I finger-combed my damp hair, put on some fresh mascara and a pale lip smear, and raced back down, kinda breathless when I made it to the kitchen, trying to look casual. Both men were standing in the kitchen, not talking.
I said, “Go ahead and sit down.” I looked in the refrigerator. “Want a beer?”
They both nodded, but didn’t sit, so I pulled out three, popped the caps off, and passed out the bottles. We all stood around, leaning on the counters, and I took a moment in the light of my kitchen to take stock of Max, who was looking around curiously, then he focused on the label of the bottle.
I asked, “Have you ever been to the modern world before?”
“I hae some memories of life in the palace, but I left when I was seven, since then I haena left the sixteenth century.”
I leaned against the counter and sipped from the beer.
My eyes traveled to Torin and rested there. He kept his eyes averted.
Max watched us again, then said, “Tis verra fine tae see ye, Alexandria. It does m’heart good tae ken ye are well.” He looked around the room. “Tis yer home?”
“Yes.”
“How did it come tae be yer home, ye live alone?”
“I do, I live alone.” My eyes met Torin’s. I looked away. “And I don’t really know how I came to be here. I suppose I was adopted, though I didn’t know. My parents, my um… adopted parents, passed away, February 11, 2001.”
“I am verra sorry for it, Alexandria, what of the rest of yer family?”
“The only family I have is my uncle, he lives in Texas.”
His expression turned curious.
I said, “It’s another state, it’s about a two-day drive. But I do have friends. Lots of friends. I was just with my friend, Jen. We were celebrating my birthday.” Torin glanced up.
He had returned, but he had barely said anything yet, nothing at all. I couldn’t figure it out.
Wasn’t he glad to see me?
I finished by repeating. “It’s my birthday today.”
Max asked, “What is the date?”
I said, “July 7th.”
He scowled, shaking his head.
I asked, “What?”
“Tis nae yer birthday, yer birthday is August 11, we celebrated it on the anniversary of our father’s coronation.”
I blinked.
I blinked some more. Then I said, “So maybe, you’ve got the wrong girl.”
Max leveled his eyes. “I daena hae the wrong girl. Ye are Alexandria, ye are just mistaken on yer birthday.”
“But... that...”
Torin said, “Perhaps when ye were fostered, Princess, yer family gave ye a new birthday because they dinna ken when it was.”
“How would they do that... change documents or make new ones?”
Max said, “We are royals, powerful people hae wanted tae protect ye, they could change documents, aye — and where is yer staff?”
