Thus the Plot Thickens

"She is your mother? The Queen is your mother?" I clarified.

"Yes. I tried to tell you sooner but everything got so confusing. I did not want to bombard you with anything else," Chris answered, looking down at his hands.

"So you decided not to tell me that you were a prince?"

"I am sorry Bella, I truly am. I should have told you." I turned from him and gazed out the window of the carriage. The palace was coming into view. I felt lied to. I know in retrospect I should not have been angry with Chris, but I could not help it. I could feel tears building up in the corner of my eyes. I shook my head and concentrated on the road and people around me. I was acting silly and I knew it. Chris had taken all my craziness without question. Why should I not accept what he really was?

"So you are a prince?" Lily was saying, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Not exactly," Chris said. "Queen Evangeline has never acknowledged me as her son. The fact that I even exist is only known by a few." I turned towards him, and he offered me a quick smile. Before I could say anything however, we pulled up to the palace's gate. A guard walked up to the carriage.

"Can I help you?" he asked with a scowl.

"I have a meeting with Queen Evangeline,"

"Name?"

"Christopher Hood," the guard nodded and waved us through. The cab did not stop at the front entrance. We continued on a small, uneven road. After a few minutes we stopped in front a side door in which smoke and strong smells flowed out of. "Come on," Chris said after handing a few coins to the driver. Lily, Blue Jay and I followed close behind him. The kitchen was filled with a lot of people, pungent smells, and loud sounds. Every seemed to be yelling instructions to each other. Chris navigated the kitchens easily, evidently knowing where he was headed. To the right of a large counter where several servants sat kneading dough was a nondescript wooden door. Chris pushed the door open, and we escaped into the cool corridor.

There were stone walls on either side of us and torches lit the way. We were in the servants' tunnels.

"I am going to speak to my mother. You three go find Astra. I will be waiting for you here." With a peck on my cheek, Chris began walking toward Queen Evangeline's office. Lily, Blue Jay, and I headed in the opposite direction. I was not sure where I was and the servants' tunnels made me antsy so we exited through the first door I saw. We emerged in what I presumed was a dining room. There were several large circular tables around the room and lucky there was no one inside. I quickly lead Lily towards the door. We then found ourselves in the great halls of the castle. Blue Jay took the lead.

"So what is our story if we get caught?" Lily asked.

"I have not figured that out yet," I answered. Lily glared at me. "Well at least we look as if we belong." Blue Jay soared through the air and Lily and I had to practically jog to keep up with her. We passed a few servants but none of them paid us any heed. Finally we turned into a very familiar hallway.

"It is right down there," Blue Jay said. We slowed to a walk before stopping in front of the door. I vaguely wondered whether Princess Marigold was in the room as I turned the knob. I stepped in hesitantly, Lily right behind me. The room was just how I remembered it. If it was possible, the feeling of magic had gotten even stronger. It was so hazy it was difficult to see. The air was thick and smelled of incense. I coughed a couple of times and wiped my burning eyes with my palm.

Suddenly a loud hiss filled the room. I turned toward the sound and saw the white cat seated on the desk. Her mouth was pulled back, showing us all her teeth. I stepped further into the room and the cat hissed again. When we took another step it jumped down from the desk and ran towards us. Lily shrieked. The horrible thing began clawing at her and then at me. It was extremely aggressive and I fought the urge to kick it away. I wiped my eyes again and blinked a few times, trying to find my bearings.

"There by the window," Blue Jay said, reminding me of my purpose here. I ran toward the window leaving Lily to cope with the cat. Tucked into a corner a few meters away from the window was a beautiful birdcage. It was made out of brass iron and intricate designs of flowers and butterflies made up the cage. It hung from a pole wrought out of the same metal. In it a very small and very angry looking Astra stood.

"Astra!" I called. Her hands were clasped around the cage. I had to get very close to the birdcage in order to hear her. Even then I could only make out a squeak. The star was about the size of my hand. She looked like a figurine. It was unnerving.

"Did you find her?" Lily asked. She had grabbed the cat by its fur which had calmed it. "Bad kitty," she admonished and then the cat snarled, its claws coming dangerously close to Lily's face.

"Be careful," I warned, "she's human."

"I am not even going to ask," Lily said. I managed to get the cage open. Astra was near the edge, her legs swinging under the bars. "Oh my goodness," Lily said behind me. She had just caught sight of the miniature girl.

"What should I do?" I asked. It was so hot and uncomfortable in the room. I coughed again. Astra was trying to say something and I strained to hear her. The cat jumped out of Lily's hand and she turned to see it scurrying across the room. "Lily, what should I do?" I repeated. A wicked laugh drowned out my words. I spun on my heel.

Princess Marigold was standing at the door, her arms open welcomingly. "Oh good," she said, her voice sweet. "You saved me from the trouble of having to go find you." I rolled my eyes. The witch had taken it too far. I could understand her infatuation with Crown Prince Chadwick, but kidnapping Astra was unnecessary. I did not know what I had done to deserve her malice. She walked toward us, the door slamming shut behind her. Her large heels which made her at least five inches taller clicked on the stone ground as she walked. The Princess was wearing a ridiculous orange gown that clashed horrifically with her red hair.

