A forgotten princess

An update on the case

Upon hearing that Marie had never had her debutante, Melanie had set it her goal, to give Marie a fun first-ball experience. Marie, on the the other hand, didn't want to stand out in the least. She wanted to observe the ball, since the people behind the kidnapping of princess Annabelle might attack again. 

Since they both wanted opposite things, they reached an agreement that Marie would introduce herself at the ball. Now, Marie could rest easy, knowing she won't have to make a grand entrance.

But what Marie intends to do at the ball still stands. A big gathering of princesses, vulnerable to any kind of attack, so Marie needs to pay attention to suspicious people.  

But Marie was also very excited, because she now made a friend at the Palace. When Marie fist arrived, she though she would definitely be ostracized by her lowly birth, but she hasn't run into any other princesses, but when she did, she was friendly. But she still didn't lower her guard, knowing the Palace is not a bit safe. 

Marie spends most of her days in the small attic. Ever since she was little, she loved small and comfortable spaces, so the attic was a personal hiding space. She also kept her notebook in there, for safe keeping. The notebook had information concerning the 6th princess. Since, Marie hadn't lost her goal yet.

Actually, hearing Melanie so distressed and the painful look on her face, motivated Marie even more. 

The notebook was full of information that she got from the report and Melanie. 

"The 6th princess is being held hostage, so no danger will come to her. The Royal Palace is trying to negotiate with them, but who 'them' is, no one knows. Some claim 'they'are jealous nobles hoping for power, some think it's a neighboring country."

Marie wrote in the information Melanie told her.  The report had yet been updated, stating that it was revealed that the 6th princess is being held hostage. Marie was relieved, knowing they wouldn't hurt her, though negotiations are not going well, according to what Melanie said.

In the Empire, hostage situations like this weren't uncommon, but unlike this one, they knew who they were negotiating with, and the royal family had only 2 children, meaning they were perfectly safe. 

'They' are keeping the princess hostage, but demanding more and more, and they down show signs of stopping to demand.  It scares even Marie, thinking of what Princess Annabelle is going through.  Because she was just some forgotten princess, she wasn't very desirable, so she was safe from these things.

 Marie closed the notebook, and started to look out the window, to watch the sun set. And she dozed off once again.