by Krista Lakes
They held each other for a while, just listening to the rain outside. Then Sabrina got up and turned the heat up for Faye, whose clothes were still damp.
“Faye, do you have your phone with you?” Sabrina asked. “My battery has been dead since last night.”
“What do you need it for?” Faye asked, with a smirk.
“I need to call my fiancé.”
Chapter 21
Marco
Magdalena lounged on the queen's throne. There was no one to see her, yet she still sat in the chair decked out to the nines. It made Marco sick to see her so blatantly on the throne as his father lay upstairs recuperating.
The doctors said the surgery had gone well, but King Carlo was still weak and exhausted from the ordeal. It frightened Marco to see his father like that.
“Marco,” Magdalena greeted her stepson as he approached.
“Do you really believe that you have the power to stand between Sabrina and I?”
“Of course I do,” she said, as though it was such an obvious fact. “I have all the power I need, because it's in the law. And royalty must obey the laws just like everyone else.”
“Laws can be changed,” Marco replied.
Magdalena scoffed. “You can't change anything, Marco. Don't deceive yourself.”
“And why not?” Marco asked.
“Because if you do, I'll be sure to point out to the public that their Prince is not a law-abiding member of this country,” she said, casually glancing down at the gold rings on her fingers.
“Not a law-abiding citizen? What are you talking about?” he shouted.
“You just suggested that you could change the law for your personal benefit,” Magdalena said, with a smirk. “Do you understand how serious a crime that is? It's a total scandal. So please, play nice. Because if you don't, then the citizens of Orsino Island will learn that Prince Marco is trying to change the laws for his own gain.”
“Are you blackmailing me?” he asked, stepping toward her.
“Call it what you like,” she said. “It matters not.”
She stood on the throne dias and stared down at him.
“The court is in my pocket, Marco,” she told him. “While you were away playing with your little American friend, I was here. I will always be here and there is nothing you can do about it.”
He was outraged, and suddenly it all boiled over for him. He was done getting pushed around.
“Magdalena, you've gone too far now,” he said, slowly walking toward her. “I wasn't going to do this, but you've left me no choice.”
“Do what?” she asked, crossing her arms. “There is nothing you can do. I am more politically powerful than you.”
“Leave my relationship with Sabrina alone, or else the entire population of the Island will find out about your affair with Alanso, ” Marco said, with revenge in his eyes.
“You have no proof,” Magdalena said, trying to call his bluff.
But he wasn't bluffing. In fact, Marco had never been so serious in his life. He'd known about her affair, just like everybody else in the Palace knew about it. It had been made very clear to him, though, that he mustn't ever let the information get released to the public. The last thing the citizens needed to hear was about a sex scandal happening within their own government. It could be the beginning of the end of the monarchy. Even Carlo had pushed the fact that it could never get found out about. But now, this little bit of information became Marco's biggest strength.
“I'm not joking with you, Magdalena,” he said. “One more attempt at ruining my relationship and I'll be the one calling every journalist on this entire Island to give them the full story. I'm sure they'll love to post a story about the queen's affair. The newspapers will sell like hotcakes and your face will be plastered all over them.”
She stood silently and for a fleeting moment, Marco could have sworn that he saw the expression of defeat on her face.
“I think it would behoove you to keep those secrets to yourself,” she said, quietly. “I will ruin you.”
“With what? The fact that I want to get an antiquated law changed to marry the woman I love?” Marco scoffed. “Who will the public prefer, the woman who cheats on their beloved king or a prince who fights for love?”
“You have no proof,” Magdalena repeated, but the strength wasn't in her voice this time.
Marco pulled up his phone and began opening up a phone app. “You have been far less than discrete while I was away,” he told her. He held up his screen. “Do you think I don't have my own allies to run the country? I am not as naive as you seem to think, Magdalena. I do have proof.”
On his phone was a picture of her kissing someone who was clearly not the King in one of the castle hallways.
