~Daciana~ “You have been staring at your phone for minutes now. Are you expecting a call or text?” Carl asked, taking a glance at me as he drove. I swallowed hard and shook my head. I waited impatiently for whoever was using Randall’s phone to text back, but they didn’t. Their text never came in. The typing sign just kept coming up and disappearing like they were typing and deleting it again, contemplating whether to reply or not. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. It’s just that you haven’t said anything since I started driving, and every time you look at your phone, you have a worried look.” I heaved a sigh and looked at him. “You don’t have to apologize. I’m glad you’re here to help,” I answered, and a wide smile lit up his face. “Sure. I’m glad to be here too.” He responded, and I looked away and out of the window. My newly found discovery was beginning to eat me up and I wanted to share it with someone so badly. But…‘Is Carl that person?’ I thought, looking at him again. H
~Daciana~All curled up in bed, I waited for Carl to return with the wine I had asked him to buy. I wasn’t just going to forget what happened at the reception, but I could manage how I felt about it when drunk. The door opened, and I instantly sprang out of bed and approached him. I grabbed the bottle of wine from his hand before saying anything and proceeded to open it. Without saying a word, he walked to the cute cabinet next to the bed and brought out two glasses. I popped off the cork and looked at him. “I don’t think I’ll be needing that,” I mumbled before placing the glass in my mouth and gulping down an unreasonable amount of wine all at once. “Honestly, you need to go slow, okay? I know I can never understand how you’re feeling right now, but I know you drowning in that wine isn’t a good idea.” He uttered, and I scoffed, moving back to my bed. “Tell me why it isn’t a good idea,” I muttered, and he sat on his bed too, which was next to mine. “Because you need to be well
Content Warning! This chapter might make you feel uncomfortable. Content may not be suitable for sensitive readers. ~Daciana~ With knives soaked in vervain, we stood next to them in the elevator. I held Riley’s father by the arm, while the knife was against his body, ready to penetrate if Riley did anything stupid. Riley kept looking at me and the knife against his father’s body. “Don’t worry, if you don’t do anything stupid, your father won’t be harmed. At least, not the second time,” I murmured, waiting for the elevator to open. As soon as it opened, we all wore a big fake smile and walked out, fake-chatting like we were best of friends. I didn’t let this distract me and I kept the knife next to his body, ready to strike at the slightest chance.Fortunately for both of them, no one noticed anything unusual and we got to the parking lot without raising any suspicions. As soon as we made them enter the car, Carl immediately sprayed the back with vervain again, and soon, they bot
~Daciana~ Waiting for them to gain consciousness was the hardest thing ever. The silence and anticipation were killing me, but finally, they were both back to their senses. I stood up and Carl followed suit. I stood in front of Riley, firmly holding the knife in my hand. “You found me. I must say I underestimated you.” I mumbled, and all I could do was stare at his smashed-up face. “What is going on?” Riley’s father asked, and I looked back at him. I furrowed my brows when I saw the confusion on his face, and when I turned to look at Riley, I saw a hint of fear. “My father has nothing to do with this. Let him go.” He uttered, faintly struggling with the chains that tied him down. “He doesn’t know what you did?” I asked in shock, and he gulped hard. “It is none of his business. Let him go. If you want to deal with me, do it with me alone.” “And why should I do that? You made me watch when you killed Randall!” I smacked, grabbing onto the arms of his chair. “Randall? You killed
~Daciana~ “Are you alright?” Carl asked after a long time of driving and silence. I looked at him and let out a faint smile. “I’m okay. I just don’t know where you plan on taking me.” I responded and he chuckled. “It’s a surprise.” He answered, and after a short while, he drove into the driveway of a restaurant. “A restaurant?” I asked with a soft chuckle and he nodded. “Well, it’s past midday and we are yet to eat breakfast. Aren’t you starving because I am.” He answered, and I nodded. “Actually, I almost forgot I haven’t eaten. There are just so many things on my mind.” “I know. But those things can wait, our stomachs can’t.” He alighted and I was about to do the same when he ran towards the door and opened it for me. “Carl…”“I know. I know. Just let me do this, okay?” He butted in, making me swallow the words I wanted to say to him. I heaved a sigh and headed out of the car too. Getting into the restaurant, we headed to a corner in the restaurant, next to the large wind
~Unknown~ Getting home, I looked around carefully to make sure I wasn’t being followed by her or anyone. I got into the house and threw my bag on the couch, panting hard. “Fuck!” I yelled in anger, running my hands through my hair. “What is it?? Did King Edwin find out who you are?”“No, but him! But his stepdaughter, Daciana. She saw me on my way back! What if she tells him she saw me? He’ll look for me and make me pay for making his reign a living hell.” “I don’t think she would do that.” “You don’t know anything, okay?” I responded, slamming into the couch. “I had dropped the letters with someone else this time and I thought nothing else could go wrong until I bumped into her. She pulled off my scarf and saw my face. I bet King Edwin is after me now.” “Let’s not panic, okay? Let’s check if there’s anything online about the new letters. That may help us know what we are going to do.” I picked up my phone and checked my anonymous Twitter account. I checked the trending hashta