"What have you done to my friend Marigold?" I asked. My words were mixed with coughs. I felt like I was suffocating in this room.

"Oh you mean my new pet? I thought she would make a nice addition to my collection."

"You are insane," I spat. She laughed.

"And now I will have three more toys to play with." I took a step closer to the window, dragging Lily alone with me. "Not so fast," Princess Marigold said. The window closed with a loud bang and Lily and I jumped.

"Look Princess Marigold whatever you want you can have it!" She titled her head as if unsure on how to respond. "Take the Prince! I DO NOT CARE!"

"Now now, no need to get angry," she pleaded.

"Just make her the right size." The witch shook her head. "Ugh! You are horrible. Why are you torturing me and my friends? I have never done anything to you!"

"Well, the Prince loves you and I cannot have that."

"I already told you that you can have him" She thought this over. "Please," I started. If yelling was not going to work maybe begging would. I coughed again. "Please I promise you will never see me again if you restore Astra to her proper size." The room was silent while she pondered my plea.

"Oh fine," she said finally, her pretty red lips in a pout. "If you promise to be gone by tonight I will restore her. Goodness. No one can joke around with you." Joke around! I wanted to scream. I was so angry at the moment that I wanted to tear her head off. She closed her eyes as I had seen Astra do so many times before. She twisted her face in intense concentration and finally, slowly, Astra began to grow. She soon outgrew the bird cage, and Lily and I had to practically break the thing to get her out. "There!" Princess Marigold said. "Now get out!"

I grabbed one side of Astra and Lily grabbed the other. We walked to the door in this manner and exited the room. Astra was very pale. Her hair was a snow white and she had a sickly pallor. Now how do we get out of here? I wondered. After several tries of lifting tapestries, I found the door into the tunnels. When we finally entered the cool underground, I breathed a sigh of relief. I did not think it was going to be that easy and now all I wanted to do was get as far away from the palace as possible before little miss crazy changed her mind.

Fact number 22: I have a serious dislike for tunnels. They are dark, cold, creepy, and never seem to lead to anything good. It was just my luck that Lily, Astra, Blue Jay, and I would get lost in these awful tunnels. I felt like we had been wandering for hours – and had probably been one. Now there was only a torch every few meters. Shadows fell on everything and inwardly I shivered. I turned back to see Lily and Astra struggling behind me.

"Bella, do you have idea where you are going?" Lily asked her voice high with worry.

"I think the kitchens are right around the bend," I said lying through my teeth. I had no idea where we were. Astra's eyes were fluttering; she was trying very hard to keep walking.

"Is she going to be okay?" Lily asked. She was practically dragging Astra by her arm.

"I hope so," I offered. Lily nodded. "Stay here. I feel like we are going in circles. Sit against the wall and when I find a way out of here I'll come for you."

"And how are you planning to find your way back?" she asked.

"I can do it," Blue Jay said. "When we find an exit I will fly back and then lead you to it." Lily looked relieved that we had a plan. She sat down with her back to the wall like I had suggested. "Come on Jay," I said and we continued walking. Some time later I was starting to feel even more disoriented and after several more minutes I was just about ready to turn back.

"There," Blue Jay said. "Isn't that a door?" I nodded with a smile.

"Finally," I muttered as I reached the door. It took a couple of heavy shoves before the door finally opened. The room it opened to was huge. It had a very tall domed ceiling and a large imposing fireplace. I walked into the room hesitantly. I slipped my high heeled sandals off so that they would not make any sound against the wood floor. As I walked deeper into the room, I realized it was some type of library. There were rows of bookshelves on either side of the fireplace. In front of the fireplace were two the leather chairs with a small stone table in between them. I turned into one of the shelves, worried that after getting lost in the maze of the tunnels, I was now never going to get out of this labyrinth of books.

I continued through the rows and rows of books with no exit in sight. The library smelled like leather and ink. It was a bit dusty and I had the feeling that this room was not used often. Suddenly I heard the sound of a book dropping. "Oh Blue Jay!" I said turning around, thinking that the bird had flown into a book. Instead of the bird I found myself looking into the bright brown eyes of the Prince. He had several large books in his hands and one had fallen from his grasp.

"Who are you?" he asked, his eyes questioning.

"I am so sorry Crown Prince Chadwick," I said, backing away from him and preparing to run.

"Wait," the Prince said. He looked at me more closely. "I know you."

"No, I am sure you do not. My upmost apologies for disturbing you." With a quick cursey I ran from him. Behind me I heard the sound of more books dropping.

"Wait! Please wait! I would just like to speak to you!" the Prince called. I kept on.

"What are you running from?" Blue Jay asked. "Maybe he will know how to get out of here." I did not answer him and instead continued running. I soon reached a pair of large, imposing doors. I pushed one open, the Prince's voice close behind me. I stepped into the hall and a pair of hands grabbed me. Screaming, I tried to break free but it was no use, the hands would not budge. I sighed, wondering how was going to explain my way out of this one.

Hey all, I am sorry for the long wait school has been crazy this year. Thank you so much for reading and please review! ~ Iris Lily~