had picnics in the park near our house; and seeing this garden caused a sharp pang of emotion to hit me. She would have loved to see these flowers and take pictures with them.
***
When we reached the palace’s entrance, a man wearing a navy suit and a very big mustache welcomed me.
“Good Afternoon, Miss Claire! Welcome to the residence of King Anthony, the ruler of Bellanmuse. My name is Jazaael. I am the palace’s butler.” The mustached man said all of this very fast and finished with a bow.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Jazaael,” I said, giving him my own little bow.
“You can just call me Jazaael, Miss. Come! I will escort you to the king.” He turned around and walked inside the palace with his back straight and his head held high.
That must be part of the training to be a staff in the palace, but it looked painful to me. I wonder how they could work all day.
Huge portraits of the past kings and queens greeted me in the foyer, and it’s as if they cringed with each step of my dirty shoes on the gleaming marble flooring. I wanted to have a good look, but Jazaael seemed to be in a hurry.
At the end of the foyer were two rooms facing each other, Jazaael knocked three times and then opened the door on the right.
“Good afternoon, Your Highnesses, King Anthony and The Royal Court! I would like to present to you our guest, Miss Claire.” He finished this speech with another bow.
The royals were dressed like celebrities attending an awards night, complete with enormous diamonds sparkling with their every move. If the king’s guards caused me to tremble with their stares, it was nothing compared to the royals. I felt like they could kill me with a snap of their diamond-adorned fingers.
“Please have a seat, Miss,” Jazaael said, pulling an empty chair from around the conference table where the royals were seated.
It was very intimidating to sit with the royals, but at least I was between two younger members—probably the same age as my mom. I would probably turn into a statue if Jazaael told me that I would sit between the older ones. Their appearances were not really terrifying, in fact, they were all good-looking. But they exude power and authority that makes common people like me cower in fear.
A girl came in after us, pushing a food trolley, and served refreshments for everyone.
“Thank you, Jazaael, Mari. You may leave,” a man with graying hair said after the girl was done. He must be the king.
Jazaael and the girl bowed, and then closed the door behind them.
I wiped my sweaty hands on my pants, waiting for someone to speak. After spending the whole journey trying to think of anything illegal that I might have done in the past few hours since the plane landed in Bellanmuse, I was still at a loss as to why I’m invited in the palace.
Finally, a beautiful woman—probably old enough to be my grandmother based on her full head of white hair— spoke. “Don’t be nervous, child. We just have a few questions for you.”
Her voice was like a balm that soothed my nerves. My shoulders started to relax, and my breathing evened out.
“
Can you tell us your name, please?” an elderly man asked.
I uttered my name, but I thought I should be the one asking theirs. They requested my presence in the palace but didn’t even bother to introduce themselves. It’s as if I’m the one who willingly came here and bothered their day.
With a slight frown, another elderly woman studied my face. “You look so young, how old are you?”
“I’m eighteen years old.” They exchanged meaningful looks as if my age was of great importance. Well, maybe it is if they were planning to file a case against me for whatever crime I committed.
“Can I see your right hand, please?” the beautiful older woman asked, and then she stood up and approached me.
She held my hand for a few seconds. “You have an interesting birthmark.”
I nodded, wondering why Rosy, Major Krisham, and now, this woman were all interested in my birthmark. Her hand was warm and soft, but it was trembling. I wondered if she was sick.
She touched the ring I was wearing and looked at it closely.
“Is this ring old?”
“Yes, ma’am, it was my mom’s wedding ring.”
“And where is your mother? Did she travel with you?”
“No, ma’am, she died recently.” The woman’s eyes watered as I said this, but didn’t say anything more. She sat again and listened quietly as the others asked their questions.
“How about your father, is he with you?” the younger woman beside me asked.
“I traveled alone. My father died when I was a baby, so I never met him.”
“Did you travel far? Why did you choose to visit Bellanmuse?” she asked again.
“I had a four-hour flight, ma’am. I just wanted to see if I have some relatives here.”
She cocked her head. “You never met your relatives?”
I nodded. “My mom raised me alone.”
They stayed quiet for a moment and scrutinized my face. I took this opportunity to take a sip of the drink in front of me. Their eyes followed my every move, and as I held the glass with my right hand and brought it to my lips, I noticed that all of them were staring at my birthmark. What was with these people and birthmarks?
“What makes you believe that you might have relatives here?” one of the younger men asked when I placed the glass back on the table.
“I found a letter in my mom’s things, sir. It was written by my dad. He mentioned this country, and he also mentioned a brother.”
“And do you have this letter with you?”
“Yes, sir.”
Excitement showed in his expression. “Do you mind letting us see it?”
Why are these people so interested in me? What would they do with the letter?
He probably noticed my hesitation because he said, “Do not worry; we just wanted to see it. I will give it back to you. Please believe that this is important.”
I don’t see how my dad’s letter could be of importance to them, but I’m too confused to be able to think of a reply. I just extracted the letter from my bag and gave it to him.
He passed the letter to the older woman, and she unfolded it carefully with her trembling hands. The other royals all stood up to read behind her shoulders. Their eyes moved from side to side, but I had no idea how they could read because the longer they were reading, the woman’s trembling intensified.
When they were done, the man refolded the letter and returned it to me.
“So when you arrived this morning, you asked people about the man named Anthony?” he asked.
“Yes, sir, I tried the Statistics Office in the Capitol first, but they said there was no Anthony Dava in the records. Then I tried to ask around in the market place.”
