CH.26 I know your secret
Iris and the ladies watched the soldiers training.
It was hot. Parasols protected them from the harsh rays of the sun, but the soldiers could not hide even in the shade.
They were not wearing shirts, revealing their well-developed muscles.
Sweat was running down their bodies. Wet hair fell into their faces.
The ladies admired their divine bodies more than their years-honored sword skills.
However, Iris had eyes for only one. For her prince.
He practiced with Commander Dominic. They were even-handed opponents.
They handled the sword gracefully as if they were born for battle.
Iris' and Edmund's gazes met. The prince lost his guard, which the commander took advantage of and quickly disarmed him.
He snatched the sword from his hand. He tripped his feet.
The prince fell on his ass, and the commander pointed both swords at him.
The soldiers laughed and applauded their commander's victory.
"You should learn to focus, Your Highness, and not look away after every pretty face," the commander told him.
"It's not my fault that you don't have a girlfriend, and the one you might have been interested in ran away from you," Prince Edmund told him.
"Your fiancée's stepsister is too wild to be caught. But you have to admit, she was extraordinary."
"I admit that she knew how to get attention," he said, remembering the moment in the library when he had let himself be carried away. There was something special about her.
The prince nodded to Iris to come down to him.
"What are you doing?" the commander asked him.
"I want to see if Anastasia can shoot as well as her stepsister. She's good with a sword, as we've seen," he replied.
"Didn't you say that women shouldn't handle weapons?" he gave him a searching look.
"I said," he admitted. "I'll take responsibility if anything happens."
"So everyone should stay at least a hundred steps behind." The commander laughed.
The prince gave him a warning look. He could stand jokes about himself, but no one would insult his bride.
"We can at least compare which one is better," he said.
Iris followed them down from the terrace to the training ground. She had no idea what the prince might want from her. He wanted to hug her, but she turned away from him.
"You're all sweaty," she told him with an innocent smile. "Please dry yourself first."
The commander laughed. "You heard her. Dry yourself." He tossed him a towel.
Prince Edmund put on his shirt and handed Iris the crossbow. The moment felt familiar, but at the time, he had been afraid of the weapon in her hands.
"What should I do with this?" she asked him nervously.
"We want to see how well you shoot," said the prince.
"I don't even know how to use it," she lied.
"I'll show you."
The prince pressed her back to his chest. He showed her how to hold the crossbow. She let him guide her. She leaned it against her shoulder, aiming badly on purpose. The prince improved her shot. He looked over her shoulder, checking if she was aiming correctly. He took her hand in his.
"Shoot," he whispered in her ear.
Iris pulled the trigger. But her pride wouldn't let her, and before the arrow could fire, she straightened the arrow.
The arrow flew through the air and hit the center of the target.
Iris began to jump with joy. She was as happy as a little child.
It was nothing new for her that she was a good shot, but Anastasia would react that way.
Prince Edmund and the commander stared in amazement at the arrow sticking out of the center of the target.
"I'm starting to think we should start accepting women into the army," said Commander Dominic.
"Just beginner's luck." A proud smile graced her lips. "Can I try again?"
"Of course."
Prince Edmund drew an arrow from his crossbow and handed it to her. She aimed at the target. A maid came with a letter in her hand.
"Miss, a letter has arrived for you."
Iris threw the crossbow to Commander Dominic as if it were not even loaded. He caught it with fear. The arrow fired. It stuck in a distant tree. It flew past the heads of two soldiers. They looked in their direction in alarm.
"Oops." Iris smiled innocently.
Prince Edmund's and the commander's jaws fell in shock and horror.
"Never do that again when the crossbow is loaded!" the prince told her.
"Or better yet, never put a weapon in her hand again," said the commander.
"That's also a possibility," Iris said, taking the letter from the maid instead. She opened it and read the few words someone had written to her. Her heart skipped a beat.
I know your secret.
If you want to keep it a secret, we'll meet at midnight in the forest by the fairy circle.
Don't be late.
"Who sent this?" she asked the maid.
"I don't know," she replied. "I've never seen him here before."
