Lilith stepped cautiously inside the larder. The larder door behind her slammed shut.

"Crown Shield! What is all this? Open the door at once!" she said, raising her voice. However, he looked at her with no expression and shifted his gaze elsewhere. She almost sensed a feeling of guilt in him.

"He listens to me, not you. And so should you, Lilith!" Queen Catherine's authoritative voice boomed behind her. She took bold strides and stood right in front of Lilith, who stiffened at her sound.

"What is it, Mother? What do you want?" Lilith asked.

"I want you to listen to me, do you understand?" She roared, glaring at Lilith.

"Y-Yes... Mother."

"Good. Now listen to me carefully. You will not utter a word to ANYONE about ANYTHING you know about our plan! Not a soul!" she pointed her fingers at Lilith aggressively.

"W-What plan?" She asked like she had no clue about what she's talking about.

"Don't act dumb Lilith. I'm your mother after all..."

Yeah right.

"...we know you know about it. And if you want to live to see tomorrow, you are not to tell a soul about anything. Let us carry on with our plan, and after we accomplish it, we'll let you go. Until then... CROWN SHIELD!"

"Your Majesty?"

"Put her in the dungeons!"

At once, the Crown Shield clasped Lilith's hands together at the back and pushed her towards the larder door.

"What? No! You cannot put me in the dungeons! I will not tell anyone, I promise! Please don't do this to me, Mother!" She kicked and screamed to let go of his grip, but his arms wouldn't budge. He placed his palm on her mouth to muffle her screams. She bit his finger.

"Oww!" He yelled and pushed her even harder, clasping her hands as tight as possible and grasped her neck with his elbow, choking her.

"Please, Mother! You know this is wrong!" Lilith pleaded, coughing.

"Your father was wrong. To trust me with all his secrets. He'd have never thought his secrets would be used against him someday. Well, that day will come soon." Saying so, Catherine laughed menacingly and pushed Lilith out of the room, the Crown Shield still holding her tightly. He dragged her towards the underground dungeon and pushed her into the cell. She fell on the floor, as her knees were weak with all the kicking and fussing.

"You'll regret this! You certainly will!" She yelled at the top of her voice.

The Crown Shield didn't say anything. He slammed the dungeon door shut with a loud clang and walked upstairs, the keys jingling in his pocket. She peeked outside to notice a young guard looking helplessly at Lilith.

"Your Highness, I wish I could help, but the Queen has given me strict orders to-"

"It's fine, I understand."

What do I do now? How do I let my friends know I'm locked up in this godforsaken place? How long are they going to keep me here?

Oh yeah, they'd have to release me before the Moon Festival. That's where I'm supposedly choosing my true love. At least, that's what they all think. Yeah right, like one night could actually...

Her brain stopped ranting as she was too tired to think anymore. She drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A few hours passed. Lilith stirred about in her sleep hearing some clanging noise. And then a faint click. But she didn't open her eyes, still clinging on to her blissful slumber.

A moment later, she crinkled her eyes slowly when someone tapped on her shoulder furiously, in an attempt to wake her up.

She gasped, looking up at the stranger and noticed the dungeon unlocked, the door ajar.

"Come on, get out quickly!" the stranger said.

Lilith slowly walked towards the dungeon door, confused as to who he was, and why was he helping her. The man sensed her hesitation and said, "Don't worry, I won't harm you."

She asked, "Who are you?"

"You needn't know that now. Here, change your clothes." He gave her a cream-hued cotton bag containing a white linen shirt, a navy blue tailcoat, a matching pair of pants, a dark auburn wig, moustache, and beard.

She looked at him, confused.

"You're going to be dressed as a man. And I'm going to lock the dungeon door and keep the keys back in the Crown Shield's pocket. He won't know you escaped. Or better, I'll keep the key with me. He won't suspect someone took it. He'll most probably think he lost it somewhere and will keep searching for it. It'll take long enough for him to realize that you've escaped," he replied.

