Everythings is Fin 14

ELARA’S POV

“Princess Elara has returned!” The herald’s voice rings through the courtyard, and suddenly I’m running.

Protocol be damned. I’ve spent too long measuring my steps, watching my words, shrinking myself to fit into the box the Verlorens had constructed for me. Now, as I see my father standing at the top of the palace steps—older than I imagined, his beard touched with more silver—I can’t stop myself.

“Father!” I cry out, lifting the hem of my traveling dress as I race up the marble steps.

King Dorian’s weathered face breaks into a smile that erases ten years from his appearance. He opens his arms wide, and I throw myself into his embrace, inhaling the familiar scent of pine and parchment that has always meant safety.

“My little star,” he whispers against my hair, using the childhood nickname that I didn’t know about. “You’ve come home at last.”

His arms tighten around me, and I allow myself this moment of weakness, these tears that spill onto the royal insignia embroidered on his doublet. Just for a moment, I’m not a princess or a political pawn or an unwanted wife—I’m just a daughter who has missed her real father desperately.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I murmur, pulling back to look at him properly. The lines around his eyes have deepened, and there’s a weariness in his gaze that wasn’t there when I left.

“And I you,” he says, cupping my face in his calloused hands. “But you’re home now. That’s what matters.”

A discreet cough reminds us that we’re not alone. Lord Dani, stands to the side, along with a collection of courtiers and servants who have gathered to witness my return.

“Your Majesty,” Lord Dani says with a bow, “perhaps we should continue this reunion inside? There are… matters to discuss.”

The warmth in my father’s eyes dims slightly, replaced by the calculating look I know all too well—the face of a king rather than a father. He nods once, then places my hand in the crook of his arm.

“Come,” he says. “There is much to tell you, and I suspect even more that you need to tell me.”

As we walk through the halls of the palace, servants bow and courtiers whisper behind their hands. Word of my arrival has clearly spread quickly. I catch fragments of their hushed conversations—”princess,” “Verloren,” “alliance”—and feel the weight of their expectations settling back onto my shoulders.

The royal council chamber is massive, with its circular table and the great map of the known kingdoms stretched across the ceiling. My father gestures for me to take the seat at his right hand—my mother’s seat, once upon a time, and now mine by right.

“Leave us,” he commands, and the attending servants bow and exit silently. Only Lord Dani remains, taking his customary place at my father’s left.

Once the heavy doors thud closed, my father turns to me, his expression grave. “The news of your identity has spread more quickly than we anticipated. The Verloren family knows now.”

“Yes,” I say, my voice steadier than I feel. “That’s partly why I’ve returned.”

“Tell me everything,” he says, not as a request but a royal command. “Leave nothing out.”

So I do. I tell him about the cold reception at the Verloren court, about the Queen thinly veiled contempt and Princess Kaela’s outright hostility. I describe the isolation, the whispers, the deliberate exclusion from court functions. And finally, I tell him about Caden—his initial indifference, his growing distraction, and the rumors of a second marriage arrangement with Lady Islode.

My father’s expression darkens with each word, the muscles in his jaw tightening until I fear for his teeth.

“They dared,” he finally says, his voice dangerously soft, “to treat my daughter—the Crown Princess of Verdana—as though she were nothing more than a disposable political token?”

“They didn’t know who I was,” I remind him, though the words taste bitter. “That was the point of the deception, wasn’t it? To see how they would treat me when they thought I held no power?”

Lord Dani clears his throat but didn’t say a word.

Father rises, pacing the length of the council chamber with measured steps. “You must understand, Elara, that the political landscape has shifted dramatically since you left. The eastern provinces are restless, and Verloren’s mineral resources have become more crucial than ever for our defenses.”

“Which is why you arranged my marriage in the first place,” I say, connecting the pieces.

“Yes.” He stops pacing to look at me directly. “We needed the alliance, but I needed to know what kind of man Prince Caden truly is before entrusting him with not only my daughter’s hand but potentially my kingdom’s future.”

Lord Dani leans forward. “Now that your true identity has been revealed, Princess, we must prepare for the formal reintroduction to court. The nobles are already gathering. They’ll expect an explanation, and a demonstration of strength.”

I nod, feeling a strange calm settle over me. “When?”

“Tonight,” my father says. “A formal reception to welcome home the Crown Princess of Verdana.”

“And to let every kingdom know that you are not to be trifled with,” Lord Dani adds with a thin smile.

My father returns to his seat, taking my hands in his. “There’s more at stake than you know, Elara. The alliance with Verloren was just one move in a much larger game. With tensions rising in the east and whispers of rebellion in the southern provinces, we need to present a united front.”

“But how can we do that now?” I ask. “After what’s happened—”

“That is precisely what we must decide,” he interrupts gently. “And it begins with your reintroduction to the court tonight. You are no longer just my daughter; you are the future of Verdana.”

The weight of his words settles over me. For months, I’ve been treated as insignificant, a forgettable piece in someone else’s game. Now, I’m reminded of who I truly am—not just a princess, but a future queen.

“I won’t disappoint you,” I say, squeezing his hands.

“You never have,” he replies with a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

As I rise to leave, my father asks the question I’ve been dreading. “And what of Prince Caden? Now that he knows the truth, what is his response?”

I pause at the door, my back to him so he can’t see the conflicting emotions on my face. For a moment, I remember Caden’s rare genuine smiles, the way his eyes lit up when discussing his people’s welfare, the glimpses of a good man buried beneath layers of royal obligation and maternal manipulation.

But then I remember his indifference, his silent complicity in his family’s treatment of me, his inability—or unwillingness—to see me as anything more than a convenient alliance.

“I’ve asked him for an annulment to our marriage,” I say finally, my voice echoing in the suddenly silent chamber.