Nancy let out several breaths as she sped towards Lilac Inn. Today was the day when Francis and Mrs. Alexandra would meet. Francis's girlfriend Sally was also coming, the two were expected to arrive at Lilac Inn a few minutes after Nancy. Helen and Emily got the Kovnas out of the house on a picnic, courtesy of the Matthews farm. They had invited several of their friends along and figured on making a whole day of it. Nancy wished she could be with them as the Archers were also present and she wanted to catch up with Jenny, but she had promised Mrs. Alexandra, and as such, would be at Lilac Inn.

Upon parking her blue roadster in the parking lot, she let out one big, final huff. This was it, and she was kind of excited, but there was also a feeling of apprehension. What in the world was wrong? Nancy had her father look into Francis's background, he checked out. He was an orphan who lived with a foster family from middle school until he graduated college. He started his own business, met Sally, started going out with her and made her a business partner. All in all, a pretty clean slate. Except for that speeding ticket back in high school, but nothing to really raise any concern over. She furrowed her brows. She was missing something, some vital piece of information, or she already had it and she was overlooking it. But what could it be?

"Nancy, are you alright?"

Nancy jumped at hearing her name. She glanced out the open window and smiled. "Oh, hi Sally! Yes, I'm fine. Just got lost in thought, that's all."

"Oh, what was so deep?"

Nancy chuckled nervously. "Nothing much, really, just nervous. I've never solved a case this big, or this quickly. Just, well, a lot to take in."

Sally reached into the car and patted Nancy's shoulder. "It's not entirely over, to be honest. We still have to get through getting them reacquainted. I'm sure there's a lot Francis will still need our support for. Won't you come in and help us? I'm nervous myself."

Nancy chuckled. "Of course. You're right, there still is so much to do. Come on." She quickly got out of her car and followed Sally into the Inn. Francis was waiting for them just inside the foyer. He glanced at them as Nancy closed the door and the anxiety of the moment flashed quickly over Francis's face. She shot him a reassuring smile before stepping past and motioning them to follow. She led them to the dining room, where Mrs. Alexandra was waiting with her full china set all arranged on a table. There was a brief moment when Francis and Mrs. Alexandra first locked eyes. Mrs. Alexandra was obviously searching for any similarities to her daughter, but the look on Francis's face mystified Nancy. He seemed apprehensive, yet seemed to be longing to tell her something. But he kept quiet.

Nancy cleared her throat. "Mrs. Alexandra, may I present Francis Baum and Sally McDonald?"

Mrs. Alexandra rose with a graceful and regal air and held out her hands. "Welcome, both of you. Please, sit down. There is much to discuss."

"Yes, I do believe there is," replied Francis.

Nancy nodded subconsciously, but her eyes wandered to Francis's face. He seemed calmer after such a graceful welcome and he even smiled at Mrs. Alexandra as he sat down. Yet there was something in his manner that rubbed Nancy the wrong way and she couldn't put her finger on it. Why was everything in Nancy's brain screaming 'red flag' at her? But she kept coming back to one sentence, "it was too easy". She pursed her lips as she glanced between Francis's face and Mrs. Alexandra's face. The longing in Mrs. Alexandra's eyes was clearly being forced back, but not so well that it was obvious she longed to hold Francis in her arms. Meanwhile, Francis seemed tense, perhaps rightfully so, he was becoming reacquainted with his grandmother. Or was there something else?

Mrs. Alexandra's voice broke through Nancy's thoughts. "Do, do you remember anything from your toddler years? Is there anything in particular that sticks out to you?"

Francis glanced down, seemed to think a bit, before raising his head and shaking it. "I'm, I'm sorry. I can't even remember much of Nanny anymore, I mainly remember the orphanage and the Baums, who adopted me. I do remember some of the things she said. And, of course, she did write this for me." He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Mrs. Alexandra. Her hands trembled ever so slightly as she took it from him.

"When did she die?" Mrs. Alexandra asked in a hushed voice as she slowly peeled the letter open.

"I had to have been seven, so, thirteen years ago."

Mrs. Alexandra's eyes flashed to Francis's face before they returned to the letter. "'Dear Michael, I'm writing this letter only in case something should happen to me, which I sincerely hope won't. But, it's always best to be prepared. If you are reading this, then it has happened and you must heed my words and obey them to the letter. I changed your name to Francis to hide your real identity, that of Michael Alexandra, heir apparent to the throne of Centrovia. Your grandmother, her most gracious Majesty, Madame Marie Alexandra, has also come to America. We thought it best that the two of you remain separated until things cool down between the factions fighting for your throne. When you get the chance, head to Mister Faber's in River Heights. He has called America home for many years, but he is on our side and has offered to be on the lookout for suspicious characters and any news of the Loyalists in Centrovia.'" Mrs. Alexandra raised her eyebrow and tilted her head. "Is that what she believed?" she muttered. She glanced at Francis, who merely shrugged. She blinked and shook her head slightly before continuing, "'Your grandmother will be in contact with him, so he should be able to help you find her. Be sure to keep the picture of you when you were a child, the lamb, and this letter as proof of your identity. Only hand these to Mr. Faber, or preferably, your grandmother. With all my love and loyalty, your ever faithful Nanny.'"

Mrs. Alexandra folded and unfolded the letter a couple of times, her brow creased with thought. After a couple of minutes, she folded the letter and gently placed it on the table. She glanced at Francis. "Do you still have the lamb?"

