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1678 Words
I open my mouth to argue further, but Augustine and Florentine reenter the dining room. The anxiety stamped to their faces causes my stomach to churn.
Florentine offers a weak smile, "We have decided that we don't know whether we can expect an attack or not. We think you should go back to your room. You may sleep in your beds tonight, you don't have to sleep in the safe room. However, you should be ready to be woken up at any time throughout the night and hide quickly in that room. We ask that you don't leave any trace of yourself in your room. Don't take your bags out of the safe room or any of your other belongings."
"Thank you for everything you have done," I say.
Florentine nods, "It is no problem, merely my duty to the kingdom. You may go to your rooms now. I'll visit you later on into the night, to make sure that you are safe. Augustine and I will lead you back to your room."
We follow them silently throughout the halls. They are both clearly too stressed to attempt at any conversation. Grace and I need to replace the letter as quickly as possible.
Florentine leaves us in our room, after checking the entire space for any threats, as if guards might be hiding beneath the bed. She murmurs something about talking in the library with Augustine if we need anything. We nod, and they disappear down the hall.
The second we are only, I turn to Grace, "We need to return the letter, right now."
Grace nods, "Yes, but how? I know we can get into Augustine's study, but where will you put the letter? I'm sure that Augustine has searched every inch of his office, looking for the letter. We can't just place it on his desk. We need to find a place where he will notice it, but be able to accept that he didn't find it sooner."
"He's an extremely observant person. I doubt it would have escaped his notice if it was still in his office. I don't know where we could put it..."
"Maybe you should just return the letter and tell him that you took it. Maybe if you explain your side of the story-"
"No." I say, firmly, "I don't want Augustine to know that I stole from him. He will have to tell Florentine what we have done. I will have let down the both of them. They may never trust me."
"But if you don't tell them, they'll continue to worry."
"Not if Augustine finds the letter."
"He could think that maybe the guards saw the letter and just didn't take it. I'm sure that Alexanne would take any proof that she could to tear this house apart looking for you. If the guards said that they found a letter with your name on it that might be all she needs."
I sigh, "Let's just go to his office and look for a good place to hide the letter. If we can't find a reasonable place to put it, we will tell him."
Grace agrees and we sneak out into the hall. We hurry down it before any servants can appear. Augustine's study door beckons us inside. If Augustine were to know that we were breaking into his study so often, would he actually lock his door?
I can imagine that it's too much of a hassle for him to unlock and lock the door, and he'd rather leave it open and trust the people around him.
The office is empty. I pull the letter out of my bodice, wincing at how crumpled it is. I try to smooth it out and survey the office.
Instead of tearing his office apart, as Augustine searched for the letter, he organized it. Papers sit in neat stacks on his desk, labeled with different pieces of paper. The books lie in orderly rows. Every piece of floor is visible, instead of covered in papers.
Where can we hide it?
Someone fiddles with the doorknob. I share a terrified glance with Grace. She dives behind the desk and I follow. We crawl beneath the desk, in the space where the chair belongs. It's foolish, but it's the only place to hide. The door swings open and someone creeps inside.
From my spot beneath the desk, I can't see who entered. If it's a servant or cleaning maid, we might be able to survive undiscovered.
But, if it's Florentine or Augustine, and they decide to sit behind the desk, we might not be so lucky.
I sit with every single muscle tight, my heart pounding against my curled up knees. I close my eyes as light steps come closer.
Too soft for Augustine, too even for Florentine.
It must be a servant then.
The person shuffles something on the desk. What would a servant be doing with the papers?
I stop breathing as they walk around the desk to our side. My eyes fall on a elegant dark purple dress. Silver shoes step carefully across the floor, as if they are afraid of being heard.
The clothes are too fancy to be a servant. Who else?
Whoever it is, if they decide to look down, they will see us.
The person fiddles for a few minutes more before leaving the office. I don't relax until the door is closed.
I uncurl from my position beneath the desk and crawl out to see what was done with the desk.
It's exactly the same as it was before. The stacks of paper on the desk, the row of books, the labels...no.
A piece of paper sticks out of a stack of letters on the desk. I gently tug it out of its spot.
Lady Florentine and Sir Augustine,
We shall return in the morning of tomorrow to research your home. It is ours, and the castle's, apology for our infringement of your privacy. However, there are royal criminals that the Queen wants to be found. It is our duty, and yours, to serve her. Long live Queen Alexandra.
Sir Dorian
Who could have possibly come in here to place this letter? They would have to be working with the guards or the castle to deliver such a message. If they were truly from the castle, wouldn't they simply give it to Florentine or Augustine? Why hide it among the sorted letters?
Unless it was meant to look like the guards left the letter, when it was written someone else.
Grace says, "We need to hurry. We don't know when Augustine or Florentine will return here. Put that letter back where you found it and hide the other letter you stole."
"Wait," I say, "Who would have hidden this?"
"I don't know, but we don't have the time to spend thinking about it. We'll consider it once we get back to our room. Just hurry, okay?"
I place that letter back into the stack and take the other letter that I stole.
"Where do I hide it?" I ask.
Grace shrugs, "I don't know. I already told you my opinion. You should tell Augustine and Florentine that you stole the letter. Maybe if you said you were questioning who you could trust, which is rather reasonable after Alexanne betrayed you, and you saw your name on the letter. You could say that you stole the letter to try to better understand Florentine and Augustine's intent. Which is, after all, the truth."
"But then they won't trust me."
"You knew that this could happen when you stole the letter, Admira. Maybe you should take this as a lesson. Stealing is not the way to find information. Next time, perhaps you should just ask. However, you stole your way into this situation, and now you need to find a way out."
"Maybe if I hid in the stack of paper like the other person did with that letter..."
"What if Augustine and Florentine find out that you stole the letter later on, even if you hide it now? Don't you think they would trust you more if you were honest about your mistakes and took responsibility for your actions?"
I shake my head, "Just let me return it. If they are still worrying about it after they find it or Augustine doesn't find it at all, I will tell them the truth. Until then, let's try hiding it."
Grace sighs, but doesn't say anything more.
I slip my letter into the same stack that I replaced the other letter in. Perhaps, if Augustine finds two letters he did not see before, he will think that he simply made a mistake while searching through the papers.
Even as I do this, I know in the back of my mind, that this is futile. Augustine would never make a mistake like that, and he knows it. But will they be able to trace it back to me?
Wouldn't it be best if they knew it was me, instead of someone who might not be loyal to Florentine and Augustine's plans for me?
I don't allow myself to take back the letter. Instead I hurry out of the room with Grace right behind me. We creep back down the hall and slip into our room.
We quietly get ready for bed. Grace brushes out my hair again, just as though we are back at the castle. If only she had her viola to play me to sleep.
We climb into bed, and I grab a book of the shelf. We fall into silence as we wait for sleep to come.
I'm torn out of my book as the door swings open. Cassandra steps inside, "My mother just wanted me to make sure you were alright and didn't need anything." Sourness clings to her words.
I smile lightly, "Nothing, thank you."
I begin to turn back to my book as she leaves, but something catches my eyes. My breath catches in my throat. Cassandra's silver shoes peek out of her dark purple dress.
- Writer
