Alena had found the Princess whilst she was changing into more suitable attire and it did not take long for the serving girl to start throwing questions at her. “A navy corset would go well with your outfit, at least make it look more feminine.” she said to Serendipity as she laced the corset up. Unlike the other serving girls, Alena did not crush her friend’s ribs with the corset and for that reason alone it was not so bad when she put them on her.
Serendipity smiled and watched as she went to do her hair next. She swatted her hand away gently. “There's no need, Alena. I won't have you serving me. You're no maid to me but, my friend. The gods know I already have very few of them here.” Serendipity managed to smile as she pulled her hair back into a high ponytail; leaving a few curls loose just to frame her face.
“But where are you going?” Alena asked as she watched the Princess tuck one of Aderico's daggers into her boot.
Serendipity sighed heavily. With her foot still perched on the edge of the bed, she shifted her gaze to her friend. “It seems my ‘fiancé’ is hiding something from me. Something he desperately doesn't want me to find out about.” she replied.
Alena's face twisted with sadness and she threw her arms around her friend, stroking her hair as she said, “Oh, Serendipity. I always knew there was something special about you – maybe you’re this Dark Maiden that Mam always used to prophesise about, back in Anderaith. I can see it now. I believe you’ll bring hope to those who need it most; those kept under the boot of Marcus Valenti.”
Serendipity returned the serving girl’s affection and they held each like that for a brief but, sweet moment. “I make no promises, Alena. I can only go so far as to investigate for now. Which is why I need to find out what Aderico is hiding from everyone. He could hurt the people we love, those who are left at least. I wouldn’t put anything past this family.”
“Go. I have faith in you Serendipity but, you have to be quick.” she urged and beckoned for the Princess to leave.
Serendipity shook her head. “There’s just one problem. Marcus has a dozen men following after me like hounds, I won’t be able to get anywhere without them alerting him. They’ll need to be distracted.”
Alena gave her friend a half-smile. “I’ve always wanted to try on one of those dresses you’re forced to wear. As long as I throw a cloak on and keep my hood up, Marcus’ hounds won’t be smart enough to tell the difference between us two.”
Serendipity grinned at the idea and threw a cloak in Alena’s direction, hoping it would work. She let her friend slip out first, wordlessly and only when Serendipity was certain those stupid guards had followed after the ‘Princess’, she left the room herself; keeping to the shadows. Armed with only a dagger and some new found courage, Serendipity went to investigate. “Where am I going?” she eventually stopped to ask herself. “Underground, the best place to hide something secret. Perhaps the dungeons?” As she passed Marcus' study, Serendipity stopped and found the door slightly ajar. It was empty, judging by the lack of movement or sound. Serendipity took a casual glance behind her and slipped towards the door when she found she was alone. Pushing it open, the Princess went in and found it as it must have been before Marcus had left.
Messy.
The door groaned in protest as Serendipity pushed at it, the sound loud and agonising, and she bit down on her tongue to stop herself from cursing aloud. Looking over her shoulder a final time, she found the corridor as silent and abandoned as it had been before. She let out a light sigh of relief and closed the door behind her.
The room was dimly lit and whatever light was available revealed only the usual wooden desk and chair within the study, Save the heavy set of shelves which looked far too messy for even Marcus to bother looking through daily. Serendipity went for the papers on his desk, only to stop at the sound of the door opening. She looked over her shoulder and found Kalyani, of all people, staring back at her.
Kalyani remained silent for a moment. Only when she approached, did she start questioning the Princess. “What are you doing?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips, she placed her weight onto one side and waited impatiently for an answer.
Serendipity smirked at her. “That's none of your damn business.” she replied dryly. The last thing she needed was for the stupid young Lady of Valkenn to interrupt her.
“My father's business isn't one for you to look into either. So his business isn't yours to take care of.” she replied confidently, as if proud of herself for saying so. She flicked her long golden hair back with a pale and elegantly thin hand. This time Serendipity’s eyes narrowed in frustration and she turned to look at her.
