Memorybound

Chapter 33

Isabella let the shield around them fall, and relief washed over Hailey as the princess stood. She had tried for so long, had struggled against this spell and finally, the Aurora was awake. Aurora was even more stunning when she was awake.

"It was you who looked after me while I was asleep, wasn't it?" Aurora asked.

Hailey smiled. "It was." Most of the people in the castle had recognized her, but a lot of them were uncomfortable with her now. Some had hugged her in thanks, but having the princess acknowledge her swelled her chest with pride.

She embraced Hailey. "Thank you."

Endolynn stood patiently, waiting for her daughter to acknowledge her, but Aurora looked to Isabella next. "Who are you?"

"I am your aunt."

Aurora didn't seem certain of what to make of that. "I don't remember you," she said.

"She helped set you free," Hailey said.

"Thank you, then," Aurora said a little uncertainly.

"I was away from the kingdom for a very long time," Isabella said.

Hailey understood now. If Lillith had been holding Isabella against her will all this time, then the first thing she would do when she was free would be to contact her brother and free her niece. It all made sense. King Theodric had told her that he had a sister, but Hailey had thought that his sister had died.

Aurora turned to the other woman in the room. "Mother? I didn't recognize you. I thought you were grandma for a moment. What happened to your hair?"

Her dark eyes filled with tears as she ran to her mother. Endolynn held her daughter close. She wiped tears from her eyes. "I never thought I'd see you awake again. To answer your question, time has happened to my hair. I suppose I do look a little like your grandmother did."

"But how long have I been asleep then?"

"Sixteen long years," Endolynn said. "How I have missed you." Tears spilled over the queen's wrinkled cheeks. "I wish your father had survived a little bit longer. He would have loved to see you awake one last time."

"Father is dead? What happened?"

It all seemed a lot to take in for the girl, but the last thing she would have remembered was her birthday party and then touching the spindle of the spinning wheel. Now she was awake and confronted with her father's death.

"He has been struggling with an illness for the past few years," said Endolynn. She wiped tears from her eyes again. "I'm afraid that the illness took him just before you awoke. We haven't even had time to prepare a funeral."

Isabella was all cool control. "We don't have time for this right now. There is an army amassing along our northern border. Your father would not have wanted us to worry about funeral arrangements while there is a threat to the nation."

Aurora sank to the ground, her blue dress pudding around her. "But that means that I am the heir, doesn't it?" She looked up at Hailey and Isabella with fear and concern plainly evident in her eyes. "I just woke up and now this?"

"Stand up, love. You will be the queen of Taivalon, and you must act like one."

"Yes. You must command the army," Isabella said.

"We have a spy who has said that the army will be amassing at midnight," Hailey said. Isabella shot her a grateful look. It was easier than explaining what Isabella had been through.

"Yes, we need to go, and you need to address the kingdom," Endolynn said.

The worry and bewilderment in the princess's eyes made Hailey feel sorry for the girl. She took her hand. "You can do this. You prepared for this for your whole life." Aurora gave her a small smile and they all left the princess's chambers.