I checked around every corner to make sure that I would not bump into any kings or queens in the palace. When I was sure the coast was clear, I snuck to the door of the medical wing, and peered through a gap in the door.


    The ceiling was high and the room airy, facing away from the cruelty of the Sun. In rows, beds with clean, white sheets were separated by dividers made of woven wood. The scene was quiet and safe - occupied only by healers, wounded soldiers, and a lone Emiliano.


    Through the crack I had made, I slid in, making quiet footsteps to remain unnoticed. I approached Emiliano''s bed, bubbling with exhiliarion, but when he turned to meet my gaze, the excitement halted. He adorned an eyepatch which would remain for the rest of his life, and as anyone would be, he appeared despondent. It felt in bad taste to blurt out that I would continue alone despite the great losses that had resulted from my investigation, and so I avoided the subject entirely.


    "Emiliano. Are you alright?"


    "It is not infected." He quipped, "And you, Andres?


    I swallowed.


    "I am fine."


    "I am glad of it." He nodded, the sadness obvious in his remaining eye despite his soft smile. For a moment, we basked in the calm of the silence around us. Eventually, he spoke again. "I presume you have spoken to your mother and father?"


    "Yes." I said, fighting through the knot that caught in my throat.


    "Pray tell."


    "They are cancelling the investigation. They want me to marry Princess Alice. Which would mean… this was all for nothing."


    "The United Realms are a strong ally to have. I suppose it is the better outcome, given our unfortunate circumstances."


    His speech was laced with doubt.


    "I don''t want it to be over." I told him, "I have found something; something big; and I-"


    "-Please, do not tell me, Andres. If you have plans to rebel, I do not wish to know."


    I squinted at him, understanding the grief and defeat in his tone. A part of myself, however, convinced me that maybe I could change his mind. I tried to speak, but Emiliano caught my words.


    "If you tell me your plans, I will have no choice but to tell your father for your own safety and for mine. Do what you must. Just do not burden me with the knowledge of it. I desire no part. I desire no guilt."


    No matter how close he was to me, I knew where his loyalty lied, and it would never yield. Sadly, I nodded.


    "Very well."


    "Please do not think of me as traitorous. In truth, Andres, you are the closest thing I have to a son. But I swore an oath, and I do not wish to break it. Whatever you must do now, be safe."


    He took my hand and squeezed it in his. I felt a single tear leave my eye, as though this was some kind of final goodbye. Emiliano had always been the one I had gone to first with anything I ever needed, but now he was no longer that person. No longer was he my tutor, nor my guardian - but a friend; a friend who I had to accept had bigger responsibilities besides me. From then on, I had to go alone. I had to be independent if I wanted to be a man.


    "You are a good man, Emiliano." I said. His smile returned.


    "And you have grown stronger than I have ever known you to be. Goodbye, Andres. Until we meet again."


    His fingers slid away from mine, leaving me incomplete. Without warning, I dived forward and hugged him tight, feeling the warmth one would only ever feel from a dear friend. He hugged me back, tapping lightly and comfortingly on my shoulder until I finally forced myself away.


    "I''ll return. I promise."


    I left the wing, feeling even lonelier than I was when I had entered.


    From there, I caught my reflection in the mirrors of the hallways, and ruffled my hair out of its usual slicked-back state. I allowed it to be messy for the first time, covering my recognisability to the guards who let me walk by without question.


    I descended to the soldiers quarters, which were left empty and quiet as the soldiers went to bathe, leaving behind stray, filthy clothes and mudded boots. With a rush of adrenaline, I scanned the room, holding my breath to not take in its rancid stench. From the right, I grabbed a creased shirt and a hooded cloak that looked closest to my size, and on the far left, a belt and a pair of trousers which only reached my shins - the only pair which I knew I wouldn''t trip over. I recognized them as Zolin''s, and while guiltily rummaging through the rest of his offerings, I came across an odd discovery: a clean mass of bandages taken from the medical wing. I feared that he had gotten injured but hadn''t admitted it, but sadly, I had no time to ask. I grabbed everything I could and changed rapidly, looking around frantically to make sure I wouldn''t get caught. In place of the clothes I had stolen, I left my own behind, part of me certain that they would notice anyway.


