“CELESTE!” I don’t care if everyone’s staring at me, I wouldn’t even mind if the king and queen themselves came over to me. “CELESTE!” The other maids are looking at me with shocked, scared expressions. However, one of them does approach me. Stacey. She doesn’t usually interact with the other maids, but she’s very observant. Without speaking, she nods toward a hallway. Quietly, I thank her and sprint down that hallway. I’m so focused on what might be happening to Celeste that I don’t notice I’m sprinting toward another person until I crash into them. Quickly, I mutter a faint “sorry” and am about to brush past when she speaks.

    “Where are you going?” I freeze, fear racing through me. I know that voice. I’d know it in my sleep. It’s the voice of Auretta. It’s the voice of the princess. Slowly, I raise my head, trying to buy myself some time. She’s going to be angry. If I can just stall, let some of that anger dissipate- “Are you alright?” she asks. I pause, confused. There’s no anger in her voice, only concern.

    “I-I’m fine,” I mutter, hugging my arms around my body and quickly moving my feet to get by her. Just as I’m about to turn the corner, I feel a hand close around my arm. Surprised, I yelp and turn around to see Auretta’s jewel green eyes.

    “You’re looking for her, aren’t you? The other maid… Celeste?” Not waiting for me to answer, she guides me toward a different hallway. “She’s this way,” Auretta whispers, “I made sure nothing too bad happened to her, but even I can’t prevent everything.” I try to wrench my arm out of her grasp, but her grip is too strong. Eyes narrowed she turns to look at me, and then continues to speak like nothing happened. Anger ripples through me. Who does she think she is, able to prance around flaunting her power and ‘kind heart’? “She won’t be killed, not even really punished that much. At most she’ll be… fired.” At that relief floods through me, Celeste is going to be fine. The relief is short lasting though, cold fear quickly replaces it. Celeste relies on this job to survive. Where will Celeste go if she’s fired? Suddenly, I see Celeste approaching from the other side of the hallway, and I push my worries away for the time being.

    “Celeste!” I exclaim, running toward her. Auretta quickly clamps her hand down on my wrist. From across the hall, Celeste shakes her head at me, the message is loud and clear. Heart falling, I slow down my pace. When we pass Celeste, Auretta keeps dragging me forward. Celeste meets my eyes, and I can see the message she’s trying to send. Don’t resist. Tears well in her eyes, as well as mine, and start to fall down her face. Deliberately, she reaches for my hand, looking like she just wants to say goodbye, but secretly slips something into my hand. Something small and thin. Paper. It’s a note. Once Celeste passes me, I stop. I can feel Auretta’s confused look, but I ignore her. Holding my breath, I unfold the note. On the paper is only two letters: Follow through. The paper flutters out of my hands and to the ground as I realize what Celeste is asking of me: To follow through. To rebel.

    Numbly, I start walking in a random direction. I don’t know where I’m heading. All I know is that I need to get away, get outside, be alone for a while. However, before I manage to take more than five steps, I feel hands grasp my shoulders, spinning me around. Already knowing what I’m going to see, I stare blankly in front of me. Sure enough, I turn around to see Auretta’s worried green eyes in front of my face. I try to slap her arms away, but all she does is calmly hold my arms by my side. She’s surprisingly strong, stronger than I would’ve ever thought her to be. “Let me go!” I screech. She gives me another worried look and opens her mouth to speak, but I beat her to it. “Let. Me. Go.” Abruptly, I jerk backwards, and to my surprise, find no resistance from her. Surprised, I stumble a bit before regaining my balance and turning to leave.

    “Wait.” I freeze, anger bubbling inside of me. Can’t she tell I need to be alone? That I need to get outside, get some fresh air? “Just hear me out. Please.” Turning around, I open my mouth to shout at her, but nothing comes out. All of my anger floats away when I see her. Small, fragile, delicate. Standing alone in the middle of a large room, with hunched shoulders and tears in her eyes. She looks so… young. Almost... lonely. She doesn’t say anything, just lifts her right hand toward me. Confused, I stare at her, blinking rapidly. What was she doing? It takes me a moment to realize that she’s holding something. As if in a trance, I start walking back toward her. The object was small, white, and made of- I freeze, fear racing through me. I know what she’s holding. Celeste’s note.

