"What the heck are you thinking?!!!!" yelled Sarah after hearing Alicia's idea.
"We.....we can't do that. It's really dangerous......and..and risky. What if we get caught?"she added.
"We won't. I'v got everything planned out. And....it's our only chance." Alicia said.
"But, what if it's not her room and something else, like....a storage room." Sarah said worriedly.
"I'm preety sure it's not a storage area and it's atleast worth a try." said Alicia reassuringly.
Sarah didn’t seem too convinced but agreed anyway.
"Ok then, I'll do it for your sake."
"But why are you willing to take such a risk for something you aren’t even sure of? It's not like you at all to break the rules like that."she added.
"I don't really know. It's just that.....I feel like I have to know the truth...like it has some kind of connection to me." Alicia answered.
"Hmmm, I don't know what you mean but if it's really that important to you, we'll give it a shot." Sarah said and winked at her.
Alicia took Sarah's hand and said,
"And now we wait, for the ball."

...

It's the day of the ball. The invitations has been sent out a week ago. People from all around the country have been arriving one after another since early morning. Kings, Queens, counts, countesses, prince- princesses, Dukes, Duchesses, nobles and so on.

Alicia is watching them quietly from the balcony feeling bored when suddenly,
"Alicia!!" two people exclaimed.
She turned around to see Patricia and Sarah.
"Happy BIRTHDAY!!" they wished. Alicia smiled and ran to them. She hugged them both excitedly. They both handed Alicia a present each.
"Thank you so much. What's in there?" Alicia said.
"Na-na-na, you can't open them now. You have to wait until tonight." Sarah said playfully.
"Alright, I can wait a bit more." Alicia said and put them away.
"Ok. Now let's get you ready, Alicia."said Patricia.
The ball starts at 6 but the banquet in the town is starting soon. Alicia has to make a presence there for the people.
She gets ready wearing a yellow A-line gown embroidered with white lace. She styles her hair in a high ponytail with a blue hibiscus attached to it. It's a simple yet lovely look.
She hops on to the carriage and waves goodbye to them. Before leaving she whispers to Sarah,"You know what you have to do.".Sarah winks and nods in agreement.
"Now, off you go then. Be careful on the way." Patricia says and they get going.

...

When she arrives along with her two ladies-in-waiting she recieves a warm welcome from her subjects. Ever since she was born everyone has been praising her for her beauty and sense of responsibility. Her kind and sweet personality makes the people shower her with love and admiration.
She stood up from her seat at the front end of the huge banquet table and said,
"Thank you everyone for attending this banquet for my birthday and giving me your precious love and care. Please enjoy yourselves.....Let the banquet begin!"
After that everyone cheered and rejoiced. They all wished Alicia a very happy birthday and started eating.

Alicia on the otherhand kept looking for something in the crowd.
"Do you need something, my lady?" asked one of the ladies-in-waiting.
"No, I'm fine." she replied and kept looking.
At the end of the banquet she set her eyes on a group of 3 little kids around 10 to 12 years old. She whispered something to her lady-in-waiting. The lady-in-waiting went up to those kids and said,"Excuse me, children. My lady, princess Alicia has called on you."
The children looked shocked.
"But why would her majesty need us?" they asked.
"That you have to find out yourself, I'm afraid." she replied and escorted them to where Alicia was sitting.
Alicia smiled seeing them and exclaimed,"Hi everyone!"
"Good morning, Your majesty." they said and bowed.
"Now, you don’t have to be so formal with me." said Alicia.
"Oh-okay." they said.
"Sooo, I need a favour from you. Are you willing to help?" she said.
"Of course, we'll do anything we can to help." one of them said.
"Great! Now, here's the plan......."she said and whispered something to them.
"Do you think you can do that?" she asked.
"Sure, no problem" they said excitedly.
"Thank you, I appreciate it. Here's a little something from me. Take it as a thank you gift."
She handed each of them a box full of sweets.
"Thank you, princess." they all said and jumped up and down with joy.
Alicia smiled.

...