    With the cloak pulled over my head, I exited and turned out of the corridor, through the next set of doors, and into the gardens. I crossed the hedge maze that I knew all too well, and ran along the palm trees and the flower bushes to sneak my way around the back of the stables.


    The stables, although made of stone, were backed with wooden planks which smelled of old horse manure. I was pressed against the wall, forced to slide sideways through the gap. I could hear the horses snorting and chomping, accompanied by the sound of a brush scraping through a mane.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    "There you go, Lozen. Good girl."


    I stopped. I knew that voice.


    I peered through a hole between the wooden planks. As I predicted, it was Zolin, grooming the mane of a chestnut brown horse. His hair was in its usual mess, and the clothes he wore were clean but baggy. He didn''t seem injured, although he was paler and more tired-looking since I saw him the night before. I wondered to myself why he was there, not bathing with the others, but spending time alone. I assumed he would bask in the glory of his heroic deed, and surround himself with the adoring men who once mocked him. But there, he was humble, acting as though nothing had occurred. As much as I wanted to speak with him, I shuffled away.


    Laying low, I ran quietly into the trees, not feeling alone until I was well into their depths, shaded away from the Sun''s watchful eye. My exposed shins scraped against harsh thorns, but it was not enough to deter me. At last, I reached the outer wall, and hid myself behind the nearest tree, watching the guards patrolling above.


    I looked on in defeat, waiting for someone to notice me. There was no chance that I could climb over without being seen, nor was there any way that I could break through the thick stone. My eyes travelled downwards. Below, a patch of sludge. A possible escape route.


    To dig a hole, however, would be impossible to accomplish. The walls were at least six inches deep into the ground, and the guards would definitely notice me digging in the hours it would take to do so. That was not even to mention the possibility of suffocating in the mud, or, if I was to somehow succeed, the attention brought on me as a mud-coated runaway.


    I checked around for a solution. I had to be careful. If my location was given away, there was nothing that could distract the guards from their position. Slowly and secretly, I travelled the length of the wall, following it down and noting every guard positioned along it.


    As I shifted past another overgrown bush, my foot felt something creak beneath it. I looked down. A wooden panel, shrouded with greenery. I listened out for any reaction to the creak, but I was too far down for it to be noticed. I stepped off it slowly and tore away the leaves, moss, and vines.


    A trapdoor.


    Exhilarated by my discovery, I grinned and took the rusted metal hook on the side. Carefully, to not make any more noise, I lifted it, placing the lid into a bed of flowers like putting a baby to sleep.


    Below, a thin, black hole threatened to swallow me, and the layers upon layers of cobwebs would not be enough to catch my fall. Still, it must have been made or at least commissioned by my father, in case an escape was ever necessary. I deemed that as necessary enough, and holding my breath, I lowered myself down, praying that my foot might touch the ground.


    When my hands had stretched too far for me to get any lower, I shut my eyes and let go.


    My feet landed perfectly, but the fall was so unexpectedly low that I almost fell to my knees. In the pitch-black, coughing away the cobwebs and dust, I wandered ahead, warning myself that at any moment the ground could give way and make me fall into an abyss. I withstood the fears, until I began to see a light ahead, like a pinprick in the darkness, which hardly grew when I got closer to it.


    I closed one eye. The light was was a hole in some kind of door, boarded up by planks and encased in a narrow, stone wall. I wriggled the planks, loosening the nails, and twisted them out, shoving them aside. Taking a breath, I opened the door, and I found myself able to breathe in the open air once more.


    As I backed away, I saw that the door I had exited was part of a false building, with all of its windows stained black in front of solid walls. Around me, similar grey stone buildings cluttered, characterised by barrels full of food, glass ornaments made by the Lagos family, or tiny holes in the walls where mice could gather. I knew this place. I had made it to the trading hub of the city somehow - but I at least had some idea of how to reach my destination.


    In my cloak, I winded past the working tradesmen, loading and unloading their wares and drinking cold liquor between tasks. The Sun beat down on us all, but for the sake of my disguise, I had to endure it. I kept my enormous hood up, but pushed it aside slightly when I saw the great boats on the port once again.


