Chapter 10: Reunion
Blair rushed outside to get into the carriage and go back to Princess Charm School. On her way from the family living room to the carriage she tripped four times. It seemed as if our little princess had forgotten all about princess manners after she got expelled.
"Careful, Blair" Helen said after Blair's third fall. "Are you sure you'll be fine on your own?"
Blair smiled as she got up from the ground.
"It'll be all right, Mother. Don't worry."
She got into the carriage. But, seeing her parents and their sad expressions, she couldn't help but get out of the carriage to give them a good-bye hug.
"Mother, Father… You're the best parents anyone could ever ask for… And I just want you to know that no matter where I go, who I become, I will always be your daughter, your little Blair. I love you both so much."
"We love you too, sweetie" Anthony said. "Take care of yourself there."
Then Blair got into the carriage and looked back as it drove away. Just like on her first day to school. But now everything had changed. She had grown up a lot, discovered herself as a princess, and now, she had an important mission: To take back what was rightfully hers and save the kingdom from misery caused by irresponsible rulers like Queen Cassandra and Princess Tessa. Will she succeed?
After a while of traveling, Blair finally arrived at school. And she could immediately sense that something was unusual: Everyone seemed to be busy preparing for a special occasion. Could it be…?
Blair ran upstairs to the students' dormitory searching for her friends. She ran into people carrying decorations and gussying up everywhere. Nobody seemed to bother that she wasn't supposed to be there. This couldn't be good.
And in the midst of the chaos, she heard a familiar voice calling her.
"Blair! Thank God you're back! We were just about to go find you!" Melody ran to her. The red-haired princess hugged her friend warmly.
"I'm so glad you're here! We have something to tell you. Someone you should meet." Melody tried to pull Blair away from the crowd, but Blair refused to go.
"Wait a minute. What's going on here? Why is everyone so busy?" She demanded an answer.
"The coronation. It's happening today, maybe in a few hours, before sunset." Melody sighed."Queen Cassandra moved the date earlier, that's why they haven't finished the preparations yet. But I really have something to tell you. Come with me." She took Blair's hand and and led her to the most remote part of the garden.
"What are we doing here?" Blair asked, worried that they were in such a quiet and isolated place.
"This is where I study all the time. People never notice this corner of the garden. Only this place has enough privacy for us." Melody avoided the answer.
They finally stopped. Blair looked around for a moment. There was nobody there. Just when she was about to ask Melody what this meant, she saw a person emerge from behind the bushes. Queen Miriam.
The queen took a careful look at Blair, and when she acknowledged she was her daughter, she couldn't hold back the tears and stepped closer. Blair stepped back.
"Blair… My daughter…" She reached out a hand to Blair. The girl avoided direct contact.
"Who are you?" She asked, feeling uncertain. Suddenly she felt there was something familiar about this face. And though she looked older now, it must be her. The woman in the painting Elaine showed her. Her Mother.
"I am your Mother, Blair" Queen Miriam teared up.
"You are my Mother…" Blair stepped closer. Yes! She is her Mother. The little peasant girl finally found her long lost Mother. Blair didn't know how, but some part of her just knew. It was her Mother.
The two hugged each other in a tearful reunion.
"Now what? We have to hurry before it's too late!" Audrey asked as they passed through the corridors.
"We get to the palace, that's the first thing we do." Queen Miriam stated.
"I hope we can do this" Blair once again had doubts. Seeing that, Queen Miriam held her hand tightly.
"Don't worry. We will, Blair." She assured Blair.
Somewhere in the woods near the palace, the man on a horse people had been seeing wander around started to head for the palace.
"It's been such a long time. This place hasn't even changed. I'm sorry I haven't been around for a while. I'll be back soon." He thought as the horse ran through the woods.
"No! Paul! Have you lost your mind? Get off me." Nick screamed as Paul wrestled with him on the ground, with Damian watching them.
Our young prince barely got his head hit by Paul's mallet. Let's say luck was on Nick's side that day.
"Are you going to listen to us or not?" Paul yelled back, still trying to wrestle with Nick.
"All right, all right" Nick finally gave up, as his friend Paul was slowly suffocating him. "What do you want to tell me?"
"All I'm asking is, go talk to Blair. Find her and settle this mess." Damian said. "She didn't lie to you after all. She is the princess. It's your fiancée who's been lying to you."
Nick was still not convinced.
"She likes you." Paul added. This made Nick's expression change. "You can't deny it. You can tell by looking at her. And we know you like her too. From the very first time you saw her. I know how it feels, love at first sight."
Silence permeated the room. But it didn't last long until a royal servant came in with the coronation news. The princes prepared to leave the room.
"Just consider our advice. Will you be happy marrying someone you don't love and letting the one you love slip away from you? Or will you be strong enough to tell her how you feel? Your choice. Come on, Paul. We'll be late for the coronation." Damian and Paul left, leaving Nick standing there alone.
