Cheating Royalty (Chasing Royalty #2)

12

Cassandra disappears out into the hall before I can say something. Maybe it's better that way, because I don't trust myself to say anything logical.

I turn to Grace, "Did you see what she was wearing?"

"No. I was trying too hard to ignore her to actually notice her fashion. Why? Was it out of season?"

I roll my eyes, "She was a dark purple dress. Silver shoes. The same outfit that the person that was inside Augustine's office was wearing."

Grace sits straight up, "You mean she was the one who hid the letter about the guards not coming until the morning?"

"I think so. Unless there is someone else within the castle wearing the exact same outfit as her."

"What does that mean?"

"Either she was trying to help us, or hurt us. My guess would be that, after our conversation at supper, she's trying to hurt us."

Grace tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, "What if...what if she's trying to get us caught by the guards? She thinks that the guards are coming tonight, right? So, she left a letter that was signed by one of the commanders of the guards. It said that they wouldn't be attacking until the morning. She wants Augustine and Florentine to let their guard down so that, if they were to attack tonight, they wouldn't be ready."

"You think she would be capable of that?"

Grace shrugs, "She seemed pretty serious about fighting against you at supper. I guess it's too soon to judge what she is capable of."

"Do you think she's a threat to us? Do you think she would actually try to get us captured by the guards?"

"I don't know. We can't underestimate her. That's what we did to Alexanne, and you know what happened. We need to keep our guard up and our eyes open."

"What if she was supposed to deliver the letter, though? What if a guard gave it to her and she was supposed to give it to Augustine? Or maybe, a guard gave it to Augustine or Florentine, and they asked her to put in his office?"

"Why would she hide it then?"

I sigh, "Do you think we should tell Augustine and Florentine what she did? Because if we are caught, we won't be the only ones punished. Florentine and Augustine will be executed for hiding a criminal."

"Do you think that Cassandra would help the guards, knowing that her mother could be killed as a result?"

"She seemed to be serious about fighting for her beliefs. Besides, she could probably think up a lie for why her mother isn't guilty. We watched her lie to the guards around our shoes in the bedroom. It was flawless. I'm sure she could trick the guards again."

Grace says, "Besides, we can't tell Augustine and Florentine without telling them what we were doing in his study ourselves. Unless you are willing to tell the truth, which I support, we can't explain how we know it was her. Besides, we don't have any true evidence behind her, just that we think she was wearing the same outfit as the person who broke into his office."

I nod, "Then there's nothing to do except be prepared in case the guards come."

I blow out the candle next to my bed and lie down. I sigh in bliss as my head sinks down into the pillow and I pull the soft covers closer to my chin.

Grace settles into her bed as well, and we sit in the dark silence for a few minutes.

I break the quiet, saying, "Do you think we are safe, after the letter Cassandra left?"

"I think that, no matter what Cassandra does, we will always be in danger. We just need to get ready at any moment to hide in that room. We don't want to be caught in our nightgowns, after all."

I laugh, "Yes, that would be rather embarrassing.

●◊●◊●

A loud knock on our door breaks me from my sleep. My eyes fly open to bright sunlight spilling into our room.

Grace sits in bed, already awake. A book rests in her lap, as she waits for me to wake up.

I blink the sleep out of my eyes, "Who's at the door?"

Grace says loudly, "Come in."

A servant peaks her head through the doorway, "Lady Florentine says that if you would like breakfast, you may come down to the dining hall. While she won't be joining you, Lady Florentine wants to be sure that you aren't hungry."

Grace smiles, "We will be down in a few minutes. Thank you."

The servant curtsies and disappears from the room.

Grace hops out of bed and motions for me to follow her, "Come here, there's something I want to show you. Some servants visited the room before you woke up and brought something with them."

She leads me to the large armoire in corner of the room. I checked yesterday while exploring the room and it was empty. However, Grace flings open the doors to reveal a row of new, beautiful dresses. Not as fancy as my royal ones, but certainly better than my current rags.

Grace smiles, "It took her only one day to get them tailored to you. I had to give her your measurements, lucky for you I will forever have them ingrained into my head."

I slowly look through them, the soft fabric whispering between my fingertips. Grace says, "Do you want help getting ready for breakfast?"

I firmly shake my head, "No, I'm no longer a princess and you are no longer my lady in waiting. We are equals, just like we have always been. You are going to teach me how to get myself ready."

Grace's face splits into a grin, but her eyes tear up. "I...thank you. Thank you. Ever since we arrived here, I wasn't sure where I fit in. You have been planning to become a queen again, so I thought perhaps I needed to prepare to become a lady in waiting."