    How could I be so careless? It’s obvious what Celeste’s message means. Still, somehow, I let it land in the hands of the princess. The princess. Escape plans start forming in my head. I’m fast, fast enough at least. If I sprint now, I can catch her off guard, get a few seconds head start- “You can’t do this alone, you know.” At the sound of her voice, I had turned to sprint, but her words stop me. A confused yet wary expression on my face, I turn back towards her. As soon as my eyes meet hers, she ducks her head down, and suddenly I feel an urge to reach out and protect her. She looks so small, standing in the middle of the huge hallway, under the light of the crystal chandeliers. “I-I have valuable information. Let me help you.”

    “Absolutely not,” it’s bad enough that she knows my goal. It’ll be even worse if she knows my plan.

    “I won’t betray you, I swear!” I shake my head, turning to walk away. “Please? Just give me a chance?” The desperation in her voice catches me off guard. “Please?” she repeats, softer, gentler this time. Slowly, I turn back around.

    She’s late. We agreed to meet at midnight, yet it’s fifteen minutes past twelve and she still hasn’t shown up. As I pace around, I draw conclusions I should’ve made fifteen minutes ago. No, not fifteen minutes. Hours ago, when I let her help me. I should’ve known. I shouldn’t have let her fool me, use that pretty, innocent face of hers to open me up. Stupid, stupid, stupid-

    “Sorry I’m late.” Auretta walks briskly toward me, a small, hesitant smile on her face. When I don’t return it, it fades away. Anger is pulsing through me, more intense than I ever thought was possible. She thinks she can just come late and fix all of that with a sorry? “Look, I know I’m late, I know you’re angry, and rightly so. But look at this,” she lifts her hands, and only now do I see the neat piles of folded clothes she’d been balancing on her hands. I walk over, hesitantly, then run my hands over the clothes. The silk falls through my fingers like water as I lift it up. Gasping, I realize what they are modeling. The clothes of the princess’s personal servants. From long ago, I’ve heard that Auretta had treated her servants like equals. Later, as proof, her servants were all ‘freed’ and given many privileges. However, they all stayed by the princess’s side. Whether that was their choice or they were forced, I’ll never know. “-and then you’ll be free!” Auretta’s voice snaps me out of my daze.

    “I’m sorry, what?”

    She rolls her eyes, but gives me a smile. To my surprise, I feel my lips tug upward in response. “As I was saying,” she repeats with fake annoyance, “it cost me a lot to get these uniforms, and a lot of bribing, but as long as we wear these and cover our faces, we should be safe to move around in the castle, and fulfill your wish!” a shy smile creeps onto her face afterwards. “And you can be free.” I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out leaving me gaping at her like a fish. Somehow, she knew. She knew that I didn’t want to rebel, only Celeste did. She knew that deep inside, the only thing I really wanted, really cared about was freedom.

    It’s peaceful here, sitting on the floor, leaning against Auretta. She’s not the evil royalty I had always envisioned her to be, even though we’ve never actually met in person before. Actually, she’s more like Celeste, a young, innocent, friendly girl, and if I’m being honest, in my heart, she’s also taken Celeste’s position. My best friend. Talking comes easily when I’m with her and I’m always laughing or smiling when we’re talking. What really moved me, though, was how she got the uniforms, created a whole plan in advance, when she knew I wouldn’t have anything for her in return. Nothing but distrust and anger. Gazing up at her, I resist the urge to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Honestly, if all goes wrong tomorrow, if we’re caught and punished, I don’t know if I would really mind. As long as I have these memories with me forever. In these short few hours, Auretta has managed to worm her way deeper into my heart than Celeste had managed for all of the years she had known me.

    It’s minutes before we’ve agreed to set our plan into action. Carefully, I slip into the bathroom, the uniform tucked under one arm. I glance left, then right, make sure no one is looking. Then I slip into a stall-

    “EEP!” I shriek as a hand jerks me backwards. Stumbling backwards, I crash into someone, who abruptly spins me so I face them. I stare at the freckled face for a moment, before I realize who I’m looking at. Stacey. “Oh, hi Stacey! Did you need anything-” suddenly, she cuts me off by pressing a finger against my lips. Her wide eyes dart back and forth then drag me into the stall, quickly locking the door behind us with nimble fingers.

    When she’s finished, she quickly turns back around and speaks. “Seraphina, listen. I know what you’re planning, I know you feel you have to do it. But don’t. You can’t. Or else the consequences will be big. Huge. You won’t see it coming until it’s too late.”

