32: Ghost in the lonely corridor

Ghost in the lonely corridor

When the door to the room opened, Anastasia held the blanket closer to her in fear that Mr. Gilbert had returned to question her. But upon hearing Theresa's voice, her tense body relaxed.  1

"They have finally stopped the search! We can rest now!"

Anastasia quickly moved her blanket, and when she was about to stand up, she felt her head turn heavy, and she went back to sit on the edge of the bed. 

"Oh dear, you really have turned sick, and this time it is a blessing," Theresa said after placing her hand on Anastasia's forehead, which was slightly burning. She informed the young woman in a hushed tone about what happened in the servants' common room and how Mr. Gilbert mentioned her being mute. 

Anastasia murmured, "It seems like being a mute has carried its own advantages in this palace." It was what set her apart from the wealthy woman named Tasia Flores. 

"Indeed it has. I would have never thought that it could come to be so useful," Theresa agreed before saying, "I overheard Mr. Gilbert tell one of the servants that the Vizier has ordered guards to carry out a search throughout the kingdom. You are ill, so no one will bother you. Not for two days at least, and people will eventually forget about your alter ego like anything else."

"Mm, you are right. You will let me know if something happens, won't you?" Anastasia was anxious after seeing Charlotte beheaded in front of her. It had left her with a feeling of dread, just like the King wanted everyone to feel, so that no one would ever dare to commit any action remotely like what had just taken place. "Let me go to my room now."

Theresa pushed on Anastasia's shoulders to have her sit back on the bed and said, "Let us sleep together tonight? I think I could use some company after hearing the news of Charlotte, and you could too." 

Even though Theresa wasn't there to witness Charlotte's death, she could feel an emptiness in the absence of the deceased maid. Anastasia nodded. The servants didn't linger for more than two minutes after their dinner and were quick to return to their room, as they believed they could be the next ones to be punished. 

Once the moon was up, the corridors turned deserted in the palace. In the servants' quarters, in Theresa's room, Anastasia slept on the bed as Theresa had pulled the mattress from the younger woman's room into her own so that they could sleep comfortably. 

Anastasia was in a deep sleep, as her head had grown heavy because of the cold, and she breathed through her lips while her eyes felt warm. She felt a breeze on her skin, that woke her from her sleep, and realised she wasn't in the servants' quarters anymore. 

"Not again…" Anastasia whispered, finding herself back in the abandoned corridor of the palace. 

When Anastasia began to walk to the exit, she heard the sound of a twig being crunched. She turned to look at the other end of the empty corridor, but there was nothing there. It was then that she realised the floor looked clean, and so did the pillar that looked new. She asked herself, 

"Did they paint and clean because of the celebration?" 

But as her eyes moved around the place, she noticed the rose. The black and wilted rose she had last seen in here, with no leaves on it. Only this time, the rose stood proud and full; the petals of the rose were as red as blood, surrounded by green thorns and leaves. 

A little confused, Anastasia climbed down from the platform to approach the inner garden. She said, "I am dreaming, aren't I?" When she went to touch the red rose, she was pricked by one of the thorns, which drew blood from her finger and fell on the ground. 

Soon the red rose started to change its colour as it lost its leaves, which fell on the ground and disappeared, while the rose itself wilted and turned black until it looked dead.

Unaware of what was happening, she stepped backwards and heard a twig break under her foot. When she turned around to look at it, at the same time, her eyes fell on something translucent and white on the first floor near the railings. Her face turned pale, and her lips trembled, 

"G—ghost, ghost!"

The ghost stared at her with an expressionless face, while Anastasia kept walking backwards until she heard someone whisper right behind her, 

'Anastasia.'

Hearing her name being called eerily, Anastasia spun on her heel and saw the ghost standing right in front of her. The ghost placed her cold hands on both of her cheeks, and suddenly creepers started to crawl around her feet, moving up her body quickly and wrapping around her neck. 

'It is time to wake up, Anastasia.'

The creepers moved around her head, hindering her gaze, and she struggled to escape. When her eyes finally opened, she saw Theresa sitting in front of her with a frown. The older woman pressed on the wet cloth that was on Anastasia's forehead and said, 

"Whatever it was, it was just a dream." 

Anastasia brought her hand up to look at her fingers, and when she noticed all of them were fine, she exhaled. 

"Go back to sleep, you need to rest," Theresa urged as she caressed the top of Anastasia's head. 

Anastasia pulled the blanket closer to her and closed her eyes again, hoping not to dream about the palace, instead wishing to see her parents.

When morning arrived, Anastasia stepped out of the room to have her meal, as servants weren't given meals in their room, and one had to join the others if they wanted to eat. She sat next to Theresa, her body a little weak, when she heard the two maids beside her gossiping. 

"How dumb could Charlotte be to use someone else's drawing to her advantage? She dreamt too much about wealth, which caused her death," one maid said. 

Another maid asked, "Did they find out whose drawings they were?" She then asked Theresa, "Did you hear anything about it?" 

