Chapter 12

"I agree; he is an excellent horseman. For our wedding, he bought me a horse and taught me how to ride."

"I knew he had from information that Tom had sent to me. To continue though, we had a very good blockade, but the rebels had already moved extra men past us to help in the south. They launched cannonballs at the carriage plus fire arrows. The guard gave up his life for the king and my brother. My brother got to our father and took him from the carriage. However, he had been hit as well and was dying my brother's journal states that father told him to keep playing the role of Edward and say the James had died. Father told him to keep me underground helping, but father didn't tell him where I was for both our protection. Our father ordered him home to take on the King's crown and have me and the guard continue on until we were no longer needed."

"Anthony, how bad have these rebellions been?"

"Edward never talked about them." Anthony told me how bad, deadly and dangerous they've been.

"Are we ever going to be able to stop these rebellions?"

"Yes, I think we can now; I have a plan but I'm not quite ready to tell you yet."

"Over the last four years, my husband has tortured you by being with me and falling in love with me."

"I hatched a plan to kidnap you and give my brother two months to agree to confess the truth to you or I would. I had decided if you wanted to still stay married to him, I would leave you alone. That message was waiting for him after I got home from kidnapping you."

"Anthony, how do I know that you're not James and he was the real Edward?"

"Bella, I have two proofs for you. The first is look at this page of my father's journal."

"Yes, that's the markings on my dagger."

"You agree," and he pulled out my dagger.

"Yes."

"Good look at the note below it."

I then read the note and took the dagger. "Oh my god," and I started wrapping my hand around the dagger's blade. I was realizing how my life had been so mislead by James and the King. Yes, I had really been with James and this was Edward or Anthony. However, I wanted to know him. I just squeezed my dagger even tighter.

"Bella, Don't! Let go of the blade; you are hurting yourself. Stop I see blood coming from your palm. Just tell me what's wrong?" He got me to slowly open my hand with just a minor scrape on my hand. He took a cloth and held it to my hand to get the bleeding under control.

"James deceived me the whole time I was married to him."

"Bella, he couldn't tell you that would've ruined both our covers. I don't blame him for falling in love with you. I do blame him for rubbing it in and ordering me around for the last four years; but the last two since Rosalie was born were terrible."

"How do I explain you to our country and the castle? Everyone will soon know you are dead."

"Simple, Edward is not dead. The rebels left me for dead; but the secret royal guard swept in and saved me and nursed me back to health."

"Does that means I'm still married to King Edward?"

"Yes, you are."

"Edward, let me think a minute."

"You just called me Edward instead of Anthony?"

"Yes, I did. That is who you are." Then I asked, "In the carriage that first night going back to my parent's house, you told me to always call you Edward in private. Then as I got involved with James, I always interchanged your highness with Edward and he never corrected me. That just came back to me. I always had a weird sense about calling him his names; but he never said anything."

"James, loved the titles and I hated them."

"Now about my dreams you are the reason for all those restless haunting dreams I have kept having. You wanted me to remember you so badly."

"Your subconscious was trying to get you to remember or figure out there was two of us."

"Yes, every time you touch me, there was a familiarity I just couldn't figure out, but it is all from our one evening together at the party." I walked up and picked up his hand and asked, "How can two identical hands cause such different reactions, comfort versus haunting and excitement?"

Edward smiled and said, "Thank you, Bella for that."

"May I go see my husband now?"

"Yes, but I am going to leave you the journals for you to read when you return to your rooms."

"Okay," and Edward walked me to where my husband was laid. Edward helped me sit on a stool by James' body. I sat there crying for almost an hour thinking about the times we had shared. I finally walked back to my room and sat in my chair by the fire reading. Three hours later, I was knocking on Edward's door. I quietly whispered, "May I come in?"

"Enter," I heard.

"This is not the James, I knew. He was always so loving and caring to me. He gave me everything I ever wanted."

"He gave you everything but three things - 1 the whole truth, 2 kept you in a gilded cage, and 3 when was a last time you are in Paris."

"Before we got married."

"Bella, there has never been an attack against Paris or the castle."

"James taught me how to ride and protect myself with a sword and dagger."

"Yes, that's because he wanted you alive and in one piece. He could show off all his talents to you by teaching you those talents."

"You said there were two ways earlier that you can prove you are Edward."

"Yes."

"You only showed me one from the journals."