29. YOU'RE PRINCE LOGAN FAIRCHILD
2036 Words
The next morning, the news of Malia's new identity as the heiress of Mercy spread throughout the kingdom like wildfire. People were talking about it everywhere, and the streets were crowded with those who wanted to catch a glimpse of the young princess. The kingdom was buzzing with excitement and anticipation, and everyone was eager to see what would happen next.
"I knew that the people of Mercy loved my sister, even those who had never met her in person but I didn't expect her to be accepted like this."
Logan looked at his younger brother as he sat down and continued looking at his phone.
"It's like the kingdom was waiting for the king to change his heir. It was announced this morning but already the news has reached every corner of the kingdom.
"The social media is buzzing with the news and people have been showing positive reactions."
Logan set everything he prepared on the table and Tiara helped him. Just then, Malia joined them and the lack of sleep was evident in her eyes even though she tried her best to hide the dark circles with concealer.
"Good morning." She tried to put a smile on her face. She sat next to Axel, a first since Axel came here and even Axel seemed to realize that.
She hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Axel, I'm sorry for being rude to you all this while," she said, looking down at her feet.
Axel smiled at her. "It's okay, Princess. I understand."
"You don't understand. You didn't do anything wrong to me and I just dismissed you."
"And I told you, I understand. You don't have to apologize to me."
Logan decided to cut them. "Breakfast is ready, let's eat."
As they started breakfast, Logan turned to Malia. "Malia, have you heard the news?" he asked.
"What news?" she asked, confused.
"The news about you being the heiress to the throne of Mercy," he said.
Malia's eyes widened in surprise. "What? That's not possible," she said, shaking her head.
"It's true. With the truth about Kaden's birth, the kingdom needs a new heir and Clayton and I are not the king's sons. This only leaves you as the king's legitimate child. You are the eldest and that means no one is the perfect choice."
Malia shook her head, she was overwhelmed by the news. She had never expected to be a queen, let alone the queen of an entire kingdom. "I don't know what to do," she said, feeling lost.
Logan put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Malia. We'll help you figure things out. And in the meantime, let's focus on finding your sister," he said, offering her a small smile.
"That's why I'm here. Father was focused on chasing my mother away from the palace that he forgot to ask her about my sister. I was hoping that Axel could help me trace her since he knows where to find her." Logan now understood why Malia was apologizing to Axel earlier, she wanted his help.
Axel nodded. "Of course, I'll do everything I can to help find your sister," he said.
Malia's face brightened up at the offer of help. "Thank you so much, I really appreciate it," she said gratefully.
They all finished breakfast and Logan and Tiara cleared the table while Malia and Axel discussed their plan. Logan was glad to see Malia looking more relaxed and even smiling a little. He hoped that they would be able to find her sister soon so that Malia could have some peace of mind.
As they cleaned up, Logan noticed that Tiara was looking at him with a strange expression on her face. He raised an eyebrow at her, silently asking her what was wrong. She shook her head and smiled at him.
"I think it'd be a good idea to look for her today," Logan said to everyone and they all nodded.
After breakfast, they packed their things, put them in Malia's car and set out toward the village. As they walked, Logan and Malia talked more about the news of her being the heiress to the throne of Mercy.
"I never imagined being a queen," Malia said, still overwhelmed by the news.
Logan put his arm around her. "Don't worry, you don't have to do it alone. Tiara and I will be there to support you every step of the way."
Malia smiled at her brother. "Thank you, Logan. I couldn't have asked for a better brother and sister-in-law," she said, looking over at Tiara.
Tiara smiled back at her. "We're family, Malia, and families support each other. We'll always be here for you," she said.
As they approached the village, they could see people moving around, their eyes following them as they made their way through the streets. It seemed like everyone knew who was who and it made sense to Logan as it was a very small village.
He looked at Malia and realized there was a mix of nervousness and excitement in her and Logan knew it was because she realized that she was finally going to meet her sister.
Axel led the way, navigating through the winding streets and alleyways of the village with ease. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, and Logan couldn't help but feel grateful for his help.
Finally, they arrived at a small house on the outskirts of the village. It was a modest structure, made of wood and stone, with a thatched roof and a small garden in the front. Malia's heart was pounding in her chest as they approached the door. Logan put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiled at her.
Axel knocked on the door, and after a moment, it opened to reveal an older woman with kind eyes and a warm smile. She looked at them curiously, and then her eyes fell on Malia.
