The Unsung Heir

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

              Early the next day, Jane received a visit from Collin. “Good morning.” said Collin as he entered Jane’s studies. He shut the large doors behind him as Jane stood up to greet the prince.

             “Good morning, Prince.” replied Jane, curtsying.

            “Are you ready for the picnic?” asked Collin grabbing an apple from a bowl of fruit off Jane’s desk.

             “I believe I am. I’m sure he will interrogate me on the incident yesterday.”

             “True, you must be careful, he may be plotting something himself to get that proof he needs.”

            “I’ll be careful, but is anyone else joining us?”

             “Aaron has returned home so he will join us.”

             “Aaron, how is he, has he returned from Andorra? It has been quite a while since I’ve seen him.” asked Jane, raising an eyebrow, taking a sip from her goblet.

            “Yes, he returned yesterday, late at night. The Andorrean government is in quite some chaos.”

            “Well good! That will make it easier to conquer, won’t it, my prince?”

             “Indeed"            

             “I must leave now, but remember to be careful.”

              “I know.” concluded Jane as she stood up and left the study room.

              Soon Jane’s carriage pulled up to the large steel gates of the palace. There she was greeted by the princes.  Jane flinched at the brightness of the sun as she stepped out, revealing her simple maroon colored dress and black hat only to be greeted by the princes wearing their military uniforms showing their military stature.

              Lance was the head general of the cavalry and had a small image of a horse on a medal pinned to his navy blue uniform next to the symbol of the crown prince. Collin, head of the Armada, had a medallion of a ship pinned alongside the symbol of Captain of the City Guard. Lastly, Aaron, the second of the three, was the general of the infantry and had a pin with an image of a sword. Besides being the general of the infantry, he was also the Senator of State, and had a medal with a quill on it.

               “Jane” said Lance formally as he bowed. “Glad you could come.” As he stood up, his golden hair fell over his radiant dark brown eyes.

“My lady, how are you today?” said Collin with a goofy grin.

    “Jane, it is good to see you again. How are you?” smiled Aaron giving Jane two quick kisses on each cheek.

               Aaron, the second eldest prince, had short, dark brown hair and dark brown eyes like his brother. He was good-humored and very temperate. As Senate of State, he travelled often and was rarely home for long. He respects his older brother, but as a child, he was closer to Collin and Jane.

“I’m fine, thank you. It is good to see you too.” said Jane politely.

After a few minutes of talking to one another, the group made their way to the garden of the castle. As they walked through the brightly lit, marble hallways, banners of other important barons and dukes. “Jane how’s everything in your area?” asked Aaron to break the silence. “There hasn’t any rebellion?”

“Everything is fine. Everything is going just perfectly.” smiled Jane with a trace of malice. “So far I have achieved everything necessary.”

“Oh, Aaron, did you hear about the Duchess Elise’s death?” asked Lance slyly looking for a reaction from Jane. “Such a pity, she contributed so much to Mother and Father, don’t you agree?”

“Yes, I heard about it the moment I returned last night.” answered Aaron solemnly. “I hope whoever did this gets punished severely.”

“Brother, don’t sound so serious, Aaron.” said Collin flashing Lance a forewarning look that betrayed his good- humored smile. “We are celebrating your homecoming, and we have a lady here. Let’s not be so gloomy.” laughed Collin. 

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