Page 60 of Promises and Pixie Dust

So I did, even though every part of me rebelled at the idea.

“The kingdom that attacked you was Ellaria,” I said hoarsely.

“Yes.”

I tried to reconcile what she was saying against the memory Rumplestiltskin had shown me.

“Then why was my mother afraid for my life?”

My door opened abruptly, and a girl around my age sauntered in.

“Because killing you in retaliation is what she would have done,” the girl said casually, holding out her hand to reveal a small, frosted pastry. “A cupcake for the usurper?”

“Aster! Eavesdropping is not ladylike.” The queen shook her head. “And honestly… show a little decorum.”

I stretched out my hand numbly to take her offered dessert, but I hardly processed the rest, because my mind snagged on one word. Retaliation. What had the queen said?The loss they suffered.

“Your child?” I managed to croak out.

“Was killed in the attack.”

“By my parents?” I asked.

“By their soldiers,” she said, gently.Gently, as if even now, she was trying to shield me from the truth?from the reason the people had cowered in fear when I arrived.

My parents had been monsters.

Cassia took note of my expression and rested a hand on my arm. “All these years, I have wondered if because of me, another child was a casualty of that hideous war. I’m so relieved to know that you are alive, that you’ve come home.”

Home.The word felt heavier now, and somehow entirely less hopeful than before.

* * *

The queenand Aster left me alone after that for a while, to stew in my thoughts. Part of me wondered if perhaps they were lying, but then I remembered Uncle’s face when he told me I shouldn’t come here.

It wasn’t just about my safety, although that could easily have been in jeopardy, as well, when I was the daughter of tyrants, of warmongers. “Usurper,” the princess had called me, and she only appeared to be half-joking.

Uncle had wanted to shield me from this, though, as he had so many other things. Maybe that should have made me angry, but mostly I was just really… sad. And tired, thinking about it all.

An impatient knock sounded at the door before Aster came sweeping back in. Her long, purple waves were loose and free, and somehow managed to not look at all out of place paired with her sweeping, gauzy gown. The queen followed her, as graceful as ever.

“I know you have much to think about,” Cassia said. “But I wanted you to know that you can have a home here, if you wish it. You are not your parents, and we would never hold their misdeeds against you. I can’t imagine what it was to be raised without a single person like you, how alone you must have felt. You don’t have to go back to that,” she finished, softly.

I nodded mutely, the offer bringing unexpected tears to my eyes.

My skin flashed too many colors to keep track of, and Aster chuckled softly.

“We’ll need to kick that habit before we have you out and about,” she said, softening it with a wink.

“I can’t help it,” I said, a little defensively.

“Sure, you can.” She smirked, and her skin turned an amused shade of orange. My jaw dropped, and she laughed again.

“Yes,” Cassia explained, her own lips turning up. “We all have the capability, but most of us learn to control it when we’re children. What you’re doing is rather like standing in a quiet room and shouting your emotions for the world to see.”

“Or like a toddler throwing a tantrum, even,” Aster added, but there was no malice in the words. “I can help you, if you’d like.” The words came out a little more shyly than the rest had, and I found myself smiling in response.

“I would like that,” I answered her.

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