𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄 | ✎

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟕

I can't stop thinking about what I told the princess yesterday. That she needed to cover her tracks if she wanted to actually kill Prince Marco. The idea seems absurd to regular people, I guess, but I really don't care. It's okay in my book. In fact, I might as well help her kill the prince.

What am I thinking?

I toss and turn in my bed, quickly regretting doing so when my stomach starts hurting again. I clutch my abdomen in pain, groaning and trying to sit up in bed. Walking has only made the pain a lot worse, but I can't stay in here all day long without the princess.

I might actually go insane.

But then a thought occurs to me that I haven't really thought about as much as I should have. Who was attempting to kill the princess? While Marco is definitely high on my suspect list, I can't assume it's him right away. I need evidence first of all, and secondly, it wouldn't be beneficial to have the princess killed before marrying her. A sad but harsh truth.

If there's anyone who knows something, though, it has to be Princess Elena's handmaid. So that's my first stop. I get up from my bed, almost losing my balance as soon as I stand. When I regain my footing, I wander into the hallways, walking down the servant's quarters.

It doesn't take me long to find Princess Elena's handmaiden. I'm pretty sure her name is Sofia, but I could be wrong. I never really paid attention to anyone other than the princess, and I definitely wasn't paying much attention to her when she told me her name.

I knock on her door gently, my heart racing as I wait for her response. It feels like hours pass before I hear her slow footsteps approaching.

Finally, the door opens, and the handmaid reveals herself. Her clothes are disheveled, and she looks like she just woke up from bed. Or maybe she just got back from her duties. Then again, I am technically waking her up super early in the morning.

She looks at me warily. "Mr. West? What do you need?" Her voice is slow and groggy, and I notice the redness under her eyes, accompanied by eye bags. She seems to be exhausted.

"I need to talk to you about the princess being targeted," I tell her without preamble, feeling like there's no time to lose. I step inside her bedroom and close the door behind me. "I think you know something about that."

The handmaid's eyes widen in alarm. "What do you mean?" she asks, genuinely confused. "Are you saying you think I had something to do with it?" Her face contorts into a frown, and she's clearly upset now.

"No, no, no," I rush to assure her, raising my hands. "I don't mean that at all. I just thought you might have seen something. Anything at all." Pausing for a moment to choose my next words carefully, I take a deep breath before continuing. "Did you see anything out of the ordinary that day? Or anyone who shouldn't have been in the palace?"

The handmaiden takes a moment to consider my question before answering. "I did see something weird that day," she replies slowly, as if she's still waking up. "I could have sworn I saw Prince Marco with a blonde girl I didn't recognize. I only saw her back, though."