Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 23

Cole waited in the dorms until the other girls came in from their work, ready to crawl into bed. She pretended she was already asleep, but instead listened in on their conversations. Some were about the daily nothings of life, some whispered rumors about where Prince Bastian was, and then she heard what she had been listening for. A girl telling of the king's rapid departure not an hour ago.

"He left with a few of the guards, all on horseback and packed as if they were going to be gone for quite a long time," the girl said.

"Why would he leave right when Prince Bastian's ball is going to be thrown? He'll miss it," another responded.

"It must be more important," the first girl answered.

One of the girls lowered her voice so that Cole could barely hear what she said next. "I'm glad the king's left. He always makes everything seem so.... Heavy. Dangerous. It's a relief to have him away. Like we can finally breathe."

"Don't say things like that," the other girl hissed, and the conversation ended there.

Everyone washed up and slipped under their blankets, falling asleep after a long and hard day of work. Soon, Cole was the only one with eyes open, staring at the darkening room, and waiting until it was dark enough to disguise her in the hallways. Because she was going to see if she could find her mother.

With bare feet, she crawled out of bed in her stolen clothes, wrapping the scarf in her hand. She waited until she was out in the hallway before tying it over her head to disguise herself once again. With her costume in place, she crept out of the dorm building and back over to the palace.

She entered through the kitchen, where the fire was banked and the room eerily silent and still. She had never seen it so empty before. A few rats were her only companions as she picked her way through the darkness, around tables that normally had people crowded around them, and past the pot that simmered with soup that would be served the next morning for breakfast.

She climbed to the doorway into the rest of the palace, and found the only set of stairs that led downward. As she walked down them, she noticed that the lights stopped only a few feet from the kitchen door, so she grabbed one of the torches to take with her.

It lit her way down a staircase that grew narrow and damp as she descended underground. This had to be the way to the dungeons. Cole felt the darkness creeping into her bones, and she shivered and pulled her arms close.

At the bottom of the stairs, she saw she'd entered a root cellar, where the food that easily spoiled was kept cool and fresh. She peered around, hoping she hadn't made a mistake and gone the wrong direction, when she saw a grate in the back of the room.

Almost running to it, she held her torch out to see that the gate guarded another stairway. She pressed her hand against it, but it was locked and solid. A cold blast of air rose from underneath, and with it a stench that made Cole cover her nose. She was definitely heading in the right direction. But she couldn't go any further without the key.

Cole lashed out at a nearby cask of milk, kicking it hard enough that the creamy contents splashed over the side. She boiled and wanted to spit in it until it made the whole royal family sick. She wanted to tear up the entire cellar.

She wouldn't be able to find the key without asking someone for it, and who would tell a random servant girl where the keys to the dungeon were kept? It was a roadblock she wouldn't be able to overcome, and it made her blood rush in her veins. Her mother was so close, yet she was so far away.