Chapter 6

Chapter 006: Giulia's Perspective

I made a mistake.

Hugely.

I assumed it would be another dreary routine when I entered that basement once more, a bucket of dirty water in one hand and a broom in the other. Rechain the girl, sweep up the blood, lock the door, and leave as if nothing had happened. Buried beneath the palace floors is yet another secret.

However, I froze.

They snapped chains. Not loosened. Broke.

Handprints dragged towards the iron-barred door, blood smeared across the cold stone like red paint.

What about the girl?

Lost.

Not a single person. No breathing, silence, and blood.

I stumbled because my chest clenched so tightly. My ears were slammed with my pulse. My boots were soaked when the bucket slipped and water spilled all over the place. I didn't give a damn. It was a clattering mop. My fingers continued to shake.

"No, no, no," I muttered. My voice broke.

She was unable to get away. She was hardly able to move. When her ribs cracked from a kick last week, the girl didn't even scream. As though she had already died a hundred times and didn't give a damn, she simply lay there with her bones sharp against her skin.

However, she had left.

A shadow that disappeared into thin air.

I staggered backward and collided with the wall behind me. I pressed my hands to the chilly stone as if they were holding me together. However, I was disintegrating. I was screaming inside.

What if someone believes I assisted her?

What if they discover?

Steps.

I ran.

Not to flee. I required a room. Air. It's time to reflect.

The previous

I knew the old servant tunnels better than anyone. I ducked into the shadows and slipped behind the wine racks. I held my breath. waited.

Two guards passed with hushed but urgent voices, their boots loud on the marble.

The basement door was open. They broke the chains.

"You believe it was one of them?"

Or worse. Something that has no right to exist.

My stomach turned over. I pushed farther into the shadows until I could no longer hear their footsteps.

I started running. The north passage, which curved behind the kitchens, was taken. Like it wanted to escape, my heart pounded against my ribs. My shirt stuck to me as sweat soaked my back.

Then.....

I slid to a halt.

He waited.

Leonardo.

He stood motionless at the intersection of the tunnels. His jaw was locked, his arms folded, and his eyes were as cold as winter steel. He appeared unsurprised. Didn't even appear irate.

He had the appearance of a wolf ready to charge.

"Gianni, where is she?"

I took a deep breath. I had a dry mouth. Words splintered in my throat like shattered glass.

I stammered, "I—I don't know." "She was gone when I arrived; I just went to clean up."

He moved forward slowly.

"You think I'll think that girl got away by herself? In her state? Following their treatment of her?"

"I didn't assist her!"

One more step. His power was pressing down on me.

However, you were aware, weren't you? You were aware that there was something unique about her.

I lowered my head. My neck prickled with shame.

I croaked, "My Prince, you don't understand." She wasn't imprisoned for her actions... Because of who she is, she was imprisoned.

He froze. Gazed at me. "What were you saying?"

I paused. All of my instincts told me to stop talking. To tell a lie. to sprint.

But now I was too far in.

I muttered, "She's the real daughter." Not the person upstairs posing as Luna while sporting pearls. Your blood is in that girl down there in chains.

Leonardo remained motionless. Didn't take a breath.

There was a long, frightful silence in the hallway.

Then he spoke softly. Risky.

"Repeat that."

"I won't," I whispered. "You heard me."

His eyes blinked. He rotated his back at me. I thought I was off the hook for a moment.

"You say a word of this, Gianni, and I'll cut out your tongue myself," he said calmly and sharply.

"I promise I won't," I blurted out. "I will never say anything, so you don't need to threaten me."

He had already started to leave. The sound of his boots reverberated through the corridor like the toll of death.

With weak legs and trembling breath, I allowed myself to fall against the wall. My hands continued to shake. Even after wiping the perspiration from my face, my skin felt chilly.

Then I heard it, though.

A gentle scuffle.

Not his boots.

I looked around.

It's too late.

Around the corner, a flash of red skirt disappeared. A maid. I recognized her face but not her name. She had visited that place. She had heard it all.

No. No, no, no.

"Hold on!" I yelled as I ran after her, my boots slipping on the polished stone. "Please wait!

She moved quickly. She ran down the hall, ducking into another corridor, her slippers hardly making a sound.

She was gone when I followed her through the maze, past storage rooms, and beneath flickering lanterns. Disappeared as if it were a ghost.

My lungs were burning. My legs hurt. With my heart racing so hard that I was afraid I might throw up, I leaned against a support beam.

Now what?

I'm dead if she tells anyone. No trial. No pity. Simply dead.

And if she doesn't say anything?

Not likely. This palace's secrets tend to be bleeding.

I slid to the floor, pressing the back of my head against the wall. I could feel my panic rising like an uncontrollable tide. My mind was racing, disorganized, and cacophonous.

This was not how it was supposed to happen.

Down there, she was to rot. Be forgotten. Like everyone else, fade.

However, she didn't.

She got away.

And now?

The truth is now seeping through the gaps. And when it goes out, it will spread like wildfire throughout this palace.

And the first to burn will be me.

It wasn't over, though.

I returned to the stables a few hours later, my hands black with soot from cleaning the furnace pits. The guards told me to stay busy.

Don't get in the way. However, I wasn't thinking about the ash

She was at fault.

Where had she disappeared to? In her condition, how far could she go? She needed assistance climbing those stone stairs because she lacked the strength. Unless......she had assistance right now

Unless she was friends with someone

Or worse, the crown's enemies.

I heard hooves clacking and looked up. With sweat on his face and wild eyes, a messenger on horseback galloped in.

He leapt to the ground. In the woods to the west, we discovered tracks. Blood. Torn cloth. Additionally, claw marks

My heart fell.

Claw marks?

No.

With wide eyes, I whispered, "She's not just a prisoner." "She's unique."

The messenger pivoted. "Have you said anything?"

I gave a quick shake of my head. "Nothin'."

He didn't think I was real. He didn't press, though.

He ought to have.

Since I was aware, I knew she was more than just a girl.

She was the blazing core of this kingdom. She was also gone.

Free.

alive

Furthermore, the storm had not yet started.

"What were you saying?"

I paused. All of my instincts told me to stop talking. to tell a falsehood. to sprint.

But now I was too far in.