Chapter Eleven
A Visit & A Realization
Della screamed as she fell, her skirt flipping up and her hair blowing in the wind as she fell. Above her, Vaughn watched as she fell, no remorse on his face. That's when Della realized that though Vaughn had given her life, he wasn't her father.
Desperate and paranoid, Della began to search in the bag at her hip for something. Her thin fingers found one of the two remaining vials. Praying to every god she knew, Della threw one of them below her. As soon as the vial broke against the ground, a giant red tulip sprouted out from the ground and rose faster than Della was falling. The bloom caught her and she landed, unharmed.
Above her, watching from the window, Vaughn was yelling about the Devil's work. Della heard him yell for a servant to bring him his sword, claiming he was going to kill the sorceress.
Now fearing for her life, Della climbed out of the bloom and slid down the tulip's long green stem and landed softly on the ground. Picking up her skirts, she ran towards the dirt road that led away from the manor.
But she paused when she felt eyes on her and turned to look at the window. Koby and Avery were staring out of it, their eyes sad. Della was as well, so much so that she had tears in her eyes. Though Vaughn wasn't her father, those boys were still her brothers. But she couldn't save them now. So Della raised a pale hand, shining in the light of the rising moon, and waved goodbye. Then she ran down the road lined with trees, disappearing into the shadows.
When Della could run no more, she veered off the road and into the trees. She pushed bushes aside and climbed over rocks until she reached a small clearing with fruit bushes and a soft patch of dirt. Sad and alone, Della sat down. Not knowing or caring if the berries were poisonous, she nibble at some though her appetite didn't exist.
After a while, tears started to fall down Della's face as she spiraled deep into her thoughts and worries.
What was she going to do now? She had nowhere to go. Her mother was dead, her great-uncle only wanted to use her, and her father wanted her dead. She had nothing. Now she was just a beggar, stuck in a kingdom that she didn't know anything about, miserable and alone.
The longer she cried, the worst she felt. But then one single tear fell from her hazel eye and landed on the red gem of her amulet. It began to sparkle and glow. Confused, Della held it and tried to think what new power or curse the amulet was going to give her.
"Something wrong?" a voice asked from behind her.
Nearly jumping out of her skin, Della whirled around. Behind her was a young woman, about her age, with dark skin the color of hot chocolate and dark curly hair. Her big eyes were kind and Della loved her outfit that consisted of a tan skirt made with varying lengths of fabric, held up by a red fabric belt that was also the same fabric that made up her top which showed off her slim belly. And around her neck was a blue necklace made from shells. But the most curious thing about her was she seemed to glow with a warm red light.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Della demanded, taking a step back. Her time away from the palace had taught her to be cautious of strangers.
"My name's Moana," the woman answered. "And I'm here to help you."
"Sofia!" Hugo called to her as they flew through the air. "We can't fly in the dark!"
The sun had sank and now the moon was rising. Hugo could barely see his wife and knew the horses could see even less. It was dangerous and they needed to land. But Sofia was determined and ignored him.
"Sofia!" Hugo tried again. "We need to land! It's not safe!"
"I'm not stopping until I find her!" Sofia shouted back and flicked her horse's reins, making her go faster.
"We can't find her if we're dead or injured somewhere in the woods!" Hugo protested. Sofia thought for a moment before she dove down to the ground. Thankful, Hugo followed.
The pair landed softly near a large village. Even from outside the town they could hear the shouts and laughter of people at the pub. Sofia and Hugo slid off of their horses and approached the town, searching for an inn.
After finding one and storing their horses in the stables of the inn, the two of them went to the room they had rented for the night. It had a double bed with a lumpy mattress and a pile of thin blankets. A wooden dresser with a dusty mirror stood against the wall across from the bed and window covered by tan curtains was on the wall opposite the door.
Sofia pulled off her black boots and dark purple jacket. Then she fell onto the bed, exhausted. Hugo, began undoing his boots as well and pulled off his red and black striped riding vest, leaving himself in a white undershirt, black pants, and white socks. His dark eyes drifted to his wife who was wearing her dark purple pants, white socks, and light purple undershirt, her brown hair sprawled across her pillow.
"We'll find her," Hugo promised.
Sofia turned over so she could face Hugo who had laid down next to her. Their hands found each other's and for a few moments they just enjoyed each other's close company.
