Chapter 9

Driving through the village, I make sure no one sees me. I don't want them to go around making up stories about why I'm going to the palace.

"Are you excited to go home again?" Persephone asks, bouncing on the seat next to me.

"To be honest, I don't know how to feel about it," I say looking at my hands. "I mean, I still feel like I'm betraying Madame by coming with you."

"What do you mean?"

"Madame has been caring for me for two years now, even if it doesn't seem that way. She made sure I had a place to call home, and she got me out of trouble. I owe a lot to her and now I feel like I just turned my back to her when something better came along."

"But that's not true. You just have a higher calling now."

"I know, but that doesn't change the way I feel."

I feel the carriage slowing down and soon we stop at the biggest building I've ever seen in my life. Before I can reach the door someone opens it from the outside. "My lady," the man says as he holds up his hand.

"Watch me," Persephone tells me before taking his hand with her left hand and holding up her skirt with her right. As she steps out of the carriage and out in the open she says, "that's how it's done. Now you do it."

Hesitantly, I stand up and take the man's hand, though I don't take hold of my skirt. I try to step out as elegantly as possible but, of course, I trip over my own feet. Luckily for me, Shamus, who stands on the other side of the door, catches me before I can fall to the ground.

"Thanks," I mutter, feeling my head turn bright red.

Shamus just nods and a warm smile crosses his face before he puts me on the ground and helps the queen out of the carriage.

"That went well," I say sarcastically when I go to stand next to Persephone.

"You'll learn," she replies, though I can see she's trying really hard not to laugh.

"I hope so," I say, already feeling like a failure.

"It's not so bad," Persephone quickly says, obviously trying to make me feel better. "You know what, why don't I show you around the castle? It's not like you remember it, right?"

"Can we do that? Doesn't the queen need us for anything?"

"Of course we can and you can just call her mother you know. It's not a sin to call your mother, mother."

"I know, I just have to get used to it."

"Now, shall we go explore?"

Persephone first shows me the common rooms, like the dining room and ballroom.

"These are usually the places where guests come when mother organizes a party," she sums up as we walk through the castle. "Guests with a more personal matter used to go to the study with Father, but as you know he died a few months ago." A single tear flows down her cheek which she quickly brushes away. "Now, I'll show you your room," she says, trying to sound cheerful.

We walk through multiple corridors before ending up in front of two huge mahogany doors. Persephone pushes me forward and says, "go on, open it. It's your room after all."

I slowly walk towards the doors and turn the doorknob, trying to make the moment last as long as possible. Sadly, the door opens all on its own as soon as I touch the knob. I look into another corridor.

"Go on," Persephone says. "Go in."

I take a step in, and then another. Glad to know nothing happens, I start walking, taking in my surroundings as I go. The walls are a beautiful light-blue while the floor and ceiling are both white. I walk further until I end up in a room with a giant bed inside, with a door on both sides of it.

"Wow," is all I can say. "Is this my room?"

"Just wait until you see your closet," Persephone says, a mischievous grin spreading across her face as she points towards the door on the left side of my bed.

I walk towards it with Persephone close by and open it. Behind the door is a room filled with dresses and cloaks and all the kinds of jewelry you can possibly think of. All I can do is stare at the amount of stuff in the room.

"I've never seen this much clothing in one room in my life."

"You should get used to it then. This is your life now," Persephone says, looking around for something. "Ah, here it is," she says after a while. She walks towards a shelf, and I follow her. As she turns to me, she says, "Close your eyes."

Without a moment of doubt, I do as I'm told. I feel how Persephone works with my hair, first getting rid of the ponytail and then putting something on my head. After that, she leads me through the room. "You can look now," she says.

I open my eyes and what I see makes me forget how to breathe for a moment. She put me in front of a mirror, but the girl looking back at me doesn't look like me. Her purple eyes look too beautiful, too piercing. Her hair looks more golden than brown and on her head rests a beautiful crown with purple diamonds in it. I take a step forward. "Is that really me?"

"Of course it is. Now you see what I see when I look at you. You will be a perfect princess, I'm sure of it."

I take the crown off of my head and look at it. "Don't take this the wrong way, I really like the attention for once, but-"

"No buts, we're not done yet. You haven't seen the best thing yet, the secret gardens." Persephone takes the crown out of my hands, putting it back in its rightful place, before taking my hand and leading me out of my room.

"I think you will like the gardens very much, they're the most beautiful and peaceful place in the whole castle."

After a short walk, she opens a little wooden door. As she opens it, I can see sunlight coming through it and as quickly as possible I walk out. Outside, I see a huge garden full of roses. My head starts spinning again. It's the garden from my dreams, my head screams.

"What's wrong?" Persephone asks.

"I-I think I remember this garden. I've been dreaming about it for as long as I can remember."

"How can that be?" Persephone asks, but I stop listening when I see a boy in the field. He seems busy taking care of the flowers, but that's not what got my attention. Somehow he seems familiar.

"Who's he?" I ask Persephone, who was ranting on about the impossibility for me to know this place as I forgot everything else. She looks at the guy and shrugs. "He's a servant. He's been here for a long time. That's all I know. He's not allowed to get near me and vise versa."

"That doesn't mean I can't." Before Persephone can stop me I start walking towards him. "Hey," I call out. "Can I ask you something?"

He looks up, his green eyes catching me by surprise. His hair grew longer and he's older, but he really is the boy from my dream. And then at that moment it finally hits me, I am the missing princess!