The Lost Princess - A 'Selection' spinoff

CHAPTER 56

"Go on," Laura said, realizing that she was thinking out loud.

"And I saw the Illuminati symbol tattooed on her feet the second time I met her," Ella continued.

"Her?" Elizabeth asked.

"She has the twins now," she said.

"What?" Elora asked, truly looking like she'd faint now.

"But where would she have them?" Ella mused. "It would be in a place we would never think off, the place we would never search in".

Everyone stared at her blankly.

"Help me out here!" she said.

They all snapped to attention.

"The Selection corridor?" Stella suggested.

"Yes, good idea. Good idea. But a bit more specific. Just a bit more specific," she said.

"Your old chambers," Adelaide said.

"Yes! Yes!" Ella said.

"She's kind of scary when she's like this," Elena whispered loudly.

"And there will be guards who are part of the Illuminati guarding the corridors. We'll have to take care of them first before we can get her and the kids," she continued. "And I need a good excuse to go into my chambers".

Everyone stared at her.

"I need ideas. Now!" she cried out.

"We can pretend that the assassination took place, and you got injured, and were running away," Dhiya offered.

"But that needs to be more convincing," Ella said, before looking down at herself.

She took a knife placed next to the bowl of fruits, and cut her sling.

"What are you doing?" Johanna asked.

"I need to act injured. I need an excuse to be in my chambers," Ella said.

"Ella. Ella sweetie. You need to calm down," her mother said, placing her hands on her shoulders.

"Unlikely, since she just had her first kiss," Elena said, snorting.

Elora glared at her twin and asked her daughter, "Who has Elanor and Elodie, darling? Are you absolutely sure?".

"It's Millie," Ella said finally, truly calming down.

"Millie? Celia's daughter?" Elena asked, confused.

"No. It can't be true," Elora said. "I practically raised that girl".

"I saw the tattoo while she was in labor. I know it is her. She was waiting in the corridor for a long time, even before her contractions began. And that was for me. For her to kidnap me. Everything makes sense - everyone knew her and trusted her, and she had access to all parts of the palace," Ella said.

"I'm confused," Laura said.

"All of us are," Mei said.

"I can't believe it," Elora muttered.

"I literally stared into her vagina and gave birth to her kid," Ella said. "And she named that kid after me. Imagine how I feel".

"TMI, Ella. TMI," Vienna said.

"You sure?" Elora asked, looking at her daughter steadily.

"Positive," she said, before taking the knife, and driving it through her unhealed wound.

"What the hell are you doing!" Adelaide asked amidst the other Queens asking similar questions.

Ella grunted in pain, and pulled the knife out, seeing the blood drip out slowly.

"Get a healer!" Kamlai shouted at someone outside the room.

"No!" Ella said. "I need an excuse, I need to be bleeding. Otherwise Millie won't believe me!".

"I'm asking you again - are you absolutely sure?" Elora asked.

"I am," she said. "You need to ask Lucian to get a few trustworthy guards to shoot a few tranquilizer darts at the Illuminati members who'll be guarding the hallway".

"Can't anyone else do this?" Elena asked.

"Not without hurting the twins," Ella said, tears falling out of her eyes as she shifted her hand slightly.

Elora flinched, as though the very sound pained her.

"Will you tell me who you kissed?" Vienna asked hopefully. "The others may owe me money if my bet was right".

"You people are unbelievable," Ella said, looking at the ten Queens, including her mother. "You kept a betting pool on who would kiss me for the first time?".

The whole lot of them looked at her sheepishly.

"We didn't know it was your first one," Elizabeth said.

"Yeah, we kind of thought you got some action back at Kent," Dhiya added.

"Oh my god," Ella said, closing her eyes momentarily. "Even you guys, I understand. But Queens Mei, Annika and Johanna too?".

"It's Vienna's fault. She looped us into this," Johanna said.

"Hey!" Vienna protested.

"Luke has got his men ready," Elora said, interrupting them.

"So you're doing this?" Elena asked Ella.

"Guess I am," she replied.