TWISTED

9: Uncovered Secrets

It's been forever since I updated this book. I've been extremely busy with this place called school so, regular updates might not be possible. But all the same, I love you all.

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"Can someone please
explain why we're here?" Mabel asked, earning a couple of glances from the other maids.

"We're here to work." Lily is the only person everyone expected to reply back. The two girls were always at each others head even at work. Even Mrs Myra knew that and kept them apart at all times. But today was an exception, they had a ball to prepare for and all the maids were needed, enemies or not.

They were all scattered across the large garden that led directly to the maze of bushes. Ella had been warned by Star never to venture into the maze alone or she would get lost and no one would ever find her again. Yeah, Star really knew how to give a exaggerated detail of anything.

"Well, I didn't ask for your opinion." Mabel's countered. The abruptness of her speech led to Ella pricking her index finger with a rose thorn she had avoided all the while.

"You haven't picked up the habit of talking to yourself have you? If so, that'd entail you're going crazy." Lily responded, plucking a rose carefully and dumping it into her basket, also careful not to bruise the petals or she'd get an intense scolding session.

"Stop talking to me."

"Then you shut up."

"You shut up." Mabel abandoned her basket on the grass.

"Shut up, two of you!"

Ella cringed at Star's high pitched voice coming from beside her. When she recovered from the shock, she heard someone call her name.

"Where's Ella please?" A masculine voice called. She couldn't see the face but she guessed it was one of the guards because he spoke with so much vigour.

"She's right here, Ella!" Mrs Myra called.

Ella shrugged and exchanged a glance with Star who was as bewildered as she.

Ella set her basket of roses on the grass and hurried towards the guard who had his back to her.

When he took notice of her presence and turned around, her eyes widened in recognition. He was the same guard that led her into the palace when she first arrived with Ben.

"Are you Ella?" He queried. Good thing he didn't recognize her.

Ella had always wondered why people ask questions when the answer is obvious. "No, I'm her doppelganger."

The guard's handsome face contorted in confusion before the confusion gave way to an amused look. "Alright then, could Ella's doppelganger help carry those items to the kitchen." He gestured towards an area where some items were being transferred inside the palace from a horse cart.

Ella smiled. "I'd love to." She accepted the package and travelled into the palace walls with it. She stared at the portraits on wall and wondered who the individuals were.

"Hey, you're going in the wrong way." Bat appeared before her with some parcels. He pointed out the right way to Ella and she nodded watching him disappear around the corner she came from.

Something however kept pulling Ella's legs down the seeming endless hallway. Just when she thought about turning back, a door greeted her eyes. And not just any other door, it was a metal door. The good part was that the door was slightly ajar.

Ella stared at the basket in her hands and at the door. Finally, she abandoned the basket behind a statue of a man and went in through the door without giving worthy consideration to her safety.

The door actually led to a tunnel. Ella saw two men walking down in her direction and swiftly hid before they could see her. Ella's heart was thumping insanely against her rib cage when the men stopped abruptly in front of her hideout.

"Is everything ready?" The first person, a hefty and fearful-looking man asked his companion.

"It's almost time. You can tell Brian that."

Brian? Ella's ears strained to hear more.

"I will deliver your message perfectly."

And then they walked out of the door and locked it. Ella gulped, wiping her sweaty eyebrows. So much for her inquisitive mind. How on earth was she going to get out of here?

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In desperation, Ella pulled at the door knob but then she remembered this part was one of the less frequented places in the palace. It would take about two days before anyone would find her even if they noticed her absence.

Ella turned and slowly walked down the tunnel illuminated by flaming torches. She walked, preoccupied with thoughts of her mother and Ben.

Was her mother still alive? If she was, how was she doing. Helplessness overtook Ella, helpless by the fact that her mother could be somewhere suffering but there was nothing Ella would do to help.

Ben. What was he doing now. Probably taking care of the horses in the stables.

Ella wished for nothing else than peace, a rest from all these struggles. The load of saving the kingdom from a tyranny weighed Ella down. How on earth would she do that?

Ella came across a vent in the ceiling above and wondered where it led to. Probably some other part of the palace. If this vent was going to be her liberation from the constricted tunnel, then she wasn't going to throw away the opportunity.

She hoisted herself atop a crate and her fingers worked rapidly to loosen the bolts that secured the cover. When the bolts were undone, she moved the rusty metal aside and held herself up to touch the edge of the vent. Ella was glad her tree climbing skills paid off today. She did not forget to replace the cover so that no one should suspect that there was an intruder.

In the vent, Ella could see nothing at all. It was pitch black. As black as the darkness in Brian's soul.

Brian, the wretched man.

Determined, she went on all fours and crawled down the vent. The only sound audible was her sharp breaths and the scraping of her dress against the metallic floor.

Down the vent, a beam of light attracted Ella and she moved her knees faster in that direction.

When she got there, she peeked through the vertical holes in the vent. The extra wide room looked like it belonged to a royal judging from the luxuries her eyes caught; the large bed and the beautiful crimson rug. The other items were concealed from her vision due to the angle she was in.

Ella wasted no time in loosening the bolt since the room looked auspiciously calm. Her mind however was at a crossroads of whether to go in there or not. If she did go in, there was a high risk of someone walking in and discovering her there. What would she do then?

As she processed these thoughts, Ella forgot she was leaning over the edge of the opening. Then, she fell.

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I'm sorry about leaving you with a cliff hanger, I really am sorry but I'm not 😂😂. Hold on tight till the next chapter.

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