I retired to my chambers early. I wanted to get as much sleep as possible before exploring the secret passages. When I got to my room I saw a book, on top of my bed, with a note attached to it. It was the book that I had been reading in the library. Dylan had been paying attention.

Princess, I noticed that you forgot something in the library. Maybe you were too distracted by the view? the gardens are truly beautiful in the morning.

I could visualize him winking at me, having that smug smirk of his plastered all over his face.

If you'd like to thank me in person, you know where to find me. I hope you enjoy your book.

Yours Truly
Dylan

I wondered if I had been the only one to read the note. It seemed like Dylan had delivered the book in person. On the other hand, a maid could have entered my room and read it in my absence. I would find out soon enough. Gossip this juicy would spread around the castle fast. I don't know why, but I kept the note.

When I opened my eyes again it was still nighttime. Without wasting any time I grabbed my robe, five candlesticks, and my two silver daggers.

I was already making my way to the library when I heard the sound of voices and footsteps. My heart was pounding. I could hear the blood rushing through my body. I couldn't think. I froze in the middle of the corridor. As the seconds passed, the voices grew louder and cleared.

I hissed. I could do this, I was trained to do this. I took a depth breath and thought. The voices were coming for the right. They were guards making their rounds. They were lazy, their conversation was casual. They weren't paying too much attention. That was my advantage.

I scanned the hall, I still had a few seconds before they found me. I crushed my body into a hidden corner. The light of the torches didn't reach my hiding spot.  I crouched my body, covering myself with the black robe. I forced myself to closed my eyes and lift my head, making my ragged breathing barely audible.

Just as I had finished positioning myself, they turned the corner. Their footsteps gave away their numbers: there were four of them. They split, two of them must have gone to the other hallway while the other two approached my hiding spot.  My instincts screamed to get away, run, knock them out and scape. I held my breath and remained as still as a corpse.

Next thing I knew it was over, the passed me. They hadn't seen me. They continued nonchalantly with their rounds. I waited for a couple of minutes to be safe.

The library was barely lit thanks to the few torches that spread around the room. After making sure I was alone, I made my way to the tapestry.  I didn't want to leave the hidden door completely open. Someone could come into the library and find it. I didn't want to close it either, I didn't know if I would be able to open it from the inside. Finally, I decided to leave a small gap, using a book as a doorstop, to make sure it wouldn't close by accident. After putting everything in place, I contemplated the tapestry from the outside. It was impossible to tell that there was a door behind it.

The passage was dark and full of dust. I climbed the long stairs. I took a piece of chalk that I had hidden in my bra this afternoon and started marking the turns and walls. If my assumptions were right these halls would be huge and abandoned. In other words, it would be quite easy to get lost in them and no one would ever find me. If I disappeared a war would erupt between Kaerndall, my kingdom, and The Highlands, Dylan's kingdom. I didn't want that to happen, at least not yet.

There were torches in the wall. They hadn't been used for a long time, the wood of the stick was rotten. I could replace them with new ones, but I preferred to not alert anyone of my presence in the tunnels.

The main path divided into three different options. I headed to my right.  The silence made me uncomfortable.

I had always been a little bit hyperactive and impulsive; always moving and trying new things. Having to be so quiet and careful was difficult. Out of all the training I went through, they only things that didn't come naturally were: thinking things through, not being impulsive, remain still for long periods of time...

Austin, on the other hand, in that regard was everything I wasn't. I always thought he'd be the better king. He would make smarter choices, but he lacked creativity. When we were cornered, I was the one to come up with the plan, the crazier it was the better. We complemented each other. That's why we were such a good team. Together we were invincible. Loyal to our last breath.

As I was marking my last turn, I heard them. I had gotten distracted, I was about to fail my mission. They would turn the corner and find me there. Panic fought to take over my body and mind. I suppressed it.

I blew my candle and drew out my daggers. I crouched next to the wall. Waiting for them to turn the corner, but no one came.

I knew I had heard guards, they couldn't have vanished.

The sound of footsteps faded away and so did the voices. I lighted my candle and carefully kept walking. One of my daggers in my hand, the other one, already hidden.

There was nothing special about the tunnel. More stone, dampness and rotten torches. That's what I first thought. Something on the floor glimmed, there was a golden grille on the floor. I dropped to the ground and looked through it. I saw the castle's hallways.

I remembered now. I had seen these golden ornaments all over the castle, I thought they were just decoration. They were in the throne room, in the ballroom, near the entrances...

I had made the discovery of the century. Chances are that there were grilles in the meetings room, in the Royal family bedchambers, Dylan's room...

I had free access to the entire castle, to its inhabitants' secrets. I allowed myself to feel the joy, the instant gratification although I knew it wouldn't last very long. Everything came with a price, and this one, in particular, would be very high. Would it be worth it?  I didn't know yet, but I would find out soon enough.

I had spent the last few hours roaming the tunnels, locating and marking the different rooms around the castle. I discovered several entrances. There was one in the kitchen, but it was blocked by a cabinet. Another one was in the gardens, hidden in plain sight thanks to the ivy that covered the castle walls. The last entrance was on the ballroom.

Grilles had also been placed in the king and queen's chambers. As the sunrise started to approach, I decided to make the prince's room my last stop.

I was pleasantly surprised by what I encountered. Dylan, the golden boy, the always perfect prince, was sitting in his desk with a loose white shirt and messy hair.

His room was a mess too, tons of books and papers were scattered around him. Lots of paintings decorated his room: Ice Peak's castle, Atlas' Peak, which separated The Highlands from Kaerndall and Lion's harbor, the most important and beautiful harbor in The Highlands.

I would never admit it out loud but its beauty surpassed any of my kingdom's harbors. I almost gasped when I recognized a painting of Kaerndall's market.

