Chapter 8! A little shorter than some of the other chapters, but that's okay since it was originally going to be part of Chapter 7.

My gosh this story has over 60 reviews so far! That's far more than I ever expected, and thanks to the reviewers of the last chapter who made it happen: lizziemagic, Mrs. Naara, Whiteling, queenVEExo, Persephone's Melody, peaceloveandthedove, and maramouse. Love you all!

And away we go!

Black. That was all I saw beyond that door. There was not the soft glow of candlelight, as there had been before, and there certainly wasn't a creepy voodoo man standing there to greet us.

I wanted to turn back. Instinct was telling me to run as fast as I could in the opposite direction, but my feet thought otherwise. One stubborn toe eased its way onto the dust-covered cement floor, the slightest of a tap echoing eerily off the walls.

"Hello?" I whispered, though in the silence it sounded like a scream. Daniel kept his hand on my arm protectively, and maneuvered his way in front of me. "Hello?" I called out, more confidently this time. There was a clatter somewhere in the building. I credited it to rats. As we inched further into the room I could make out the faint line of the table we had used for the fortune telling. It was cleared save for the oil lamp sitting dead on the tablecloth.

"No one's here, Evangeline. We should leave now." Daniel hissed. I paid him no mind, though I wished I would. The need to get some answers was stronger. It pulled me in, grabbed a hold of my common sense and tossed it out the door, possibly with my sanity. The oil lamp was there, so close, and I couldn't help but reach out toward it's bulbous shell. As soon as my fingers brushed the cool glass, a flame illuminated within it, and I jumped back, startled.

'H-hello? Dr. Facilier?" I looked around, sensing eyes upon me. "It's Evangeline La Bouff. You read my fortune last week."

I guess I didn't really expect a reply, because when the deep voice thundered from the shadows, I gasped and held on tight to Daniel's strong bicep. "I know who you are." The voice bellowed. "The little princess come back for an explanation." The witch doctor revealed himself behind his tattered chair across the table.

"So you know, then. About my past? My parents?" I released my hold on Daniel and stepped forward. The creepy grin on Facilier's face made my uneasy.

"I know all, with the help of my friends on the other side, of course." I could swear I saw a figure behind him move, but the way the flame in the lamp flickered it must have been a trick of the light. "We've been expecting you."

Daniel touched my shoulder and sent shivers down my spine. "I don't like this." He mumbled softly in my ear.

Facilier was moving gracefully around the table now, casually looking us both over with interest. He leaned forward, catlike in the way he drew near us. "Do you have the cards?" He inquired as if it were a well kept secret. I nodded silently and slid my hand into my pocket. Daniel grabbed my wrist, and I whipped my head around to him. He said nothing, but stared at me disapprovingly, while I stubbornly made eye contact right back at him. Ripping my wrist from his fingers, I pulled the card from their hiding place and held them out for Dr. Facilier to see.

"How did they get in my coat that day?" I accused him. All he did was chuckle and wave his hand over the small fan of cardboard or whatever it was cards were made from. Suddenly Daniel had disappeared from behind me, and the dark walls and wooden masks were melting away. Facilier held up my cards as reality transformed into a new world, one that looked like it had been painted with the art of the cards in mind. Everything had become simply shaped and popped with vibrant colors. I looked around frantically. We were outside a window, levitating dozens of feet in the air and peering into a small room that appeared to be some kind of nursery.

There were cheery murals painted on the walls, scenes from fairytales: Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White, the Frog Prince. Yes, the Frog Prince mural was certainly the most grand, placed opposite the crib where the child that slept there could gaze at the beauty of the carefully illustrated picture. My gaping at the room was interrupted when the door to the nursery opened, golden light washing over the furniture as the dark silhouette of a slender woman cooed over a baby in her arms. Another silhouette, a large, regal man soon joined her, and they spoke joyously to their baby.

I strained to hear what they were saying, but it was like my ears had been stuffed with cotton. The sounds were muffled, and I couldn't even recognize their voices later on if I wished to. As they moved into the room and placed the baby down to sleep, they never lost their shadowy appearance. They looked as if they had been cut from black construction paper, with no detail or form giving any hints as to what they truly looked like.

"Are those my parents?" I asked quietly, not daring to look away from the couple just beyond the window.

Facilier purred happily, "Yes." The figures started to leave the room, the woman leaning heavily on her husband. They stopped in the doorway again, and I watched as she put a hand to her forehead, and the man comfortingly hugged her close. "But raising a child and preparing to run a country was tiring, and burdened them with great responsibility. The king and queen were preparing to step down from power, and having a baby in the picture wasn't an option if the crown prince and princess wanted to make their transition to the throne smooth." I looked at him, mouth agape and eyes wide.

The scene changed, and a swirl of color shifted to darker hues. I recognized my house, the usually bright windows empty save for the windows next to the front door. I car rolled up to the driveway with alarming speed for cars of the time, and the same construction paper people dashed from the vehicle and up to the house, where I could see Aunt Lotte waiting. The exchange was quick, and the brightly lit window gave us a perfect view of the couple brusquely passing off the child - me - to Charlotte. Then they left. Just like that, they were gone.