Francis sighed and shook his head. "No, I'm afraid it got lost on a train. I know Nanny frantically searched for it, but never found it. And, well, I haven't seen it since." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "But I do still have the picture." He pulled out his wallet and took out the photo.

Mrs. Alexandra's hands trembled as she took it from Francis. "Yes, yes, this blessed picture." She glanced at Nancy with a smile. "And you recognized it from my wallet, thereby bringing us together."

Francis chuckled nervously as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I had dropped that hoping that Mr. Faber would see it. I was just so nervous!" He shot Nancy a smile. "I am glad you found it though. It still worked out well, obviously."

Nancy smiled. "Yeah. What would have happened if I hadn't brought you two together?"

Francis shrugged. "I'd probably would have dropped it again, or maybe made absolutely sure Mr. Faber saw it." He shrugged again. "I was considering it when you brought me the wallet."

Nancy nodded. "Right, glad you don't have to worry about that anymore." She forced a smile out instead of listening to and mentioning the red flags that sprang up in her mind.

Francis smiled back. "Me too." He turned to Mrs. Alexandra. "Can, can you tell me what my parents were like? What was life like back then? Please, tell me everything!"

Mrs. Alexandra smiled and patted his hand. "All in due time, my dear grandson. But first, we must nourish ourselves. Anna!"

Anna came around the corner with a tray of food. She laid each setting down in front of each person. She did it with such an elegance that Nancy felt like she was a princess, and a tad underdressed. The meal, though, comprised of a simple salad topped with cheese, roast chicken, and aromatic jasmine rice topped with a mushroom gravy.

"Mm, this smells so good!" Sally said after taking a quick whiff of the scents.

"It's beautiful, Anna," said Mrs. Alexandra with a smile.

Anna dipped her head. "Thank you ma'am, but it wasn't all my doing. I had plenty of help."

"Then please extend our gratitude and compliments to the chefs," replied Mrs. Alexandra.

"I shall indeed."

"And please bring the tea."

"Yes ma'am." Anna dipped her head again and walked out of the room.

"May you tell me now?" asked Francis as they began to eat.

Mrs. Alexandra smiled and patted his hand. "Let me begin by saying your real name is Michael Alexandra. Nada was ordered to change your name for your protection."

"Nada?" asked Franics and Nancy.

"Your nanny," replied Mrs. Alexandra. "I'm sorry to hear that she passed away when you were so long. Were the Baums a good family?"

Francis nodded. "Yes grandmother, they were. It's how I got to be here today. They nourished and pushed me to pursue my passion for art." He smiled at Sally. "And Sally too."

Sally giggled. "Apparently he had a huge crush on me for years and they convinced him to ask me out."

"Well I'm glad. You seem like such a nice girl. You certainly are pretty," said Mrs. Alexandra.

Sally beamed. "Thank you!"

"Grandmother, what were my real parents like?"

Mrs. Alexandra sat back in her chair and folded her hands. She glanced down for a moment, the shadow of sorrow passed over her face. "My dear daughter Louise, your mother, was a wonderful woman. Kind, generous, and so, so lovely. Your father was a good man. The two of them were glad that they were not going to take the throne right away. I offered to rule for a few years while they looked after you." A faraway look came into her eyes as a soft smile pulled up the corners of her mouth. "We would spend our summers at the royal summer house. They were always blooming with lilacs." She glanced around the dining room. "Which is why we come here. It's not exactly made for royalty, but it does evoke that feeling of home."

"Madame, the tea." Anna stood by the table with a rolling cart that had tea makings set on top.

Mrs. Alexandra rose. "Thank you Anna." She glanced at her guests. "How do you like your tea? Cream, sugar?"

"I hardly ever drink tea," said Francis. "What would you recommend?"

"We'll start with a bit of sugar and a bit of cream, we can add more to your liking."

Francis smiled. "Sounds good."

"Wonderful." Mrs. Alexandra poured the tea. She placed a cube of sugar in the cup, then paused. "Oh, Anna, where's the cream?"

Anna surveyed the tray before letting out a loud gasp. "Oh, the cream!"

"Anna! You forgot the cream!"

Nancy blinked. When did Jane hire a guy to work at Lilac Inn. She turned in her chair to see who would come in. The next moment, Richard Matthews walked into the room.

(Author's Note: Hello rosy readers, I'm back! At least for a bit. It's been nuts. I've been sick, been super tired, unable to focus, and just not very disciplined at getting much writing done. Well, that, and three Saturdays out of March took place at friends' houses for parties, so, I guess not entirely my fault, but still. I have done some short pieces for the two magazines I work with, and am working on the medieval piece for the anthology one of the magazines, Fellowship and Fairydust, is going to publish as an ebook. Work has been nuts, what with graduation, and we've been finding out that the store isn't even up to code, so we've been getting that back to code, slowly but surely. The thrift store is still booming, but had lost a few employees, so it's feeling a little stretched in terms of the work load. I have been chatting with guys still online and have met one a couple of times in the past few months. While he's a nice guy, I'm not sure about him. As he was leaving from my house after our second meeting, he asked to be exclusive since he really likes talking with me. I told him now just doesn't seem like a good time for me. He seemed to understand. We're still in communication, and I'm thinking of getting him to come visit again, but I'm also thinking of just calling it quits too. Something just doesn't seem right. Anyways, just wanted to give a quick update. Hope I will have more coming sooner rather than later! Because, guess what, the four Hobbits are going to be at Dallas Comic Con, along with several other big names, and I want to go! We'll see how that works out. How's everything been for you? Thanks so much for being so patient and hanging around and commenting, you're the best! Have a wonderful day and God bless!)