Arcadia : The Hidden Child

Chapter 9

A few days had passed and Damian had given me my space, although I doubt it was for my sake, rather he wanted the words to sit there and fester.  That is what you are.  Princess of Arcadia. He was trying to manipulate me, trying to get inside my head but I wouldn't let  him.  The queen's daughter?  No...this was too much.
Stop. 
Stop thinking, stop feeling...Just stop, it was exactly what he wanted, why else would he drop something like that and then leave?  He wanted me to play it over and over again in my head until I went crazy.  Just stop.  I started hitting my head, as if that was going to knock the words out and make them nonexistent.
Think.  How am I going to get out of here? The only reason I came here was to free Ty and I have done that, so now how do I get out? 
I looked at myself in the mirror and did not see the same girl I had seen a few weeks ago.  My jawline more pronounced and my muscles were firmer, a lot of change on the exterior but I was also different on the inside.  I tilted my head.  Princess?
What did he have in mind for me and how long was he going to keep me here?  I looked around the room, it was quite spacious with a few artistic drawings framed on the wall, one was cat looking creature with large eyes and ears with a multi-colored face, it felt like it was looking at me...was it looking at me?  Was he watching me right now?  I wouldn't put it past him to have cameras in the room and the thought of that made my stomach turn.  What should I do?  I laid in bed, had to play it casual just in case, I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of watching me pace around the room like a caged animal, my last little tantrum was enough and the only thing he would get from me.
Silence.
Was I the Queen's daughter? Is that why she spared my life all those years ago?  If that was the case, that meant she knew who I was and took me back to Earth anyway and left me again.  Again, the word stung a bit.  She left me when I was born.  If I was her daughter did that mean that my parents weren't my parents? Have I been lied to my entire life and for what?  Did they know I was an alien? Is that why my mom, no she wasn't my mom now I guess, is that wh my dad's wife left us...because she found out?  Is that why my dad killed himself?  Why would the Queen send her daughter to go live on Earth and how did I come to live with the people I thought were my parents?  How did she know they weren't bad people? 
Cash.  The Queen sent him to protect me because I was in danger, which then meant she was watching me and she knew about me but she never once came to see me.  The betrayal I was feeling... why?
The questions kept coming one after another, bombarding me like little pieces of shrapnel, tearing away at everything I thought I knew and leaving me with nothing.
Stop! I had to stop, I couldn't continue doing this to myself, I needed to wait and find a way to ask the Queen, not sit here and tear myself apart.  That is what Damian wants, to tear me down and make me vulnerable.  No, I will not give him the satisfaction.  I need to wipe away these thoughts so I got up from bed and walked into the bathroom to freshen up.
A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and it swung open before I could open it.
"Araleigh."  Damian said smiling, his arms open again.  "I hope you have enjoyed these last few days to yourself, I figured you needed some time to process everything.  Have you been getting some good rest?"
Rest, after you dropped that bomb on me?  "Yes, thank you." I lied and waited to measure his reaction.
"Dinner is prepared, would you care to join me and perhaps I can answer some questions for you."
"Yes, thank you, I am starving." I hadn't really been out of the room since I arrived, but it was time I move on and figure a way out of this place.
"Excellent! I had the chef prepare your favorite meal."
"Wow, you really do know a lot about me."  I was being sarcastic, but didn't know if he understood that or not.
"I do my research Ms. Winter," he paused, "Or should I call you Princess Araleigh."
"Just Araleigh will be fine."
"Of course," he looked slightly displeased and this brought a smile to my face.
He was trying to tempt me, but I was not going to bite... not yet anyways.
We made our way down a few flights of stairs to the main dining hall where the table was filled with all of my favorites.  He did not lie, he did research me and that made me feel so exposed, which I am sure was his plan.
He pulled the seat out for me and then walked to the opposite side of the long table and sat down.  "I have had your plate prepared for you." 
Less than a second later there was a waiter who placed a large platter on the table in front of me and removed the silver domed lid. 
"Please." He urged me to eat.