    I found myself mesmerised, stood still on the unstable planks I had once been afraid of, watching sailors hoist up their anhor and drift away into the glistening waters, off to sea. A pang of envy nagged at me, yet I was strangely at peace. I tried convincing myself to step onto one of the boats and sail away from Mendessa forever, somewhere where I may never be found. Beyond that blue aisle, I could have been nobody, starting a life anew. Though, through it all, I thought of Cinderella, left stranded alone on the Sun-beaten land. It was how Rapunzel''s story could have ended had she not been saved by her beloved, and that would be no ending at all. I could not see myself traversing those waves without thinking of the seafoam on her dress, or the coral on her shoes. She had to be there with me, exploring the world just as Rapunzel and her prince did after their story was done.


    "Move it!"


    I shuddered as my shoulder was shoved by a passer-by, immediately snapping me back into my reality. The noises came flooding in once again, as did the people and their movements. I dragged myself away from the view and crossed the bridge into the town, following the smell of fresh bread and cooked meat which clashed against the reek of Sun-baked sweat.


    I kept myself to alleyways at the outskirts to avoid my father''s watchmen, forcing myself to breathe in the heavy smoke and blink back the burn in my eyes through the slums of the city. The crowds thickened, speaking of concerns I have never heard left my parents'' lips: worries of food, shelter, and clean water to get them through the day. People exchanged mere pennies with reluctance as though they were trading their best possessions. I felt fear, as well as sadness. How could a monarch so concerned with their own legend abandon their duty for further grandeur? And how could they do so, knowing of the injustices directly beneath their palace? I sought to keep my head to the ground unless absolutely necessary, worrying what would happen if these rightfully angered souls were to learn of King Santos'' deception. If anything I had been told was true, news in Mendessa City travelled fast, and I did not have long before such a controversy would reach them.


    I did not dare look anyone in the eye, in case they somehow recognised me despite my years of anonymity under my father. I could not be seen if I wanted to make it to Cinderella.


    I thought of where she could be in the manor, hidden away like a shameful secret. I wondered if Lady Del Flores was even aware of Cinderella''s trespass into the ball by then, and what she had done if so. She had to have known - otherwise, why hide her? My mind grew plagued with horrific ideas of Del Flores'' possible reactions, concocting scenarios of her taking matters into her own hands to prevent Cinderella from casting a mighty shadow onto her and her daughters. I tried to shake my head of it, but the longer I travelled, I could feel a hand of my own imagination tightening around my neck.


    Without water nor food, I went on for hours at an unsustainable speed. The humidity caught at my lungs as I continued to swallow my own spit as a delusional means of satisfying my thirst. Yet through it I remained focused, not allowing myself to get distracted by my new surroundings. Cinderella was my goal, and I had convinced myself that if I did not rush to her, I might be too late.


    At last, the buildings grew shallow, and I found myself at the foot of the great hill I had found myself on before. One foot touched the grass…


    A shiver ran through me, remembering the heat of the flames and the lifelessness in the eyes of my men. I could see them all individually - Felipe, Tomás, Javier; Ignacio - laid on the bloody grass no further than a couple of miles away. Weary, I forced my leg to follow the other, and just kept on doing so despite the blisters rubbing my feet raw.


    I could hear myself breathe as I staggered my way up, seething through the internal and external pains, towards the final destination of my beloved. My knees cracked against the ground when my legs gave way, but determined still, I crawled with all my might. My nails buried themselves in mud as I clawed my way back to my heavy feet, falling time and time again. I grew frustrated with myself, feeling in my heart that Cinderella was not safe somehow, but I made it, barely feeling human anymore, but more like the very creatures my grandfather used to hunt down.


    I put all my weight onto the garden gates, fighting back tears. As much as I wanted to give myself time to process, something caught my eye.


    I thought I was hallucinating. On the grass, beside the avery…


    I crept up towards it, holding a finger in the air to check the wind. There was not a chance that such a thing could have travelled so far since last night, surely?


    In Zolin''s pocket, I retrieved a large feather that had been nagging at my side nearly all day. Slowly, I lowered myself to the grass, and took what I had found off the ground.


    A feather serpent''s feather - almost identical to Zolin''s.


    Whether it was my exhaustion, or the aggressive heat in my cloak, but my ears suddenly felt as though they were underwater, sending a chill through me. I felt woozy. And then, just as I began to hear muffled yells, my body shut down.