Chapter 12- Masiro Henrico

  (ROSEMARY'S P.O.V)

  I stared at Yeshiva while he continued to tap on the steering wheel.

  “What isn't good?”I demanded an answer.

  Sage grabbed my arm, and Peyton touched my shoulder.

  “What's going on?” Sage asked me.

  I looked at her and then looked at Peyton.

  “I heard him say something about this isn't good.” I immediately told them what I heard.

  Massey looked at Yeshiva, waiting for an answer; it also looked like he heard him.

  “What's going on, Yeshiva?” Peyton asked him

  “Those cars belong to the Eleven Elders,” he stated.

  I looked at the cars; they all seemed very luxurious.

  “Who are the Eleven Elders?” we all asked simultaneously.

  Yeshiva sighed and turned around to look at us.

  “They work under your grandfather; they are the head of the eleven branch families,” he stated. He pointed at a red vehicle. “That's my father's car,” he said while taking off his seat belt.

  I remember him mentioning the branch families earlier, but I didn't expect to meet them this soon, I thought to myself.

  Yeshiva sighed, “Well, we can't avoid it now”, he said while cutting the truck off. “Prepare yourselves,” he stated once again.

  We all climbed out of the truck and headed to the mansion's front door. Yeshiva knocked on the door, and a middle-aged woman opened it.

  The middle-aged woman had long waist-length reddish hair and light hazel eyes; she was medium height and had a flower tattoo going down her right arm.

  Yeshiva waved at the woman, and she smiled; she immediately looked around behind him and noticed me.

  “Oh my God, Natalie? she said while holding her hand to her mouth in dismay.

  Yeshiva tapped her shoulder and shook his head. The woman showed signs of sorrow and disbelief. She gestured for us to enter the mansion.

  She led us to a big conference-looking room with a long table and chairs sitting in the center of the room. She gestured to us to sit down as she sat across from Sage and me.

  “Who are these lovely girls?” She asked.

  I held Sage's hand as we both tightened the grip out of nervousness. The woman saw us move closer to each other. She smiled at us and looked back at Yeshiva.

  Yeshiva remained quiet for a second and pointed toward Peyton.

  (PEYTON’S P.O.V)

  I nodded my head as Yeshiva pointed his hand at me. I cleared my throat, not knowing how this would go.

  “Hello, I'm Peyton. I know this situation seems a little strange,” I said. I looked at Sage and Rosie and gestured towards them.

  "I would like to introduce you to Natalie's daughters,” I said.

  I could feel the tension in the room as the woman gasped and stood up.

  “Yeshiva”, she said in a soft tone.

  Yeshiva looked up at her, waiting for her to speak.

  “Go get my father,” She said to him. He got up from his seat and walked out of the room.

  The woman walked around the table to the side Sage and Rosie were. She rubbed their hair and leaned down to hug them.

  "May I?" she asked.

  Sage and Rosie were taken aback and looked at me. I whispered, telling them to hug her back.

  The woman started shedding tears.

  “Who are you?” Sage asked her.

  The woman lifted her body back up and wiped her tears.

  “I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself,” she said, still wiping tears.

  “If you two are Natalie's daughters, I'm your aunt, my name is Na'mah Henrico, your mother is my twin sister.”, she said.

  Sage and Rosemary looked even more shocked to learn their mother was also a twin, even I didn't know that.

  The door opened, and Yeshiva walked in with another man walking behind him. It was Masiro. He looked taller and more muscular than he did in the pictures. His short gray, reddish hair and green eyes were captivating.

  Na'mah walked up to Yeshiva and Masiro and pointed at Sage and Rosemary.

  Masiro's eyes became wide as he looked at Rosemary; his eyes became teary, and he took a step forward. Na'mah put her hand against his chest, stopping him.

  “Father”, she said and looked at Sage.

  “This woman says that they are Natalie's daughters,” she told him while pointing at me.

  Masiro's eyes widened, and then his face became angry. He stomped towards me, picking me up around my neck, my feet dangling above the ground. Sage and Rosemary rose out of their chairs and ran towards me. Sage grabbed Masiro's arm while Rosie placed her arms around his body.

  “Let her go!” they both shouted at him, looking him in the face.

  He gripped my throat even tighter, making kt even harder to breathe.

  “Where's my daughter?!” he shouted in my face.

  Sage kicked him in his leg, causing him to drop me on the ground. Rosemary fell to the floor checking to see if I was okay, while I was gasping for air.