"Was it a man? Did he have golden eyes?"
"No, miss. Just an ordinary young man. He asked that I deliver the letter only to your hands."
Of course, he would have brought the letter himself. But at the same time, the words written in it didn't even sound like him. Who else could have known her secret?
"Are you okay, Anastasia?" the prince saw the panic in her eyes. "What does it say?"
"Nothing important," she said with a broad smile and hid the letter in her sleeve. She wasn't feeling well at all. Someone knew. Someone had found out the truth, and she had no idea who. "Will we continue to shoot?"
"Better not anymore," said the commander.
?
She waited impatiently for the night to come.
It seemed years away. Twilight was looming over the landscape.
The sun refused to give up its place in the sky.
She sat at the window, her head resting on the heated glass, watching the sun slowly set behind the distant horizon.
In her mind, she urged the stars to come to life.
She paced back and forth through her chambers.
She could not sit still. The skirt of her dress was all wrinkled as she nervously crumpled the fabric in her hands.
Finally, the moment came when the sun disappeared behind the line of the forest. She threw her velvet cloak over her shoulders, hiding her face under the hood and letting the enchantment hide her from the sight of all living beings.
The halls of the palace were still full.
The servants were preparing the palace for the night.
They were extinguishing the candles. They were bringing the high-ranking lords their last whims of the day.
Fortunately, an invisible veil of magic hid her from their sight.
However, she accidentally managed to bump into one of the servants.
He fell to the ground. The fruit he was carrying rolled across the floor.
"Clumsy," the other servant scolded him, helping him clean up the mess.
"I... I... I don't know what happened. I guess I just tripped over my own foot."
Iris ran through the palace gardens. She ran around the unsuspecting guards, not having much time left. She wanted to be there first, to see who was coming. To see who she was up against. She was afraid it might be a trap. She was almost sure.
The Fairy Circle was located not far from the palace.
It was a very special place. Since ancient times, a strange energy, magic, had surrounded it.
It swirled in the air like tension before a storm.
Large moss-covered stones stood in the ground in a perfect circle.
No one knew how they got there or who built them, but they were as old as the forest itself.
If not older. It was a place surrounded by many stories.
And most of them mentioned the full moon.
For example, if you hear intoxicating music coming from there during a full moon, it means the fairies are dancing in the moonlight.
Mother told Iris that she must never listen to the voices she heard there.
If she followed them, the fairies would take her to another world, and no one would ever find her again.
But secretly, she had always dreamed of that. Another world. Another life.
Thick darkness coiled beneath the treetops.
Leaves shimmered in the breeze. Fallen branches cracked under her feet.
The trees backed away from the fairy circle.
The ebony skies were decorated with thousands, if not millions, of stars.
The crescent moon shone brightly. Its light fell on the ancient stones, revealing the symbols carved into them.
Iris stopped at the edge of the forest. Hidden under her cloak, she stared into the circle, scanning the surroundings, waiting for an enemy.
She didn't wait long. Fireflies were flying in the air.
Their soft light cut through the darkness of the night.
A figure emerged from the shadows of the forest. A tall man, but she couldn't see his face.
His back was turned to her. He stood in the middle of the circle, facing the palace.
He waited for her to come from there. Iris cautiously stepped out of her hiding place.
She gripped the knife tightly in her palm, slowly creeping towards him.
An owl hooted. The man turned toward the sound, facing Iris. She froze. She pulled the hood of her cloak from her head and shook off the covering enchantment.
"Jace?"
"Iris?" he stared at her as if he couldn't believe that she was hiding behind her stepsister's face.
"You fool!" she slapped him gently on the shoulder, but actually a little harder. A little too much. "You don't know how scared I was by your stupid letter. "I know your secret." Couldn't you be more mysterious?"
"It's you, Iris," he was sure. He smiled.
"How did you know it was me?" she wondered.
"The demon in your house was obviously right." He didn't believe it at first, but her words convinced him.
Her eyes widened in shock. "I hope you didn't let him go." she almost screamed in the silence of the night.
