SELENE POV
The Queen tilted her head, the reflection of the torchlight flickering in her black eyes.
"Where is Mariam?" she asked.
"I don't know," I replied quietly. "The last time I saw my mom was when we were surrounded by strange men …. And she teleported us here."
The Queen stood motionless. Her face was expressionless, but I had a feeling she was thinking about what I said. After a few seconds she spoke. "My father searched every kingdom, near and far from Camelot, for my sister. He sent out his trusted men outside our borders as well." she paused. "He didn't leave any stone unturned…if he could, he would flip the world upside down in search of her."
The air stiffened.
She continued, "So tell me... where has she's been hiding all along?"
"I—"
Eve grasped my hand, her eyes glancing at the knights.
"I don't think I can say that here."
She stared at me, her eyes unblinking. Then she turned to the open door on the left. "Stand up S...Selene. A royal does not grovel on the floor. It's uncultured." She said, walking into the room. "Cedric, get a maid to lead them to the guest room. We will speak properly tomorrow."
The knights bowed down.
And the door clicked shut.
I stared at the closed door. She took my locket with her. My mom's, sure. But it's now mine, and it's the only thing I have of her. Will it be rude, if I just knocked and asked her to give it back?
No. I will ask for it back tomorrow...well in a few hours, since it's already morning.
Cedric stepped forward, hesitated a bit before bowing. "This way, please."
We followed him as he ordered one of the knights to fetch a maid. The other knights were told to continue patrolling the palace. I watched them march off in a straight line, their shadows trailing behind them.
We walked down the corridor. Cedric didn't even glance back as he escorted us to the guest room in silence, the soles of his boot clicking on the marble floor.
Katherine was holding my hand, while Eve examined each painting that we passed by. I didn't even bother looking around. All I needed right now is to sleep. I don't care if it's the bed or the floor. In fact, I don't even mind sleeping right on the marble floor.
A maid and a knight stood ahead in the hallway. When we reached them, the knight bowed slightly and walked away. The maid's ginger hair was tied to a bun with a white cloth. She wore a short sleeve white dress, with bags under her eyes. Her tired gaze rested on the three of us with an expression of a question mark.
"You are to make sure they're settled in" Cedric said calmly, his left hand resting at the hilt of his sword sheathed at his waist.
The maid tilted her head downward. " Yes, sir Cedric" she responded softly.
Cedric turned toward me and bowed before walking away like he's done with this pretence.
What's his problem?
The maid opened the door on the right side of the hallway. "One of you can settle down here," she said politely.
I glanced at Katherine and Eve beside me. "Mm..If you don't mind, can we sleep together? One room is enough for us." I asked softly. Sleeping right now is important but how can we sleep separately, when we can't guarantee our safety.
"I don't —"
"I promise it won't cause an issue for you," I said quickly, interrupting what sounded like a beginning of no.
She stood quietly for a bit , then nodded, opening the door wider for us to enter. The room was huge, the candlelights illuminated the whole room. There was a huge canopy bed at the center with a beautiful desk and cupboard near the window. Red Velvet curtains covered the window, the animal- skin rug beneath my feet looked so soft. A dressing table at the far corner of the room.
"Is this what all the rooms I peeked through looked like?" I asked.
"Maybe yes. Maybe no. Since we were searching for a person" Eve responded, with arms folded at her chest.
"Yeah, but the Queen room was better." Katherine said, utterly confident.
"Really?"
"Yes"
"You took a better look at the Queen's chamber while being dragged out" Eve asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. I was stunned by it" Katherine said with a small smile.
Hahaha
We laughed----It wasn't loud, but it was sweet and comforting.
I wrapped my arm around Katherine's shoulders. "Nice job screaming."
"Oh! That wasn't because I found her" Katherine said, scratching her head. "It was because your aunt scared the shit out of me."
"Scared?" Eve and I asked.
"How will you react when the first thing you see when you open the door is a woman with a white dress sitting up on the bed and the only candle beside her bed, casted a shadows over her face?" Katherine explained, her hands still scratching her head and the tips of her ear red. "So I screamed."
"So you didn't even properly enter the room" I said speechless.
"Pfft" the maid clasped a hand to stifle a laugh. She bowed slightly and hurried into the inner room.
Eve met my gaze, and we both struggled hard to hold ourselves from laughing.
Katherine swiftly removed my arm from her shoulders, and stood in front of us. "You have one second to laugh."
Hahaha!
Eve and my laughter resonated through the room.
"Enough" Kathy said, irritated.
"I'm sorry but you have to admit, it's funny" I said clasping my sides, the pain of being squashed by that man still lingering.
"Yeah" Eve responded.
"Ok, I get it" Eve mumbled, walking to the dressing table.
"The bath is ready," the maid said politely, her head lowered.
I glanced at Katherine and Eve before walking towards the bed. I climbed onto the soft bed, It was like walking on clouds. I laid down. Eve and Katherine bounced onto the bed.
The maid flinched.
"My ladies, you have to take a bath first," the maid cried.
"We will when we wake up," I said , making myself comfortable. Ignoring the stench and stickiness on my skin. " You can go now. Thank you."
The maid looked at us like we have desecrated the sacred altar before gently closing the door behind her. I slowly closed my eyes and I sighed in content.
I could finally get some rest.
My a...aunt will definitely know how to get us home.
I thought---- not knowing fate has another plan for its unwilling chess piece.