Reeja's POV

I laid there on the cold concrete floor, doodling with the piece of chalk Niall had slipped through the bars a few days previous. I felt it grow smaller and smaller against my grip. The floor was covered in random drawings filled with no meaning whatsoever. There were numerous stars, hearts, and plenty of tic-tac-toe I played with the disgruntled guard.

It was difficult being confined, but I was at least grateful for the little amount of hospitality Niall offered. I just wished Victoria would be this lenient on Grace.

"I never knew you were such an artist," Someone chuckled as they entered the room. I turned my head to see Niall, his head peeking through a basket of food.

"What's all that?"

"An apology gift." He tossed me a buttered roll through the bar. "I know the food they give to you is awful so I brought this for you. And I want you to know that one, I'm sorry for accusing you, and two, I'm sorry for making you stay down here for so long." He passed some more food through the door.

"Thank you, Niall,"

"Of course. Oh, and be careful to save the food because this is supposed to last you until lunch."

"What's for dinner?"

He hesitated. "Don't get too excited, but tonight's dinner will be eaten at the masquerade."

I sat up straight when I heard the news. "Took long enough." I couldn't wait to be able to walk further than seven feet.

"It's going to be a bit difficult, so I need you to follow every one of my instructions for this to work."

"Got it."

"Louis and the rest of the boys are coming to the ball. I'm going to get you out of here and you're going to join Louis. Since it's the masquerade, no one should be able to recognize you."

"How are you going to get me out without a guard catching you? Have you talked to your father about it?"

"My father wouldn't believe a word if I told him. Due to the recent, well, you know, events, all of the guards will be attending to the Queen. Security is going to be high. They believe the dungeon won't need guards because it has "top security"; little do they know I have access to security cameras, keys, and pretty much everything you could imagine. Just trust me on this one."

"If you say so," I replied. We sat in silence for a moment as Niall seemed to struggle to tell me something.

"Reeja?" I looked up. "Do you think you'd be able to get Grace here?"

"I don't think I will be able to. But I'll try my best."

~ ~ ~

Niall's POV

I heard a loud commotion at the door and knew immediately who had finally arrived at the palace. Usually, I would be overjoyed with the presence of my best friends, but this time I felt unready. I knew they would be able to tell something was off and I didn't want them to baby me.

I brushed off my suit and walked over to greet them. Louis, Zayn, Harry, and Liam tackled me in a hug and I couldn't help but still feel grateful for their support. The boys walked back to their girlfriends, but Louis lingered with me.

"Where is she?" He whispered, a concerned look on his face.

"I can't take you to her yet," I replied apologetically. "Could I take one of the girls to help her get into her masquerade attire? That way it'll be easier to let her out as she's disguised."

He nodded, disappointment washing over him. "Brooke would be the best one for the job."

~ ~ ~

"How do I look?" Reeja posed through the bars, making weird faces with her Colombina mask.

"Thankfully, unrecognizable." She donned a red gown with a matching feathered mask. She looked different with her hair pulled back in braids.

"Now get me out of here."

I opened the gates as she dashed through, her heels clicking on the stone floor. Brooke laughed as she watched Reeja twirl around and stretch her legs. "Quiet down, would you? Save the excitement for when you're disguised in the chatty ball."

"Will anyone be suspicious when they see me with Louis?"

"I don't think anyone will put the two together. Besides, as far as they're aware, you're still in your cell. But if anyone asks, your name is Ayla Grover, who Louis works with back home."

"I'm going to forget that name in approximately 3 seconds but thanks anyway,"

I rolled my eyes as I led her up the echoing staircase. She was to join the rest of the group and hopefully blend in with their decorative attire. I just hoped there weren't guards posted at the top of the stairwell. I'm lucky Reeja is a quick liar, otherwise, I'd be shaking with anxiety.

Finally, we made it to the top of the staircase, though not a soul was in sight. I peeked around the door to make sure there were no officers; we were in luck. I waved Brooke and Reeja over and led them towards the end of the hallway.

We didn't make it very far, however, when a few guards met us face to face.

I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. Brooke's face flushed white and her hands began to shake. Reeja, on the other hand, was completely unaware. She thought I had it under control, but quite the opposite was true.

What were the guards doing here? Shouldn't they be attending to Kaitlyn? And what happened to Louis?

"Your majesty, who are these young ladies with you?" The head guard questioned, a hint of skepticism in his voice. "Melody told me you would be over here."

"Officer . . ." I squinted at his badge. "Robinson, this is my dear friend Brooke who has come to visit." She curtsied. "And this is Ayla Grover—"

The other guard quickly responded. "Isn't that the Reeja girl?"

"I think you're mistaken, sir, for Miss Reeja is still in her cell downstairs."

He ignored my words and reached for Reeja's mask. My skin grew cold and clammy as his hand got closer and closer. Before I could realize what happened, Reeja punched the officer square in the nose and he fell to the floor. Officer Robinson quickly pinned her against the wall.

"Quit moping and get the other two!" Robinson yelled to the other guard on the floor.

He advanced towards me, blood dripping from his rage-filled face.

"Officer, please!" Brooke jumped in front of him before he could reach me.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

She ignored me and continued to address the guard. "Don't do anything to Niall, please. He was simply escorting me to my room. I was the one who took Reeja and lied to him. He was being nothing but a gentleman. I deserve to be locked up. Not him." She faked a loving smile at me.

