Chapter 1 #3
Though the prince was still officially classified as missing, the entire kingdom knew it was merely a diplomatic lie concealing the truth whispered in market stalls and across pub tables: the heir to the throne was dead, leaving no one in the line of succession…
along with the uncertainty of what would become of the kingdom once the aging king and queen eventually passed and anarchy alone reigned.
Ever since his disappearance the kingdom had begun crumbling, as if its balance had perished with him.
Strange occurrences were spreading to fill every corner of the land—crops withering for no reason, storms raging out of season, entire villages falling to ruin, unrest brewing like a sickness in the air…
.as if the land itself seemed to be holding its breath, waiting.
Hope, like everything else, had begun to fade.
Knowledge of whom this abandoned room belonged to caused me to take in the details with new eyes.
It had been recently and painstakingly cleaned, but obviously not occupied in some time.
The firewood stacked untouched beside the hearth had grown soft with rot.
A layer of dust coated the windowsill beneath the velvet curtains.
The ink in the inkwell had dried. The once-fresh flowers in the vase atop the dresser had long since crumbled to petals and dust, though no one had thought to remove them.
This wasn’t the room of someone who’d just stepped out; it was the tomb of someone who’d been gone for a long, long time…and I had just trespassed across its ghost.
I shouldn’t be here. It wasn’t the fear of getting caught, but a sense of respect that even a lifetime of thievery had never been able to extinguish. If His Highness truly was dead, then what I was doing now wasn’t just trespassing—it was grave robbery. That was too far, even for a common thief.
Hundreds of rooms filled the castle, containing thousands of objects.
Surely one of them would serve as a proper souvenir from this latest adventure.
I would instead steal a forgotten trinket with a trace of memory from a brighter time before the prince had disappeared, the royal family had fractured beneath grief, and the kingdom had begun to fall into the disarray filling the land like a curse.
I turned to leave…only to hesitate at the door, my hand hovering above the knob, held back by a strange connection different than I’d experienced in my other heists.
Curiosity tugged, urging me to linger and explore this unsolved mystery that had plagued the kingdom all of these years: Was the prince truly dead, and if not, where had he gone?
Perhaps it was no coincidence I’d been led astray by those enchanted woods.
I’d followed the map as I trailed the fading clues left by my dearest friend who’d suddenly vanished, desperate to solve the puzzle before the last, aging hint disappeared.
While I felt almost sure the palace wasn’t the place to find them, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something waited here for me to find.
The mystery of the missing prince oddly compelled me, perhaps because of its similarity to my own story.
I took a slow step back into the room, letting my gaze drift back to the desk and the shard I’d dropped, still pulsing with quiet power, drawing my attention like the moon draws the tide. Some unseen force guided my footsteps, drawn by an unspoken need to explore more of its secrets.
I picked up the shard and brushed a fingertip along its edge, just enough to test its memory. But before the magic could stir to life and allow my power to explore its history, I experienced an untimely interruption. A pause stirred the castle’s silence—footsteps against the marble, far too close.
The footsteps drew closer with horrifying speed, sounding now from the corridor just beyond the room I’d chosen to linger in.
In my distraction, I’d allowed this room’s memories and mysteries to cause me to lose track of the guards, delaying my escape when I had the chance.
The footsteps slowed just outside the door, as if they sensed the presence of an intruder, despite my care not to leave a trace. Then how…
My gaze darted towards the object I’d attempted to steal.
Some relics resonated with magic strong enough to disturb the world around them, or were protected by a ward that could have shifted the stillness and alerted the guards.
I silently cursed myself for my carelessness as I spun in a circle, looking for the best escape route.
The footsteps slowed right outside the door. Panic cinched my chest. I hastened towards the door that led to a balcony, fumbling for the latch. Locked. I knelt, pulling a pick from my boot, hands steady even as my pulse raced. But the lock was stubborn. Just one moment more—
The door flung open. A golden glow spilled across the chamber floor, and sharp steel glinted in the candlelight.
Imperial guards flooded the doorway, weapons drawn, expressions hard and unyielding as they faced the thief they’d just caught in the room of their missing prince, the shard I’d stolen from him still in my hand.
Condemned by my own curiosity.