Chapter 9 - The Second Helena
King Adrian crossed the Ormaran border without an army.
He entered alone.
The decision nearly caused a diplomatic crisis, but Princess Celestine met him at the fortress gate and declared him her personal guest before the generals could order his arrest.
Elara watched from the stone steps.
Adrian dismounted.
For one restrained second, they looked at each other as sovereign and noblewoman beneath the eyes of soldiers.
Then Elara ran to him.
He caught her against his chest.
“You crossed the border,” she said.
“You asked for a reason not to.”
“I never sent one.”
“Exactly.”
She laughed through tears.
He touched the bruise on her cheek.
The warmth vanished from his eyes.
“Who did this?”
“He is dead.”
“That does not answer the question.”
“It is the only answer you are getting until we prevent two kingdoms from going to war.”
Celestine approached.
“I dislike interrupting reunions, but General Merek’s supporters control three border regiments.”
Adrian released Elara reluctantly.
“And your parliament?”
“Half demand your arrest. The other half demand our immediate wedding.”
Elara looked at Celestine.
The princess appeared more irritated than embarrassed.
Adrian said, “I will not marry you.”
“I remain devastated.”
“We need to identify the sniper,” Elara said.
Celestine nodded toward the tower.
“No body was found. The shooter escaped through an old aqueduct.”
Captain Rian joined them.
“A message arrived from Bellavere.”
He handed Adrian a coded dispatch.
The king read it.
His face became rigid.
“What happened?” Elara asked.
“Helena has disappeared.”
“From the palace?”
“She left the physician’s chamber during the attack. Two guards escorted her through the eastern gate.”
“Did she order them?”
“The guards claim the queen mother ordered her release.”
Elara remembered the second voice on Marcus’s recording.
Queen Isabelle.
“Your mother knew my father was alive.”
Adrian folded the message.
“Yes.”
“She was in the room with him.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“Do you believe me?”
“I heard the recording.”
“That was not my question.”
He held her gaze.
“I believe you.”
Celestine led them into the council chamber.
The Crownfall documents were spread across the table.
Among them, Captain Rian had discovered a placement file marked H-17.
Helena’s file.
Elara opened it.
The first pages recorded her childhood at Saint Orlan’s institution. She had arrived at age four with no verified surname. At eight, she was selected for “noble integration.”
At ten, she was sent to live with the Lorne family under the identity Helena Lorne.
At twenty-one, she married Marcus Vale.
The final page contained two photographs.
Both showed girls approximately eight years old.
They were identical.
One was labeled H-17A.
The other was labeled H-17B.
Elara stared at them.
“Twins?”
“Or duplicates,” Celestine said.
Adrian examined the annotations.
“One child was placed with the Lornes. The other remained at Saint Orlan.”
“Which one became my mother?”
“There is no mark.”
Elara remembered the dying impostor’s words.
Ask the woman who wears your mother’s face.
“Could the other Helena still be alive?”
Rian answered carefully.
“Yes.”
“And could she have replaced my mother?”
Adrian looked at her.
“When?”
“Any time.”
The thought was unbearable.
Every childhood memory became uncertain.
The woman who taught Elara to dance.
The woman who slapped her for speaking during business dinners.
The woman who wept alone in Marcus’s study and denied it the next morning.
Had all those moments belonged to one person?
Or two?
Celestine found a transport record attached to the file.
“H-17B was moved from Saint Orlan six days after Marcus Vale died.”
“Where?”
“The destination is coded.”
Adrian took the paper.
“I recognize the code.”
Elara waited.
He looked toward the dark mountain windows.
“It refers to Rosehaven.”
Celestine frowned.
“The queen mother’s private estate?”
“Yes.”
Elara felt the answer before anyone said it.
Queen Isabelle had taken the second Helena.
Perhaps protected her.
Perhaps used her.
Adrian returned to Valedorn before sunset with Elara beside him. Celestine accompanied them under diplomatic immunity, bringing loyal Ormaran guards and copies of the Crownfall files.
Rosehaven stood two hours beyond Bellavere, surrounded by white stone walls and winter gardens.
The estate appeared deserted.
No servants greeted them.
No lamps burned.
Inside, dust covered the entrance hall.
They searched room by room.
In the eastern bedroom, Elara found fresh flowers beside the bed.
Someone had been there recently.
On the dressing table lay three strands of pearls identical to Helena’s.
Beside them was a photograph taken at Elara’s tenth birthday.
Marcus stood behind her.
Helena stood at his side.
On the back, someone had written:
SHE STILL DOES NOT KNOW I AM HER MOTHER.
Elara’s fingers went numb.
Adrian read the sentence over her shoulder.
Neither spoke.
A floorboard creaked in the corridor.
Elara turned.
Helena stood in the doorway.
She still wore the dress from the archive, though dried blood marked her temple.
She looked at the photograph in Elara’s hand.
Then she began to cry.
“Which one are you?” Elara asked.
Helena’s lips trembled.
“The one who raised you.”
“That is not what I asked.”
Before she could answer, another woman appeared behind her.
Same silver-blonde hair.
Same face.
Same eyes.
May you like
She wore a black dress and held a pistol against Helena’s back.
“I believe,” the second woman said, “she asked which one of us gave birth to her.”