I hesitated briefly examining the food in front of me, roast beef, green beans, potatoes, it all looked very good.  I noticed Damian was watching me so I picked up the fork and brought a small bite to my mouth and it was delicious.  It had been years since I had these things.
"It's very good, thank you."
He smiled and picked up his fork and began eating.  There were a few minutes of silence between us before he asked, "Are there any questions you have?" He said practically jumping out of this seat with anticipation.
"Yes." I put my fork down, "Have you lived here long?" I refused to play his game.
He almost choked.  "Excuse me?"
"Have you lived here long?  It is a beautiful place."
"That is what I thought you asked and I must say it is a little unexpected."
I smiled.  "I don't like being predictable."  I added, "All the time," looking down at the food.
"Yes, I can see that," he smiled, "No, I have not been here long.  This actually used to belong to the royal family some years ago but they left and I moved in." 
When I did not ask anymore questions, he added, "You may remember it?"
I shook my head, was he implying that I grew up here?
"I watched you as we walked up to it earlier, but you gave away no sign."
I tightened my lips and shrugged my shoulders.
He continued, "When you transported through the portal all those years ago, you landed right out on the front lawn.  Even though a few things on the exterior have changed, I would have thought you would remember the large white castle."
"I did notice the color of the castle, but I assumed you had other white castles."
He laughed, "No, this is the only one.  After the queen dropped you off on Earth she left here... I think it was too much for her."
"Too much?"
"Seeing you of course, the daughter she discarded that no one knew about, showing up literally at her feet... faced with guilt and regret and longing.  I believe it was fate you showed up that evening."
I didn't really know what to say so I let out a soft hum.
He tilted his head.  "Are you not curious at all?"
Yes.  "Not really...I mean if what you say is true..."
"It is." He spoke the words quickly.
"If it is true, then she obviously doesn't care about me or want to see me.  I have been here for a while now and she has made no effort to contact me, so it's obvious I am nothing to her and she is nothing to me."
"Amazing."  He clapped.
"What?" I took another bite of food to help swallow the emotion I was feeling.
"Your apathy.  I didn't think humans, or in your case, half humans, could be apathetic.  I assumed you all felt raw emotion all of the time."  Is that what Tristan meant when he said I was too emotional?
"Half-human?"
"It was long before you were born, but your Earth was in turmoil and at war.  Country versus country acting against each other, instead of acting as one unit, a war that killed over half your planet's population.  Earth was very unique, unlike most all other inhabited planets, because you all believed it was the only inhabited planet and for this reason you all did not know how to act cohesively, towards one goal."  He waved his hand and a satellite image of Earth appeared, bombs going off, volcanos erupting, people dying.  "This happened for years, until we saw our chance."
"Chance?"
"Yes, we were tired of being cast aside by the royal family, we had our own thoughts and opinions on how to keep our planet safe, but they didn't want to listen.  We found an access point for a portal to Earth and took our shot and left.  They spread out across the planet and called themselves the Authority, starting work immediately to put the pieces of your planet back together.  It was easy really, your planet was dying and needed guidance and we provided that for them."
"So you manage Earth?"
"Well if you think about it like that... yes, yes I do, although there have been a few rulers before me." He smiled straightening his back.
"So Earth is being run by aliens?"
"What is an alien? Do I look drastically different than you?  Why is it so hard to believe other planets can exist where their inhabitants are similar in appearance to you?  This is the antiquated thinking that has troubled your planet for most of its existence.  Those who do believe are seen to be crazy, when in fact they are probably the sanest."
"I don't know I believe all of that.  You didn't see, or maybe you did, but when I got back from my little fall through the portal all sorts of people came out and were saying they had also fallen through a portal to a magical place.  They were looking for attention."
"How do you know?  How do you know they hadn't travelled through some portal just as you did, perhaps going to another planet?  There are so many more out there that you don't even know about, some, inhabited by creatures that just like you or I and others that looking nothing like us."  He put his fork down, "Would you have believed you if you had not experienced it yourself?"
I thought about it a moment.  "I don't know."