The world changed again, and Daniel was there, his arms tightly wrapped around me. He was saying something - yelling really. It was my name. I think? Evangeline…that was my name, but it wasn't the word coming from his lips as he gently shook my shoulders. Angel, that was what he said to me so sincerely, so frightfully

I blinked, realizing we were back in reality. My vision focused on nothing, and I'm sure I looked like an insane person, staring at the wall like I'd been through hell and back. Daniel hugged me tight, and I only faintly registered the hot wetness pricking at my eyes and pricking at my cheeks.

"They didn't want me." I murmured, looking at Daniel, my voice quivering. "They didn't want me. I was a burden, and they were royalty. They didn't want me."

"No, they didn't." Dr. Facilier chirped as casually as if he were commenting on the weather. "If it were me, I'd never forgive them…but perhaps you think differently."

Squeezing my eyes shut, I shook my head furiously. I didn't know why I cared so much when I had never given my birth parents a single thought since I was young. Maybe it was cause now they seemed so real, so near I could almost feel their touch. Before they were nothing but a story, a myth. I had no memories to make me miss them.

"I won't forgive them. Not ever." I didn't sound like myself, my voice turned dark. "I hate them."

"Evangeline, what happened?" Daniel swiveled my shoulders so I faced him, and I made stern eye contact, my brown eyes meeting his green ones with little whimsical emotion.

"Nothing."

I saw him glance briefly at Dr. Facilier then back at me. He tenderly stroked my hair and said, "You need to get home. Come on."

"Yes," I replied robotically, linking my arm with his. "I need to go home, to my real home, with my real mother." We walked slowly, and the sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach caused me to require Daniel to support me more than my legs. Turning my head, I nodded farewell to Dr. Facilier. "Thank you. Now I don't need to wonder."

His mouth stretched slightly, showing the gap in his teeth, and he nodded back. "Thank you little princess. You can always trust me for answers." And we left, returning to the bright world plagued with the thin fog of dusk. I wouldn't speak to Daniel as he led me home, and he treated me like I was a ghost. In his defense, I acted like one, gliding over the pavement and almost walking into several people as if I would just go right through them.

I remained in my phantom state until we reached my front gate, where Daniel stopped me and angrily huffed out a breath of air. I knew I was in trouble.

"What were you thinking?" He threw his hand into the air and reproached me. "I don't think even I have done something that stupid."

"It wasn't stupid." I argued. At least, I was pretty sure it wasn't. "I've met him before, I knew what I was doing."

"No, you didn't." Daniel gripped my shoulders and got me to look him in the eye. "Why did you need him to ask about your parents? He probably fed you a pack of lies, and I don't even know what the hell he did tell you. One minute things were normal and the next it was like you were gone, but your body was left behind."

"He knows about my parents! He showed them to me, showed them abandoning me so they could go and be king and queen."

"What are you talking about?" He let go of me and backed away, suddenly unsure about this girl he thought he was getting to know.

"I told you I was adopted, right?" He nodded slowly, and I continued, recounting my first encounter with Dr. Facilier to him. "And today he showed it to me, and I saw the castle they lived in, that I lived in. They're real, and they're royal."

Daniel still looked skeptical. "But how do you know he's showing you the real thing, huh? If he's as magical as he claims to be, than he could be spinning an absolute fairytale just to get your money."

I shook my head desperately, trying to get him to understand. "I just…I just know. Who would lie about something like that? It's just stupid."

"No, walking into a dark alley looking for some voodoo guy is stupid. Look, why don't you just ask your aunt about them? They were her friends, right?"

"She's hardly said a word about them for the past seventeen years, I doubt she'll say anything now." I looked up at the mansion. It looked different from the home I saw in Facilier's painted world. The windows were colored with yellow light, glowing as the sun started to dip under the rooftops of the city.

Daniel edged towards me, a small smile returning to his face. "You won't know till you try." I gently rested against him, letting my head lie on his chest and listen to the steady sound of his heart.

"It scares me," I admitted softly, "thinking that they didn't want me. Why didn't they want me? I always figured they must have had a good reason, and I guess I was glad to have Aunt Lotte and Nana with me, but all of a sudden I'm just really bothered that I wasn't good enough for them."

Daniel kissed the top of my head and kept his arms around my waist. "Well, they should be sorry not to have you. I know they if they knew what a fantastic, fun, and slightly idiotic person you've become," I wriggled out of his arms and crossed my arms in faux hurt, but he grinned and pounced, tickling me and forcing me to laugh my stress away. "They would regret not getting to see you grow up."

"Hm." The weight of my pockets seemed so much lighter without the cards there, and I was surprised at how noticeable it was.

"How about we change the subject?" Daniel suggested, jumping up onto a ledge next to the gate and seizing one of the iron bars so he could hang from it. "I do believe your birthday is coming up, is it not?"

I giggled at his formality. "It might be."

"Could you specify?"

"February." I was playing coy, though he kept up with the game very well.

"What day?"

"The twentieth."

He hopped from the ledge, seemingly amused by my answer. "You mean Mardi Gras?"

"Is it?" It was hard to remember the last time I'd looked at a calendar, but it was still January and I wouldn't have looked ahead to February anyway. "Are you sure?"

