Know a Little Secret

On a quiet night, as the full moon shone over the Atlas Kingdom, Darnisha sat on the windowsill of her room. The moonlight illuminated the courtyard decorated with fragrant and fragrant night flowers. However, the beauty could not completely dispel her thoughts from the conversation of the soldiers that still rang in her ears.

Darnisha felt that there was something more than just a coincidence in those words, but she did not know what it meant. It felt like this night radiated something mysterious.

When the wind blew hard, shaking the window curtains, Darnisha felt a strange sensation. She turned her head and saw the figure of a woman standing under the moonlight, wearing a dark robe that was misted with silver light. She realized that the woman was not just anyone. The middle-aged woman was Serena.

Her heart fluttered. Without thinking, Darnisha left the room and followed the woman's silhouette towards the palace garden. She passed through a magnificent corridor with an arrangement of oil lamps that gave her peace.

When Darnisha arrived at the garden filled with bright flowers, she saw Serena standing in front of an ancient statue. The wind blew softly, making the woman's sweet hair flutter gently. The woman turned and looked at Darnisha with eyes that radiated wisdom and mystery.

"Darnisha," Serena's voice was soft, but firm. "There you are,"

"I... I saw you from the window," Darnisha answered, her voice trembling slightly. "They said there was someone who resembled me,"

Serena smiled, which seemed more like a confession than just an expression of affection. "There are many things you don't realize, I was the one who resembled you at the archery range and I don't like Princess Katy. She has the greedy nature of the previous king of the Atlas,"

Darnisha's heart pounded, thinking about those words. "What do you mean?"

Serena stepped closer, and Darnisha felt the warmth of energy radiating from the witch. "You are the embodiment of my hopes as a target for the Atlas," Serena held out her hand, and Darnisha felt the flow of magical energy.

"You only have two weeks, Darnisha." Serena said in a soft but firm voice.

"You must bring Prince Cyrill to my house. You must make Prince Cyrill fall in love with you. If you fail, your sister, your parents, and all the people living in the Airla forest will have their illnesses worsened." Serena continued, her tone becoming more serious.

Darnisha was shocked.

Darnisha sighed, feeling a heavy burden on her shoulders. In the next two weeks, she had to fight to overcome all her doubts and fears. If she failed, the people she loved would suffer.

Princess Katy peeked out from behind the bushes. She followed Darnisha. Katy felt something strange about Darnisha as if there was another side of her that she wanted to know. She held her breath when she saw Darnisha talking to a mysterious woman with long, messy hair, it turned out that the woman was Serena the witch.

Hearing their conversation, Katy was so shocked that she fell from her hiding place.

Serena looked at Darnisha sarcastically, and she immediately approached Princess Katy. "Hi, Princess." Serena said sarcastically, her voice frozen in the air. "You are just like Princess Alice, the late Queen of this kingdom. Your beauty and excellence are just illusions, nothing more than a guise."

Darnisha looked shocked, but did not dare to argue. In her heart, she felt caught between pity for Katy and fear for Serena.

"What a pity," Serena continued in a painful tone, "That stupid Prince, who's his name? Oh, right, Enver. He protected you, when the arrow should have been aimed at you, princess. You have a little luck, I hope the original incident should have gone smoothly. Maybe then, you will no longer be an arrogant woman."

Princess Katy could not bear to hear any more. With careful steps, she tried to retreat. However, Serena suddenly turned her head and with sharp eyes and in an instant, dark magic surrounded Katy, and she felt lifted from the ground.

"What are you doing?" Katy shouted, struggling against the roots of the magical plants that wrapped around her.

However, Serena's magic was too strong. Her mouth was silenced by magical power, her voice could no longer come out, only the screams trapped in her heart remained.

"Don't worry, Princess Katy." Serena said, her smile sardonic. "You will find true beauty in my place. Far from all the flattery and false hopes,"

Princess Katy was pulled into a place she never imagined. A place where darkness enveloped everything, and only the sound of sinister laughter echoed.

Darnisha felt pain. She wanted to help Princess Katy, but she was bound by Serena's promise.

The atmosphere in the Atlas kingdom was very different this morning. The sun had risen, but the morning happiness that usually filled the palace was gone, replaced by an unusual commotion. The sound of panic and worry echoed, filling every corner of the kingdom. Princess Katy, King Alex's beloved daughter, suddenly disappeared from her room and caused unrest in everyone's hearts.

Darnisha, sat silently in the corner of her room. She knew exactly what happened that night, and her heart was torn between anxiety and guilt.

King Titan immediately ordered all the guards to search for Princess Katy.

The atmosphere in the castle was getting tense, lest this news reach the ears of King Alex of the Oscar kingdom, because he was the father of Princess Katy and the Oscar kingdom had a close relationship with King Titan. Darnisha could feel the tension around her, she felt the reputation of both kingdoms at stake.

In the midst of the chaotic search, Prince Cyrill and Prince Enver also felt anxious. The two of them, who were old friends of Princess Katy, could not stay silent. They felt something was wrong and wanted to get involved in this search. "We have to search all the places she likes," Prince Cyrill said.

"Yes, but we have to be careful." Prince Enver replied. "If we make a wrong move, it will only bring more trouble."

Quickly, the two of them rushed to find Princess Katy.

Darnisha, who was still in the room, stood watching with worry. She knew that if they did not find Princess Katy soon, this commotion would not end, and the secret of that night would definitely spread far and wide. With determination, she decided to go and meet Serena in her hut in the middle of the dark forest for the sake of the Atlas kingdom.

