You threw the door to the fitting room open, making eye contact with Micah.
"(Y/n)? What's wro-"
"Hide. Somewhere. I'm pretty sure I made them angry. Don't get caught, please! I'm going to get Reed." There was desperation and panic in your voice.
He nodded, shocked, before he came out into the hallway with you. Instead of following you, he opened a doorway in the wall. You glanced at him but had no time to ask questions.
"(Y/n)!" Someone yelled down the hallway and you sped off, headed for the stables.
"Reed!" You yelled as you made your way down the gravel path.
"(Y/n)! You really did come to visit me!" Reed grinned as he stood next to Mei.
"I wish it was under better circumstances." You breathed as you slowed down in front of him. You glanced behind the stable noticing the trees. "Reed, is that a forest?"
He turned to look behind him and nodded, "Yup! Why? Did you want to climb trees!?" His eyes lit up.
You bit the inside of your cheek. Should you tell him?
You bent down to his level, "Listen Reed. I'm playing a super-duper important game of hide and seek with the princes and now I'm recruiting you."
His face lit up, "Really (Y/n)? Oh yes! This'll be so fun!"
You nodded and ushered him towards the forest, "Alright so now that you're officially on my team, show me the best hiding spot in this place!"
He nodded determined, "I'm on it!" Suddenly he sped off into the trees. You glanced behind you one more time before following him.
He ducked under branches and nimbly avoided roots spreading out along the forest floor. You stumbled quite a few times as you tried to keep up with him.
"Reed? Are you sure you know where you're going?" You called out as he ran a few feet ahead of you.
He turned around, jogging backwards, "Yup! Don't worry (Y/n)! We'll win hide and seek for sure!"
You felt guilty lying to him, but he was still a child. He didn't need to know. "Alright!"
You two ran for a few minutes, winding around trees and ducking through the underbrush until Reed suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" You asked as you came up beside him.
"We're here!" He stated happily as he looked around.
You glanced up and saw a large oak tree. Reed traveled over to it, jumped up, and grabbed one of the lower branches.
"What are you doing?" You asked as you came over.
"We're climbing silly!" He giggled as he reached for another branch.
"Why?" You asked, not really wanting to climb.
He glanced down at you, "Because! This is the center of the forest. The princes will come here but they're gonna check in the trunk of the tree. We'll be up in the branches!"
You hesitantly grabbed a branch and pulled yourself up, "What's in the trunk of the tree?"
"Its carved out. The older servants used to use it as a hangout spot during the summer." He pulled himself up onto another branch.
You followed suit, quickly catching up to him. "So you're sure that they won't see us?"
He pointed to a large branch about 30 feet above him, "We have to get there. The foliage will cover us once we hit that point."
You nodded and slowly made your way up alongside the boy. Eventually, you pulled yourself up onto the branch and sat with your back against the trunk.
"See! I knew where to hide!" He sat next to you, proud of himself.
You smiled, "Thanks Reed!"
You both sat and talked, mostly about his day, until your ears picked up footsteps.
"Shhh." You whispered and peered down to see two people slowly come into view. Your heart stopped. Connor and Aiden were here.
"You don't think she ran to the village?" Aiden asked as he glanced around, hoping to catch sight of you.
"I'm not sure. All I know is Reed and Micah are gone too. She warned them before hiding. I swear when we find her again I'll-" Connor growled.
"Stop! She might be nearby and hear you!" Aiden rushed out as he walked to the back of the tree and peered inside.
You sighed inwardly. Micah was okay.
"She's not here." He concluded and Connor looked up into the tree.
You held your breath and didn't move as his eyes scanned over your branch.
"Lets head back to the castle. She has to be in there still." Connor sighed and they both slowly walked away from the tree.
"I didn't know Micah was playing as well!" Reed said in amazement and you winced at his innocence.
"Yup..." You trailed off, a sinking feeling growing in your stomach.
~~~~
"I win again!" Reed laughed as his palm hit your fist.
You sighed in annoyance and glanced around. It had been some time. Maybe you could start heading back.
You both descended the tree and followed the path back to the stable.
"Hey Reed..." You said as he started walking towards a horse,
"Yeah?" He turned to look at you.
"Saddle up a horse. Just in case. If I come back out here, I want you to get on it and ride away. Do you understand me?"
He furrowed his brow in confusion, "(Y/n)? What do you mean?"
You looked at him worriedly, "Just do it please. For me."
He nodded and you sighed, turning to go back down the path. There was trouble waiting for you inside the palace.
The hallway was quiet as you made your way back to your room. You pushed the door open, holding your breath as you peered inside. Nothing. Sighing in relief, you stepped inside and shut the door.
(TW maybe? I'm not sure.)
You cautiously made your way to the bathroom, hoping you'd be able to hide in there without the princes noticing.
You opened the door and screamed in horror. Your (e/c) eyes stared at lifeless brown ones.
I thought she was safe from them...You thought as you collapsed to your knees.
Florence hung in front of you, her body bloody. Her face was emotionless. Your hand went to your mouth, wishing you could take back the last few seconds of your life.
"F-Florence..." You whispered as you reached out to touch her arm, hoping it was a mannequin. Cold, dead skin met your fingertips and you jumped back.
"Why...They never mentioned you!" You screamed. "They never threatened your life! So why...Why would they do this to you!?" Tears fell down your cheek and ran your fingers through your hair as you stared at the once loving old woman.
The door behind you opened.
"Oh good! She did see it!" Aiden said cheerfully as he stepped into the room.
"(Y/n) dear? Do you like the new decoration?" Connor called out as he came up behind you.
"Why..." You muttered, your voice dull.
"Why what?" Aiden asked as he walked past you and towards Florence. "Why kill her? Well, for one you attacked us and then ran away. Moreover, you warned the stable boy and assistant so we couldn't find our toys. She was the next one in line." He frowned at her before turning back to you.
"Why..." You repeated, feeling weak.
"What?" Connor laughed, "Did you think we wouldn't kill anyone? (Y/n), we love you. We crave your attention. If killing makes you notice us, we'll kill every last person in the world. Isn't that romantic?"
You shook your head slowly, "You guys are insane."
Aiden and Connor laughed.
You whipped your head around to look at them, tears in your eyes, "She had a life! She had a job! She probably had a family! Why are you laughing at something like that!? She deserved better! She...she..." You began hyperventilating as you tried to grab one of the thoughts in your swirling mind.
"(Y/n). Calm down. You're going to faint." Aiden said as he reached out for you.
You backed away from him and hit the doorframe, "Don't touch me! Don't say you care about my health when you obviously didn't care for hers! You two are psychotic! You..." Black dots started floating around your vision.
"(Y/n). Steady your breath!" Connor called out, his voice slowly growing faint.
You glanced at him as you slowly slid to the floor, silently hoping you wouldn't wake up.
A/N: Fun fact> I've been ignoring all my summer assignments to write these. I hate having summer homework (⌣́_⌣̀). I'm still gonna write though. I have no preservation for my grades xD. Anyway, I'm also back to my normal schedule of even amount of parts so that makes me happy. Rip to Florence but someone had to die, ya know? People are really attached to Micah so he couldn't potentially die so soon. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Hope you're enjoying the story!