The Worth (Rebellious Heroes 4)

14

"You're the child of Avelon and Spirit St. Thomas. You're from Tern. You're Holy Mae St. Thomas." She continued as Ylode and I looked at each other with panic. But I managed to cover it, laughing.

"You must have mistaken me for her." I smiled, "I'm Avelon Shirley. My parents are Monica and Samuel Shirley-"

"My father knew your parents, Miss St. Thomas. Did your parents ever mention him? Finn Racetop? He was a soldier of Tern. Now retired."

My eyes then darted to her. I remembered in mom and dad's story that there was a soldier that was Rydger's roommate. His name was Finn, "My father and mother told me about him. He was in the war with them." I mumbled as she nodded.

"As soon as my father married someone from the boundary, he moved to the boundary with her. He told me about your parents, about you and your brother."

I sighed in defeat. Someone already know who I am, and any chance, she might tell the hostess-

"If you think I'll tell, that will never happen Miss Holy Mae." She smiled, "I know you're here with a purpose and believe me, so am I."

My eyebrows scrunched in confusion, "How did you-"

"I was about to be married to a soldier of Tern. His name is Jessie, my fiancé. But Cech declared war with Tern. And his ship surrendered."

"He's in prison here, with Quentin." I whispered as she nodded.

"That's why I'm here, Miss Holy Mae." She said, "I was lucky my father is not recognized much in the history of Tern and Pangaea. But you, it was wise for you to disguise. They would imprison you if ever one finds out aside from me and her." She looked at Ylode, "You're not her maid."

Ylode nodded, "I'm not Monica Benali from Sodom. I'm Ylode Iko from Gomorrah, her best friend."

"I can tell from the closeness you guys have." She said as we smiled, "Don't worry, Miss Holy Mae. I am in this fight with you. I will help you any way I can and I will keep this secret between the three of us."

"Thank you Maria." I smiled, "I promise you, Quentin, Jessie and the others will get out of here."

After the surprising conversation, we decided to study for the upcoming challenge, and discuss what we've learned. I felt relieved now knowing that Ylode and I are not alone here. We have a fellow lady, who is fighting with us. Maria is indeed kind and innocent the more we get to know her in a span of hours. I can see why someone like Jessie would fall for her.

After dinner, Maria decided to go back to her room, assuring us again and again that the secret won't be revealed. But with Finn being part of mom and dad's war, I trust her.

Late at night when the thoughts of my brother being in the metal door bothered me. I couldn't sleep. As much as I'd like to go there, the dark won't help me. Bringing a light would result to me being caught. Going there would require a plan.

I decided to get up and go to the dining hall instead, studying for the upcoming challenge and trying to take notes in the dark, with the moonlight at the window being my light.

"Studying in the middle of the night, huh?" A deep voice almost made me scream until I turned around and saw Philippe, making me breathe out, "Sorry I scared you." He smiled.

"It's okay. I thought you were a soldier or something." I giggled, "What are you doing here?"

"Finding a midnight snack and staying at the rooftop. Come with me."

I shook my head and smiled, "I can't. I think I'm not allowed-"

"The hostess is asleep." He smiled, "And if ever you get caught, I'll explain to the hostess and the king myself."

I sigh, "Fine. But just for a little while." I then stood up, took my things, and went with him to the kitchen, tiptoeing our way there.

"The palace maids' quarter are near the kitchen. So..." He whispered then placed his finger between his lips, telling me to be quiet. I nodded as he proceeded to get food from the fridge and two spoons. He then grinned, "Corn Cake. Cech's delicacy." I smiled as we walked from the kitchen to the rooftop, him holding my hand to guide me in the dark.

As soon as we reached the rooftop, I gasped at the view before me, the entire backyard was on view and the moon and the stars were clear in the sky. I then realized that the castle was indeed a colossal size, since we were already very high off the ground.

"Nice right?" He said as I nodded, "My dad would take me here. We would eat Corn Cake together."

"Where is he?" I asked.

"He's with mom now." He looked at the stars, "Out there."

"I'm sorry." I mumbled, to which he smiled.

"He worked here too." He smiled, "At night, we would come here and talk about random stuff."

Random stuff. I thought. I realized that this is perhaps the time I'll ask him about the metal door, the reason why I'm awake the entire time.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked as he nodded, "What's with the metal door?"

For a brief moment, his eyes went slightly wide and his smile fell. Just as I thought he would tell me, his eyebrows scrunched and slowly shook his head, "There's a metal door?"

By his reaction earlier, I can tell that he's lying. Of course, he knew about it. He knows what's inside that door. But instead of telling him that he's lying, that he's hiding something, I decided to go along with it. I need to be trusted and be close to him first, before he tells me about it.

"Well, I saw it during my challenge, the first one. I passed by it." I said as he nodded and went silent for a while, probably thinking about lying again.

"I didn't know that there's a metal door." He chuckled, "I haven't explored that part yet. Shame."

"It even have a code."

"No way." He giggled, "Well, I might go there sometime and don't worry, I'll tell you what's in it. If it's not classified, that is."

I smiled, knowing that he already went there and hiding what's in it. It made me want to find out about it more. Something definitely tells me that my brother's in there. I then decided to change the topic and we both started talking about what I studied. I was glad that he tutored me some stuffs and we also ate the cake together, which is, to be quite honest, it tastes good. He told me that his mom knows how to bake Corn Cake, and it became his favorite dessert because of it. However, when the clock struck 1 am, we decided to head back, with him walking me to my quarter.

"Is Monica asleep?" He asked as I was standing in my door.

"Yeah." I smiled, "She does not want to be disturbed."

"It's alright. I understand." He smiled, "I want to teach you a trick. But don't tell anyone else that." I nodded as he went near me and looked around, checking if people are around, "Math is a written challenge. You are given an equation to solve. Politics and Leadership are speech ones. They'll ask you if you agree with Cech Monarchy as a form of government or how will you lead as queen or about a current event, etc. Simple as that. If you wanna get through the challenge, you have to speak fluently, like you're a smart-ass."

I giggled, "Thanks for the tip. You know, that was against the rules."

"That's why I told you not to tell anyone." He said as we smiled, "I had fun. Thanks for the company, Avelon."

"Thank you as well, Philippe. Goodbye."

"Goodbye." He smiled as he left.