ALTHOUGH THE MAID HAD used the word 'humbly,' I knew that the invite would leave me no choice, much less with her coming to escort me — it was either I went down myself, or humiliated myself by being dragged tooth and nail down the stairs and into the outing.

Somehow, the latter was looking increasingly more tempting; at least that way, I could show my unwillingness.

Oblivious to my internal struggle, Maria clapped her hands together, her face positively beaming. "Please give us a few minutes while I get the Miss ready for the outing."

The other maid nodded, smiling back at Maria. Clearly, she didn't understand how I felt, either. "Please be quick; the prince seemed slightly anxious."

"Of course, of course," Maria said, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, before she closed the door and ran over to me.

I stared at her delighted face with remorse.

Was this Karma? Did Khuda hear Maria mocking the girls in the outing and decided to take me along with her, even though her words had nothing to do with me?

Thinking of the way the prince had looked last night, what with his crazed eyes and laughter, I felt my stomach turn.

Whether that be from nausea, fear, trauma or all three, I didn't know.

"Miss, come with me, let me put a little bit of perfume on you," Maria said, briskly pulling on my hand with so much force, I almost fell out of the bed.

For a tiny adolescent, her strength had certainly built up.

"Thank goodness I've already finished doing your hair," Maria said, still oblivious.

"Maria, don't you think I should change?" I said, my voice so quiet I could have almost mistook it for Maria's on the first day we met. "I mean, not to say that I want the prince to wait, but don't you think that I'm not dressed appropriately?"

That was a lie. I definitely wanted Prince Cairo to wait, wait so long that he'd lose all his patience and tear out his own hair.

Maybe then I won't have to go.

Unfortunately, Maria was either extremely smart or extremely dense, because no matter how I pleaded, stared or begged, she continued smiling — like a fool.

"Of course not," Maria said. "If Miss had the intention of pursuing the other two princes, then you'd most likely have to change, but because Miss' intentions lie with Prince Cairo, then there's no need. He's not the type to pay attention to clothes."

"Ah," I said, for lack of a better response, as Maria rubbed oil onto my neck. "And... how do you know that, exactly? He might actually do, and I'll end up humiliating myself downstairs."

"I heard it from Ismal, of course, and his information is never wrong," she answered, capping the bottle of perfume oil and taking a step back to admire her miserable, rose-scented creation. "Besides, this sort of casual clothing will show your status in the Prince's eyes above the other ladies — when they have to dress up to get attention, Miss can show up as she is and enrapture the Prince."

I almost couldn't stop my mouth from falling open.

Is this how most children think these days?

She would be a better seductress at fifteen than I ever will be in my lifetime, I think.

"Alright..."

At the very least, even if I had to dress up, it would prolong the time until I had to go down and meet him, no? At least, that was what I hoped.

But no.

Maria, either too perceptive or too dense for her own good, somehow managed to finish dressing me in what seemed to be half a second, even though she'd usually take ages doing so.

I stared, crestfallen, at my dolled up reflection. In the mirror, my eyes looked even bluer than usual, and again, I cursed the fact that even this was not enough to evoke the currently highly sought after prejudice in the prince's heart.

How disappointing.

"Miss, look how beautiful," Maria whispered, her smile soft.

I was a vain woman, and during any other day other than First Monday, I'd probably be as beautifully dressed up in Babylon as I could be — without attracting too much attention, of course. But this time, faced with Maria's constant compliments, the endless lines of beautiful women and the threat of an insane madman, whatever compliment-hungry vanity I had had been grounded down by the need to survive.

I smiled back at her through the mirror, too afraid that I would not be able to do so if I were to face her head on.

Maria quickly opened the door, smiling at the maid who was still standing in front. "The Miss is done, Dana."

Dana nodded back, before turning and giving me a curtsey. "Miss, if you would please follow me."

I steeled myself and nodded, walking towards the girl.

Before I crosses the threshold, I peeked once over my shoulder, a glance that was just barely enough for me to spot Maria's smiling visage.

And then the door closed with a thump, and I couldn't help but feel that the silent hallway was too stifling.

Dana offered me a smile. "This way, Miss."

Her footsteps echoed around the walls, the only noise that I could hear, and I inhaled a sharp breath just to fill in some of the quiet before I followed after her.

Dana walked with long, big footsteps, steps that were just a little too large for me to follow. As a result, though she was walking casually, the little jogs I made behind her were quickly starting to wear me out.

"Dana," I said, trying to sound calm, "whose maidservant are you?"

The way she walked certainly was not an inborn trait — just what kind of master has trained her to walk like this?

The training must've been incredibly tiring, and, I suppose, quite sadistic.

"Prince Cairo's, Miss," she said softly.

Dana, with her head still turned forwards, didn't notice how I stumbled over my feet after hearing her answer.

Oh, poor girl.

"I see," I said, as carefully as I could muster. "And you've been serving him for a long time?"

"For over nine years now, Miss."

