Chapter 26 is dedicated to

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My jaw must have hit the floor as I stared at the two people in front of me.

"Y-your majesties" I stammered, hurriedly getting into a curtsey.

Okay, what was going on? Maybe they just looked like the king and queen. There was no way they could be the real deal. And there was no way they could be Ashton's parents. That just didn't make any sense.

Maybe they were one of those families that were so obsessed with royalty that they got plastic surgery to look like them. Yeah, that had to be it.

I glanced up to see his mom smiling at me. No, there was no denying it. She was the queen. She looked exactly like Queen Arabella. Ashton's dad, King Caden, wore an expression of satisfaction.

His mother's face lit up with another dazzling smile and she flashed an excited look at her husband. Ashton's father smiled and offered me his hand, which I shook. His mother embraced me in a warm hug, which kind of took me by surprise.

"It's nice to meet you both," I said as politely as I could.

I sent a confused look Ashton's way but he didn't look at me. Instead, he was texting on his phone.

"I have been wanting to meet you ever since Ashton mentioned he found you!" she smiled happily.

"We're very happy for both of you," his father said with a slight smile.

I turned around and sent Ashton yet another confused look. Found me? We've been going to the same school for years.

"To introduce myself, I am Queen Arabella DeLorentes," she laughed. "But you already know that."

Ashton shook his head irately and ran a palm over his face. "Will both of you stop it? She has no idea what you're talking about."

His mom's eyes flashed to mine, and on seeing my confusion, her smile faltered. Her husband gave me a questioning look and sighed in disbelief when he saw how puzzled I was.

"You haven't told her?" he asked angrily. To this Ashton scowled.

"Then... do you know why you are here?" his mom asked me.

"Um-" I glanced at Ashton, but of course he wasn't looking at me. Great.

"No, I'm not exactly sure," I answered softly.

His mom gasped dramatically, covering her mouth with her palm. His father gave him a disapproving look. I could tell he was getting angrier by the second.

"Ashton," he began while trying to keep his voice level. "You brought her here without telling her anything about this?"

Ashton's jaw clenched and his eyes hardened. "I told you I didn't want this. I brought her here to change your mind."

His dad brought down his fist onto the desk with so much force that I jumped in shock. His mom's eyes flitted from Ashton, to me to her husband.

"Your majesty, calm down. Ashton will figure this out the right way," she said. She gave Ashton a stern look. "You will sort this out."

Ashton scoffed and rolled his eyes. I glanced around the room feeling awkward. They were discussing me, but I couldn't understand what they were talking about.

I hated situations like this. The awkward moment when you're at someone's house and they start arguing with their parents, and you're just there like, That's an interesting wall.

Ashton leaned against the door and folded his arms over his chest.

I decided to say something. "Um, so should I..." I pointed my thumb towards the door. I didn't feel like listening to any more of the conversation.

"No, do not go," his mom pleaded, her face filled with worry.

"This was a mistake," Ashton muttered.

"You never grow up do you?" his father said darkly.

"Damn it!" Ashton snapped heatedly "Just give me a break!" His midnight blue eyes clouded over with anger.

"Kings don't take breaks," his father retorted.

"Well, I'm not the king, am I?"

"Not yet."

They stared each other down for a while before the king turned to me.

"Um..." I started. "Are you really the king and queen?" I asked uncertainly. I glanced nervously at Ashton.

His mom smiled at me again. "Yes, dear, we are. We will prove it to you in a second. Please, make yourself comfortable."

I moved to the seat that she gestured to and sat down stiffly. Ashton leaned on the wall beside me. He glared at the ground and his mouth was set in an impenetrable frown.

"You're probably wondering why we didn't meet on official palace grounds," his father started.

I nodded slowly. If they were who they said they were, they would be at the palace in the Royal Realm. Ashton had said this was his home.

"Well, for one it would have caused a certain level of commotion if the prince arrived with a girl. A commotion that isn't necessary right now. Secondly, the prince isn't supposed to be in the kingdom."

"You're saying that Ashton is really the prince?" I asked dubiously. "Ashton Rivera... my classmate?"

"Ashton DeLorentes," his dad corrected. "Rivera was just the last name he used for cover."

I was having a really hard time wrapping my mind around that. Ashton was just not the type of guy you would think of as a prince. Well, in a way he was. Like the way his presence commanded attention and authority. And he definitely 'looked' like a prince.

But his attitude was rotten, at least to me anyways. And he was a player. There was just no way...

"To prove that we are who we say we are," his father smiled. He un-wrapped a parcel that was covered with a purple and gold fabric. Inside were the royal signet and stamp.

His mother gracefully removed her crown and sat beside me. It was made of the purest gold and was set with precious stones. She held it up to the sunlight and I stared at the inscription which glowed when it came in contact with the rays of light.

Το βασίλειο του χρυσού δεν θα εξασθενίσει ποτέ

(The kingdom of gold will never fade)

I gasped, glancing between them in utter speechlessness. They were the real deal!

The king nodded. "Now that that's been taken care of, let's get down to business."

He sat down at the table in front of us. "I know this must come as a shock to you."

Yeah, a colossal one.

I looked over at Ashton, who was staring out the window, still visibly upset. I couldn't believe he was a prince. Much less the prince.

I wished I had paid more attention when dad was talking about him. Granted, there wasn't really much to know about him other than that he left the country when he was little. The royal family was extremely private and full of secrets.

"But, Prince Ashton," I almost choked over those words. "Shouldn't he be abroad studying? That's what we were told years ago."

"Yes, that was the story," the queen nodded. "But that is all it was. A story."

I frowned as my mind tried to piece together everything that was happening.

"Let me start from ten years ago," The king suggested. "Ashton had just turned eight and the government was plotting to dismantle the monarchy. Their main targets were the heirs to the throne. So we announced that we would be sending the princes out of the country to study.

"But instead, we hid them where no one expected them to be. Right here. Ashton went to a public school and his brother has been homeschooled."

I nodded slowly. "But why didn't you give Prince Ashton a completely different alias? His name kind of stands out."

"He was given another name," the king frowned. "But as you can tell, he has a bit of a rebellious trait. He defied our orders and went with his current name. Fortunately, after Ashton was named, people started naming their sons after him, so it wouldn't have been out of the ordinary to find a random boy named Ashton."

"That is true," I admitted. I hesitated a bit. My next question was one that had been on my mind ever since I got here.

"Let me guess," the queen smiled. "You are wondering why you are here."

"Yes."

By this time, Ashton had more or less finished his brooding and had sat down on the couch as far away from me as possible.

"Well," the king began. "You are to be Ashton's fiancée."

I stared at him, waiting for the punch line to that joke. As the seconds ticked by, I realized that there was none.

"I'm sorry, you must have the wrong girl," I said. "I'm not royalty or anything."

"I know that," he mused. "To be more precise, you are betrothed to Ashton."

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