Chapter 17

I'd never seen him as forthright as this, especially towards Mum, who he almost always yielded to, especially when she raised her voice.

He walked out of the room giving us both a long glance, imploring us to follow. We did so, leaving Mum behind with anger in her eyes and her lips pursed, having the good sense not to challenge him. He led us through the halls and up the stairs where Mum finally caught up with us.

"Wait-" she said, reaching out to grab Dad's arm, but she thought better of it and retreated her hand.

Dad turned around, obviously not in the mood to argue.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" She asked him. "Please."

"Fine." He replied, following her into a room, the door closing behind them.

I tried to hear what they were saying from where I stood in the hall, but I could only hear mumbling. I cupped my hands to the wall to hear them better.

"Really? Eavesdropping? I didn't think you would stoop so low." She said.

"Be quiet." I said harshly.

She rolled her eyes at me and joined me at the door.

"-even know what you're doing? Just let me lead this test so we can keep our daughter safe" said Mum, in such a way that you could hear the need to dominate in her voice.

"Safe? Like you kept her safe when she was training and her arm was cut open? Or safe like trying to marry her off to a man she hated in exchange for weapons?" Responded Dad angrily.

"Neither of those put her at risk; she will need her training one day, and if she had, she wouldn't have to marry King Victor"

"Enough Nadia! For as smart as you think you are, you're not smart enough to figure out who is our daughter, or when to stop talking and just let me handle it."

After that, they lowered their voices and we could only hear a few words here and there, not enough to figure out what they were saying. I stepped back, sighing in defeat, and messed with my new hairdo as I waited for them to emerge. There was a mirror in front of me, reflecting back two girls both looking me. The first one, with her brown hair in both a Dutch braid and a "crown" around her head, straightened her tiara, the movement sending ripples through her flowy blue dress. The second one, had blonde hair and pixie cut, neither style seeming to fit her, and looked more commoner than princess in her jeans and tank top. The mirror's angle seemed off, the reflection wrong. I realized that its not the mirror, but me. I'm not supposed to be a blond commoner with hair so short I look like a boy, I'm supposed to look like her, like a princess. With hair in an elaborate hairstyle put together so carefully by servants and with pins which sparkle the exact color of my beautiful dress - making it clear to all who see me that I am a Princess. Which, I might never get the chance to be again, if things keep going the way that they are.

Before I could begin my spiral, the door opened and Dad and Mum stepped into the hall. And it was very clear who had won the argument and was going to find the true princess. Dad and Mum lead us down the hall and into our cinema, where Dad connected his computer to the screen and loaded... something. I'm not sure what it was, it was a red screen with a start button.

"Kahoot? Your amazing test to weed out the fraud" - she pointed at me - "is Kahoot. A game that teachers use in schools? As a fun way to give tests?"

I have no idea what Kahoot is. For all I know it could be some kind of video game. Instead of explaining or responding to her comments, he motions for us to sit on soft, velvet chairs which have computers sitting on them. We take our seats. I log in and enter my name. I frown when I see what she put as her name. On the screen 'The One True Venetia' (her) is written above 'Venetia' (me). A loading sign appears and before long, a questions appears with what I think are the four possible answers.

When was Princess Venetia born?
I choose B, 'March 19, 1998' and the screen changes to show the results. We both chose the same answer.

Venetia is training in:
We both choose C, 'Krav Maga'.

Venetia was almost engaged to:
I click on A, 'Prince Alex', while she clicks on B, 'Francis Harrison'. I look over at her. She slipped up. I didn't think she would, especially only two questions into a quiz based on my life. I mean, I had always hoped that she would, but I never expected her to. After all, she did fool my own parents into believing that she's their daughter. I smile, as I see a a look appear on her face. A look that communicates that she might be discovered as the fake. My parents notice this too, and they suddenly seem unsure of the confidence they had that she was the fraud.

Venetia has been hospitalized __ times
We both opt for D, 'Once'.

And it continues like this for some time. It's hard to tell how long this went on for; there were so many questions. Usually we both answer correctly, but every now and then either her or I get one wrong. Once or twice, we both do. At the end, it shows how many we each got correct.

Venetia: 90.8%
The One True Venetia: 89.2%

I scored better than her. Not by much, but its still a higher score. I turn to my parents. "do you believe me now, Dad?" I ask, hoping, praying, that this will be enough for my parents to believe me. He looks like he wants to say he does, but then he looks to my doppelgänger and he doesn't answer. "Mum? Do you believe me?" Her face is unreadable and she whispers something to Dad.

He says "We will talk about the results and decide who is truly our daughter and heir."

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