Royal Return Read online

  I thought I did, but I’d never known what true captivity was until now. True captivity was being completely invisible—a ghost. However, I tried not to dwell on my situation since I knew I wasn’t the only one dealing with this kind of scenario. All the girls here were suffering just as much as I was—maybe even more so with some of the atrocities the others had committed. I hadn’t yet been out of the palace since waking in the room with Constance. I hadn’t been forced to kill anyone—yet.

  Dr. Crane’s voice was easily distinguishable over the voices of my sisters in the main living space. I was finishing applying moisturizer and light makeup in my en-suite—not that I had any say in the matter. Ali kept me up with an unwavering daily hygiene routine, even though we’d done nothing but sit around the bunker. The other girls left periodically, without saying a word.

  “What’s taking her so long?” Dr. Crane yelled.

  “I’m right here,” Ali said, stepping out of my bedroom, shrugging on a bathrobe over my clothes.

  Dr. Crane looked frazzled, his hair wild, deep circles under his eyes. “Have you discovered any more information yet?”

  “Nothing of use in finding the Prince or Princess,” Ali said. “I’ve been sifting through her memories. There’s a large chunk I’m having to decrypt since you reset her, so I can gain access to them.”

  “Those memories shouldn’t be relevant here, but go through them all, just in case.”

  Ali was talking about my memories and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. And now, she was working on getting memories I didn’t even have access to—the months of time I’d lost—my entire initial relationship with Kale. Not only was she controlling everything about me physically, she was invading my memories and using what she found to help Dr. Crane. I couldn’t even think of some escape plan without her gaining access to it. She may not know about it immediately, but she’d find out. There were no secrets left that would just be mine.

  “With all the resources we have, including the financed army Danielle brought back, we shouldn’t have this much trouble finding them!” Dr. Crane proceeded to completely unravel. “We did not come this far, accomplish this much, to lose from not being able to find the helpless Princess. We all know she won’t be helpless for long. Each day she doesn’t receive her treatments is a day closer to her revealing herself to the Kingdom.” He raked his hands through his matted hair. “The coronation is tomorrow. We need to double our efforts. By my estimation, she’ll be back to full health within one to two more weeks. Of course, she’ll be weak, but she’ll be able to communicate fully. Who knows what those rebels will be coaxing her to do? Is there nothing inside that muddled head of hers that can give any clues to where they’re hiding?”

  “All she knows is that we did not find the Princess in the Outlands, and former Duke Mackenzie knows where she is stashed,” Ali said. “But that’s all.”

  “We’ve checked all of Mackenzie’s and Ramsey’s documented holdings and have not found anything,” Jane said.

  “Perhaps they have undocumented holdings and are hidden there,” Dr. Crane snapped. “Though it’s more likely it’s a personal connection we’re missing, not a hidden asset. How did I let this get so out of hand?”

  “We’ll find her before it’s too late,” Danielle said. “The soldiers are widening their patrols, including all the wards that participated in Queen Dorothea’s experiment.”

  “That’s not enough,” Dr. Crane said, pacing around the room. “They need to be in every ward, patrolling every street.”

  “We weren’t able to secure that many soldiers,” Danielle said. “The cost was too prohibitive. There are drones scanning the greater kingdom. One of them will show up somewhere.”

  “If we find the Prince, we will find the Princess,” Dr. Crane said. “It’s no longer enough he’s just a person of interest. I’ll get the people of Westeria involved—issue a reward for anyone leading to his whereabouts.”

  “Take some time to enjoy the coronation tomorrow,” Eleanor said, coming to stand beside him, then offering a hug. “It’s a big day—for you, for all of us.”

  “Thank you,” Dr. Crane said. “I will try to remember that. Once we have Amelia, everything will be so much simpler.” Then he turned back to me. “If you do discover anything for us to follow up on, then please let me know at once.”

  “Of course; I will,” Ali said.

  Why are you even listening to him? I asked. You can take me anywhere—break out of here. We’re just in another prison.

  We all have to do as we’re programmed, Ali said inside my head.

  Programmed?

  Ali didn’t answer, and my attention went back to Dr. Crane, who was talking again.

  “In the spirit of doubling our efforts, we need to challenge the commitments of the ward’s noble families—discover who will remain loyal to the crown. The rebels may even be doing something similar, especially with Mackenzie being a duke himself. It’s time I had everyone’s help. We’ll start with your home wards, though we can already cross off the 23rd and 24th. Those wards will need new leadership anyway. Eleanor, you visit the 22nd Ward, Jane the 21st, Victoria the 20th, and Danielle the 19th. If the rebels are already trying to gather support, they’ll also be starting with your home wards. If we’re lucky enough, we’ll catch them in the act, otherwise sabotaging their efforts could also prove fruitful.”

  I won’t let you kill them, I said.

  I will do what’s necessary, Ali replied. Enemies will be eliminated.

  I’ll find a way to stop you. I had no idea how but knew I couldn’t let her repeat the terrible destruction done to my old home, to Mackenzie’s estate, to Kale’s village. It seemed like she had absolute power now, but she must have a weakness; she had to. I just had to find it.

