Page 60 of The Prince and the Puck
“Okay, Stuart, where’s the gym the guards use?” Lambert asked our guide.
“This way.” He led us down yet another long winding massive corridor.
“This place is enormous,” Lambert said looking surprised.
“Haven’t you explored it all by now?" I asked him. "You've been here your entire life."
"I have better things to do than wander hallways," Lambert said. "It occurs to me that maybe we need better custodial services though.” He pointed in front of us where a massive pileof paper towels spewed from beneath one door. It looked as if each towel have been shoved out underneath the door and they were accumulating into an enormous pile.
"That's weird," I said. "Maybe it's a mouse?"
“That should not be there. Sorry, sirs.” Stuart pulled his walkie talkie from his belt. “Custodial services to corridor ten,” he barked.
We had just passed the door when I thought I heard a muffled sound. I turned back and listened, certain I heard a voice.
“Do you hear that?” I asked Lambert, who stopped and turned back toward the door.
"Hear what?" Lambert said.
"I swear I heard a muffled voice calling for help."
“Do you think all those paper towels might be calling for help?” Lambert asked me. I was about to hit him when the sound came again, and it was definitely the word ‘help.’ It was definitely a woman's voice. In fact, it was a voice that had become so familiar to me that I heard in my dreams.
"Lizzie?” I called back.
The door responded by banging loudly.
I turned to Stuart. “Someone’s in there.” I tried the handle, but the door didn’t budge.
“Help!” Lizzy’s voice came again. “Help, I’m locked in!”
“Lizzy, hang on,” I called back, my heart trying to beat out of my chest to get to her. Why was Lizzy locked in a closet?
Stuart pulled a ring of keys from his belt and began shuffling through them, finally inserting one and opening the bolt on the door. He wrenched the handle and pulled the door open. On the other side stood Lizzy, eyes wide and chest heaving, and more beautiful than I’d ever seen her.
“You’re safe!” she said, and then she hurtled herself into my arms.
I caught her, everything in the universe aligning as I held her close to me, our hearts pressed together. “Yeah,” I said. “Why were you in the closet?”
Lizzy stiffened in my grip, probably realizing we had company. She stepped back, straightening her ponytail. “Uh, hello. Hi. Sorry. Oh, Your Majesty,” she inclined her head to my brother.
“Stop that,” I told her, exasperated with all the royalty bullshit. “Why were you in that closet?”
She looked up and down the corridor. “We have to find Neel! We have to hurry!”
CHAPTER 32
LIZZY
KINGLY CONCERNS.
I was veryrelieved to be out of the closet. And I don’t mean that metaphorically.
It occurred to me that all of the hallways and corridors in the palace—especially in the guard quarters where the offices were—looked the same. If I wanted to call attention to the door hiding my prison, I needed to make it different.
I had very few tools at my disposal. But I did have a lot of paper towels. So, I began shoving them under the door one by one.
It seemed my plan had worked. What I hadn’t planned for was the fact that the person who would discover me would be the one person I was trying to avoid.