His iron armor was placed on the farthest corner of his room. Next to it, there was the sword that he always carried around. It was magnificent. A powerful iron blade with a golden and intricate handle.

As mighty and deathly Dylan's sword was, I preferred my daggers. The have been a gift from Austin, he had give them to me the night before our first quest. I haven't gone anywhere without them ever since.

Dylan looked through the piles of paper while he cursed. He took a deep breath and started talking.

"Father, Councilmen, the rebel threat must be crushed by any means. Our kingdom is suffering and the longer this goes on the more weak we present ourselves at.

It's evident that what we've been doing until now, despite our efforts it's not enough and it's not working. We need to change strategies.

The interminable chase of the rebels will end up costing us most of our gold if we are not careful. The sabotages to merchants ships damage our economy.

Because if that I suggest the imposition of a curfew, and offer high rewards for information agains the rebels. Retribution and massive arrest have not been effective. Brute force might not be enough this time to suffocate the rebel threat."

He went on to repeat the speech several times, changing its order, the tone of his voice, his body posture or even the way he gesticulates until he deemed it perfect.

Maybe he wasn't running around the castle looking for secret passageways, but just like I had, Dylan had devoted his life to serve his country.

Our Courts were very different, but, maybe the prince and I weren't so different after all, just maybe.

I decided to make my way back to the library before Dylan went. As I was closing the secret door I started to panic, my robe and silk nightgown were full of dirt and dust. I was desperately trying to clean myself up as much as I could when I heard the door.

He was there and probably expected me to make an appearance. Dylan would notice, he was always paying attention when it came to me. I could go back to the tunnels and wait until he left. No, that wasn't an option. As the day progressed, the type of clothes I wore and their condition would cause suspicion. I could try to scape through the garden, but I was not familiar enough with the guard's rounds. I would be easily compromised.

I did what I do best, fight my way out of the corner. I hid my daggers and without making a sound I made my way to the ink. I screamed as I slipped, falling while spilling ink all over my clothes. A second later, I saw Dylan running towards me.

"Aelyn, are you okay? What happened ?" He bent down right next to me. Dylan put his hands on both of my shoulders, turning me towards him.

He was extremely close to me. His ocean blue eyes scanned my body, his eyebrows furrowed as he awaited my answer.

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. I just couldn't quite reach the ink, and well, I think we both know what happened next." We both laughed. He moved and put a bit more distance between us.

"Really? You will laugh at a lady in distress instead of helping her?"

My teasing comment had caused his cheeks to turn pink.

He got up and I offered him my hand as I asked, "Will you help me?"

He helped me to get back on my feet. I purposefully stood as close to him as I could, our hands still clasped together.

I inclined my head, closing the distance between both of us. His muscles were rigid as if he had frozen in place.

Just before our lips touched I moved my head and pressed them close to his ear while whispering a thank you.

Dylan cleared his throat and gently dropped my hands as he put some distance between us.

"I didn't know if you would come."

"I'm not fond of liars, Dylan. You knew I would. Your "gift" was quite convincing."

It was ironic. I had said again and again that I didn't like liars, but I hadn't stopped lying since I arrived.

Dylan, who always projected an image of perfection, knew I would come. He still appeared with a loose shirt and messy hair. He was allowing me to see the real him. He was starting to trust me, maybe even developing some short of feelings towards me. My plan was working.

His hand played with his hair.

"I will keep that in mind, Princess." He smirked after saying my nickname. He wanted a reaction. I raised my eyebrows as I smiled.

I tried to keep the conversation going. The more we talked the closer we would get. If I managed to make him trust me, I could maybe visit him in his room.

It seemed like he spend much of his free time preparing for meeting or looking over papers. If only I could get my hand on those papers, they would be incredibly useful for Kaerndall.

I tried to keep the conversation going. "So yesterday, after our little encounter, I came back to the library to write a couple of letters. The librarians looked like they had seen a ghost. For a second, I thought I had forgotten to put some clothes on or something."

"I would have loved to see that. I guess they are not used to seeing princesses in here."

"And why is that? Do you want to keep it all to yourself, Prince?"

"No, not at all. People don't usually visit the library. That's why I started coming."

"I hope you didn't mind me intruding into your safe space."

"No, not at all, Aelyn. I found our encounter to be quite pleasant. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who enjoys reading."

"You know, Dylan, maybe we are not as different as I once thought."

Maybe I was being too direct, but I needed this to work, I needed to keep Dylan interested in me at all cost. Dropping this small confessions, would most likely make him believe that I somehow trusted him and would eventually be followed by confessions of his own.

When someone has their guards down they won't even pay attention to what they are saying. Maybe he would admit he didn't desire the throne. Perhaps he would admit he didn't like the way his father ruled; maybe he'd say that the Royal Council and the King disregarded his ideas. The possibilities were endless

And any confession if that kind would be extremely useful. If you understood your enemy, their way of thinking, their motivations, then you'd always be a step ahead.

This time, it was Dylan who tried to prolongue the conversation. "So, who were you writing to yesterday? Maybe a handsome Crown Prince?"

"Umm not quite. I wrote to my parents...and Sir Austin Silverhall."

Dylan's smile faltered, barely fading away before reappearing with a slight tremble.

"Were you going to write him again when the ink fell?" he pressed.

He broke eye contact, taking sudden interest in a book on the shelf, but kept his posture relaxed as if to maintain some nonchalance.

"Not that is any of your concern, but yes."

The conversation had taken a dangerous direction. I needed to get out.

"I will see you around, Dylan. I need to change." Without waiting for his response, I left the library.

Authors note:
What did you think about Dylan's letter?
What are your thoughts on Austin? Do you guys think he'll make an appearance soon?
What are your thoughts on Aelyn's discovery?

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Reviewed by Nico610