Remember... Ch. 08

"Excuse me, your majesty, Miss Izer. I have a message from Princess Allura. She wishes to meet with you two in private," the new elf said.

Mari looked at Andrew, sharing a confused expression.

"Right now? About what?" Andrew asked.

"The princess did not tell me. She only told me to lead you to her, should you accept."

Andrew shrugged. "Lead on," he said, noting that neither Ilyusha nor any of the servants followed them.

After winding through several empty hallways, Mari recognized their destination from earlier in the tour as Ambassador Raelin's office. Princess Allura and her three handmaidens stood outside the doors.

"Hello again, your majesty, Miss Izer," the princess greeted them with a slight bow.

"Princess Allura," Andrew greeted in turn. "Shouldn't you be preparing your speech, or enjoying the party? What is this about?"

"I need to ask of you a personal favor. In private. Your... special guard may enter," she said, acknowledging Mark's presence, "along with Miss Izer, but I would ask that your other two men stay out here."

Andrew raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Alright."

One of the handmaidens opened the door. "Please come in," Allura said as she walked through the secretary's reception area, and into the ambassador's office.

Following Andrew, Mari noted that the first handmaid closed the door behind them. A second handmaid stood at the door linking the ambassador's office and the reception area, also closing it after they passed through, leaving just the princess and a single handmaid in the office with them.

"So? What do you need to talk to me about?" Andrew asked.

"I want to apologize to you," the princess began. "By chance, we have discovered one of your secrets."

Andrew frowned. "What? Why are you telling me this?"

The princess remained silent.

"Because I would like to ask a favor of you."

Mari gasped. It was the handmaiden at the princess's side who spoke, who at the same time removed her own mask.

"Hi Mari," Amanda smiled weakly.

"Amanda?" Mari whispered, her voice wavering, uncertain. "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She shrugged. Facing Andrew, she said, "King Andrew: I am Allura, princess of Mise, daughter of Alexandre. I wish to speak to Mark."

"What is the meaning of this?" Andrew looked on, confused.

"Andrew, she knows who I am," an unseen, distorted voice answered. The air shimmered for a moment as the unseen voice materialized beside the king.

"Hi Amanda. Or would you prefer Allura?" Mark said as he took off his helmet. "Andrew, this is the same Amanda that I have spoken to you about at length."

"You... the princess... what?" Andrew was at a loss for words. "Did you know about this?"

"Of course not!" Mark shook his head, his voice softening. "How could I have known?"

Mari's gaze shifted from Mark to Amanda and back again. "Andrew, I think they need a moment. Let's let them speak in private for a while, ok?" She asked as she took his hand.

Andrew's mouth opened and closed. Finally, he nodded, and wordlessly walked out to the reception area with her, along with the elven woman dressed as the princess. They closed the door behind them.

"So, she's the 'Amanda' that he's been seeing since he got back?" The king asked. "The one that he helped in Carrou Forrest?"

"Carrou Forest? What are you talking about?"

Andrew shook his head. "Forget I said that."

Mari waved dismissively. "Whatever. Yes, she's the one. She's the one that I've been teaching, that Captain Banks has been training, that was kidnapped a few weeks ago."

"How did she find out about Mark?" He asked, directing the question as much to Mari as to the other two elves in the room.

"I have no idea. I'm curious about that too," Mari said.

The two elven women looked at each other for a moment before one spoke.

"It was because of me, your majesty," said the one dressed as the handmaiden as she removed her mask. "Hello Miss Izer. It is good to see you again."

"Falalie? Ah. I see now! You're the one who constructed the detection for this area."

"That is correct, Miss Izer," the elf nodded. "King Andrew, I am Falalie, one of the princess's guardians. My normal duties involve maintaining the detection around the princess's place of residence. I have seen and memorized Mark's signature, as he has visited many times before. For tonight's party, it is my responsibility to watch the second floor of the White Keep outside of the ballroom area. As soon as Ilyusha led all of you within the bounds of my spell, I knew."

Andrew thought for a moment. "This knowledge could be valuable to your government. You didn't have to tell us that you knew, nor did you have to reveal the face or security of your princess."

"The appearance of Mark's signature caught me by surprise as well, and in my carelessness, the princess overheard me speaking about it to my captain and... well, here we are," Falalie smiled. "She insisted on this meeting against all of our advices. Although I suppose this isn't too bad: we now both hold similar knowledge. An equal trade."

As Andrew pondered the ramifications of this revelation, Mari spoke up. "Falalie, what will happen now? What will Amanda do?"

The elf shrugged. "I don't know. The princess did not tell us. But they're speaking now and while I don't want to invade my lady's privacy, I suspect that she would like to be reunited with Mark."

"Would you or your colleagues allow that?"

The elf shrugged. "I have no reason to be against that. Although this is still something that we will have to discuss as a group, my colleagues have warmed up to Mark considerably since their first meeting. However, I believe the more important issue is whether Mark, and by extension, your majesty, would allow that."

Andrew looked up from his thoughts. "I expect that you will treat this secret of ours with care?"

Falalie nodded. "Of course. We only expect the same in return."

He smiled, and placed his hand on his necklace. "Then if Mark wants this, I will allow it. King Alexandre has been a friend to my family and to Rancer since its birth. What kind of a friend would I be if I denied his daughter this happiness? As long as it does not adversely affect Mark's duties, I see no reason why they can not be together."

Mari knew that what Andrew had said was as much for them to hear as it was for Mark. She smiled as she held his hand and gave him a gentle squeeze.

It was a few minutes before the door to the ambassador's office opened again. Mark and the princess emerged, hand in hand. While Allura's nose and cheeks were still red, and her sobs had not completely ceased, there was a bright smile on her face.

"King Andrew, I'm sorry for making you wait," she said.

"It's no problem. I'm assuming that the situation has been resolved amicably?"

"Yes. There are still many things that Mark and I need to talk about, but..." she paused to looked at the man beside her, who returned her smile, "there will be time for that."