49: Last person in the palace

Last person in the palace

In Princess Emily's bedroom, Anastasia helped the lady get into her bed and pulled the blanket over her. Most of the candlelights had been blown out, except for the two stands next to the bedside and one placed on the table. 

Anastasia was about to leave when Princess Emily asked, "Anna, will you stay the night with me? You can take the couch," a slight longing appeared in her eyes. 

The only place the servants were allowed to sleep in the presence of  royal family members, on the inner side of the palace, was on the ground. For the princess to offer the maid her couch came from the goodness of her heart. 

Even if Princess Emily had asked Anastasia to sleep on the bed, Anastasia would never cross that line, knowing where they stood. The princess's maids had fallen into her kindness and had lost their lives more than once before. 

Anastasia nodded, and a look of relief passed over the princess's face. Princess Emily then took a spare pillow from her bed and handed it to her, saying, 

"Use this. You know where to find the bedsheets." 

'That is fine. Just the pillow is good,' Anastasia responded before heading towards the couch, which wasn't far from the bed. Princess Emily turned so that she could see the maid clearly, and she said, 

"You must wonder why a grown woman sleeps with the candles lit."

Anastasia lay down on the couch, placing her head on the pillow. She heard the princess say, 

"Many years ago, when I was a little girl, a strange woman kidnapped me. I don't remember much of it, but it was dark and I heard screams of other children, which was painful. Thankfully, my father found me and brought me back to the palace. Ever since then, I have never wanted to step foot outside, unlike my courageous, yet foolish, younger brother."

It seemed that no one's life was better than another's, Anastasia thought to herself. She gestured with her hand, which made Princess Emily smile. She said, 

"A lot of the time I wish I knew what you were saying, so that we could converse. How I wish you had a voice. I hope you get your voice one day," she murmured while her eyelids grew heavy. "Today I feel a little more worried than the other days…"

Anastasia watched the princess drift off to sleep, her eyes closing. She whispered, "Forgive me, princess." 

She felt bad for lying to the kind princess, but she could do nothing about it, as this was the truth she had been carrying for many years. She adjusted her head on the pillow and stared at the intricate ceiling above her. 

Anastasia realised what loneliness felt like after her sister's death. Even though  Theresa was someone she could speak to and Princess Emily was nice to her, their presence and feelings couldn't replace her sister's place in her heart. As the candles began to dim, so did her eyes, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep. 

She dreamt of her sister, where they were standing behind the bush in the outer garden, similar to when they were first going to escape. 

'Mary, there's no one at the gates. We should go now,' Anastasia said to her sister.

Marianne nodded, walking with her through the gates, but when they walked past the two pillars, Anastasia realised her sister wasn't standing next to her. 'Mary?' She turned around and noticed the gates had closed. Behind the gates stood her sister, who offered her a smile. 

'What are you doing there, Mary?' Anastasia asked with a frown. 'Come with me.'

Marianne walked closer to the gates, staring at her younger sister. She said, 'I wish I could, but this is where I belong and will stay.'

'How can I leave you behind?' Anastasia asked, 'You are my other half.'

'I will always stay with you,' Marianne's smile died down before it disappeared as she frowned and looked down. The front of her dress began to stain itself with blood that spread further and further.

Anastasia tried to push open the gates, which refused to budge, and she cried out, 'Who hurt you?!' When her sister began to fade in front of her eyes, turning into a mist, she called in desperation, 'Mary! Mary!' 

'Leave when you can, Anna. This place is not safe.'

"Mary!" Anastasia cried Marianne's name; her eyes snapped open when she woke up with a gasp. Dawn had broken, and light had begun to pass through the transparent windows. 

Having shouted her sister's name loudly, Anastasia's voice woke Princess Emily from her sleep with a jolt. Anastasia panicked, hearing the rustle from the bed, and she quickly closed her eyes, behaving as if she was still sleeping. 

Princess Emily raised her upper body to take a quick look around her room and noticed her maid sleeping soundly on the couch. She wondered if someone had screamed in her dreams, and she pursed her lips before returning to sleep. 

Anastasia waited for a couple of minutes and then slowly opened her eyes, noticing the princess had gone back to sleep. She released a sigh of relief that she hadn't been caught. 