"I'm just worried that when we find her she won't want to come back," Sofia admitted. "We lied to her and everyone else for eighteen years. We kept the truth from her. And, if I was her, I don't know if I'd want to come back."
"If she doesn't want to come back then we'll just make sure she knows we love her," Hugo insisted. "We'll explain everything. And I know that if we can make her understand, show that she is our daughter, then she'll come home."
"She isn't even going by the name we gave her!" Sofia exclaimed. "She's running from us, Hugo! And I don't think she wants to be found."
"I think she's trying to find who she is," Hugo said after he thought for a moment. "Who she wants to be."
"And what if who she wants to be doesn't involve us?" Sofia wondered, tears in her blue eyes. "What then?"
"I….I don't know," Hugo sighed, stroking his wife's hand.
After that they fell into silence and, eventually, sleep.
"What do you mean, you're here to help?" Della wondered. "How did you even find me?"
"Your amulet summoned me," Moana explained. "It summons a princess whenever you're in distress."
"Cedric never told me that," Della muttered, looking at the red gem. "So what are you going to help me with?"
"Whatever you need help with," Moana replied. "So, what's wrong?"
"I….I don't know what to do," Della sighed and leaned against a tree. Moana walked closer and placed a hand on Della's shoulder. "I was looking for my family but nothing's worked."
"What else were you looking for?" Moana asked.
"What do you mean?" Della inquired
"I know you didn't run away just to find your family," Moana told her. "What else are you looking for?"
"I guess….I was looking for myself," Della answered. "For who I am."
"And who are you?"
"I'm the daughter of a sorceress who thought she'd found love, only to be used and shunned. I'm the daughter of a knight who abuses his children and wants to kill me. I'm the great-niece of a man who wants only power. I'm a girl who isn't wanted anywhere. I'm a mistake."
"I don't think so."
"But that's who I am! I'm just a mistake. I'm a beggar, unwanted by everyone."
"That isn't true."
"What are you talking about?" Della inquired, confused.
"Haven't you heard? Sofia and Hugo are looking for you," Moana told her.
"They just want their princess back," Della muttered. "An heir to their kingdom. And I'm not that girl."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Why?"
"Because your amulet," Moana started, tapping the gem, "connects every princess who ever was, whoever wore that amulet."
"But I'm not a princess. Can't the amulet give powers to people who aren't princesses?"
"Yes. But it can only send me to another princess," Moana said
Silence as Della thought.
"Hugo and Sofia," she said finally. "They aren't looking for me because they just want their princess back, are they?"
"No."
"They're want their daughter back," Della realized. "But she died. I was just a replacement."
"When are you going to realize that you are not that," Moana sighed. "They raised you and love you. To them, you are their daughter and will always. It doesn't matter what blood runs in your veins. You three are a family."
"Even if I don't know who I am?"
"You know who you are," Moana insisted. "You've gone by many names throughout your journey, trying to find out who you are. But you do know who you are."
"I'm not Matilda, the princess who never took a breath," the black haired girl thought. "I'm not Tilly, the whimsical daughter Sofia never got. I'm not Tilda, the demanding princess. I'm not Maddie, an orphan trying to find her parents. I'm not Celeste, the orphan daughter of Calista the Capricious. And I'm not Della, the peasant girl who's trying to earn the love of her father."
"So who are you?" Moana asked again, her voice hushed and calm.
The girl with two black braids held up her hands, watching her fingertips sparkle with a golden light. She remembered all she had learned about kindness and charity on her journey and realized what Sofia had been trying to teach her for all those years. She remembered how much Sofia had cared for her and loved her. And how Hugo had taught her to ride a horse and fight with a sword. How much he had loved her too.
"I am the daughter of Queen Sofia and King Hugo," she declared, standing straight. "I am the princess of Amalgamate, the heir to the throne. I am Sirona. Princess Sirona."
"Healer," Moana added, knowing the meaning of the name. She smiled at the princess's sparkling fingers and nodded. "Now what are you going to do?"
"I need to go home," Sirona realized. Moana nodded and smiled. "But first, there something else I must do."
"And I know you'll do it well," Moana said. "Because you know who you are."
And with that, Moana disappeared in a shimmer of red sparkles. Empowered, Sirona reached into the bag at her hip and pulled out her birth mother's wand. She tried to remember some spells from Royal Prep while she ran back to a dark manor she had run from not too long ago.
