The Lost Heir

Chapter 1 - Celaena

Celaena sat down beside Dorian and Chaol in the Great Hall, waiting for dinner to be served. Why she had agreed to come to this dinner, she didn't know. Ok, fine, so she did know why, but it didn't change the fact that it was going to be a complete waste of time. But she had to keep an eye on Chaol. Celaena still could't tell if she could trust him or not. Ever since she had returned, he had been weary of her, careful not to provoke her, causing her to wonder if he had told anyone that secret. The secret he had found out about her past and who she really was, that could have been discovered from the date she had given him months ago. No doubt he had learnt the truth the day she had left. Learnt that the Celaena Sardothian, who was Adarlan's Assassin, Kings Champion, and his lover, who he had come to know, was a lie. That the person he had thought he knew, was a fake. That she was really Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, the rightful Queen of Terrasen and the Lost Heir. Of course Chaol said he hadn't told anyone, but he had been acting distant ever since her return, only saying a few words to her before making some excuse and leaving. She had whispered that date into Chaol's ear the day she had left for Wendlyn, where she had been ordered to kill the King and Crown Prince. The king and crown prince who were also the uncle and cousin of Aelin Galanthynius. The person she had been 10 years ago.

But she hadn't, she had failed in her task. Instead Celaena had simply offered them a deal, to fake their deaths, and have the Queen rule until the rebels gained enough power to kill or over through the king of Adarlan, or be killed. They had accepted the first offer and it was easy enough to forge their seal rings and the navy and military defence plans the King had also wanted, giving him all the wrong information, of course. She had certainly made it dramatic enough for it to be believable, too. Apparently, they had dropped dead at a family breakfast where the Queen had let out a bloodcurdling scream. Killed with two arrows to their hearts. After that she had been able to return three months early, triumphant.

At least the king had been satisfied with the result, if not displeased that it hadn't occurred during the Solstice Ball, like he had wanted.

Celaena cast another weary glance around the room, nothing more than a bored Lady. She took note of where the guards were; four at each exit, six surrounding the King and Queen, and thirty evenly spaced out around the walls, and who they were. She recognised a few of them, including Ress by the main door, who had guarded her during the competition, scattered around the room. 

The Great Hall had been strategically lit, focusing the light on the centre of the room, so that most of the guards stood in shadow, mostly hidden. There were several smaller tables scattered around the room, with one long one, the High table, at the head of them all. That table was reserved for the royal family, namely the King and Queen, as well as their favoured lords and ladies of that night. On the other tables were guards who were off duty and other Lords and Ladies, vying for the royals attention, seeking favour, status and money.

Celaena was just in the process of identifying those lords and ladies, already having identified the Lords Urizen and Garnel, when a boom of swords striking shields in salute, echoed from the hallway. Celaena whipped her head towards the door, and immediately whipped it back down towards her food, after viewing who was entering the Great Hall. She had heard he was coming, and should have expected his grand entrance, but Celaena had forgotten, having been caught up in keeping an eye on Chaol. She cursed herself, flicking her eyes up just as Aedion Ashryver, the Wolf of the North and the infamous general in the Kings army, stalked past her table. Shit. She had to get out of here before he saw or scented her. He would recognise the two things that identified her as her the instant he did.

"Gods he's insufferable" she heard Dorian mutter, as Aedion sent his gifts to the Kings chamber. Chaol had taken up a position at the bottom of the dais, whilst Aedion greeted the King, but was now making his way back to their table, just ahead of Aedion.

The next thing she knew, Chaol was seated beside Dorian again and Aedion was swaggering towards their table, only a few of feet away. Shit. she had to leave now! Mumbling an excuse to Dorian and Chaol, Celaena practically sprinted, out of the Great Hall. Once she had left it, and was out of sight, she had continued to sprint all the way to her chambers, slamming her bedroom door behind her. Just to be safe.

Gods, why did he have to be here? She had really hoped that she would be away on another mission by the time he arrived, and now, Celaena just really hoped she wouldn't run into him in the castle's hallways. She wondered if he was loyal to the King and if he would will sell her out to him the minute he saw her, or if he was pretending, like she was, to be loyal to the crown. If it was the first one, Celaena guessed she wouldn't have time to worry about what he thought of her, but if it was the second one, he would probably hate her. Be ashamed of her. Of all the things she'd done in the name of survival. In either case, she really hoped she didn't run into him, if only to avoid her old life, and that rage that built up in her whenever she thought of those two life changing days.

Thinking back, Celaena realised Chaol had been staring at her in the moments before she had left the Great Hall. He had obviously made the connection, and seen that they looked almost exactly alike, even after ten years. He probably wouldn't mention it to anyone, if he had really not told anyone her other secret, but she'll still have to keep a closer eye on her, and make sure he didn't do anything stupid.

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Hey Guys,

Hope you liked this. I've been meaning to do it for forever and am finally at least semi happy with this chapter! yay!

ThatRandoPerson
(Edit: I'm just going through and fixing typos, it's been years and I really should've done it earlier lol)