Chapter Twenty-Three

 

 

 

Laura

 

Apparently, I am lucky. The bullet just barely missed my artery when it pierced my thigh and somehow managed not to cause much damage. Still, I’ve had to rest for a few weeks to prevent infection and give my wound time to heal. Shane and I take daily walks around the base so that I can exercise my injured limb and get used to walking on it, despite the pain. I don’t want to be immobile for long. It isn’t safe.

Now, though, I am lying in bed, twirling my knife around in the air, lost in my thoughts. A knock on my door startles me, and it’s a miracle that I don’t drop my knife and impale myself.

“Come in. Door’s unlocked,” I say, sitting up and stretching.

Alicia enters the room, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. “We need to talk.”

“Okay.” I sigh.

I’ve been dreading talking to Alicia ever since Shane told me that she didn’t seem to care when I’d been shot. My sister has kept me on an emotional rollercoaster since we’ve been reunited. I think there is a spot for me somewhere in her dark heart, but there is far more distance between us than there is love.

“I’m sorry I haven’t visited you yet—” Alicia begins, but I cut her off.

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t want to interrupt your makeout sessions,” I say, bitterness dripping from my voice.

“Laura, don’t—”

“Did you actually want something?”

“Yes, I actually have something very important to discuss with you, if you can keep your attitude in check for more than seven seconds.”

“If you don’t want attitude, you might want to talk to Shane instead. I’m mad at you and I’m in pain.”

“Shane’s your little guard dog. If you’re unhappy with me, I’m sure he is too.”

“Don’t call Shane a dog. He’s sensitive about that.”

“Laura, I just need you to tolerate me for a minute. This is important.”

“Fine. What do you want?”

“Dad is sending troops to the Malibahian border.”

“What?” I exclaim.

I knew that Father would do this eventually, but I thought we had time. He is without a leader of the guard, and it should take him a while to plan an attack himself. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. My father is capable of any kind of madness.

“Yeah. Now that Ryan isn’t around to keep Dad in check, Trenton is pushing for war and Dad’s all about it. I think Trenton is the head of the guard now. It’s bad,” Alicia says.

“Really bad. I’ve never trusted Trenton. He’s shady. No one in their right mind would send Karkonia to war in the state we’re in.”

“Dad would.”

“Yeah, well Dad isn’t exactly in his right mind either,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Regardless, the people are absolutely furious. They want to side with the rebellion, but they’re afraid of the repercussions that would bring. But we have a plan,” Alicia says.

Of course they have a plan. Unfortunately, it’s probably a terrible one. “And what would it be?”

“You and Ryan. Ryan will announce that he’s the head of the rebellion, and you’ll announce that you exist and that you’ve left Father to side with us—on national television. People will trust us then. They’ll trust you.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening. No. I’m not doing that.”

“Laura, we need you—”

“No you don’t. Ryan will suffice. And from the sound of it, he’s a willing participant. I, however, have lived my entire life out of the public eye and I’d like to continue doing that for at least the foreseeable future.”

“What about when you’re empress? How do you expect to stay out of the public eye then?”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. And besides, if I did this, Father would literally kill me. I’ve been shot twice now and lived. Third time’s the charm, right? I’m not taking any chances.”

“The people need to know that they can’t trust Dad. If they find out that he’s hidden a princess from them for the past seventeen years…it will push them into our arms. We need you to win over the country.”

“You expect her to win over the country?” Shane scoffs, smirking as he enters the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. “Currently, she’s about as pleasant as a rattlesnake.”

“And just as deadly, which you two somehow keep forgetting,” I say, picking up my knife again for emphasis. Alicia backs away from me, but Shane just rolls his eyes. In response, I send my knife hurling at the wall next to his head.

“That’s the third time you’ve done that now,” Shane says, shaking his head. “You need to learn some manners.”

“You need to learn how not to be obnoxious.”

“Both of you, stop bickering! We are in the middle of a national crisis, for heaven’s sake!” Alicia shouts, pounding her fist into the wall. “Laura, if you won’t do this for me, do it for your people. I know that you love them.”

“You’re right. I do. But how is putting their future empress at risk helping them?”

“It gives them hope. That’s what they need right now. That’s what we all need.”

“I don’t even know what hope is. I have lived my entire life as a weapon, and I don’t know how to be anything else, Alicia. I can’t give them what I don’t have—what I’ve never had.”

“Do you want Karkonia to change? For the war to end? For everyone who lives on this soil to see peace and prosperity?”

“Of course I do.”

