Kestran~

I leaned forward, looking at the path. The vines have hidden a gate to a path that, as far as I can see, has run right up againsth the wall. I lean over the gate and look closer. Wagon ruts run across the path.  It's used well, and recently. I look down the path. It runs parallel to... is that the moat? Grey-green water, bits of brown and green floating by in mats. I shiver. I've lived here my entire life and barely noticed the moat. 

I'm about to open the gate when I hear a clunk: wood on stone. It echoes weirdly, as it does when I drop something down one of the long, enclosed tower staircases. 

Regin opens his mouth, but I whisper, "Shh. Stay here for a minute, then walk back to your room." He nods.

Prince Kestran, sneaking around his own garden. What are the queen and king going to think? I shrug. I've always been the different prince anyway.

A brown-haired girl in a maid's uniform scrambles out of the well. She runs back towards the castle. 

I follow.

Mellie-

I bring Prince Kestran his tray, after coming back to change it three times. The first time, I spill his coffe, and get banged on the head with a rolling pin. The second time I drop his crumpets, and get hit with a frying pan. The third time, I break a plate, and it's a tea-kettle that hits me. A hot one. The fourth time, I finally succede, though my head is spinning, and I feel like I'm about to fall. I stumble back to the kitchen, where cook confronts me in an extra suggary sweet way that I can't understand. And I don't like it one bit.

"Say, Mellie," she chides, "Yesterday, after you finished washing dishes, you were sent to clean the princess' bedroom, am I not mistaken?"

"Y-yes Cook."

"A great honour that. I trust you would not exploit it?"

"Never, ma'am." Oh, no. Is she going to scold me? But I didn't even do anything that wrong. All I did was drop a book, which caused an awful racket but didn't actually break anything. 

"By stealing a spool of thread, perhaps? It would not be unlike you, you know."

"Oh, Cook! I would never!" I breathe. They suspect me of that? I'm capable of breaking anything, but I would never steal!

"I'm not saying anything yet, of course. Just that the royal family might want to talk to you soon."

At that, my bell rings, calling me up for an audience. My head is still spinning, but not from the tea kettle.

--------

"Your magesty," I curtsy. 

"Mellie. I persume you've heard of the spool of thread that was stollen from the Princess?"

"Y-yes, your majesty," my  voice quakes.

"You were cleaning her bedroom yesterday, and, based on your activities in the past, it would be resonable to suspect you," he looks me over, "We are not concluding anything, but I would recommend you return the spool, as it would shorten your time in the dungens, and, perhaps, not lead to your death. You are excused."

I curtsy, and hustle out the door. He might have just as well signed my death sentence. But I didn't... I'm so caught up in my thoughts, I don't notice Abelaine until I crash right into her.

"You stole it, didn't you?" she asks, right off.

I lean back, closing my eyes. If even my own sisters suspects me, I'm dead. 

Kestran~

The maid dashes through the halls, and I stay a few yards behind her, waiting at corners. She ducks into the kitchen and I immediately hear the cook yelling, "Stupid girl! You've left half your job undone and thirty minutes late!" I hear a slap and wince. I'm not going to let this go on. I know the world isn't perfect, but this doesn't need to be happening. 

I slam open the kitchen door and stand in as princely a manner as I can muster. "Cook."

She and the maids in the kitchen curtsy shakily.

"I can't have this going on, understand?"

Cook snarls. "Half-prince! You have no right at all to tell me how to treat my servants. None. At. All." She raises the spoon in her hand. She's going to slap me. She's insane. This is a nightmare. I can't be a prince. 

I'm about to grab the spoon from her hand but someone does it before me. And the cook faints away. It's the brown-haired maid girl. 

She grabs my hand and pushes me out the door. "Shhh." She presses on the wall just outside the kitchen. A mark glows and she pulls me in.

"What in the name of the kingdom-" I'm about to ask, but she just grabs my hand and pulls me along the passage. I'm still half in shock.

{finishing post later!} 

{continuing!}

Kestran~

She drops my hand and runs faster with me still following as she calls, "My name is Surah. I guess you could say I've been wanting to do that for a while. Is..." She hesitates as she stops and faces me. "Please. Is it okay I've done this? I know you're a prince and I'm... I'm just Cook's maid, the orphan girl who's been sent away by all her family."

"No. No. Surah, thank you. Thank you so much. I'm telling the king and queen about Cook and about you." I can't be a prince anymore... no one respects me. But I can try my best to be a good person.

"I'll help you." Surah's brown eyes twinkle and she leads me down the tunnel. She stops before a mark on the passage wall. "Tell no one I led you here, only that I stopped Cook. Else I shall be in great trouble. This is the throne room. Peace, Prince Kestran." 

I nod and bow as I would to a duchess. "Thank you, Maiden Surah."

I press the mark as she did... and emerge into the throne room.

Abilene~

"Well, did you?" I ask, when Mellie stays silent.

She bursts into tears. "I-I-I didn't!!!!" she sobs. "I promise. I never even touched it!"

I look into her wet eyes. She's telling the truth.

"Well, whoever did steal it got us into some major trouble," I sigh. "And that is never good." She gives a shaky nod. "We need to tell the Head that we didn't do it. We could get thrown into the dungeons, get a pay lower, even..." I lower my voice. "lose our jobs."

