Royal Jester

45. Anastasia

It took quite a bit of convincing but - within that month - Mason and Ana were on a flight back to Pennsylvania. Only this time, she would be attending as Princess Anastasia Paris Middleton.

It was easy enough to explain the situation to the dean, whether or not she actually believed it was an entirely different story so the queen was traveling back with them to prove that it was true. And to meet her friends, or so she'd claimed when Ana asked.

"How is it that you found out her identity exactly? Not many Americans know of our kingdom," Ana's mother looked thoughtful.

Mason seemed to be taken aback at the fact that she was addressing him and he straightened in his seat as his grip tightened on Ana's thigh. "To be honest, it was because of an assignment my history professor gave us." Her eyebrows furrowed at his response, "We were supposed to research something random, and I happened to get Mysteria. It was pure coincidence really," he shrugged.

The queen nodded thoughtfully, "I see."

"Wait- mother, how is it that you arrived so quickly after I was locked in the closet? You probably arrived barely an hour after it happened." It was something that had been on Ana's mind for a while now. It was truly baffling as the flight itself was eight hours, so it was practically impossible for them to arrive so soon.

Her mother abruptly gasped, her hands reaching up to cover her mouth as she stared at Ana with wide eyes. "You were locked inside of a closet?"

Ana bit her lip, realizing she probably just revealed something she definitely shouldn't have. "Me? Locked in a closet," she forced a scoff, "No way. Why would that ever happen?" She glanced at Mason with panicked eyes.

"Anastasia." Why did it always feel like she was being scolded? "You better not be lying to me again."

"I'm not-," Ana sighed with clear frustration. "Okay. So I got pushed into a closet, but if you weren't there because of that, then what were you there for?"

"Why did we not hear of this before we got on the plane, Anastasia? This is a serious matter, and you will not be attending a school with a person who locked you inside of a room-."

"She's in prison," Mason interrupted and Ana looked over at him. He swallowed as he met her eyes and she gave him a comforting smile; she was so proud of him. "The girl who did it- she's in prison."

The queen hesitated, "What?"

Mason exhaled shakily and Ana leaned over to rest her forehead on his shoulder, lifting one hand to lightly scratch the hair at the nape of his neck and resting the other on his hip, just over where his tattoo was. "Mother, there's no need to pry into personal things. All that matters is that she's gone."

Her boyfriend leaned his head back, trapping Ana's hand between the headrest of the seat and his neck. The queen's gaze moved between the couple, lingering on Ana's fingers and how they were toying with the hem of Mason's shirt.

"If you must know, Lili alluded that someone might know your real identity." She seemingly ignored what was said earlier and Ana let herself relax. "We decided that it would be best for you to leave before you actually got hurt. Although, it seems that we were still too late."

"Of course," Ana lightheartedly rolled her eyes. "I should've known she would let it slip," she giggled. "But," she paused, "Don't worry, Mason was there to protect me."

She lifted her head slightly just as said man turned his, and she softly kissed his lips, smiling at the feel of him so close. He was so warm and his taste was so comforting, like safety and home.