"No," he said, startled by her reaction. "I'm not stupid enough to mess with a demon."
"Now I don't know whether to take that as an insult or... I guess he told you a lot."
"Actually he did not, and I didn't believe what he told me."
"If you didn't trust him, how did you know he wasn't lying about me as Anastasia?" she gave him a questioning look.
"Your murderous gaze." He grinned.
"My murderous gaze?" she raised her eyebrows in question.
"The exact look you gave me when we met in the royal procession. The one you give me every time I do something stupid," he noted.
Iris rolled her eyes. "As for that, it was really crazy to attack the royal family in the middle of the city. They could have killed you there. You were lucky to escape with the number of soldiers guarding it."
"That's not nearly as crazy as you making a deal with a demon, Iris."
"I didn't make a deal with him," she objected.
"So what's between you and that demon?" he asked.
"He is my protector demon," she gave him his answer. "Nothing more."
And husband, it seems so.
"Demon what?"
"A demon protector. He is tasked with protecting the bloodline of my family."
"If he is your protector, then why did you imprison him in your house?"
"It's complicated. Luc is my problem."
"Luc? Does that demon have a name?"
"Just like you and me."
"But you didn't answer my question. Why did you imprison him there if he was supposed to protect you?"
"I don't want to think about him now, Jace. Look," she said, looking up at the sky. "The night is beautiful. The moon shines brightly. He's far away."
Is he, though?
"Iris..." she heard his voice. As if he were always nearby. Within reach. She heard him whisper her name. "Iris..."
"He's still trapped in the house, right?"
"Yes," Jace said, seeing the worry written on her face. "He wanted me to let him go. He even tried to talk me into a deal, but I refused. Why? Is something wrong?"
"I hear his voice in my head," she admitted to him. "The breeze carries his voice. He whispers my name. Like he's always with me."
"Is this normal?"
"I don't know. This is the first time I've been connected to a demon."
"Nothing like this has happened before?"
"No. I didn't even know he existed. I barely knew my mother, and I knew nothing about my ancestors. It's all new and strange to me."
"Why did you keep it from me? I thought we trust each other."
"I thought you didn't believe in such things."
"But I believe in you, Iris."
He took a step toward her, two. He let the space between them disappear.
He looked deep into her eyes. Where seas had once flowed, there were now green forests.
Her hair, the color of gold, was the color of fire.
Her full lips were just a thin line. Her voice was different, too.
But it was still her. He would recognize her anywhere, no matter what she looked like.
"It's strange to look at you when you look like Anastasia," he said.
"Sorry."
She pulled her mother's hairpin out of her hair, her features returning to their original form.
He couldn't help but stare at the beauty that had drawn him to her so much.
She was like an angel fallen from heaven.
He leaned in closer. Closer and closer. Their lips almost touched as Iris turned away.
"I wish you would do such crazy things for me too."
"I could kiss you, I could run away with you now, pretend to love you, but it would all be a lie, Jace. Is that what you want?"
"I want you, Iris."
"Even if it means living a lie?"
She knows what's like to live in a lie. Day by day. She fell for a demon and hunt a prince that was never to be hers. She still lives in that lie her mother built, refusing to give it up.
"It would be real for me."
She sighed, looking away. With a gentle touch, he turned her eyes back to him.
"Iris."
"I want to help you, Jace. If Prince Edmund remembers me, I can convince him to grant you clemency. You will be free."
"Just me?"
"I am a witch, but I cannot perform miracles. The rebels attacked the king. Twice. Someone must pay for the bloodshed."
"You forget I was there that day too. I'm a rebel too."
"Their lives don't matter to me, yours do. I care about you, Jace."
But not the way he wants. Not when he has someone else in his heart.
"Not like on him, though. You realize you can't pretend to be her forever?"
Iris nodded sadly. She was very aware of it.
"I just need time to figure out how to break the enchantment. Then it will all be over," she said.
"Then ask your demon for help."
"He won't help me. First, he says it's impossible, and second, he doesn't want me to break it."
"Why?"
"He's a demon. I don't know the reasons why he does what he does."