    I don’t know how to respond. Emotions battle inside of me. Fear, anger, surprise, shock. Did Auretta betray me? Did Stacey actually know something or was she just babbling nonsense? I can’t back down now though. Auretta, if she didn’t betray me, would be in trouble if I did. Although logic would assume that she betrayed me, I can’t picture her doing that. No, Auretta is better than that. I give Stacey a smile, and gently push her out before locking the door again and changing. I don’t miss her wide eyed stare or the way she desperately reaches toward me, lips moving but not speaking. It bugs me, but I have to shrug it off. Right now, I need to focus on our plan. Auretta had come up with an ingenious plan to free the servants here at the palace. With her power, the only thing she needs is a certain document, which is unfortunately hidden safely in the king’s quarters. That’s where our disguises come in. We pretend we’re there to deliver a message, and when we enter to place down the note, we steal the document. Quick in, quick out. Easy.

    Something’s off. I can tell. One, there’s barely any guards. Two, there are no other maids in sight. Usually, there are maids everywhere, cleaning every single inch of the palace, every single second of the day. Now, however, there’s no one. It makes me uneasy. When I meet up with Auretta, also disguised, she mirrors the same suspicions. What’s going on? My suspicions only grow as we continue on. The closer we get to the king’s chambers, the more guards there should be, right? However, the number stays the same, might even be decreasing as we approach the room. Auretta’s brows are furrowed as she’s lost in thought. No doubt trying to figure out what is happening. Too late does my brain put the pieces together. I’ll forever carry the blame of what happened. I should’ve been smarter. I should’ve realized what was going on sooner. Yet I didn’t, and nothing I do will ever change that.

    The missing guards, that should’ve been a red light. However, we were blinded. Blinded by self-confidence. They weren’t just slacking. They weren’t just missing. They were waiting for us. In the king’s chambers. It was a trap.

    The second we open the door, the guards charge. From every direction, they rush towards us, organized, planned. They knew of this a long time ago, that’s for certain. Roughly, they push me against a wall, causing me to let out a yelp as pain explodes in my back. Their spears poke my skin, drawing blood in a few areas. Everything seems to happen slowly, drawn out. I can only watch numbly as it all happens. It’s like I’m underwater. The shouts, barked orders, footsteps pounding on the floor all feel a mile away. I keep my eyes trained on Auretta, like she’s the only person in the whole room. Like I’m not being trampled by thousands of soldiers. Like this isn’t the end for me. Auretta made the decision too quickly, that’s what I tell myself. I know the truth, though. I could’ve stopped it. Yet I didn’t. The fear flowing under my skin was too much, it locked me in place, with my back against the wall and tears flowing down my face.

    I replay it in my mind over and over. Auretta’s sacrifice. Auretta’s mistake. The way she shoved the guards around her away, threw down her veil to reveal who she was. How she thought that would help. How wrong she was. They’d never obey the kind princess over the harsh, demanding king. I still hear Stacey’s warnings echoing in my thoughts. Fading away until only one line remains: You won’t see it coming until it’s too late.

    It’s been two days since I’ve been made princess. It’s been two days since Auretta’s death. It’s been two days since I freed all of the servants. It’s been two days since my biggest wish came true. Auretta’s words in her will ring in my ears almost like she spoke them to me herself. Maybe there’s more than one way to be free. Maybe there’s more than one way to free you. I still remember the shock on the king and the queen’s faces when they read her last wish: Please, if you still hold any love for me in your heart, give my dearest friend, Seraphina, my position. Let her be your replacement daughter. And from that, I’ve got what I’ve always wanted: freedom. I always knew I’d get it, deep inside, but should’ve guessed it would’ve been like this. Oh Auretta, if only you could see me now. You’ve made my biggest dream come true, but I couldn’t be farther from happiness.

    It’s been two days since I decided I couldn’t take it. It’s been two days since I selfishly ran from the palace. From the judging looks of the king and queen. From the mocking smiles of the lords and ladies. From the whispers and the pressure and the gossip. Into the wilderness I fled. It’s been two weeks since Auretta’s death. Two weeks of pure torture. I lie on the dirt floor, unwilling to move. Everything inside of me is dead, it all died with Auretta, with Celeste and her dreams falling apart. Slowly I turn over and stare at the ground. Numbly, mechanically, I start working. Building. Until two lumps face me. My hands are bleeding and coated in mud, but I couldn’t care less. Two graves face me. One for Auretta, for her sacrifice, her mistake. One for Celeste, for her broken hopes and dreams. I stare at them for a while. Slowly, I make a third. One for me, for my broken heart. For my broken soul.

    I paste a smile on my face and turn back towards the palace.