Chapter 7.

“Without a mouth I'm so down

My hometown only makes me feel alone…” Hometown- Cleopatrick.

February, 2137

Eveline

Already inside the tunnels, I closed the door and turned on my flashlight searching the main staircase of the tunnels and going up to the second floor where the offices were, when I reached the corridors on the second floor I turned left and then right and came to a corridor that ended in one of the doors that were inside my father's office.

As soon as I got there I activated the mechanism and turned off the flashlight listening to the passage open and I listened cautiously to make sure there was no one there, when I was sure I pushed the door and went out seeing the office in the dark and when I look at the cuckoo clock on top of the fireplace I saw that it was already past midnight, which increased the chances of my father being asleep and not having to stop by.

So I closed the door behind me to make sure that at least if I was caught my secret wouldn't be found out and walked carefully not to make a noise towards my father's desk.

There were several papers spread out up there and I looked them over, seeing a few contracts and a list of what I presume to be marriage candidates, I rolled my eyes at this as I saw the names of several children of diplomats and other world leaders and it made me tired of just thinking about it, but I decided to put that aside for now and started checking the drawers on the left side of the mahogany desk.

In the first two I don't find anything and when I go to the other side I get lucky and I find the pile of files from the guard employees, but what interested me were the ones from the last two guard changes, so I pick them up and flip through quickly seeing one plethora of files and unfamiliar faces and I see that I will have to calmly search later.

I lift my nightdress and take advantage of the fact that I'm wearing small shorts underneath and I attach his elastic year sheet and lower the fabric again taking the opportunity to rummage through the other sheets in search of someone I know, I end up seeing Nolan's file and I see he's already a guard here a long time ago and I move on to the next ones glad I didn't involve him in this since he shouldn't know anything.

When I'm about to reach the next pile of provincial guards I hear footsteps in the hallway and I automatically freeze in place wondering what to do, I throw my paws back in the drawer and close it normally wondering if I should risk going back through the passage or hiding but I see that the best place to hide is behind the curtain and then a silly idea passes through my head and I look to the nearest window.

I run in that direction and look down seeing that in this part of the palace there are some bushes below the windows and I reckon it won't be so bad if I fall out of here and then hearing the nearest footsteps I open the window as carefully as possible I put my feet out of the window seeing the railing and I sit at the window and throw my legs out seeing some guards walking down there and I pray they don't hear me.

I then grab the facade of the building and stand on the railing and as best I can I move the window back into place and that's when I hear the door open and see the light in the room come on and breathe a sigh of relief.

“I don't see anyone here Jensen, are you?!" I hear my dad yell from inside the room and realize he's talking to the head of security and lean a little closer so I can hear better.

“I swear Your Highness, the motion sensor in your room beeped and as we don't have cameras in here I decided to warn you!" I heard Jensen say and that was a huge relief but I would be more careful next time I decided to break into my dad's office.

"Then you should have been more sure of your actions, clearly there was no one here and the next time you call me for a nonsense like this you will be sent far away from here!" My dad yelled and I heard the man apologize and I prayed they would leave soon so I could get down from there soon and go to my room.

But I celebrated way too soon when the two started arguing and I felt my hands sweating and as I leaned over to dry one of them I heard someone yell at me from below and when I turned to look I just lost my balance and fell.

And as I fell I closed my eyes and started to think of an explanation for possible fractures and for the stolen papers in the elastic of my shorts, I didn't think of any other kind of danger, but luckily I didn't feel any pain I just felt a pair of arms caught me and we ended up falling behind the bushes and I bumped my head against the person who held me and we rolled until I hit my back against the wall and was lying on top of the person.

I let out a little moan as I felt the throbbing in my head from hitting it and when I touched it I saw there was no blood and I felt a little calmer then I felt the pen holding my hair fall and my black strands spread over the chest of what I assume was a guard breathing noisily beneath me, so I lifted myself up bracing my arms on the lawn and looked down to see his face contorted into a pained expression and realized I was sitting on his stomach with one leg on either side of his hip and quickly got out of there and I knelt down beside him and touched his arm to shake him lightly to get some kind of reaction and when I did he opened his eyes and stared at me seriously.

I’m sure as hell that this shit wasn't going to end well.

"Are you okay?" I asked watching as he sat up and moaned a little and I removed my hands from his arm waiting for his answer and tried to get a better look at his face to look for any bruises but because it was so dark I couldn't quite assimilate the details of his face.

“Yes," he replied dryly, his husky voice filling my ears making me shiver and I stared at him again seeing his hard expression in my direction and seriously thought about running but when I got up and turned to run he grabbed my ankle and I fell on my stomach and felt the air leave my lungs as big as the impact of the crash and when I started to gasp he went back to say "Who are you and why were you hanging outside the palace?" I heard his husky voice behind me as I sat up and stared at him in disbelief that he'd grabbed me and made me fall.

