Her Royal Secret

Chapter 2: Part 4

"Stop with all the negative thoughts Jasper, I can feel them all the way over here." I had made sure to keep a certain amount of distance between as we walked in the tunnels. If there was someone waiting for me down here then I wanted them to see me first, not the man with a gun.

Or several guns.

"How do you want me to think about this Princess? We following a trail led by some anonymous untraceable messenger who knows way too much about your family than you should be comfortable with. He's obviously exploiting your feeling's for Robert and I can't believe I'm following you in this madness."

"Keep your voice down would you!" I hissed, "I don't want to scare them away and you're not helping. So just shut up before you do even more damage."

Flashlights in hand, we walked until we reached the gates that crept outside the palace. It was this very place that my father had left from the night he was stabbed. More recently, it was the very place I had discovered Mandy's deception. I had started realizing that after Robert's death, these tunnels had stopped having any meaning for me as the bad memories had replaced the good.

But if managed to find a sense of closure here, to know finally what happened to Robert, I knew that I would be able to close that particular chapter of my life.

You know what they say, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

"Len, is that you?" Jasper and I both came a stop. He crashed into my back as I dug my heels into the ground and stopped myself from skidding forwards. The shock of that voice reverberating through the tunnels was enough to make me face plant but I stood my ground.

Goosebumps broke out across my skin and I started trembling. Behind me, Jasper placed a comforting palm at the small of my book.

"I've got you, don't worry."

How did I tell him that I wasn't shaking because I was scared.

I had never forgotten my elder brother's voice, my best friend.

"Who is it? Show yourself." Jasper called out but I was too afraid that he'd scare him away. I moved out of Jasper's hold and ran towards where the sound was coming from. I was able to make out a shadow, lurking just near the gates.