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Looking up at his distraught daughter-in-law, the king’s heart ached for her. The knowledge of her true mother weighed heavily upon his mind. He considered telling Skye the truth, but knew it wasn’t his place. Lucas would have to explain the situation, and himself, to his daughter. As much as he wanted to, Magnus decided against telling Skye her true lineage.. But there was nothing stopping him from telling her the history of Alcon.

“I’m alright dear, I was just considering things,” Magnus replied as he tried to organize his thoughts.

Hesitating a moment, Skye sat back down as she said; “What do ye mean?”

“I think the part about ‘Son of the Noble One’ refers to Tidas. Arthur means ‘Noble One’, and the ‘Mac’ in our name means ‘son of’.. So logic would have me believe that Tidas is involved in the second part. The first part confuses me.. Do you know if your mother is distantly related to the Warricks by chance?”

Skye thought a moment before she replied; “Not that Ima aware of. The only Warrick anythin’ I know of is the forest that Tidas and I played in as children; where the Fae are. Why?”

“Because that is the name of the very first king ever recorded. It was back when the continent was still one kingdom. The Warricks ruled for generations before my ancestors rebelled with other nobles, and created the kingdoms we know today; give or take some land here and there..”

Skye digested the information Magnus had just given her before she asked; “Are there any Warricks left? Do ye know of any tomes or records that would have information on them?”

Magnus sighed sadly; “I’m afraid their line was extinguished shortly after you were born. They lived near your father’s castle; the very same forest you played in was their land. If I remember correctly, your mother’s first husband was a Warrick. Like you, she never changed her name. Drummond is one of the oldest families in Alcon, so I understand her keeping it.”

.....

As Skye thought about what the king had said, a million thoughts rushed through her mind. ‘Wait, mother’s first husband was a Warrick?! How did I not know that?! It explains why me father owns-owned, the forest then.. If she was the only one left that was related to the Warricks, marriage bein’ the only bond or not, all assets would’ve reverted to her. Once father married mother, he would’ve gained the land and her wealth.’

‘Wait.. For me to be the Catalyst, I have to have Warrick blood in me.. Does that mean that me Da isn’t me real father?! No, no, no, no...But I look like him, kind of. I have his hair, and he told me that I have his mother’s eyes.. Ahhh! What the Hell is with today?! Can’t I get a friggin’ break?!’

As Skye began to panic, Magnus stared at her with confusion. Her breathing was becoming heavier and uneven, making her anxiety obvious. He had wanted her to question her parents about her Warrick heritage, not have an identity crisis. He so very badly wanted to tell Skye of her mother, but knew if he did, Lucas and Lidia would never forgive him.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it dear. The Warrick line is as old as they come, and no doubt sired many bastard lines. Not to mention that women’s lineage was hardly ever recorded. As far as we know, you may have even gotten your Warrick blood from your father.”

Skye nodded to the king, but still had an uneasy, bottomless pit feeling in her gut that the food wasn’t affecting. Her parents had all but hidden her away from the world. If Lucas Moonstone wasn’t her father, then it would make sense that they tried to keep her existence hidden as much as possible. It also helped explain why her father was so gun-ho about her marrying into royalty.

‘Marrying me off to Tidas would keep me safe from whomever killed off the rest of the Warricks.. It’s the most likely reason for them limiting their time spent with me too. If me Da isn’t me Da, then maybe I look like me real Da? Maybe that’s why mother can’t really look at me, or be around me for too long at a time..’

“Skye? Hey! Skye! Are you still hungry or not?” Magnus asked with a sharp, booming voice that jolted the princess from her head.

Shaking her head in the negative, Skye leaned back in her seat as another heart-wrenching thought popped into her head: ‘They were so nervous about me gaining magic... Did they know about the legend?’

Magnus felt terrible. He didn’t want to be the cause of mistrust between Skye and her parents. He’d found it irritatingly ridiculous that she still didn’t know about her true mother at her age. Skye would turn nineteen shortly after the Summer Games. She was plenty old enough to know the truth, and decide things for herself, but Magnus could still empathize with Lucas and Lidia.

If their situations were reversed, especially with Skye’s nature to sniff things out; he most likely wouldn’t have told her either. At least not until she’d revealed her magic. Skye not knowing certain things now put her in more danger than it protected her, or so Magnus told himself. He wasn’t sure if he was being selfish, or if his genuine concern was pushing him to push her.. All the king knew was that Skye needed to be told the truth, and by her parents.

