Chapter 4: She is with child

"Hello Azea, I'm Aleena De Luza, the daughter of house De Luza. Honored to make your acquaintance," she introduced herself.

Azea nearly fainted again, how was it possible that someone could look like her so vividly? It was as though she was staring into a mirror.

If not for the way she was dressed and her different name. Azea would have assumed that her ancestors were punishing her by haunting her with a version of what they wished her to be.

"To what do I owe the honor of your visit?" she asked eying the two of them keenly.

She put on a brave face but she was panicking deep inside. The arrival of her look-alike wasn't predicted in her carefully thought-out plan. The girl could ruin her plans and that was something she wasn't ready for.

"I've come seeking your help sister," the girl uttered. Azea sat herself down. It was too much to handle. "Sister?" she asked stunned.

"Yes, I am your twin sister. I've only recently found out the truth of our relationship and I set out to come and find you," Aleena informed Azea. "As I desperately need your help."

Azea massaged her temples. It either had to be the biggest joke of her life or the most disturbing truth for her to learn.

It didn't make sense, surely her parents would have cared to tell her if she had a twin sister. Seeing as such a topic had never been spoken of in the house, Azea was doubtful of the girl's identity.

"I understand that it is hard to believe my words. However I speak only the truth," Aleena defended seeing the doubt in Azea's eyes.

"We wouldn't have come to see you if the matter wasn't urgent," the male spoke out.

Azea had heard of the De Luza family. They were one of the five most influential noble families in the whole kingdom.

Compared to the De Luza family, the Zal Dameo could be viewed as poor. So there was no way that Aleena would lie about them being related, it was like climbing down the ladder for the girl to claim relations with her.

Nonetheless, Azea resisted the urge to jump into trusting her so easily. People lied, she would know, her whole life was a lie.

"What is it you need from me?" she inquired. "Not that I'm convinced of your identity," she pinpointed out to Aleena.

Aleena went on to explain her situation to Azea. And the reason she had run away from home and required her help.

Azea listened for the most part. She caught most of what Aleena said. Catching mostly the relevant points of the story the girl had to tell.

"Let me get this straight, you are engaged to marry the king of Astria. Yet you can't marry him but it's impossible to renounce your position as his fiancee so you want to switch places with me?"

Aleena nodded.

"The De Luza family are holding our birth mother captive and threaten to kill her if I don't agree to marry the king," Aleena let out in tears. "You do not know her, but she is our family and I can't see her harmed. Please I ask you to help me," she pleaded.

Azea was moved by Aleena's love for her mother. However, she didn't get why the solution lay in her becoming Aleena De Luza.

"What is stopping you from marrying the king yourself?" Azea raised a puzzling question.

Aleena was left without words. How was she to admit that she was a coward, her heart belonged to another, and as much as she would love to save her mother's life? She was helpless to break the heart of her beloved.

"I a..am...well you see I have run into so.." the words were at the tip of her tongue yet she lacked the courage to speak them out loud.

"She is with child," the male spoke in her stead. Azea was stunned. Aleena was unmarried yet it seemed that she had become pregnant. Something that would be considered a sin by society. One punishable by death.

Azea poured herself a glass of water. Her look-alike was full of surprises, delivering shocking announcements each second. Azea had never been so dumbfounded so much in one night.

"If I marry the king then my secret will be revealed and three lives will end," Aleena cried. She would be killed along with her child and the De Luza family would kill her mother.

There was no other option for her to seek Azea's help. Azea was her last hope, the only solution that gave everyone a chance of surviving everything.

"Say I help you, what becomes of my life?" she asked. Seeing as they sought her out to switch places, she figured they must have thought through what Aleena will do as her.

Aleena and the male exchanged confused looks. It took Azea a second to figure out that they had not thought that part out.

Azea felt sorry fot Aleena. Having to live in a world that would condemn her existence and that of her child. She also couldn't cast her out and ignore the problems presented before her.

She calculated in her mind and came up with a new plan. "How far along are you?"

"A few weeks," Aleena responded.

Azea pulled out her gold chest. Taking her identity wasn't an option, Aleena needed to get out while she still had the chance.

She counted a few good coins and packed them for Aleena. And wrote an address for her. "I will help you. For your child, I will take your place and help you," she accepted the proposal."You need to head to this address, tell them that I sent you, and inform them to get you somewhere safe," she instructed Aleena.

Aleena and the male exchanged looks again. They had many questions for Azea. They approached her because they thought she was a normal girl that wouldn't pass up the chance to marry the king.

Yet they were the ones surprised when not only did she possess so much gold under her bed but she was speaking with a commanding presence to her. Azea hardly seemed useless as everyone believed her to be.

As though the girl they were watching at the academy had vanished and someone else had taken her place. Which left Aleena and the male beside her wondering. Who exactly was Azea Zal Dameo?

Azea wasn't as simple as she looked on the surface. It gave hope to Aleena that she might be able to save her mother. From the clutches of the evil people that held her hostage.

"I will head over to the De Luza house and rescue your mother," Azea affirmed.

It was a promise. One that promised adventure, she would confront the De Luza family and get Aleena's mother back, and ran into the sunset alone. To head to the life of her dreams.

'What better way to leave than as a queen?' she thought.