Silence.

Her last words were met with utmost silence for over a minute. She swallowed hard, daring to turn her gaze nervously to where Elijah was standing behind them, his eyes glued to Aiden, wondering the exact same things she was asking herself...

Why wasn't he saying anything?

He was just as nervous as she was, Aiden's silence was deafening. Keisha swallowed hard and returned her gaze to Aiden who just glared at her, his gaze not wavering, and an even worse frown hovering around his face. Did he hear her? Was he even listening to anything she said? For some reason she found herself trembling, trembling everytime her gaze met his that she couldn't even bear to look at him anymore.

Elijah took a step forward in an attempt to curb the silence.

"Your highness?"

"Do you expect me to believe such nonsense?"

Keisha returned her gaze to Aiden in fright the moment she realized he was talking to her.

"Your highness." she whispered.

"Your highness," Elijah took another step forward and Aiden turned to him immediately and drew a deep breath.

"When you told me you had evidence, I was expecting to hear something real not a story that looks like it was cut out of a Barbie series."

"Your highness, this is real-"

"No, this is rubbish. You expect me to believe this?" Aiden left his annoyed gaze on Elijah. "To believe that there's a imposter pretending to be my fiancée? Committing treason against the throne?"

"Your highness, it only makes sense. This is the only explanation as to why she acts so differently from the lady Vutron you grew up with, the lady Vutron you are betrothed to."

"Do you even know what this means? This is treason.  If what you're saying is right, a lot of people would either die, be jailed or exiled and do you even know what's worse? If it isn't. The King would lose his mind if he even hears this in a whisper, you and your family would be in danger if there's even the slightest chance that you're wrong. The Vutrons won't let you live for dragging their name through the mud. They wouldn't just sue you for defamation, you'd be brought to face the royal court and you'd be charged for trying to sabotage the relationship of the Queen-to-be and the royal family. You could even receive the chair. You want me to believe this girl you brought from God knows where over the future Queen of Breton-"

Keisha went on her knees immediately.

"I wouldn't dare lie to you your highness." Keisha said after him. Aiden froze. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe he had to hear her speak again. "I wouldn't dare speak of this if it wasn't the truth. I've lived with Anne-Marie and her brother all my life, I and my friends lived for tormenting and making jests of her. I knew everywhere she went, how she thinks, every expression on her face. I know how to read her like a book. I can identify her even with my eyes closed. I can not be mistaken by this. That girl, she's not who you think she is, I thought I was wrong at first, that I was seeing things but after I saw you two at the engagement party, I was sure, it's her. It's really her, you have to believe me your highness. You're being deceived by her. The entire royal family-"

Aiden turned to her immediately.

"Enough!"

She cringed in fear, shutting her mouth abruptly.

"Your highness-"

Aiden turned back to Elijah.

"Not a word from you either."

"Your highness, you need to listen to us-"

"I said I would not hear it. I would not entertain any more of this nonsense. I don't want to- I can't listen to anything you say-"

Elijah paused for a second as he watched how Aiden held his breath. He looked even more anxious than he was after listening to the story. It was like Elijah could suddenly read him like a book. He exhaled.

"You can't or you won't?"

Aiden narrowed his gaze on Elijah again.

"Don't tell me you've been swayed your highness. Don't tell me you'd let your feelings cloud and blind you from seeing the truth, from accepting it. What are you so scared of your highness? Why are you suddenly scared of the truth?-"

Aiden reached for Elijah's pants immediately and grabbed his gun, he pointed it at him, aiming at his head and cocked it. Keisha gasped and placed her hand over her mouth while Elijah held his breath.

"Because I let you talk this far does not mean I intend to tolerate your nagging any longer. Paris Vutron is the future Queen, your future Queen and you would refer to her with respect. You would choose your next choice of words very carefully because the rest of your life depends on it. You know I never miss." Aiden swallowed hard.

Elijah was frozen but he didn't show a sign of fear. It wasn't that he doubted Aiden, or the fact that Aiden could pull the trigger, he just had too much confidence in himself and the point he was trying to make. It was for the royal family, it was to save the royal family, to save Aiden from making the biggest mistake of his life and if he had to die trying, then it was an honor. He was in too deep to stop now.

