A thump to falling to my side startled me and then I saw that where my feet were, was opened shortly after.

I was quiet for a moment, catching my baring’s as…I had no idea what was going on but…

As someone grabbed my feet, another person was slowly trying to take the barrel out from over me and I found myself on a bed.

“His Highness wanted you to have this.”

One of the people was undoing my binds, the other held out a letter.

Shakily, I took it and opened it up.

‘I hope that this plan isn’t something that makes matters worse, but I just had to try something! I’m sorry you were taken, and I would understand if you never want to return back to the palace!

My royal, elder brother has been frantic in looking for you, but I am not sure if it is wise to return to the palace. State what you want to the two men who are with you and I will understand any type of decision that you state.

If you decide to return to the palace, I will return you to my royal, elder brother, he should be able to keep you safe.

If your decision is to instead leave the palace, the two men will give you some money and you must attempt to disappear, just in case. But, on that condition and due to how I had let you down, I am scared to state this plan to my royal, elder brother, as I have also let him down by not protecting you.

This Prince is very grateful to have met you, selfishly wanting to meet you again but I am also selfishly wanting you to be alive! I wish for your wellbeing and will state now that you have given me courage and will use it to be well myself.

Sincerely Prince Elijah’

Letting out a shaky breath, I sighed.

That sweet Prince!

“I am here to ask you, what is your decision!?”

One of the men looked eager to leave, most likely only here to do his master’s orders. Perhaps he didn’t even like me…

“What have you decided!?”

He really wasn’t giving me any time to think, was he!?

Jorne…

So, he has been trying to get me back…I guess it is because Lady Vixen had hidden me in her very own quarters, that he had troubles trying to get me.

Not only were their maids nearly always attending to her room, but my so-called cell was closed, and something placed in front of it when they weren’t abusing me.

Had they been so careful that Jorne was unable to do anything? And now, he won’t even know what happened to me…

I didn’t get mad at the second Prince for not having the courage to tell his brother and…Actually, it was probably better that way.

Jorne was…He would be better of just believing that I had vanished. Over time, he will see that…

I let out a small laugh, how could I go back?

Even if I went back and became the Crowned Princess all over again…

Well, seeing Lady Vixen’s face would be nice…

But, Jorne had said that becoming the Crowned Princess again was going to take time, which meant I would still be a maid and still…

I didn’t want to…

I was out now, and I did have a reason to stay out…It’s just…

I didn’t…Get to say goodbye or anything. I didn’t get to see him one last time.

Because, I probably won’t see him again…Because…I won’t be coming back!

“I won’t be returning and…You must thank His Highness for me.”

***

Jorne slammed his desk in pure rage!

How could she just disappear! Again!

He had someone watching her!

He had someone standing by, ready to get her out of harm's way!

They had gone through so much trouble to search Lady Venus’s quarters and yes, there was evidence of keeping someone bound and locked up, however much they try to hide it but…Oliver hadn’t been there!

Excuses!

Excuses were said and since there was no one hurt, nothing could be done!

All that was determined was that Lady Venus had to move elsewhere, while they were to ‘redecorate’ her quarters!

Jorne had wanted to go there himself but could only clench his fist while standing right at the doors of his younger brother’s quarters.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Jorne put his back against his chair and put his limp hands to his sides.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I didn’t expect to suddenly black out, only to see that nothing different seemed to have happened afterwards.”

Jorne opened his eyes and sat up straight, “It had to be her, but the barrel must have changed! You had been seen!”

“My apologies, Your Highness!”

His subordinate had followed that barrel, having seen it to be suspicious, but as soon as the subordinate was going to investigate inside it, the bodyguard was hit in the back to a faint and so when the subordinate had woken, the barrel was already just about ready to be moved back again.

“It has to have been! But how…”

Jorne remembered what his subordinate said after Lady Venus received the barrel back. Lady Venus had been angry!

The idea seems to be that Oliver had indeed been in the barrel, the barrel had been switched and not only he, but even Lady Venus didn’t know what had happened!

Could it have been…

Frowning, Jorne stood.

“Let us see my brother!”

Upon having to wait for his brother to finish with one of his tutors, Jorne leaned against the wall.

He was impatient...So impatient!

He'd already lost her once!

Why, why does she always slip through his fingers!?

There was only one good thing about this, and that was that it seemed she had not died.

Relief flooded through him upon being sure on this fact but...He was not satisfied, he wanted her by his side!

He wanted to see her, be able to touch her but she...

As much as he tried to think of other possibilities, his brother was the only one that might have let her go!

And there was nothing else but to get her back!

“Eld…Elder brother!”

Looking at his younger brother from the side, Jorne saw that he was stuttering.

He obviously knows something!

“Is…Is there a reason why elder brother is suddenly looking for me?”

