Finally Free!

Out With the Skeletons

I wake up late because of the exhaustion of the ball and the things that weigh on my mind. It is afternoon, so I make my way to Magnolia and find the entire family gathered there.

"What is going on?" I ask as I see my parents, King Cosmos and Radley all gathered there. "We can finally overthrow the Ponceau's," my father says seriously. I shake my head, "What do you mean?" He hands me a paper and I look at it until my eyes widen.

"Kris is a Ponceau," I say with a shocked expression, "you think the others are alive too?" "He is the heir," my mother says kindly, "he needs to be protected so one of the guards should go get him." Everyone nods as a guard hurriedly does just that.

"Do we have any guesses where King Orpheus took the others?" Radley asks with a worried expression, "what if there are more that are alive?" "You mean their oldest daughter?" I ask curiously and he nods. "Doesn't matter," Aster says honestly, "we will keep looking but for now the only heir is Kris even though he is adopted. The laws in Ponceau are different. It allows for adopted children to become heirs to the roles of their adoptive parents." "But he is not prepared," Magnolia says honestly, "he has none of the grades, knows none of the customs and he does not know his people at all."

"Guys," I say seriously, "this may end Caelus's rule but it doesn't get rid of him. There is no proof that he is the reason for all of this." "Everyone knows it though," Aster says with annoyance. My father sighs, "She is right. Caelus burnt the buildings. If we prove that Kris is the rightful heir then we are leading him to death." "The only proof we will have is if there was another sibling like Solvita," my mother says seriously, "to prove that he was a part of it." "Won't any of them do?" I ask seriously and everyone looks to my mother. "They were quite young so credibility is a bit low, but maybe people will believe if there is more than one witness," my mother says nervously.

Kris then walks in and everyone turns their attention to him. My father then looks at me.

"Can everyone please leave?" I ask them and everyone leaves except Radley. "I want to stay," he says kindly and I look to Kris for permission. Kris shrugs so I let him stay.

I hand him the paper, "Remember I told you you were going for regular tests? I am sorry that I lied but I needed to know if King Cosmos was trustworthy and I wanted you to find your family." He sighs, "I just wish you asked because I would never have wanted to know where I came from. It just puts a barrier in the way of going home and being with the family that was truly there for me." "Kris," I say honestly, "you are part of the Ponceau family. You are a Duke and none of your family has survived as far as we know."

Kris tears up, "I wish those realities that I saw were a dream, but I guess it is true. I don't remember my real name or anything." "Solis," Radley says with tears in his eyes, "he was my older brother and my only brother at the time. We were really close because we were closest in age and we were the only boys in the family. I don't remember much, but the one thing I remember is the names of all my siblings."

I stare at Radley in shock as he reveals this to me and Kris.

"Who are you?" Kris asks him. "Cymbeline, your younger brother, and your name is Solis." "Why did you not come forward before?"I ask him seriously. "My brother already told me who Kris was but I was not allowed to say anything or do anything," he says honestly, "if I took the rightful place of Kris then I would be as dangerous as Caelus, but I can train Kris to take over due to my position. Once he is fit and ready to take over then I can reveal myself. Otherwise, I would have to take over and leave my current position. That would lead to a very big problem between my brother and King Orpheus."

"So," Kris says nervously, "everyone will refer to me as Solis then?" Radley nods, "And I will be Cymbeline when the time is right, but until then I will help you to get ready for your role and we will do the tests as we need to, together." "What happened to my other siblings?" Solis asks Radley curiously. "Solvita could be anywhere and the baby is definitely dead," Radley says with sadness in his eyes, "but I know that Helianthus died because of King Orpheus. She was thirteen when she died and she has a daughter who is married to my brother, Cosmos." Everyone tensed in the room.