The palace felt colder the next morning, as if the walls themselves had absorbed
the unease of the previous night.
Charlotte rose before dawn, long before the
other servants, unable to sleep with her name still echoing in her thoughts.
Every corner of the palace seemed to watch her now. Every whisper felt sharpened.
Every footstep sounded like someone following.
She moved through the quiet hall, carrying linens toward the eastern quarters,
trying to ground herself in ordinary tasks. But nothing about the palace felt
ordinary anymore.
As she reached the corridor leading to the library, she slowed. Prince Adrien
stood ahead, speaking with two royal advisors. His posture was rigid, and his
eyes carried the same clipped intensity from the night before. The moment he
noticed Charlotte passing, he dismissed the advisors with a curt gesture.
"Charlotte," he called.
She stopped, her fingers tightening around the linens. Part of her wished he
would let the matter go, let her sink back into obscurity. But another part,
deep and unwelcome, felt drawn by the certainty in his tone.
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Walk with me."
It was not a request. He turned and began down a quieter side hall, and after a
moment, Charlotte followed.
She kept her eyes lowered, but she sensed him watching her, studying every
breath she took. When they reached an empty alcove overlooking the gardens, he
spoke.
"You did not sleep."
She almost smiled at his calm certainty. "No, Your Highness. I imagine neither
did you."
He ignored the hint of humor. "The guards searched the grounds all night. No
sign of him. No tracks. No witness. Whoever that man is, he knows how to vanish
without a trace."
Charlotte's heart sank. She wished she could feel relieved. But shadows that
vanish tend to return.
Adrien turned toward her fully. "Charlotte… he carved your name into a tree. He
left your full name on a note pinned to the Queen's balcony door. This is not a
random intruder. This is someone who came for you."
Her voice tightened. "I know."
"Then why won't you explain?"
She looked toward the gardens, watching the morning mist cling to rose bushes.
Explaining meant unearthing everything she had buried. And once spoken, the past
rarely stayed quiet.
"My past does not belong in this palace," she said softly. "It is better left
outside its walls."
Adrien exhaled, frustration slipping through his composure. "I am trying to keep
you safe. But I cannot protect a ghost."
She flinched, but before she could reply, footsteps approached. Princess Eloise
rounded the corner with a small retinue of maids. Her eyes widened slightly as
she saw the two of them alone together.
"Brother," she said lightly, though her gaze held clear suspicion. "You are up
early."
Adrien straightened. "I had matters to discuss."
"With a maid?" Eloise's voice was gentle, but the mockery beneath it was sharp.
Her eyes slid toward Charlotte. "You again. You are proving quite difficult to
ignore."
Charlotte bowed. "Your Highness."
Eloise stepped closer, studying her with an expression that was neither cruel
nor kind. Simply curious. "You hide yourself so thoroughly, yet trouble follows
wherever you go. That is quite a talent."
Adrien's tone cooled. "Eloise."
"I am not accusing," she replied, lifting her hands. "Only observing. The palace
is restless. Mother is worried. And you," she said, turning back to Charlotte,
"seem to be at the center of it."
Charlotte kept her voice polite. "I am only doing my duties, Princess."
"Are you?" Eloise tilted her head. "Then why do I feel you are not who you
pretend to be?"
Adrien stepped between them. "That is enough."
Eloise's smile deepened, far too knowing. "Very well. I will leave you both to
your secrets. But be careful, Charlotte. Every secret has a cost."
With a graceful turn, she left, her maids following like shadows.
Charlotte released a slow breath.
Adrien looked at her once Eloise was out of sight. "My sister is perceptive. Too
perceptive. If she becomes suspicious of you, the Queen will hear of it. And
that… will not end well."
Charlotte nodded, struggling to steady her voice. "I understand."
"You don't." Adrien's voice softened. "Charlotte, whoever this man is… he has
already crossed the palace walls. If you keep hiding the truth, he will reach
you again. And next time, he might not leave a message."
Her throat tightened painfully. "Your Highness, please…"
Before he could press further, a distant shout echoed down the hall.
Adrien turned sharply. "What now?"
A guard sprinted toward them, breathless. "Your Highness! You must come quickly!"
Adrien moved forward at once. "What happened?"
The guard swallowed hard. "The Queen wishes to see you. And… she wishes to see
the maid as well."
Charlotte's stomach dropped. "Me?"
"Yes," the guard said. "She demanded it immediately."
Adrien's jaw clenched. "Why?"
The guard glanced uneasily at Charlotte before answering. "Because, Your
Highness… the intruder left something else."
Charlotte's hands grew cold. "What did he leave?"
The guard hesitated, then spoke quietly.
"A ring. Placed on the Queen's bedside table. And beside it, another note."
Adrien's voice hardened. "What does the note say?"
The guard swallowed. "It says the ring belongs to her. And it asks one question."
Charlotte's heart pounded. "What question?"
The guard met her eyes with a look that chilled her to the bone.
"It asks, 'Do you remember who you are, Charlotte?'"
Silence flooded the corridor.
Adrien turned to her slowly. His expression was unreadable, a mixture of fear,
anger, and a dawning realization he didn't yet know how to name.
Charlotte could not breathe.
The guard stepped back. "The Queen wants answers. Now."
Adrien held Charlotte's gaze for a long, heavy moment. Then he whispered the words that ended all hesitation.
"It seems the palace is done waiting for your truth."
Charlotte stood frozen, knowing there was no escape, no more time, no more quiet
corners to hide in. Her past had not only caught her. It had dragged the entire royal family into its shadows.
And the next door she walked through would decide everything.