CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Ah. Uh,” I stammered. My mind had gone completely blank. All my fake confidence in myself as the Blood Duchess had vanished in the face of the real Duchess Hedri.
My body seemed like a foreign thing now it had been dressed up, perfumed, and bedecked in such large gemstones. I felt distant, as if in a dream.
In a flash, she’d stepped past the wall of guards to come so close I could have reached out a hand and touched her (my?) shoulder.
She raked me with her eyes. A sneer pulled back her lips.
“I see you’ve been enjoying yourself inside my body, thief.
You made me look like a mess.” Her eyes swept the courtyard, taking in the wreckage left from the last two mobs.
“Clearly you weren’t able to handle your situation at all. ”
Her poise and dignity showed flawlessly in every word and gesture.
It seemed so much better than my own fake confidence.
Frankly, she wore my body far better than I did.
Her blue dress perfectly accented her curves.
(My curves? This had the potential to get confusing real fast.) In my state of shock, every last ruffle on the dress became vivid.
A huge diamond necklace drew attention to the scandalously low dress line.
My hair looked shinier and more voluminous than I’d ever managed to style it myself.
I’d have fallen flat on my face if I’d attempted those high heels.
A bit of makeup had turned my plain face beautiful.
Funny, I’d always hated my double chin, but on the duchess I hadn’t even noticed.
A nasty voice in my head whispered, She’s superior to you, no matter what body.
You never could have made yourself look so beautiful.
Everything you have now is only because everyone thinks that you’re the Blood Duchess.
Without that, you’re just a plain country mouse that no one listens to, respects, or cares about.
I knew I ought to do something. Say something. Even running away would be better than standing here waiting for her to order my arrest. But my cowardly feet refused to move. The guards were staring at us—both hers and mine. I swayed as the world around me spun.
A cloud of doom wrapped inescapably over me. Deep down, I knew it was all over.
The real Duchess Hedri raised her hand high to wave a parchment.
“I am your rightful duchess. I have a scroll from the Conclave of Kings verifying my true identity. Although even without that, I’m sure the difference between me and her is quite obvious.
” She gestured at me, then placed a hand on her chest. “The superior quality of nobility can’t be faked. Guards, arrest this imposter!”
I closed my eyes, waiting for the hammer to fall.
“Ours isn’t the real Blood Duchess?” one of the Arahasnor guards asked from behind me.
Duchess Hedri sniffed. “Of course not. Could you possibly imagine me as this pathetic, cringing thing? Her name is apparently Bora. Ugh. How utterly common.”
“Bora, the Holy Maiden’s sister?” The guard grabbed my shoulder.
I was utterly convinced he was about to slap me into chains. Instead, he pushed me behind him. “Stay back! We’ll protect you.”
A dozen more guards leapt forward, forming a barrier in front
of me.
“Did you not hear me? This woman is an imposter!” Duchess Hedri cried.
“Exactly! The only reason we didn’t leap to help her sooner is because we thought she was you.
” The guard glanced over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Miss Bora.
If I’d known that you weren’t that horrible Blood Duchess, then I would never have abandoned my post when the mob came.
I would have protected you with my life.
Also, I watched one of the maids spit in your food but didn’t do anything.
Please forgive me. I’ll make up for it by defending you to the last drop of my blood. ”
Duchess Hedri’s smugness dropped off her face. “What do you think you’re doing? I ordered you to arrest this peasant!”
“We don’t take your orders.” Sergeant Laurent stepped forward from the crowd. Coolly, he spat at the duchess’s feet. “You’re a foreigner. You’re not welcome here. We won’t let you lay one finger on one of our own.”
A rumble of agreement came from the guards.
“She’s a good one. She made sure we all got paid on time! We should have realized sooner that she was too nice to be the Blood Duchess.”
“We’ll protect our Holy Maiden’s family no matter what.”
“No one wants you in charge! I’d rather obey one of our own people.”
“She stopped the slavers from taking over the city and drove off the dwarves.”
Hey, that was me! I felt a warmth under my chest.
Duchess Hedri whirled on one of the Sherdan guards who had been part of her original escort. “What are you waiting for? School these insolent rebels!”
The Sherdan guards shifted. The captain shot a nervous glance at me, then mumbled, “Actually, we’d rather keep that duchess.”