Darnisha walked with full hope when she arrived at Serena's hut. However, her hopes disappeared immediately when she saw that the place was empty. There was no sign of Princess Katy. Darnisha tried to calm her mind, wondering where Serena had taken the princess. The silence and oppressive atmosphere made her heart tremble anxiously.

In the highest and darkest mountain valley, with only the weak light of the candle wicks burning, Serena took Princess Katy to an unexpected place. The valley looked haunted, covered in thick fog that made it feel like another world. Once there, Serena threw Princess Katy so that the woman fell on the cold damp ground.

Serena, with a mysterious smile on her face, opened her mouth and laughed loudly like the stone walls of the valley. "Princess Katy, you seemed to want to say something when I brought you to this place last night."

Princess Katy shivered in fear, seeing Serena's face that looked different, as if distorted by darkness and madness. She tried to get up, but her legs felt like they were being pulled by a deep fear. "You... why did you bring me here?" Katy's voice trembled as she spoke.

Serena approached, her shadow falling on Katy. "Oh, my poor Princess Katy... That's because..." She stopped and took a breath, trying to gather her thoughts. "... there was something I must explain, when I saw your behavior. It reminded me of Alice,"

Katy looked at her in confusion. "Queen Alice? King Haidar's wife?"

"Yeah yeah, you're right. Oh, Princess Katy, I can tell you're smart." Serena smiled wickedly. "Do you know she had taken away my right to happiness with King Haidar?" She replied, her voice starting to rise. "You should know how much I hate her. She lied, she was afraid of her position being threatened, and without thinking twice, she created a rumor that destroyed my life."

Serena continued her story, her voice trembling as she explained how sincere love was repaid with betrayal.

Katy listened intently, the story flowing, her fear increasingly enveloping her heart. She felt as if she felt the same thing from Serena's past, a story full of hope and betrayal.

Serena continued. "Our love was built on promises, but when the Atlas kingdom was founded, King Haidar threw me away and pushed me into a high waterfall." She sighed, looking at Princess Katy lazily. She then just smiled after it. She started to walk away, leaving Princess Katy all alone.

"Wait, what? No no no, don't go, Serena! Don't leave me here!" Princess Katy cried with a trembling voice, tears streaming down her cheeks. The darkness of the valley grew thicker as Serena walked away, leaving behind faint traces of hope.

Suddenly, a soft light emerged from a broken cave wall towards the forest. Her gaze was fixed on the light, as if calling her.

With mixed feelings, Princess Katy crawled towards the light. As she approached, she found the exit to the forest and glistened in the moonlight.

In the middle of the dark and scary forest, Princess Katy ran. Her beautiful dress was now torn here and there, her long orange hair was loose and messy, blown by the very strong wind. Her face that was usually radiant was now filled with panic and helplessness.

Suddenly, from a distance, the sound of approaching horse was heard. Princess Katy's heart was beating wildly, between hope and anxiety. It turned out that a figure of a handsome man appeared from behind the trees, riding a handsome black horse, it was Prince Cyrill. He was looking for her.

Prince Cyrill's eyes widened in surprise when he saw the figure standing in front of him. Long, flowing orange hair, a tattered dress, and a face filled with sorrow... There was no mistake, it was Princess Katy! His feelings were mixed between relief at having found her and pity for her current state.

"Princess Katy?" Cyrill called out, quickly getting off his horse. He approached Katy carefully.

Princess Katy, whose eyes were already watery from fear and exhaustion, immediately recognized the prince's face. A wide smile, though still slightly sad, spread across her lips. "Prince Cyrill! You... you came!"

Princess Katy's eyes sparkled with happiness. Her tiredness and fear seemed to evaporate instantly. She was no longer alone. She would be safe!

"Don't worry, Princess Katy." Cyrill said in a soft voice, trying to calm her down. "You are safe now. I will take you out of this forest," He helped Princess Katy onto the horse's back, carefully making sure her torn dress did not get caught. Then, with Princess Katy leaning on his back, Cyrill spurred his horse out of the darkness of the forest towards the castle.

The moon became a silent witness to the despair that gnawed at Darnisha. The simple hut where Serena lived was empty and there was no one in it. Only dust and silence greeted her. Anxiety gripped her heart.

She had to return to the castle immediately, and in the middle of her journey home, on the winding path, the sound of horse hooves broke the silence. It turned out that a dashing man on a shiny brown horse blocked her path. Prince Enver, the second crown prince who had always been known to be cold and calculating, got off his horse. His face was filled with suspicion towards her.

"Darnisha," Prince Enver greeted, his voice heavy. "I heard the news of Princess Katy's disappearance. And you, are in this forest, far from the castle."

Darnisha was shocked. "Your Highness, I..."

"Don't lie," Enver interrupted, his eyes searching sharply. "I know you are competing with Princess Katy. Do you know where she is?"

Darnisha shook her head, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "I don't know, Prince. I am also very worried,"

"Then, what are you doing in this forest?" Prince Enver's tone showed no mercy. He approached, his gaze getting sharper. "I will take you to the castle. We will find out the truth there," He glanced at his horse. "... maybe, you can share a horse with me,"

Without waiting for Darnisha's consent, Prince Enver reached out & offered help but also implied an order.

Darnisha hesitated for a moment, between fear and despair. She knew, rejecting Prince Enver would be the same as adding to the problem. With a heavy heart, she accepted the outstretched hand and climbed onto the brown horse with Prince Enver.

Along the way to the castle, silence enveloped them. Darnisha felt Prince Enver's suspicious gaze, and she knew that she had to prove her innocence. But how?