Late in the night, a noise woke her up from the deep sleep she had fallen into. The entire room was being struck by flashes of lightning, ushering the approaching storm. The party was over since she could hear no other sound, except for the faraway thuds. She rose from her bed and made it for the window, intending to pull the heavy curtains to make the storm less frightening. It would have been embarrassing to call her nanny from the next room just because she got scared by lightning.

And then she saw it. A black silhouette, wrapped in a robe just as black, waiting under the window of her room. Almost like a shadow. She knew it was there; she knew she wasn't just imagining it. And she also knew it was watching her. She didn't have to see its face to figure this out. She blinked once, only once, and the shadow disappeared as never there. 

Big raindrops hit the window in anger and a menacing wind was bending the leafless trees, making them look like long and skinny armed monsters ready to grab her. Eliza pulled the curtains and tucked herself under the quilt. She couldn't catch a wink until late in the night, when the day started to pierce through the tar-like darkness of the night. 

The next day, she said nothing to anyone. But she realised that the smile was fading from her face, and now she was also one of the grumpy and silent inhabitants of the castle. The Prince had gone hunting early in the morning and Eliza could do as she pleased. 

Just like she decided the previous night, she would try to practise on her voice. Nanny Ana brought a music teacher in great secrecy; so she sent him to one of the less frequented rooms of the castle to teach Eliza how to sing. He was a funny old man, with a twisted moustache and glasses on the tip of his nose, looking like they would fall down every time he moved his head. Since there was no time to linger, the lessons started. The teacher asked Eliza to sing all the songs she knew; so she did. Old songs, sung by the village elders during feasts, lullabies sung by her father and happy bouncy songs hummed by the neighbours' kids. But her voice sounded like a fainting cat which never saw the tail of a mouse in its whole life and fed itself with roots only. The teacher, though kind and polite, grew sick of all the slobber, bellows and cackles and, after several hours of trying to get even the slightest decent note, suggested they should meet again the next day. The weather, he had just realised, was most likely not suitable for singing. This being said, he stormed out of the room, sticking his fingers in his ears and shaking them like a whole beehive was buzzing in his head. With the intention of never coming back again. 

Eliza saw him leaving and a feeling of uneasiness got her. Her nanny stormed inside, interrupting her thoughts; she carefully closed the door behind her.

 The girl was growing fond of her nanny, as chubby as she was, with rosy cheeks, small, sparkling eyes and grey hair, always kept in a bun on the top of her head. Eliza couldn't help herself from laughing when she would see her bubble like that since her nanny always looked like a pot-bellied mouse. 

'I think it's time you tell me who you are, child,' said the nanny in a gritty tone, but Eliza felt a trace of affection in her voice. 'You know, since I'm sticking my neck out for you, I think I deserve to know at least who you are, where you come from and how you got here.'

 Eliza took her nanny's hand—because after she saved her on the night of the feast, she felt like she was her nanny—sat her down in a stall that once had a beautiful embroidered silk flower pattern; she sat on the cold floor in front of her. Then, she told her the whole messy story she was in. How all her life she wanted to be a princess; how she met Princess Mara and how Adrian, her lifelong friend talked her into taking the Princess's place. How she left her father, the old miller, in tears; how she missed him every day and how the only one to remind her of home was the spotted tomcat. But not even once did she felt sorry for the choice she made, even though nothing had turned out the way she hoped.

 The nanny listened covering her mouth with the palm of her hand, gasping and flinching as the story became ever too tangled. 

'And what is your name, child? What is your real name?'

 'Eliza', said the girl proudly, drawing the letter E on the floor's dust. 

The nanny went silent, then got up and went out of the room with a long and heavy pace as if sleepwalking. Eliza was baffled. 

● 

Night has fallen again and sleep failed to stick to her eyelids. After so much twisting and turning, that the sheets became tangled in knots, Eliza figured she was not going to catch any sleep very soon. She began counting sheep instead, although this never helped her before. 

She didn't get to count three before something caught her attention. Somewhere in the corner, by the giant mahogany wardrobe, she heard a scraping. At first quietly, hardly distinguishable; then harder, louder; loud enough to wake up Tommy. The cat suddenly awoke and the hair on his back stood up from the tip of his ears to the tip of his tail. The poor animal had his eyes fixed towards the corner of the room. 

