Meanwhile back at the castle, earlier that morning, no one had seen one trace of Charlotte which was very odd to Vagatha because between the two of them, Charlotte had always been the early riser. When her sister wasn't at breakfast, she went to the princess's bedroom and knocked on the door.
"Charlotte?" She called. "Charlotte? Are you here?"
No answer. She opened the door and stepped inside. The room was completely empty. Not even Eli was there, strange. Now why would Charlotte and her cat both be missing?
"Is everything alright in here?" Vagatha turned around to find Niffty standing in the doorway. "Begging your pardon, you may not know me-"
"You're Charlotte's nurse. I remember you." Vagatha said. "I thought you had left this place."
"No I was demoted to serving meals to prisoners and the jailer."
"So what are you doing up here?"
"With all due respect, you didn't really think I wouldn't try to see the girl I've nurtured from the time she was in diapers, did you?"
"Oh right. Sorry."
"I was coming up to ask her how things went at the ball. But I see she's not here."
"She wasn't at breakfast either, and her cat is gone too."
"Well I'm no expert on felines, but don't cats have a habit of hiding and sneaking about?"
"Not in the morning. At least not for this cat. Eli doesn't move an inch in the morning if he can help it. Only time he'd ever not be snoozing on a pillow at this time is if Charlottehad left or had taken him somwhere. But why would she take him anywhere in here?"
"Maybe the poor kitty became restless and wanted some space?"
"Not likely. Cats aren't like dogs, they can usually be content staying in one place for days."
"Maybe he was sick and she went to get him looked at?"
"Maybe."
Vagatha then noticed something on Charlotte's vanity. It was a letter addressed to her. She picked up the letter, opened the envelope, and read the message inside.
"Dearest Vagatha." She read outloud. "I refuse to accept that my father has perished. I am certain that he is still alive, so I've decided to go find him?!"
"Go find him? You mean she's run away?" Niffty asked getting nervous. "And what does she mean by, her father perishing? The king's not dead. Is he?"
"Please do not look for me. This is something I must do myself as the future heir to the throne." Vagatha continued reading. "I cannot say when I shall return, I'm not even sure if I will return. I simply cannot remain here, knowing my father is out there. He needs me and I must go to him. I wish you the best, Vagatha. Sincerely Charlotte."
"What in God's name is going on here?" Niffty asked. "What happened at the ball last night?"
"Mother recieved a late message saying that the king was killed in battle and Charlotte didn't take it well." Vagatha explained. "She was so sure that there had to be mistake and that he was still alive."
"So sure that she'd go off and look for him on her own?"
"And not tell me?" Vagatha wondered. "Something isn't right here. She would have told me about this before leaving and she wouldn't have brought Eli with her. She knows he'd be better cared for here then out there. She would have asked me to take care of him while she was gone."
"Could the letter be forged?"
"I don't know. The print is just like hers but, what this letter says just doesn't add up. And where exactly would she start looking? She doesn't even know where her father was last seen. If she really did leave to look for him, she would have done research first."
"Is it possible she could have gone to your grandmother for help? I've heard many say that she's a trustworthy woman and knows much about strange disappearances."
"She wouldn't have gone alone. She knows going into the Black Forest alone is basically suicide. Espeically for a royal princess. If the predators don't get her, then money hungry thugs will."
"Then what happened to her?"
"I don't know, but you can be sure that I'll find out."
The queen was the first person Vagatha informed of the princess's disappearance. She behaved in a very worried and concern manner, gently holding her daughter's hand and assuring her that Charlotte will be found.
"How simply awful." Desdemona said. "I knew it would be hard for her to accept losing her father but I never imagined that she would have done something this drastic. I'll send search parties out at once, I'm sure she hasn't gone far."
"Mother, I don't think she ran away." Vagatha argued.
"Her letter to you says otherwise, and it is clearly written in her hand."
"But Mother this doesn't sound like something she would do. To go off to God knows where, alone, knowing full well she can't navigate her way through the forest or defend herself, nd not telling me, she'd never do that."
"Grief and denial of the cruel truth can lead us to do things we normally wouldn't do. Remember when we lost your father? You tried to run away and find Heaven so you could be with him."