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  Sage and Masiro stood there staring at each other. Sage looked very pissed.

  I finally mustered up the strength to get up while Rosie helped me.

  “I can explain,” I said, trying to calm the situation.

  Masiro looked at me, turned away, and grabbed a chair. He took a seat and folded his arms together.

  “You have five seconds to tell me what's going on!” he shouted in a very demanding tone.

  I cleared my throat and began to tell him everything.

  “Sir, my name is Marianna Lapland; I was a knight for the former Crown Prince Moises Vanuatu. Natalie and Prince Moises met up multiple times while she was secretly on a mission, and she became pregnant. I was secretly helping them hide it from the royal family over time. One day, one of the other princes found out about Natalie, and he framed Prince Moises for the murder of Queen Lily when Natalie was eight months pregnant. The royal guards raided Natalie's villa, and I fled the palace with Natalie, helping her escape. We went to the safe house Moises had set up for her. She didn't want to give birth anywhere near the palace. She ended up going into labor during our escape. Prince Moises was arrested and exiled from the kingdom and currently has been in a coma for 10 years after an assassination attempt. When Natalie went into labor, a midwife and I helped her give birth. I did, Natalie told me to flee the kingdom with her babies. I raised them for the last 17 years, keeping them hidden from the king. I kept Prince Moises updated on them over the years before he went into a coma. I recently found out that the King is after Sage and Rosemary.” I told him everything and looked at him, waiting for a response.

  Masiro looked at Sage and Rosie. He got up from his seat and walked up to them.

  “Are you telling me they're my granddaughters?” he asked; he sounded very emotional.

  I nodded.

  Masiro grabbed Sage and Rosemary, engulfing them with a tight hug. He started to shed tears as he held onto them. Sage and Rosemary began to cry while hugging him back.

  Yeshiva and Na’mah rubbed Masiro on the back, comforting him.

  He regained his composure for a second and lifted his head to face me. “My daughter, is she dead?” he asked with a sad expression.

  “No, she's not,” I said, looking at him.

  Masiro's face lit up with a hopeful expression.

  “Where is she? I looked everywhere for her,” he asked, demanding an answer.

  I bit my lip and looked over at Sage and Rosemary.

  “I learned from the knight guarding Prince Moises while he was in a coma a couple of years ago. We learned she's been locked up in the palace dungeon for the last 17 years.” I started closing my eyes because I was afraid of looking at them.

  “What!” everyone in the room shouted.

  (SAGE'S POV)

  I couldn't believe what I heard; she knew my birth mother was in a dungeon and didn't tell us anything.

  I felt my temper was about to explode. Rosie grabbed my hand and shook her head.

  “She had her reasons,” she whispered in my ear.

  I calmed my anger down for a minute and collected my thoughts.

  “She's been locked up in the palace this whole time.” I saw my grandfather balling up his fist.

  I'm going to burn that fucking palace down”, he shouted and stomped out of the room.

  “Elders!!” I heard him shouting down the hall.

  Peyton had a terrified look on her face and looked at me

  “I'm sorry, I was going to tell you,” she said sadly.

  Rosie grabbed my hand, moving closer to me, and she whispered in my ear again.

  “Don't forget she is the reason we're alive,” Rosie said, looking at me and gesturing her head toward Peyton.

  I collected myself again and stepped forward to Peyton. I put my arms around her and began to cry.

  “I'm sorry for shouting,” I said to her while balling my eyes out.

  Yeshiva stepped toward me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

  “Hey, girls,” he said while putting his hand on Rosie's shoulder.

  “Things are about to get bloody,” he said.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Looks like we're going to war. After all, we have to rescue Natalie”, he said.

  Yeshiva walked towards the door, and Na'mah followed behind.

  “Come,” she said. “You can meet the elders,” she continued speaking.

  We followed behind them, and Peyton's phone started to ring.

  “Hello”, she answered. “What!, Are you sure?!” She shouted, sounding surprised. “Okay, send me the location,” she said.

  Rosie and I turned around after hearing her shout. Yeshiva and Na’mah stopped walking and turned around as well.

  She hung up the phone with a surprised look as if she were trying to grasp the situation.

  “What's going on?”I asked.

  Her facial expressions kept changing as she processed the information she had just received.

  She started stuttering.

  “Your…" she paused for a second, and tears ran down her face.

  "Your father, Prince Moises, just woke up from his coma.