  I’m sorry we cannot be more aligned, Ali said to me while simultaneously speaking to Dr. Crane. “I’ll leave at once to visit Duke and Duchess Boyes in the 20th Ward. Their surrogate daughter, Piper Rosewood, is the one other clone unaccounted for.”

  “I had forgotten that was her ward,” Dr. Crane said. “Be extra thorough to see if she’s had any contact with them.”

  The realization of visiting Piper’s family was like a punch in the gut. I didn’t even want to think of what Ali would potentially do to them. They are nice people, I seethed.

  They are potential traitors, Ali replied. I will find out the truth. “I will find out everything I can.”

  I dreaded the thought of leaving the bunker. With Ali in control, I knew that no one who encountered her was safe. And she just might get me killed in the process, which I was sure didn’t worry her in the least.

  2

  Byron

  I was claustrophobic and restless. There were too many people crammed into Robert’s little house. Maybe it wasn’t so little for the average family and my perspective was terribly askew. Either way, there weren’t enough rooms to go around.

  Robert wasn’t used to having so many people in his house as well and did whatever he could to have his space. His bedroom was the one room in the house only accommodating one person. The rest of us were bunked up two, three, and four to a room—with the living room included. Other accommodations were discussed, but no one wanted to split up and no one wanted to leave—except maybe Robert.

  Kale had no luck in finding Victoria or Constance, but he did run into Gabriel the following day. Gabriel tried calling me, but my phone was back at the Ramsey estate—or what was left of it after the attack. Luckily, Rod was still in possession of his, so Gabriel and Kale reached us through his direction.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever sat still for this long,” I said to Kale, who was stretched out on his sleeping bag. I had one a few feet away from his while we let Kimera take the bed in this room. Kimera fought tooth and nail to take the floor instead of me, but I wouldn’t back down. When Kale jumped in and said he’d take the bed instead, she finally gave in. “I need to do something. I feel so useless here.”


  “Sorry, man,” Kale said. He had just gotten back the night before, after a meeting with Piper’s family in the 20th Ward. “I don’t know what else to tell you. You’re supposed to be taking it easy anyway, so you don’t screw up your leg again. When did you say the reinforcements were getting here?”

  “Not soon enough,” I said with a sigh. “Any day now. Then at least I’ll have a purpose again.”

  “How are you even getting Easteria soldiers in here, anyway? I’m sure the fence is locked down. It’s not like you can use my little trick to bring in an army.”

  “I’ve enlisted some help smuggling them in,” I said. “Are you familiar with the Duncans? Sir Leonard and his wife, Delores—they’re old family friends. Sir Leonard owns a number of businesses, many of which import and export to the continental kingdoms. He is helping us with several dilemmas, this being one of them. He’s getting my soldiers into the kingdom.”

  “And then what?” Kale asked, sitting up in the sleeping bag. “How many have you enlisted?”

  “About twenty or so,” I said. “Not enough to wage war, but enough to carry out a carefully planned mission. And besides, my kingdom only has so many men to spare. Actually, we couldn’t even spare the men we lost, let alone the new unit coming in.”

  While we were waiting for my soldiers to arrive, a few teams of people had been visiting the various wards to enlist support from the noble families, starting with the families who had helped Queen Dorothea with her eighteen-year experiment. Kale, Johanna, and Piper had started in the 20th Ward, meeting with the Boyes family. Mackenzie and Lady Ramsey traveled to the 22nd Ward to meet with Lady Hendrix. Even though the Duke was gone, the Hendrix family still retained their position. They moved onto the Nobel family in the 21st Ward (Bethany’s family), then to the Thorton family in the 19th Ward—Danielle’s family. Starting with the families familiar with the Queen’s original plan, it was easier to get support. The other noble houses would be more difficult to win over, the conversations there needing to be approached more delicately.

  Kimera came into the room with a toiletry bag and her hair piled up in a towel. “Who’s next?” she asked.

  “Go ahead,” I said.

  “Is there any hot water left?” Kale asked.

  “It was fine for me,” Kimera answered.

  Kale jumped up and grabbed some clothes and his bag of toiletries before rushing to one of two full bathrooms before anyone else could claim it.

  Kimera removed the towel from her hair and began brushing it out. Our eyes met as I sat on the floor, leaning against the wall.

  “She’s going to be fine,” Kimera said.

  “I know she will,” I lied.

  “Good. Then there’s no reason to worry.”

  “There are plenty of reasons to worry, but that’s not one of them.” I forced a grin to keep the conversation light.

  My face had been on the news every day since we got there. I was the primary person of interest in the Queen’s death, according to official palace reports. Her official cause of death had not been publicized, and for good reason, I suspected. It had become increasingly harder for me to get around freely in public, so I’d been mostly confined to the house. Naturally, my parents were very concerned when they heard the reports. It was bad enough that Westeria had ceased all aid to Easteria, but it was even worse to discover the move was being used as leverage to get to me. I told them how the Duncans would be helping in the short term, and I wouldn’t leave here until Westeria was returned to its rightful ruler, which was… Princess Amelia.

