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Chapter Seven: More Surprises

"Mother! Father!" Matre burst into the throne room of Nareth. Queen Uriana and King Thave Sikeno immediately stopped fussing over wedding plans with their court and looked at him. The others dashed in after him, Serriel and Stefan panting from the horseback riding.

"Matre? What's wrong?" Thave answered, completely alarmed.

"I envisioned that Zikylo and Rayena did horrible things, and they tried to have Jenica and me executed, and... and..."

"Slow down, Matre; you're safe now. Let's go back a bit. Why do Zikylo and Rayena want to kill you? And, why is Yasmenne so upset?" Thave asked, motioning to Yasmenne, who was still in shock, Stefan's arm supporting her so she could stand.

"Zikylo and Rayena just told us that they had other children, four other girls, and rather than have them marry people of less stature, he had them executed!" Stefan exclaimed angrily.

"And, I'm not a royal," Serriel spoke softly, his words choked. "That's why Zikylo commanded me to marry Zarafine. She is of royal blood, while I am not." Serriel's cocky façade had crumbled, and tears were running down his face.

Uriana eyed Thave before answering, "Serriel, are you sure that Zikylo isn't just trying to make you follow his path of class before love? This actually happened?"

"Queen Uriana," Mansie spoke, "Matre saw it. I held him in my arms as he saw it." Matre grimly nodded. "None of us want to believe it, but it's real."

Uriana's heart nearly stopped beating, and she said, "Serriel, come here." He walked up to Uriana and Thave, and they embraced him warmly. "Both of us were royals, but we weren't engaged to each other either. We fought and fought for our love, and eventually our parents switched the marriages. As long as the people of Tyaaren respect and follow you when you become king, there is no reason why you shouldn't be granted your wish." Serriel nodded into Thave's shoulder before releasing him and returning to Jenica's arms.

"Stefan, Yasmenne, Jenica, Serriel," Thave spoke, "Uriana and I will do everything in our power to allow you to marry whomever you would wish. That is a promise."

"Well, you already know my opinion on Stefan and Yasmenne, but Mother, Father, why should I not be allowed to marry Serriel?" Zarafine said, stepping into the room. For once, she was wearing an appropriate purple lace and silk dress! All the heads in the room turned to stare at Zarafine, Serriel's and Jenica's expressions turning disgusted. Zarafine took note of Jenica's arms wrapped around Serriel's waist and replied, "Oh, that's exactly what I had assumed. You always loved her, never me, right? Don't lie to me."

"Yes, Zarafine, I do love Jenica," Serriel replied, evenly.

"So Mother, Father, who will I marry? What is to be my fate?" Zarafine asked, more lost than angry.

"You will have to find someone that will love you and devote themselves to you as much as you will them. You can look past the royal court and into the village if you so desire. Zarafine, you are a beautiful, smart, loyal girl, but Serriel loves Jenica, and there is nothing I can do to change that nor would I wish to," Uriana replied.

Zarafine, now nearly in tears herself, just nodded and replied, "Serriel, I really like you, but I've always been aware that you hated me. I just want you to be happy, and if that's with your assistant and not me, I guess I'm just going to have to accept that." She then exited the room. Serriel was left stunned, unable to move or form a coherent sentence to say to the young woman.

"Serriel, you now have everyone's approval, except for your parents, and Thave and I will take care of that. Don't worry, and Stefan and Yasmenne, I haven't left you out either. Zikylo and Rayena had sent a message for us that they were considering letting you marry, since we allowed Matre to marry the beautiful Manara Dragic." Mansie blushed, and Matre wrapped an arm around her waist. She was really going to enjoy having Uriana as a mother-in-law.

The six of them bowed, voiced their appreciation for Uriana's and Thave's deeds, and exited the room calmer than they had arrived with Matre leading the group to the guests' chambers. They were halfway there when the prince's orange eyes rolled back in his head, and his body collapsed into Stefan's arms.

One minute later, Matre awoke, breathing heavily, his head in Stefan's lap, with Serriel, Jenica, Mansie, and Yasmenne staring down at him. "This is not good news," Matre stated.

"What did you see?" Serriel questioned.

"I saw something about Jenica, Zarafine, and blood. I'll have to investigate. Right now, you can head to your chambers," Matre responded, hopping to his feet, and immediately heading down the hallway.

"You'll eventually tell us what happened, right?" Serriel's words stopped him where he stood.

"Yes, Serriel, as soon as I am certain." Then he dashed off to who-knows-where in the Castle of Nareth, leaving the rest of them to ponder what he had seen.

*********

Matre dashed into the Castle's lab room, snatching test tubes full of Zarafine's, Uriana's, Thave's, and Jenica's blood. Testing them, Matre drew his conclusions. Yet again, his vision was correct; science had proved it.

**********

Thave and Uriana had just sent a messenger to Tyaaren to ask Zikylo the meaning of this madness, when Matre reappeared in the throne room. "Matre, it has been less than an hour! You are safe here.... What are you doing with those blood samples?" Uriana asked.

"Well, Mother, I just tested Zarafine's and Jenica's blood with yours, going off a hypothesis my vision created. I found one sample with a 25% DNA match, and one with an 100% match. Why would that be?" he asked, his eyes becoming slits.

Uriana shared a glance with Thave before continuing, "Well the 100% match is Zarafine's DNA; she is the Princess of Nareth and our daughter. The 25% match is Jenica."

"Why is Jenica's DNA closely related to yours?"

Uriana took a deep breath. "Nearly 18 years ago, our father arranged marriages for my sister, my brother, and me; my sister, Iliana, was supposed to marry Thave. She refused; she was having a secret affair with a commoner, Tren Moon. She ran away from here, changed her name to Renisette Moon, and birthed a baby exactly when I did. We met in the nursery, waiting for our babies, and she told me to never proclaim her baby a duchess or any royalty, even though both of us knew the baby deserved it. It was the first time that Iliana had ever given me what I wanted. We departed, and I haven't seen her since.

"But when Zikylo and Rayena told me that their 15-year-old son, Serriel, had picked an assistant, a 11-year-old girl named Jenica Moon, I couldn't help but feel bad for her; she shouldn't be on the court giving advice; she should be receiving it. I kept my word to Iliana; I haven't said anything about her or Jenica because no one has asked. The exception is that you, Matre, are my son, and I do not hide anything from my children if they ask."

"There's only one problem with that story, Mother," Matre began, "Zarafine is the one with the 25% DNA match."

Uriana and Thave were shocked. "You mean that...." Uriana trailed off. "She wouldn't..."

***********

Matre returned to Serriel's guest bedroom. As he had assumed, all five were in the room, positioned on the couch, on the bed, and on the floor. "So Matre," Serriel asked, "are you going to tell us what you saw yet?"

"Yes; Jenica is the princess."