Jorne stood straight, just staring at Elijah.

It was like no years had passed, his brother’s lip trembled and, in a moment,, he fell to the floor and cried, “I’m sorry! I didn’t protect her! I’m sorry, elder brother!”

Sighing, Jorne felt like he mistook his brother’s stuttering.

Elijah feels bad…That might be all there was to it…

But if it wasn’t Elijah that had replaced the barrels...Then who was it?

“Get up!” Jorne stated firmly.

Watching Elijah slowly stand, but continue to bow his head, Jorne sighed again.

“I blame Lady Venus, not you! But this is a lesson for you, little brother! You must learn from this matter and make sure that it isn’t repeated in the future!”

“Yes! Yes, of course, it won’t happen again!”

Jorne put a hand to Elijah’s head and couldn’t help himself, “Do you know anything? Do you know where she is?”

Feeling Elijah flinch to his questions, Jorne widened his eyes.

“You know!”

Elijah continued to bow his head and for a moment didn’t say anything.

“Tell me!”

Feeling his little brother flinch once again, Jorne lowered himself in haste, through desperation of finding Oliver.

Getting closer to Elijah, Jorne whispered into his ear, “She is your sister in law…The Crowned Princess! You must tell me where she is!”

“…What…”

The small voice of Elijah was full of disbelief.

How could Madeline suddenly turn into his sister in law?

Jorne turned Elijah’s face to his and looked into his eyes, “It is the truth! She is my wife and your sister in law! Her maid was the one that died in her place!”

“…Her...Maid?”

Jorne wanted to slap his little brother’s face, because he was getting more and more impatient!

“Since you know now that Oliver is your sister in law, you must see that she needs to be returned to me! Now tell me what happened!”

“…Sister…In law?”

Seeing Elijah swallow and stare at nothing with wide eyes, Jorne grabbed his collar and said, “Tell me!”

Elijah was stuck in his thoughts. He couldn’t believe it…

If Oliver was his sister in law, then why was she a maid?

Why did his royal, elder brother want her as a maid?

Why did she…Want to be his own maid?

What was really going on?

Could his royal, elder brother be lying?

Could Oliver have wanted to escape from the beginning?

“Why?”

“Why what?” Jorne stated, hating that his little brother wasn’t at all intimidated.

“Why was she a maid?” Elijah asked, staring back at his royal, elder brother.

Jorne looked down and let out a smirk, “She was always doing silly things…That was how we thought her as dead. She got her maid to dress up as her and she was the maid, but I doubt she ever thought that her maid would die as her and make her have to stay as a maid. I’m trying to fix it so that she can return back as my wife, my Crowned Princess!”

“She’s…Your wife…And you didn’t bring her back?”

Elijah didn’t know that he looked far more courageous then normal at the moment because…All he wanted was some answers.

Jorne let go of Elijah and let out a deep breath, “She didn’t want to come back. I should have just made it happen but…I just couldn’t force her…”

Elijah saw the defeated expression on his royal, elder brother’s face and frowned. It was the first time that he had seen it, but why have that expression? How could my brother be defeated like this?

...So, if Oliver did not want to return to Jorne and had chosen to not return to the palace…Was he best to keep what he had done a secret?

He didn’t know…

What if his royal, elder brother had not been nice to her? Was that the reason she did not want to return back to him?

What should he do? He was sure that this was a big situation as…He apparently had let his sister in law go! Yet, if she was so keen on leaving the palace, wasn’t this the best time to do so?

If he claimed that he didn’t know anything and let her be free, wasn’t this a better solution?

Elijah was conflicted, he felt like he had done something wrong for the royal family but also wanted to think he had done right for at least one person…

Oliver was apparently his sister in law, his friend, and he did want her to return but…He didn’t want her to get killed!

If she were to come back, would she be in trouble?

What should I do, he asked himself in panic!

“You know where she is don’t you?” Jorne asked, less angry this time.

Elijah looked up and then shook his head. “I don’t know where she is now.”

He wasn’t lying, after his men came back this morning, he had no idea on what Oliver, his sister in law, was going to do afterwards.

“…You…Don’t know?”

Seeing his elder brother look at him in disbelief, Elijah looked away, only to look back.

It was done now, his sister in law had chosen to leave…She could have come back, she had the opportunity, but…Well, with probably what happened to her, considering that she had been gone for awhile and most likely getting hurt in that time, it’s no wonder that she didn’t want to return…

Elijah could only be glad of one thing, and that was that she was still alive and honestly, he did worry for her life here at the moment, so…All he could speak of was the truth, but beyond that, his brother will have to do the work in obtaining her back because…He still felt like he had done the right cause of action!

“I don’t know, I am sorry for not protecting her though. I am regretful, I am sad and feel useless! But…I really don’t know where she is right now!”