  It had been amazing to watch her transform over the past week. Each day, she’d gained more motor functions to a point where you could see her body coming to life. The paralysis in her face was completely gone. Her hands and arms were gaining more strength as she began to use them for everyday activities, while her leg movement had begun to return. Of course, she wouldn’t be able to walk for quite some time due to her atrophied muscles, but we were all confident that she’d one day be capable.

  Princess Amelia would be able to rule as she always was meant to do. I knew how much Queen Dorothea loved her daughter and could picture her reaction from seeing her now in such a miraculous state of recovery. I didn’t mind that Victoria would no longer be Queen of Westeria and I wouldn’t be the new King. I just wanted to be with her, wherever that led us—whether it be here advising the new Queen or returning to Easteria to live closer to the rest of my family.

  I pushed up from the floor and gave Kimera a smile as I left the room. In the next bedroom over, Princess Amelia and Piper were sharing a room. Piper had been slowly returning to the girl I remembered from the palace. It seemed to have done her a world of good visiting with her family. She’d bonded with Kale and Johanna and was now developing a relationship with the Princess.

  Princess Amelia was alone in the room, exercising her arms with soup cans from the kitchen. She lifted the cans directly over her head in a slow, shaky shoulder press. She struggled with the one-pound cans, but there was a sense of elation on her face from her greatly improved range of motion.

  “That’s amazing,” I said, leaning against the door frame. “I can’t believe what you’ve accomplished in these past few days.”

  “I can’t believe I could have done this all along,” Princess Amelia said while continuing her reps. After about five more, she dropped the cans onto her lap to rest. Her face and neck glistened with sweat, but I’d never seen her appear so happy.

  “Where’s Piper?” I asked.

  “She went for a morning run. Do you need her for something?”

  “No,” I said. “Just a general question.”

  Another thing that came out in the first few days there was who Piper and Victoria really were to the Princess. She’d been told that Victoria was her younger sister, and Princess Amelia knew nothing of the other girls. Since Piper’s appearance had been altered, it wasn’t apparent who she was anymore. But when Princess Amelia saw Bethany—or, at least, I assumed it was Bethany--claiming to be her on the television, it raised some very obvious questions.

  The Princess was quiet about the revelation at first, like she had no idea what to do with the information and rejected the fact that her mother would do that. But as I spoke with her more, and Piper joined in on some the conversations with the firsthand knowledge she possessed, Princess Amelia became more accepting of the situation.

  “What are we going to do about this?” the Princess had asked.

  “Well, you’re the rightful heir,” I’d said, with Piper nodding in agreement. “We need to help you get back your throne. You must understand that the girl claiming to be you is being controlled by your old doctors. She’s not doing it of her own free will. And we are probably seeing multiple girls, all posing as you. I believe Victoria is among them.”

  “You were part of this plan when my mother was alive?” she asked. “That one of these girls would become ‘me’, while I was confined to my room in the cellar, growing sicker? One of these girls would take over the life I was supposed to have, and you’d become King of that lie?”

  When she put it that way, I sounded like a terrible person—and I couldn’t deny it, nor could I hide any longer behind any of the rationalizations the Queen had used to get me into this mess. “I only wanted to help our two kingdoms,” I said. “My Kingdom is dying and your mother wanted help from my parents. They were eager to do so, though they were never told the full extent of what I was doing here. They thought I’d be marrying the rightful Princess and joining our two families. As you can now see, that wasn’t exactly the truth.”

  “So, the rumors about me that have also been spreading through the press are true.”

  “True, but losing steam,” I said. “There were major protests when that information came out. I was there when the palace was attacked. It was a bloody mess. It was hard since the palace was not providing official statements—mostly because we had so many internal problems at the time. But now that the Princess—I
realize it’s not you, but it’s easier for conversation—has been in the public eye disputing the rumors, mourning the loss of the Queen, and spreading an optimistic message of a stronger, more unified Westeria, it seems to be really helping with public approval of the royal family and lessening the ongoing protests.

  “I think we can use what the palace is doing to our advantage, which is not introducing you to the public as the real Princess—the new Queen of Westeria. That could trigger a war and lead to far more casualties than necessary. If we can take down the doctors, release the girls from their control, and make the switch with you, then it could potentially be a seamless transition.”

  “I don’t know anything about ruling a kingdom, though,” Princess Amelia said, timidly.

  “You won’t be alone,” I assured her. “We’ll have people to help you. And I’ll stay and help you if you want. Your mother talked about furthering the relations between our two kingdoms, but she always had strings attached. Let us build that bridge for real. Both kingdoms are in need of help, and both kingdoms are in positions to help one another. What do you say?”

  “Do you think we can win?”

  “We have to win,” I said. “Your doctors can’t get away with murdering your mother and taking over the kingdom. If we can’t pull off the switch in secret, then we’ll start a war. Either way, the palace as it stands right now will fall.”

  I watched Princess Amelia take the soup cans from her lap and begin curls, twisting her wrists as she contracted and extended her arms like I’d shown her. Then Piper squeezed past me to enter the room. She had a hand towel around her neck and her gray tee-shirt was drenched with sweat, giving it a two-toned look.