I looked back to my Mom and whispered, “Is there something I don’t know?”
Tears trembled in my Mom’s eyes before she replied, “We had a little girl.” Oh my God. “She died at birth.” Oh my God! “We named her Rosa.”
I closed my eyes then opened them.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
“I… I couldn’t. I couldn’t talk about it. It was bad, sweetie. The birth was bad. For me too. After that, I couldn’t have any more kids. Your Dad and me, we wanted a whole houseful and we lost that and we lost Rosa and I…”
“Stop,” I whispered when her tears spilled over. “Stop, Mama. I understand.”
“It wasn’t like I was trying to keep anything from you, it was just –”
I cut her off again. “Stop, Mom. I understand.”
She blinked and more tears fell then she turned to Tor. “Rosa is alive in your world?”
I tensed, for Rosa was alive but she was also the hostage of a cruel witch-god but Tor simply said, “Alive and beloved. The only beauty in the land more exquisite than hers is Cora’s. The only qualities in the land more dear are those of my Cora, the Cora of this world.”
I felt my body start at his words and I whispered, “That last part isn’t true,” and Tor’s gaze came to me.
“It is, my sweet.”
“It isn’t, most everyone hates me,” I reminded him.
“No, Cora, everyone hates the Cora of that world.”
I rose, telling him, “But they think she’s me.”
“Indeed, they do but it has been you gracing my castle for the past weeks and it was you, and your rabid, not befitting a princess behavior that you displayed in towns and villages for miles that people have been experiencing. Word travels. They used to call you Cora, the Exquisite due to your beauty. Now, you’re becoming known as Cora, the Gracious.”
Cora, the Gracious?
Wow. I liked that.
“Really?” I asked.
Tor’s eyes grew warm. “You read to blind women, love, and rescue wild, wounded birds and make them your pet. You smile at every child you see and touch their cheeks or ruffle their hair, which, by the way, you must stop doing.” Even if his words were melting my heart, my eyes still narrowed and he smiled at me. “You are friendly, you are polite, you are kind and you are merciful. You are Cora, the Gracious.”
Oh my. I was Cora, the Gracious.
How freaking cool!
“How freaking cool!” I cried, grinning at him, he shook his head and looked at my mother.
“This language and her stubborn bent at being uncommonly friendly to everyone she encounters is not behavior befitting a princess. I persist in telling her this but she doesn’t listen. I assume I have you to thank for that.”
“I, uh… uh… um…” Mom stammered, looking up at Tor and, I could see, coming to the realization that she had a being from a parallel universe at her table. “My daughter’s a princess?”
“Of course, she’s my wife,” Tor replied.
“I keep telling you, Tor, I’m not your wife,” I snapped and his eyes cut to me.
“And I keep telling you, my love, that you’re going to be and, as far as I’m concerned, you already are.”
“You’re married to my parallel world twin!” I cried.
“This will be severed officially upon our return. Luckily, Cora and I were wed in Bellebryn and the person who grants annulments in Bellebryn is me. Therefore, it will simply be a signature on a piece of paper and then you and I will be wed.”