Page 6 of The Rose in the Shadows

He bowed his head, and for a moment, he seemed to almost deflate. It was just a split second really, but long enough for me to see concern and tension hidden under his anger. There for a moment and gone in the next. When he finally looked up, his mask had returned and he once again looked powerful and in control, seemingly unaware I had witnessed his momentary crack in composure. With a wave of his hand, he beckoned a guard to come forward.

“Have the nurses remove her bandages and relocate her to the palace cells until we can call an emergency Council meeting,” he commanded.

“Yes, your grace.” The guard nodded.

Iris pursed her lips when he mentioned transferring me to the cells, but she didn’t speak up. Perhaps that was a battle she knew she couldn’t win.

He looked towards me once more, not at me necessarily. Rather his attention stayed on the Mark on my chest. “She can’t wear that to the Council.”

“I’ll get her some clothes.” Iris volunteered, speaking up for me as if I wasn’t there.

“Good,” he muttered. “Nothing elaborate, Iris. Regardless of what’s on her chest, the Kingdom still views her as a threat. We don’t need anyone to see her dressed like you. For now.”

For now?

Iris nodded her agreement, and Clayton turned to leave, his guards following behind.

“I do hope you’re telling the truth,” he called to me from the door before finally exiting.

And without him and his overwhelming presence, the room suddenly seemed larger and easier to breathe in. Iris and I were silent for a moment, both seeming to need time to adjust to the space without Clayton in it.

“What is happening?” I whispered.

After flicking her colorful hair over her shoulder, she leaned down to pat my knee affectionately. “Don’t you worry. We’ll get this figured out.”

“Iris, that’s your name?”

Giggling, she hiked her skirts up to her thighs and tossed herself onto the foot of my bed, leaning carelessly over my legs. “Yes, I’m Iris, pleasure to make your acquaintance. Clayton, who just left, is my cousin. Sorry he was being a bit of a bully.”

Her eyes widened slightly as the words escaped her mouth and her mouth tightened for a moment before quirking in a soft, nervous smile.

"Don't tell anyone I said it. His father would consider it treasonous for me to be calling the Crown prince names, even if it is all in good fun."

Ignoring the large majority of her words, I grasped onto her hand. “You have to help me get out of here.”

“Unfortunately, my dear, I can only do so much.” She sighed, glancing over her nails. “You caused quite a scene on that bridge.Icanget you a proper dress, though, and we’ll clear all this up in no time.”

“At least tell me what’s happening!” I called out to her as she stood and began to retreat. “Please, I don’t understand any of this.”

She paused at the door, just as Clayton had, and nodded. When she spoke again, her voice was as serious as it had been when she noticed the Mark stamped across my chest. “I will. I promise. I’ll explain as much as possible when I return, but I have to get you a dress. We can’t be late for the Council, or it’s both of our necks on the line. You’ll have to trust me for now.”

With that, she left me alone with nothing but my anxieties for company. There was some consolation in the solitude this time, though, because for some reason I did, in fact, trust her. Maybe it was because she had talked to me like a person instead of a criminal. Perhaps it was because her colorful ensemble made her look more like a child than an adult. Whatever the reason was, though, I did trust that if she said she was coming back for me, then she would be returning.

Chapter Two

It wasn’t long before three armed guards came to retrieve me and escort me to my cell. It was a tiny little room with a single bed and a foul-smelling chamberpot that clearly hadn't been cleaned in some time. And though it was smaller than the infirmary room they had trapped me in earlier, the cell at least offered a small window which I was grateful for.

A little natural light was just what I needed to remind me that therewasa world outside. And maybe I wouldn't stay trapped in here forever.

A thick glass wall separated my cell from the hall outside. When I hovered by that glass and craned my neck until a cramp threatened to form, I could just barely make out two additional cells down the corridor, along with a small staircase leading to a thick steel door. I could only assume that the door led to freedom. And while most of the guards retreated down the hall, one stayed posted outside my cell.

Resigning myself to being trapped for now, I flopped onto the bed, content to peer out the window. Through the musty glass, I watched the clouds moving slowly through the vibrant blue sky. I watched them float through the air and wished more than anything that I could simply fly out of this hell to join them.

Iris wasted no time in returning to me. Like earlier, I could hear her coming long before she arrived. Her heels echoed throughout the chamber, as did her voice, as she issued countless greetings to those she passed. By the time I heard the door above the stairs creak open, I had already rushed to my feet, eager to see her again.

She stepped forward, arms filled with dark fabric and worn boots. Her lips pursed as she glanced at me with a tilted head from behind the glass wall.

“I should have brought some rouge or something,” she mumbled, almost to herself. “You look like a ghost.”

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