Chapter 528: THE EMERALD PENDANT
Rose who had already been leaving and was already drowning out the imposter’s screams stopped when she heard those words.
*Emerald necklace *
That was information that only close members of the royal family knew about.
Rose froze and goosebumps came across her body.
Her body hairs stood alert and the she whirled around to face the girl.
"Stop!" Rose said and hurried to them.
She pushed the guards off the girl and they retreated.
She began told the girl fervently as though if she let go, the girl would disappear.
"What emerald necklace?" Rose demanded.
The girl tried to free herself from Rose’s grip and rose tightened her hold.
"Your majesty please I only wish to show you." The girl said.
It was only then did Rose release her and she watched in amazement as the girl reached for inside the front bodice of her dress before releasing an emerald pendant.
Rose’s face went white.
This was the emerald pendant.
The one that her family had had for thousands of years.
The one ever royal family expected to ascend the throne had worn.
Now, trembling hands extended the pendant to Rose, who hesitated before taking it.
Slowly, Rose’s knees buckled as she recognized the secret marks carved into the back.
She held the pendant up to the candlelight, heart pounding so loudly she feared the guards would hear it.
Then, her eyes darted to the girl’s, searching for any hint of deception.
But the girl’s blue eyes brimmed only with fear, not guile.
Rose pressed the emerald against her palm, struggling to control her trembling voice.
"How did you come by this necklace?" Her suspicion faded as memories of her long-lost daughter flickered.
"I told you the truth your majesty." The girl expressed almost tearfully. "My mother gave it to me before she died."
Rose was trembling.
She wanted to collapse.
The Queen tried to pull the entire necklace away and then Auburn stopped her.
Almost acting erratic.
"No please! Your majesty don’t! I was warned to never take it off! If I did bad things would happen!" Auburn screamed grabbing the necklaces back.
Rose was stunned.
Stunned because it was true.
Everyone knew.
If the Emerald was taken off a wearer or royal blood then monsters would be unleashed.
Like the time the sea monster had appeared.
Was that why a sea monster had unleashed itself?
Perhaps Auburn had let go of it once and then it escaped?
Which terrified Rose more because no one outside the Royal family knew about it.
But she had told Scarlett when she was a child and made sure she knew it all through.
Was this really true?!
"How do you know this?" She asked.
At that very moment a door opener and then Cherry came in.
"What’s going on?" Cherry asked confused.
Cherry froze at the girl in red. "Who is this?! Another imposter?!"
But Rose ignored her sister and faced the girl with more questions.
"I asked you who told you this?" Rose demanded.
"I’ve told you my mother." Auburn repeated .
"You said your mother died so how come you know this?!" Rose demanded almost at the verge of tears.
"Before she died she told her adoptive parents. She informed them everything when she was dying and they in turn told me."
"My mother died and the good people who had raised her as their own, took me in. It was them who told me everything about my mother and where she had come from." Auburn explained further. "They said she named me because I was a shade of red. Just like everyone else in her family’s."
Rose thought she was going to lose her mind.
Here was a bitter sweet moment.
Her daughter was now confirmed dead, but yet had given her a grand daughter.
Rose now gently held them girl, touched her face and her fingers trailed her beautiful long red hair.
The tears going down her cheeks.
"Oh Scarlett. What did you do?" Rose said and then she gathered Auburn into her arms and hugged her tight.
She wept so much as she embraced her, refusing to let go.
Auburn seemed stiff and rigid from the hug at first and the eventually melted and hugged her back.
Rose’s heart sank once she felt the acceptance of her grand daughter.
She wept uncontrollably. "After all this years. After so much has happened."
She refused to let go until she realized she was suffocating the girl.
Reluctantly, she let go of Auburn and touched her cheek.
When she realized that her hands were dirty with soil she took it off quickly.
"My apologies my hands are dirty." Rose apologized as she dusted her soil infested fingers off
But the girl surprised her by gently picking her hand up and returning it back to gently caress her face.
"It’s okay." Auburn said softly, the tears streaming down her own eyes. "I’ll do anything to have whether it’s clean or uncleaned hands against my face."
Rose was touched to the core.
"I’m sure you hate me." Rose sniffed. "Thinking I neglected you and your mother. I had been searching for her non stop. All those years I looked. I didn’t look enough. I’m sure she hated me."
"No." Auburn said quickly. "They told me she loved you. Up until when she died. She just didn’t know how to find her way home. Her wish was for me to find my way to you."
"Why didn’t she come back?" Rose asked lost and distraught.
"She thought that someone had been after her life. And that perhaps they wanted to kill her so she never bothered returning." Auburn explained.
Rose wept again and embraced her grand daughter once more.
Cherry cleared her throat and spoke up.
"Rose what’s happening?" Cherry asked.
Rose let go of Auburn and then turned to face her sister.
"Auburn I’ll like you to meet my sister, Cherry." Rose introduced.
"Cherry I’ll like you to meet my grand daughter. Auburn." Rose said. "She finally came home to me."