The sound of the music signaled the beginning of the coronation. It took place in front of the palace, right in front of the citizens' eyes. And in the crowd, the gang slowly maneuvered their way to the ceremony.
"Citizens of Gardania, we gather here today to witness a very special event…" Queen Cassandra initiated the long and hackneyed speech.
"It's starting!" Audrey informed the rest.
"Now what?"
"Just wait. I have a plan." Melody signaled the others to get closer and listen to her plan. "Here it is.."
"Uhm… Mel?" Audrey turned away and looked at something with an uneasy expression on her face.
"What is it, Audrey?" Melody's eyes followed Audrey's index finger. Blair and the Queen were rushing towards the ceremony stage.
"Or we could just go and tell them to stop the coronation." Melody sighed. "Let's go, before something bad happens."
Meanwhile, Queen Miriam and Blair got to the front of the crowd.
"Sorry for interrupting your victory, cousin dear, but I have to do this, after everything you've done to us." She whispered.
"Mother, I don't think that's a good ide-" Blair protested, but it was too late.
"If anyone objects to this…" Cassandra took the crown on her head and was about to give it to Tessa when her voice was interrupted.
"I object to this!" Everyone turned to see the brave woman who dared to challenge the queen.
Cassandra was genuinely puzzled. She had been too busy with the preparations that she let her guard down and now her prisoner had escaped. Now what?
"You… How did you…?" Cassandra look around the crowd and immediately spotted Blair. "That pesky brat! I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance! Guards! Seize that woman!"
Queen Miriam got surrounded by a dozen of guards. Not giving up, she struggled to be free.
"Let me go! I am Queen Miriam!" She yelled and pulled her cape down to reveal her face.
A gasp rang through the crowd. Everyone was shocked. It seemed that nobody knew the Queen, or anyone from her family, was alive! Taking advantage of the situation, Blair got to the scene.
"Your Highness, I thought you told us the King and Queen were deceased?" Someone in the crowd said loudly, followed by a series of "Yes!", "That's right!" and "What does this mean?"
"She lied to you all! She wanted you to believe so, she overthrew the Royal Family, and she deceived you all!" Queen Miriam said, still struggling with the guards.
"Please, leave my Mother alone!" Blair yelled, accidentally revealing her position to the guards, and the rest of the coronation attendants.
"Bad move, Blair." She heard Audrey whisper somewhere in the crowd behind her, before the crowd went wild again.
"Is she the lost princess?"
"So they're alive after all…"
"Why did she have to lie to us?"
Cassandra was furious. There was no way she would allow Blair ruin her daughter's coronation day!
"Yes, you're the princess. But you're not the princess anymore. Royalties overthrow each other, that's how life is. The winner takes it all, Blair. Besides, the law that allowed me to come to the throne was written by King Arthur, your father, and only he can prevent this. He's dead now."
Cassandra smirked, apparently satisfied with her eloquent explanation. "Let's see how you object to that, Miriam!" She thought.
Suddenly, they heard a horse coming. It was the same man who was wandering in the woods for several days.
"If I were you, I wouldn't be so sure" He said, revealing himself. Another gasp rang through the crowd. It was His Majesty King Arthur!
For the first time in her life, Cassandra realized she should have considered Tessa's warning: "Are you sure you got rid of them all, Mother?" Not only did she not get rid of them all, but she didn't get rid of any of them!
But how could it be? She saw him drown in that river herself…
"Cousin, dear" Her voice softened. "You wouldn't blame me for this, would you? After all, I was just taking care of the kingdom while you were… uhm… away, you know."
"Stop pretending" King Arthur interrupted her. "We all knew what you did. All these years I've been waiting for an opportunity to return to the kingdom. Thanks to my daughter, we can now restore the power that belongs to our family."
"Liar! Liar!" The crowd rised against Cassandra.
Seeing there was no escape, Cassandra fled for her life, forgetting all about her daughter, Tessa.
"She's getting away!" Blair ran after her.
"Oh my, isn't she fast" Blair thought. Knowing there was no way she could reach her in time, Blair took off her shoe and aimed.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Marie. I know it's not appropriate for a princess to do this, but this is an emergency."
Meanwhile, Paul, Damian and Nick were wandering nearby, trying to get to the scene, when they saw Cassandra running past them.
"Hey! Isn't that your Mother-in-law?" Paul asked. "She can be a great athlete. Look at her run!"
"Blair is after her. This looks like trouble! Let's give her a hand!" Damian suggested.
"One, Two,…" Blair threw the shoe. It hit Cassandra's dress and left some dirt on it. Cassandra, being a very neat person, stopped to check her dress.
"Oh no, look what you've done to my beautiful gown! I'm going to…" She was threatening Blair when Paul and Damian got to her, and escorted her back to King Arthur.
Now that they were alone, Nick picked up Blair's shoe.
"Nice throw" He complimented her.
"Thank you." She replied, feeling uncomfortable talking to him as they just had a fight one day before.
Nick helped her put on her shoe, then took her hand in his, and asked:
"Come, Blair. We need to talk."