Kalyani’s jaw dropped and she let out a dramatic gasp in horror. “Gods!” she cried as she stared hard at the Princess.
“What?” Serendipity asked with a touch of impatience.
Kalyani felt ready to gag. “You're wearing trousers! Women don't wear trousers! Is that a corset with your trousers and – boots? Where are your slippers?”
Serendipity cut her off quickly. “Shut up, you're being too loud. Marcus will find us.” she snapped and looked past the young Lady’s shoulder, at the door to the study.
It remained closed from when she had entered. Serendipity turned her attention back to the desk and went to rummage through the papers, only after second thoughts, she dared to be bold enough to try to run her hand over the papers. Serendipity took in a deep breath and allowed the information to sink into her mind. She believed she was finally getting the hang of her ‘gift’. However, she hadn’t used it often like this.
Kalyani eyed the Princess with suspicion and she eventually made her way to her side. She wondered what on earth was going on! “What are you doing?” she asked angrily.
Serendipity bothered to shift her gaze to her unwanted companion and simply shushed her. Then she returned to the task of looking for anything that she could use against Marcus himself.
Kalyani had grown bored, as usual, with what was going on and leaned against the bookshelf that had been placed behind Marcus' desk instead. With her arms crossed over, she grumbled. “The things you find interesting,” she began but, immediately stopped and cried out as the bookshelf moved against her weight. She flew back and rolled, her petticoats getting caught in one another as she found herself disappearing down a dark opening.
Serendipity turned at the sound of chaos and her jaw dropped at the sight of an opening in the shelves. “Kalyani.” she called out into the darkness. There came no reply. “Kalyani.” Serendipity called out again, this time louder, and when there still came no response she climbed into the opening. Perched at the entrance, she sat there for a moment, taking a few deep breaths, and without thinking twice she slid down after her. Soon darkness swallowed her whole, and she found herself slipping for what seemed like an eternity.
*****
Serendipity hit the floor hard, cursing as she did. She coughed loudly as dust flew up into her face from underneath her. Only once the dirt had settled, she blinked hard and found herself seated in a small room.
The walls were a bare stone and hardly any candles decorated them, creating a haunting effect; the feeling of being watched by a strange entity. The stone floor itself was plain and cold, covered in a thin layer of dust. When Serendipity peeled herself off the ground, there remained a clean patch from where she had landed.
Kalyani had just finished dusting herself off as she turned to look at the Princess. Her lip quivered slightly in fear and she waved her hand around the room. “Where are we? What is this place?” she stopped to gag loudly before covering her nose and mouth. “It smells.” she added in between breaths.
Armed with only a dagger, although she doubted it would be needed, Serendipity dared to move further into the room and she scanned every corner carefully.
They were alone.
There were three blank walls, a wooden door had been built into the fourth at the far end of the room and it didn't seem locked. How strange.
Serendipity slid her
dagger back into her boot and walked over to the door without any hesitation. Grabbing hold of the handle, she gave it a tug; yet found that it was locked. Serendipity sighed a little in disappointment. She’d been hoping for a grander adventure than this.
Kalyani moaned loudly from behind her as she looked up at the dark opening from which they had both fallen down. “How high do you think the fall was?” she asked Serendipity. “How are we going to get back up to the castle?” she continued to ask, her voice had turned more into a wail now and the Princess only flared her nostrils at the dreadful noise she called her voice.
Serendipity knew that telling her to be quiet would only be a waste of breath, so she had to settle on attempting to block out her annoying cries instead. Staring at the door still, her gaze eventually shifted to the lock, and she made one final attempt to push it.
It didn't budge.
“I can't believe I'm going to try this.” Serendipity muttered to herself and focused her thoughts onto the lock. Unlock she commanded, feeling rather ridiculous about ordering an inanimate object to do something. Unlock she tried again.
