Grey Skies, Brown Eyes

Chapter 16 - Truth Revealed

Here's another stunning chapter for you all :*

Enjoy xx

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The kings private office surrounded me, its warm-toned surroundings relaxing me. The sound of the crackling fire drew me in, warmimg my body up immensely. If only the voices around me weren't so stiff.

'Estelle. I think you know why you're here, don't you?'

My mother sighed, sliding in her plush chair in order to face the king with undivided attention. 'Yes. My daughter has traits within her you cannot understand, correct?'

The king hummed, frowning. 'Correct. She singlehandedly disconnected the Cord that connected both her and my son. That Cord was created by myself, you should know. Would you care to explain how this is at all possible?'

She sighed, glancing at me briefly. 'It's simple. Her power outranks yours.'

The room went silent, before it errupted. Cries of disbelief echoed throughout the room, including my own.

'What on earth are you talking about, woman?' the king growled, looking almost offended.

My mother stood, slowly making her way to the front of the king's  mahogany desk. 'I'm talking about the fact that she is royalty of her own right. She is the princess of a kingdom much more powerful than yours.'

The king scoffed. 'No kingdom is more powerful than mine! Whether you like it or not, Estelle, you know that to be true.'

Her eyes narrowed. 'I know no such thing. There is a kingdom greater than yours, King. You know that.'

The king paused, growing pale. 'No...' he muttered.

My forehead scrunched in confusion. 'What?' I asked sharply. This entire situation was impossible.

My mother slowly turned to face me, smiling half-heartedly. 'You aren't who you think you are, Jame. And neither am I.'

The queen sighed, exasperated. She was tired of the riddled conversation. 'Just, please, Estelle... sit down and start from the beginning. We're not going to understand what you're saying any other way.'

Sitting down, nodding, Estelle crossed her legs and began.

'I was born to the King of Castodia. I'm sure you all know of him,' she said, smiling bitterly. The king's eyes were wide. 'I was illegitimate; the queen was not my mother. The royals were corrupt in many ways. The king had no concerns about banishing me at the age of fourteen to save his already failing marriage. The queen was cruel. She practically kicked me out the back door herself.

'After a few months of wandering as a rogue, the news reached me that the royal family had been overthrown and murdered by rebels, a group lead by three combined alpha males. One, I recognised the name of. He was a childhood friend, a servant of the castle. That's how they were able to infiltrate it's defense system.

'He remembered me, and had somehow learned that I had been banished. He wanted to find me to bring me back to the castle, but once he found me, I refused. I couldn't return to a place that held so many dark memories for me.

'I made my way past the borders not long after that, into your country as a sort of refugee. Eventually, I accidentally crossed pack boundaries and got myself captured by my mate's pack. He was the alpha; he set me free and took me in without a second thought.

'We mated and had a baby before I knew what was happening, but I was so paranoid. I was scared he was going to cheat on me like my father did to his wife. And I was right. He did.'

She took a deep, shuddering breath. Tears gathered in her eyes. I was in shock.

'He blamed me for being impure. Which I was. I didn't exactly have the greatest moral drive when I was in banishment. I did things I'm not proud of, but I thought he would look past that, as my mate. Support me no matter what.

'Turns out he was a jelous man. He took his revenge out on me without a second thought. I felt physical pain as he gave himself to that woman. He was so, so angry. It destroyed me, and I couldn't take that. So I left him.'

Estelle sighed heavily. 'I gave him up because I couldn't stand to watch him forget about me. Even if the chances of him ultimately choosing her over me were sizeably small, at the time he was just another unpredictable person I couldn't rely on. In my mind, at least. I was young, I had a child, and I wasn't able to emotionally cope with him cheating on me.  So... I left him.'

She raised her glistening eyes to me. They screamed apology.

'I moved to England, hoping that the seas would server my pain. Over time, my mark faded. My mate marked that woman, and Jame, that's how you grew up. I left you behind in the hopes that he would raise you well, better than I, as a damaged person, ever could. I'm so very sorry, my dear.'

I shook my head, holding back tears. 'No,' I croaked. 'You did the best you could. I understand.'

'There is no excuse for abandoning your child when they need you, Jame. It's okay to be angry at me.'

I threw my hand up. 'Of course I'm angry! You left me alone with him. But even still... I understand. I get it. At least you're here now, telling me the truth. I deserved that.'

'That you did,' the king sighed, speaking up for the first time since my mother began. 'Jame, you're the granddaughter of a king, the most powerful werewolf king to ever exist, no matter how corrupt. You and your mother are the last two survivors of his line of descendents. According to the hierarchy of power, you outrank everybody in this room but your mother. How would you like to proceed?'

I stated at him, stunned. 'What? Proceed?'

'Would you like to contact Castodia? You are the rightful heir, after all.'

Oh, crap.

'Um. Sure.'

∞

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Things are getting inteeeeense whoop whoop 🎉🎉 Jame is special in many ways, we can see now- An heir to a corrupted throne! What danger!

In all seriousness, though, thanks so much for reading this chapter (you just made my day).

Have a fantastic week, lovelies!

Maskindisguise xx