Eliza mustered the courage to get out of bed, stepping slowly towards the place where the scraping continued. When her eyes got used to the dark, she made out in horror a black figure, blacker than the darkness surrounding it, scratching with a crane on the rocky slabs.

 'Who's there?' shouted Eliza in a strangled voice she couldn't even recognise. 'Who let you in my room? Don't you know you are not allowed here? I am Princess Mara and I forbid—' 

But the black figure continued scratching the rocks as if it didn't hear her. As if it was a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. With her heart racing, ready to jump out of her chest, Eliza rushed to the fireplace to light a candlestick. When the light flooded the room, the scratching noise suddenly disappeared along with the figure. As if they were never there. Tommy stood in place all roughed up, letting out a deaf growl, like a dog. 

However, the shadow—for Eliza was clear that this was the same shadow that followed her ever since she left home—had left something behind. On the cold slabs, Eliza found a message, scratched in black letters. A message for her. 

If you want to gain your voice, go to the Forest of Whispers through the hidden tunnel.

●

 The next day, Eliza woke up with a terrible headache. She couldn't fall asleep until dawn and only after she calmed Tommy, stroking him and telling him she would let no one harm him. She had to admit it—she was frightened too. She was more frightened than she has ever been before. 

When Nanny Ana entered her room to help her prepare for a new day, Eliza didn't even notice her and was startled when the concerned nanny touched her forehead.

'What happened, child?' she said softly. 

'You look pale and your forehead is cold. Are you ill?'

Eliza forced out a smile. She was convincednoone was supposed to find about what went on the night before. 

'I am all right,' she said in a low voice 'It's just that... the engagement is in a week and I—I don't think I could learn how to sing until then.' 

The nanny frowned. 'This is not the thing to be worried about, my dear. What should really worry you is that your parents will be invited, as it's accustomed. And a parent will always recognise his child. They can recognise the soul, the eyes that cannot lie, even if the mouth says otherwise. Maybe you look like Mara, you talk and dress like her. But your parents will know you are not their child from the first moment they will look you in the eyes.'

Eliza kept her head down. Nanny Ana was right. But what could she do about it? It was too late to turn back. Besides, if the Dark Prince had found out, her home country would have suffered. But now, her mind was in a different place. She had to find the hidden tunnel by any means.

 ● 

Eliza spent the following day asking everyone about the Forest of Whispers and the hidden tunnel. But no one knew anything about them. Not the lady cooks in the kitchen with whom she could talk about anything. Not her caretakers, always ready to fire up and chit chat about a small secret. Not the guards and not the gardener. To find out, she was bound to leave the castle for the first time. 

Only Eliza felt like they were hiding something. Although everyone shook their heads stubbornly, their eyes said differently. They looked frightful, eyes down looking to get out as quickly as possible from her inquiries. 

When she was about to give up, she noticed a child hidden behind a wood cart. The little boy was signalling her to get closer. He was about ten, blonde hair covering his head, eager eyes, green and vivid like grass after the rain. His clothes were clean and neat; probably he was the child of a laundry lady of the Court. 

'Come quick!' whispered the child. 'I have something to tell you.' 

When Eliza got close, he pulled her behind the wood cart. 

'I know about the hidden tunnel. You can find it under the castle, but they have locked it for a long time.' 

'How come they locked it?' Eliza wondered.

 'That is where the Shadows came from and... And killed the Prince's family,' said the kid shivering. 

Eliza was shivering, too. The memory of the shadow in her room was still alive. 

'You mean they murdered the Prince's family? And who are the Shadows?' 

The kid flustered, 'I know little about these things for it happened a long time ago before I was born. Since then, the Prince changed into another man. And nobody calls him by his real name anymore, only the Dark Prince.' 

'But do you know where this tunnel is?' 

The child gave it a thought, 'Well, my mother told me that everyone is afraid to talk about this. It's too painful for them. But somewhere in the palace's library, you can find the tunnel's map. Only it is well hidden, just like the tunnel.' 

Eliza looked into the child's eyes. He looked like a grown-up man in his shabby clothes, tailored to his size. She didn't know why, but she felt the boy was telling the truth.  

So... what do you think of Eliza's story so far? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to vote!