She nodded, slowly comprehending. There's been an overload of information in the past few weeks and it's taking time for her to understand whatever is being said.

"Okay. But who are you? Why are you helping me?"

He didn't say anything. He simply waited for her outside till she wore her disguise.

She dressed herself to look like a young man, carefully tucking her long red tresses under the auburn wig. Once she wore her outfit, she twirled around and looked at her blurry reflection on the not-so-polished surface of the long iron door of the dungeon.

This mirror doesn't do my outfit justice. I'd look handsome if I were a guy...

As she walked towards the exit, she noticed the dungeon guard lying on the cold, rocky floor. He appeared to be in deep sleep.

He followed her gaze to the motionless guard. "Don't worry about him. I've cast a spell on him. Once he wakes up, he won't remember what happened or how you escaped."

He locked the door from outside, tossed the key into his pocket, and walked a few steps ahead of her.

"All clear. Come out," he beckoned Lilith to follow him. He walked with her along the corridor.

"Damn. Mother is approaching." Lilith said when she noticed the approaching figure of Queen Catherine.

Catherine briefly smiled at the young man.
Do they know each other? Who is he anyway?

"Who's this, now?" She asked him, shifting her focus to Lilith.

"Your Majesty, this is my best friend Zayden who came all the way from the village," he said, gesturing towards Lilith.

"Excuse me for a second," he told Lilith and took Catherine a little away. They discussed something in hushed tones. Lilith saw the Queen nodding in perfect comprehension, a satisfied smile pasted on her face. A few minutes later, they walked back towards her.

"Pleased to meet you!" the Queen said.

"The pleasure's all mine, Your Majesty," Lilith aka Zayden said, mimicking a guy's voice, which didn't sound satisfactory. The Queen quirked an eyebrow at her.

Lilith quickly curtsied (dipping low, like a woman) and walked away, embarrassed.

Did I just curtsy like a lady while I'm disguised as a man?!
*mental facepalm*

She bit her lip in embarrassment and walked away as fast as she could.

"Your friend is quite..." the Queen said, turning towards the man.

"Nervous? Well, I can't blame him, it's his first time among the nobles so all this may seem pretty overwhelming," he completed.

"Aah, I see. Well, I insist you walk with him lest he'd get lost," she said, walking away.

The man walked quickly in Lilith's direction. He spotted her walking towards the library.

"Hey!" He waved at her. "What are you doing here?"

"Umm... I was actually looking for my friends..." she replied, peering anxiously among the bookshelves.

"Well... unfortunately, I can't let all of you escape. I helped you because... let's just say I didn't want you to get hurt. The rest of your crew is in our custody," he replied curtly, not meeting her eye.

That was when she noticed him. He had messy red hair and deep brown eyes. He had freckles on his cheeks and a tight-lipped smile. He bore a strong resemblance to King Dominic. At once, she knew who it was.

They walked silently along the corridor. Lilith was still deep in thought. When the silence became unbearable, the man said, "Please, for your own sake, do not try to stop Queen Catherine and her plans. She will definitely do as she has decided, and you'll get hurt, maybe even killed. Do not try to search for your friends because if someone found out, they won't spare you or them." He fidgeted with his hands, thinking of what to say next.

"So long, Princess," he said and turned to walk away.

As he walked farther and farther away, Lilith couldn't stop herself and called out, "Aeden?"

The man stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned his neck to allow a small glimpse of Lilith. He nodded and smiled ever so slightly, that Lilith felt she'd imagined it.

"Did you like my present?" He asked, still not looking at her. Lilith smiled wide.

He got his answer.

Aeden walked away slowly, remembering the stories his mother told him about his long lost sister.

Author's Note

And that concludes Chapter 10. What do you think Aeden and Queen Catherine discuss in hushed tones? Will he rethink his decision to kill the King? Why do you think Aeden freed Lilith? All this and a lot more will be unveiled in the next chapter. Stay tuned!

Thank you so much for reading this far. Hope to see you in the next chapter.

If you liked this chapter, drop a ⭐!

Happy Reading!