In my
haste
to get free of the tangling mass of bodies, I managed to trip over someone
’
s gown and tumble flat onto the floor. For a moment the loud gasps that broke out around the room seemed for someone else, but as the stars shooed from above my head and I regained some sense, I realized all eyes were on me.
“
Are you all right?
”
a voice said from above me, distant, yet so familiar. His face came into focus, his mask the first thing I see.
Beautiful
, I thought. His eyes were
so
…
Violet.
I cocked my head to the side
and tried
to see if I was
imagining things. And when that and blinking didn
’
t work, I knew.
“
Excuse me, pardon me.
”
Noah stood above me and sighed. He pulled me to my feet and m
y hair c
aught under someone
’
s heel.
I yelped when it tugged at my scalp.
“
I
’
m fine,
”
I assured Noah and all of our onlookers.
“
I just…um…missed a step, is all. Carry on.
”
“
Is your head all right?
”
Noah took me by the waist to sturdy me.
I wanted to answer, but a half glance across the room caused the words to escape me. The only thing that I could coherently put together was,
“
Ayden?
”
And yet I barely got that out before Noah was dragging me through the throng and away from
the violet-eyed
boy. I wanted to ask him what he was doing here. He was the only person I knew with eyes that brilliant. Yet, I w
as the only Thedibian with dark
hair and blue eyes. Somehow, we matched.
“
What happened to you? Where
’
d you go?
”
Noah questioned as we finally emerged to a corner
away from everybody
.
“
The balcony, for fresh air,
”
I answered over the music. I looked down at my feet and sighed.
“
I
’
m not so sure I can do this.
”
“
What was that?
”
he yelled.
“
I said I
’
m not sure I can do this. Get married and be your wife. I
’
m not really cut out to be a Queen, tonight has proven that.
”
The confusion that came together on his face was obvious.
“
You
’
ve been a princess for seventeen years of your life. What is one more year going to do to you?
”
I shook my head and blew the hair from my face.
“
You don
’
t understand. The title
‘
princess
’
doesn
’
t make me who I am. I choose that. What happens if I
’
m not happy, Noah? What have you then? Will you force me to love you?
”
His sigh was audible
over
the music
, but I caught his discomfort
. Raking his hands though his hair he said,
“
No. Of course not, but we don
’
t have a choice, Echo, and everyone is fine with that but you. You are the only one.
”
The music shifted
into
something a bit more slow. The lights dimmed and I found it hard to see Noah anymore. Voices from behind us said his family was calling us over, no doubt to find out about what happened. My eyes searched the ballroom again and I found the pair of violet eyes still watching me.
“
If so, then I am the only one willing to do something about it.
”
I turned back to him and frowned.
“
And I
’
m fine with that.
”
“
Echo, I didn
’
t—
”
I spun on my heels, just out of his reach, and lost myself in the crowd once again. Except this time with better purpose.
Ayden.
▪
Ayden
▪
I
didn
’
t expect the Princess to follow me. Granted I
hadn
’
t exactly planned to come,
I didn
’
t expect her to notice me so quickly either.
Or at all.
I ducked into the crowd, made sure to keep my head low, and
went straight for
the staircase that would lead me to the locked chambers.
I glanced behind me half way up the stairs and realized the Princess was but a few steps away from me. Determination was written all over her face. I smiled, finding it somewhat endearing.
“
I know it
’
s you,
”
she said from behind me. I kept walking, taking halls deeper into the fortress. Her steps became more persistent. She was making this harder on me than it already was.
Maybe if you hadn
’
t stood around gawking at her the whole damn time
, I chided myself
. Maybe the job would
’
ve
already
been done.
I stopped short of a forked hallway when I heard voices coming from around the bend. I ducked into the shadows and hid myself from view. They were ladies, I thought to myself with a frown, not guards at all. But when the ladies stopped the
Princess to
talk, I knew I had my chance. I emerged from the darkness and her eyes found mine immediately. I knew she had her chance to call me out and have me arrested for trespassing—hell, even robbery—but she stood there and talked to them as if she hadn
’
t seen me at all. Her eyes watched me as I left.