"I've served you for years your highness, remained at your side. I have never for once put you at the side of danger and I would not think twice without giving up my life for you, you know this. Do you think I did not calculate the probable consequences of my words before I said them to you? That I don't know what could possibly happen if by chance, I was wrong about this? You could lose the throne. Why would I ever put you in that position in the first place your highness? Think. Miss Vutron was shot right below her abdomen, a bullet she took to save your life, a gunshot wound not even the doctors at the royal infirmary were sure she would survive from. She went into a coma immediately and after a few weeks, just a few weeks, she wakes up again with no scar from the shooting, with only little memories of her past, forgetting how to do the best things she knew how to like swimming, and being allergic to things she never was. She even raised her hand at you, that is something the real lady Vutron would never do, even if she forgot who you are."

Aiden glared at him. He was being unimaginably patient. He was holding back, a part of him knew Elijah wasn't exactly wrong.

"Think about it your highness. Think about how the prime minister whose only daughter was shot on her engagement evening could think about nothing but throwing her again out there, into the very same situation immediately she got back. I know what you'd say your highness, but even if Oliver Vutron is as greedy and heartless as we say he is, no father would be too excited to lose his only daughter the second time shortly after she managed to remain alive, even if its for the royal family, especially not a man like Oliver Vutron. We all know how important the future princess is to him. Your highness, if the Vutrons can pull off something like this, if they could go as far as making a fool out of the throne, out of the King, think of what they could do when they share power with it. I know you can see this, I know you have the same questions and you know I'm right. Are you just going to watch? Watch them have their way? Watch them ridicule the royal family? This is the chance you've been waiting for your highness, the chance to destroy the Vutrons forever and server their relationship with the throne."

Aiden scoffed. He lowered the gun slowly until he had lowered it from Elijah's face completely.

"If you don't believe me your highness, you should come with me, I'm sure you'd believe me when you see him."

"See who?"

Elijah held his breath.

"Abel, Abel Davis."

*************************************************
"Let me have the yellow sweater as well please."
Laura instructed one of the maids and returned her gaze to the bags on the bed in front of her, paying Asher no mind as he walked out of his bathroom in his red robe, drying his hair with a towel.

"The blue one too."

Asher scoffed when he saw the sight in front of him. He had barely spent thirty minutes in the bathroom and Laura had already brought half the maids into his room and they were going through his stuff, more like neatly folding them and placing them into his bag. Did the idea of him going to Eutherdore excite her that much?

"Mum?" He walked even further to his bed and came to a stop right beside her. "Mum what are you doing?"

Laura turned to him immediately, she left a really huge smile on her face when she saw him.

"You're out?"

"Mum, it's only going to be three days, you really don't need to do too much-"

"What do you mean?" She pouted as she tried to neatly fold his blue cardigan. She returned her gaze to the box to have a good look at it. "This is too much?"

"Mum, it's a huge box." Asher turned to the extremely huge bag in front of them. "The last time I ever traveled with this much weight was in second grade, Greece."

Laura clicked her tongue now that she had a second look. Asher had a point. She was probably doing too much.

"You're right." She said. "Oh my, it's a lot isn't it?"

Asher threw himself on his bed immediately as Laura turned to one of the maids.

"Get a much smaller bag please."

She turned back to Asher who happened to be too busy applying lotion on his neck slowly, massaging it in.

"Is there anything in specific you'd like to go with?" She asked him, excitement in the tone of her voice. "Tell me, mummy would buy it for you-"

"Mum," Asher chuckled. "Stop it, you're embarrassing."

She scoffed and took a quick scan around the room to see what he was so ashamed of. There was no one but maids around.

"What? I'm serious."

Asher turned to her and the smile on her face grew even wider.

"I'll buy anything, one word and it's yours."

"Mum, are you that excited?"

