The Castle was remarkably busy on that faithful morning in the middle of July, as the maids and butlers alike busied themselves with the menial tasks assigned to them. At every corner, there was more work to be done and frankly speaking, not enough hands to get it done.
The Welcoming of a potential groom was not something to be taken lightly in the slightest.
The fourth princess who had both the heart of her parents and the people had come of age, which meant a long line of suitors would barge through the country's gates, asking for her hand in marriage.
Due to how much more beautiful and intelligent princess Ember was than the rest, the castle hosted three grooms a week. And due to the diversity in ethnicity, the servants were tasked with the duty of preparing several dishes to suit each prince's palate and making preparations to suit their preferences.
Hence, having to host such a vast number of guests easily left room for little mishaps which slowly built into one great calamity!
In detail, a maid with short black hair and brown eyes who held a tray of tea for the head maid, blinded by tiredness, failed to notice the wobbly chandelier above her head. And the only time she did notice it, was when its ropes snapped allowing it to fall directly upon her!
Fortunately, a strong arm tugged on her right elbow, and pulled the fear-stricken maid away from the heavy antique, just seconds before she met her demise.
The ear-deafening sound of a crash followed swiftly by the distinct sound of broken glass alerted all the help around that something had occurred.
"Are you fine?" The maid heard a soothing voice ask from behind her, the tray in her hand had since fallen and the tea spilled miserably across the marble flooring.
The young maid flickered her heavy lashes, taking deep breaths to regain her senses. She averted her gaze from the frightful scene and zoned her vision in on the dashing adult man towering over her.
Dressed in plain white clothes and black pants, he still was a fine man to look upon, his firm jaw and dark raven black hair were a perfect fit. The young maid could swear she was enchanted by his deep brown eyes that stared warmly at her.
"I believe so." she lowered herself and then answered, keeping her frightful gaze directed at the pool of tea.
The other servants swiftly rushed into the scene and promptly started to clean the mess, not minding the small cuts and bruises inflicted on themselves, from such needless hurrying.
"Stupid! All you need do was deliver a cup of tea! The mistress will have you whipped for this! Insolent!" chided an older-looking maid, whose well-endowed chest was a sharp contrast to the flat-chested young maid, who couldn't stop herself from shaking.
The young man then did something that left the jaws of all the spectators hanging wide open in stun.
He casually took the woman's jaw in his slender hands, raising her face till her teary line of sight met his. And in the blink of an eye, he lowered his face to hers and stole a kiss.
The kiss only lasted for about three seconds before he pulled away first, "is that better?" he whispered in a seductive tone, staring directly at her lips while he spoke.
The helpless maid couldn't help but run past him, abandoning the tray and broken pieces of the cup. Both her ears were bright pink, and her cheeks reddened from embarrassment.
"Now that we both have the conversation to ourselves, would you care to point me in the direction of Master Corentine's study?" he asked, placing stress on the word master.
"Pardon me, but do you have a letter? The master won't see anyone at this busy time without one." The blonde-haired maid answered, leaning towards him, the more she drank in his features, the swifter she was attracted.
"I see," he said then reached into his back pocket, pulling out a letter of summoning which had a purple seal on it.
The color of the seal on a summoning letter had a distinct meaning, a blue seal meant that the services of an intellectual were needed, and one of great merit. Whereas a green seal meant that a skilled craftsman of some sort was called in. A Red seal which was the highest in rank meant a direct summon for someone regarding a member of the royal family.
It was something as rare as a needle in a haystack.
But then, this purple seal...
The maid furrowed her brows and then took another look at the young man, she was unsure of what such a seal could mean. But judging from his warm eyes and indifference, it couldn't be something horrendous, hence she relaxed her shoulders.
"Please Kind sir, follow this lowly servant."
He followed her through the busy hallway where the royal painters were busy changing the paint in the main halls to suit the preference of the next guest.
"This is quite the set-up, is Princess Ember truly as fascinating as the stories I've heard?" He inquired, staring incredulously at the walls, intrigue embedded in his tone.
"Of course, the young princess has always been the favorite and her wedding will be one not to be easily forgotten." The blonde woman hastily replied, her lips flattened into a thin-lipped smile.
He showed no reaction to her words and mindlessly followed behind till they reached their destination.
"I'll go in first and announce your presence," she said, and spread her palm open, asking for his letter.
The young man rested a hand on her shoulder and gently massaged it, "it's fine, go before your mistress scolds you." he brought his lips to her ear and whispered, then he bit hard on her outer lobe, forcing a moan out of the maid.
She parted her lips to say something, but the young man was swift and pushed apart one of the long heavy doors, then walked inside without following the proper procedures.
Once he stepped inside, he shut the door behind him and then focused his gaze on the elderly-looking man with sparse grey hairs sticking out of his chin and a bushy mustache above his lips.
"And who might you be?" The man presumed to be Corentine asked, adjusting his monocle to get a better view of the intruder.
The young man waltzed towards his busy table which had a good number of paperwork stacked up and scattered across the surface, begging for his approval.
He cautiously laid the letter on his desk, making sure the purple seal stood out. Then he straightened his back and said, "I believe you sent for me, Master Corentine." He announced in a confident tone.
Corentine painfully closed his eyes as though he remembered a bad memory, then swiftly swiped the letter. The old man wasted no time reducing it to shreds, he then stood from his seat and marched to his fireplace.
"You and I are the only ones who know about the contents of this letter, am I right?" He pensively asked, tossing each piece of paper into the unforgiving fire.
"I swear on my life," he answered firmly.
The old man rested his right hand on his chest, where his heart would be, then let out a sigh of relief. After some seconds, he straightened his clothes and made for the door, "don't just stand there, follow me." he chided, narrowing his gaze at the man who stood in the middle of the room.
Corentine led the young man to the garden located at the far edge of the castle, which barely had any servant lurking about, save for the mature woman who minded the plants.
The young man followed till they reached a dead end, which had thick vines and weeds growing out of it.
"From here on out, no matter what it is you lay eyes on, it should never reach the ears of another."
With that warning sounded he immediately latched onto a vine shaped to look like a doorknob and pulled open a secret door.
'Marvellous, they have secret doors as well as falling chandeliers.' he mused to himself, intrigued by this castle on his very first day.
Little did he know just how much more was yet to come.
As they both walked through the secret path, which had lit torches on every side, the young man soon discovered that the passage was more of a dungeon. He peeked at each cell but found it damp and empty. He wanted to ask a question but the old master seemed to know where he was going, and he too could guess as well.
The last Cell.
As they approached the last cell, the sound of soft moans reverberated across the underground dungeon walls. He furrowed his brows in consternation, wondering just who could sleep peacefully in such a place.
His question was soon answered once they reached the last cell, and his eyes landed first on dirty blonde locks of hair, and a ripped blue dress that barely masked what was underneath. The person seemed to be sleeping without care and had chains on both ankles and wrists.
His stare hardened once he realized who this was, he parted his lips to say something but found himself speechless once his deep brown orbs locked eyes with a pair of hungry Crimson red eyes.