“What did you just say?” Hedri hissed.
The captain puffed out his chest. “She kept her promise about paying us and giving us citizenship. You didn’t.
” With increasing confidence, he continued, “I don’t see any proof that you’re the real duchess.
Just look at her over there, dressed up in ducal finery.
” He jerked his head at me, where I stood in a state of shock.
“She looks like a real duchess to me. You can’t prove otherwise. ”
Duchess Hedri went white with shock, then red.
I cleared my throat. “Sorry, did you not realize how unpopular you are?”
Duchess Hedri shrieked, “Gifted Knights! Attack—”
A blur shot through the crowd and leapt in front of me. Alzira, Humanity’s Strongest Monster, stood before me with her sword pointed at the sky. “Take one step forward, sinners, and I will bring down the wrath of heaven upon you,” she said menacingly.
From behind me, Ysabel said, “The wrath of heaven is an asteroid large enough to crush your skull. Don’t take one more step toward my sis—uh, I mean, my kidnapper. I’m very attached to my kidnapper. I’m the sort of person who becomes brainwashed very quickly.”
Remembering my sister’s inability to see faces, I said, “Ysabel, she already knows who I am. That’s the real duchess.”
Ysabel did a double take. “Dark Lady, that’s your body shape. Uh. I mean, the Sun God has bestowed upon me a vision suggesting that this complete stranger spend some time in the dungeons.”
“How dare you!” The duchess no longer looked composed or dignified. Sweaty hair stuck to her face. “I’m the official representative of the Conclave of Kings. I demand a trial for this imposter.”
“Interesting.” Ysabel eyed the duchess coolly. “We’ll think about it.”
“We will?” I gasped.
At the same time, the duchess growled, “The Conclave ordered this trial. The people who rule this world. It’s not optional.”
Ysabel swept back into the castle, calling over her shoulder, “I suggest you find an inn for the night. This isn’t your castle yet.”
Sitting in my office, Ysabel handed me a cup of tea. “I find this particular herbal brew calming for my nerves. It helped me quit the redleaf.”
“Thank you.” I blew on the cup. Staring into the liquid depths, I tried not to panic. “Was the duchess right about us not having a choice except to go to trial?”
“We’ve got a choice: trial or war.”
“Oh dear.”
“Realistically speaking, we can’t stall the Blood Duchess for long. She’s the representative of the Conclave of Kings. As much as I’d like to throw her in a dungeon until we figure out how to swap you two back, that would be an act of war.”
“Ah.” My shoulders sagged. “Then we’re in a lot of trouble.” I’d only just started to get my confidence back when the guards sided with me. Now it was gone.
“Actually, this may be an opportunity.” Ysabel tapped her chin.
“It’s very, very interesting that the Conclave of Kings sent the Blood Duchess as their representative.
If they’d sent a delegation of important people from various nations, that would mean they’re backing her claim. But they didn’t. They sent her alone.”
“My grasp on international politics is weak.” I took a sip. The tea tasted bitter. “What does that mean?”
Ysabel stared off into the distance. “I’ll bet Arahasnor’s neighbors didn’t like seeing a land-hungry nation expand next door to them.
It sets a dangerous precedent, to let Sherda pull such a trick.
Countries with traditional enmity to Sherda would oppose it.
Of course, Sherda has allies, too. It must have been a split vote. This was a compromise option.”
I looked down at the steam rising off my tea. “They’re letting the duchess succeed or fail on her own?”
Ysabel smiled. “Exactly. See? You should give yourself more credit. You caught on to the politics right away. They sent the duchess here with her identity verified by their Seer and gave her authority to call for a trial. But they didn’t immediately rule in her favor.”
“We still have a chance.” I spoke as if trying to convince myself.
“In a sense, I think the Conclave of Kings has been using the Blood Duchess the same way our side has been using you—that is to say, as a scapegoat. If she succeeds, then they’ll accept her as regent.
But if she fails, they’ll deny all connection to her.
Either way, the matter gets settled without them needing to risk anything.
” Ysabel bared her teeth. “I suspect a large part of their motivation is that no one wants to risk a conflict with my dear Kaine.”
I drank more tea. My tongue had started to become accustomed to the flavor. “The Blood Duchess is in the right. I stole her identity and her authority. How can we possibly win the trial?”