"You probably don't want to admit it, but the answer is probably no.  Maybe those who came out looked to you as their saving grace, the one who would believe them since the same thing happened to you.  They may have only appeared crazy because they wanted you so badly to believe them... To have someone believe them."
"Perhaps.  I don't know."
"I will take it."  He smiled and clapped his hands in the air.  A moment later there was a man at his side, "Please have Rudy bring out the dessert."
"I don' think I can."  Rudy appeared and I choked on the rest of my words.
"Problem?" 
This was intentional, I shook my head.
"Rudy here is a Flaxen from the planet Nebulox."
Rudy was tall and slender, a tripod with light yellowish scaled skin.  His face held similar features, two eyes, a nose, though it was bit flatter, and a mouth.  There were two slits on the sides of his head, which I assume were his ears, or at the very least, the place he processed sound.
"I apologize Rudy, you just caught me off guard," I said smiling.
He nodded.  "I get that a lot."
I heard him speak but did not see his lips move.
"He communicates telepathically." Damian answered my unasked question.
"Right, of course."
"Can you hear me?"  I asked him, in my head.
He smiled, but did not answer.
"He can only hear the thoughts of other Flaxen, you have to speak to him."  He laughed.
"How did you know?"
"It is the natural thing to do when someone speaks telepathically to you, to see if they can hear your thoughts."
"Of course it is."  I smiled.
"Please eat."
"Well I must say this is not how I saw this dinner going," I said, trying to be cordial.
"Me either.  I will admit, I thought you were going to be chomping at the bit to learn about your mother."
"Why?"
"Why not?  Most would jump at the chance."
"Jump at the chance for what?"
"To have a chance at the throne...to rule Arcadia."
"Oh, right, that doesn't interest me."
"Of course it doesn't, because you don't believe or won't let yourself believe you are the future Queen."  He paused.  "Let me finish telling you my story and see if you change your mind."
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Years had passed and the King had learned of the Nevi ruling over Earth.  He had sent his wife and few of her most trusted advisors, Lorde, Maximus, and Caleo to research and report back any findings, he was concerned they were building an army.  They were ambushed when they arrived and she was left for dead."
"Were you not a Nevi at this time?"
"No, not yet, I was still loyal to the royal family," he continues, "This is when your father enters the picture.  He comes across the field where the Queen and her team are lying, bleeding on the ground and determines they are all dead except your mother.  He couldn't let this beautiful woman die, so he takes her back to his house and cleans up her wounds and takes care of here.  This is the part that confuses me a little, because it was obvious she wasn't from Earth."
"Obvious?"
"Her blood is royal blue."
I laughed.
He looked at me quizzically.
"I am sorry but you said her blood is royal blue, because she is the queen?"
He chuckled, "No." He continued with his store, "Since the mission was kept a secret, it took a while before people realized she was gone.  I was in charge of leading the search-party to recover her body and even though it took a while, I had found her.  I went to Earth to retrieve her and found her with your father...she looked happy and without a care in the world, as if her planet didn't mean a thing to her.  After her presumed death, the King went crazy and Arcadia was slipping into chaos and here she was sipping tea with your father... laughing."  He paused, trying to contain his apparent rage and disgust.  "I came back and reported my findings and the King insisted we go back to Earth and bring her home.  She went into seclusion when she returned for a few months, her people were saying she had contracted some illness from the planet and was in solitary until it passed." He added without pausing, "That she cared so much for her people she didn't want them to get sick with a mysterious virus.  I knew she was lying but I couldn't prove it.  Later I found out she was pregnant with you and had sent you back to Earth once you were born.  A few more months go by and she reports she is going to have a child, a boy, an heir to the throne."
"Wait.  I don't understand?"
"Cash."
I was floored.  Why hadn't I seen it before?  Maybe because I didn't want to.  How could he keep this from me?  Did he know I was his sister?
"Wouldn't Tristan be heir since he is older?"
"No, he is not the queen's son, the Queen took him in years later after this parents, Maximus and Lorde, were killed on their trip to Earth.  She raised him as her own but he was never in line for the throne, perhaps if she never produced an heir, but she did and technically you were born first which makes you first in line."
