A girl of about nine years old with reddish-brown hair in a bun, a plain white nightgown, and brown eyes. Those brown eyes.
Deep in the back of my mind, I always had a suspicion. The rumors swirling through the castle, Diana's unusual amount of interest and her hatred towards me.
With a glance into those familiar eyes, all the puzzle pieces of the past years fall into place.
Diana looks at me in total shock from her place. Her brown hair is also tied up in a bun. Her nightgown has more decorations and is covered with a dark blue robe.
The girl looks at me in surprise and almost drops the apple from her hand. The apple, with a few bites taken out of it, looks like the best food I've seen in months.
However, the moment Diana tries to open her mouth to call the guards, I grab the girl by her arm, turn her around with her back to me, and press my knife against her throat.
I expect the girl to start screaming, but she keeps her mouth tightly shut, standing frozen against my body as the apple rolls across the floor.
Diana wants to jump forward to snatch her child from my arms.
'Scream or move, and she's dead,' is my threat, which I would carry out against all my better judgment if necessary.
Elien stands motionless behind me, saying nothing and not lifting a finger.
'Please, Celeste, she has nothing to do with this, please,' the mother begins to beg for her child. Her hands tremble, tears start to fill her eyes.
'Please, let her go,' she continues to plead as she falls to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks.
'My dagger, where is it?' I ask without moving a finger.
The girl's breathing and heart pound against my chest. Although she shows nothing, she experiences just as much fear as her mother.
'I don't know, please, let her go.'
'I'll ask you again. Where is the dagger?' I say, knowing that she knows the answer, while pressing the knife slightly harder against the girl's throat.
Diana starts crying harder at that sight.
'Christiaan's office,' she cries.
'Retrieve it, now,' I command her. She immediately shakes her head in panic.
'T-the door... it's locked... I don't have the keys.'
'Where are they?'
'In Christiaan's bedroom,' she sniffles.
That was the answer I didn't hope to hear. Allowing Diana to retrieve those keys now is the same as digging my own grave.
I realize all too well that I need that dagger to complete the list. Finding a new one and inscribing those spells takes weeks, maybe even months. Time we don't have.
'Listen carefully because I won't repeat it. In the morning, you will retrieve that dagger and bring it to me. Elien will be standing on the other side by the river at the edge of the forest. If you don't do this, I will make sure the entire castle knows that you had a child before you were married, with Christiaan.'
The tear-filled eyes stare at me in shock.
The death of her child may instill just as much fear in her as the death of her reputation. While the rumors have been circulating through the castle for years, having actual information is far more dangerous. It could mean the end of her marriage, wealth, and perhaps even her life.
'Okay, okay, I'll do it. Let her go.'
'Her name?' I slowly lower the knife slightly on the girl's petrified neck.
'Chanel.'
With that information, I let go of the girl.
Instead of running directly to her mother, she takes a few steps away from me and stares at me. Those cursed brown eyes seem to take me in entirely. She doesn't say a word, doesn't move a finger.
Slowly, I rotate the knife in my hand before walking past Chanel towards the door of the tunnels. The icy silence cuts through the soundless kitchen.
As a child, touching that wooden door was strictly forbidden. The women would tell their children ghost stories about the endless spaces below and within the castle. They would invent any story to keep their children away from there.
My mother made an attempt when I was younger, although it had little effect. I was eight when I sneaked into the tunnels past the cooks. No ghosts, demons, or murderers in sight. After hours of wandering, all I saw was a very angry mother.
I open the door with a loud creak, ignoring Chanel and Diana. A corridor of darkness and stones comes into view. The cold blowing through the tunnels is freezing and icy. I consider myself lucky to have night vision.
I briefly turn to Elien, who is still staring motionless at me from the other side of the kitchen.
'Are you coming?' I ask. The black eyes look hesitant and carry a prankish fear. I realize that he has never left the castle, except to endure intense pain outside. That pain isn't gone, but we will find a way to make it manageable.
'Yes,' he replies. The black shoes walk in my direction.
I cast one last glance at Diana and her daughter before disappearing into the dark tunnels.