The next couple of days passed by extremely slowly. During this time, I hardly left my room, the only times I did were to go and see my mother. Her condition had not changed in the slightest, so Hazel and I had to come up with a plan to get her out of the castle safely. It took some scouting, but Hazel was able to map out a path for us to take once the time came.

Sitting on my bed, I held Bella close as I scoured my room one more time, ensuring that I had not forgotten anything. I had been packing anything important to me in a bag that I was hiding under my bed. I had packed clothes and other necessities. My next stop was grandfather’s study, then I would meet with Hazel in the kitchens. I didn’t know how much the storage ring could carry, but I planned to put everything but the clothes we were wearing inside of it.

Completing the last sweep through my room, I swallowed hard and opened my door to come face to face with one of the guards. The man was about to knock on the door and was startled by my sudden appearance.

“Ah, Prince Malcolm!” The man jumped. “The king has called you to the grand hall.”

Panic swelled inside me, anticipating the worst scenario had come to pass. “A-Alright.” I answered simply, brushing past the guard while trying to act as calm as possible.

“Perhaps you should leave the animal behind.” The guard suggested.

I had become so nervous that I had not realized that I was still holding Bella. I looked down at the cat who sat limply, without a care in the world and decided that I would keep her with me. Ignoring the man’s words, I continued forward, holding the lazy animal in my arms.

My heart raced as I approached the entrance to the grand hall. I had been trapped inside this room just days ago. I had witnessed something that I shouldn’t have and my father tried to kill me because of that. Thankfully, I was invisible because of the ring that Faria had given me, so he didn’t know that it was me who had been listening to his secret conversations.

The soldiers standing guard outside the room all looked nervous, and I dreaded to know why. One of them turned and opened the door as I approached, allowing me to pass through. The door slammed behind me after I had entered the grand hall, trapping me inside once again.

Standing in the large room, to my surprise, was the rest of my family, if you could even call them that. Everyone stood around the palanquin where Faria’s body lay still except for my father who sat atop his throne a short distance away. Seeing that I had arrived, my father motioned for me to come closer. I approached the palanquin where I saw that a pure, white cloth had been laid over Faria’s body.

My brothers, Regna, Marcus and Pierce, all looked bored and tired, whereas my step-mother, Olivia, was almost as white as the cloth covering Faria. What had gotten her so scared?

“Now that everyone is here, I will continue.” My father announced. “In just a short moment, I will announce the death of the crown princess to the people. It has come to my knowledge, that her death was planned out by Farrol in order to lower the morale of our soldiers. We will use this, however, to inspire the war effort. Faria was not short on support from the people. There will be outrage, but it will be for the better of the nation.”

“Father, has the assassin been captured?” Lysander asked. “I heard that an intruder was found inside the castle, but was never captured.”

Despite the topic, no one in the room seemed to be worried.

“They were never captured, but there has been no sign of them since their initial discovery. I believe that they have run.” My father answered calmly.

“We’re going to just let them go?” Lysander asked, annoyed.

“I have sent my men to hunt them down, but I doubt they will be able to find them.” My father explained. “They were using some kind of spell to hide themselves. It was not something I’d seen before.”

“What if they come back?” Pierce asked, his voice wavering.

It seemed as though the youngest of Olivia’s children was feigning his aloofness. He was always the black sheep of their family. While Marcus and Lysander were expressionless and calm at all times, Pierce would occasionally break character and show the sniveling coward underneath. He was just a couple of years older than I was, but even I felt bad for him sometimes.

Looking at all three boys, they looked like different stages of each other, starting at the barely-a-teenager Pierce with short stature and a baby-face to Marcus who stood in the middle of his growth at fifteen and finally to Lysander who stood tall and slim at seventeen. All three boys, except for Pierce on occasion, held their mother’s grace, poise and beauty.

“I do not know if they will be coming back, which is why I called all of you here.” My father explained, leaning forward in his chair, clasping his hands together. “After the burial ceremony tomorrow, none of you will be permitted to leave the castle for any reason.”

Aside from me, I’m sure, nobody seemed to be bothered by this news. None of them left the castle anyways. I did my best to look neutral, not wanting to be suspicious.

