The commotion of the engagement was spreading throughout the whole Kingdom. It was the first important event after more than ten years of sorrows and worries. And, even though the late autumn had taken over the country, the people didn't intend to let some bad weather spoil their fun. The streets were being decorated with royal insignia. Flags with the Princess's and Prince's faces were scattered on every floor and balcony. There was a great hustle-and-bustle filling the streets. The people were smiling again, greeting each other and stopping for a chat.
Things weren't much different back at the Dark Castle. After a frantic all-around cleaning spree, flowers and trees from faraway lands, planted in huge vases, embellished the castle. The gates were constantly opening to make room for the carriages and wagons bringing the finest drinks and supplies that were to become fine dining meals. The henchmen were keeping themselves busy day and night like ants, but nobody was complaining of being tired. The most alluring flavours were coming from the kitchen and the sturdy cooks were flustering cheerfully around the boiling pots—stirring, baking, battering, spilling, frying and seasoning.
Eliza was mesmerised by the churning that had taken over the Kingdom. And she didn't take a back seat either. She was up to date with all the preparations. The ladies of her entourage made sure she looked amazing each time, even when she was bugging in the kitchen to see if the dough has risen. And this was because every other, day guests were arriving at the castle. Kings, queens, emperors, sultans, rajahs, counts and countesses, dukes and duchesses from the farthest corners of the earth were steadily making their entrances. And Eliza, along with the Prince, was greeting them. She had never seen so many people in the same place. Some had dark skin, like chocolate. Others looked at her through narrow eyes. Some kept their hair slide down in golden locks. And others smiled at her, stretching out their snow-white hands...
The Prince himself was involved in organising the engagement and made sure the guests were welcomed properly. His leg was now healed and he could get back on his horse. A couple of times, Eliza saw him giving out advice, orders and even smiles. His lieges were looking at him with wonder, happy to see such a change in him. Suddenly, the Dark Prince wasn't so... dark. Sometimes, he even smiled at Eliza when they crossed paths. And the ones observing them gave each other meaningful looks.
One day, when Eliza was getting ready for her morning kitchen visit, Nanny Ana entered her room with rosy cheeks and ever so anxious.
'Your parents are here,' she said, gasping. 'I mean Princess Mara's parents.'
Eliza's heart skipped a beat. 'What's there to do? Why didn't you tell me sooner? You had time to prepare me for this, to tell me some things about them at least—'
'What good would that do?' said the nanny throwing herself in a stall. 'They will figure out you're not the real princess, anyway. Oh, my,' she began to whimper, 'they'll probably cut off my head when they'll find out I was an accomplice to this whole charade.'
'You don't have to worry. I'll take all the blame. It's going to be alright, you'll see,' Eliza said, trying to force out a smile. She had never seen the nanny so restless. She was the only one giving her advice and strength. She was the support she couldn't lose.
Summoning up her courage, Eliza stepped out of her room and made it for the guests welcoming hall. Her pace was getting giddy as she came closer. Had she had a choice, she would have run without looking back. She tried walking as gracefully as she could; but her feet didn't seem to listen and Eliza tripped over her dress a few times, almost twisting her ankle.
When she finally made it to the stairs leading the guests welcoming hall, she stopped. The Prince was already there and she could hear all three of them chatting and laughing. She didn't manage to climb down two steps when all of them turned their heads to her. The King and Queen looked just as she imagined them. Amiable, serene, beautiful and shining in their royal attire. The King had a short beard that was beginning to grizzle, but the Queen was the one to capture Eliza's eye. She was the embodiment of beauty and grace. Her rich hair, the same colour as her daughter's, was braided in a lock that flowed all the way to her waist. The dress, even though not formal, glittered in pastel colours of light blue and green underneath her dark blue velvet cape. Her face was white as the first snow. Her lips—ripe cherries, and her eyes, black and deep, like Mara's. And like hers...
Eliza went down the steps, one by one, with a petrified smile on her face. One look from both of them was enough to sense that there was something different about their daughter. And the joy and excitement of waiting to see her melted in a smile, as petrified as hers.
'Mother, father, welcome!' said Eliza, bowing.
The two smiled awkwardly. Then, the King was the first to give his daughter a cold embrace, whispering in her ear without the Prince noticing, 'We need to talk at once. Just the three of us!'Eliza stepped back from the embrace.
'Let's go to the room I've set up for you,' she said. 'You must be tired.'
