The Hybrid Princess

~1

Present Day

Everleigh's POV:

"Happy twenty first  birthday, my best friend!" Jaxon yelled as he entered my room.

"Jaxon, what the heck? It's not even 8 am yet", I groaned.

"Today you are a woman", he threw open my curtains and I put my head under my pillows.

"Boys, she's up come on in!" He yelled and I groaned, it wasn't him alone I had to deal with, I had two younger brothers, cross that two younger twin brothers.

"Eve come on we made something for you", someone pulled my cover off of me.

I opened my eyes and glared up at the two pair of sapphire blue eyes that were watching me,"why can't you leave me in peace?"

"Well for starters it is your twenty first birthday", Grayson grinned.

"Which means the citizen of Gale can finally see what their future queen looks like", Jayson added.

Ever since I was born the citizen of this place called Gale have never seen what I looked like, my mother or more precisely my grandmother said that I would have been in danger if people saw what I looked like when I was younger. 

"Can we push it back to another year?" I asked hopefully and they shook their head.

"You know the deal Eve, when you turn 21 you'll be introduced to the entire kingdom and be crown princess once and for all", Jaxon reminded me.

"Why do it on my birthday? Can't they just do it tomorrow?" I grumbled.

"That will not be possible darling", auntie Ariel came into my room, she was my mother's handmaid from since my mom was around my age and also Jaxon's mother.

"I was enjoying my life, but now I will be thrown into a lot of responsibilities", I sighed.

"You reminded me so much of your mother, she behaved the same way", auntie laughed,"alright boys the princess  has to get ready so out you go."

"We have a gift for her", Grayson stated,"happy birthday big sister", he handed me the bag and they boys left, Jaxon winked and closed the door behind him.

When I was younger I always thought that I was adopted because I didn't inherit anything from my mother and she refused to talk about my father. I have blonde hair and violet color eyes, none of my family I knew had purple eyes.

When I was born my grandmother took me with her for an entire year away from the castle and raised me in a little cottage while my mother tend to queen duties and married my stepfather a year after that; two years later the twins were born.

Auntie Ariel became my nanny when I returned back to the castle, my mother still kept her as a handmaid but extended her duties as my nanny since she was busy running a kingdom then got pregnant. Jaxon was a month older than I so we technically grew up together. 

When the twins were born, my step father helped mom a lot so she didn't bother hiring a nanny for them. My grandmother told me when Levi my step father first met me, he wasn't so thrilled because how I was completely different. He thought I was adopted and was planning to convince my mother to give the throne to their future first born; but after he got proof he had no say where the kingdom was concerned. 

Eventually as the twins got older, he warmed up to me and became a father figure to me. but I still wanted to know who was my biological father and I intend to find out.

Auntie Ariel took out a dress for me to wear for breakfast,"happy birthday darling", she smile and handed me a small box,"your mother don't know this, but this was left outside my window with a note, I think it was from your father, the note specifically said not to tell your mother and to give it to your directly when you turn 21 years old."

"What is it?" I watched the box curiously.

"That's for you to find out, also your mother is waiting to have breakfast with you in about thirty minutes",she smiled and left.

Jaxon's father left Ariel when he was just a little boy, he was never to be seen again, he was a former guard and Jaxon followed in his footsteps. When Jaxon completed his training to be a royal guard, he was assigned by my mother specifically to be my personal body guard and he made a oath to protect me with his life.

How does my father know I would have been a female?

I open the box and gasped, it was a pendant, it was crystal. I turned it to the back, there was something written,'what was hidden shall come into the light.'

What does that mean? What is hidden?

****

"Happy birthday Everleigh", my mother greeted me with a hug when I entered the dining room for breakfast, the maids curtsied when I entered.

"I made sure the chef made all your favorite breakfast dish", she smiled.

"Thanks mom."

I was a bit taller than her even without wearing heels, I got my height from my father that was for sure.

"Did you like our gift Eve?" Grayson smiled, he was the one I was closest to between him and his brother.

"Yes thank you", I replied.

"Sorry  I'm late", Levi entered.

"You're right on time honey", mom said to him and he kissed her cheek.

"Happy birthday Eve, I hope you're aware of what is going to happen in a couple of hours."

I nodded silently.

"I know you don't want to do it, but the people need assurance that there is a princess and the future isn't in jeopardy", mom explained.

"Why wait so long to crown me? The twins were crowed last year just after their 16th birthday, why did I have to be hidden for so long?" I demanded.

"It's complicated, you know that", mom mumbled.

"Does it have anything to do with my father?" I queried and she froze.  

"We are not going there Eve", Levi said to me in a low voice.

I was tired of all the secrets, I deserved to know the truth, it was my birthday after all.

"If you don't tell me, I'll find answers for myself soon", I went to the table and sit down. 

Mom and Levi talked in a whispered voice then took their seats, Jaxon arrived and took his place next to the entrance, he couldn't be far from me at all times.

I wasn't even feeling to eat anymore, mom's unwillingness to tell me the truth made me uneasy; I felt there was more to this story than I was thinking.

