SHADOW

Dead princess

The cold air bit at Sha's cheeks, and she nestled herself deeper into the covers. Half the night, she couldn't sleep, waiting for somebody to drag her out of bed and into the dungeons—or worse. But nobody came, so she fell asleep despite Sonya snoring in the chair and drooling all over the golden, expensive upholstery. She wished the girl would sleep with her, but the maid protested.

"No maid would sleep with her lady in the same bed," she had said. "Imagine somebody finding us like that, my lady. The rumors, the reputation. No, no, no, I might lose my job, and who would hire me after that?"

Sha sighed and inspected the ceiling. It was so beautiful, with dragons and curling vines—it reminded her of her books. Her precious hidden books. With covers depicting winged creatures and dragons, she wished so much she could open the damned book and see everything that was inside of it.

Suddenly, bells started ringing all over the castle towers, and people were yelling around the corridors. Sha jumped out of bed and looked out of the window. Sonya still slept like a log in the chair, despite the commotion. Sha's heart stopped when she saw the King carrying a huge white sheet.

"What is that...?" A voice whispered at Sha's back, and she almost jumped out of her shoes, hitting the window glass with her forehead.

"Sonya, you are terrible! I thought you were sleeping!" Sha yelped, rubbing her forehead angrily as she looked at the maid.

"I'm sorry, you are such a—" Sonya froze, her eyes widening. "Oh my God, is that the princess? The King is carrying the princess!"

When the King got closer to the castle, almost under their window, Sha could see the limp body of the princess in his arms, and the blood in her veins chilled. In that moment, almost as if he felt her, the King looked up, meeting her eyes. She wanted to jump away and look away, but she couldn't. His face was an unreadable mask. He looked stoic—of course, he would look like that. A king can't cry in front of his subordinates, thought Sha.

"Oh my lady, she looks dead. Her body is way too limp for someone unconscious. She looks pale, fairy-like... and 100% dead."

Sha gasped and rubbed her face forcefully, trying to wake up from this terrible dream.

"I'm afraid a witch hunt is going to start soon, and we're right in the middle of it, my dear Sonya."

At that moment, the doors of the bedroom burst open, and the Count rushed in, his cold, beautiful face paler than usual, and his usually raven-black hair disheveled. He was still wearing the clothes he wore the night before.

"Gather your things. We are leaving immediately!" he barked commandingly.

Sonya started to fuss with the dresses from the closet, everything falling, her hands trembling. The Count sighed and grabbed Sha's hand.

"Leave everything behind, we're leaving right now."

"But I'm in my nightdress, and it's cold outside. Let me put on a dress at least."

"No time for dresses! Soon, we'll sleep bare in the dungeons if we don't hurry up!" he roared at her, his usual cold, calm eyes wild with panic. "Do you imagine what soldiers would do to a young girl like you in the dungeons?" He snarled and started dragging her down the corridor, Sonya barely keeping up behind them.

They ran and ran—corridors, stairs, tunnels, gardens, muddy hallways again. Sha lost track of how long they ran. For a while, they encountered soldiers once or twice, but the Count bribed them with golden coins, and they passed, even though the gardens were full of soldiers searching and running around like mad.

The soles of her slippers were so thin, they rubbed off on the rocks and dirt. Her feet were raw after so much trotting on uneven paths and pavement. At some point, she lost a shoe and continued to run with one foot bare, the foot now bleeding from small stones and uneven terrain.

After a long walk through a dark tunnel, they reached one end of a royal park and ended up on a hidden road, where an old, sun-bleached carriage awaited them. The Count shoved Sha and Sonya into the carriage without a word, and off they went.

She looked at him, trying to read his expression. Why were they running? Because of the events of the previous night?

"I'm sorry. It's my fault your plan went so badly. I..." Sha whispered, trying to look out the window, not daring to meet Count Ambrosio's eyes.

She found him absent, and no reply came for a while. Only a grunt acknowledged that he had listened.

"No, it's not your fault. I woke up last night in the garden, and she lay there with her head propped on my arm. Still as a statue," replied the Count, rubbing his face.

Sha wanted to gasp, but Sonya gasped first.

"Did you...?" Sha asked, looking at him with mixed feelings.

"I don't know. I have no memory. She was there, dead, and I crawled away into the shrubs. One of the garden boys saw me and ran away. It's only a matter of time until he tells somebody, and they come after me. And after what happened last night, I'm afraid there will be no mercy or friendship between me and the decapitation or hanging."