Assassins Crown

Chapter 18

Coincidentally, there happened to be an unexpected arrangement made by the King himself.

A servant of the King came into my room with a silver platter. The silver platter is not full of food, which is not normal at all.

I scramble to my feet from my bed and take a step forward. The servant stops. The servant is a girl, though obviously older than the 16 year old me, she looks to be around 25. She's wearing an ordinary dress that isn't very clean and an apron over her dress.

And more importantly, she's holding a silver platter with a dark green envelope with the golden seal that signifies the King on it.

I walk toward the older girl swiftly and grab the letter. I notice to some extent that the girl flinches away in fear as I take the letter. I ignore it.

"What is this?" I ask the servant, not taking my eyes off the green letter in my hands.

"They are orders from, His Majesty, about the upcoming ball, my Lady," the servant says tightly. I glance up at her as I notice she called me 'my Lady.'

"Yes, well. Thank you," I say, dismissing her.

She curtsies and leaves the room obediently, but not too fast.

I instantly tear open the green letter.

You are to come to the ball in two day's time.

King Spencer

"I always knew he never liked Taliea, but come on, this is a little desperate," I say to myself. I stop.

Wow, I really am too good for my looks.

I focus back to the letter and then an idea strikes me.

The King isn't asking for me to go with him! I realize. No, he wants to keep an eye on me. So, I don't run.

Like that's going to stop me.

But even before the letter came, I had already decided that I was going to go to the ball.

But not for the dancing, not for the delicious food (though that was a plus), and definitely not for the exquisite company of Jeffrey, King Spencer, and especially Queen Taliea.

No, I wasn't going to do anything of the kind.

I was going to be way too busy for any of that.

Because on the night of the ball, I was going to escape.

It was the loud voices and giggles of teenage girls down the hall that woke me up.

I groan.

"Stupid girls! Go away!" I shout to no one in particular.

Then, I hear their voices getting louder and louder until I am certain they are just outside my room.

It's been a week since any human contact other than yesterday's servant and the consistent guards, which, for the record, were everyone but Winston. I haven't seen Winston in weeks and I feel strangely disappointed every time a new guard comes in to trade shifts and see it wasn't him.

I had finally stopped hoping to see him.

There is a sudden quiet. No girls squealing, no girls giggling, no annoying chatter.

I jerk my head in the direction of the door, as if I could see through the hard wood.

Suddenly, the door of my room opens. I jump to my feet.