don’t know why you all think we can just walk right in there, and Mother and Father will decide that they want to have us around again.”
She speaks, but I turn away from her and regard James again.
“We’re better off leaving here and looking for a new home. It’s still dangerous, but it puts more distance between us and them. That’s safer than walking into the belly of the beast.”
“And you two? Do you care to weigh in on this discussion?” James asks the twins.
Henry and Harry exchange glances, communicating with one another the way they have their entire lives.
“We’re in. You know us, we rarely like conflict. But if for nothing else, then to return her to her rightful place. She’s too good for our dark souls, anyway.”
“It’s our rightful place and I don’t belong there without you,” Jocelyn explains. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along. My soul does not differ from yours. I’ve felt it my entire life. I knew you were out here and I needed to find you. We belong together. As a family.”
I want to tell her no. I want to place my lips on hers, keeping her from speaking any more nonsense, but I can’t. We are a family. A fucked up, depraved mess of one, but family no less. Perhaps Father wasn’t stricken with madness all those years ago. Perhaps he always had darkness running through him. The same darkness that lives inside his children; some of us, anyway. It makes sense now. It all comes down to heredity. Some of us were graced with Mother’s goodness. That’s why they fought against James and chose to leave. The rest of us, the loathsome abominations we are, weren’t able to escape it.
We belong together.
“Either we stay here as a family or we fight them as one,” Jocelyn says.
My eyes dance from hers, to the twins’, to James’. Acceptance is clear in each of them. I take a deep breath before speaking to James again.
“What’s your plan?”
Jocelyn
It’s been a long, two-day journey back to the castle, but finally, it’s in our sights. On horseback, we sit atop the hill overlooking Sutherland Castle in silence. Benji’s arms tighten around me as he fixes the grip on the reins. I turn, my eyes meeting his, and I can see the fear he holds inside. I offer him a smile and then look at each of my other brothers, lined up next to us.
“Before we go any further, I need to tell you all that I love you. No matter what happens, I’m glad we finally found one another after all this time. If today is my last day on earth, I’m content knowing I’ll leave it with no regrets.”
James’ stare captures my attention and pulls me in. I think he’s finally realizing we’re not very different after all and that his initial reaction to me was unfair. In my stare back to him, I let him know that there is nothing to be forgiven for. Harry and Henry both look at me with smug grins on their faces and a knowing gleam in their eyes. I narrow my eyes, playfully at them, thinking back to the time we spent together in the yard.
“We should get going,” Benji says.
“Yes,” I agree, placing one last kiss on his lips.
We stow our horses at the bottom of the hill and travel to the castle’s gate on foot. When we get there, the men on the other side ask us to identify ourselves. These men rarely, if ever, set eyes on the royal family, themselves. There is a chance that they won’t believe who I am, but I pray to whatever God will hear me, that they let us through without issue. My brothers are under hoods, with dirt on their faces, so they aren’t easily recognizable. I need them to pass as villagers in order to get them in front of Mother and Father, unnoticed.
“I’m Jocelyn Marie Victoria Sutherland; Princess of Northshire. These men rescued me and helped me find my way back home.”
“The Princess? Dressed the way you are?”
They take one look at the meager dress Benji brought home from his trip into town, and laugh in my face. Rage shoots through me. I love the dress because Benji picked it out for me. It could be a potato sack for all I care. I hold my head high and speak again.
“I said,” I begin again, louder than before, “I am Jocelyn Marie Victoria Sutherland.