The King and Queen followed her, along with the servants who carried their chests. After the last servant was gone, the King turned to Eliza.
'Who are you and what have you done to our daughter? Answer me now!' he snapped at her.
Eliza had enough with lying. With her head down, she told them the whole deal—how she switched with the real princess, how she got to the castle, fooled everybody and was now too late to go back. But she didn't mention anything about Witch Guzma or the passage underneath the castle, the Forest of Whispers or the spell that was upon her.
The King listened with his fists clenched while the Queen kept covering her mouth with every sigh she gave out. After assuring them that Mara was on good hands and, even more so, she was happy, Eliza went silent, waiting.
'Everyone involved in this charade will be severely punished!' roared the King.
'Your Majesty, think about it,' whispered the Queen in a low voice. 'Should the Dark Prince find out the truth, now, in the eve of his engagement, we and our entire country will suffer.'
'What do you mean? You want to approve this lie from now on?'
'No, not that... I never liked lies, you know that. Especially when coming from a girl who sees this as a game where she pretends she's a princess. But think of the Prince's wrath. The wrath that we have tried toning down from the very start, giving our daughter's hand in marriage to a man whom she didn't know, let alone love. The mistake was ours, to begin with...'
The King pondered for a while. 'So be it. The engagement will take place in a few days. It's too late for us to stop it, especially when it appears to mean so much for the people of this country and the Prince. But right after the engagement, Mara must take on her princess duties. This wedding between a little country girl and a prince of this rank must not take place!'
'But, Your Majesty—' said the Queen, trying to sweet talk him.
'Not another word!' he said. 'Now, in the time we have left until the engagement, please have her ready to look and act like a princess. The way she came down those stairs alone says a great deal about her manners.' And the King stormed out of the room.
Eliza cried, heavily accompanied by hiccups and sighs. Her feet didn't listen to her anymore, and she fell down, her face buried in her dress.
'I'm sorry, Your Majesty,' she managed to say in between sobs.
And then she felt the Queen's hand caressing her hair. She looked up at her and saw her smiling. And, for a moment, all the clouds seemed to have vanished. That's how her mother would have looked like if she had known her. Ready to wipe out an entire storm with a single smile.
'Come, child,' said the Queen, taking her hand and sitting her alongside on the bed. 'I know what you did was wrong and you have every reason in the world to be worried. But I also know that you are very brave and you won't let anything stand in the way of your dream, however impossible it might seem. And, trust me, that's very admirable.'
Then suddenly the Queen's eyes were filled with tears, 'But it's so hard to live a lie... Believe me; I know this better than anyone. It's a burden that slowly eats away at you...'
Eliza didn't understand the Queen's words. And she was careful to wipe off the tear that was about to fall.
'Let's see how skilled Nanny Ana was,' she said with a sad smile. 'I assume she knows the whole story, too, and helped you to mingle so far.'
And the Queen asked her random questions which Eliza tried to answer as best as she could—how to eat fish, what is her place at the table, how to drink from a goblet of wine, how to walk in the Throne Hall, how to dance, and what to wear for a festive dinner.
It appeared Nanny Ana was thorough in the girl's education. The lessons started when they set foot in the castle might not have turned Eliza into a princess, but at least she was acting like a noble lady. Eliza got most of the habits of a princess. Walking and dancing still needed practice, though. And the Queen promised her she would learn so much during those next days, that no one will ever doubt she wasn't a real princess.
Then the Queen asked her to do something that took Eliza by surprise. She asked her to sing.
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Eliza was bound to sing for the second time. How bad could that have been? She was to gain another wrinkle. Plus, at the engagement ball, she was to sing for the last time; then she would bury the bracelet and forget about it.
Just as it happened when she sang to the Prince, the song she was now singing was unknown to her. But she sang it like she has done it ten times before. It was a song about a mother longing for her long-lost child. When she finished, the Queen approached to kiss her on the forehead, with tears in her eyes.
Eliza asked permission to retire, for she couldn't bear the Queen asking her to sing another one and then another. She felt like she could do anything for this strange being, only to feel her warm caress one more time. The Queen consented to her request with a smile, but before Eliza could leave the room, she stopped her.
'Tell me, child, what is your name? Your real name.'
'Eliza, Your Majesty. Eliza is my name.'
The Queen's face turned white. 'What say you?' she said in a whisper.
Then she grabbed her with a wild look, 'Who told you to say that? Answer me! Who are you?' she cried at her.
