Twenty-Five - Mina
Twenty-Five
Mina
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“May I interrupt for a few minutes?” I asked Bethany Hervor after stepping into the tavern and spotting her and Kayla serving meals to a few customers. Old Gordy and Widow Penniwell were both present, which would save me a visit or two. “I have an announcement to make.”
Bethany shrugged. “Of course.”
“Can you get your parents and husband, too?”
She gave me a funny look, but didn’t hesitate. “If you want. Give me a moment.”
Bethany left the common room by way of the kitchen. I waited, my nerves growing with every heartbeat. I fiddled with the diamond charm, leaving the necklace untucked from my bodice for once.
Kayla crossed the room to my side. “What were you whispering to Bethany about?”
“I asked her to get your parents and brother-in-law so I could make an announcement.”
Kayla’s eyes narrowed, and she studied my charm. I had worn it during my entire stay in Skorsa, but there was a chance she had never seen it before, since I tried to keep it tucked under my clothes. I knew exactly what she was thinking, now. She thought the pendant was a recent gift. A betrothal present.
Based on her glower, she wouldn’t wish me well if it were a betrothal present. I wondered how she’d react to my actual announcement.
Bethany and the rest of the Hervor family filed into the common room. I cleared my throat. I could do this. I could. “Excuse me, can I have everyone’s attention?” Despite my nerves, my voice was clear and steady. “I have an announcement.”
All eyes turned toward me.
“As you all know, tomorrow is my last day in Skorsa. Then I return home to Haiwella. Before I leave, I wanted to tell everyone how much I have enjoyed my time in your village. I came here wanting to experience a life different from my own, and I am honored by how welcoming everyone has been.”
I took a deep breath. Now for the hard part. “What you do not know is that my name is not Mina Devale.” I lifted my necklace from where it rested against me. “I used a charm to hide my true identity because I wanted you to treat me as just another ordinary person. My real name is Princess Charmina Devaoile.”
Several people gasped as my words freed them from the power of the charm and they suddenly could believe that I was a princess. The mage who had made my charm had ensured there would be no lingering effects, though it took more power and effort to make it that way. He had crafted it ethically, but it was still a means of controlling people’s thoughts. How many people besides Alan would see it as a violation?
No one spoke, so I continued. “I hope you can forgive me for the deception. I would be honored to continue being nothing more than Mina here in Skorsa, a village that welcomed me with open arms.”
Mistress Hervor was the first to break the silence. “Princess or merchant’s daughter, you’ll always be welcome in my inn, dear. ”
Everyone in the room began saying similar things, though I knew they were not all as sanguine as they pretended. I moved from person to person, answering questions and explaining my actions. It saddened me to see how my news immediately changed how everyone treated me. Even Mistress Hervor curtsied and called me “Your Highness” when I thanked her for the baking lessons.
I was saved from dealing with Kayla, however. After my announcement, she had left the tavern in a huff. If it had been anyone else, I would have followed her and tried to explain. I doubted she cared about my reasoning, though. She probably didn’t care about the use of magic or my deception. Her annoyance would center on the fact that I had stolen the spotlight from her.
After explaining to everyone that the charm I wore would prevent anyone from realizing my identity unless I personally told them the truth—though the entire village would be free the morning I rode away—I left the tavern. I still had several stops to make.
I had never intended to tell every person in Skorsa my identity, even if I told a few, and even expecting it would get out eventually. But after what had happened with Alan, I knew I couldn’t leave without telling as many villagers as possible what I had done. Facing them was in part an atonement for hiding the truth from Alan. But it was more than that.
I felt uncomfortable with the deception now. There were also certain to be people from the village planning to attend the ball. Skorsa was close enough to the city that traveling there for a night of revelry wasn’t out of the question. Better to admit my lie now than come face-to-face with someone in the middle of the ballroom.
I went from shop to shop, making my announcement to all the people I had interacted with regularly around the village. I couldn’t tell every individual farmer, not without spending all of my final hours in Skorsa traveling from farm to farm hunting each one down in the fields, but most of those farmers I had barely done more than nod at in passing. They’d learn the truth once I was gone, and that had to be good enough .
There was one farmer, however, that I wanted to talk to personally. So, instead of telling Gemma and her parents the truth all at once, I asked my friend if she could pull Cole away from the farm later. Knowing that my departure loomed, Master and Mistress Kiels gladly let Gemma out of helping in the shop for the afternoon.
I told them the truth while she went to talk to Cole.
I expected Gemma to return with a meeting arranged for after Cole finished his chores, but instead, she returned to the village square on his arm.
I fell into step next to them, not wanting to have this conversation in the center of the village. “I hope I’m not causing problems pulling you away from your work on the farm.”
Cole laughed. “This is the last season I’m helping out there. Travis is old enough to take on my workload. He needs to get used to my absence sometime.”
“Thank you for making time for me. I know you are probably wondering why I wanted to talk with you.”
He looked at me from the corner of his eye. “I’ve got a few guesses.”
“Is it true that you discovered the charm Master Powell used on Alan?” Gemma asked, startling me.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise that she had heard about the charms. The entire village council, which included her father, had spent all yesterday afternoon discussing the situation. If I hadn’t been going around giving everyone fresh gossip, it probably would have been all I heard about today.
“I helped Alan find the charms.”
“I can’t believe Master Powell was using magic against the entire village for years.” Gemma shuddered. “It makes you wonder what else people could get away with.”
Great. This was not the segue into my admission I had hoped for. But I couldn’t ignore it. That would only make the eventual conversation worse. Just like with Alan .
“I actually wanted to talk to you both about charms.” We had reached the green, and though anyone walking by would easily see us, our conversation would be private here. “Well, one charm in particular.”
Gemma and Cole stopped when I did, shifting so they both faced me. Gemma tilted her head in question. “What charm?”
I lifted my necklace in a now familiar gesture. “This one.”
I forgot my practiced speech, telling them with unvarnished directness that the diamond was a mind-bending charm that hid my identity. I offered no explanations, only an apology for lying to them.
To my surprise, Gemma laughed.
“Gemma?”
“Sorry. It’s just... I’m imagining what it would have been like if Kayla had known you were the crown princess all this time. I almost wish she had known, though I can see why you wanted the anonymity.”
“Exactly,” I said with a relieved sigh. Though I had tried to explain my reasoning to others, Gemma was the first one to understand. “She would have treated me very differently. I wanted to know what life was like for people who aren’t royalty.”
Everyone adapted their manners, even their stories around me. Some tried to make life seem better, others exaggerated the negatives, but no one let me see and judge for myself. They all wanted to color my perceptions with their own perspectives.
At Gemma’s side, Cole frowned. “When did you tell Alan?”
I closed my eyes. “Last night,” I whispered. “I didn’t tell him until last night.”
When I opened my eyes, Gemma was staring at me, her lips rounded in surprise. Cole’s frown had deepened.
“I know,” I told him, though he said nothing. “I made a mistake. At first, I wanted to discover what he thought of me, without my title getting in the way. Then I was too scared, always waiting for the perfect opportunity that would never come. Considering what Powell did, I’d understand if Alan can’t forgive me for using a charm on him.”
Gemma reached out and touched my arm. “It’s not the same.”
Like Sam, she took my side without hesitation. I was touched, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I met Cole’s eyes. “He needs a friend. Someone who will curse my name with him, if that is how he feels. Someone who can convince him that if he is ever done cursing my name, he is welcome at the palace any time.”