The Runner (Part I of the Runner Series)

Chapter 23

The day of the ball has finally arrived and the Palace is a flurry of activity.

I walk down the third-floor hallway, keeping my head lowered as I dodge the servants streaming past. The Palace maids and stewards seem preoccupied with their chores and no one pays me any notice as I make my fourth trip back from the laundry room, a sack laden with stolen dresses and tunics flung over my shoulder.

Pushing back a lock of hair that has escaped my maid's kerchief, I skip lightly down the narrow set of servants' stairs. I tread the familiar path down to the east exit and toward the gaol, feeling a line of sweat trickle down the back of my neck. I push through the exit and hurry along the side of the courtyard, sticking to the crowds of servants and guards. Heading for the alley behind the gaol, I check once over my shoulder before ducking into the shadowed passage in behind. Prying open the lid of an ale barrel, I dump the sack of clothes inside. The barrel is mostly dried out, but unfortunately there is nothing I can do for the smell of soured drink. I shut the lid and secure it, thinking that it may help to cover the odour of the soon-to-be-released prisoners.

I slip out of the alley and back into the throng of people, glancing up to check the position of the sun. I estimate that we are only a couple of hours from when the first of the guests are expected, giving me a small window of time to get ready. The other ladies have been primping since the early morning, locked away on the fourth floor with their handmaids helping to style their hair and prepare their outfits. Sera protested only a little when I sent her on an errand, but she understood well enough that I have no interest in wasting hours on styling. As soon as she left, I donned my maid's disguise and began stealing back and forth from the laundry.

I re-enter the Palace through the servants' door and make my way back up to the fourth floor, ducking my chin and striding quickly back toward my room. I feel a headache coming on at the sound of a dozen high-pitched voices. Girls in various states of undress, sporting elaborate, precarious-looking hairstyles, cross back and forth through the hallway, exclaiming over one another and laughing gaily.

I arrive at my room and slip inside; closing the door behind me, I lean back against it. I feel my heart thudding heavily in my chest and concentrate on relaxing, drawing deep, calming breaths as I try to clear my thoughts.

There is a tapping of knuckles directly behind my head and my eyes fly open.

"Miss Abby?" Sera's voice calls through the door.

"Just a moment!" I say. I strip off my maid's uniform as quickly as I can, dropping the articles to the ground and stuffing them under my bed.

"We really need to start getting you ready," she insists.

I look around desperately for something to cover myself with and grab a sheet off the bed, wrapping it hurriedly around my torso.

"You can come in!" I call.

As the door knob turns, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I snatch the white kerchief off of my head and drop it to the ground, kicking it behind me as Sera opens the door, her arms laden with swaths of coral fabric.

"Are you just getting out of bed?" she exclaims as she takes in my appearance.

I must look a sight, a blush creeping up my cheeks and my hair standing out at all angles.

"I took a nap," I say, arranging the bottom of my bedsheet around the discarded kerchief. "I wanted to be refreshed."

Sera tsks under her breath, leaves the coral bundle draped over a chair and makes a beeline for my washroom. A moment later I hear water running and she re-emerges, gesturing for me to get into the bath.