The problem was, I hadn’t found out until I had lost my virginity to Arthur a month or so ago. Now I had an unlikely alliance in various stages with each king while they struggled with their own friendship now that their pact had been spoiled.
“I’m going to get supper,” Johanna announced, standing and stretching her limber body. “You coming?”
I shook my head. “I’m not hungry.”
“I will bring you something anyway,” she stated, crossing the room and opening the door. “Mainly because I don’t want to hear you grumble about how hungry you are later.”
I laughed as Johanna walked out, wondering why a princess would want to be friends with an American orphan.
Well, I really wasn’t any longer. I was an heir apparent to some royal dynasty that was more powerful than anyone in the academy. It was a definite power trip to think that, but until I could prove it all and put the story of how I gotten on this earth together, I wasn’t going to let my head swell. I was still Anna Komita.
Lying down on my bed, I tucked my hands under my head and stared at the rain as it slid down the window outside.
What was my mom like?
How had she met my father?
Were they in love? I wanted to think so. No one wanted to hear that they were a product of a one-night stand and in my heart, I wanted to believe that my father had been enamored with my mom, possibly because his wife was a cold-hearted bitch, and that he had pursued her until he had broken her down. If I was any indication, my mom would likely be a strong woman, not needing any man to take care of her.
It was a nice dream, one that I hoped I could prove to be true in the next few weeks or so. I was tired of being told that I was a nobody, that I didn’t matter or that I was a person to be used and cast aside when everyone got their fill of me.
Arthur hadn’t, but even with me knowing that he had planned to use me, he was kind of helping me find my mom.
Sighing, I watched the rain. My life could never be easy, of course. I couldn’t just have a normal set of parents, with a normal house and a normal future.
I didn’t even know who I was, but I wasn’t leaving this academy or letting anyone scare me off until I knew where I belonged.
Or if there were people waiting for me to find them, a family that I never knew existed.
A family. What would it feel like to have a family? There wasn’t a person at this academy, minus me of course, who knew what it felt like to be all alone in this world. Even if they weren’t coddled, they had a cushy lifestyle, never having to worry about their next meal or how they would pay for their necessities.
Even Johanna had a pretty sweet setup.
I didn’t know what that would feel like and knowing that I was inching ever so close to who I truly was would bring about feelings I had never experienced before, especially if there were family members involved.
I hoped there were. I didn’t want to get to the end of this story and still be alone. I couldn’t even count on the people that I had made friends with to be there at the end and I desperately wanted blood ties, someone to call part of my family. I wanted someone to be on my side for once, to comfort me when I needed it.
Most of all, I wanted to belong to something. For a girl who had spent all her life not belonging anywhere, I wanted to make that happen, to have a sense of belonging if nothing else.
One thing was for sure; I wouldn’t be eating Christmas dinner with headmistress Isauros. She would likely poison my food and gleefully watch me die a slow death without hesitation.
**
I met up with Arthur the next day, choosing to meet him in the library rather than at his mansion, mostly due to the fact that it was still raining outside. I still wasn’t used to the weather here in Switzerland. One minute it was hot and the next, it was like it was going to snow outside.
I shoved my hands in my hoodie as I walked through the doors, waving at the curator as I passed. I had tried to ask him what his name was, but he had held his hand to his heart and told me to call him curator.
Another secret that this academy was hiding apparently.
Placing my bag on the table, I dropped into the seat, waiting for Arthur to arrive. I wanted to catch him up about my visit with Isauros and ask if he was still willing to help me try to find out about my mom. He had been against it, though he hadn’t come right out and said those very words, but I could see in his eyes that he thought I was treading into dangerous territory.
Of course I was. Someone had gone to great lengths to keep me a secret or rather to keep this secret from me until this moment in time. Why, I didn’t know, but I was intent on finding out.
Even if it cost me everything in the end. I mean, I didn’t have much to lose to begin with. I really didn’t know what it was like anyway and in my mind, I was still the American orphan.
Did I really want to be princess or empress or whatever I was supposed to be? I wasn’t sure. Sure, I would
