Villainess

Part 8

       No, no, no, no. He cannot know. I was able to hold my calm in front of him, but the moment I left the reach of his silver eyes, I panicked. I need to talk to Nevi. She will know what to do.

My once pink heels are now green from wet grass and dirt stains. I hold my dress around my hips as to not let it get wet in the dewy grass. I left my shall in a dumpster back in the city- I figured it might be best that I don't walk into the castle covered in blood, especially not the blood of a sailor boy who will be found with his throat slit in an alley next morning.

Once I get to the backside of the castle, I feel around the stones until I find one with a small crest engraved into it. The crest of Prince Albus. He died here at court- killed for treason and conspiracy. Now the books say he haunts the castle. I picked up a few secrets about the Fesperian castle and its throne when I was researching the poems. One of those secrets is this passageway. It's said to be a secret passage used only for the prince's spies. They are long gone now, though, and I doubt Kian has the brainpower to even try to overtake the throne.

I press my thumb into the slot in between two tulips engraved in the crest. A needle pokes out of the hole and pricks my finger. The blood filters through the lock and the tulips begin moving- they turn upside down, and what was once a flower is now clearly a skull. The blood on my thumb is dripping down to my palm. The odds of the needle being sterilized are extremely low, so I pop my thumb in my mouth and suck for a moment before spatting it on the ground. I wipe my thumb on my dress.

I press my middle and pointer fingers of both hands into the skull's eyes. Then a door opens- the cobbles shake, pushing in and out of the wall, before creating a small slit in the wall just big enough for a person to fit through. I lift my dress carefully as to not ruin it more than I have- people might wonder if one of my gowns returned ruined.

I step into the passageway, and immediately the cobles behind me close once again, as if they were never opened. It's pitch dark and impossible to see anything. I start to feel around me. Next to me is a table, on it is a pack of matches and a torch. I fumble a few times- breaking a couple of matches- before I finally am able to strike a match. The small ounce of fire doesn't lighten the room much at all, but at least now I can see what is on the table better.

I touch the match to the dull torch head, and it instantly lights in blue flames. The match gave me sight on the table, but the torch gives me sight at least 6 feet in front and behind me. With the torch, I am able to see more of the passageway. The cobblestoned walls are glistening wet from the recent rains, puddles have been created on the floor of the passageway- creating an echoing dribble as another drop of rain drips into them. I run my free hand along the wall- feeling my way down the passage. My hand feels over patches of moss and other suspiciously slimy things.

I'm not scared- in fact, I'm thrilled. I love myself a good mystery, and what is more mysterious than finding a secret passageway with a secret door code. As much as I would love to explore these passages, I'm sure I will have plenty of time for that later in this palace of boredom. Until then, I need to hurry back to my chambers.

I need to speak to Nevi. She has ways of contacting Vladimir. Besides, I guess I kind of trust her. In a way, she reminds me of myself- new to the business and young- just like I was years ago. She is still naive and innocent. After this, I hope to save her from this life, where she will never find happiness.

In the distance, a faint light is glowing- so faint I worry I am just imagining things, but the closer I get, the more confident I am there is something there. I get close enough to the point where my torchlight mixes with the mystery light. It is then I realize that this is a door, and the light is coming from the cracks.