The Queen
’
s sacred chambers weren
’
t hard to find. In a literal sense, all I had to do was fol
low the voices of gossiping wome
n. Once I
’
d given them all a chance to clear out, I snuck in and locked the door behind me. For a moment I got caught up in the essence if the colossal room, taking in everything from the four-poster bed to the golden curtains that accentuated the crystal glasses and marble floors
. Though,
I couldn
’
t forget my reason for being here so easily,
it was my only reason, in fact.
To save my family.
I searched the dressers first, sifting through drawers of clothing, make up, and accessories.
Women
, I thought with a grimace.
When I gave up hope on the dressers, I tried the wardrobe, digging through coat pockets for anything. I
’
d almost assumed the room was empty when I stared down at the bottom of the wardrobe and found a jeweled box lying beneath fallen clothing. I reached for it
, the finality that I
’
d found something
hitting me with a wave of relief.
I didn
’
t hesitate
or freeze up like I did at Miss Othman
’
s shop
. I knew someone would be up here soon—or worse, the Princess would find me.
The box was no bigger than a shoe, but inside it held more than one would expect. Surprisingly, it wasn
’
t locked either. Inside held tons of images, most mainly of Thediby
’
s wide plains and fields—places I
could
only dream about.
A picture fell from the box and as I went to pick it u
p, the electric blue eyes of a
little girl staring back at me gave me pause. My fingers caressed the picture as if I could really reach out and touch her. She was young and
looked
happy, life
’
s burdens thrown to the wind without a single thought of remorse. She wore a
big,
toothy grin for the photographer with her arm slumped over another young boy. She was unrecognizable, but one thing was certain.
She was a Hunter.
Her
dirty clothing proved that.
I
pondered who she was or if she was alive,
who the young boy was and if he was still with her. Overall, I wondered if she knew her picture hid in a box at the bottom of the Queen
’
s wardrobe.
I dismissed the thoughts and shoved the photo into my breast pocket. It wasn
’
t important to me, but if it had been hidden for a purpose, it was important to someone. I rounded up the bills at the bottom of the small box and pushed them into th
e pockets within the
blazer
I
’
d borrowed from Adamo
.
Actually, most of what I wore tonight was from him, even the mask.
M
y hands shook violently
as I checked for anything out of its place and it made
it hard to focus on the noises outside in the hall.
Noises.
I stilled.
No, voices.
At
a stealthy pace, I shut the box
and returned it to its place in the wardrobe. The voices in the
hall grew nearer
and they seemed to coincide w
ith the beat of my heart, a loud hum
I could hear clearly now as I rushed to a corner of the room and hid behind the curtains.
The door knob shook momentarily and I held my breath. I cursed myself silently
and tried not to think too much ahead of myself
.
Unfortunately, that never worked.
They were going to catch me and I was going to be thrown into the King
’
s playing chambers.
The door eased open and someone stepped inside, their feet still on the parquet. My heart must
’
ve skipped a million beats then because I couldn
’
t hear its slow staccato rhythm in my ears anymore.
The door slammed shut and the sound of a lock being turned resonated through the room to where I stood.
“
I know you
’
re in here,
”
she said.
I released a small breath, but wasn
’
t relieved in the slightest.
“
Ayden, I know it is you.
”
Frowning, I moved from behind the curtains and stood a yard
’
s length away from her. She looked beautiful. I resisted the urge to look her directly in the eyes, but the Princess was everything the guys had made her out to be and so much more.
“
How did you know—
”
I started.
“
How did I know it was you? As if
watching you sneak
into the room wasn
’
t clue enough?
”
she said, echoing my earlier words. Her gaze on me turned curious.
“
What are you doing in my mother
’
s sacred chambers, Ayden? She isn
’
t here to grant you the permission, and she still wouldn
’
t have had she been here.
”
All thoughts of her beauty shifted when I became aware of the money and the picture in my pocket.
“
How did you get in? The door was locked.
”
She held up her wrist to me and the key on her bracelet sparkled in the dim florescent lights.
“
Miss Ashley has the key to every room in this palace, as every Floor
K
eeper does. Good thing I ran into her, eh?
”
She frowned and moved closer to me.
“
Why are you here?
”
“
I
’
m here in service,
”
I said without missing a beat. It would have been a good lie had I been a good liar.
She glanced over at the wardrobe and my eyes followed. I hadn
’
t closed the wardrobe, not completely. She didn
’
t seem to notice this because she turned back to me and said,
“
What is it like where you come from?
”