The morning sunlight streaming through the window, couldn't touch the cold that had settled deep inside Olivia's chest.
The first thing she felt when she opened her eyes wasn't peace but was the throbbing ache in her palm.
The makeshift cloth bandage she'd wrapped around it last night was already stained with dried blood, a very real reminder that what happened in the basement was not a dream.
Olivia exhaled slowly, like all the energy in her soul was escaping with the breath trapped in her chest.
"Huffff."
She kicked her legs against the soft mattress and patted her own small cheeks.
"It's okay. OLIVIA YOU HAVE TO BE STRONG!!" she said to herself, forcing a smile.
Then she hurried to get ready and slipped out of her room.
The moment she stepped out, she spotted Madam Irene emerging from Ophlia's chamber.
Madam Irene walked past, then stopped. And turned toward Olivia.
Olivia's heart immediately seized.
"Oh no, what if she saw me sneaking out last night. I'm finished,"
she thought, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Please don't," she begged internally.
A hand came to rest on her shoulder.
"Olivia. Princess Ophlia is eating her favourite chocolates. Go keep her company, she doesn't want anyone near her except you and Celine," Madam Irene said, her expression serious as always.
Olivia nodded and excused herself before stepping into Ophlia's room.
*"Phewww,"* she exhaled internally.
She walked in with her cheeriest expression, like nothing had happened at all.
As usual she chatted with Ophlia, that was her role as personal attendant after all.
TOK TOK TOK.
"Your Highness, it is I, Celine," came Celine's soft voice from outside.
"Come in," Ophlia answered, watching for Celine to appear.
The moment Celine entered the room, the three of them fell into easy chatter, bright and lively as children always are.
Right in the middle of their fun, Madam Irene walked in.
Olivia immediately straightened and positioned herself beside Ophlia without missing a beat.
Madam Irene said nothing. She simply arranged a large spread of sweets on the table in front of them, then quietly excused herself.
Ophlia, who absolutely adored sweets, reached for a pudding without hesitation.
Before it reached her mouth ... Olivia stopped her.
"Ah ....Your Highness, please allow me to taste it first. To make sure it's safe," she said, her face completely serious.
Both Ophlia and Celine went quiet and nodded.
"Mmm this is so good,"
Olivia whispered internally, eyes nearly rolling back from how good the pudding tasted.
"Okay. Safe," she declared, nodding with great authority.
And without another word the three of them settled into comfortable conversation, snacking on everything laid out before them.
"OHHH MY GOD!! THIS IS AMAZING," Olivia screamed inside her own head.
The cake that melted the moment it hit her tongue had her internally losing her mind.
"I really like these biscuits," Olivia said while chewing happily. She single-handedly worked through an entire jar of them until she was the only one left eating.
Ophlia laughed.
"If you like them that much just take them..you too, Celine," she said warmly, sliding the jar toward both of them.
Celine's eyes lit up as she reached in and picked her favourite.
Ophlia, who didn't particularly like sweets, took one anyway... then noticed Olivia hadn't taken anything else.
"Olivia, aren't you taking more?" Ophlia asked.
Just as Olivia was about to nod, something crossed her mind.
The boy in the basement.
She reached in and quietly took a few biscuits, wrapping them in her handkerchief under the table.
"You're not taking the whole jar?" Ophlia asked, looking slightly disappointed.
"Ahh !..it's fine, save the rest for Your Highness," Olivia said quickly.
"It's alright, there's plenty more. They can make more anytime I ask," Ophlia insisted.
Reluctantly, Olivia accepted the jar. Ophlia's disappointed face immediately brightened.
"What can I do," Olivia thought, resigning herself with a tired expression.
Without anyone noticing, evening had crept in around them. As always the three of them eventually returned to their own rooms.
Ophlia's nanny would be with her through the night.
CLICK.
The door shut.
"Today felt like the longest day," Olivia murmured quietly.
But tonight her routine was different. Instead of sitting down to write her daily notes .... she had somewhere to be.
She cleaned herself up, then carefully wrapped the biscuits from Ophlia in her handkerchief and tucked them away.
She moved toward the door ...then stopped.
The guard.
She needed a reason.
Olivia pressed a hand dramatically against her stomach, wincing. She tucked the biscuits carefully inside her clothes. Then she picked up her lantern and smiled to herself.
Sneaky.
CLICK.
Her door opened. She shuffled out, still holding her stomach with great dedication.
"Owww... owww..."
"Where are you going?" the guard asked.
"I need to use the toilet," she said, clutching her stomach with full commitment.
The guard went quiet and let her pass.
"Thank youuu,"
she said .... and the moment she turned away
YESSS!! MISSION COMPLETE!!
She pumped her fist internally like she'd just won a battle.
She walked forward, checking left, right, ahead and behind to make absolutely sure no one was watching.
When she reached the garden she pushed through the overgrown bushes until she spotted the dry leaves she had carefully arranged over the secret entrance.
She descended the old wooden staircase slowly.
CREAK.
The old steps groaned loudly enough to fill the entire basement.
"SHHHH!!" Olivia hissed at the stairs.
Then she carefully eased the door open, making sure not to startle him.
Olivia stepped in slowly. The dim flame of her lantern danced against the damp stone walls. Her heart beat loud .... loud enough that she was sure the silence of the basement could hear it.
She moved toward the boy.
The golden chains around his wrists caught the faint lantern light and glimmered, a strange and heartbreaking sight.
Then , his eyes opened. Slowly.
Olivia nearly dropped the lantern.
He didn't scream. Didn't fight. He simply looked at her with eyes that seemed to have long forgotten what hope felt like. There was dried blood at the corner of his lip that made Olivia's chest squeeze tight.
"W...who?" His voice was rough, barely there.
Olivia swallowed. She quickly set the lantern down on the floor and pulled out the handkerchief of biscuits with slightly trembling hands.
"I... I just want to help," she whispered, careful not to let her voice carry to the guards above.
"Here. Eat. You must be hungry, right?"
The boy went still.
He looked at the biscuits in her hand. Then he looked at her face, her small, sincere, warm face. For the first time, something in his expression shifted. Not empty anymore. Full of a thousand unasked questions.
He reached out and took them. And ate like he hadn't eaten in days.
"Hey ... slowly," Olivia whispered.
He slowed down immediately, following her instruction without a word.
Olivia blinked.
"Aww, good boy," she said, smiling brightly.
The boy's eyes went slightly wide , as if he hadn't heard words like that in a very long time. He stopped chewing for a moment, staring at her face with an expression she couldn't quite read.
Olivia felt the time slipping away. She couldn't stay long.
With a heavy heart she stood and picked up her lantern.
"I have to go now. Tomorrow... if I can, I'll come back," she whispered.
Before stepping out she turned back one last time, he was still sitting there, slightly dazed, the handkerchief of biscuits still in his hands.
"Finish those, okay?" Olivia said, smiling her brightest smile.
The boy sat frozen.
In this basement that smelled of damp and rot and loneliness, her face was the only colour in the room.
Her smile wasn't just pretty.
It felt like the first ray of sunlight he had felt after years of living in the dark.
He couldn't move. He forgot the pain in his wrists. He forgot, for a moment, to breathe. He had never seen anyone smile at him like that not once, in all the time he had been locked in here.
Olivia, completely unaware of his eyes following her, turned and walked away with light, easy steps.
Leaving him sitting there, frozen, the remaining biscuits in his hand tasting sweeter than anything he had ever eaten before.
"So bright,"
he whispered softly, watching the space where she had been.
Without realising it, his lips curved into a smile.
TO BE CONTINUED...