CHAPTER 4 THE ADVENTURE

I'm 10 months old now. I crawl around, picking up everything I can, doing baby stuff. Mom takes me outside sometimes and shows me things. Liam and Noyal come by after school for teatime with us. Dad seems busy lately. Mom says he has a lot of paperwork to do, but I don't really know what that means. Still, he always comes to kiss me goodnight.

Paul, Dad's assistant, comes by with Dad sometimes. He always looks worried, especially about the situation between the church and the palace. Today, I decided I was going to find Dad myself. The palace corridors were vast and filled with towering stone walls, decorated with rich tapestries that told stories of past victories and royal lineage. The air was cool and crisp, carrying a faint scent of lavender and polished wood from the grand furniture lining the halls.

I've been crawling for a long time now, so it wasn't hard to get around. Eventually, I ended up in front of a big door.

Yes! This is the place Mom showed me last time. But why is there no one here? I try to push the door, but it's so heavy. Hmm... Maybe if I stand up, it'll help.

I put weight on my legs. Oh! It's working! I stood up and pushed with all my strength. The door creaks open. It's a big room, and there are so many papers everywhere. Large wooden desks sat in the centre of the room, their surfaces cluttered with papers, ink pots, and quills, some half-filled with the royal family's current affairs.

I crawled further into the room. When I reached the desk, I tried to stand up again. But—oh! Dad isn't here. Just then, I hear Dad's voice.

"Elie!" he says, rushing toward me. I look around, and I can see some people behind Dad, looking shocked.

"Ellie, did you just stand up?" Dad sounds amused. "But how did you get here?"

I try to explain, but my baby words come out all jumbled. I say something like, "aba... wawa...," but no one understands.

Dad leans down, his face full of concern. "You're too young to be running off like this, princess. You shouldn't be here without anyone." His voice softens, but his eyes are still serious. "Where's your security? Did they let you leave without telling anyone?"

Dad kneels in front of me, scooping me up into his arms. "I'm glad you found me, but what if something happened?" He kisses the top of my head.

Dad's lips curl into a smile, though his eyes are still filled with concern. "You miss your dad, huh? I know, sweet girl. I miss you, too." He hugs me close, rubbing my back gently. "But you're still too small to be walking around the palace alone."

Just then, his tone shifts, and he turns to his assistant. "Where's her security, Paul? What were they doing while she was crawling around the palace?"

Paul looks flustered. "Sire, I—I don't know how she got past them. We had guards posted, but..."

"Unacceptable." Dad's voice is firm. "Find someone better and "And—cut off the others' heads.". I'll not have my daughter wandering around like this again."

Everyone looks scared. Dad kills like it's nothing new. I guess I need to get used to it.

I sit on Dad's lap, watching everything around me. He has so much to do. I don't know when I fell asleep, but the day was quite the adventure.