“I have more, Magdalena,” he told her. “Just because I was in America doesn't mean I wasn't securing my political position here. Your ruthlessness has made you many enemies. So yes, you have power in the court, but then so do I.”
“You can't do this to me,” Magdaglena sputtered. “You can't!”
“I can and I will,” Marco told her coldly. “Until now, I was content to ignore you for Papa's sake. I will not ignore you at the cost of Sabrina. You will leave her be.”
Magdalena's mouth opened, but nothing came out.
“I think it would behoove you to mind your own business and stay as far removed from my life as possible. If I hear so much of a breath that Sabrina is only after my crown from anyone connected to you, I will release these photos,” he replied, before turning his back to her. “Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find my fiancée.”
With that, Marco spun around and walked toward the door. Magdalena began to say something, but he didn't even bother listening. He just pushed through the door and left her to herself. He was breathing hard, adrenaline still fresh in his veins. But he felt somehow refreshed. Alive. He'd just stood up to his stepmother, the queen of a country, and in a big way.
Now, I just have to find the love of my life and tell her that I love her. I just hope she can find it in her heart to forgive me.
Chapter 22
Sabrina
Sabrina had taken Faye's cell phone and stepped into the other room of the motel to make her call. She knew Marco's personal number by memory and she dialed quickly. She couldn't wait to finally hear his voice again and looked forward to clearing things up.
It only rang once, before Marco picked up on the other end.
“Hello?” he said, his voice instantly putting a smile on Sabrina's face. “Who's this?”
“It's me,” Sabrina said.
“Oh, my God, Sabrina,” Marco said, clearly relieved. “Where in the hell are you? We've been searching the island non-stop. I haven't slept in days.”
“I'm so sorry,” she said. “I shouldn't have done this to you, but I had to get away.”
“Are you still on Orsino?” he asked. “Where are you calling from?”
“I'm using my Aunt's phone,” Sabrina said.
“You went back to Memphis then?” His voice broke slightly.
“No, I'm not in Memphis,” she replied. “I'm using my Aunt's phone, because she's here with me on Orsino. She came out to see me.”
“Thank God,” Marco said, relief flooding every word. “Where on the Island are you? The guards have been searching homes and boats, looking through every nook and cranny to find you.”
Sabrina chuckled. “You missed a spot. I'm staying at the South End Motel.”
“Why didn't the guards check there?” he said. “They told me they searched everywhere. Don't go anywhere. I'll be there in a few minutes.”
Marco hung up the phone and Sabrina stepped back into the main room of the motel. Faye was still seated on the love seat and when Sabrina walked in, she smiled at her.
“How did it go?” Faye asked.
“He's on his way here now,” Sabrina said. “He seemed very excited to see me.”
“As he should be,” she said. “You'll be a sight for sor
e eyes for him. You've been missing for two days, so I can only imagine how worried he was about you.”
“I'm going to gather the few things that I have here and get ready to go back to the Palace,” Sabrina said, as she picked up the living room a bit. “Are you coming with me?”
“I'd love to,” Faye said, standing up from the couch. “As long as I'm invited, that is. I don't want to intrude.”
“You would most certainly not be intruding, Aunt,” she replied. “In fact, I really want you to be there. I need you on this. I feel like I'm about to walk into a lion's den and I don't want to go in alone.”
“You know I've got your back, kid,” Faye said, as she helped Sabrina clean up the motel room.
Only a few minutes passed before Sabrina heard the sound of a car pulling up to the motel. A second later and someone was knocking frantically on the door. When she opened it, Marco stepped in with open arms and pulled her in for a hug.
“Sabrina, you had me scared to death,” Marco said, squeezing Sabrina so tightly that it was clear he never wanted to let her go.
She pressed her face into his chest and breathed him in. His familiar scent calmed the anxiety that had been in her heart for two days. Being in his arms again felt right, and she knew she was making the right decision by giving him another chance.
