The Hidden Princess: Secrets Revealed (Book Two)

Chapter Seven: "Like if we failed again . . . she'd kill us,"

Nate's POV

It had been a few days since I had stood outside the bakery. After breakfast, I slipped out of the castle and began my walk to the bakery. Hoping being near a place that brought back memories would give me the strength to go to Samantha and tell her what I knew. Standing outside, I closed my eyes breathing in the smell thinking back to my time as a boy. Walking into the bakery I felt an added weight. A reminder that I had promised my friend to look after his sister and had failed.

"How can I help you, sir?" a voice asked.

I turned to see a woman around my age walking out from the kitchen with a tray of freshly baked cookies.

She caught my eye and held the tray out. "You're our first customer of the day, why don't you have a sample," she said.

Nodding my thanks, I reached out and took a cookie bringing it up to my mouth. Memories flashed through my mind of the many fresh baked cookies that Alexander and I had sampled, more times than not lacking permission. "These taste just like the ones that were sold here when I was a child," I said. "How long have you been running the bakery?" I asked.

The woman smiled as she sat the tray down. "My husband and I have just recently taken over ownership. My husband made this batch," she said. "He'd be honored to hear you say that. He too has fond memories of getting baked goods from here as a boy," she said with a look passing over her face that there was more to what she was saying. "I'm Amber, by the way," she smiled. "My husband will be right down. I'm sure he'd like to talk about what other treats you remember. He's just putting our daughter down for her nap," Amber said.

When I didn't respond and the room fell silent we could hear a male voice talking quietly upstairs. Looking around the bakery I wondered if I had had any encounters with her husband if he too remembered the bakery when Aunty Caroline used to run it. When the man who the voice belonged to emerged, I stumbled back. Standing before me was Alexander. My best friend was alive. The Lost Prince and Princess of Jarrow were both living in Jarrow unknown to the people and each other.

Samantha's POV

"Did you have fun on your starlit obstacle run last night?" Alakay asked, as I took my seat beside him at breakfast the following morning.

"I heard you gave quite the encouraging speech before one of the runs," Benedict said grinning at me. I yawned as I tried to wake myself up.

Last night I hardly slept. The nerves of finding out who the apprentices would be this morning were plaguing my thoughts. "Well, they needed to know that there was something riding on the fence of their failure," I said.

"Like if we failed again . . . she'd kill us," James said as he shoved me over so there was room for him and Kole.

Glaring at him, I shook my head. "I did not threaten death," I said.

"Only gag us... which with the anger you had I'm pretty sure would have meant silence through death," Kole grinned at me. Rolling my eyes, I ignored them as I dove into my breakfast.

After breakfast, parents started to arrive. Just like the first day, the candidates and their parents stood in front of a makeshift stage and the Dragons and I stood to the side. All eager to see who would be staying. "If Gray or Drew get a place I'm quitting," I said, glancing at where the two stood with their parents.

Benedict shook his head. "You don't have to worry about those two. After last night's performance, they will be lucky to get into knight school. Erik is already drafting a letter to let Sir Simon know about their behavior and attitude towards their peers and authority," Benedict said.