4. Switched

On a small forest track, a horse-drawn carriage was running at full speed. Inside, there were two knights, one male and one female, and two babies in their arms. They had a worried look on their face as they kept checking the babies' condition even though they were protected by a glowing shield around them. The two necklaces on the babies' necks were the artifacts that seemed to be the source of the protecting force.

Finally, the carriage left the forest and went through the city gate. It ran on a small road then turned to an alley which was rarely used before stopping in front of a dead end. The knights, with the babies in their arms, quickly got off the carriage and went to the wall. They somehow opened a hidden door and immediately went inside. After seeing this, the coachman quickly drove the carriage away and the deserted alley turned silent again.

~ ○ ~

At the foot of a white bed was the midwife. She was holding a newborn baby with a smile on her face and said:

– Congratulations, Your Majesty! Her Highness is perfectly healthy. She's very beautiful.

There's a charming young lady on the bed wearing a simple one-piece white dress. Her silver hair is braided on the side. She looked exhausted but her eyes were still bright. With a hoarse voice, she told the midwife to come closer.

– She is really beautiful. Look, she's a lot like me. She has his father's eyes, though. – The lady was smiling but tears kept falling from her gemlike eyes. Radiance glowing from her face still can't hide the bitterness as she bit her lower lip. Then she abruptly lifted her head. – Did they come back?

– Your Majesty, they came back just now. But should we do this? Your Majesty, I don't think this is a good idea. – The midwife had a hesitating look on her face. She wanted to persuade the queen that this was a bad idea but didn't know how.

– I don't want to part from my daughter but there's no other choice. This is the only way to avoid the prophecy. – Misery darkened her gazes. She has resolved herself that this is all for her daughter. – Told them to come in right now.

After a couple of minutes, a woman and a man opened the back door and went into the room. Both of them were sweating a lot and still catching their breath from moving too fast. They knelt beside the bed, bowed their head, and spoke.

– Your Majesty, we, fortunately, didn't betray your expectation.

– Good. Quick, quick! Let me see them. – The queen talked in a hurry. Even when she sent the young maid to delay the king, she knew they didn't have that much time. – They really have royal blood. They're blond like him. He probably won't notice.

– Your Majesty, should we really do this? – The midwife asked again. This is something that will change these children forever.

– It's not like I have another choice. – The queen shook her head. No parents in their right minds would ever want to part from their children. The queen then gave her daughter to the midwife. – Hurry, go! And please raise her good. – The queen's gaze was still lingering on her daughter's face. The pillows under her head had already been soaked with tears.

The midwife nodded and left the room from the back door. The queen shut her eyes tight and pressed her lips together from enduring the pain in her heart. Then she opened her eyes again in determination.

– Bring me the girl. – She held out her hands, waiting for the female knight to give her one of the twins. The queen carried the little girl gently in her arms. Then she took off the necklace, turned to look at the knights, and spoke. – You two will raise the boy and make him her butler in the future. This is their mother's wish for the twins to be together. Now go, quick! He's coming in.

Had heard their master's command, they bowed their heads again, stood up, and immediately ran outside through the back door.

~ ○ ~

After leaving, the midwife quickly went to another hidden corridor. She intended to quietly slip out of the castle. That was when she saw a handsome man blocking her way. He was blond and had the dominating aura of someone who'd held great authority for a long time. When the midwife looked at the handsome face which she often heard the other maids gossiped about, and the attire that only royalty was allowed to wear, her mind went completely blank. After a while, the first word that appeared in her line of thought was "SH!T".

- Y... Y... Your Majesty... - The midwife shuttered in fear. "Ah! I WAS BUSTED! What should I do?", she frantically thought.

Just when she was about to kneel, the king stopped her. William signalled her to be silent and walked to a small room. Didn't know what else to do, the midwife followed him solemnly. She closed the door as she guessed the king wanted a private talk. That's the only explanation she could come up with when the king didn't speak right away but led her here instead.

- Give me my princess! – William signalled her to come closer and raised his hands to receive his daughter.

The midwife carefully put the baby in his arms then took a couple of steps back. Observing his daughter quietly, the king cradled her head in his arms. His gaze towards her filled with warmth and kindness. He used one hand to caress the baby's cheek. The corner of his mouth curved up a little. It appeared that William was very happy right now.

The midwife stood in the corner of the room watching the warm scene quietly. She was wondering how much the king had known. Maybe he'd already known everything. But why it looked like he wasn't angry the slightest bit.