“I'm so sorry,” she said. “I was just scared and embarrassed. I couldn't face anybody. I just wanted to run and hide, so that's what I did.”
Marco pulled away, but kept his hands on her shoulders. He looked deep into her eyes, and Sabrina breathed a sigh of relief.
“Please come home,” he said, his eyes filling with tears. “I can't live without you. I need you, Sabrina.”
“I'm going back with you,” she said. “But I'm still so nervous about Magdalena.”
“Don't be,” Marco said. “I took care of it.”
Sabrina cocked her head to the side. “How so?”
“It doesn't matter,” he said. “All you need to know is that she won't be bothering us anymore.”
Sabrina was confused, but decided not to push the issue. If Marco said things were fine, then she had faith that they would be.
“By the way, Marco, this is my Aunt Faye,” Sabrina said, spinning around.
Faye approached and held out a hand, but Marco ignored it and instead pulled Faye in for a hug.
“Thank you for coming,” Marco said. “Thank you for taking care of my girl. You're a saint.”
“I'm far from a saint, I assure you,” Faye said, laughing. “But you're welcome. I'm happy to be here.”
“Please, come back to the Palace with us,” Marco said, still squeezing Faye with a bear hug. “Stay as long as you like.”
“Thank you,” Faye said. “I'll certainly take you up on the offer.”
With that, the three of them left the motel and walked down to the black town car that was running in the parking lot. They all clamored in the back and Marco ordered the driver to take them back to the Palace.
Sabrina and Marco couldn't take their eyes off of each other. It had only been two days, but to Sabrina, it had felt like an agonizing eternity. She had missed him so much.
“I want to apologize for what Magdalena did to you at the ball,” Marco said. “You didn't deserve that and it wasn't your fault.”
“It's okay,” Sabrina said, scooting close to him on the leather car seat. “I just didn't know what to do, so I ran. I'll admit that I was a little upset at first that you didn't come and talk to me afterwards. It made me feel like I wasn't even there.”
“I was so angry at Magdalena,” Marco explained. “I saw red and she became my focus. I wanted to put an end to her nonsense so badly that I didn't consider your embarrassment by what had happened. I regret not running to you right away.”
“I understand,” Sabrina replied. “I didn't at first, but I do now.”
Faye cleared her throat and smirked at the two of them.
“Sabrina, before we get to the Palace, do you think we should tell Marco my relation to his family?” Faye asked. “It might spare us an awkward moment in front of everyone.”
“Yes, I suppose we should...” Sabrina said, turning to Marco.
The town car pulled up to the Palace and Marco was still shaking his head in awe from the story that Faye had shared with him about her origins.
“The universe does like to use her favorite characters,” Marco commented.
A guard opened the rear door and the three of them stepped out. Sabrina walked up the stairs, with Marco on one side and Faye on the other. Her heart was beating through her chest as they neared the front entrance.
“Are you sure Magdalena isn't going to kill me?” Sabrina said, with a half-smile.
“I'm positive,” Marco said. “Don't you worry about her. Besides, my father needs us now during his recovery. I don't want to waste any extra energy on Magdalena.”
Oh my God. Carlo's surgery. I completely forgot about that, since I've been so absorbed in my own feelings, Sabrina thought.
“Marco, how did everything go with the surgery?” she asked, as the guard opened the front door for them and they stepped inside.
“It went okay, given the circumstances,” he said. “He had the surgery the morning after the ball and just got home last night. The doctors were able to remove the tumor, so hopefully it doesn't come back. They'll be running tests for the next few months just to make sure. He's been sleeping a lot, and I haven't really had the chance to speak with him. Most of the information I've obtained has been from his doctors. I'm hoping he's awake now, though. He'll be happy to hear that I finally found you.”
Sabrina looked over to Faye, who appeared to be amazed while taking in the sight of the Palace's interior. She was smiling and her eyes were wide with wonder.