“That is hope! That is their hope too. You are. The future that you represent. Let them see what things could be like if you were empress. Then they will follow you anywhere, even if you go with us.”

She’s right. Even though the people don’t know me, I control their decision. If Ryan isn’t enough to sway them, I could be. “Okay. Okay. I’ll do it.”

Alicia smiles. “Then let’s get you ready.”

 

* * * *

 

It feels like I am staring into the eyes of millions of people, but I am actually staring into a camera. I don’t know how Alicia and Ryan arranged for us to be interviewed by a news channel. I guess their connections run deeper than I’d previously imagined.

My heart is beating rapidly. When I ran away, I knew that my father would be angry with me. But there is a sliver of a chance that he would forgive me, let me come back home. I could even lie and say the rebels kidnapped me. I could find a way back to the life I’ve always known.

But if I do this, there is no turning back. My father will condemn me, and I will be as dead to him as Alicia is.

Am I making the right decision? I still don’t know. All I know is that my father isn’t leading this country the way he should. The rebellion won’t either, if the throne is left in their hands. This is why I have to do this. If I win the people’s loyalty, I will win myself the throne. And when I am empress, I will make damn sure that Karkonia has peace. I will protect my country from war and violence and evil, so long as I live. I have to.

So I speak. I speak for the future that I want to promise my people. For the future that war will only destroy. For the people who are too afraid to speak for themselves.

I take a shaky breath and look into the camera’s lens. This is it.

“My name is Laura White, and although you don’t know me yet, I am the Princess and heir to the throne of Karkonia. My father, Emperor Peter VII, decided to keep me a secret to ensure my safety. But I am tired of secrets and lies, and I know you are too. I am announcing my identity to you so that you know that you aren’t alone. Even those close to the Emperor have been lied to and hurt. We are all tired of pain and of war, and I want you to know that it is okay to trust the rebellion. They only want to help Karkonia and restore peace to this land.

“I’m sorry for my part in this lie that we have all been living, and I hope that you will forgive me. I also hope that you will stand beside the rebellion and me as we fight to protect this country from this new threat of war. Thank you for your time.” I finish my small speech with a shaky breath and Ryan pats my back as the newsperson returns his camera to its bag.

“You did a good job, Laura.” Ryan smiles.

“Thanks.” I nod. “May I return to my room?”

“Of course, of course,” Ryan says.

Hastily, I push my chair under the long table that sits in the middle of the conference room that our meeting was held in, and run through the door. I don’t stop running until I have reached my room, where I collapse on the bed in tears.

“Laura? What happened?” Shane says.

Great. I didn’t even notice that he was here. I sit up straight and wipe my eyes in a rush. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” Shane observes.

“I did it. I announced my identity on national television,” I say, voice shaking. When I’d left to give my interview, I’d lied to him and told him I was going on a walk. It was something I wanted to do with as few people there as possible.

“You did? I can’t believe Alicia actually made you go through with this. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you—”

“I needed to do it on my own. I don’t know why I can’t stop crying. It’s just… I wanted to do this. I know it was the right thing, and I know it would’ve happened sooner or later. But…by telling everyone who I am, I’ve ensured that my father will never forgive me.”

“I’m sorry,” he says quietly. “But you know, you’re going to make a great empress someday. You’ve already made a lot of sacrifices for your people.”

“Thanks, Shane,” I say, trying to smile through my tears.

“Hey, well I’m gonna go watch some TV and let you be alone for a bit. Well, if you want…”

“That would be great.” I smile, lying back down on the bed. A nap won’t make this new heartbreak go away, but it will give me a chance to escape it.

“It’s gonna be okay, Princess,” Shane reassures me as he strides down the small hallway toward the living room. I hear the quiet buzz as the television turns on, and the noise comforts me as I attempt to fall asleep.

Just as I settle in under the covers, Shane’s panicked voice causes me to open my eyes again. “Um, Laura, when did you give your little announcement?”

“Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes ago. Why?” I say, yawning.

“Was it live television? Like, were you being broadcast as you spoke?”

“Yes. Shane, what’s going on?” I demand, throwing my covers to the floor and rushing into our living room.

“Your father got a response together pretty quickly,” Shane says, pointing to the screen.

For the first time in almost a month, I see my father’s face. His thick eyebrows are creased in anger as he speaks. “Laura White, the girl whose speech was broadcast across the nation just moments ago, is indeed my daughter. However, she’s now to be considered a traitor. I ask everyone in Karkonia to be on high alert. Laura is a dangerous criminal and must be caught immediately. I want my daughter returned to me—dead or alive. I don’t care. Whatever the cost, she must be stopped.”