Al didn't show after twenty minutes of waiting by the wall so I gave up on that idea and tried looking for the staff entrance. There had to be soone there who would recognize and let in.
The risk with this idea was that I might run into one of Sigmund's informants. I didn't want him knowing I had left the castle. That could only result in trouble.
Thankfully, luck was on my side today. I ran into Marcy as she was heading out to personally pick the best strawberries in the market to use in strawberry shortcake.
"Katie! What are you doing over here?" she asked, bewildered.
"I got locked out," I said sheepishly. "Think you can sneak back in real quick?"
"But what were you doing out in the first place?"
I couldn't tell her the truth. She worked for Franz and he couldn't know we were trying to escape. Not right now, anyway.
"I was out for a bit of fresh air," I lied easily. "I hate being stuck in the palace. I'm used to having freedom to roam in the earldom."
Marcy bought my excuse, making a thoughtful expression. "I can see how it would be a difficult adjustnt. Still, this was dangerous. At the very least you should be taking Prince Alpheus with you."
I couldn't exactly tell her that he ditched , either. It was too embarrassing. For soone who claid to love , he had forgotten far too easily. He would have to pay for this later.
I pretended to take her words under advisent and let her lead back into the castle. Once inside, I made it back to my chambers painlessly enough. I was used to sneaking around undetected in this place.
"Alpheus McLeod, you are in a world of trouble," I growled when I opened the door and found him sitting near the fire in a daze.
He looked up at miserably, not registering the annoyance on my face. "Is that even my na?"
All of the fight drained out of . I sat down and hugged his arm in an attempt to comfort him. Nyla was right. He was upset because he believed her.
Al sighed wearily and stared into the flas.
"Of course I'd heard of the Kanta region. The previous king started encroaching on their territory because of the rich mineral deposits hidden in the mountains. They didn't have a formal military or the power to fight back against a nation as large as Annalaias.
"My fatheror I suppose, the current kingcontinued the conflict, eventually putting out an extermination order to seize the mountains by force. Thousands were killed. What few survivors remained fled, primarily to neighboring countries. I learned about all of this in my history lessons growing up. But I neverI didn't know what they looked like.
"Once I got ho I looked up every book I could find on the Kanta region. Nyla was right; with my eyes I have to be from her clan. The raids were conducted when I was an infant. But how did I end up with the royal family of Annalaias?"
His eyes were bloodshot when he looked back at . I could feel his heartache and confusion and it shook to the core.
"It explains a lot, though," he chuckled bitterly. "Why no one here ever treated like a mber of this family. Because I'm not."
That was the final straw. I climbed onto his lap and wrapped my arms around him in a fierce hug, burying my face in his neck. His entire world had been turned upside down today. How could I not comfort him?
I didn't want to jump to conclusions. We didn't know for sure that he was a full-blooded Kanta clansman. He might still be the queen's son. But it was awfully suspicious that the raids happened when he was a baby.
Besides, wouldn't the king have executed her for treason if she gave birth to an obviously illegitimate child? But the queen had definitely been pregnant according to everything I heard. Everyone thought Al was the third prince of this nation.
"I think you might benefit from talking to Nyla's mother," I said quietly. "She might be able to help you figure things out. She might be the only other person we can find who would rember what happened during the raids."
Al tightened his hold on . His hands were trembling.
"I need to talk to Franz first. The king and queen won't tell anything about this but I might be able to force it out of him."
I didn't like the sound of forcing it out of him but I couldn't dissuade him. It wasn't like there was another mber of the royal family who would be willing to give us the answers we were seeking.
"You want to do that now?" I asked hesitantly.
Al nodded. "I need answers. Today. Too many things about my life here haven't added up. This might finally help make sense of it all."
His logic was undeniable. So we quickly changed out of our servants' attire and went to confront Franz.
He didn't seem surprised to see us, probably assuming we were here to visit Mariela like usual. We were invited in warmly. Mariela was happy to see us, which made feel a bit guilty because we hadn't co for her.
"Out with it, Franz. Tell what you know about the circumstances surrounding my birth," Al said in a brittle voice.
His mouth rounded into an 'o' in surprise. "I do not believe I know what you an."
"I know we don't share the sa father. Tell the truthdid your mother give birth to or not?"
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