Cinderella After Midnight

Chapter 5

[AN] Warning: A really boring chapter. 

The Prince ran out the hall quickly, chasing after the mysterious girl. It was just a simple question about the keychain, so why did she run away, if she wasn't hiding anything? Whatever it was, it just made him more suspicious.

Kris followed the steady footsteps. But suddenly she was gone, as if she had just disappeared into thin air.

"Damn it!" he yelled in frustration. How could he lose his target in his castle, his home? That only made the young Prince more curious. The girl seemed to know the castle very well. It was obvious that she had been in the castle often. No matter though, he needed to find her.

Amelia's heart jumped like crazy as she watched Kris through the half opened door. Luckily, the Prince hadn't noticed her while passing by. Silently, she thanked god that she had remembered a shortcut. Good that she used to play in the castle so much that she knew it like her own house. After so many years, it still felt like home.

After making sure that Kris had left, Amelia breathed out in relief, turning around to lean against the door. Just then, her eyes widened in shock and her hands started to shiver. She felt a cold flash through her body and in the same second she froze, as tears fell down her cheeks. She was in the royal library.

"Mommy?" the young Amelia called, looking around as she walked through the hallway. It was getting late and Kris had to leave for his riding lesson. The little girl was alone in the giant castle.

"Mommy, where are you?" she shouted again. She had been looking for her mother for over an hour and she was still nowhere to find. Amelia's small legs were getting tired and she was hungry. She just wanted to find her mother and get home. Then, her mother would cook something delicious and they would wait for her father and she would tell him how much fun she had today or how 'mean' Kris was. Just like every day. But all that never happened. From that day on, nothing was ever the same again.

Amelia discovered people standing before the library, everybody trying to look inside. Everyone was shocked and was talking about some poor woman.

"Mommy?" the young girl called, causing everybody to look at her. It suddenly became too silent. No one said a word. Then, everyone's expression changed from shock to sadness. Amelia came closer and dropped the teddy bear in her arms when she saw it. Her mom was lying on the cold floor, unmoving and covered in blood. Her face was pale and her eyes were closed.

Why was she sleeping on the floor? It's cold there.

Kris stopped as he heard someone's crying coming from the library. Carefully, he stepped closer and looked though the half opened door. Because of the bright moonlight and because the person was standing with his back to him, Kris couldn't tell who it was, only that it was a beautiful figure of a young woman. Her crying was quiet, but still he could hear the pain. Never had he heard someone crying like that, as if she was in so much pain that she wasn't able to cry out loud. The Prince didn't know what to do. Should he talk to the girl? Should he go away and leave her alone? Maybe he should ask the poor girl what was wrong.

Just as Kris opened the door, stepping in, the girl turned around. Within a second the Prince recognized the person in front of him. It was the same girl from the ball, the one he had been looking for the whole night. His hand formed a fist and he felt his face got hotter. Only the sight of that girl could get him mad.

Kris came closer to her, grabbing her wrist to make sure he wouldn't lose her again. The Prince's cold touch made the girl flinch and step back.

"Prince Kris," she said nervously.