"You are my friend, not my servant. You have to serve no one."

I pull out a light green silk dress and begin getting dressed. I try to braid my hair like I've seen Grace do a hundred times to my hair, and her own. Instead, it ends up in a tangled mess at the base of my neck.

Grace laughs, "Let me help you."

"No, I can do this myself. You aren't my servant anymore. You don't have to help me."

"Let me help you, not as a servant, but as a friend. Please."

I sigh and give in. She easily untangles my hair and wraps it quickly up into a bun. We hurry to the dining room for breakfast before it is too late.

Grace and I fill the dining room with cheerful chatter throughout breakfast. Once it is over, we go to the library.

Grace and I plan to search for any other pieces of letters. If only we could find more information about who Florentine really is, we might know whether we can trust her or not.

The library is empty, except for a single servant dusting the towering bookshelves. We keep our voices at whispers as we search through the tables and stacks of books lying on furniture. Nothing. The left behind letter must have been a simply mistake of Florentine, one that she won't make again.

We eventually settle down for actual reading. Just as I'm beginning to understand the poem I'm reading, Florentine and Augustine walk in.

Florentine smiles at us, "We have good news."

"We think." Augustine says.

Florentine glares at him, "It is good news. We have received a letter from the guards. It said that they wouldn't come back to until this morning. However, as it is already almost past morning, we believe that perhaps they have moved on from their suspicions over us. Even so, you must still be ready to hide. There is a secret room within this library as well, which is why you are allowed to be in here. You must be ready to run at any second."

Augustine adds, "They could still come this morning, so don't let your guard down. Maybe they want us to think they aren't coming, so they can catch us unprepared. I wouldn't put that past the castle guards."

Florentine nods, "We also have more news." She glances at Augustine before continuing, "We found the other letter as well, the one with your name on it. We believe that the guards did not see the letter and that you haven't been given away."

Augustine says, "It was a foolish, mindless mistake of mine. I apologize for all the worry or stress I might have caused you. I know it must have been terrifying for you, thinking that they could come at any second, and I'm terribly sorry." His face turns red with embarrassment.

I swallow hard, guilt settling in my stomach.

Florentine says, "That will be all. Thank you for your time."

They begin to leave, but I stop them, "Wait, Augustine."

He turns back, "Yes?"

I'm a coward. "Could I have a lesson with you today? I miss them."

Augustine nods, "Yes, I'm not doing anything now. Perhaps we could get in an hour at this time?"

I smile, "Yes, that would be great. I'll come to your study in a minute."

He agrees and exits the room with Florentine.

Once we are alone again, Grace turns to me, "I thought that you were going to tell him that you stole the letter."

I bury my head in my hands, "I was going to, but I couldn't."

"Are you going to tell him when you go for your studies?"

"I don't know. I'll try, but I don't know if I'm brave enough."

"Just know that the longer you keep a secret, the harder it is to free yourself from it."

I nod, "I know. I'm going to ask him if he knows anything about the midwives. If anyone can tell me anything, it will be Augustine."

Grace hugs me, "Good luck. Please tell him. Today. Right now. It will make everything so much easier, believe me."

I leave Grace in the library and walk alone to Augustine's study. I knock lightly on the door and he lets me in. I take a seat on a chair against the wall.

Augustine sits behind his desk and asks, "What would you like to study?"

I shrugs, "Anything, everything. I would like to do more literature."

Augustine laughs, "That's funny, because I remember how often you wouldn't read the pieces of writing I assigned to you."

He begins browsing through the books on his shelf, looking for something to teach me with.

Once his back is turned, so that I don't have to look him in the eye, I say, "Augustine?"

"Yes?" He keeps his back to me, still looking through the books.

I gather the truth in my mouth, and open it to say everything I need to. But the words escape my lips before I gather the courage to say them aloud. Instead I ask, "Do you know anything about the midwives who helped my mother give birth?"

Augustine stiffens, his words careful, "What makes you ask that?"

"They were the last people to talk to my mother. They must know something about her that everyone else doesn't. I guess, it might make me feel closer to her if I knew more about her. Besides, don't you think it strange how they all disappeared?"

Augustine slowly turns around to look me in the eye, "Admira, you don't know how dangerous this is. The midwives are under extremely serious threats of the castle to keep quiet about everything they know from your birth to your mother's death."

"Why? What's so important? Surely you must know at least one of them."

Augustine sighs, "I'm afraid I can't help you."

"Surely you must know something."

"I do. But I've sworn an oath on my life to keep quiet. It's the kind of oath that people take seriously, and to the grave. Those who break it take it to the grave as their last words."