A soft clicking sound came from the door and the lock suddenly turned, leaving the door to swing open by itself. Kalyani gasped from behind the Princess. “How did you do that?” she asked. She sounded impressed, for once.
Serendipity ignored her question entirely and pulled the door open, coughing harshly as a heavy, unfamiliar scent hit her. She couldn’t quite put a name to the smell, yet curiosity urged her to step into the room anyway. Serendipity’s jaw dropped at the sight.
A large pile of white powder filled the room, reaching almost the ceiling, it crawled up the back wall, and it gave off the disgusting smell. The powder looked fluffy, not too thick, yet it still clumped together and kept its shape in the heap.
Serendipity took careful steps when approaching it. Taking a small handful, she watched as it disintegrated in her hand. Next she sniffed the mystery powder from a distance, being careful not to inhale any of it, and she gagged again when an unknown scent filled her nostrils.
“What is it? Kalyani asked as she entered the room herself, reaching out a hand, she went to touch the powder.
Serendipity took hold of her wrist, her fingertips inches away from the powder, and she shook her head slowly.
“Don't. It could be poison for all we know.” she replied and pushed Kalyani gently towards the door. Looking over her shoulder once, Serendipity closed the door again and commanded it to lock itself.
Kalyani said nothing about it. “Now we need to find a way out.” she sighed.
The Princess laughed under her breath and made her way towards the tunnel that they had fallen from. “Well I'm wearing trousers, so I can climb up here easily. Shame, that you're wearing a dress.” she pointed out and laughed at her.
Kalyani frowned and went to examine her nails. “That's not funny, you like adventures more than me - think of a way to get us out.” she replied meanly.
Serendipity said nothing as she rolled her eyes. Tightening her hair in its band, she pieced together a plan as she worked, and then placed her hands onto her hips.
Surely there wasn't only one way of getting down here, or else whoever was storing the poison wouldn't have used this space? she thought to herself. Running her hands across the dusty walls, she felt for any secret doors or hidden passages. Disappointment creased her face as she found nothing. Serendipity turned to Kalyani, reached for her dagger, and grabbed hold of her dress instead.
“What are you doing?” Kalyani shrieked and ripped her dress from the Princesses hand.
Serendipity looked up at her and scowled. Holding the dagger up at her, she spoke. “If you want to get back to the castle, you're going to have to let me shorten your dress. You have breeches underneath your dress I'm sure, or are they not Ladylike enough for you?” she replied sarcastically. Snatching her dress again, Serendipity began shortening it until the bottom half of her dress fell to her feet. She bit back her laughter as she heard Kalyani crying quietly. She made no comment, having fought back the urge to so badly. Sheathing her dagger again, Serendipity beckoned for her to go first.
“I'll at least be able to push you up, I don't trust you to go second or else you'll just fall down again. If you did, I wouldn't bother going back for you.” she said to the young Lady of Valkenn and pushed her up into the tunnel.
Fortunately for the both of them, Kalyani understood the message well and tried desperately not to slip as she climbed up the tunnel and towards her freedom.
Adelaide
“I’m no longer sure which land is colder, Bordennia or Faradwyn.” Adelaide whispered once she was back in the safety of Dallius’ room. They had snuck into the castle again, like children playing hide and seek. Unseen and unheard, they had made sure no one had noticed them. It was harder said than done, considering there were guards on duty by the castle doors at all times.
Dallius had not been the Captain of Faradwyn for years now without having learned a few tricks. He had snuck them in and out of the same gate along the side of the castle and he had paid the guards on duty well, to keep their silence. “It’s been years since I had last visited Bordennia, so perhaps I’m not the best person to seek an opinion about the weather.” he replied with a smile. Dallius shook the cold off as best as he could and then headed towards a designated wine cabinet he had in the corner of his room. A standard addition to any person of status’ room, it seemed. Even though Dallius had no formal title to his name, being the Captain of Faradwyn certainly had its perks. He picked out a fine red wine and poured two glasses.