"No," Theresa answered, "They must be from someone in the inner palace. I doubt anyone here has such skill, if they did, they would have used it to promote themselves," she evaded the maids' inquiring words. 

"You are right. We barely have enough time to sleep, it would be a wonder if one of the servants drew," the maid laughed at the thought before continuing her meal. 

Anastasia was thankful to Theresa for pushing the budding possibilities of the maids in another direction. After her meal, she returned to her room to rest to feel better and think about what to do. 

Far away from where the servants were having their meal, in the dining room of the royal palace, there was the usual chatter at the table. Most of them had forgotten about the beheading incident, while the matter about Tasia Flores hadn't been shared with the guests. 

King William turned to Prince Dante and said, "Once you are done with your work at the camp, I want you to take Lady Amara for a stroll in the gardens. She said she hasn't found the opportunity to see it."

"I thought we did yesterday," Prince Aiden remarked, only to receive glares from his parents, which had him shut up immediately. 

"As the Lumbards are staying here for a month, I think it would be best for both of you to get to know each other?" King William raised his eyebrow. "An alliance of marriage sounds good, what do you think, Lucretia?" He turned to his courtesan, who sat a little farther away from them. 

Lady Lucretia offered a bow and replied, "If that is what you believe to be right, Your Highness." 

"Excellent," King William smiled, before sipping from the glass. 

Lady Lucretia knew how much her son despised having a partner.  After learning his Crux didn't exist, he had put his heart and soul into helping the kingdom expand with the King. She was proud of it, but at the same time, she wished her son would find a wife who would love him. 

She wasn't the King's wife, or his first or second choice. She was a concubine, the least favoured and had no right to go against the King's decisions. She turned to look at her son, who didn't express his interest or disinterest and merely obliged. But she already knew how things would turn out to be after the stroll. 

Prince Aiden leaned towards his sister, Princess Emily, and asked in a low voice, "Why is father matching her with Brother Dante, when he's already found a woman?" 

Princess Emily leaned closer to her younger brother and whispered, "Have you not heard about it yet? There was no invitation sent to Tasia Flores, and the woman disappeared in thin air."

"What?" Aiden's eyebrows furrowed at his sister's words. He laughed before saying, "That can't be true. Tasia is a real person."

"Shh, you are going to get us into trouble," Emily hushed her brother and said, "Mother forbade us from mentioning anything about that woman."

And though the prince and princess tried to keep their volume low, Dante heard the conversation at the table. He clutched the fork in his hand. He wanted to find the woman who had failed to keep her part of the deal and had disappeared without waiting until the end of the celebration, as he was back to being matched with women. 

"Maya," The King called his first concubine, "Where are Niyasa and Maxwell?"

"Niyasa said she didn't have enough sleep and would join us for lunch. Though I am not sure about Maxwell, Your Highness," Lady Maya politely smiled. The truth was that Princess Niyasa was embarrassed after her late maid had insulted the Mother Queen, which was why she had avoided joining the others for breakfast. 

Aiden was planning to go to the Bazaar, hoping to find Tasia, as he was sure he would find her there, but then he heard his mother call him, "Aiden." He turned to look at his mother, who said, "You will be joining your brother on the stroll. Lady Helma wouldn't mind a tour as well." Queen Sophia was ready to set her son on the path of securing the throne. 

Aiden was going to crack a joke before he nodded, "Of course, it would be a pleasure," he smiled brightly. 

One day passed in Versailles, and the search for the emerald dress-clad woman continued, and when they found nothing, the heat and intensity of the situation decreased. The hours had also reduced Anastasia's fever; the next day, she was back on her feet to work.

Anastasia tried to catch her sister alone, but Marianne was busy with the guests, and not to mention, she couldn't place a foot anywhere near the inner palace as she was worried about being caught. In the evening, on finding the opportunity, she quickly pulled her sister behind a pillar and a wall, who softly gasped. 

"Anna!" Marianne hugged her sister tightly. "Thank God, you are safe. I was so worried about you. Forgive me for putting you in trouble."

Anastasia hugged Marianne back with a smile, and their hug felt warmer than usual, "Nothing is going to happen to me when you are with me. I am glad you are…" her voice faded away when she pulled back and noticed the fingerprints on her sister's neck. But that wasn't all, as the rim of Marianne's eyes had turned slightly red. "Were you crying? Who did this to your neck?" 

"The Vizier, he was suspicious and… but everything is okay now. I heard that they are losing interest in finding Tasia Flores, so everything is fine," Marianne smiled at her sister. 

"Did the guests do something?" Anastasia asked, before taking her sister's hands in hers and squeezing them. "You know you can tell me anything, Mary. I will never judge you—"

"You should…" Marianne whispered, with her eyes filling up with tears, and this made Anastasia frown. 

Anastasia watched her sister's lips tremble before she heard her say, "He found his soulmate, the one with the Crux…"

"Oh, Mary," Anastasia's heart broke, watching the tears spill from her sister's eyes. 

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