"I'm Princess Eveline, very nice to meet you soldier..." I said approaching him who was with a shocked expression on his face to see his last name on the uniform and smiled when I found the metal identification and looked up to smile "Williams!" I said at last and saw him take a deep breath and remove his uniform cap to mess up his hair.

“Shit!" I heard him curse under his breath and I knelt next to him and sat back on my heels with my hands in my lap waiting for his next words, he then looked up at me and I saw that his eyes were clear but I couldn't tell if they were blue or green ones and he looked a little irritated as he patted his coat looking for something but he dropped the gesture right away and then turned to me.

“What are you doing on the curb?" He asked again and I didn't answer his question which made him snort angrily and when I saw him making a move to get up to leave, most likely to give me away I grabbed him by his uniform jacket and he fell to his knees in front of me and I I looked into his eyes desperately.

I noticed that he was looking at me so intently when trying to break free of my hold so he could search for his superior, I wasn't afraid that the complaint would get to Scott, my fear was that it would reach my father and I couldn't let that happen or he would find some way to further restrict my free will within that house.

When I turned my attention to the guard I felt his hand grab mine which was so small compared to his which was calloused and big and try to shake it away and I just pressed it tighter against the fabric of his coat deciding to use my position but in a rude way unlike the way I acted with Nolan earlier.

"Dear Williams, I see you are very committed to your work but I will have to ask you to be discreet about our meeting today..." I started quietly and watched his expression harden and he tried to get up probably thinking I was a spoiled, crazy asshole, but I pulled him back and he dropped back to his knees in front of me as I remained the same, our faces inches apart from each other as he glared at me with genuine hatred so probably after I was done talking he would want to kill me with his bare hands, I swallowed and turned my gaze to him and continued to say "well due to your reaction you didn't leave me an option but to force you to obey me otherwise I'll make up the best story that the whole kingdom has seen and don’t feat soldier, even the most distant inhabitant of these lands will believe me!” I said confidently and saw him sneer at my words and roll his eyes before turning his attention back to me.

“And what does Your Highness desire?" He asked ironically while smiling in an annoyed corner and I felt terrible for acting like that with him, my stomach turned to see someone's hatred against me and I didn't want to feel it again but at the moment it was what he felt and with all the reason, for him I was just a dirty person, but I had to keep myself strong to be able to deal with future subjects who didn't support me.

But before I could say anything I heard footsteps in the garden and someone started screaming in the distance and then I heard the voice of one of the high-ranking soldiers calling out to the perimeter guards.

“Where are Donovan and Williams? The head of security and the general want to talk to them!" I heard the man call and saw the soldier in front of me sigh and look at me with raised eyebrows and a smile, but before he got up I pulled him by the lapel of his coat and made him face me.

“Don't tell anyone any of this, go to my room tomorrow and look for Adela and she'll bring you to me,” it’s that all I can managed to say before he just gave me a repulsive look and got up picking up his stuff off the floor and leaving me cautiously hide behind the bush.

I watched him go to the squad leader and most of the guards followed him towards the garage to go to the general's office, so I took advantage of the fact that the replacements hadn't come yet and ran into the palace and when I got to the dining room downstairs I hid behind one of the plants where the camera caught it and pressed the wall in place and entered the passages again and followed the main staircase to my room in complete darkness as I had lost my flashlight in the fall.

When I got to my room after a long time trying not to make a mistake just feeling the drawings I had carved in the stone I opened the door and heard the sound of footsteps coming towards the closet and then my chaperones appeared anxious and looked at me worried.

“Your Highness, is everything alright? Because you have leaves on your clothes and your arm is bleeding?” Eylisha asked and I wave for them to give me a minute as I closed the door and sat on one of the benches inside the closet, they sat on each side and started removing sheets from me and Adela got up to get a first aid kit from the bathroom.

So while they took care of me I told them everything that happened in the interval between our separation and my return to my room and when I finished they looked at me like I was crazy.

“The guard broke my fall and I kind of threatened him to help me otherwise I would hand him over to the general and I'm praying he shows up tomorrow morning so I can apologize first and then ask for his help more gently," I said and they agreed as they put things away and called me to my bed.

Before going to bed I removed the documents I had stolen and put them in my drawer with a key and as soon as I finished I walked in the direction of my bed listening to the girls moving around the room.

"I'll hope he shows up tomorrow morning then, Your Highness," I heard Adela say as I settled into bed and the two sat on the other side and I nodded feeling the fatigue of the night hit me hard.

“It would be great Adela,” I say and they both smile at me and wish me good night and before they leave the room I call them and when they look at me I smile and say “thank you so much for your help, I hope to see- them tomorrow morning, have a good night!" The two make a final bow and leave the room and close the door behind them.

When I find myself alone in the bedroom I sigh heavily and see on the bedside clock that it's already past two in the morning and then I curl up in a ball under the covers and let myself drift off to sleep because tomorrow will be a busy day.