“What do you think, Faye?” Sabrina asked. “Does it bring back memories of your past life?”
“In so many ways, child,” she said. “Although, the palace where I resided in Britain is nowhere near the size of this one. But yes, I'm feeling rather nostalgic at the moment.”
“Do you think my parents would like it?” Sabrina asked.
“I'm not sure that they'll even believe it once they see it,” she replied. “I hope we can find a way to get them out here sometime.”
Marco stopped when they got to the bottom of the interior stairway. “I'll fly your parents out here, Sabrina. Just give me the word and I'll have them on a plane the same day.”
“You'd do that?” she asked. “For me?”
“Of course,” he said. “I'd do anything for you. Plus, I'd love to meet your parents. And also, assuming you'll still take me, we'll be getting married soon and there's no way that I'd do that without your parents being present.”
Sabrina smiled at the thought of her parents getting to enjoy the island life for a little while.
“Do you want me to come with you to see Carlo right now, or should I wait until you see how he's feeling?” Sabrina asked.
“Both of you come with me,” Marco said. “He'll be delighted to have the company. I'm sure he's sick and tired of getting an earful from Magdalena anyway, so we'll be doing him a favor by entering his chambers.”
Sabrina and Faye followed Marco upstairs and into Carlo's chambers. When they stepped inside, Sabrina's heart sank. Carlo was sitting up in his bed, but looked weary and pale. A green oxygen tank sat next to his bed, which was connected to a hose that pumped air into his nose. He managed a smile, though, when he saw that he had visitors.
“Come in,” he whispered, his voice raspy and quiet.
Sabrina and Faye approached the foot of the bed, while Marco stepped beside his father. He placed a hand onto Carlo's chest. “Father, look who I found.”
“I see that,” Carlo said, glancing toward Sabrina. “I'm so glad you didn't leave the island, love.”
“Me too,” said Sabrina. “I'm sorry for all the fuss. It's nice to be back, though. How are you feeling?”
Carlo began to
cough and immediately, a nurse ran in from the other room. She patted Carlo on the back and adjusted the oxygen hose in his nose. After a few moments, his coughing fit was over and he took in a long, slow breath. Then he motioned for the nurse to leave him, which she did without question.
“I wouldn't say that I feel like a million dollars,” Carlo finally said, with a smirk. “But I feel like at least a thousand dollars.”
Sabrina laughed, shocked by his optimism.
“That's good to hear,” she said, as she wrapped an arm over Faye. “Carlo, this is my Aunt Faye. She came from Memphis to visit me.”
Carlo gazed at Faye and then sat up a little further in the bed. He was silent for a moment, just staring at her with wonder.
“You look strangely familiar, Ms. Faye,” Carlo said. “Something in your eyes. Come closer. Let me see you.”
Faye did as she was asked, and walked around to the side of the bed. Carlo placed his hand onto her chin, gently pulling her close. He stared into her eyes.
“Those eyes,” he said. “That color. I've only seen it on one other person's in my entire life.”
Faye parted her lips to speak, right as the doors to Carlo's chambers swung open. Everyone turned to see Queen Magdalena standing in the doorway. She was dressed in formal attire, which consisted of a purple robe with golden stitching. When she saw Sabrina, she scowled immediately, but didn't say a word to her. Instead, she strolled straight up to Carlo.
“How are you feeling, Carlo?” she asked. “Would you like me to have the guards escort these intruders out?”
Sabrina's heart was pounding as she watched the queen. She was waiting for all hell to break loose, expecting that Magdalena would attack her at any moment. But she didn't.
“No, I want them all to stay,” Carlo said. “They're all welcome here. They're visitors, not intruders. And they're family.”
“All of them?” Magdalena said, shooting a glance toward Sabrina.
“Yes, all of them,” Carlo responded, his voice so hoarse that Sabrina could hardly make out his words.