"Technically I was born first?"
"Yes, she was pregnant with Cash before she left for Earth, but since you are only half Arcadian, you were not carried for as long."
"How can she get pregnant when," my question trailed off, my head spinning.
"Anatomy.  There are three sacks within each Arcadian able to produce a child, independently and simultaneously.  So technically you and Cash shared your mother's womb for some time, but then you came first and she sent you away."
I put my hands on my head. 
"Do you want me to stop?"
"No please continue." Even though it was like the flood gates had been opened up on me, I wanted to hear it all, I needed to hear it all.
"I was already beginning to see things differently after my first trip to Earth, but I let it go.  Years passed, Tristan started asking questions and I don't believe she ever held anything back from him, but clearly he wanted to see where his parents died for himself.  Cash tried to convince Tristan to go through the portal to Earth and see for himself, but he was very obedient.  Cash, being the young and reckless one, went through the portal and Tristan followed to protect him.   On their way back you fell through the portal at the Queen's feet and right in front of me.  I was amazed to say the least, the resemblance between the two of you and the look on her face," he nodded his head clearly replaying the memory in his mind.  "She knew who you were the moment she saw you and I knew at the moment also.  I finally had my proof."  He took a sip of his drink, pausing no doubt to let me revel in his accomplishment.  "She walked over to you and you must have passed out but she sent everyone else away and I watched from behind the wall as she gently picked you up and held you in her arms.  She brushed the hair away from your face and just looked at you, walking off with you and the next thing I know, she is back on Arcadia and you are back on Earth."
"I remember parts of that night." Flashes from that night start playing through my head, the portal... lying on the ground... seeing her.  Her face... why was it was blurry?  Why couldn't I remember?  "I was so confused."
"What else do you remember?"
"Nothing, it's all fuzzy.  I remember seeing her as she was walking over to me and then I blacked out and the next thing I know I'm lying on my front steps."
"She left you outside?" He sounded disappointed but I felt it was all for show.
It was clear to see how much he hated the queen and that every choice she had made seemed to have further solidified his choice to join the Nevi.
"Apparently some of the people on her staff were worried about the decision she had made and went to Earth to follow up.  They began questioning your father about his relationship with the Queen and his knowledge of the events of that night.  He told them he was unaware the she had come back to Earth, which makes sense, since you were abandoned on the doorsteps.  When they tried to follow-up with your father on events about that night, they were shocked to find him dead.  There are rumors that the Queen had him murdered to hide that you were her daughter," he looked off for a moment and then back to me, "but I can't speak to that."
Did he really think I was going to fall for his manipulation?  I took another bite of dessert, trying to hide the sadness that just washed over me.  I missed my dad everyday, but talking about him brought up all these memories, which is what he was going for.  Some of the way he acted was starting to make sense now. 
"Do you need some time?"
"No, I'm fine."  I lied.
"Yes, you are," he said smiling.
"Are you done?"
He stared at me for a minute.  "Yes, I believe I'm done."
"May I go back to my room then?"
"You don't have to ask permission, you are my guest, and in my house the guest should treat it as their own," he paused and then added, "Well, within reason of course."
I stood up from the table and pushed my chair in.  "Thank you for dinner."
"I have given you much to think about.  I will leave you alone the rest of the night but tomorrow we have much to discuss."
"I'm sure we do."  I found it hard to hide my sarcasm.
"I must say that I do admire your spunk, just be careful you don't take it to far."
I smiled and then walked back up to my room.
I crawled in bed under the covers and closed my eyes.  My head was swirling with memories of that night, of the Queen, of my dad teaching me to fight and survive.  I curled up tighter into a ball and even though I didn't want to believe him, I found myself unable to dispute his story, it all seemed to line up. 
Did Cash know? He was sent to Earth to protect me after my father died and the only thing I can't believe is the Queen had my father killed.  If that were the case why send Cash to protect me?  Did Tristan know?  Is that why he has pushed me away?  And the biggest question that still remains, is what does Damian want with me?