Silently, my father stood from his throne and approached the palanquin. He looked down at the sheet covered Faria, then turned to me.

Placing a heavy hand on my shoulder, he spoke. “I don’t want any of you getting hurt, especially you Malcolm.”

I looked up to meet my father’s eyes as he looked down at me. His words sounded genuine, but there was something behind his eyes. A malice that said that he needed me for something. Probably something similar to what he had planned for Faria. It took everything I had to keep myself from showing fear of any kind. After locking eyes for a moment, he pulled away and stepped back over to his throne.

“You are all dismissed.” My father announced as he sank into his throne.

Everyone was quick to leave, but I stopped for a moment to glance at the body laying lifeless under the pale sheet. There was no doubt in my mind now. This was not her.

Nobody seemed to mind that I had Bella with me during the meeting, but I found Marcus waiting for me out in the hall leading to my room. I knew he was out for trouble, not just because of the stupid look on his face, but also because his room was in the opposite direction.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“I see you’re still carrying that dirty creature.” He mocked in his usual haughty tone.

I tried to ignore him and just walk past, but he moved in my way and looked down at me.

“Are you trying to ignore me?” He asked threateningly.

He had such a punchable face. I wanted to hit him badly, but I knew that I would lose in a fight. Marcus was a purple level warrior, and I was a black level mage. In a one-on-one between the two of us, it would be a landslide victory in his favor. Also, If I really did punch him, all the acne under the immeasurable amount of makeup he was wearing would stain my hands.

“What do you want, Marcus?” I asked, tired.

“I want you to know your place.” He threatened. “I don’t know what you did, but mother has gotten in a load of trouble and I know it’s your fault.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I responded, taking a step back.

I was definitely not responsible for anything that woman did. I only made her mad, but I assumed that she was smart enough to not cause trouble because of me.

“If something like this happens again, perhaps I’ll pay a visit to your friend in the kitchens.” He threatened. “A few years in the dungeon should do the both of you some good. We already have your whore of a mother here, we don’t need another commoner up here.”

I wanted so badly to do more than just punch him now, but I knew that causing a scene suddenly would draw attention, and that was not something we needed. To my joyous surprise, as I stood, holding back my anger, Bella leapt from my arms to Marcus’ face and started to rake at it with her claws. She quickly leapt from his head as he reached for the her and ran down the hallway behind him. Watching the bully cry out in pain and blindly run down the hall, chasing after the kitten gave me more than a small sense of pleasure. I will definitely be giving Bella a reward for her actions.

Marcus didn’t worry me in the slightest. He was as agile as a loaf of bread and as subtle as a hog after eating a pile of rotten mushrooms. There was no chance of him getting close to her.

Quickly, I made my way to the library and to grandfather’s study. I spent a lot of time here, but I never looked into any of the books that he had stored in here since I could read the old language. However, I knew that many of these books were worth something, either to me, Faria or to my father. In any instance, I needed to take them. They may hold answers to the questions I have been asking. One by one, I collected each book into my storage ring until every shelf was empty.

After clearing out the room, I noticed something odd with one of the shelves. Sagging slightly from the bottom of one of the shelves was a tiny paper pouch that held a key. I immediately knew what the key was for. There was a day that I had gotten bored and messed around in here and inadvertently discovered a secret compartment in the desk, but it had been locked. I had searched for a key, but couldn’t find one, so I ended up forgetting about it until now.

In the base of the desk, under the rest of the drawers on the right hand side was a small compartment that revealed itself if you lifted the molding. Just inside the compartment was a keyhole that the key perfectly fit into. Turning the key, a portion of the molding just around the side pushed out. Pulling it out the rest of the way, I discovered a small notebook and a couple of scraps of paper. I wanted to read the papers, but time was something that I had very little of at this point so I shoved the contents of the drawer into my storage ring and closed everything, taking the key with me.

Taking one last look into the study, I closed the door and locked it behind me. As far as I knew, I was the only one with a key to the room, so we were far from getting discovered from just this.

Ensuring that nobody was around to see, I backed into a shadowed corner and activated my invisibility ring. Hazel had explained how to get to the servants’ quarters several times, but I was still a little unclear about it. She knew every inch of this castle from the ground up. She even knew about the secret tunnel from father’s study to the grand hall. She was a very smart girl. It’s a shame that she’s stuck in the situation that she’s in.