Later in the morning, when Anastasia was helping Princess Emily put on her shoes, the princess said, 

"I felt like I heard someone scream last night, and it got me worried." Anastasia's expression froze as she buckled the shoe before standing up. "I was scared for a moment, but after seeing you in the room, I fell back asleep quickly." She smiled before adding, "I seem to have slept better with you around. We should do this often." 

Anastasia was glad to hear that at least one of them had benefited from sleeping in the same room. She believed it was not feasible for her to continue if the princess found out she had been lying. 

Once they stepped into the corridor and started walking, they saw Princess Niyasa, who was still in her nightdress, looking angry. 

"Are you alright, Niyasa?" Princess Emily asked her sister. 

Princess Niyasa looked at the maid behind Princess Emily and remarked, "How is it that you have your maid and I don't have mine?!" 

Anastasia wondered what was happening and heard Princess Emily ask, "Anna is my maid; of course she will be with me. Where are your personal maids?" 

"They said something about the investigation taking place in the palace. They are checking the fingerprints, something to do with finding the murderer. They could have waited until I got ready." Princess Niyasa huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. 

"I thought the investigation had finished yesterday. It looks like it won't stop until we find the person who killed Father." Princess Emily's lips set themselves in a thin line. She said, "I would have lent you Anna, but you said you didn't want a maid with hands as rough as hers. I will see you in the dining room, sister," and she walked away with Anastasia. 

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Anastasia noticed the guests standing outside the wide room. Princess Emily, on seeing Minister Aziel, went over to him and asked in a low voice, 

"Aziel, are the guests being questioned again?" 

"Everyone in the palace is being questioned, Princess, including the royal family members," Aziel replied to her. "One of the Elder ministers wanted to reconfirm and have the fingerprints checked to see if they could find a lead in the investigation. If you ask me, I think someone told them to redo it."

"I wonder if they will be able to match them," Princess Emily responded. 

"It will take weeks. Mother Queen already told them it was useless because Prince Maxwell was holding the dagger," Aziel whispered to the princess, which even Anastasia heard. 

Soon the guests, one by one, walked up to the desk, behind which stood Prince Dante and a minister. On the desk was a big book. The Mother Queen stepped forward and spoke to everyone in the room, 

"Thank you everyone for your cooperation. The Vizier has arranged entertainment in the Mirror Palace, which we believe will keep you occupied for the rest of the day. The Vizier will lead you there, but before that, I would like everyone to step forward one by one to leave their fingerprints. Just to record your presence in the palace."

The guests were about to question why this was needed, but at the same time, Prince Dante, who stood behind the desk, pulled his gloves off his hands in front of everyone. 

Anastasia's eyes fell on the back of Dante's hands, and she noticed the black veins that looked like roots. They were intricate and reflected the intensity the first prince hid behind his calm demeanour. She had never seen anything like that before and heard the people in the room whisper. 

"I—Is that the rumoured curse? I thought it was a lie."

"It must be the lack of Crux, like a black sheep." Some of the guests looked repulsed by the sight of it. Some of the royal members of the Blackthorn family were stunned, as they had never seen his hands before. 

"How strange it looks to think that the Blackthorn family has a cursed prince. Should we even go near him? Lest we be around the curse?" asked one of the female guests. 

Anastasia's eyes moved from the prince's hands to his expressionless face. Prince Dante addressed the woman, who had just spoke, 

"Lady Betsy, why don't we start with you?" 

The woman turned bright red, not expecting to be the one to catch the curse first. She pointed her finger at herself and asked, "Me?" 

"There's only one Lady Betsy, unless you are an imposter." Prince Dante tapped his finger on the open book. 

Anastasia noticed the woman wearing a look of dread as she looked around, as if the other guests had decided to sacrifice her first. Walking up to the front of the desk, the woman dipped her fingers in the ink and then placed them on the book. Prince Dante pressed on the woman's fingers, who flinched. Realising she was alright, she quickly exited the room. 

Soon the others came forward, and the prince pressed their fingers down on the page before turning to the next page. Some were curious to look at his hands, while a few young women were happy to have him touch them. One of them was Lady Amara, who was sure that her connection was with Prince Dante, but when there was no reaction, she heard the minister say, 

"Next."