"Hello, may I help you?" she asked, her gaze lingering on Malia.
Malia took a deep breath and stepped forward. "I'm Malia," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "I'm looking for my sister."
"And who could that be?" Logan could see that the old woman knew something but somehow, she just wanted to make things difficult for them.
"I don't know her name but my mother left her here nineteen years ago."
The woman looked and them and sighed. "Come in."
"What do I offer you? Water? Coffee? Tea? Juice?" She asked them as she showed them to the living room. "Have a sit." She pointed at the couches.
"Thank you." Logan gave her a small smile. "Water would be fine, thank you."
"Mom, do we have visitors?" A man who looked like he was in his late thirties came to join them in the living room. Logan suspected that he might be older than what he said earlier but he had to admit, he looked really young.
At first, someone wouldn't notice that he was blind but Logan could see that there was no life in his eyes. The guy moved around the house like a normal person and sat down on a chair next to the kitchen that Logan hadn't noticed earlier.
"Yeah, how is your headache? Feeling better?"
"Yeah, I'm doing good." He then turned to Logan and the others as if he could see them. "I hope my mother didn't give you a hard time." He smiled at them and Logan saw that it was genuine.
As someone who uses his senses a lot after he shifted, Logan understood the man. He couldn't see them but he could feel them all and he was able to detect who was standing where and who was standing where even though he didn't know them.
"Not at all. Thank you for having us." Axel spoke before Logan could.
"I'm Chris by the way. What's your name?" He asked as he looked at Logan.
"I'm Logan and next to me is my wife, Tiara. The one sitting closer to you is my sister, Malia and next to her is Axel. Those two are my younger brother, Clayton and his fiancee, Arrianna." He said pointing to Clayton.
"You don't have to point them out for me. I know you've noticed that I'm blind."
Logan quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you or take you for a fool."
"You don't have to and besides, I don't think I'm worthy of it."
Logan looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"
"You're Prince Logan Fairchild, are you not?"
"How do you know that?"
"It's very rare to see a shifter in this village and that too a dragon. I knew you must be Logan Fairchild when you told me your name."
"Are you also a shifter?" Tiara asked the question Logan wanted to ask. He hadn't spent much time with shifters so he didn't know if he would be able to detect them as Axel told him but he couldn't see anything abnormal about Chris.
"No, but I've spent years around shifters to know one. Especially a dragon."
Logan was impressed. Gail had told him that it wasn't often that he met humans who were knowledgeable about shifters. "You seem to know a lot about us."
"That's because he is married to one of you." The old woman said as she joined them. "Here is your water. I've decided to bring the juice along too, I don't know how long you planned to be here."
Suddenly, Logan sensed something different about Chris. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew there was something unusual about him.
Just then, Chris's wife entered the room. She was also blind and moved gracefully as if she had memorized the layout of the room.
Logan didn't know how, but somehow he knew she was just like him. He could feel her dragon and when it also recognised him, it let out a roar that Logan could've sworn everyone heard but the look on their faces told him he was the only one who did.
"Your Majesty." She bowed her head.
"You also recognize me?"
"My dragon does. I sensed that there are dragons around but I didn't know who was here exactly until I came in. There's three of you, save for the little ones that are yet to be born."
"How did you know all of that?" Arrianna asked and Logan could see that she was curious.
"I may be blind but I can use my senses. Being a shifter also helps." Her eyes then shined a bright orange. She then looked at Arrianna. "Like right now. I know you're wearing a long green dress, you have green eyes too." She then looked at Clayton and Logan.
"You too look the same and I'm sure he's your brother." She looked at Logan. "I was once in the palace working as a servant so I know you both look like your father.
"He was a good person, even though he inherited the throne at a very young age, he was very capable and I see you have the fire that he always had in his eyes.
"When I heard that he died, I wished there was something I could do, if not for anything, just to pay him back for how well he treated me.
"I don't know why you guys are here but I'll try my best to help you so that I can be at peace knowing I did something for you. Doing something for you means that I have paid back your father for what he did for me.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Actually, we are here to look for my sister.” Chris’s wife then looked at Malia for the first time. She blinked several times.
“You’re Mia’s sister.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.
"You know my sister?" Malia asked as she went to the woman. "Please tell me where to find her."
"You don't have to."
Malia didn't wait for her to explain. "Why?"
"That's because she stays in this house. She's at a university right now but she called earlier to let me know that she's visiting."
- Writer
