Chapter 21- The Truth

By now, Henry and Charlotte were still very much on their guard, but they were confident enough that, like Angel and Kelilah, they could sit down.

"All those years ago," begins Angel, "Adela and I were trying to work out some sort of financial deal with the United States. This was after a crisis that we had was over, but we were looking for as much stability as we could get. We had figured out a way that, in the long run, the deal we were proposing would benefit both of us, but naturally, the U.S. was very stubborn.

"One of us needed to go there and have a meeting- we chose me. I went to America, and, after failing to strike a bargin, it was insisted on that I stick around for a bit, just in case of a mind change.

"Personally, it thought it was a weird idea, because the States thought I had left. Instead, I took on a new identity with a fake name, fake job, and fake family and decided to stay in a small town called Swellview for a few months."

"So the King of Ebella was in Swelliew for a few months and no one noticed?" Henry asks.

"We're very good at being secretive," says Angel. He turns to Charlotte. "Right after I arrived in Swellview, I meant your mother. We had a connection in the house next to hers, so that's where I stayed. I wasn't even supposed to meet her, but I saw her, and-"

"So you cheated on your wife?" Charlotte says bitterly.

Angel slowly nods- his shame is genuine. "Yes. I was so caught up in the craziness of just being a normal person, that, well, I was stupid. The guard I was with thought that she was just the nice person next door, and never suspected anything. I never told her who I really was."

"Soon enough, I was sent back home. I wasn't allowed to even say goodbye- she was supposed to forget about me. And she might have… oh, who I am kidding." It's a statement, not a question. "She couldn't forget me. She's not that kind of person.

"And I was supposed to forget about her," he says. "Never speak of her, ever. And I probably would've, but…"

"But me?"

"Sort of. When I got back, Adele was beside herself with excitement. She had found out that she was pregnant with Kelilah. I was overjoyed- she was a few months along already. Everything was back to normal- my normal- but soon a little princess would be joining us." Kelilah smiled a bit.

"About a month after I had gotten back, I thought about your mother. After a bit of interest usage, I found her. She was in a small-town news story, saying that her boyfriend had disappeared without a trace. She was so worried.

"She didn't however, mention to the papers until she couldn't hide her bump anymore that she was pregnant. This set off a whole bunch of rumors, I found out later, but when I read that, I panicked. This would have been bad enough had I been a normal person… but I was- am, more or less- a king. The King of Ebella. The King of Ebella, who was married, had gotten a woman from a small town pregnant."

"Sorry to interrupt," says Charlotte, "but what exactly does that make me?"

"Well, technically," says Angel, "you're an illegitimate princess- but right now, almost no one knows, so at the moment, you're a girl with a no-show father. Obviously, I couldn't go back without being found out. I won't lie- it was mostly to save my own skin. And to prevent a royal scandal. I realized years later, when I was thinking about you and Erika, that it should've been to keep the two of you from being dragged into something. The guilt was awful- it still is.

"Over the moths before you two were born, I kept an eye on Erika. Adela thought I was antsy because of Kelilah- which was mostly true. I was excited for her to be born.

"Then, she was. The entire kingdom was elated. And so was I. This didn't stop me, though, from checking up on your mother.

"I found out only hours after Kelilah was born that Erika had given birth early- apparently, you had developed a bit quicker than normal babies and was born early, and was totally fine.

"Over the years, I kept track of you and Erika. This was partially for my own benefit- I noticed from day one that you and Kelilah looked similar. As time passed, keeping an eye on you two got a bit easier- Erika was on Facebook, which was easier than relying on Swellview news to mention a woman whose boyfriend went missing. I was hoping that you would wind up looking like her, but as my daughters were growing up, they continued to look like twins. I couldn't believe it- what kind of genetic luck would it take for two girls with different mothers to look like clones? Adela always loved how much Kelilah resembled me, and I wondered if your mother felt the same way.

"More time passed. Eventually, it became legal for my fake persona from America to be legally declared dead- which it promptly was. And I had no idea what Erika thought."

Angel pauses for a second, takes a deep breath, and continues. "This next part is a bit complicated- well, it all is, but especially this part. You were told about Ray's connection to our family, yes?"

"Yeah," says Charlotte, remembering what Ray had told them. My father knew the queen's father because the queen's father was my second cousin's college roommate in Ebella. My cousin studied abroad there. "We were in a photo."

"Exactly- and I knew about this, but I hadn't seen the photo- until a few years ago. I heard Adele talking to a friend about it, but she said- I can still remember- she said, 'It's funny, the girl in the photograph looks just like Kelilah.' I hadn't turned the corner yet, so she didn't see my panic. Then she dug it out to show her friend, and I saw it. I saw you. And I freaked. I thought for sure she would find out. So… I faked my death."

"How did you manage to fake your death and fool your family, not to mention the whole country?" Henry asked. "I mean, that's quite a feat."

"A lot of work," says Angel. "But it wasn't enough- Kelilah found me out. And she wanted out- she didn't want to be a princess."

"And I still don't," says Kelilah. "But my escape plan was a little… sloppy, for lack of a better word. Daddy had a person helping him inside- but they couldn't give us away even if they wanted to, they died. We didn't kill him!" Kelilah adds quickly, in response to Henry and Charlotte's horrified faces. "They had an autopsy and everything, it was a heart attack. He was really old. But-"

"Sorry to interrupt," says Charlotte. "But none of this explains why I'm here."

Angel and Kelilah look at each other. "Look, sis," says Kelilah, "maybe we should finish explaining everything else first, just to make it-"

"Just tell her," says Henry, a bit forcefully. He puts his hand on Charlotte's shoulder, and she puts her own over it, grateful.

Kelilah sighs. "Fine." She softens just a bit. "Okay," she says. "Charlotte, after I found out about you from Daddy, I had an idea. It was crazy, insane, and I didn't think it would work, but it was an idea. I thought… well, I thought that if we brought you here on this wild goose chase to find me, then… then maybe you'd agree to replace me."

Henry looks at Kelilah- her idea is insane. He looks at Charlotte- the water had washed off her makeup, so she could see how ashen her face was.

Without any sort of warning, Charlotte jumps up, startling everyone. She grabs Henry's hand and runs, ignoring the cries of her name by Angel and Kelilah.

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