The Princess Within Me

Chapter 24

A silly idea suddenly came into my mind after contemplating for a while. I finally knew what to give him.

* * *

"Your highness, you look marvelous today!" Corrine complimented. I smiled at her then I curtsied as a sign of my appreciation.

There was only an hour left before the party. I was fetched by Mr. Sanders and was brought back to the palace earlier this day so that I could already prepare myself for the gathering.

Since I arrived, I still hadn't seen Cedrick. I asked Ms. Lisa and my other friends in the palace yet they didn't know his whereabouts.

I wonder where he is.

I decided to look for Cedrick after I finished getting ready for his party so I wandered around the corridors. The halls are well-lighted for the sake of the guests who would arrive soon.

I kept on walking until an unfamiliar hallway caught my attention. At its end, a huge painting of an angel was hung on the wall. It looked very ordinary but it seemed that there was something more to it than what could be seen through one's bare eyes.

I got curious so I went closely to it and scrutinized it closely. Nothing seemed to be wrong about it aside from the small cork found at the rightmost part of the painting. I tried to pull it out but instead, I was surprised that the painting came with it.

I got scared that it might fall on me so I quickly tucked my head on my knees. I placed my hands above it and I waited for the painful fall. Surprisingly, nothing hit me.

I carefully looked up and I was bemused to see the painting swinging like a door though what surprised me more was the real door found beneath the artwork.

I got curious on what I could find in there so I quickly sneaked inside and immediately saw a flight of stairs. It was my first time knowing that something like this actually existed in the palace so my curiosity finally got the best of me and forced me to climb up.

The wooden stairs creaked as I passed from one step to another. I was afraid that it might suddenly collapse but I tried to ignore my fear and continued to go up.

When I finally reached the top, I noticed that it was only an attic filled with old stuffs. Boxes and antiques were scattered around. Old photographs were also hung on the walls filling the place with nostalgia.

I scanned each of them with amusement and disbelief. I saw each of the members of the royal family and they were actually quite young in those pictures but I couldn't understand why Cedrick wasn't included in any of those photographs.

I wandered around the place until I accidentally stepped on something unknown. I picked it up, out of curiosity, and looked at it.

It was a photograph of a little boy wearing a baseball cap and behind him was a beautiful woman hugging him. Their smiles were that of an angel and their eyes were as blue as the sea. They were both beautiful.

I continued staring at the picture in my hand when someone suddenly held me in the shoulders tightly. I was frightened and astonished so I lost my grip on the frame which caused me to drop it on the ground.

I was abruptly turned towards the person behind me. I was really scared that I might get in danger because of what I did though to my relief it was only Cedrick who held me in captive.

"Hey, I've been looking for you everywhere! I'm glad that I finally found you but what are you-" Before I could finish my sentence, he interrupted me with his eyes that were burning with anger. His forehead was creased and everything about him told me that he was definitely furious.