"What—" I began until Brooke stomped on my foot to stop me. I winced as she mouthed 'play along'. I glared at her before continuing. "What? You lied to me? I trusted you, Brooke!"

The guards exchanged confused looks before letting me go. I stood there as I watched the officers take the two young ladies back down into the dungeon. Reeja gave me one last look of fear before she tossed a paper to the floor behind her.

"to louis:

i'm writing this in my Cell, for i feAr it's too good to be true that i'm actuaLly Leaving it. i have a feeling i'M goIng to be stuck here for a whiLe. have fun at the masquerade, lOve, and don't have too much fun. Give eveRyone A hug for me. also, grab me some CranbErry pIe and visit me dowN here while you're at iT. and if it happens that i wRote this letter fOr nothing, i guess we'll have a good laUgh about it. love you, Babe, aLso, my favoritE number is this: 02068490256. i was just thinking about that."

~ ~ ~

"She wrote this for you, not sure it makes much sense though." I handed Louis the letter Reeja dropped.

He studied it for a moment. "Bring me a pen and paper please." I tossed over the stationary and looked at him, expecting him to explain. "You see," He continued. "Some words are capitalized mid-sentence, some aren't capitalized at all."

"And?"

"You're hopeless. Have you not read a single mystery novel?" He shook his head. "Usually, the capitalized words spell something out."

He studied the letter yet again and began writing letters down. "C, A, L, L" He continued to scribble things out until he set down the pen. "It says 'call Milo, Grace in trouble." He hesitated. "And her 'favorite number' must be Milo's phone. Who is Milo anyways?"

"Milo is Grace's brother," I said. "Oh, I hope this works."

"I'll make sure of it. Don't worry, I've got everything under control. You go join your parents. I'm sure they're waiting for you."

~ ~ ~

Grace's POV

I stared at the door. I could feel my face grow pale as the numerous footsteps grew louder and louder. Milo took the kids to the park, and Victoria already left, hadn't she? No tears rolled through my cheeks, but I was on the edge of hysterics. I was already a wreck knowing Reeja never returned and the love of my life was going to die tonight. A group of burglars was not helping.

Finally, the mysterious group made it to my door. It was locked from the outside so they had the perfect chance to get in.

I was going to die.

The door creaked open and I saw the figure of a man standing there. But he was quickly shoved out of the way when two shadows ran through the door.

My fear was replaced with surprise as Joy and Chana ran to my side. "What are you two doing here!"

"We've come to get you out! Oh, how could you live like this?" Joy cried as she held me tightly. "Why didn't you ever tell me you were treated this way?"

"I was scared," I whispered.

"It's okay to be scared, dear, but it isn't okay, or normal for that matter, for you to be treated this way," She kissed me on the forehead before beckoning the boys to come closer.

Louis, Harry, Zayn, and Liam came into sight before I realized someone was missing. "Where's Brooke?"

Chana gave me a look of sympathy. "There's a lot to catch you up on. But first, let's get you out of these chains."

Louis held up a pair of keys. "Knicked these from the guard that took Reeja,"

"Hold on a second, what happened to Reeja?"

"It's a long story, we'll explain in a second." He said as he focused his attention on the handcuffs attached to my legs.

Finally, they unclipped. I jumped up without hesitation, for once ignoring the bruises all over my body. I could move. I could move! I paraded around the room, dancing around without a care in the world.

"Not so fast, young lady," Chana laughed as she dragged me to the bathroom. "You're coming with us to the ball whether you like it or not. But to do that we're going to have to get you ready."

She went straight to work covering my bruises with foundation while the rest of the group made themselves at home on the bathroom floor.

"I guess I'll explain our plan while we get you ready," Louis started. "I'll explain the Brooke and Reeja situation after." I nodded in agreement and he continued. "You're going to be my 'plus one' in place of Reeja. That way, nobody will suspect you if they see you with me. And don't worry, no one will recognize you with your mask." He added when he saw the skeptical look on my face. "You'll be introduced as Leslie Doyle. Now here's where the plan starts. First, Gracey, you're staying safe from harm in the ballroom keeping a close eye on Victoria, while the rest of us corner Melody and ask her for information. When we successfully get all the info and lock Melody up, we'll corner Victoria and you keep watch on the King and Queen. Do not get involved, or do anything I don't tell you to do. It will end badly. You're the only one who truly knows what's going on and we can't get you in trouble. And, you can't be recognized by anyone. Not even Niall — He can't know you're here because he'll make a big fuss out of it knowing the romantic he is. Got it?"

I nodded. "That's a lot of information but I think I got it. All I have to do is keep an eye on Victoria. Shouldn't be too difficult."

"Hopefully not. Now let's get out of here."

I took one last look in the mirror, admiring my royal blue dress, before putting on my feathered mask and heading out the door.

This should be easy.

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a/n 

I'M SORRY I HAVEN'T WRITTEN OUT A CHAPTER IN LIKE 2 MONTHS I WAS BUSY LIVING OUT MY ROMCOM DREAMS 

school's finally out and I've got pretty much nothing to do (except for the fact I was adopted by extroverts who want to hang out like every day of the week it's killing me slowly) so hopefully more chapters (I say that every time)

did anyone catch on to reeja's letter?? pls say yes otherwise that would be awkward

AND NEXT CHAPTER IS THE MOMENT WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR BRING POPCORN EHE 

ALSO, we're like 90 or so reads away from hitting 4K!!! I'm so excited and grateful for every single one of you!

ily all SO MUCh <3

p.s. i hope you like the new cover!