Jorne took a step back, nearly losing his balance, “You really don’t know?”

Had he lost her…Again?

Until now, Jorne had no idea how much faith he put into his little brother knowing where Oliver was...

He had assumed that he would know...Assumed that his little brother would lead him straight to her!

“I really don’t know!” Elijah felt confident in at least answering this question and…If his royal, elder brother asked him more questions…He will answer them honestly as well!

But…Elijah never thought that his brother would slowly turn and defeatedly walk away afterwards.

He had never seen his brother like that before.

His back was hunched and his steps…They weren’t the steps of a Prince, they were steps of something else.

What was wrong with him?

Unable to move, just staring at his brother slowly growing smaller in the distance, Elijah was starting to feel like he had done something terribly wrong…

Jorne had trouble walking back to his quarters as...He simply saw his Oliver everywhere in his memories.

Never knowing until now how much his eyes had searched for one particular person, his memories showed how vivid she had been previously…He saw her cleaning and gardening. He saw her making a face and going back to scrubbing, laughing by herself as she was hiding and hearing other servants talk near her.

Then, his memories got worse upon walking into his quarters!

There she was grumpily looking after the departing figure of Lady May, there she was walking around like she was coming up with an idea...

His feet took him to her quarters, to her door, to her room, to her clothes, her books...

The gardenias were wilting by the window, there was dust on the bookshelves...

Closing his eyes for a moment, Jorne then heard a noise that woke him up from his memories.

...The bird...The bird was still here!

Does that mean that Oliver could still be in the palace?

He remembers spending some time with the bird when he had thought Oliver had died before, now...Now he wondered if...

Widening his eyes and walking straight to the trees, Jorne had an idea!

He was sure that Oliver had been using this bird to search for something, nearly a hundred percent sure that it was to search for her father. Now...Could he use the bird to search for Oliver?

It was...The only thing that he could count on...

But that thought didn't give him much hope...It was only a bird after all…

Within a day of following a bird around, Jorne seemed to see that the bird did seem to have some type of skill.

Not only had the bird flown around Lady Venus's old quarters, where Oliver once had been, but it had even pooped upon Lady Venus's head, making Jorne laugh for the first time since Oliver's disappearance.

Having feed the bird some food, upon having found Lady Venus's quarters, Jorne was then asked to see his father.

Since the bird seemed like it was going to sleep, after having been feed such delicious food, Jorne took this time to go to his Royal Imperial Father...

Should he tell his father that Oliver was gone?

Jorne narrowed his eyes as he continued to towards his father's study.

Strangely enough, Jorne did not tell his father upon what happened to Oliver and instead got orders to get the army ready.

They had heard back from Wedge!

'I am placed.'

That is all that was written on the secret note that had gone straight to the King.

It had been a while since they had seen this exact note and it obviously meant that a wedge had been made between the people, the army and the King of Icklish.

Icklish would be easier to take now, easier to separate and conquer!

Yet, Jorne was not sure what to do about Oliver. If she were still in the palace...

Getting his man, that had been watching over Oliver before to continue to look for her here, Jorne played his role and got the army ready.

They were going to march towards Icklish and...Perhaps, he could get that bird of hers to help his look for her outside of the palace as well!

If there was a chance that she’d be outside the palace, taking the bird would probably be the best way to finding her!

And just as Jorne had planned, he took the bird with him, losing him not long after they had just left the capital!

***

I had been trying to get better for nearly two days, and finally was able to leave the outskirts of the capital, to start my long trip of searching for my father in Icklish.

Having taken this chance to leave the palace, to leave my status as a maid and that evil doer vixen, I had not thought that I had been so weak.

Knowing that I needed to leave the place that the Second Prince had left me in, I had quickly eaten and drank something, to get my strength up and then securely kept the money I had left.

Having slowly walked for what seemed like hours, I came to my friend’s place, who was a merchant’s daughter, and I had been taken in there.

They asked me questions but soon found that I was not willing to talk about certain topics and they could only see that I had endured through some sort of hardship.

Having used my money well, I still had some left, having paid for my stay at my friends, and had even bought something small that would be worth more outside of the capital.

Now that I had food and drink, was walking better and felt like I was in a rush to get away from here, I was saying goodbye in no time.

I was scared…Still…

I didn’t want to run into anyone that would take me back!

…Now that I was free, it was going to stay that way!

Not being able to say goodbye to Jorne was not going to stop me!

My father had been missing for so long now and it was finally time to go and see him!

The other thing that I was upset about…Was that I had left behind Theo.

I had tried calling for him, and will continue to do so, so that he can stay with me, but I am not sure if it’ll work…

It was strange though, how suddenly everything works out…

Theo came to me not long before leaving the capital!

Why was it that he was flying from outside though? And…What’s with the army?