Mellie turns pale. She cares just as much about Mom as I do.

"That can't happen, right?" I ask. She nods. I take out a handkerchief and dab away her tears. "Come on. We have to tell someone we're innocent."

I press a vase and step into the passageway, not literally bumping into the brown-haired maid I've seen once in a while.

She has a spool of golden thread clutched in her hand.

Surah -  i stey inside the tunnle but spy through the little peep hole in the door. Prince Kestran i pacing up and down and the king and queen are exanging worried glanses. finaly the king says somthing that makes the prince smile. then the queen says somthing else and the prince smiles again and then he walks out of the room. i walk slowly back down the tunnle and think about what lies in store for her. when i reach the end of the tunnle and back into the passige i see the prince is waiting for me. suprised and a little pleased i agree to walk with him. aas we walk i soon realize that we are headed for the courtyard. i slow to a stop as we walk towords the well. " what is the prince planning ?i wonder. he seems to read my mind. " i just wanted to have a peak at the well i saw you climb out of earlier."

i climb down and show him the passige then he starts walking down it. i have nouthing else to do but follow.when we reach the middle of the passige he stops and i see another dark archway. " where does this go?" he asks 

i shake my head  and say" i neaver saw it before." he shrugs his sholders and starts walking down" the new passige. we walk for for five minets then he asks" were did the other passige come out?" " the ballroom" i say.

we walk  for another five minets then all of a sudden we come out into a small room. all the walls are covered with books and there is a big cheast and a smaller one. i open the big chest and whistle. it is full of parchmeant. stacks and stacks of it. then i  opened the small chest and almost yell  " the princess golden thred!"

the prince rushed over from where he had been studying one of the books and picked it up. it glisend in his hand. for a moment neather of us say anything then the prince hands me the thred and walks over to the book shelf. " look here is the compleat book of history. i thought there were no more copies of this book made!"

he pulls the book out and i hear a pop and daylight shines on us. we are in the tower below us is the third step where i hide my tresures. the prince dashes off towords teh throne room leaving me with a spool of stolen golden thred. then i hear somebody come around the corner. i hold my breath and wait. 

Just to try to get this figured out because there are lots of characters in a big castle... 

1. Abilene enters the secret passages.

2. Duchess Cassandara encounters Princess Gwenevere. 

3. Surah hides the stolen spool in the staircase and goes to the kitchen. 

4. Millie finds Abilene in the passageway and is in trouble with Cook.

5. Kestran meets Regin. 

6. Millie goes to the kitchen and on the way runs into Kestran. 

7. Regin takes Kestran to the gardens. Kestran finds the path.

8. Surah is cleaning the ballroom when she falls into the passageway. 

9. Surah climbs out of the passageways through the well. 

10. Abilene is summoned to the king and queen and accused but let off (for now) because of her fraternization with Gwenevere. Abilene goes tot he passageways. 

{guys? Ruby got robbed not Gwenevere. Can we just say that Abilene wasn't accused of stealing but of simply being too close to Gwenevere?}

11. Duchess Cassandara is summoned to the king and queen and put in the dungeouns for being too disloyal. She will be executed soon.

12. Kestran notices Surah climbing out of the passageways and follows her to the kitchen.

13. Millie is summoned to the king and queen and accused but let off (for now) because of the spool of thread. Abilene confronts Millie in the passageway and accuses her too. 

14. Kestran is attacked by Cook but rescued by Surah. Surah takes him through the passageways to the throne room. 

15. Surah encounters Abilene and Millie in the passageway. Surah has the golden thread. 

Thank you, Air!

Kestran~

I walk slowly down the normal hallway to the throne room. I don't even have to watch the path, I've lived here so long and walked there so many times. I'm holding The Complete Book of History. I wasn't even sure it existed, but here it is! A priceless treasure. 

I realize I've forgotten to dismiss Surah. Mentally, I apologize. Even a half-prince should have more manners that I've been showing.  

I knock on the throne room's oaken door. The torch on the right side of the door is lit but not the one on the right, which means no one is present except the king and queen.

"You may enter," I hear the lilting song of the queen's voice say.

I step in, bowing deeply. 

"Rise," says the king in his deep baritone.

"My king and queen," I say, "I present you with The Complete Book of-"

The king interrupts me, his eyes wide in shock. "The Complete Book? Kestran. Kestran, where. Did. You. Find. This?"

I don't fear the king, for I know he does quite like me, perhaps more so because I'm only a half-prince and never a threat, never able to go beyond the castle, with no one under my power. I sigh mentally every time I tell myself this: it's both a blessing and a curse. But now I can see his anger is at the book, something mysterious. I steel myself to answer correctly, in search of truth.

"It was found in a secret room in the third tower." The words on my lips feel like a betrayal of Surah. The secret room will lead to questions about the passage and about the servants. "A room full of books and chests." 

The queen asks, again musically, "How did you enter this room?"

My world spins. Surah, or the queen? The answer should be simple, but... she's sworn me to secrecy and has helped me. It's a small lie. It can't hurt. "The room connects to the stair." Part-truth. Like the half-prince. "I noticed the golden gleam of the book, and when I pulled it, the room was above me." 

Suddenly, three servant girls burst into the throne room. One of them... is Surah.