Chapter 21: Where is the princess

Meanwhile, at the Yancey resident.

Joe was lying on the floor drunk. When he returned from the palace the previous day, he felt like a loser. Although the princess manages to talk him out of fighting the cursed prince he still felt useless.

So he drank himself to sleep. Lord Yancey on the other hand decides to visit his son's chamber that morning. He was planning to discuss choosing a new wife since the Princess will be marrying another.

Lord Yancey planned to marry Joe to Ellen's cousin Jane, who is the daughter of Agatha's brother. He felt it was time for both families to unite since they have been friends for two generations already.

He was shocked at the state he met his son. The handsome young man looked like an abandoned child. He took a deep breath to calm himself. His heart ached for his son. He could understand how he felt, after all, he felt the same way when Agatha got married to king George.

He called out a savant to help him up and prepare his bath. He also instructed the savant to inform him to join the rest of the family for breakfast.

As he stepped out of the room, his eyes caught an emblem on the floor, so he walked over to take a look.

He was shocked beyond words when he recognized it belonged to the Royal Palace.

'What the hell did he go to the palace for?' he asked himself as he walked out of the room.

After taking his bath Joe joined the rest of his family to eat breakfast. "Father, Mother, he bowed in greeting before taking his seat. His parents nodded to his greeting while his younger sister smiled at him.

Lord Yancey fought the urge of asking his son about his visit to the Palace, he wanted to wait till after breakfast, so he concentrated on his meal. After the first bite, he could not wait any more, so he asked the savant attending to them, to leave.

"What were you doing in the Palace last night?" Lord Yancey asked as soon as the savants were out of sight. His voice came out calm and low as if he was scared of the words getting out. Of course, it will be difficult to explain if the king hears of this. It will make the king suspect that the Yancey family was after his throne.

Joe was shocked by his father's question because he did not know how he found out about his visit.

"To see the princess," Joe answered bowing his head to face his food he did not dare look at his father whose eyes will definitely be burning in anger. He knew what he did last night was wrong, but he could not help himself.

"What!" Lady Yancey was the first to roar in anger. "You will be the death of me. Have you lost your mind? Do you know what would have become of the Yancey family if you got caught?" she spat while starring daggers at her son.

Joe's head remains bowed to his plate while his mother scolded him. He did not dare lookup.

"you tried to kidnap the princess," Danny said, looking at her brother with amazement. She had carelessly said that statement last night, who knew her dumb brother who was praised for being very brave will think of something so stupid.

Lord Yancey and his wife's body stiff at their daughter's statement, especially since Joe did not deny it.

"Have you gone mad?" lord Yancey slammed his hands on the table. A dish fell on the floor and the temperature raised as if the room was set on fire. Joe was not really scared he knew his father's temper, and he knew it was best to keep his head low while he was being scolded.

His father scolded him for a little longer but stopped seeing the pitiful look on his son's face.

Once Joe noticed his father had stopped talking, he went on his knees, like an obedient child. "Father, mother, I apologize for my mistake. It was indeed foolish of me to have gone to the palace last night. I just felt like I have failed you father. If I had worked very hard, I may have been strong enough to defeat the cursed prince. Forgive me, father," Joe apologized with his head down to the floor.

"What are you saying, we are proud of you," Lord Yancey said looking at his son. The young man before him reminds him of himself twenty-five years ago.

Get up son, you have done nothing wrong his father said.

Joe raised his head and look at his father, "Thank you father, mother," he said getting up and taking his sit on the table.

"Where is the Princess now?" Danny asked. Although she thought his actions were stupid she would not mind if Ellen was saved from the cursed marriage. It will make her very happy if Ema got married, instead.

"She refused to come with me, she said getting married, to the cursed prince is her responsibility as the Princess. She also scolded me for taking the risk," he replied looking at his plate, too ashamed to meet the eyes of his family.

"Sure a nice child, she knows about responsibilities, a perfect figure for the future lady of our family," lady Yancey said with pain in her voice.

"You are right, it is quite unfortunate," Lord Yancey agreed with his wife.

"I found out something in the palace," Joe said in an attempt to end the current conversation.

"What?" The three people asked at once. It was no secret that big families especially the royal family usually have dark secrets hidden away.

Joe lowered his voice and made sure no one could hear him except the people on the table with him. He took a deep breath and narrated Ann and the princess's conversation to them.

The three people's jaw fell open. Sure enough, they concluded that Ellen must have been a twin and somehow they got separated. It was the only logical conclusion from what Joe heard and narrated.

Lady Yancey even blamed Queen Regina, calling her a poisonous viper.