She Was Thrown to the Floor Until the King Saw Her Neck

Chapter 2: The Child They Buried in Secret

The old nurse was brought forward shaking so badly she could hardly stand.

Her name was Marta, and she had served in the royal nursery for over thirty years. The moment she saw the red sun mark on Elara's neck, all color left her face.

The king fixed his gaze on her. "Tell me why you are crying."

Marta fell to her knees.

"Mercy, Your Majesty," she sobbed. "I begged them not to do it."

Celeste went rigid. Lord Dorian's jaw tightened.

"Do what?" the king demanded.

Marta looked at Elara, then back at the throne, and finally at Celeste, who stared at her with open warning.

"Sixteen years ago," Marta whispered, "Princess Helena gave birth to twin daughters."

The hall exploded with murmurs.

Princess Helena had been the king's eldest child, kind and beloved. She had died in a carriage fire with one infant daughter, while the other child was reported stillborn.

That was the history every noble in the kingdom knew.

The king gripped his cane. "Go on."

Marta could barely breathe. "One child lived. The second baby had the red sun mark. The queen called it the mark of the dawn bloodline. She said the child must be protected."

The king's expression changed.

That mark had appeared only once before, on his own mother.

It had long been tied to the oldest branch of the royal line.

"What happened to the child?" he asked.

Marta burst into tears. "Lord Dorian said the kingdom could not survive two heirs. He said the marked child would divide the court. He ordered us to say she died."

Elara stared, unable to speak.

Celeste took a step back as if the floor beneath her had shifted.

The king's voice became deadly calm. "And my daughter Helena? Did she know?"

Marta shook her head. "No, sire. She died believing one child had been lost in the fire."

Elara's hands began to shake.

"I don't understand," she said. "My mother sold bread in the lower market. She died last winter."

Marta looked at her with terrible pity.

"She was your wet nurse. She saved you. She ran before Lord Dorian's men could take you away."

The king turned slowly toward Dorian.

The nobleman bowed his head just enough to remain respectful, but his eyes were cold.

"Your Majesty, this old woman is frightened and confused."

Before the king could answer, Celeste spoke, and her voice trembled more with fear than anger.

"If this girl is Helena's daughter..." She looked at Elara as if seeing a ghost. "Then she is my sister."

And the king finally understood why Celeste had struck her so hard.

She had recognized the face before the mark.