Page 37 of Hidden Kingdoms

At least they were keeping me fed.

I had no complaints in that department, but thirty minutes wouldn’t give me time to puzzle on my mystery tarot card, eat and get ready, so I had no choice but to push it to the side for now. Sitting at the table, I knew I had no way of keeping track of the time I’d been given, yet I couldn’t stop my eyes from wandering to the bed. To the pillow and what lay beneath it. Chewing quickly, I was aware I had precisely zero experience on meeting princes. Was I supposed to curtsy?

Fuck that, I’ll curtsy when they let me leave.

My brain was a mess there was no time to untangle as I ate everything I had been given, pouring out the last of the water and draining it in one go. Wishing it had been a cup of coffee.

I unfolded the new clothes, wondering if they were really the sort of thing you wear in the presence of royalty, though I don’t suppose they care too much what their captives wear.

They were as soft as the ones I was wearing except this set consisted of a thick, cream-coloured, long-sleeved jumper with matching trousers that looked as if they would fit like leggings.Something small and white fell to the floor as I held them up, and I looked down to see a set of lace underwear, the bralette close in style to the one I had come here in. I picked them up, brow raising, wondering who was in charge of my outfit choices before I saw the pair of slipper-like shoes that had been underneath.

I won’t be running off anywhere in those now, will I?

My still-aching feet agreed.

Gathering my new outfit, I headed into the bathroom, stopping in front of the mirror. Again, my eyes were bright, alive—my skin looked good too, better than yesterday. I was no longer grey and pale, my skin glowing with its honey tones once more. Was this what a couple hours of good sleep does to me?

I wasn’t bothered by the state of my hair as messy, white waves fell thickly down my back. Despite the hairband I’d left on the sink, I left it down, its weight my own safety blanket. I hoped for a toothbrush, but finding none, used a corner of the towel on the door to quickly rub over my teeth. It wasn’t great, but it was better than nothing.

I changed, the leggings rising high on my waist while the jumper stopped at my navel; if I reached too far, a thin strip of skin peeked out from underneath. The underwear—consisting of not much more than scraps of lace, felt amazing against my skin—fitting so perfectly to my body, I found I wasn’t mad about wearing them.

Pulling the slippers on, I left the bathroom with no idea how long I had left to wait. I went back to the window, my only source of entertainment, and looked towards the forest, wondering how it would feel to be beneath its canopy.

A curt knock signalled my time was up, and I pulled in a deep breath. I’d neglected to prepare for whatever was coming in the short amount I did have. I’d have to wing it and see how it goes;at the very least this would give me a better idea on the layout of the palace and where I was within it.

The door opened on its own and a guard I hadn’t seen yet stood at the threshold, dressed in a dark grey uniform with several patches sewn on his chest. An impressively sized axe was strapped to his back, metal blade peeking over his shoulder, and I was reluctant to move towards him.

“It’s time to go.” His low voice and stony expression gave nothing away, and he stepped back as I forced myself to take my first wary step out.

I guess this one doesn’t care about keeping up the pretence.

My fists were tight balls of anticipation in preparation for the unknown. Maybe I’d be struck by lightning, or Big Man would come barrelling round the corner shouting at me for trying to escape.

I waited, the heat radiating from the floor seeping through the slippers, but nothing happened. The guard closed the door to my room, and I was left feeling strangely vulnerable on this side of it. As he held his arm up for me to follow, I kept mine at my sides despite how badly I wanted to wrap them around myself. I couldn’t show any weakness right now.

I had to keep my mind clear and retain every detail of the journey if I was going to find a way out of here. Who was this Prince I was being taken to, and what did he want with me? It couldn’t be for anything good considering the circumstances that brought me here to begin with.

Any sane, well-adjusted person would politely knock on the door and ask for my help, and it was just my luck that this lot were obviouslynotsane or well-adjusted.

They were clearly a bunch of psychos.

Psychos who stole some of my things and are now hoping I lose my mind as they give them back to me in creepy ways.

The guard led me down a series of corridors no different to the ones I’d walked down with Marcellus, stone floors and neat but bare grey walls, that provided me with zero idea of where I was going. There were only so many directions a girl could remember before they all became a jumbled mess. But I couldn’t help but be annoyed at myself for not trying harder, knowing that soon the labyrinth of halls would end, and I’d find myself right where they wanted me.

We turned into a corridor wider than the others, walls dressed in a rich-red baroque-patterned paper, topped by ornate, gilded mouldings that spread into the ceiling above. Beautiful paintings began to line the walls, their gold framed portraits reminiscent of the images on my tarot deck.

I wasn’t sure how long it had been since I hadn’t pulled a card after I woke, today’s discovery not counting. It was a strange feeling knowing that I would get no head start on what was to come today.

And an uncomfortable one as I realised maybe I had come to rely on their predictions more than I wanted to.

From the change in opulence, I was sure we were close to our destination, this part of the castle much more suited to a prince than where my room was located.

What was I supposed to say to a prince anyway? Would he give me the answers I needed?

My eyes skimmed along the walls, landing on one of the flames that guided us when the image of the firelight changed. My mind reeled, propelled from my body and flung out into the ether to race through the air. Coming to a momentary pause before it pushed itself through a large, black, wooden door.

I was a haze, a mist. Untethered from my physical body, I blinked uselessly in a form that didn’t even have eyes as I attempted to dispel the fear clawing at me and pull my mindas two figures came into a cloudy focus, the sound of their conversation clearer by the second.

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