Chapter 6

All I can do is stare at Persephone as I try to take in what she just told me. "You're kidding me right?" I finally manage to say.

"Why would I?" she asks me in return.

I stand up and start pacing to fight back the stress coursing through my veins. "What do you mean 'why would I'? Look at me. Do I look like a princess to you? And another thing, you said your sister's hair was golden. Well, mine's brown, so that doesn't look alike one bit. And just because she went missing in the year I lost my memories doesn't mean I'm the missing princess you're looking for, okay."

A loud thud startles us both, as we both turn towards the sound. There in the doorway is Drew, a little package down by his feet.

"Drew, what are you doing here?" I ask, walking towards him. "Weren't you supposed to do the groceries?"

Quickly he looks down and picks up the package. "Hey to you too, Em. And yeah, I was getting the groceries and now I'm back. I also saw something while I was doing the groceries and I thought you might like it." He says handing me the package. "I hope you don't mind me getting you a present."

"O-of course not," I say, in a light stage of shock. "Thank you." I start unwrapping the package and open the little box that is in it. Inside the box lies a small necklace with a little topaz stone dangling in the middle. I boast a smile his way and hug him tightly. "Thank you so much, Drew. I love it."

"That's so cute," Persephone says from her place in the chair. I sort of forgot about her when Drew gave me the gift so remembering she's here I let go of Drew swiftly and turn to Persephone.

"We'll talk later, right now I suggest you go back to your mother and Madame before you are missed."

Drew being the nosy person he is walks towards Persephone and says, "it seems we haven't met yet. My name is Andrew, but you can call me Drew, everyone does."

"Nice to meet you, Drew, I am Persephone," she says with a smile, while Drew's face turns white. "But if you want you can call me Seph."

"You-you're the princess, aren't you?" Drew asks and as Persephone nods he quickly bows. "I am so sorry, your majesty, I didn't know you were the princess if I had known-"

"Easy, easy," Persephone says jumping out of the chair. "It's okay, I promise. And please, just call me Persephone, your majesty sound so formal." She pulls Drew up until he stands straight once again. "You couldn't have known I was here, for all you knew I was an old friend of Em's."

"That seems a bit hard to believe," Drew says, trying to hide a smile.

"And why's that?" I ask, stepping in hitting distance of Drew. If he doesn't choose his next words carefully he will end up with a black eye and he knows I make good on my promises.

"Well," he starts, clearly at a loss of words. "You see, you, you don't have many friends. Apart from me, I’d say you have none, at least none that dress as good as Persephone here."

I study him for a moment, he seems content with the answer he gave and I can't just smack him on the head without reason even though I feel like it. So I sigh and take a step back, as Drew releases his breath. "You're lucky you're my friend."

He smiles mischievous, and I can't help but smile back. "And don't I know it." His smile disappears, replaced by little wrinkles. "What exactly were you two talking about here, if I may ask?"

I look at Persephone with a look that says 'if you tell him, I will kill you', but she either doesn't see it or doesn't respond to it. Instead, she starts telling Drew everything she just told me.

"The only difference between them," she concludes. "Is their hair color. My sister's hair color is golden but Em's hair color is brown. It just doesn't match."

Drew looks at me with a hint of wonder in his eyes. "Haven't you told her?" he asks me.

"Told me what?" Persephone says, trying, and failing, to keep the excitement out of her voice.

Drew looks her in the eyes as he says, "Em dyes her hair. She has been doing it for some time now. Now I think about it she's been doing so for as long as I know her."

Now the excitement is clearly audible when Persephone directs her next question to me. "Please tell me, honestly, what is your hair color?"

I feel a lump forming in my throat, making it hard to swallow. I look over at Drew looking for some sign of support, but he looks as excited as Persephone, so I take a deep breath and say, "Last time I checked my own hair color was golden."

"We have to tell mother," Persephone says, already on her way back to her mother, ready to ruin my whole life just like that.

"No," I hear myself say with a tone I never heard myself use before. I take another breath and start over. "No, Persephone, you can't. No matter what kind of proof you think you have or what you think, I. Am. Not. Your. Sister. I just can't be. Like I said before, I'm not princess material. I'm not like you."

"You can be," Persephone says, tears welling in her eyes. "You can be like me. All you need is a bit of training and someone who supports you, someone who believes in you. That's all."

"But that's not the problem, Seph," I say, not noticing I use the short version of her name. "The problem is that I don't believe in myself." Tears are now also welling up in my eyes, so I push myself past Persephone and Drew and make my way to the kitchen.

"Em," I hear Drew call after me. I hear him running towards me but don't quicken my pace. Soon enough he caught up to me. "Em, what are you doing?"

"What am I doing?! Don't you mean what is she doing, thinking I'm some long lost princess?"

Drew grabs my arm pulling me to a halt. "But what if she's right? What if you are the princess. My mom once told me the story of the missing princess. They say the princess was the sweetest there was, not only on the outside but also on the inside, everyone loved her. Then one day she went outside in the gardens to play with her best friend, but as later that day the boy was found unconscious in the grass with a hole in his head, the princess was never seen or heard from again."

"So what? That probably means she died a long time ago."

"But what if she didn't, Em. What if she was sent to a workhouse where she lost her memories because of the trauma. And what if she got saved by a nice lady who took her in and cared for her. What if she now works as this lady's maid. The least you can do is doing the princess a favor by going along with it and if she's wrong you still don't lose anything because you just wanted to help the princess."

"That's just the problem. I don't want to get her hopes up to see them destroyed again."

"You won't," Persephone says suddenly. I turn back to look at the girl, just fifteen and already so strong. Looking at her standing there, so fearless and looking way older than fifteen, I make my choice.

I take one last breath. "Okay, if you're so sure. Let your mother decide who I am."