Saving Her Kingdom

♡ Chapter 45

Chapter 45

"Anna," I heard Louis' voice quietly call me after lunch, "Could I speak to you for a moment?"

I turned to face him. He looked incredibly stressed, but was trying to conceal it with a neutral look. "Of course, Louis. Where do you want to go?"

"The garden would be just fine," he answered, before we made our way outside.

It was a few days after the attack in the stable, and I had been trying to make sense of everything that had happened. Why did one of the Rutherfords know my real identity? How have they figured it out? Did all of them know, or only one of the three eldest men? The aggressor had called that person Master Rutherford, so they could only be male. And what would they do with that information about me?

I looked at Louis. Did he know? I started to feel my hands getting sweaty. What did he want to talk about so urgently? He would normally ask me on a walk, not to specifically have a discussion.

He was going towards the secret part of the garden, where we would be shielded from the public. I followed him, knowing the conversation we were about to have was not a light-hearted one. And I didn't particularly want to be gossiped about.

He walked beside me, looking down with a stern expression. His face darkened a bit more, before he suddenly looked at me with his eyes as guarded as possible. "So, Anna," he began, his voice almost cold, "Want to tell me where you are really from?"

I gulped. So, he knew. He knew. My steps faltered, until I was left standing there. I looked at his face, trying to keep my mask from shattering. My heartbeat accelerated, and I clenched my fists.

"I...", I couldn't even form a sentence properly.

"And don't give me some bullshit answer," his tone got even more frosty.

"I...", I looked into his accusing eyes, trying to read what he was thinking about. I couldn't say it out loud, could I? A lie was only truly exposed when the liar revealed it. But his narrowed eyes dared me not to speak it out loud. He knew that I knew that he knew.

"Fine. If you can't say it, I will," he stated. My ears were slightly ringing, and I shook my head to get rid of it, and to keep my cool. The panic and desperation must have been visible on my face, because he hesitated just for a moment, before he regained his determined look.

"You are the princess Annabelle. The princess of my kingdom," he spoke, looking me right in the eyes, daring me to contradict him.

My eyes welled up with tears the moment I truly began to comprehend what was happening. I had been discovered. My real identity was exposed to the Rutherfords. I blinked my tears away, trying to stay brave. Now that he knew, I shouldn't dishonor my family.

"Yes. I am," I said quietly, the weight of my words hanging in the air.

A deafening silence followed.

Louis stared at me, and I stared right back. His expression slowly melted to one of anger. "But why you? Why does it have to be you?", he asked, his eyes blazing.

I hadn't expected that. "Why me?", I repeated confusedly, "You know I had no choice but to hide my true identity."

He looked away, his expression now almost desperate. "No, that wasn't what I meant. I see why you had to hide your identity from the world," he finally said.

We stayed quiet for a while. "But how did you figure it out?", I asked.

"I heard you play the violin."

Oh. I hadn't expected that either. "And why would you make such an assumption then?"

"Firstly, my uncle knows that the princess of Ravenport is in the palace, but he doesn't know it's you. He told me about his suspicions. And then, I heard you playing," he paused, "It was one of your mother's pieces, right? I remember from when I was younger, sometime after your 10th birthday. You played the piece with Princess Marguerite that day, on your mother's death anniversary," he finished quietly.