"Eve it's your favoirte, why aren't you devouring the plate?" Jayson watched me curiously.

"I am not hungry", I pushed away my plate and slouched more into the chair, I don't care if my mother is glaring at me right now.

"Stop this stubbornness Everleigh, now", she warned.

I sat up,"can I be excuse? I need some air."

She sighed and I took that as a yes, I got up and took my plate with me. Jaxon followed me out the door and down the hallway towards the east garden.

"That was so  intense", he remarked.

"Yeah, well it will continue that way for the rest of the day", I sighed,"this wasn't how I planned to spend my birthday at all, it started off bad already."

"Well try and at least enjoy your  lovely breakfast, I'll go get your glass of juice", he tried to cheer me up, he made sure I was settled down in the gazebo of the east garden and returned inside for my drink.

In a couple of hours I'll be crown princess then go outside on the balcony just outside the throne room and let the citizens of Gale finally know what their princess looked like. I been in town before in disguise of course, I used to go with Jaxon and visit the library and do some dress shopping.

After the ceremony other kingdoms we were allies with will join for dinner and my birthday and welcoming ball in one.  My grandmother already had me measured a month ago so my ball grown can be handmade, it arrived here two days ago and was hung up in my closet. 

The dress was violet with short sleeve, sweetheart neckline, my gowns will be white that was elbow length.

Jaxon returned with my drink, he handed it to me,"I heard your cousin Miles will be coming soon", he informed me.

I groaned.

I don't get along with Miles, when I was younger I tried to befriend him and he always used to blank me so I gave up, he was a year older than I. I think it was my mother's sister that polluted him with untrue talk about my mother and I, that was what my mother told me; her sister from since age 18 always used to ask about the future and if her kids will have rights to the throne.

"He's not a bad guy, I don't know why he doesn't like you though", Jaxon frowned. He was lucky enough to befriend Miles.

"It's not him, it's my auntie that's the problem, I think he used to want to talk to me, but when she was around he used to keep his distance and as years went by she polluted him with talk for him hate me and my mother, he have no problem with the twins", I explained.

"Yeah I realized that too", he nodded.

______

"Happy birthday my only granddaughter", grandma hugged me when she arrived, I was told to wait at the front entrance for her. I think my mother just wanted to distract me from going into the ballroom to see the decorations that was being set up for tonight's party.

"Thank you grandma", I grinned.

"You have grown up to be such a pretty young lady, just like your mother", her sapphire blue eyes shimmered with water.

"Don't cry grandma, come on I had someone set up tea and cake for us in the garden", I informed her.

"Well I'm happy you chose to spend the rest of the morning with me rather than your friend", she teased as the maid took her suitcase from the coachman outside.

"I don't see you often grandma besides I have a few questions to ask before my coronation."

"You're nervous, don't be", she squeezed my hand.

We sat down in the gazebo in the east garden, this was always grandma's favorite place in the palace.

"Where are the twins?"

"Sword fighting class", I answered.

"What burning questions do you have for me?" She got straight to the point.

"Why was I hidden from the world for so long?"

She sighed,"its very complicated and I can't tell you, its up to you to discover the truth for yourself."

"Did you know my father?"

"Yes, but I don't know why he left, your mother loved him very much and it broke her when he left, things got way more complicated when she found out she was pregnant with you. The advisors were outrage by the scandal, your mother pregnant and wasn't courted by anyone. When your mother had the responsibilities to the  kingdom and also you, I took you and hid you for a while until your mother was courted and eventually got married",  she explained.

"No one knew about your existence for years not until you were around thirteen years old and someone told the entire kingdom that Grayson wasn't heir to the throne and there was a hidden heir, a princess who wasn't crown yet", she added.

"Was that why I transferred to homeschooling?"

She nodded,"it was my idea, we couldn't risk your identity being reveal so soon by anyone who was working in the boarding school and have something happen to you or worst."

I nodded, now I understood they were trying to protect me.

"Does this risk happen to be associated with my father's family coming after me?"

"No, I don't think your father knows you even exist well at least until you were 13 because that news was broadcast far and wide. I don't know if he suspected you were his daughter or not, but he didn't come knocking on the palace gate demanding answers so I doubt he knows", she explained.

"If he somehow knows, he probably kept it to himself, his family weren't much of a social group, they kept to themselves a lot", she added.

I guess it was up to me to find my answers then, starting with who was my father.

"Let's have some tea and talk about some duties you will have to do once you're crown princess."

"Attend balls and functions hosted by other kingdom", I scoffed.

"I see your mother has told you the main duty."

"She been lecturing to me about it since I was fifteen and made me start more ethnicity classes  for princesses once I started homeschooling", I grumbled. 

"She took those type of classes since the age of seven and been crown princess at age 18 when she graduated royal school", grandma explained.

I wanted to attend royal school for my teen years, but unfortunately I had to be home schooled the twins start attending when they were 15. 

When I graduated home school, my mom got me professors for my degree of choice and when I am known to the citizens later, I'll be able to continue my last two years of university at the building itself.

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