Chapter 9

Deryn put her hands on her knees and panted, her heart racing and her lungs burning. Her head spun and her ribs protested as loudly and as hatefully as ever.

"Barking... spiders!" she cried to herself. "Why are castles so barking big?"

"Now, doesn't that just depend on what sort of definition you carry of the word?" came an unfamiliar voice from somewhere in front of her.

Her head whipped up, her eyes searching frantically for the culprit. They finally came to rest on a woman who looked very regal and queenly. Deryn guessed that she was someone most people didn't want to mess with.

"Well, Yout Royalness," she began, straightening slowly, careful of her hurt ribs. "I'd say anything that you need a map bigger than a dining hall table to navigate is 'big'."

The lady stared, shocked at the young midshipman's sarcastic reply, before her lips turned upward into an amused smile.

"You are definitely my daughter," the woman said, startling the young girl standing in front of her.

"What did you say?" Deryn's voice conveyed all of her shock.

The woman's smile grew wider, and a little bit colder.

"Hello Deryn. My name is Queen Mary. I am your mother." The woman paused for that to sink in, before continuing on.

"You see, when I was younger, I had a set of twin girls. Diana and Deryn. I couldn't keep you both because my late husband, the King, had already passed on and I was only allowed to keep the eldest. So I gave you to the Sharps, as they were wanting a girl, but they couldn't have anymore children because of a terrible accident."

Deryn stared, shocked and speechless, at the lady claiming to be her mother. As she looked, she could see resemblances between the two, but something just didn't sit right with Deryn, and she was suspicious.

But the woman was oblivious to Deryn's feelings. All she did was pull a bell out from behind her and ring it. A few seconds later, Mazie entered the room and curtseyed.

"Yes, Ma'am, you rang?" Mazie asked in a docile voice.

"Yes, take the princess to her chambers and get her ready to meet the visitor."