"Of course I am. It's your first school trip in years, why wouldn't I be?" She drew a deep breath and stood straight. "I always hoped you'd be able to live your life the way normal kids your age do, go on trips like this with your friends and classmates. I'm so grateful for the prince for even considering this. I'm so happy that I think my heart is going to explode from all the excitement."

Asher scoffed.

"It's really not that deep." He said beneath his breath. "It's Eutherdore Mum. I heard other mothers started a protest against the idea at the last parent teacher zoom conference. How can you be so excited that I'd be going to Eutherdore?"

"What do you mean? Eutherdore is beautiful." She drew a deep breath as she clasped her hands together and raised her gaze a bit to stare into space.
"The air is amazing, the fields are beautiful and so are the people." She pulled her gaze down until it found Asher again who was just sitting there, listening to her attentively.
"That's where your father and I met remember? During his campaign at Eutherdore."

Asher frowned.

He had almost forgotten about that? Why on earth did she have to bring it up and ruin the moment? Laura could see it, how uneasy he had become immediately. She pursed her lip immediately as Asher looked away as fast as he could.

"Mum, can I ask you something?"

"Mnn?"

"It's just something. " Laura gave him her full and undivided attention.
"What do you do when you're bothered about something, like really bothered about something but you're holding back from finding out the truth because you're scared a lot of people might get hurt if your hunch is right?"

Laura furrowed her brows.

"Are we still talking about Eutherdore?"

He shook his head.

"It's just someone I know." He told her. "Paris."

"Oh,"

"Ever since she woke up, she's been acting differently."

"You mean distant."

"Not just that mum, she acts way nicer than she normally would, cares way more than she used to about the littlest things, she forgets a lot of things she could never forget and is less care free than she used to be. it's just-she's just different from the Paris I used to know. It's almost like she's a whole different person."

"Well now that you brought it up, I was going to ask you if my ears had failed me after you told me she contributed to your plans with the prince to help the people of Niyagra."

"Exactly. The Paris I know would have never done that."

Laura exhaled.

"I don't know Asher. People change you know, and I don't think we can blame Paris for changing either considering that she literally just survived death. Anyone could change after being through what she went through." She clicked her tongue. "If it bothers you so much then look into it. Although I doubt you'd find anything useful."

"Mrs Coleman?" She slowly turned to the maid with the smaller bag. "Here is the bag you requested."

"Oh." She slowly took it from her, cursing herself in her head for talking way too much again. "Could you help me push this one to the side please?" Now she was referring to the bigger one.

"Yes ma'am."

They were about to push the box aside when something fell on it gently. Laura narrowed her gaze on the life jacket right in front of her.

"Please put that in too." Asher said beneath his breath and Laura slowly raised her gaze to meet him, the look on her eyes immediately engulfed with sadness.

"Asher-"

Asher sniffed and raised his head to her immediately, forcing a smile on his face so she didn't get the wrong idea.

"I know there aren't a lot of pools in Eutherdore and we might probably never get a chance to get close to one, I just want to have it close in case."

"Do you still have those nightmares Ash?"

"Nope." He said almost immediately. There was no point lying to save her the worry, she could read him like a book. "Precautionary measures that's all."

Laura exhaled. She walked to him and grabbed his hand slowly, turning him around till he came face to face with her. She squeezed his hands and glanced on them for a second.

"It's okay if you still don't want to talk to me or anyone about it. I understand what that day still means to you and even though I try to forget that I'd have lost you if someone had not saved you from that river that day-" she drew a deep breath. "That's why I'm always grateful to Paris and I'd always be indebted to her. She did not only save you that day, but she has been a good friend to you ever since."

Asher exhaled.

"But it's been eight years, those people that hurt you before, those people that hurt you that day and left you to die; they can't hurt you anymore. You've grown so well, and so strong too, you need to heal, and forgive them so they don't have a hold on you anymore-" she slowly turned to the life jacket. "Especially since it's that time of the year where you'd have to face them again." She turned to him as the frown on his face worsened.

Asher exhaled and raised his hands up her arm so he could pull her attention back to him. He rubbed her arms gently and was about to say something when-

Smash!

The car alarm went off immediately.