The Big Reveal

The ladies were all given a white rose, the men a red rose. Although, many of the men were also prepared with a ring of their royal crests for this occasion.

"Ladies, repeat after me, with this rose, and I promise to love, honor, and obey you. In good times and bad, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part. Now pin the rose on your suitor to signify your declaration." The officiant gave instructions to all the participants.

I repeated the words while I looked into Christian's eyes. The smile on his face and the look of adoration in his eyes caused butterflies to flutter in my stomach. As foolish as this may have been I can't help but know I would never truly regret this decision.

"Gentleman, it is your turn now, repeat after me, with this rose, and I promise to love, honor, and obey you. In good times and bad, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part. Please hand the flower to your betrothed. For those of you that have come prepared with rings, you may place it on her hand now."

"By the power vested in me from the Kingdom of Cameron, I now pronounce you all married, you may kiss your brides!"

A round of applause burst out from the crowds watching the ceremonies. "What a truly joyous occasion indeed! Now for perhaps the most exciting part of this evening's festivities. Are we ready for the big reveal? For those who just participated in our nuptial ceremony, how well did you get to know your partner?"

Cameron and I stood holding hands waiting and watching as the other couples removed their masks. The first couple was a shock, they were from rival kingdoms. Their parents never would have allowed the marriage to go through had they known. They stood united and looked very much in love, I honestly hoped everything would work out in the end for them.

Finally, it was time for Isabella to remove her mask. She ripped it off so quickly I am surprised it remained intact. Christian's steward was not nearly as eager. His hand reached slowly to remove the covering. His head was down as he took it off and once it was removed he looked up and faced Isabella.

The shock that registered on her face was priceless. However, it was no match for the shouts of outrage that could be heard from the King. "No, there is no way, there has been a mistake. My daughter has been deceived. I will not stand for this."

"Daddy, he tricked me! I swear I have been with Prince Christian this entire time. Throw this man in jail he is a liar!" Isabella threw a tantrum pleading for sympathy from her father.

This is when Christian decided to go ahead and remove his mask. The look of smug satisfaction was evident to all who witnessed it. "Why King Theodore, Princess Isabella, whatever is the matter? Did you not realize all along that your suitor was not who you thought it was? We have not spent a moment together besides the first dance you forced upon me."

The King turned to Christian, "You bastard, how dare you make a fool of me. I assume you were behind this. You intended to make a mockery of me and my daughter. I will not stand for this. You were the one my daughter was intended to marry. How dare you pull this bate and switch. I demand this be set straight immediately."

Christian feigned shock as his hand went to his chest in a gesture meant to exclaim who me? "Whatever do you mean my Lord? I have not spent more than those first few moments with your daughter. It is this Princess here who I have been courting this entire time. We have spent the entirety of the past two evenings together and the majority of the first."

The King pounded his hand on the ledge in front of him. "Lies, my daughter is no fool. She has spent the entirety of the previous evenings with you personally. She has told me herself she was certain it was you. What is the meaning of this trickery? I know we have not always been on the best of terms but this, this is too much."

"Again, my King, I am unaware of what you speak of. I reiterate once again, I have spent all of my evenings with the princess by my side. The Princess that I have just agreed to wed myself. I do apologize for your daughter's misconception but she was mistaken to think that she was with me."

"If that is true then who is this Princess that you have just wed? I demand to know her name. What kingdom does she hail from?" This was becoming quite amusing but I was becoming slightly concerned over the shade of maroon the King's face was turning. I feared he may drop dead from anger and shock.

I could hardly contain my enthusiasm. "I think it would be best if I just revealed myself." I reached up and removed the mask that was covering my face. Silence fell over the whole dance hall. Many knew me well and knew my role as a lady-in-waiting. "It is I, Emma. The kingdom knows me as your daughter's lady-in-waiting. Although, that isn't exactly the truth either is it King Theodore?"

His face suddenly went pale as a sheet. He began to stammer, "I... I... I don't know what it is you are getting at. Or what it is you seem to be accusing me of knowing. You are my daughter's lady-in-waiting. Emma, you have been with us since you were just a baby. My poor sweet wife took pity on you when you were abandoned as a baby."

"It is true I have been here since I was a baby, but, I never should have been your daughter's lady-in-waiting should I? My lord, I think you know exactly what it is that I am accusing you of." My hand went to my hip as a display of defiance.

"Your right, I never should have allowed my wife to bring you home. We raised you and gave you a life that was better than an orphan deserved. We took pity on you. Your life was one of comfort and ease and this is how you repay me? It is disgraceful."

"Now King Theodore, do you insist on continuing with this charade? Are you going to stand there and deny to my face what it is you have done? You know the truth, and pity is the farthest thing from it. You denied me my birthright. You hid my true identity. You stole from me after your father's treacherous ways caused the death of my entire family. Any of this beginning to jog your memory?"

Gasps could be audibly heard throughout the crowd. Followed by whispers and speculation as to whether my story had validity.

"I am the long-lost missing daughter of the King and Queen of Winterhaven. You know, the family your father had murdered. I escaped, some brave soul rescued me. I was left in the stables of your kingdom. Instead of declaring my true identity, you kept it hidden, even from me.

I grew up thinking I was abandoned. You knew exactly who I was but chose to keep it a secret. If the entire family was dead your kingdom stood to gain a considerable amount of land that I am rightfully entitled to."

The King was visibly flustered, "This is absurd, outlandish, how dare you accuse me of such. Do you even have any proof to substantiate your claim?"

I smiled, "I do in fact." I pulled the locket outside of my dress. "Remember this? I opened the locket revealing the Winterhaven crest and my initials E.M. I was informed that my name isn't Emma, but Elizabeth Mordovia."

"Nonsense, you could have easily found that artifact over the years. That is not proof enough for me to believe your claims." The King was huffing and puffing and stomping his feet at this point.

From the shadows, a woman emerged. "Well then, perhaps, We should be the judge." It was my Aunt and Uncle, they had arrived with perfect timing. They walked over to me and she took my hands in hers and looked me over. "My my, it is uncanny isn't it?"

"Yes sister, if I didn't know better I would say our dear sister had returned from the great beyond herself." His gaze was affectionate as his hand reached for my face. "Sorry, I just needed to see that you were real and not just a figment of my imagination."

I brought both of them in and hugged them. I whispered, "I am so happy to have found you, to have realized who I really am."

My uncle now beaming, elated to discover I was alive. "Ladies and gentlemen, we can and will confirm that this woman standing before us is in fact our niece. The long-lost princess of Winterhaven has been found!"