Eliza pulled back out of the grip and walked out of the room as bewildered as the Queen. Of all the things she encountered since she chose to live as a princess, the Queen's reaction frightened her the most.
Once in her room, she locked the door from the inside and saw Nanny Ana sitting by the fireplace, braiding as she usually did. The nanny has never seen the girl so frightened.
'What happened, my child? I heard that the Princess's parents have arrived. They've found out you are not the real princess, haven't they?'
Eliza sat by her feet and held her hands tight.
'Nanny, this life as a princess is nothing I expected to be. And it is only my fault. I was too naïve to think everything would be as simple as in the fairy tales. But the heaviest burden is made of the secrets surrounding me. Please tell me, you gave me only good advice, why is it that my name upsets everyone? Tell me!'
The nanny's heart broke every time she saw her unhappy. After pondering for a few moments, she stood up from her chair and went by the window, watching the last daylight disappearing in the distance.
'The Queen wasn't always like this. She was merry and cheerful at the time she met the King. You see, there was true love between them. Love at first sight. She wasn't promised to anyone by her father and her heart always belonged to the King, since the first time they laid eyes on each other. They met at the ball celebrating her sixteenth birthday. And they remained together ever since. One week later they got married, and the Princess became Queen. The whole kingdom flourished like by magic. Peace and harmony settled in each citadel, in each and every home. 'But something was missing for their happiness to be complete. Life has given them everything: beauty, kindness, righteousness, compassion. But not children. Years had passed and the sound of little children's feet remained absent in the castle.
'After the advice of the most renowned doctors, after several attempts, after multiple remedies of the weirdest kind from varied healers, the Queen had reached the end of her patience. So she started looking for a different medicine, more powerful. More dangerous even.
'It wasn't long before she heard about a witch who lived in the forest and possessed tremendous powers. She wasted no time, and without the approval of the King, she set for the said forest. She went into the forest alone and came out more hopeful than ever. But also, more concerned than before. And in a few weeks time, the King had sent word that he was to have an heir to his throne.
'I know this story for even then I was most trusted by the Queen, and was to be the nanny of the yet unborn child. But everything in life comes with a price. The Queen told me one night, close to her term, about the price she was to pay. She promised the witch that when she would give birth, she would repay her however she wants. No matter what. She would have given her all the riches in the castle in a blink of an eye. She would have accepted to be a slave to the witch for all eternity, just so she could bring life to this earth. She would have gladly accepted to cease being a queen so she could raise her child in peace. That much she wanted this baby.
'When the time came, the Queen gave birth to not one, but two little girls, beautiful like I have never seen before—Mara and Eliza. But not an hour has passed since the girls came to this world, and the witch came to her, showing up unexpectedly in her room. She was the most hideous being I have ever seen. So hideous, I could not look at her. And her soul was just as hideous. For she asked the Queen to give her one of her daughters. In vain the Queen tried to convince her not to take the child, promised her every riches in the world. In vain threatened the King he would find her even at the edge of the earth. 'The witch approached the cradle and picked one of the newborn girls in her arms, the loudest one. None of us could do anything about it like an unseen wall was keeping us away from the child. This is how strong she was. Under our very eyes, she disappeared into the dark night with the newborn in her hands.
'Since then, the Queen was not herself anymore. Night after night, she roamed the halls of the palace crying and mourning. Not even the remaining child could soothe her pain. Although she loved her very much, she would always remind her of the lost child.
'The King ordered the forest in which the Queen had met the witch to be searched inch by inch. But nothing the Queen has seen could be found. Not the witch's house, not her servants, not the witch herself. As if they have never existed. And nothing was ever heard again of the lost princess.
'I swore then to keep the secret. The people always knew of the existence of only one princess—Mara. But this painful secret was burdening the Queen each and every moment. And every time she hears the name of her lost child, the memories of her recklessness come back stronger and more painful than ever. That is why she reacted the way she did. Because you bear the name of her beloved daughter. And above all, you are the same age and look very much like Princess Mara. What kind of mother wouldn't react strangely to such coincidences?'
Nanny Ana finished her story in tears. Then, she left the room without saying another word. Eliza stayed by the fire. Now she felt pity for the Queen and wondered how she could soothe her pain. But as she sat there, other worries came upon her. With trembling fingers, she discovered another wrinkle crossing her forehead.
The spell becomes more powerful. And Eliza has to face not only the spell she's under but also the truth. Please let me know what you think about this chapter. Votes and comments are more than welcome. Enjoy!