The Fake Princess

Chapter 2

Adessia jolted awake, not sure where she was or what was going on. Before she had any time to re-orient herself, the door to the carriage was jerked open and a dark shadow stood before her.

"Get out."

As the events from earlier were coming back to her, she obediently got out as quick as she could. The guard grabbed her arm and began leading her towards a small building. However, what really caught Addesia's attention was the Royal Castle. She could not miss the impressive structure, even in the darkness. Her heart accelerated a bit. They neared the entrance, where another guard stood, illuminated by the lantern above his head. He only gave a quick glance to Adessia before stepping aside to let them through.

"Watch your step."

They approached some steps that led down a dark hole and her breath immediately quickened again. The annoyed guard pushed her along, not caring for her inner anxieties, and they began to make their way down the stairs. As soon as they made it down a few steps, she realized it was a narrow spiral descent, and once they advanced a bit further, a small glow appeared to show the end wasn't too far down. The light kept growing as they finally reached the bottom, where two more guards were standing. Or rather, leaning against the wall as their soft snores gave away their slumber.

The guard at her side tsked at the sight before them. He let go of Adessia and, for a moment, she wondered if she could make a run for it. However, seeing as to how far down they had come and that there was also another guard at the entrance, quickly extinguished any hopes of escaping her current fate. A loud whack resonated within the small cave followed by a loud crash, causing Adessia to jump a little at the sudden break in silence. Her captor had smacked the chubbier guard and he was now on the floor with a bewildered look on his face. The other guard next to him also jolted awake at the sound, now standing at attention and looking anywhere but the other two guards. With a huff, the man on the ground stood up and shot a nasty look at the one who had sent him down to the floor.

"Sir Phillip, what brings you down here? Shouldn't you be babysitting?" he spat in Sir Phillip's direction, clearly not happy with the rude awakening.

"Doing my job, unlike you. Should I mention to King Siyas that his Royal Knights care not for keeping the Kingdom's criminals from escaping? That they rather be paid for sleeping?"

The chubby man glared hard at Sir Phillip, but took the hint and argued no further. Instead, he turned to Adessia and gave her a once over, wrinkling his nose as if her smell had just reached him. Adessia blushed in response to the rude gesture, suddenly aware of the fact that she hadn't washed in weeks.

"Who's the dirty girl?"

"A prisoner of the Princess. Take her to a cell. The Princess will decide what to do with her tomorrow."

Adessia's eyes shot up to Sir Phillip as soon as those words left his mouth. Princess? Was the lady she encountered not just of noble birth, but of royal blood? Her face went white with fear and her vision blurred, then, her world fell into darkness.

***

Princess Solis marched right down into the dungeon as soon as she'd finished her breakfast, her anger still present from last night's events. The filthy beggar had totally ruined her dress and she had been forced to meet her secret lover in such an ugly state. She was the Crown Princess for Goddess' sake, she was supposed to look perfect! She fumed at her bad luck, as last night had been the first in weeks that she could sneak out and meet him. But it was all ruined by her. Solis glared hard at the girl sleeping behind the bars. She wasn't sure how she would punish her yet, but she knew she would make her suffer. The Princess cleared her throat loudly, her fiery eyes landing on the fat guard that had followed her.

"Well? Why is she still sleeping?" Her words dripped with authority and animosity.

The guard quickly got to his duties and unlocked the cell, then yanked up the poor, sleeping girl from the floor. Adessia shrieked in surprise, coming face to face with the Princess. Then, it was Princess Solis' turn to do a double-take. Now that she was seeing her up close and in the brighter light of the torches, she couldn't deny that this girl looked just like her. Even in her sorry state, those thin lips, slightly arched eyebrows, and crystal clear blue eyes unmistakably matched her own. If anything, the only difference was that this girl was too thin, causing her face to sink in a bit. And obviously, she was incredibly dirty. However, even the chubby guard, now more awake than last night, could see a bit of the Princess in this pitiful girl.

Adessia squirmed under the sudden scrutiny and feared that the Princess had the same thoughts as she did last night. Looking away, she waited for what the Princess had to say.

"You, girl. Look at me. What's your name?" Surprised to hear no anger in her voice, Adessia looked at the royal princess before her. Why was she even bothering to ask her name?

"Adessia, your highness."

The princess stared a bit longer, lost in her thoughts. Then, her lips quirked up into a mischievous smile and she turned away, walking back towards the entrance of the dungeon.

"Follow me, girl."

Adessia obediently followed without a word, confused. As they passed the entryway, Sir Phillip suddenly appeared behind her, also following wherever the Princess was leading them to. She concluded that Sir Phillip was the Princess' personal guard and that she might be seeing more of him depending on what the Princess had planned for her. Actually, the fact that the Princess had seemingly erased any hint of anger is what scared Adessia the most. What did this cynical princess have planned for her? Climbing up the stairs, they finally reached the above-level entrance to the dungeon. As they stepped outside, Adessia squinted her eyes, trying to adjust to the brightness of daylight. As they kept walking, she could see now that the dungeon was behind the Royal Castle, which seemed to be their destination.

Excitement and fear coursed through her veins, and Adessia thought whatever was to wait might not be so bad if she at least got to see inside the beautiful structure. However, she could never have imagined that she was willingly walking into what would be her new prison.