I felt even more pity start to swell up.

"And... what are your duties? As in, what does a personal maidservant do for a prince?"

This time, I could see Dana's steps slow, before she turned to me. "Aside from accompanying him to bed and the bathroom, I do everything else."

So she doesn't know of his late night hobbies?

I nodded. "I see."

"But Miss," she continued, eyebrows creasing, "please understand that I cannot disclose to you information about the prince's schedule, hobbies or personal details unless he himself orders to. I cannot aid Miss in this angle. I hope Miss won't make it difficult for me."

I stared blankly at the maid, watching as she shifted from one foot to another, as if scared that at any moment, I might call for an order to get her beheaded.

And then it dawned on me.

This girl... she thinks that I'm asking so I can seduce the prince?

Seduce with what? For who? For what reason?

I didn't even have to look for a mirror to know that my face was probably flushed red.

"No, no, I get it," I said, shaking my head, trying my hardest to maintain my composure. "I didn't ask because of that."

Dana gave a careful nod, but it was clear that she didn't quite believe me.

Nevertheless, she turned and continued leading me to the garden.

Following behind her, I lowered my head, too ashamed to look up and see the doubtful maid who was probably thinking inside about the miss behind her who was trying to seduce her master.

Reaching up, I felt my ears.

They were just slightly too hot, and I sighed.

At least she answered my question — she doesn't know of his late night 'hobbies.'

But as I continued to follow after Dana's long strides, I frowned.

How odd.

How can someone follow a master for nine years and not have found out about those tactics?

But if she did know, would the prince actually leave her alive?

My gaze settled on her back, my eyes narrowing.

Even if she doesn't accompany or guard his bedroom, she must have at least some inkling.

Unless... there's something else happening that I don't know about.

But what else could be happening here?

I bit my lip, feeling my back grow cold.

This Palace seemed much too suspicious, and more and more, I was starting to feel that I would find a lot of answers in its walls.

Including, the death of my mother.

If she had actually died whilst working here, that is.

"Careful, Miss," Dana said, "we're almost there, but the floor in this area had just recently been cleaned, so it's a little wet. Please watch your step."

Watch your step, indeed.

And in less than five minutes, suddenly, we were in the gardens.

The view from two stories up and the view from my current standing point really couldn't be compared — the former had made the whole scene look beautiful and harmonious, the perfect outing to satisfy beautiful women and attractive men, but now that I was standing right under the blazing heat, the sun too blinding for me to be able to see properly, the scene in front of me didn't look quite so pleasing.

Especially considering the fact that, even through the glare, I was still able to make out a few hard glares passing my way.

What else do you expect? You weren't invited — you just went and crashed the party.

I wonder how they'd feel if they knew that, just like them, I'm also not happy to be here.

Dana seemed to notice my discomfort, because she smiled and said gently beside my ear, "Miss, do not worry. The other young misses are just a little upset that you've had much more bonding time with the prince."

Bonding time — what a good word for last night.

To be fair to Dana, I've certainly found out more about Prince Cairo than I've ever wished to know in my entire lifetime. I just didn't think it was the kind of information that she was thinking of.

I nodded, smiling. "Yes."

Dana continued walking ahead, leaving me to trail after her like a lost puppy.

I thanked the heavens that she was walking in front of me, so she couldn't see that with every step she took, the speed at which I walked got slower and slower and slower.

When she curtseyed in front of Prince Cairo, I stopped a good meter away from her, too afraid to get anywhere nearer.

I took a deep, deep breath in, cold sweat pricking the insides of my hands. I was sure that sweating this much wasn't a good sign for my health, but faced with the memory of Prince Cairo laughing behind my eyes, I couldn't seem to stop it.

There's no way he didn't see my face last time. There's no way. He turned my shoulder around; he definitely saw my face.

He'll definitely know it's me.

But he won't kill me. Not here, not in front of so many people. He wouldn't do that.

...Would he?

"I brought Miss Aliya over as you've asked, Shahzadeh."

"Good. You may retreat."

In the next moment, I felt a hand clamp around my wrist, and my heart stop beating.

"Aliya, I haven't seen you in quite a while."

I took a deep breath, slowly, very slowly, cracking my eyes open, trying to ignore the sickening need to pull my hand away, expecting to see cold, mocking black eyes staring into mine.

Soft brown eyes bore back at me. "Miss Aliya?"

I blinked rapidly, my mouth turning dry.

No matter how good of an actor he is, there's no way he can hide the fact that he saw me. There's no way. There's no way.

So... why does he look so confused?

"Aliya, did you sleep well last night? You don't look very well."

"No, I'm fine," I said, still reeling. What's happening?

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it's just— I couldn't sleep well because of last night," I blurted out, trying to gauge his reaction.

Prince Cairo blinked. "Last night? What happened last night?"

What?

pretty long chapter to make up for the delay <3

p.s. thank you so much for 4K!

KAY ©️ 2019.