The Fall Of Astraea

9. Safety in a Friend

I hadn't slept. The bed was too squeaky and uncomfortable, and I could not ignore the running of mice at night. I had tried to wake Phillip up, but he was sound asleep. I ended up staying up in hopes that Malik would arrive sooner. He never did. By the time dawn came around, I was sore from sitting in one position too long, and my eyes hurt from being open too long. Malik soon came in quietly, and I could see he was surprised that I was up.

"You haven't slept." He stated, and I nodded.

"I couldn't sleep. The mice kept on making a lot of noise."

"Yeah, they do that, but you get used to it," Malik told me as he sat on the bed and looked out the window with me. The city was already bustling, and it had to be six in the morning. It was fascinating how early people got up to work. I had never had to wake up this early back home. I sighed. The further away I was from home, the more I realized I was privileged. I gently placed my head on his shoulders. I suddenly felt sleepy. I yawned, and he chuckled. " This is why you should have slept."

"I know," I said as I stared at the castle ahead. I wanted to sleep now that Malik was here, but I knew that we had to keep moving. We weren't safe. That thought made me stand up and stretch. I never wanted to see Lykos again. I turned around to see Phillip awake with a frown. I was going to question him, but when we made eye contact, he smiled. I decided not to question him.

"So what's the plan?" Phillip asked as he got out of bed.

"I'm not sure yet. The castle is heavily guarded." Malik said.

"I still think we could use servant disguises to enter at the time of the ball. Did you figure out what time it's starting?" I asked.

"Six in the evening."

"Perfect." I watched Malik frown, but we had no other choice. I just hoped we wouldn't get caught. I didn't want anybody to get hurt.

Once it was evening, we hurriedly walked out of the inn. We didn't want to attract attention to ourselves, so we took the bad roads to the back of the castle. Malik led us to where the spare uniforms were. Once we wore them, we tried to look around to follow what the rest were doing. Most were carrying flour to the kitchen, and I decided to do the same. I picked one, but it was too heavy, and I wasn't sure if I was able to make it. I dropped, and everyone gasped. I sighed. I was getting attention now. It wasn't long before a cruel-looking elderly woman approached me. Her clothing was uptight, more than Annastacia's. Her black hair was in a tight bun, and she had a stick by her side. She was already having a scowl as she approached me. I bowed my head as she approached me.

"It only takes two good hands to carry flour! Two! Do you have one ?" She shouted at me.

"No ma'am."

"Then what is this mess?"

"I apologize...." She came up to me and grabbed me by the chin.

"Do I know you?" She asked. "I have never seen you here."

"I'm new....." I started, but she didn't let me finish my sentence.

"New?! I hired all the servants here and I had never seen you before." She shouted, and in the corner of my eye, I could see Malik among the servants who had stopped working to look at me. He gave me a nod and then looked out the back gate. He meant we were going to make a run for it. But before I could do anything else, a dark-skinned woman came running by my side.

"I am sorry, Ms. Shafi. She is my cousin. The princess hired her to be her maid." The woman said and Ms. Shafi sighed. She spoke something in her native language and then said,

"Get her out of my sight." She took my hand and led me into the castle. We entered a huge cleaning supplies closet, and she looked around before closing the door. She faced me and then bowed to me.