~Daciana ~I lay on my bed, all cuddled up under my duvet when I heard a knock on my door. “Daciana, are you up already?” I heard my mother ask, and I yawned widely. “Yes, Mom. Come in.” I answered and my door opened. I turned to look at the door and saw her walk in. “Good morning.” I greeted her as she approached my chair. “I don’t think anything can be good about the morning in this palace, Daciana.” She answered, sitting on the edge of my bed. I yanked the duvet off my body and sat up. “What’s wrong?” I asked worriedly. “I finally got to ask His Majesty the truth.” “The truth?” “Yes. The truth about why he married me in the first place if his dead wife was the love of his life.” “You read the emails?” “I read all the letters and I’m still in shock. I can’t believe the man I fell in love with killed his wife and butler. What if I’m going to share the same fate as Anne?” “That’s never going to happen. King Edwin loves you.” I reassured her. The last thing I needed was to s
~Daciana~ I sat in the restaurant, waiting for the Old Woman to show up. She picked a restaurant far from the kingdom and it was quite understandable. It was too risky to meet in the kingdom. I checked the last message I sent to her about being in the restaurant already. She read it but didn’t respond. I huffed and looked around the restaurant, and I realized I was the only customer present. After waiting for a few more minutes, the restaurant door opened and someone walked in. She was the one. She wore an all-black outfit, but it was pretty different from the Old Woman’s signature look. She also wore a scarf and a face cap. She got to where I sat and she sat in front of me. “Hi.” She said, and I tried looking into her eyes but she had black glasses on. “Hi,” I responded. She proceeded to remove the sunglasses and her face cap, leaving only the scarf on. She still looked beautiful like she was in the portrait even after so many years. “I wanted to do that before you help me
~ Daciana~ After a year. We sat in the living room. Randall and I. And in his arms was Darian, who also seemed so interested in what was showing on the television. It was pretty funny that he had a favorite show at age one already and it was Cocomelon. He loved the show so much that if it came on, he’d stop crying and begin to giggle. I looked at Randall and he looked at me with widened eyes. “What?” I asked, and he looked at Darian. “He’s giving those low groans again. I think he’s going to…” All of a sudden, Darian pooped all over his garment and my eyes widened. “Poop.” He completed his statement and we both burst out laughing. Darian looked at us in confusion and suddenly began to laugh too. “I’m so sorry. I should have used his pampers. I had no idea he’d poop again so soon.” I uttered, carefully carrying him away from Randall’s arms. “It’s okay. I’ll just go and wash up.” He responded, holding the helm of his royal garment and lifting it so the poop won’t mess the floor
~Randall~ After eight months. There was a meeting with the Alphas of the kingdom and we all sat in the waiting room when all of a sudden, a maid dashed into the room panting hard. “Your majesty! Your majesty! The Queen… she is… her water broke.” She said, shivering profusely.“What?” I spanked to my feet running out of the meeting room. Getting out, I saw two guards, each on both sides holding her as she walked. “Baby.” I ran towards them, taking her from them. I placed her arm over my shoulder and grabbed her by the waist. “Randall, the baby…” she stuttered and I could feel fear in her.“It’s okay. We will be in the hospital in no time.” I tried to calm her down even though my emotions were all over the place. I was scared too. Getting to the car, the guards helped lift her up. My driver hopped into the driver seat and I sat with her holding her hands and comforting her as she groaned. My driver drove as fast as he could and we got to the hospital in less than 15 minutes. I c
~Carl~ I got an invite to a party at the palace. I was personally invited by Daciana. I wasn’t sure what the party was about, but I was sure she seemed super excited about it. I wouldn’t miss it too because this is the first time she has sounded so happy after Anne’s death. “Baby, are you ready?” Bonnie asked, spraying her body with some cologne. To my greatest surprise, she told me I could bring my plus one, which is now Bonnie. After the proposal dinner, I finally got to talk to Bonnie and we seemed to click instantly. I realized after speaking for a while that we had so many things in common. I asked her out on a date that very day and since then, we’ve been super cool. “Baby!” She yelled from the room again. “What?? I’ve been done for more than twenty minutes. I’m waiting for you to finish.” I responded in a loud voice, looking towards the room. “Why didn’t you answer me then? I thought you’d headed out to the car already.” She replied, walking out of the room. As soon a
