Chapter 145

MILA

I sat with my parents on the front porch of their house–a large beachfront cottage that overlooked the sparkling sea. My mother prepared us each large mugs of peppermint tea and I settled into a porch swing, suddenly and remarkably completely at peace.

Alexander, my father, had wept when he realized who I was. Even though they both technically had more work to do at the docks, they both insisted on taking the rest of the day off to spend time with me.

It was an odd feeling, to have a family that was willing to drop everything else going on in their lives just for me. My parents fussed over me, trying to make sure I was as comfortable as possible. Was I too hot? Was I too cold? Was I feeling all right?

It was as if they were making up for twenty years of parenting.

Once we were all cozy on the porch, my mother looked at me tentatively over the lip of her mug. “May I ask you a question, Mila?”

“Yes?” I asked, taking a big gulp of tea.

“Are you…” my mother stared down into her tea, considering. “Are you, by chance, married to the King?”

I nearly choked on my drink.

“We don’t get a lot of television here,” my mother said quickly. “We’re a bit slow in getting all the news. But when we heard that the King was getting married and we saw pictures of you, I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe it was you, even though it seemed impossible.”

“I am married to King Felix, yes,” I said, focusing my gaze out on the water. “But it has been a rather complicated road.”

My mother scooted her chair a little closer to me. “What do you mean by complicated, darling?”

My father frowned. “Is he treating you decently? I don’t care that he’s the King of Fresonia, I will make sure he’s kind to you.”

A fresh wave of tears threatened to spill from my eyes. “He is kind! He is. Well, he tries. The whole thing is just a bit of a mess right now. I feel so lost. That’s why I came here, to try to find what I was missing.”

My mother laid a gentle hand on my knee. “I know that we were absent from your life for many years, Mila, but it was not due to a lack of love. If you want to talk about any of this, we’re here for you.”

Maybe it was the sheer overwhelming emotion of finally being reunited with my parents, or maybe it was the devastation of the last week finally bubbling over, but I told them everything.

I started from the beginning–the abuse I suffered at the hands of the Bensons, my move to Fresonia, the scam, meeting Felix, the kidnapping, the coup. I told them about the curse and the dragons, about my own mysterious role in the magic. And finally I told them about the sacrifice and the time I spent with Sofia in the void.

It must have taken me close to two hours to tell them everything. To my parents’ credit, they never interrupted me, merely nodding or gasping along with the more dramatic parts of the story. Even when I started talking about magic, my parents retained their composure.

The only time they really showed more than a flicker of emotion was when I talked about Felix’s parents willingly sacrificing me to save their son’s life. My father lept to his feet and began pacing around the porch, while my mother tightened her grip on my hand and squeezed her eyes shut, like it was too much to bear.

By the time I finished my story, the sun was beginning to set and my mug of tea was long empty.

“My poor dear,” my mother whispered. “You’ve been through so much and you’re so young. I wish I could take all your pain away.”

“I can’t believe the royal family just threw your life away like it was nothing,” my father fumed. “Don’t they understand that you’re a person, too?”

My mother cast a scolding, yet gentle, look in his direction. “I don’t think we can cast any judgment on what another set of parents does to protect their child.”

There was so much pain and regret in her voice. I wondered how many sleepless nights she had suffered through since giving me up two decades ago.

“I don’t think they’re bad people,” I finally offered up. “I know now that magic works in mysterious ways and sometimes sacrifices must be made. I just wish Felix had been honest with me, about everything, from the start.”

My mother tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Sometimes you can be so desperate to protect somebody that you resort to dishonesty. That’s not an excuse for his actions, but I can understand from his perspective why he did what he did.”

I tucked my knees under my chin, feeling smaller than ever. “I just don’t know what to do. I have all these responsibilities pressing in on me and no clear way forward. I suppose my next step is to reconcile with my husband, but… It seems so hard. I’m sorry to come here and dump all this on you.”

My father sighed heavily and finally sat back down. “Forgiveness is tricky, Mila. But the good news is that you’ve already done the hardest part.”

I blinked back tears. “Which is?”

“Forgiving yourself,” my father said softly. “Now I don’t know what brought you into our lives all those years ago, if it was magic or something else. But I know that you came here today for a reason, and we want to be the best parents we can for you while we still have time.”

“Yes,” my mother agreed. “You can stay here for as long as you like while you figure out what to do about Felix. We’d love to have you for as long as you can be here.”

They wanted me here. For what felt like the first time in forever, someone actually wanted me and cared about my thoughts and opinions.

I looked at my parents, at their kind faces and worried eyes. It was interesting to me that in the entire time I had been gone, they had never had another child. I wondered if they thought about it, but had not wanted it to feel like a replacement for the one they had been forced to give up.

They were good, decent people. I would have had a good life here.

But then I wouldn’t be Mila Benson.

“What would you do?” I asked them finally. “If you were in my position.”

My mother exhaled, twisting her fingers in the front of her dress.

“I think if I were you I would find some way to forgive Felix,” she said after a long pause. “I know it won’t be easy and you can take all the time you need. But from what it sounds like, you two are fated to be together across time and space. I think you would feel very empty without him.”

My father nodded. “I agree.”

Receiving parental advice healed some sort of broken part of my soul. I rushed over to my parents and threw my arms around them, at last in a loving family embrace.