The Lost Princess

Chapter Fifteen

The two soldiers that had brought me into the ball room grabbed my arms and lead me out of the ball room. They shut the French doors behind us. One of the soldiers placed handcuffs on my wrists again. Each soldier grabbed my arms and marched me down the hallway. Their boots echoed against the marble floors and empty hallway.

"So, am I going back to the cell?" I asked as they pulled me along. I really didn't want to go back to that lonely, cold cell, but I knew I was going to end up there. The thought of that dark, cold cell sent chills down my spine.

The soldiers ignored me. They kept their heads straight in front of them looking down the hallway. I saw the door that lead down to the cells. My heart started to beat faster. My head felt dizzy. I wanted to stop, to run, but the two soldiers held me tightly.

They pulled me past the door that lead to the stairs that went to the cold, dark cell. I took a deep breath of relief as we walked past.

The soldiers lead me down another hallway. This hallway had more paintings and tapestries hanging on the walls. This hallway had high ceilings too. Candle holders were mounted to the walls holding lit candles that casted shadows on the walls.  Giant chandlers hung from the ceilings.  They were filled with gold, diamonds, and more candles.

My body started shaking as I worried about where they were taking me. I was relieved that I wasn't going back to the cell, but terrified at what the alternative could be.  It couldn't be worse, could it?

"Where are you taking me?" I asked shakily.

The soldiers didn't respond or even look at me. They kept their heads forward without any expression on their faces. The sound of their boots echoed through my ears. A few statues lined the hallways. Most of the statues were of King Maddox, but a couple of them looked like Prince Leland and his mother when they were younger. I never really thought about Prince Leland until I saw him today. He was quiet and seemed to copy his father's movements.  He didn't seem like he enjoyed being the Prince of Arabella.

The soldiers stopped causing me to stumble and almost fall to the ground. The soldier holding my right arm opened the door to our right. The soldier on my left unhandcuffed me. The soldier grabbed my arms and tossed me into the room. I stumbled, tripping on my feet, and fell to the marble floor.

"Hey..." I started to protest as I pulled my face my off the marble floor.

I looked back at the soldiers in the doorway. They smiled and slammed the door. I sat up angrily. I stomped up to the door. I grabbed the door handle. I tried to turn the door handle, but the door was locked. I bit my lip as I huffed in protest.

I looked around the room that they threw me in. There was large bed with fresh sheets and a large, knitted blanket on it. The blanket was knitted with different colors, creating the image of red, yellow, and blue flowers on it. Four large bedposts rose almost to the ceiling. Across from the bed was a wooden vanity like the one in my dreams, but this one was smaller and had less designs craved in the wood. A large, oval mirror was attached to the vanity.

I walked over to the vanity. Two small drawers were on each side of the vanity stool. I opened the drawers to find hair brushes, hair combs, and hair clips. No jewelry or fancy hair clips were in the vanity. I shut the drawers.

I sat down on the stool and stared at myself in the oval mirror. My hair looked matted and greasy. The normal blond hair I had was darker with pieces of straw matted in it. Dark, dirt circles covered my face and exposed arms. I looked down at my hands. My hands were covered in dirt. Brown stains surrounded my nails. I placed my head into my hands, shaking my head.