I freeze, desperately trying to process what she just said. She's a midwife. She helped my mother give birth to me, Emilienne, Violette, and Alexanne. She knows the correct birth order. She knows who the first born is. She knows who the true heir to the throne is. She watched me take my first breath and my mother her last.
The answers to all my questions have been sitting right in front of me this whole time.
I open my mouth, but Florentine holds up her hand. "Let me tell the entire story first. Then you can ask you questions."
I nod and wait for her to begin.
She says, "I was a judge in your competition for the future Queen. The other judges were the rest of the midwives. We supported the contest, we agreed that it would be best for you to reign based on characteristics rather than bi
