Chapter 4

Lyca’s POV

As Prince Matthew and I quietly walked down the hall, we could hear a pin drop in the castle. Even though there was no one around, we did not relax our guard.

“There,” I say to Matthew as I point to the right side of the castle, “is the secret door to the tunnel.”

“You’ll see a statue of a lion in the corner. To get to the hidden passage, you have to turn the head.” Even though I need Matthew’s help, the most important thing to me is still his safety.

“Use that passage if there’s a problem. You are what the queen wants, not me. So, nothing bad will ever happen to me because of this.” Matthew was sure of everything he said, so I just nodded, but I still had doubts in my heart.

Matthew is right. Our country gets along well with their country. Because of this, the queen will never think about killing him, but this doesn’t mean he is safe. As we walked, I kept mumbling to myself.

We make it to the part of the castle where my father, King Wilbert, is.

Matthew said, “Wait here for me,” as he walked up to the door and listened for movement inside. A few seconds later, he opened the door and walked in.

I nodded and stood still. When Matthew said it was all right, I went in.

“Father,” I ran over to where my dad was sleeping and said. “It’s me, Lyca Celestine. I’m sorry, I had no idea you were going through this. Don’t worry, though, because I’m with Prince Matthew. We’ll help you get out of this place.” Even though my dad closed his eyes, I knew he could still hear me.

Matthew looked at me, and when I gave him the go-ahead, he set himself up to lift my dad.

When the king got on his back, he said, “Let’s go.” Matthew wanted to make me feel better, but he didn’t because he knew it wasn’t the right time.

I wiped the tears from my eyes as I led the way, but before we could open the door, the side door of the room opened, and the queen’s right-hand man walked in.

“Who do you think you are, Prince Matthew? If you tell the queen about this sin, she will be very angry.” As Albert closes the door behind him, he says something.

The queen did not think that this was why the prince came to see her so quickly. Although the queen had suspicions, that’s why Albert didn’t lower his guard down since Matthew arrived.

“You and your queen! Do you think I don’t know that it was you who caused my father’s pain?” I answer angrily. I tried to stay calm, but I couldn’t because of the hate.

As Albert got closer, he smiled. “Princess Lyca Celestine, you should stop doing that. You’ve been accusing the queen since then, and you’re hurting her feeling.”

“That’s wrong! I learned to be a good child! I never disobeyed his word!” After I got over being shocked by Albert’s obvious lie, I said.

“Don’t listen to him, Celestine. Let’s go!” Prince Matthew says something when he sees how mad I am.

All of a sudden, there was a strong wind, and then Queen Annabelle came out of nowhere.

“What’s going on here?” Queen Annabelle asked. She already knows what’s going on, though.

In the meantime, Matthew and I moved back until we were trapped by the door.

This is a bad thing. Even if we leave this room, they can catch us easily. I say to myself as I look over our situation. “Prince Matthew—”

“Do you remember what I said?” Matthew said as he took a step forward.

“Do you want to be a brave prince who saves the princess when she’s in trouble?” Queen Annabelle says something as she laughs at Matthew.

Matthew knows that the queen’s comment is meant to make us angry, so he smiles when she says it. “I’m a real prince, so I’m not playing a strong prince who will save a princess in trouble. As the next king, I can protect my princess. You understand what it means…”

Matthew’s words made Queen Annabelle’s smile go away in the end. “You’re right, I can’t kill you because your kingdom is behind you, but that doesn’t mean I can’t kill people who are important to her!”

After the queen said something, the king’s body flew away and split in two in an instant. “King Wilbert has been dead for a long time, so my kingdom needs a new King!”

“No, Daddy!” I scream out of fear. I was shaking all over, and tears were coming out of my eyes. All I want to do is save my dad, but I didn’t think it would kill him.

The next thing Prince Matthew did was quick. When he saw me move toward my father’s body, he grabbed my hand and said. “We have to leave this place!”

“No! I can’t leave my dad.”

Matthew didn’t stop pulling me out of the room, even though I said I didn’t want to.

“I know you’re sad, but we can’t stay here any longer. You saw how powerful Queen Annabelle was! She would kill anyone without a second thought.” Matthew said this as he let me rest for a moment against the wall.

In the room from which we escaped. As Queen Annabelle breaks the mirror, she no longer tries to hide her anger.

“I’ve been waiting decades for this moment, so I can’t let it go so quickly! Because of this, you can’t mess up! Bring me Lyca Celestine, or you will feel my anger.”

Of course, when Queen Annabelle said this, Albert was scared to death. He has known her since they were kids, so he knows how cruel the queen is. “You can depend on my coming back. I’ll be with the princess.” Before he left the room, he said he would find me. Albert told the soldiers right away to look for Prince Matthew and me all over the kingdom and the area around it. So, the calm night turns into a mess.

After looking for a few hours, the soldiers came back to report what they had found. “We looked everywhere in the palace for the princess and prince, but we couldn’t find them.”

“That can’t happen! Those two can’t just disappear like that, so I’m sure they’re close by. Make sure there are guards in all the tunnels that lead out of the castle. Find the hidden tunnel as well!” Albert order.

He is correct. We are still in the castle with Matthew. He decided to rest so I could be with my family after my father died.

“Father, why did this terrible thing happen to us?” I mumbled while I still cried. I forget about the time because I think about the times when I was happy with my parents.

“When I go back to my kingdom, I’ll call my soldiers together, and we’ll take back yours!” When Matthew saw that I had stopped crying, he said.

***

After a few hours, we kept walking until we reached the end of the secret tunnel.

“Do you know where you are?” As he opened the iron door, Matthew asked.

“My father told me that the tunnel outside is a forest,” I said. “But I don’t know where it goes.” Even though my heart was still beating fast, I decided to put it aside for now.

“We’re far away from the palace, at least. Here, the queen can’t get to you.” Matthew replied as he helped me out of the room.

“Finally! Princess, I’ve been waiting for you!”

“Albert! How did you come across us?” I yelled out in fear.