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Chapter 13
Meloria
Tears stream down my anguish stricken face as I gaze into Graxoth's eyes. I have not been privy to this much bullshit since the outbreak of Bovine Diarrhea three years ago. The tears are from an allergic reaction to one of the plants nearby but I am grateful for the gravity they add to my performance.
From the looks of it Valoria has a few problems of her own. However the very best day of Meloria Kinless’ life was still torture compared to this so I am in no mood to rock the boat. I nod, gasp and show appropriate outrage in all the right places and now, even though it's painfully obvious, I breathlessly ask:
“What do you need of me, your grace?”
The smile that crosses Graxoth's face is smug but my life has made me quite immune to condescension. I don't mind that he thinks I'm stupid enough to fall for this, I'm overjoyed. The stupider someone thinks you are, the less effort they put into deceiving you.
“Here, dry your eyes dear.”
He hands me a heavily scented hand kerchief and I blow my nose into it loudly and almost musically. I can tell he is a little disgusted but I just smile gratefully and wait.
“I need- Terrasia needs you to become Princess Valoria.”
Surprise, surprise.
“But, Chief Minister Graxoth, surely someone will notice!”
“At birth, you and the princess were identical but you are correct, the years that intervened have left their mark. Valoria has been subjected to a plethora of beauty treatments over the course of her life, each of which has had a compounding effect. You have a lot of catching up to do if you're to convincingly take her place.”
Interesting…
“But the princess has run away already, won't it take months or years to prepare me?”
“Normally, yes. But we only have six hours.”
“Six hours? That's not possible!”
Suddenly my head starts spinning and I realise that I have fallen for the same trick Graxoth has. I let my guard down assuming he lacks the intelligence to deceive me. As if from a distance I hear his voice.
“Don't worry, princess. The surgeries should barely hurt at all with adequate sedation.”
I feel like saying something very un-princesslike at the moment but before my mouth can open my eyes fall shut.
And there were have it ladies and gentlemen, the first installment of this series to be posted on this account. The next one seems like it will be fairly short but several of the others are lengthier so it strikes a nice balance. Stay tuned for more (definitely eventually)!