Sticking his hands in his pockets, he chuckled lightly. Gosh, I loved that playful twinkle he had in his eye. "I should know, my parents started planning their annual masquerade the day after their last one."

I grinned like the Cheshire Cat, knowing Aunt Charlotte was very much the same way. "Then I guess that no matter what I'll probably be spending my birthday with you." We both liked that idea very much, the previous ominous mood that had followed us home evaporating as we strolled up the driveway swinging our connected hands back and forth. When we got to the door, the awkward moment while we decided whether or not to kiss was not absent, and I made the final decision by ending our date with hug instead. I wasn't ready to take that step yet, not after Robby.

It wasn't exactly uncomfortable but…I could tell he had been hopeful for a kiss. Still, I pleaded that he understand I wanted this to be slow. He had to understand. Assuring me it was fine and that he knew it must be tough for me after such a serious relationship, he let me go inside and headed down the porch steps. I watched him from the window and waved at him when he turned for reasons I may never know.

My affection for him was rapidly turning into more than a crush that much I knew. It was shocking, but a nice change from wondering every day if every guy was going to end up like Robby, or if I could even start to like another guy. It didn't feel like love yet, and I had no clue if the relationship would be anything more than a high school romance, even though Daniel wasn't in high school, or school at all. They way books and movies showed love it seemed like it should be obvious when you meet your soul mate, but I didn't think anyone was ever sure. For all I knew, in ten years Daniel and could be married with kids, or we could be happily broken up and seeing different people.

"I'm home, Aunt Lotte." I called to my aunt, who was sitting in our very industrial kitchen madly tapping her fingers as she read a letter, its mutilated envelope sitting on the floor almost ten feet away.

Considering I did sort of sneak up on her, I should have expected the scream. Sadly I didn't, and I clutched my chest as Aunt Charlotte flailed and saved herself from plummeting to the floor. "Eva!" She screeched, righting herself and scrambling toward me, the letter almost ripping where her fingernails clutched at it. "You'll never guess what just happened!"

"No, I probably won't." Should I have been scared? Charlotte's news generally involved parties or salons.

"Your - Did I ever tell you I know the king and queen of Maldonia?" She stuttered slightly, and I guessed it was her excitement that had her slurring her words. The look in her eyes though…fear? Caution? "Well, they're old friends of mine, we go way back."

Way back? Could they be…no, no. It wasn't like she'd never spoken of my parents before, and if the rulers of Maldonia were the people in question she wouldn't be wondering if she'd ever told me about them.

"They met you when you were a baby, but I haven't seen them in years." Charlotte went on, nervously twiddling her fingers. "Anyway, I wrote the first letter in forever to the queen not too long ago, wondering if maybe she and the king would like to come down here for Mardi Gras, since they haven't been to New Orleans in so long. Did you know Mardi Gras's on your birthday this year?"

"I may have heard that." Images of Daniel's happy face flashed through my mind, and I was caught in a moment of bliss.

"Well, I got a letter back today and they agreed! They have business to attend to the day before, but they'll be able to go to the Benoit's ball! Isn't that exciting. I can't wait for you to see them, Evangeline, and I know they're dieing to see you all grown up and all." Then, like all proud parents/guardians, she started to get all nostalgic and mushy. "It seems that just yesterday you were a little baby playing with your dolls and running around in your diaper."

"Spare me the imagery, please." I hugged her and said I was going up to my room. "I can't wait to meet your friends. I've never met royalty before."

"Your Aunt's got some pretty neat connections, doesn't she?" Aunt Lotte looked downright pleased with herself, and the least I could do was share in her happiness. But the question was nagging in the back of my mind, trying to get me to dig up the courage to ask about my parents, the royalty I really did want to meet. I bit my tongue. It would just put a damper on her pleasure.

"Yeah, you really do."

"We are going to have a real birthday bash for you on Mardi Gras, I promise!"

I sighed inwardly, genuinely frightened at the idea of Aunt Lotte combining my birthday and Mardi Gras into one. Joy. "I don't doubt it. I'll be down for dinner."

"See you then, sweetheart!"

So I was going to meet the king and queen of Maldonia, on both my birthday and the Benoit's masquerade ball. I supposed it would be fun, and unlike past years I would have Daniel to spend the evening with. Considering he was one of the hosts that would come with certain advantages.

I wondered if whoever worked up at Columbia had noticed they were missing a student yet. Daniel made no mention of it, but it hadn't been long at all that the semester had started. It was sickening to think that as soon as it was made clear that he was dropping out that his name would be added to the draft, and at any time he could be called in to serve.

That could be worked out another day, I finally concluded, at another time, another place.

I had other problems, problems that led me to find solace in my favorite story as a child: The Frog Prince. I don't know what it was about that book that made me suddenly feel closer to all the unknowns in my life - aka my origins - but its beautiful illustrations and heartfelt words always made me feel peaceful.

So I lifted up its worn hardback cover and let myself be engulfed in its magic of sweet smelling pages and watercolor figures.

Reviews are my motivation to keep writing this, so even if you're just a lurker please give me your thoughts:)