“You haven’t left Faradwyn in quite some time then?” Adelaide asked. She watched as Dallius turned to face her and he extended one of the glasses towards her. Adelaide shook her head. “Thank you but, I’m afraid I’m in no mood for wine at the moment.” she said politely.
Dallius took no offense to her objection. He shrugged and placed the Princesses drink down and took a generous gulp of his own. Leaning against the drink cabinet, he sucked at the wine clinging to his teeth and shook his head. “I believe Ahvi might agree to help you – us, even. How do you reckon your brother will react when you bring him the good news that you have the Broadblades on his side? Or at least half of them.”
Adelaide laughed nervously. Running her fingers up and the down the buttons lining her dress, she looked down at her feet for a brief second. “You think too highly of my negotiating skills. Ahvi said he will think about this favour, if one can even call joining the war a favour.” she replied. When Adelaide lifted her gaze to meet the Captain’s, she felt embarrassed as the heat began to rise in her pale cheeks. “Thank you, Dallius. For everything you’ve done. If it weren’t for your help, I honestly don’t know how far I would have gotten here.” she began. It was true, she wasn’t too sure where she would have been without the help of a man by her side. Despite her attempts to prove herself an independent woman, worthy of a man’s respect, it appeared that Adelaide could not do anything without the constant reminder of her being a woman; a person lesser than her male counterparts, pressing down on her. Even though Adelaide had the respect she wanted given to her face, she did not doubt the men she was up against spat vicious words behind her back about her lack of knowing her own place. That she, as a woman, would have been better off allowing her brothers to do the negotiating on behalf of the Redbanes instead. It made her wonder what her father would have thought, were he still alive. Perhaps that all those years he had spent raising a strong daughter had in fact gone to waste. She was still nothing more than a pretty face and a way into the Redbane bloodline, with a young and fertile womb like hers.
Dallius could sense the Princesses distress and he willingly gave her a moment to think through whatever it was she needed to sort out. He drained the rest of his wine before approaching her. Adelaide did not notice him until he stood but a breath away. “I see you for who you really are, Adelaide. A young woman who doesn’t receive the respect she deserves, yes.
But, also a Redbane Princess who knows what part she must play to help her family win this war. Without you securing a potential alliance with both the Mouridieus’ and the Broadblades, the outcome of this war on your family’s part would be far bleaker than you have now allowed it to become. Despite what the men around must think of you.” Dallius spoke so softly, the Princess had to draw a little closer to hear. That was his exact intention.
“Can I trust you, Dallius Longthorn?” Adelaide asked as she closed the distance between them both. Slowly. Teasingly.
The Captain ran his hand around to the back of her neck and held her there. “With my life.” he replied and pressed his lips against the Princesses.
Adelaide felt her body melt into his. This felt wrong. She was promised to the Prince of Bordennia. But he was miles away and nothing but a face and name to her. No. This felt right. She felt free. Adelaide took hold of Dallius’ collar and grasped it so tight, as though afraid he would somehow disappear into nothing but a trace on her lips. This felt wrong.
Dallius ran his hands down Adelaide’s back and he grasped her from behind, squeezing her gently. He was only satisfied when he heard her moan behind the force of his lips.
This feels wrong, Adelaide thought to herself as Dallius swung her up onto his hips and carried her towards his bed. He was moving too fast. But neither of them could stop. Dallius placed Adelaide gently across his bed and dipped his hand under her dress, running it up her leg. He felt her shudder at his touch. Yet, when he went to kiss her again, he felt the Princess push him away so quickly it took him by surprise.
“Stop.” Adelaide began. She sat up, her face flushed. Fixing her gown back into place, she pressed a hand against her beating chest and shook her head. “Gods! This is wrong, what are we doing? This is so wrong.”
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