"Mother I was a child. I was barely five or six years old, of course I would do something that foolish. But Charlotte is a grown woman. An educated one. She knows better."
"Young or old, wise or foolish, good or evil, there's no limits to what grief can provoke. But I give you my word that I'll do everything in my power to find Charlotte and bring her home. After all, now that Percival is gone, you and her are all I have left now."
"Niffty suggested that she might have gone to see Granny. I'm not entirly sure of that but Granny might know something. We should contact her."
"Niffty? When did you speak to her?"
"This morning. We were both looking for Charlotte."
"Did she say anything else?"
"No. She mostly just asked questions about Charlotte. But she did mention that you had her demoted to working in the dudgeon. Just out of curiosity, why did you put her down there?"
"To save her sanity darling. When you two first left, she was utterly heartbroken to be without Charlotte. Everything up here reminded her of the child and she would just constantly break down crying. Perhaps it was a little harsh, but I couldn't think of anything else except dismissing her. Now why don't you go play with your little dog? That usually cheers you up."
As soon as Vagatha was ushered out of her chambers. Desdemona called for Niffty.
"You wished to see me your majesty?" Niffty asked politely.
"I heard you spoke to my daughter this morning." The queen said. "What were you doing up here? You know you're not allowed to leave the dudgeon, and you're certainly not allowed to speak to my daughter."
"I was seeking to speak with the Princess Charlotte. Your daughter was in her room and she asked me questions, I couldn't simply ignore her."
"You were up here last night too, weren't you?" The queen deduced. "That's where Charlotte got that gown. The gown that I ordered you to burn long ago."
"The king wouldn't have approved of that."
"But the king is no longer here to apporve of anything. He's dead."
"Yes, isn't that rather convenient?" Niffty smiled. "War's over, and the king turns up dead, and now Charlotte is missing. That leaves you on the throne for good, doesn't it? Provided that Charlotte stays missing and no one finds out you had any involvement in either cases. That would be treason and you are aware of what the penalty for treason is in this country, yes?"
"What did you tell her?" She demanded.
"Whatever do you mean?" Niffty replied innocently.
"You know what I mean. What did you tell Charlotte? What did you tell Vagatha? What dirty little lies have you told?"
Niffty was silent and placed her hands into her apron pocket.
"Answer me!"
"I have." Niffty said. "You just can't see my finger."
The queen looked ready to bury Niffty, but the maid was unafraid.
"Forgive me for being so crude my lady, but when you spend tweleve years in a deep, dark, dudgeon surrounded by foul-mouthed prisoners, you tend to forget your manners."
"And apparently your place as well!" Desdemona snapped.
"Temper, temper, my lady. You wouldn't want to say too much and then have someone over hear it. Someone like your daughter? Or someone woth connections to the royal council? Don't forget, you married into royalty, you have no blue blood, so you can easily lose your crown. Maybe even your head."
"You know something Niffty, I never liked you. You're always forgetting your place, forgetting where your loyalties lie."
"Oh no I haven't forgotten. My loyalties lie with the king and his daughter. And while we're on the subject of being honest, there's something I've wanted to tell you ever since the first day you came here. You smell of horse shit and look like the wrong end of a dog." She insulted casually. "And I've always known how you truly felt about me, and I've always known how you truly felt about Charlotte. You've been jealous of her since day one and you wouldn't think twice about getting rid of her. You don't fool me Desdemona, not for a minute, never have. I see you for what you really are. A jealous and ugly woman who hides behind a pretty mask."
"My beauty! How dare you call it ugly!"
Desdemona screeched like an unholy banshee and pounced to grab Niffty, planning to strangle her until her wind pipes cracked. But Niffty was too quick, she dodged the queen's attack and ran out of their as fast as her legs could carry her.
"Guards! Guards! Guards!" Desdemona cried.
Niffty picked up her speed and didn't slow down until she reached the servant's quarters and searched her bed for something.
"Come on, come on." She said tearing up the cushions. "I know I hid it here."
She scored until she found a marble.
"Yes!"
But the time the guards located her, she was nowhere in sight.