The Unsung Heir

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Jane woke up the next morning realizing that that was a memory of the past. She had had the utmost respect for the Queen, all of which were destroyed as soon as the lies were uncovered and the truth was revealed. The Queen was a mentor, a mother to her. It was devastating to find out your most trusted had lied to you. All the stories about being abandoned on the streets had been lies to cover up the truth. She had killed my parents and adopted me in. Jane exhaled slowly. Time does reveal a lot. Jane climbed out of bed and prepared herself for breakfast. As soon as Jane made her way to the stairwell, she found both Collin and Lance waiting for her. When she walked down, both of them offered their arms to escort her, but after a glance at the two brothers, Jane turned them both down and continued to walk to the dining room. The rest of the day, Jane tried to avoid being around the brothers until she finally returned home. When she finally stepped out of the carriage,in front of the gates of her estate, she smiled. There is no place better than home. Jane retreated upstairs to her chambers. There she found Velvet waiting for her. "Welcome home." Jane nodded her head.

The next several months after the trial were uneventful and silent. For once in her life, Jane was able to do her experiments, undisturbed. At the same time, Kieran and Collin were getting anxious. They have been patiently waiting to go to Andorra, but Jane has delayed the plans for months. Neither one of them had heard anything from Jane. They finally came to the conclusion that they had to go see Jane in person. Together, the two princes saddled up their horses and rode off to Jane's estate. Once the two arrived, they left their horses in the stables and walked to the open gates. They were let in by Sebastian. He escorted them to the garden after they inquired where Jane was.

Once they stepped out of the doorway, a the sweet smell of flowers overwhelmed them. There, they found Jane sitting at a table under an oak tree with various, clear wine glasses filled with water. Velvet hovered closely next to Jane. Next to the glasses were bottles of little white capsules. When they got closer, they noticed Jane's hair was slightly dull compared to its usual sleek shimmer. Her brown eyes were full of exhaustion and her face was deathly pale where her complexion was usually like porcelain. Jane took a white capsule and dropped it in the first glass. After the pill dissolved and turned the water red, Jane took a strand of hair and placed it in the cup. The strand of hair fell to the bottom and dissolved.

Jane sighed with frustration. "It is too strong. The blood will not be compatible with my body." "The best chance I have is with the first one I tried today." Jane looked up from her work when she heard the princes approach. Jane nodded her head in acknowledgement of the presence and continued to work. "Good morning princes. Please excuse me for just a moment." Jane quickly dropped a pill rom a bottle into a glass of water and drank it once the pill was dissolved and turned the water red. Immediately, almost like magic, Jane's dull hair,turned glossy and her complexion returned to their former appearance. Kieran watched in wonder as Collin simply stood transfixed by Jane's beauty.

Once Jane finished, she beckoned the princes to follow her for a walk for it was a beautiful day. "I know you have been patiently waiting the right time to leave and to be honest, I have also grown tired of waiting for suspicion to die down." stated Jane, stopping to pull aside a loose strand of hair. "I was going to write yo, but now that you are both present, I will inform you that I have planned for journey to be within one week from today."

Collin and Kieran nodded in agreement. "The sooner we leave, the better. It has taken too long, but I understand the position you were in Lady Jane." said Kieran taking Jane's hand. " I thank you for helping me and the nation on Andorra."

Jane smiled. "You are most welcome." Collin told Kieran to go on without him and head back to the castle. Once Kieran left, Collin told Jane he needed to talk to her in private. Jane nodded and led the way to her studies. As they walked down the hallway, Jane noticed how close Collin was walking to her.

Collin watched Jane walk in front of him. Her long, raven-black hair was slightly curled today. It was pulled over her left shoulder and held in place by a barrette made of ivory. Once they entered Jane's studies, she walked over to the large, glass window behind her desk and drew back the deep red curtains. She walked back around to the front of her desk and leaned against it, crossing her arms across her chest. "What do you have to tell me?"

Collin leaned against a nearby bookshelf. "About that night back at the palace, I am truly sorry. I just wanted to clarify that."

Jane nodded. "I accept your apology. Is that all you have to tell me?"

Collin stood up and nodded. "Kieran and I will be back next week before we leave to discuss how we will travel through the border." He turned and he left. Jane sighed. That prince is quite a handful.

Meanwhile, at the royal palace, the King sat and watched as his wife angrily paced back and forth in front of him. "That little brat, she must go. This can not go on any longer."

King Galeno sighed and looked at his wine glass. "What else can we do? That annoying son of ours ruined the last attempt." He set the glass down and folded his hands together. "How did we ever raise such a rebellious child?We should have disowned him, but what would that solve?"

"That Jane must go. I should have known that spy never would have been able to get the job done. Galeno, if we do not kill her, what will befall this nation? Another noble dead or maybe even one of us?"

"There is nothing else we can do. Unless, we marry her off."

"You know we can not do that. We must keep an eye on her. That is the only reason why we haven't done that. That unruly, insolent girl."

The next several days, Jane spent thinking about how her plan carefully. How would it be executed? She would just have to play along until the right moment. Once Kieran is king, she can use him. They could wage war against Tuscania on the accusation that the Tuscanian government killed their monarch. With the pitiful state Tuscania is in, it will be an easy victory. Jane smiled. Success that seemed so far away is now not so far.

One morning, Sebastian interrupted Jane and Velvet's breakfast to announce the arrival of a letter. Velvet frowned and brushed crumbs off himself, "Can't it wait until after breakfast? We can not have a decent meal in peace anymore." Jane shook her head and stood to take the vanilla envelope. "Who is it from?"

"It is from Collin." said Jane, breaking the wax sealing with her nail.

"Well, Jane, do not just stand there, what does it say?" Velvet got out off his seat and flew onto Jane's shoulder. Jane opened the letter and read it. She swallowed slowly and letter fell out of her hand. "What is the matter? Jane?"

"King Galeno is dead."

Velvet looked at Jane's face and saw a smile crawl on her lips. "Well, this is unexpected. Is that all the letter says? Does Collin give the reason?" Jane stooped down and picked up the letter to continue reading.

Jane shook her head. "He died unexpectedly. He just collapsed last night. Collin and Kieran will also be arriving tomorrow. That is it." Jane looked at Velvet and frowned. "Velvet, could Collin have been the one that killed his own father? Does he not know that because of that, it will be more difficult to leave without drawing suspicion?"

Velvet shook his head. "Collin is a rash, young man, but he is not ignorant. He should know. We will have to speak with him about it. Well, the King is now dead. What will you do?"

"The King was never much of a threat. It will just be another hindrance in morality of the country, which is an advantage for us. Lance is also now king. Unlike his father, he is more ambitious, like his mother. He will be the problem. We will have to leave soon before he has a chance to point a finger at us."

"Lance will be a strong king indeed. He also know we will cause problems for him. I'm afraid this will mean that you will need to regain the throne soon. If he catches you, everything we have worked for all these years will come to nothing. Jane, do you understand that from this point on, everything we do will be under close surveillance? There is no room for mistakes."

"I understand clearly."

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