Chapter 24

Elaine awoke in a sea of blankets. The flickering of candlelight and dark shadows told her it was nighttime. She felt like she had just run one of Margaret's twenty-mile training sessions: completely exhausted and extinguished. Her mother was hovering over her, and when Elaine looked up, her mother cracked a smile. 

"Thank heaven you are awake," she said, hugging her close. "Harold, she is alright."

Elaine's father rose from the chair in which he had been sitting and hugged and kissed his daughter. Elaine hugged him too, still too shocked to fully remember what happened.

Then she looked at Alicia, sitting in a chair in the corner, her face obscured by the flickering candle, and it all came rushing back. 

"Get out!" she yelled. "Mother, father, she is one of them! She is one of the king's daughters! She is one of the princesses!" Elaine tried to ruse, but her mother pushed her back down.