Chapter Five
I knew I had woken up, but the pain in my body made me feel locked in place. I didn’t even bother to open my eyes. I could feel the dull throb of my wrist and I could also feel the bandaging around it. My head felt the same. It didn’t necessarily hurt badly, but I knew if I moved it would. I was still in Aunt Elizabeth’s dress, and it gave me some comfort to know it wasn’t completely ruined.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJIRuIC7BE
I felt the familiarity of my bed underneath me and soft voices outside in the common room. It was Terryn, Cedric and my mother. Papa must not be back from the shop yet, so it meant the sun had not set yet. They were talking about what had happened earlier and I immediately tuned them out. I did not want to think about that.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhd3FS659NE
They did not let me sleep for too long. I had only been awake for a few minutes when my door was opened. I opened my eyes subtly to see Cedric walking over towards my bed. The curtains were not drawn back so he could easily see that I was awake.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASCdvqzGjY
“Alright, Cenna, you need to get up. Mama wants to talk to you,” He said with his usual voice, but I could see his eyes were bloodshot from the anger he was trying to control. He always beat himself up when something bad happened to me, and now I had been humiliated and hurt and he wasn’t there.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVEf4fHWqh
Trying my best not to move too fast, I got up off of my best. I put my hand on his shoulder, and looked into his eyes.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUVuGQCGIi
“It wasn’t your fault Cedric,” I whispered to him.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvekncFDS6j
“Yes, it was. I should’ve-,” He stopped himself and sighed. “I know. Mama’s waiting for you.”587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7QEwfe39r
I nodded, walking out of my small bedroom. I flinched when I heard the sound of him roughly hitting the wall. Cedric cared more about me than I often gave him credit for, and what had happened didn’t only affect me.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLpiLbj0u1P
Once I was inside the common room I saw my mother and Terryn in deep discussion about something. They only noticed my appearance when I loudly cleared my throat.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgstVMxAJw
“Oh, my sweet baby,” My mother cooed, coming over to me to hold my face in her hands. “Are you alright?”587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdFrm6Hhhn
I smiled to her. “I’ll live,” I told her. It felt like quite the opposite though. The embarrassment that had happened to me, being literally thrown out of the castle and insulted by the queen up front would be enough to keep me away from the castle for the rest of my life.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jtR9YqP0n
She pulled me into a hug, sure not to hold me too tightly. Past her shoulder I saw Terryn give me a grim smile. I had almost forgotten what he had done for me.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU92XX4ud3g
Once my mother let me go, I turned my attention on him. “Thank you, Terryn.”587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohdkEDPxlZ
“It was no hassle, Innocentia,” He replied.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlcsDeJ0BX5
I raised my hand to this. “No, it was a hassle. You carried me from the castle to my home, and I cannot thank you enough for that. I doubt the driver would have had much help in taking me home,” I told him.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF8frh45At2
I saw him blush a slight pink. Odd, because he seemed like a boy who didn’t seem to be embarrassed by flattery.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRER0ByCOt1
“It was the least I could do for you. I only stayed to talk to your mother about something,” He said.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczsDRCFYNn
“Yes, Terryn told me something quite interesting, but it is up to you if you want to do it,” Mama added.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡngiQpI5OUw
“You have my attention. What is it?” I said, looking between the two of them. They gave a glance at each other before my mother answered.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKe3oo6Xzl
She looked weary as she said, “We know a way to tell the kingdom who you are, and for them to truly believe you.”587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUARcdoQ0BK
My eyes widened. “W-what?” 587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbj70kpP36
“Just think about it, Innocentia,” Terryn said, talking slowly. “What the queen did is only accepted because you are a commoner. If the kingdom found out you are, in fact, their dead princess they will turn on the queen and they will hurry to pass on the crown to the prince. Even still, he will have a hard time earning the kingdom’s trust back.”587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kBCMLzmGs
The thought of telling everyone who I really was made my heart palpitate. The news would eventually get to the king and queen, as well as their other children. How would they react? What would they do to me? But at the same time I saw sense in what Terryn was talking about. Destroying the trust the people had in our monarch would cause chaos, surely, but it was what they deserved. I wasn’t the only one they had wronged with the queen’s temper, I was sure of it. Our kingdom was scared of our royalty, we did not love them like they thought. Perhaps it was time they got what they deserved.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWpSQgRd2m
It took me a few moments to reply. “And how, exactly, would I get everyone to believe me if I told them?”587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9DAVIM33t
Terryn hid his content expression, but I had seen it all the same. He was happy he had gotten my curiosity. I’m sure he did not like the king and queen either.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwsRg0JUW0X
“The Black Lake Witch,” My mother told me grimly. She didn’t seem to be happy about my interest, but she didn’t seem to be unhappy about it either.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkV7VFtWaB
I nodded my head with the same level of depress. Of course it would involve magic. Just because our people were so against the royalty did not mean they would turn against them with the simple words of a child.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLT4DQxqU1
Terryn took over the conversation now. “The witch has a spell cause people the quite literally see the truth. If we can make a deal with her, I believe we can make it work.”587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7XkhLCAEZ
“Yes, but what would we have to offer up?” I asked.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hZtibV3eI
“Usually, she asks for the firstborns of the dealer. What she does with them, I have no idea. But your case is special. She also hates the king and queen,” The handsome boy answered. 587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlpujQCnIQS
I closed my eyes and gathered my words correctly. If I did not say this with conviction then I knew my mother would not let me do as I wished. She hated it when her children made rash decisions. “I have been thinking about telling the truth for a long time now,” I started. “I love my family and they matter more than the royalty does. I do not care that I am a princess; I care that they tried to have me killed when I was barely an hour old. If my parents and brothers are in support of me going to the witch and asking for her help, I will go. If not, than I will hold my head high and continue on with my life as the girl whose dignity was destroyed by the queen.” Everything I said was true. My family meant so much to me that I would die a thousand times over for them. They took me in and raised me and protected me as their own. I love them and they have proven their love of me many times over.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLZ1JYbJcV
“I am in favor of it,” I heard a deep voice say from the doorway. Standing there I saw Papa with Gavin and Zayne. They must have been standing there for a few moments to hear my entire speech.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡofnFb5LUJo
Papa came in and enveloped me a hug. Papa was a very tall and large man, with green eyes that showed his inner child and black hair that had flecks of grey in it. He had many scars on him from his years of working in a blacksmith shop, but it only added to his character.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xEMM0AC2e
“I am so proud of you, my little flower. Of course I am in favor of you standing up for what is right,” He said in my ear. I hugged him even tighter, feeling the familiar sting of tears coming to my eyes.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ60WbOZbYlv
I quickly blinked them away when the hug ended.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIuRzYv7k5P
“I vote for it as well,” Zayne said right afterward, giving me an encouraging smile. He was like my best friend, and he was the only one who knew my feelings before now about the topic.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ96kJrZ9RLu
Gavin stepped up to stand beside Zayne. “I think it’s time that our kingdom got a bit of truth rather than lies,” Gavin added.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6omvfb8PW
Thomas and Peter appeared behind them then, easily towering over them because they were older than Gavin, who was seventeen, by two years. They had been gone the whole day to the market like they usually did on Saturdays to sell Papa’s work, but they must have caught up with Papa and the other two boys on the way home.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJPQceXlVb
“We’re in, too,” Peter and Thomas said simultaneously. I never will know how they often did that.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73OnfniVYr
It was odd that even though most of the boys in our family were of marrying age, none were. Thomas was courting a nice lady, but still chose to live at him as the other boys did. Cedric was twenty-two and said that it was his place to help mother and father with their lives.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6G5d9TKAb
I smiled at all of them, and I saw something flash in Terryn’s eyes when my gaze softened when I looked at him. “When do we leave?” I asked him.
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It was early morning when we set out, the sun not even wanting to come out yet. To think that only twenty-four hours ago everything was different, even my opinion on Terryn who turned out to be quite awkward with socializing had been completely different and I had even thought he was a cryptic and all-knowing man. Mother had taken the beautiful dress my aunt had given to her and said some choice words about the queen under her breath, making our entire family laugh for quite some time. Now I was dressed in a light hooded cape, wearing a plain but dark red dress. It was one of my most favorite work dresses because of its simplicity. All it had other than fabric was a brown belt, and the cotton was very comfortable.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPaA7oafyb6
Terryn had said that only the two of us could go to see the witch, and my brothers all protested. Only when Papa said he would allow it was when the boys stopped challenging it and started complaining.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfoladgS6m
We did not say a word but rather enjoyed each other’s silence as we walked along the edge of the wall that surrounded our kingdom. Everything was inside of these walls, with nothing but farms and roads beyond it until one were to reach another kingdom.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUV3Mxayhz
I had made this trip before so I knew my way but it seemed like Terryn was much more experienced at this than I was. He showed me a shortcut through a hole in the large wall rather than walking all the way over to the official gate like I had to do and then backtrack to this part of the wall on the other side like last time. We reached the Black Lake in no time, and only when I saw the black water did I get hit with what I was doing. I was going to turn my entire kingdom inside out with this knowledge. What effects would it even have? Surely I hadn’t been the first to think of this. All of my brothers as well as my parents had agreed to this. If they found that the end result was worth the trouble between now and then, than so did I.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7yyklYvuKt
Terryn held my hand, and I was surprised that my reaction was not to recoil from it, but rather hold it tighter. He lead me to the edge of the water, with my feet almost touching the blackness. He told me to be quiet no matter what, and to only speak when he nodded to me.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Xq1VbHIyw
“Witch of the lake, we wish to strike a deal with you,” He seemed to say normally, but his voice carried loudly. I held his hand even tighter and he did the same.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSCvEmVEGM
I swallowed the large breath in my throat when I saw her, floating above the lake. She was covered in mist, but I could see her quite well as she approached us. She was an old-looking woman, with grey dreads that fell down to her knees. Her nose was too large for her face, as were her oddly-violet eyes. She was a very short old woman, but she easily towered over us as she did not even touch the water she was gliding over.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡveIMUZnQTv
“Ah, yes, the grey-eyed girl. I knew you would be coming to me eventually,” She said. Her voice was the opposite of her appearance; it was smooth and sounded like it belonged to a young and beautiful woman. I felt goosebumps all along my arms, but I didn’t dare move as long as she had her eyes on me. “I know what you are here for,” The witch said. Her face had twisted into an evil smile, but it faltered for only a moment when she looked at my hand that was entwined with Terryn’s. It easily came back and I could feel my nervousness making my legs shake.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2fn5it73yf
“The answer is yes, I will give you the truth-perceiving potion,” She said.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mOM5wsE1N
I ignored Terryn’s look of annoyance when I spoke up before he had nodded to me. “What do you want in return?”587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6K3SmQY8h
Her answer made my heart feel as though it had become ice.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7y51n8ZIi
“Nothing, my dear. Nothing.”
