Thrown Into Fire: The Sacrificed Princess

stly, was it that difficult for her t

the air rather than into their dustpans. I kept my back to the wall, staring up at the ceiling. There was a new crack in the stone that I

were. Most days, they would curse me out. They would say I was the dev

This was closer to an abandoned warehouse than it was an imperial palace. Carriages did not come through the route towards my home, meaning anyone who needed to come and go would have to suffe

r on the glass window, or even organizing their masters' shoes the wrong way. Their stay would never be long. They were brought here to be taught a lesson, one that they would learn quickly if they weren't ignorant of my living conditions. It was a good punishment, I would give them that. Once they ser

t than the leftovers from the Jade Palace! And with the heat right now..." The maid

here? You stupid girl! They eat on the way here, while the food

e had only been here for four days. From what I heard, her sentence shouldn't be too long. She did not co

eat, obviously," the mai

d desired to exchange them out for new ones. It was the beginning of the rotation, meaning there should be new books that I hadn't read yet.

leaning tools to move onto a new area, "Like you said, she does not look like His Majesty

ever seen the prince?! Is what they sa

herself, so proud of their looks. "And yet, our bastard princess... There is no pigment in her hair! I onc

maid gasped in horror, the se

Princess Aurelia should call for me to return to her side. I c

e more weeks in thi

to me, and I treated what was given to me as if it could be taken from me at any moment. Dresses were always brought to me out of season with imperfections– rejections from the boutiques that they would have thrown out, but instead decided to donate to the forgotten princess. I had only a few jewels that were mine, car

onger, the Archives would be closed and I would be unable to get another book for a few days.

et anyone spot me, though staying hidden was generally an easy task when there was no one looking for me. In that same regard, the

when I was young were still there, different colors detonating which path would lead me in which direction. At this point in my life, I had long memorized each route of the tunnels. There was not a place I had not snuck away to. I found solace in th

shorter. They would continue to flicker and provide light for my journeys. I experimented one day and poured water over o

trance into the Archives was hidden by a bookshelf that slid into the wall beside it, then seamlessly blended back into place. I snuck

graying of time. Wrinkles grew on his face, earned from all his hard work of late night studying. He wore Valeris' colors– silver and navy blue– on the sash over his suit, marking

Are you decipher

him. "I received this from a colleague. Says it is from t

ag I carried with me. Pierce took the text from me, and led me out his office to

tion to the Pryos Basin?" he asked, glancing over at me with a particular glint in his

Pryos Basin was the home of drag

id, lo

hat are for chi

sound was infectious and I couldn't help but smile in return. "I only

d from over the mountain, stating they could see treasure from the top of the summit. He would have investigated closer if h

They had departed over a month ago, and a messenger had come to the palace to announce Prince Orion and his squad would be returning within the next week with many treasures.

ot invited to such

e cleared off the books. "Not even the apprentices like to catalogue the retu

" I offered him a

hidden in my office so that no one else would be ab

ick on his feet when it came to these books. I'd never met anyone else that was more enthusias

e than likely be dark by the time you are within sight of your palace." Worry was e

I will, Pierce." I patted his arm comfortingly. "You don't have

mped just a little bit, but once again, he respected me. He would not a

well,

cy carriages pulled by noble steeds pulled through the gates and watched as men and women stepped out in dresses that I could never imagine myself be

. I picked up one of the books given to me by Pierce, dropping into my lumpy mattres

ce I left these palace walls and never returned. I was halfway through the book when I heard frantic footsteps thud down the hall, getting closer and closer to my room. I didn't tear my eyes off of the pages a

ext page. "I've been here all day, so there's no po

t of her. When I looked at her face, I realized I had never seen her within my grounds before. Her hair was done too nicely, even though she had strands that were pulled out of the tight bun she wore. The uniform she wore wa

he carriage roughly, the maid following inside behind me. She hadn't even closed the door before the horses took off in a sprint, making the two of us jolt in surprise. I g

as been taken hosta