13 BEGIN

The fear of being caught caused goosebumps to erupt all over my exposed arms. Keeping a level head was proving to be rather difficult when everything Rose and Ryden have tried to do for me was going to go down the drain because of a minor misunderstanding

Queen Ranthoja moved effortlessly, swaying her hips to the nonexistent sound of the piano as she gracefully walked to the chalet. Rose kept peeking, stealing glances in my direction, silently communicating with her eyes but it was not my strong point. I could not get a jist of what she was trying to tell me

We arrived in no time and there lay a beautiful arrangement of the things that my stomach cannot handle. cakes! there sat a beautiful, very tempting lemon meringue cake that always tingled my taste buds and got me salivating in no time. She knew my weakness however my stomach has built a resistance to sweet produce.

Are commoners like me even allowed to turn down the queen when she has so politely extended a lunch invitation, something that doesn't come often to most people in my position which causes the nerves to erupt all over my body and little tremors follow suite, racking my body and causing all eyes to turn to me

"Is everything alright?" the queen asks as soon as she takes notice of the state l am in

"yes, l just felt the cold breeze brush past my skin and that caused me to lightly tremble but l will be open if l sit under the rays of the sun" my feet couldn't carry me fast enough as l sat at the far end of the gazebo, away from it's shielding protection and under the sun that slightly helped contain my trembling lips

"l am sure you are asking yourself why l called you both here but there is something l wanted to talk to you both about and l hope that's not what stressing you out Akia" she is quite an observant woman and l can't help but blush under her scrutiny

"Your majesty..." l begin to explain myself but no words come out of my mouth as my mind goes blank leaving me a stuttering mess and the queen simply laughs at my reaction, like she had expected that something of the sort would happen if she put me on the spot

"calm yourself child...would you please excuse us" she asks her helpers and they bow in respect before making their way back to the front of the house, a safe distance from us should their queen command their presence or her safety be questioned

"l asked you both to meet me here because l have something l would like us all to discuss, something that concerns your safety and future Akia" as the words roll out of her mouth, l can't help but freeze up on the spot, my worst fears coming true

"what do you mean your majesty, if you do not mind me asking?" Rose asks taking the lead in the conversation when she realises that l am out of it, the words of the queen having startled me into a 'coma'

"We have all heard from neighbouring kingdoms that Manila is back and because of this, everyone thinks you are her which l know is not true. The reason that she fled all those years ago is coming after you too and you must be prepared or else you will be doomed" she says, her husband being one of those reasons, l would have never expected her to lend a helping hand in the face of my adversaries

"and what do you know about that my queen?" Rose asks not convinced by the queens words, for all we know, she might be leading us astray so that he husband can get an advantage on us if we share what we have learnt and how much we know

"Manila was a good friend of mine, you have her eyes and skin but everything else you got from your father. She was such a wonderful person, always a delight to be around but life always has a plan and purpose for us all. Make haste child and leave here before nightfall if you want to uncover the secret of your past, present and future" and l am stunned to silence. My father, she knew my father but that can't be

"we need more your majesty if we want to fight the dark forces you speak of" Rose was getting antsy and her voice was rising because she couldn't get the information she desired but she was forgetting she is talking to a queen

"All in due time my lovely Rose, just have patience. If l reveal all now, it will destroy your possibilities and l cannot have that on my conscience. Your mother would never forgive me" mother, the word tastes bitter on my tongue and l cannot bring myself to say it out loud. That means everything that everyone has been saying is all connected, l am Manila reincarnated or simply her daughter

"Sweetheart, what are you doing out here?" The king and Prime Alove are walking directly in our direction and l a certain that they can smell the fear from a mile away. Prime Alove looks content, a smile gracing his perfectly white and proportional teeth while the king is taken by his wife, his eyes solely on her

"These two lovely women were just saying their goodbye's" she says and smiles at us to go along with her cover up story

"Goodbye? so soon" Alove speaks like his normal condescending self, but l can hear the slight disappointment in his voice

"l am afraid so, we have a long journey ahead of us and we need all the time we can get. We had told the Slyps that we will arrive by dawn and it will be disrespectful if we do not keep our word, not after they so graciously offered their help. Thank you for your hospitality, you were great help" Rose says bowing to the royals and the noble man in front of us

"Hopefully we will meet again, have a safe trip" the King says and l can tell from the glint in his eye that he means sooner rather than later

"farewell" and with that we walk back to the house to find our belongings already packed into the car and Ryden waiting in the lobby for us

"the car is ready, we should be on our way" he simply says walking out with us hot on his trail