Chapter 16

Cautiously, as he looked around, Roman zipped his black hoodie, put the hood over his head, and he slipped through the woods toward Nemiph. Evidently, he knew the back way the guards took to get to the kingdom of Nemiph. 

Easily, Roman found the hole in the fence, looked around to see if anyone was watching, and when he saw that the coast was clear, he slipped through. Nervously, as he walked through town, keeping his face hidden by the hood of his jacket. He was afraid that someone would recognize him from his father's TV show. The amulet hanging from his neck, with a small blue stone, was his mother's, but only Slayers had these necklaces. 

Why would this belong to my mother? he wondered, as he approached the ceremony. 

Evidently, the ceremony had already started, and he saw that the townspeople were already seated. He heard the king talking to everyone from the podium, so he hid behind the lattice, covered in vines, toward the back. At that moment, he saw her, and he couldn’t believe his eyes. Ashta was beautiful in the black gown they dressed her in, and Roman was so stunned by her beauty, he didn't notice that she had spotted him.Suddenly, he blinked twice and Ashta had disappeared. 

Where did she go? he wondered, as he looked around. 

"Psst." 

Nervously, Roman turned his head, and he swallowed hard at the beautiful woman that stood in front of him. 

"What are you doing here?" she whispered. 

She and Roman could hear people starting to complain about her absence, and  he looked at her, thoughtfully. 

"I came to see if you were alright,” he lied. 

Roman wasn't completely lying to her. He really did want to see if she was okay, but his father gave him a secret mission. However, he decided to leave that part out. Ashta looked at him suspiciously, and then dismissed the thought as she gestured to her dress. 

"I'm alright, see. I just don't like how these people are treating me like I am their savior. It's creepy,” she whispered, as she made a face, and Roman smirked at her. 

"What's wrong with having the entire kingdom worship you? You can have anything you want, I mean anything!" he said with a smile, and Ashta looked at him in disgust. 

"What?" he asked, as he crossed his arms. 

"You really are something else,” she said, as she picked her dress up to walk away, and he grinned a charming smile at her as he raised an eyebrow. 

"Okay, now that you have checked up on me, you can take your arrogant ass home,” she snapped quietly, turned on her heels, and walked away. 

"Ash?" Roman called after her, and she turned toward him. 

"Go home, Roman,” she said, irritated, and she walked off. 

He stared after her. 

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Quickly, Ashta returned to the table, muttering incoherent things under her breath, and Damian looked at her, oddly. 

"Is everything okay?" he asked, as he lightly touched her arm. 

As she stopped muttering, she looked up at him and nodded. 

"Yeah,” she mumbled.

"We want proof!" someone from the crowd yelled, and Ashta looked up. 

"Yeah!" yelled another Selvempt. 

"Yeah, everyone knows the story, so how do we actually know she really is the princess?" asked a man, as he put his foot on his chair. 

Gale looked at Ashta, and immediately, she scowled. She did not like the fact she had to prove who she was, but no one really gave her a choice in the matter. Ashta blew out a breath and she looked at Damian. 

"You can do this,” he encouraged, lightly, and Ashta rose from the table. 

It wasn't that she couldn't, she really didn't want to have to show everyone over and over again.

"Hold these please,” she said, as she pulled off her jewelry and handed it to him. 

After that, she reached under her dress and pulled her shoes off. Courageously, she walked out from behind the table and stood in front of the crowd. 

"Hold on to your hats,” she said, as she stretched her arms to make sure that she could move them. 

Fluently, she began to dance to her silent song and everyone watched silently. Roman stared with wide eyes as he watched her move her body, and he noticed that she moved like water. He couldn't believe how beautiful she was when she danced.

As she moved, she brought her arms out and added to her dance. Air began to swirl around her as the earth began to shake. The onlooking Selvempts gasped as they grabbed onto their tables, and the ones that were wearing hats gripped them. 

Suddenly, fire and water swirled around Ashta and the Selvempts that doubted her began to cry. Even some that didn't doubt her also began to cry. After a few moments, Ashta's dance came to an end, and the elements disappeared and the earth fell silent. 

Shocked, the crowd stared at her with wide eyes, and the air was silent. Ashta looked around at everyone’s faces softly, and she even smiled at some. Finally, a man had cleared his throat and everyone seemed to snap out of their trance. 

"We are so sorry for doubting you, princess,” some of the crowd called out, and others were still staring in awe. 

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Roman stared in disbelief. Ashta really was the missing princess, and she wasn't evil, like everyone said she was. At first, he really didn't believe that she was, but now he saw the truth, and that meant he had been lied to. 

Angrily, Roman left the ceremony, and he walked back through town, lost in his thoughts. He wasn't paying attention, and he bumped into a woman with dark hair and brown eyes. The woman looked up at him, studied his face, and then her eyes lit up. 

"Can it be?" she asked, as her eyebrows rose in surprise. 

Horrified, Roman stared at the woman.

She recognized him and now she was going to turn him in, he thought.

Immediately, he regained his senses and his fear turned to anger as he glared at the woman. 

"If you so much as scream. I will kill you on the spot,” he growled in a low voice, and the woman's hand flew to her face. 

"Oh, my sweet boy. What has he turned you into?" she asked, as she stared at him, and Roman looked at her in question. 

"What did you call me?" 

The woman looked at the amulet around his neck and smiled. 

"You still have my necklace,” she said, as she looked at him with love in her eyes. 

"What do you mean? Your necklace?" he asked, as he looked down at the amulet. 

"Rocco never told you?" the woman asked in confusion. 

"Tell me what?" 

The woman looked up at Roman. 

"My name is Chantelle, and I am your mother,” she stated, and he looked at her in disbelief as he took a step back. 

"Please, Roman. Don't go. I can explain everything to you that your father has kept secret for all of these years." 

Roman studied Chantelle for a moment and then sighed. Noticeably, he had her cheekbones and her eyes. If this woman was truly his mother, then that would mean that he was both Selvempt and Slayer, but how? 

Ashta was the only one known to be born of both species and look at what happened to her. He was so confused, but he wanted to hear what this woman had to say, so he listened while she explained. 

"Your father and I were madly in love. When we saw what the king and queen did to Ashta and her parents, we knew we had to keep you a secret. Maya was infatuated with your father, and when she found out our secret, she agreed to keep the secret on one condition. As long as your father married her and you two would never see me again," Chantelle explained sadly, and after a few moments, Roman looked at Chantelle suspiciously. 

"How do I know this isn't a lie?" he asked her gruffly. 

Chantelle smiled at him as she reached her hand up and touched the amulet hanging from around his neck. To his surprise, the stone that was held by the two snakes began to glow, and Roman stared at Chantelle. 

"I'm sorry, I have to go," Roman stutterd, and then he ran for the hole in the fence. 

Understanding why he needed to leave, Chantelle didn’t chase after him. After all, if his father never told him about his mother, or lied to him about her, then she knew that her son needed the space to process everything. She just hoped that he would return to her. Evidently, he believed every word the woman said. That meant he was just like Ashta, inbreed, and not pure. His anger boiled as he made it through Taitum. His father had some explaining to do.