The sun has set and left the dark sky with the shining full moon and twinkling stars. The ball is soon to start. Alicia just finished getting ready. She is wearing a off-the-shoulder midnight blue sheath gown with glittery star prints. With her elegent low bun, high heels and black gloves she was sure to be the most sophisticated girl of the ball. And of-course the centre of everyone's attention, which actually makes her plan harder. But she had to do it one way or another.
Everybody is at the ballroom waiting for the guest of the hour, Princess Alicia. She is ready to make her entrance.
The announcer cleared his throat to draw everyone’s attention and said,
"Ladies and Gentleman, May I present her royal highness, Princess Alicia Annabell Theodora."
The curtains opened revealing Alicia at the top of the staircase. She started going down the stairs and the music started. Everyone had their eyes set on her. They were all amazed at how beautiful she was. When she reached the floor she bowed to the audience. Her father approached her to give her a glass of wine which everyone was holding.
"Thank you everyone for attending this ball. I am truly flattered." Alicia announced.
"Now, let's make a toast to my daughter's 18th birthday!" the king exclaimed.
"We wish you a lifetime of happiness and prosperity." everyone said holding up their glass.
After that everyone became busy chatting and dancing and eating. The people were gathering around Alicia tying to talk to her all in the same time. Everybody wanted a word with the birthday princess. Alicia, not knowing what to do kept looking for Sarah in the crowd but she was nowhere to be found.
...
Sarah is running through the crowd looking for Alicia when she stumbles into someone and falls right onto his arms. Both of them were a bit shocked. Sarah looked up to see a brown haired boy with amber eyes.
Sarah stared at his eyes and get lost in them before realizing he was still holding her. She felt a tingling feeling go down her spine before standing up straight.
"Woah! Slow down, miss. You have to be careful." the boy said.
"Sorry about that. I'm in a bit of a rush. I gotta go." Sarah said before running off again.
"Uhm, wait....." the boy interrupted but Sarah kept on running.
"I guess she is in a hurry." he said still confused.
Here Sarah finally found Alicia trapped in a circle of people trying to talk to her at the same time. She swoops in and takes her arm saying,
"Sorry everyone, I'm afraid you have to cut your conversation short. Princess Alicia is needed for some official work there."
Then she drags Alicia away to a corner.
"Phew! Thank goodness, you saved me, Sarah. Or I would've been squashed by them sooner or later." Alicia says letting out a sigh of relief.
"Yeah, I can see that. And they've arrived." Sarah said.
"They've arrived, good. Let's go." Alicia said.
They both went to the back of the palace and found the group of children they met earlier waiting there.
"So, are you guys ready?" Alicia asked.
"Yes!" they answered in unison.
"Ok then, let's go." Sarah said and they get going.
One of the children climed up the pipe with a rope and tied it to the window of a room on the second floor. He looked down and Alicia showed him a like symbol.
Alicia and Sarah with the remaining two kids went upstairs. Alicia hid behind the wall and Sarah went ahead with the kids. There was a door guarded by two guards. It was restricted to everyone in the castle but the reason was never stated. There, one of the kids pretended to fall down and started crying.
"Can't you see a little child is hurt. Why aren’t you helping him?" Sarah yelled at the guards.
"We're sorry, your majesty. We'll immediately do something." The guards replied nervously and went to pick up the child.
"Now take him to the medical wing." Sarah yelled again.
"Yes, Your highness." the guards said.
The kid sneakily took out the keys from the guard's pocket and handed them to the other girl. That girl handed them to Sarah before following the guards.
Sarah quickly opened the door and Alicia rushed inside. Sarah locked it again in a hurry.
"Maybe I'm fine now. You can let me down now." the kid pretending to be hurt said.
"You rascal!" the guard yelled and the children ran away gigling.
The guards came back annoyed and got back to their positions. And Sarah quietly placed the keys back in his pocket before running off to the opposite end of the room. She sighed in relief and knocked on the wall twice. Alicia from the other end pulled a light switch and the wall opened like a door. Sarah came in and the wall closed again.
"I still don’t know how you know about this secret passage." she said.
"Because, I actually read the blueprints of this palce." Alicia replied.
Sarah laughed awkwardly and opened the windows and was relieved to see their escape rope intact. Now that all that was done they finally get to take a good look at the room. It was furnished just as well as the other rooms in the palace. It looked very old, dusty and covered with spiderwebs like nobody even bothered to come in here for a decade.
"Woah, so it's not a storage room after all." Sarah said surprised.
"Yeah...." Alicia said quietly.
"Are you okay?" Sarah asked worriedly.
"It's just that......this place looks so, familiar." Alicia replied.
Sarah was confused. Alicia kneeled down and put her hands on the bed and caressed the fabric. She felt a strange feeling that this place was very dear to her. She saw a little crib a little further and went to take a look. Why did it make her heart feel so...warm? It felt strangely.......good. She didn’t know how to explain it. It was like some kind of fond feelings, feelings of love was tied to this place. Right then she felt an unfamiliar memory rushing back.

Flashback
A woman called out to her, "Alicia, my love." and smiled the warmest smile she  has ever seen. Her face wasn’t very clear. She didn’t know who it was but she felt awfully close to her.

Alicia snapped back to reality when Sarah called out to her, "Alicia, look at this."
She turned around to see Sarah pointing at something covered with a blanket. She got closer and removed the blanket. It revealed a portrait of a women with blonde hair and blue eyes just like Alicia. She was sure of it. She was the women in her memory. She was her.
"My mother!" Alicia exclaimed.
Sarah was shocked.
"What! Your mother?" she asked.
Alicia just realizing the truth was horrified. She gasped and took a few steps back.
"So, you finally found out." a voice from behind said.
They turned around. They were shocked even further to see who it was. It was...........
"Aunt Patricia!!!"