A mass search in the Empire has started for the Crown Princess's killer.

I was slightly relieved now that everyone's attention was on the fictitious murderer and not on the runaway princess aka me. But at the very same time, a deep unease had creeped up over me and I couldn't help cautiously inspecting my surroundings before I entered a room. Any room

"Did Rainy boy say he was coming by today?" Mama Ruth asked as stroked her rat who I'd grown quite fond of. He was either mostly asleep or just ate a lot and fell asleep after.

His only human contact came when Mama Ruth picked him up for a stroking session everyday between morning to evening.

I rubbed my fingers across the patterned carpet. "I don't know. 7 days have gone by since I came here and I haven't heard from him since."

Mama nodded as she scratched her chin.

"I wonder what's wrong with the lad," she muttered as she stared into space.

"Something might be going on at home," I said airily as I scratched something hard like gum stuck to the carpet. It came off in little chunks. "Have you heard any news about his mother, perhaps? Her condition hasn't gotten worse, has it?"

Mama shrugged and I quietly struggled to scratch off the last bits of gum.

Like I said, 7 days had gone by for me as a free-loader in Mama Ruth's residence. At first, calling Mama Ruth by her name had been quite weird for me because we were usually expected to call our mothers 'Mama', a word deserving of love.

And more so because Sven never called her Mama as well. Now that I think about it, I've never heard him address Mama Ruth by her preferred name. He rarely ever speaks and I've been ever so curious about him from the very first day.

Anyways, Mama Ruth had practically made me her maid now, alongside Sven who was ever the hard worker, sweeping and mopping every day early in the morning. I don't really mind cleaning because it made me less aware of the fact that I was leeching off of her for free and made me believe that I was actually giving her something in return.

This was how my schedule had been for the past week:

>Early morning, usually between 8am-10am: Wakeup and wash up. (Since there was a limited supply of water, I never got a proper chance at a shower and only had to pat myself clean with a wet rag.)

>After that: Helping in the kitchen and then having breakfast along with Sven and Mama.

>After THAT: Cleaning up once more and then helping Sven inside the inn. There usually wasn't much work but Sven did make sure to sweep and mop every single day. (One day, I had skipped work because I developed a sudden pain in my ankle. I had expected that Sven would forgo work too because cleaning everyday wasn't needed in the first place, but the same evening when I went downstairs to grab a glass of water, he was outside the inn and sweeping the street. I was appalled but I didn't dare comment.)

>After cleaning, everybody took a nap. It was most unusual compared to my life at the palace and at Faustine's house. But since everyone was fast asleep and I had nothing else to do, I'd just joined the group.

>After naps, everyone woke up at around dinner time. I was the one who usually woke up first and then I had to do the dire job of waking everyone up. (Most times when I entered Mama's room, Whisker was awake and alert on her lap. I was too afraid to go up close to him in case he decided to go for another spree, so I would call Mama till she woke up with a start.)

>Then we'd all have dinner after which I cleaned up the kitchen while Mama rested and Sven wiped the table.

>Mama would call me in her room by the time Whisker was asleep. Then we'd talk about stuff while I massaged her feet. That was one of the best and one of the most awkward times of the day.

>After that, everyone turned in early into the night.

"Y'all should clean the attic tomorrow," Mama said after she had asked me about Reynard.

"There's an attic?" I asked. Maybe the hint of excitement in my voice was very detectable because Mama smiled, her smile lines creasing in.

"Oh yeah, didn't you know?" she asked as she stroked Whisker's fur. "But I mostly use it for storage. Though it does need cleaning up... Ask Sven to help you."

I 'mm'd' for a while and stared around. Then it hit me to ask.

"Mama, did you forget I'm a princess?" I sat up straight and pointed an accusing finger in her direction. "How dare you order your Princess around? I demand you get executed."

Mama swatted my hands away, her lips up in a smirk.

"If you're the princess then I'm the Queen," she croaked, chuckling. "Nothing comes for free, girly. I don't care if you're a princess or whatever, you gotta earn it if you want to live in my house. What alias did you use before, eh? Ash, was it?"

"Ashli," I said softly, imitating Reynard's accent. "Ashli Rivers. I chose it myself, though the surname was Reynard's idea."