All the guests finished their turns and left the room, following the Vizier. Dante watched them exit the room. Then the members of the Blackthorn family took turns, the first one being the Mother Queen, who, when she had placed her fingers on the book, remarked, 

"Aren't you going to press down on my fingers, Dante?" She looked up at him with a curious gaze. 

Prince Dante offered her a slight smile and replied, "I don't think anyone in our family is so weak as to need me to guide them."

"Hmph," the Mother Queen softly harrumphed and stepped away from the front of the desk. The other family members took turns, and Princess Niyasa asked, 

"Brother Dante, have you placed your fingerprints in the book?"  0

"Prince Dante was the first one to do it, Princess," the minister responded, and Princess Niyasa stared at the old man as if to ask if she had spoken to him. 

"It is mandatory that every person leaves their fingerprints, which shall be used for future purposes. Even Lucretia's prints have been recorded early this morning," the Mother Queen stated, "Was there anything else that you wanted to say, Niyasa?" 

Princess Niyasa offered a tight smile to the old woman and replied, "No, that was all the curiosity I had, which has been sated."

"Will the fingerprints of those outside the palace be collected too?" Prince Aiden questioned, and the minister nodded. 

"Yes, the trades have been stopped and the gates have been closed for people to refrain from passing through until they are collected. But it should be done by tomorrow at the latest, so that the day of coronation is clear," the minister informed them. "Thank you, Mother Queen."

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"I should be the one to thank you. We would like to catch the person who caused my family a great loss," the Mother Queen couldn't wait to punish the murderer, who had killed two people in the palace. "It is good that the work in the palace has been done, and it will also ease our minds. I believe it is so?" She asked the minister, who nodded. 

"Yes, Your Highness," the minister from the Elders group nodded. He said, "The royal family, the guests, and the servants. It is safe to say we can now move outside the palace. I will take my leave for now," he bowed his head and turned to go when Princess Niyasa stopped the man, 

"Wait." 

"What is it, Niyasa?" Lady Maya questioned her daughter, because stopping the Elder minister in such a tone was rude. 

Princess Niyasa bowed with a smile and said, "I believe you have missed one person's fingerprints here." She turned to look behind her sister and said, "Emily's maid."

Anastasia had slept in Princess Emily's room and hadn't returned to the servants' quarters since yesterday. The servants' fingerprints were collected early in the morning in the servants' quarters, and they had failed to take hers. 

She had been so focused on what was being done in the room that she hadn't realised it until Princess Niyasa pointed it out. Soon, the members of the Blackthorn family's eyes fell on her. 

"That was a good eye, Princess." The minister praised Princess Niyasa, while Dante stared at the reckless maid, who belonged to his first sister. The last one from this palace, he thought in his mind. 

"Step forward." 

Anastasia heard Dante speak to her, and she quietly made her way to where he stood. The minister opened the book in which he had collected the prints before ordering the maid, 

"Dip your fingers in the ink and place them in this box. Your name?"

"It is Anna," Princess Emily was the one to answer.

Anastasia could feel Dante's stare grow more intense with every breath she took. It felt as if he was waiting to catch her crime, and it only made her more nervous. Dipping the surface of her fingertips in the ink, she brought them to the open book. 

When Anastasia placed her fingers on the book, Dante brought his hand forward and pressed on her fingers with his. 

Time stood still, where Dante stared at the maid in wonderment, but when he felt nothing, he pulled away his hands from hers as if releasing her as his captive. Her eyes rose up from looking at the book, meeting his eyes for a brief moment. 

"That should complete everything you came for, Minister," Dante turned to look at the minister. 

Anastasia quickly pulled her hand away, as if a burning iron had touched her. 

"Yes, that should be all," the minister said, offering his bows before leaving the room with the other royal family members, while Dante remained where he stood. 

Dante stared at Anastasia's back as she left the room. He murmured, "How bothersome," before stepping out of the room. 

The cursed prince had neither felt the touch or noticed the scent of the woman in the palace who could be his soulmate. And it was only because, unlike others, his Crux was broken. He wouldn't be able to feel the soulmate connection until his Crux fully appeared. 

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