As the midwife let her thoughts wandered about, the king stopped playing with her daughter. His mood turned melancholy and his gaze darkened. William stood still like he was frozen on the spot. Only after a long while, he walked towards the midwife and slowly passed the baby to her.

- Take good care of her!

After saying so, William walked out of the room without looking back. He appeared calm on the surface but his fists were trembling from clenching too tight to the point of blood was dripping on the ground.

~ ○ ~

When Elaine opened her eyes, only one candle on the table was dimly lit in contrast to how bright it had been earlier. She was too tired from giving birth that she couldn't help falling asleep at some point. After a couple of minutes, her eyes adjusted to the dimness in the room. She then noticed a figure sitting next to the headboard. This time she didn't freak out as she knew too well who it was.

- William.

Hearing her voice, the king woke up from his slight doziness. William turned his head and saw that the queen was about to sit up. He prevented Elaine from doing so and laid her back to bed.

- You need to rest a bit more.

After being comfortably in the bed, she asked with a hoarse whisper:

- How long have I been asleep?

- Not long enough. Just a couple of hours.

William intended to cover her eyes with his hand so she could quickly sleep again. But Elaine wanted to talk to him a bit more. She put his hand away and asked:

- Why didn't you go back and sleep properly? Don't you get tired? You worked all day.

Elaine thought William always pushed himself a bit too hard. She advised him again and again but… It's not like she didn't understand that the situation was dire. She only wished William would be able to rest just a bit more. Elaine didn't want to see him collapse from overworking someday.

- I'm concerned about you.

Elaine was a bit embarrassed by his words. "Thankfully, there's not enough light to see how my entire face turned red." That's what she thought but too bad, the king noticed her blushing and decided to keep quiet. Elaine was already embarrassed. If he teased her again, she would get mad. William could only bury his chuckle inwardly and make sure not a sound escaped his mouth.

- Have you decided on a name for our daughter yet?

That's all Elaine could say after making a great effort to change the topic. But when she finished her sentence, she felt like a sting pierced her heart. "Ah, right. My daughter. I didn't give her a name."

William noticed her mood suddenly went down when she mentioned their daughter. He didn't know what to say aside from following her topic.

- Umm, I'm not sure. What do you think?

Hearing a question, Elaine thought of the baby twins. "I can't see much because they're newborn. But judging from their hair color, they'll probably be similar to William. Beautiful. Like a ray of light."

William saw that Elaine started contemplating and heaved a sigh of relief. "It's good that she forgets the pain. Although it's only temporary." After a while, he heard Elaine listing all the names related to light. His head was spinning from the never-ending list of names.

- I like "Lucia". What do you think? – William hurriedly stopped Elaine from making the list longer. He's afraid that he wouldn't be able to get any sleep.

- Um, yeah. It's a good name. – Elaine agreed after some thought.

- Then Lucia it is! – William quickly made a decision in fear of hearing another name came out of her mouth.

Although one might think he was so careless in naming the child, William actually thought of a boy name similar to Lucia. "Lucius. That would be a good name for the boy." He was also reminded of the name he had given his daughter when he cradled her head. "Luna. Like a silver moon. My daughter." He thought it would be a good sign for the children when their names were similar to each other.

- Now, close your eyes.

This time, he covered her eyes and said with a more commanding tone. Elaine understood that he wanted her to rest some more. She also felt tired. Her eyelids were heavy. So she followed his command and obediently closed her eyes. Her eyelashes gently brushed his palm. Felt that place tickled, he quickly withdrew his hand.

Looking at her gentle smile, William almost forgot that this was the girl that determined to be apart from her child. She received guidance from the church so it's no wonder that she'd believe in a prophecy, different from him, who didn't care about such a thing because he learnt to never surrender to his fate. But this time, he wouldn't scold her for switching the babies.

William had met Anthos a couple of times in the past. Because the Grand Seer was his uncle's lover, the king knew a lot more than Elaine. Anthos's power was authentic. Not because the church said so, but because William had confirmed from what that man had done in the Civil War. It's okay to say the kingdom still existed thanks to him. And although William didn't really understand, he at least knew there's always a meaning behind Anthos's every action.

If Anthos told him directly, there's a great chance William refused to do so due to his stubbornness. Instead, through Elaine, Anthos forced him to act, despite risking the friendly relation between the church and the kingdom. This just showed how grave the vision Anthos had seen. And it's definitely not a piece of news he wanted to hear.

"I have to hasten my plan it seems." William squinted while thinking before turning his attention back to Elaine who started to wander in her dreamland. After he heaved a silent sigh, William whispered quietly.

- Sleep tight, Elaine. I'm here for you.