Lily~ Leaving the palace, I headed for Brandon’s house. I had Kendall in the car with me because I knew he was going to help me get back to him if it got too difficult. “Mummy, when are we going to see Uncle Brandon again? I miss him.” Kendall uttered, and I raised my head to look at him through the rear mirror. “I know you miss him, baby. I miss him too. But, guess what?” I asked with a wide smile, facing the road again. “What? Are we getting Ice cream?” “What? Why would you even guess that?” I chuckled, looking at him through the rare mirror again. “Because you buy me ice cream every time I talk about Uncle Brandon.” He responded, and my eyes widened in shock. “I don’t do that all the time.” I tried to defend myself even though I knew he was telling the truth. “Yes, you do. But it’s okay, I love ice cream.” He replied, reaching for his phone. “Trust me, Kendall. It’s not the case anymore. I promise you, you’ll get ice cream and you’ll also get to see Uncle Brandon.” “Real
~Daciana~ It was a week after Anne's funeral and I was yet to tell anyone, even Randall that I was pregnant. I don’t know, but the vibe was off, most especially because of how Anne’s funeral went down. Somehow, we regretted that we didn’t get to tell her how much we loved her in her last moments. We sat in the dining room, ready to eat, and when I lifted the spoon to my mouth to eat, it suddenly smelt awful and I had this sudden urge to puke. I sprang to my feet, holding my mouth as I ran down the hallway. It was my very first time acting like that in front of Randall. I had tried to keep my pregnancy cravings and signs away from him because I didn’t want him to suspect. I was looking for the perfect time to spill the beans. I held onto the toilet and puked whatever was left in my belly. “Are you alright?” “Ahhh!” I jolted, looking back and saw Randall, behind me, looking worried. “Did I startle you?” He asked, lowering himself too and I nodded. “Yes, your Majesty. You startl
~King Randall~We, the family, stood in front of the catafalque. There were flowers, candles and pictures of Anne displayed on it. We all had straight faces as we all waited in silence in respect to the dead. This wasn’t how I pictured things to end for my mother. Hiding in the palace and not being able to invite people to my mother’s funeral was unbelievable. “Your Majesty. Do you have anything else to say?” The monk asked, moving away from the catafalque, and I nodded, standing up. In my hand was the note my mother wrote before she killed herself. With clenched jaws, I stood in front of everyone and opened the note. “Since my mother decided that killing herself was the best decision she could make, I had refused to read whatever she had written in this paper. “But, I think it’s the right time to read this, and at the same time, read it out to everyone here,” I uttered and slowly unfolded the note. “Dear son, by the time you see this, I’d have probably been dead. But I want to
~Lily~ After the note was found, we were told to go to the living room by Trump. I guess it was our cue to leave.“We should leave now,” I said to Brandon and he nodded in agreement. “I will tell Randall we are leaving.”As he left, Daciana approached me “How are you feeling?”“I should be the one asking you that. We are leaving already”“I’m sorry about what happened today. I’m glad Kendall is safe.”“Thank you” I smiled faintly and continued “You should go to Randall, he needs you right now.”“Right, take care.” She said as she turned to leave. Just then Brandon returned with our stuff. “Let’s go,” he said as we headed out. Getting to the car, I put Kendall in the back seat and sat in front with Brandon. My head was on the window as we drove out of the Palace.I recalled how scared I was when Kendall was missing. It made me realize he meant more to me than I ever imagined and that I should give him my undivided attention and love.‘I would never let what happened today happen aga
~Daciana~ I let out a soft moan as my eyes slowly opened. “She is awake, she’s awake.” I heard their voices faintly.“Queen Daciana, can you hear me?” His voice sounded louder than before and I nodded.I looked to my right and I saw a man dressed in a corporate outfit with a stethoscope around his neck. He was a Doctor. “Yes, I can,” I responded, trying to sit up.Just then I remembered what had happened before I lost consciousness, there was no Kendall or Trisha in sight. “Where is Kendall? Where are they?” I asked with agitation and Carl hurriedly moved closer to me.“Please take it easy Daciana. Randall has gone to fetch them. You should be more concerned about your health.”“Are they fine?” I asked, still very worried.“We got a call from Lily telling us that they have been found,” Trump said.“They are fine. You should talk to the Doctor, he has refused to say anything to us unless you are awake.” My mother replied, and I looked at the Doctor“What is wrong with me Doctor?”“C
~King Randall~ “Why can’t we leave for the hospital right now?” I asked in frustration as I rushed Daciana into the house. “You just got coronated. You can’t be seen in the hospital right now. There are eyes all over you.” Trump answered as we followed me alongside the others. “Who cares?? My Queen just fainted and I should care about what people will think?” “The doctor is on his way already.” Carl butted in as I laid her on the couch. “We… we can’t just sit back and do nothing! My son is missing! We should be out there looking for him!” Lily cried in agony. “I sent the guards out already. They’ll find him. They have to! Do you think I want to be here right now too??” I asked, sitting next to Daciana and holding her hand, hoping she would wake up. “I knew something like this was going to end up happening. We invited an enemy to live with us!” Agatha uttered, and we all looked at her. “What are you talking about?” Trump shook his head in confusion. “Anne, of course! After all