Five days have passed. Four more days until the coronation.

Lilith was still scraping the edges of one of the rocks with the fork and knife. She already displaced a few smaller rocks around the huge one to make the hole bigger for her to escape through. She carefully placed it back in its place so that no one would notice what she'd been up to.

She sang those unbearable songs and this led the Crown Shield to guard the cell in shifts. Well, she's not your quintessential Disney princess.

Whenever he peered into the cell, he'd see her lying on the floor, talking to herself and expressing loneliness and cursing her fate. Once, she looked so depressed with swollen eyes, that he somehow felt uneasy. But as the faithful servant of Catherine, and the King's backstabber, he didn't dare let his emotions overpower his judgement.

After what seemed like many hours, she managed to displace the largest rock from its place. She had to practically drag it off its place as it was too heavy to be lifted off the floor.

She heard the faint click of the door unlocking and quickly sat on the displaced spot, covering the rock with her gown. The guard peeped in but didn't notice anything unusual or out of place. Lilith pretended to be daydreaming while the guard's sharp eyes quickly scanned the walls and the window far above. He peered at Lilith's face suspiciously, and then closed the door. Lilith waited a while to make sure he wasn't going to enter again, and quickly set off to work. She removed heaps of mud with her bare hands, scooping as much as possible.

Panting and sweating, Lilith finally managed to remove enough heaps of rocky mud to get her out. But when she looked below, all she could see was even more soil. There was no trace of a pathway.

Well, I expected this.

She placed her head right through the pit and scraped her fingers over the soil lazily, giving up. Suddenly, a familiar flute melody played in her ears.

She listened intently. "Where's that coming from?" Her brows were knitted together, in confusion. She took her head out of the pit and looked around. But all she could hear was the heavy footsteps of the guard, as he guarded the dungeon.

The sweet melody was heard again when she placed her head in the pit.

It's coming from within.

Her heart beat fast. She scraped more and more soil out of it, like a hungry animal feeding on its prey, only more vigorous.

There's a way after all. Her heart smiled.

It look a long time, but finally, with the last dig, a small hole opened up. She tapped her feet lightly around the hole, to make it bigger.

She jumped right through the hole and walked carefully. There was no source of light except through the hole. The rhythm was much closer now and she managed to walk down the little tunnel. It was quite a small one, barely three feet tall and Lilith had to crouch and walk through it. She crawled on her hands and knees for a little while, and then the hole suddenly sloped downwards and became considerably bigger.

It was quite dark by now, and she made use of her hands and feet to navigate through the tunnel, following the music.

As the melody became louder and louder, Lilith could see a slender, glowing blue figure in a distance, turned the other way. Its silky purple hair rippled when its head bobbed about while playing the piece on its flute.

"Astrel!" Lilith exclaimed in a mix of surprise and relief.

The figure slowly turned to face her and smiled warmly. Lilith scrambled towards Astrel, bumping her ankles and elbows on the sharp rocks jutting out of walls.

"Oh Astrel, you have no idea how happy I am to see you! Lilith said and hugged her tight.

"Well, so am I!" Astrel replied, her cheery disposition immediately putting Lilith at ease.

They walked together, Astrel's illuminated figure lighting the path. The tunnel grew taller and wider and they were able to walk without bumping their heads or shins.

"Oh!" Lilith exclaimed suddenly remembering that she'd left the opening just as it was. "I'd thought of closing the hole as soon as I got out so that no one would know how I got out. I wanted them to assume that I'd escaped through the window, which is next to impossible if you think about it," she explained.

Astrel chuckled. "Well, digging a hole and escaping through the rocky floor would've also sounded ridiculous and impossible, but you proved it wrong!"

Astrel snapped her fingers thrice and pointed her index finger in the direction of the hole while chanting an unintelligible string of words in a sing-song tone.

"It's shut now, and won't even look like it's ever been moved," she reassured Lilith, who simply gawked at her.

"You don't have to be surprised. I'm capable of magic." Astrel put her hands into her little silver satchel and produced two vials. One had a mystical purple liquid, while the other had a jasmine green one. She placed both the vials in Lilith's palm.

Lilith looked clueless at the vials, wondering what they could be.

"The purple liquid will transform you into whatever you wish. Use it wisely and to your advantage. You just have to think of your disguise after you sip the potion. It may take some time to work, as it had remained unused for a long time."

Lilith nodded. "And the green one?"

"It will turn you back to your original form. Just take one sip of the green potion, and you'll turn back into yourself alright," Astrel concluded.

Lilith nodded and looked around. There were different passages to their right and left as well as some confusing winding paths. Some led to huge spaces while others led to even more tunnels and passages. Some of the paths even led to flights of stairs. While walking for a considerably long time, Lilith noticed these paths and empty halls and spaces. There were small waterfalls along the sides of the stairs and on a few of the walls.

"What is this place?"

Astrel looked at Lilith's surprised face. "This? These are the ruins of the Ancient Temple of Cynthia."

"Cynthia?" Lilith asked. "The Moon Goddess?"

"The very same. The ancient Greeks believed that Cynthia drove her white chariot across the sky each night, which is seen as the Moon. It is believed that they made this temple and held feasts and rituals to please the Moon Gods and Goddesses," Astrel replied.

"Oh wow!" Lilith exclaimed, running her fingers over the stone walls as if feeling each grain and understanding its history. "I remember seeing Cynthia's painting in one of the Greek Mythology books I read long back. She looked truly ravishing with her lovely long flowy hair. She wore a crown with a crescent moon. Some poets and artists also gave her a pair of golden wings and small horns." She paused for some time, thinking.

"But, why was a palace built above it?"

"Do you know why Cordonia and Valoria started waging battles? It was less political and had more to do with beliefs and religious sentiments. The country split with Valorians, worshipping Goddess Cynthia, and Cordonians believing in Christianity. However, some Cordonians started looting the Moon Temple, and even destroying it in the dead of the night. To hide the temple from more Cordonian vandals, a palace was built over it. That's how Valoria's capital shifted from Orchid Bay to Mahina, where the palace now stands."

Lilith thought about the wars and the history behind the country and smiled. She'd been in this country for a long time but never knew or wondered about its past, and how it influenced the present.

"And now," Astrel said, breaking Lilith's chain of thought. "It's time for me to go." She handed Lilith an illuminated pale pink wax candle. "Follow the path straight ahead, no rights or lefts. It will lead you to a clearing. Stay safe." She held Lilith's hand, and said, "May you succeed."

Lilith noticed a ring on her finger- a crescent moon carved onto a pearly and opalescent schiller.

"Your ring is so beautiful! Is that moonstone?" Lilith asked. Astrel simply nodded and smiled. She waved and walked a few feet away, and then dissipated into thin air.

Well, it's just me now. And I will not be stopped.

Author's note

Where do you think Lilith would reach? Is Astrel hiding something? Who is Astrel in reality?

Lilith sure is lucky to have found an escape route, but what lies in store for her at the other end?

Thank you for reading this far! If you like what you read, please smash that ⭐, and share it with your friends.

Also, please feel free to point out any mistake (grammatical or otherwise), as this is an unedited version, and multiple errors are sure to have crept in.

Happy reading!