After staring at me for about a minute, they all looked at each other and seemed to have a silent conversation.
“But how are you sure that his surname was Dava? It only says Anthony in the letter,” the probable king asked.
“My mom and I are Dava, it was my dad’s surname. His brother should be a Dava too, right?” I asked, suddenly worried. What if rules in surnames were different in Bellanmuse and I spent hours looking for a man who uses a different surname? Again, I should have done a better research.
Chapter Eight
The probable king called out for Jazaael, who opened the door barely a second later. His dedication for work was admirable.
“Please come with me, Miss Claire,” he said.
I stood and paused, wondering if I should say goodbye to the royals. Am I supposed to thank them or curtsy? But, hey, they didn’t even tell me what was the point of all their questions, and now I’m unceremoniously dismissed. I decided to not say anything and follow Jazaael out of the room; they were not looking at me anyway, except for the beautiful older woman, that is. She was looking at me with moist eyes and seeing her expression caused a weird tug in my heart. I smiled at her before turning to follow Jazaael.
“Where are we going?” I asked because instead of going back to the front door, Jazaael went to the room opposite the one we just left.
“You are to stay here, miss. Please relax. I will come back when they are ready for you.” Then he left me alone before I could ask more questions.
This room was more comfortable than the other one. There’s an office table with a bookshelf behind it, a big sofa on one side, and a set of plush tea furniture in front of a floor to ceiling window where you can see the beautiful garden. I sat on one of the chairs and looked at the flowers outside.
I felt like I’d wake up at any moment, snug in my blankets back home. Who would believe me when I say that I am in the king’s palace? No one. I wouldn’t even believe myself.
This was like an opening scene to a cheesy love story when the commoner meets the handsome prince. Well, that’s better than a crime story where the commoner was brought to a torture chamber in the palace’s dungeons.
The girl from earlier went inside the room. This time she was carrying a tray.
“These are for you, Miss. Please enjoy.”
“Thank you, but do you know why I’m here?”
She lowered her head. “I’m sorry, miss, I don’t have that information. I was just ordered to bring you some food.”
“Oh, that’s alright. Thank you.”
She curtsied and left.
I looked at what she brought: some fancy sandwiches and tea. My belly was still full of the bread I devoured earlier in Rosy’s shop, so I just took a sip of tea to have something to do.
I wandered my eyes around the room, and that was when I noticed some picture frames displayed among the books.
I glanced at the door, listened if there was any noise outside, and when I didn’t hear anything, I stood to approach the bookshelf.
There were five picture frames. One was of a younger version of the probable king, maybe in his early twenties.
The second was a picture of a couple, the man was a spitting image of the probable king, and the woman, though still have black hair, was the beautiful older woman from earlier.
The third picture features two pretty girls. One had straight black hair, and the other one had curly black hair. They were probably sisters because they looked very much alike.
The fourth picture was another spitting-image of the probable king, maybe a brother—older or younger, I couldn't tell.
And the last one was a picture of the same woman, maybe a few years younger when this was taken, and she was holding a cute baby.
The only royals I knew were the princesses I read about in the fairy tale books, with villain step-mothers or step-sisters. Seeing these pictures made me realize that the royals were real people too— a real family.
***
It was two hours later when Jazaael came back, and there was a bounce in his steps. “Miss, they are ready for you. Please follow me.” His mustache twitched as he smiled.
“Ready for what, sir? Can you please tell me why I’m here? You said earlier that the king requested to see me, is he the one with graying hair?”<
br />
“You will know soon, Miss. The elders will explain everything.”
“Did I do anything illegal?”
“Of course not!” he said, eyes going wide. “Please do not worry, you will know soon.”
Finally accepting that he would not divulge any information, I said, “Fine, let’s go.”
This time, Jazaael did not bother to knock. The royals whipped their heads when the door opened, and their sudden attention caused me to stop dead in my tracks.
Jazaael pushed my back gently and whispered, “Go on, Claire, everything’s okay.”
The probable king was standing in front of the window, staring outside with his hands in his pockets. He turned around when he heard the door click as the butler once again left me in the presence of the royals.
“Please sit, Claire. We have something to tell you,” the probable king said.
The royals watched my movements as though in a theater, watching an action film at the edge of their seats.
“My name is Anthony Grandis. Do you know who I am?”
Wow! So he really is the king.
“Yes, sir. You are the king.”
“That’s right. Now, I have a story to tell you.” He looked at my eyes intently as if to make sure that I was listening, then walked around the room like a teacher. “I have a brother, and his name was Alfred Grandis. He had a wife, named Emma Grandis, and a daughter named Clarissa Grandis.”
I don’t know where he’s going with this. But if he was talking about the family tree, then it meant I am not getting arrested.
“My brother died sixteen years ago due to a stroke. And the day he died, his wife disappeared, together with their two-year-old daughter. We hired people to search the whole country. The Bellan People were instructed to be alert and to report any information regarding the princess and her mother. Even in other countries, people were searching for them. But they were never found…until today.”
They found the missing princess? If that was the case, why were they wasting their time talking to me?
“The princess arrived in Bellanmuse this morning using a different name. But a lady from a bakeshop recognized her and called the authorities. Every Bellan knows that the princess has a unique trait.” He looked at me with a broad smile. “She has a birthmark at the back of her right hand. A birthmark, which is shaped like a star.”