Taking care not to bump into anything, I made my way down to the kitchens. It was the late afternoon, so the servants were busy making supper. There were servants of all ages rushing around to do anything from cleaning to cooking to testing the food for anything dangerous. Just yesterday, Hazel explained why there was such a diverse group of people working in the castle. Nearly everyone here was sold to pay off some kind of debt, either to a nobleman or to the nation itself. Hazel herself had been sold to pay off her father’s drinking debt.

It took me some time, but I eventually found the correct path to the servants’ quarters. It consisted of two large rooms under the castle with a few rooms connecting the two. The quarters were split for men and women and the rooms in between were both bathrooms and washrooms where servants would clean themselves and their clothes. The bedrooms were lined with large, three level bunk-beds with three small chests resting in front where they could store personal items.

Sitting on one of these beds was Hazel. She was currently on her only break and was waiting for my signal. As I approached, a shrill voice sounded from behind me, so I ducked to the right, out of the way of two girls who looked about the same age as me.

“What’s wrong, Hazy? Your prince boyfriend not need you anymore?” One of the girls mocked.

“Did he finally get tired of you?” The other girl continued. “Do you think I have a chance? He may be part commoner like us, but royalty is royalty.”

“He’s not-” Hazel started.

“So he is done with you! That means that we have our chance.” The first girl jeered. “How did you get him the first time. I’m sure he’d enjoy our company more.”

Hazel lowered her gaze to the floor and stayed quiet. She was not one to get into trouble or to retaliate to these kinds of things. I, on the other hand, was.

Close by was a waste bucket filled with blood-stained cloths. I had a vague understanding of what these were, but understanding is not what I was worried about. Quickly and silently, I grabbed the bucket and swung it in such a way that all of its contents were thrown on the two girls. The girls started to panic as they were bombarded by these bloody missiles and looked around to find out who had done this to them, but unfortunately for them, I had already replaced the bucket. Anger showed on their faces until I crept up behind them and started to make groaning noises, pretending to be a ghost. The anger that had previously fueled their search immediately turned into fear as they sprinted out of the room, crying and flailing their arms around.

Carefully stepping around the remnants of my attack, I moved closer to Hazel who had raised her head with a curious expression. Cautiously, I placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump slightly. She immediately placed her hand on mine and stood up.

“Thanks.” She whispered as she stepped around the bunk to one of the chests. Opening the chest to reveal a large, burlap laundry bag. “It’s all here.”

Placing my hand on the bag, I pulled it into my storage ring. I could see the surprise on Hazel’s face as everything she had ever owned disappeared into a purple energy and gathered into the storage ring. I had shown the ring to her before, but she still didn’t believe what she saw.

“The shipment leaves in two hours. We need to hurry and get your mother.” She whispered, squeezing my hand gently.

“Let’s do this.” I replied, letting go of her shoulder.

Taking a deep breath, I saw the resolve build in Hazel’s face as she turned and started towards where I had just come from. On our way out, we were stopped by a woman and pulled aside where the two girls who had been bullying Hazel stood with tears in their eyes.

“Care to explain what happened?” The woman asked angrily.

“I’m sorry?” Hazel responded, feigning ignorance.

“These two say that a ghost just attacked them in the bunks and that you were there too.” The woman clarified.

“I was there, yes. But I didn’t see who threw stuff at them.” Hazel explained.

“Are you sure? Cause if you’re lying, you’ll be in a lot of trouble.”

“No, ma’am. I did not see anyone throwing anything.”

It was clear that the woman didn’t believe either party. Seeing that we could get stuck here longer, I made a decision and crept up behind the two girls again and began making ghost noises again. Wailing even louder than before, the two girls knocked over the woman and ran away.

Hazel reached down and helped the woman up who turned around and started after her escapees.

“I’m sorry miss, but I have been asked for, so I have to leave.” Hazel shouted out to the woman as she chased after the girls. The woman waved back to say that she was free to go.

Nodding her head, Hazel started up the stairs. I followed close behind to ensure we didn’t get separated. It was now time to start the plan.