She stood before the thrones with her head held high, her friends at her back. From their elevated position, they looked back at her. The father who abandoned her, the mother who wasn’t hers, and the sister who claimed her anyway.
“We thank you all for your help during this time,” the king started. “You will all be rewarded handsomely.”
They all bowed in gratitude, turning back to leave, when they were stopped by the hesitant voice of the king.
“Felcryn,” he called, and she could hear the hesitation in his voice.
She turned back to meet his eyes, her face carefully neutral. “Yes, my Lord?”
She saw the slight flinch at her formal words, but he took a deep breath and spoke anyway.
“You grew up strong,” he said carefully. “As is expected from someone carrying my blood.”
The room was suddenly eerily silent. Felcryn glanced around and saw the shock on the faces of the people present. Her connection to the royal family was not something that was widely known. Hell, she hadn’t known it herself not too long ago.
“I would like to give this to you,” the king continued, holding out an envelope to her.
Felcryn hesitated for a moment, before stepping forward to accept it.
“This contains the official paperwork that claims you as my daughter,” he explained, making several in the room gasp. “There is also a seal that you have always been entitled to, that marks you as a member of the Theran family.”
Felcryn tensed as he spoke. She knew what he was doing. He thought that claiming her as his daughter officially, in front of witnesses, would endear him to her and undo what he had done in the past. He wasn’t doing this for her, not really. He was doing it to ease his own guilty conscience. Glancing back at her friends, who were standing uncertainly a few steps behind her, she took a deep breath and met the eyes of her father.
“You say that I grew up strong because I carry your blood,” she started softly, and the room went completely silent. “But I would argue that blood has very little to do with it. I grew up strong because I had to. Because otherwise I wouldn’t have survived. And now, I am strong because I have friends that I can trust, people that can catch me if I fall.” She took a deep breath and glanced apologetically at Elmyra, only to find her sister smiling proudly at her. “I am not the little girl that you left to die anymore,” she said steadily, ignoring the whispers erupting in the room. “And you don’t get to take the credit for my survival, or my strength.”
You could hear a pin drop in the room as she finished. She knew that she had dropped a bombshell, but frankly, she didn’t feel bad about it. It needed to be said, she would deal with the consequences later. The silence dragged on for a few minutes before the king cleared his throat, looking very uncomfortable.
“You are right, of course,” he said with a wry smile. “My wife and eldest daughter tried to tell me as much before this meeting. Nonetheless,” he gestured at the envelope in her hand, “that is something you should have had since birth. It is on me that you didn’t. Keep it, and I hope that it will be useful to you in any future endeavours you undertake.”
Felcryn regarded him for another moment before she nodded slowly.
“Thank you, my Lord,” she said politely, “I am sure that it will. If that is all, may we be excused? It has been a long day, and we could use some rest.”
“Yes, of course,” the king said quickly, motioning towards the door. “I am sure that all of you are exhausted. If anyone needs medical attention, it will be available to you as well. Anything else can wait until you are rested.”
She nodded again before turning towards her friends, effectively turning her back on the king. They exchanged smiles as she started walking towards the door, her chosen family falling into step beside her, as she left her only blood relations behind.