“Are you sure you’re alright? I can have the servants bring back some food? Or would you like dessert instead?”

Skye’s head popped up from it’s droop with hopeful eyes. There was one particular dessert she and Magnus always ate together when she was younger: petit fours. They’re tiny, bite-sized cakes that were a hassle to make, but utterly delicious. Thin layers of fluffy sponge cake were stacked on top of each other three high, with a layer of frosting or preserves between the layers. It was covered in fondant, then aesthetically decorated.

The chef always followed a recipe Peggy had invented years ago, knowing it was their favorite. Two medium-sized trays were brought in, each having about twenty-five of the wee cakes on them. One full tray had chocolate cake and fondant, strawberry jam, and tiny flowers on top made from chocolate shavings.

The other tray had a mix. All the cake layers and fondant were vanilla. However the fillings rotated between orange marmalade, cherry, and lemon preserves. The decorations on the tops signified which flavor was which. The moment the grinning servant put the trays down on the table, Skye and Magnus immediately changed their expressions.

“Ye had to bring out the wee cakes, didn’t ye... Sugar loading it is, then! I’ve got tons of reading to do tonight anyway!” Skye hollered as she dove into the chocolate ones.

Magnus laughed as he reached for one of his favorites; the lemon ones. It was the first flavor he’d ever tried of them, and the sentiment attached to the flavor kept them his favorite throughout the years..

The second time Skye had ever visited the castle, she’d brought a box of them with her as an apology to both the king, and Tidas for her previous behavior. Tidas had refused to eat them at first, until he’d seen his father enjoying them so much. Once he tried them, he’d loved them. After they killed the box together, Magnus had asked where Skye had bought them from.

Being the king, he’d planned on ordering the baker to come work for him, but it was a short-lived idea. Skye admitted to making them herself, with Peggy’s aid. The admission had earned her looks of dismay and shock from the nobles in the throne room at the time. It wasn’t proper to them that the prince’s future wife was doing ‘servant work’.

Magnus watched as the nearly six year old lass stood tall as the adults around her acted like the true children. Both Magnus and Tidas had realized then that Skye was different from the rest. Working hard for something was simply done; nothing more. Skye wanted to show her gratitude herself, not pay for it or have someone else do it for her.

As Magnus came to know her, he learned a great deal about perspective from the child. Skye was remarkably intelligent for her age and gender, and Magnus wanted to encourage her. He often sent books to Lucas, or requested him to track down tomes relating to specific topics they’d discussed.

The king knew Skye read everything her parents got their hands on because she’d told him. She hadn’t ever felt any kind of fear towards ‘her Maggie’ until she’d gotten her Water magic. Even then, it wasn’t necessarily him she was afraid of, but the indoctrination laws. Genie had driven home the point to her that it was the laws she should fear, not her friend. Skye didn’t know it, but Genie knew to make sure Skye didn’t fear the king...

After a bit more talking about the Warrick bloodline, Skye learned of the fire, but not the mysterious circumstances surrounding it. Magnus knew Skye would start poking around in the wrong places if she learned that the fire had been caused for nefarious means. Magnus could never be sure now, but he’d always suspected that they’d been killed for a specific family secret.. One he was privy to because he was king.

The Warrick line had passed a certain gemstone from generation to generation. It always went to the next head of the family once the previous one died, or retired. Lidia’s husband was the new head of the family at the time of the murders, and Magnus had always suspected that the previous head stepping down so suddenly had something to do with the fire. Sorcha’s father hadn’t been sick or disabled in any way, and the Warrick men usually served their titles until they died.

Lidia and her grandfather were the only ones to survive that night. Any details from then had been lost to her due to the trauma of it all, or so she’d told Magnus. He’d never fully believed her, but as time went by and his grief overcame him, he’d forgotten to press her for the information then.

As Magnus popped one of the orange marmalade petit fours into his mouth, he’d made a decision. When Lucas and Lidia would come down for the Summer Games, he would press them for any knowledge they had on the matter. With Skye basically verifying that she is the Catalyst with her powers, and the legend in mind; Magnus wanted the full scope, not a tinted lens..

Moving on to other subjects, the two happily ate their sweets as the night stretched on into the late hours. They’d mostly talked about Skye’s studies and training. She’d told him that she had a secret surprise attack planned for Tidas, which made Magnus squirm in his seat with excitement. He nearly begged her to tell him, but all she would say on the matter was that he wouldn’t be disappointed in the show...