Mama scoffed, rolling her grey eyes. "How uncreative. As expected of 'im."

I laughed as I stared at my feet. "Mama, I forgot to bring my dresses from Faustine's. Do you have any idea about how I could retrieve them…? This black dress needs washing." Somehow, I had gone by in 1 dress for 7 days straight, but now it was getting smelly and dusty which really bothered me.

Mama nodded. "Faustine, eh? The one who went to the academy with Amice? She was her best friend, ya know."

"She was?" I had no idea.

"Oh yeah. My own daughter went to the academy with them so I know."

My eyes widened. "You have a daughter?"

"Had," Mama sighed. "She died."

My shoulder slumped. "My condolences."

"Nah," she muttered, her grey eyes staring into nothingness. "She was a bright spark like yerself. I named her 'Lissy'. Lissy Swailes. Lissy, Amice and Faustine, whom they used to call Tina back in the day, all three of them were the closest of fellows, always stuck to each other like hooks."

I was leaning in. "So what happened to her?"

Mama shook her head and sighed. "She got hit by a palace carriage. Since then, I've despised the royal family."

I gulped as I clenched my hands together. "D-do you hate me too?"

Mama shook her head again and looked at me, and right there for the very first time, I truly felt sad.

"Not once. Whenever you made any public appearances, you looked so, so sad… I wondered if you felt suffocated as a member of the Royal Family."

I stared at her. "Public appearances? None of it comes to mind..."

She sighed. "Don't be silly. I remember very well the day you made a speech to the locals of Wisteria at your debutante ball. I was in the crowd, you know? Watching. And when I looked up at you, I wondered if I could ever hate a small, scared creature like you. You seemed so shy and conservative, like a kitten, I'd say."

I laughed softly. So that's what the past princess had been like. Shy and conservative, huh? Had I been too... had by been different?

Mama continued. "Though now when I look at you, I wonder if the scary little girl had just been a figment of my imagination. You are unlike your past self in so many ways. It amazes me! Maybe the break from the palace was just what you needed."

I smiled sadly as I pushed my black hair out of my eyes.

"You might be right there. Mama Ruth."

✿

"Sven! Sven, wake up," I whispered loudly as I poked him in the shoulder, his shoulder blades colliding hardly against my fingers. "Hey, Sven!"

"Mn." He shuffled around in his sleep.

I sighed, frustrated. He was the hardest to wake up and it usually took me around 10 minutes to get him out of bed. It wasn't like we were on friendly terms, but Sven didn't seem to mind my presence. Well, he never even questioned my presence in the first place, he just quietly accepted it.

"Oi, Sven!"

"What?" he hissed as he snapped his head around and peered up at me.

I put my hands on my shoulders. "Mama's saying we need to clean the attic; it's filthy!" Honestly, I had no idea if it was filthy or whatnot. I just needed him up.

Slowly, he groaned and grunted as he sat up and looked at me.

I raised one eyebrow, a wordless way to ask 'What?', but he didn't respond. He kept staring at my face. After a while, he grunted and stood up, his long figure towering over me.

"I'll be out," he muttered as he turned his back to me.

I shrugged and left his room, stopping briefly by the 5th door. I had locked it again and since that very day, it remained unopened.

Uneasily, I waited for Sven by my room and he came back wearing a lime green shirt that seemed much too loose on him, but he didn't care. Sluggishly, he carried the cleaning supplies under his arms and walked past me.

Now that I think about it... I've never seen any stairs go up to the attic. There was only one staircase in the whole inn and that was the one which we used to get up to the first floor. I watched as Sven shuffled past me and by the help of his height, he pulled at something on the ceiling.

Suddenly, a set of wooden planks on the ceiling came loose and with another tug, they hung completely down from one side. I stared as Sven pulled out a folded ladder from above and stretched it down to the floor.

He didn't even glance back as he started climbing up and once he disappeared through the whole in the ceiling, he pulled up with him the broom and mop and disappeared once again. I could hear his footsteps thudding above me as he walked around the attic.

Slowly, I grabbed the rag he had left behind on the floor and followed him up, carefully minding my steps.