FIRE!

the room was dark I barely saw anything but the moonlight that lit this one part of the room from the balcony!

I hesitated before getting out of bed lightly I was afraid I would wake up my aunt but she already was in a very deep sleep, I lit a candle and took it to the balcony in my white nightgown.

I peeked before opening the door, I was a little bit scared, there was no sign of a human being thank god!, but what was that sound??

it was windy, my hair flew with air, it was unusual to see the royal's hair unstyled, but I liked to set every part of my body free.

as soon as I entered the balcony I saw a piece of paper wrapped around a big stone in front of the door!

I put the candle stick aside and separated the paper from the stone, it was a letter! I hurried and looked out of the balcony to see if there was anyone down there, but there was nothing! I was confused, I started reading it.

"The previous king is turning the royal suite upside down looking for sth important in the west suite, go now or never!"

what is that? who is it?

it cannot possibly be Peter, he can't read or write!

what shall I do now?

what if they wanted to scam me into something dirty?

I was so much confused, going there and here on the balcony when I suddenly stopped!

I told myself "there is no time to think!"

I decided to go there, not knowing what will happen or how shall I enter!!

when I turned around to enter my room I was stunned by this voice...

"Victoria, what are you doing in the middle of the night, can't you sleep my dear??, come in, you will catch a cold!!"

she was standing by the balcony's door but not again!!

I was really angry then, this is not the best time at all auntie, I froze in my place we stared at each other, auntie was confused

"what are you waiting for dear, come in!"...

"FIRE!!!!!!"

maids screamed.

"god save us, what's happening" frightened aunt Portia said.

maids rushed into the suite, they covered us with gowns and pushed us out!

"stop! I can't see any fire!" I managed to get free from the maid's hand that was dragging me.

"FIRE!??, I can see no fire!!, stop dragging me!"

I said angrily.

"it's in the west pavilion, we have orders to evacuate the palace right away!"

of all places!! the west pavilion is it just a coincidence or it's planned??

before I could regain my senses again the maids started dragging me once again to the stairs!

the guests started to freak out, and you could no longer see the stairs! I found myself being pushed and dragged I could no longer see my maids or auntie!!

"Victoria?!!!"

"Queen Victoria?!"

"your majesty??"

no, not now.

this is my chance!

Whether it's planned or just a coincidence I can't just pass this opportunity that came to me on a golden plate! I see it's now or never!

when people went down the stairs I went up, it was so crowded.

the closer I get, the less I could see, and the more I coughed!

I reached the corridor, all the curtains were on fire!, the air was grey, the fire was great it seemed unstoppable and they were already late to put it off!, the soldier's statues started to fall, I have no time!!, I started running to the room...

"drag that maid out!" a soldier said from behind me to another 3 soldiers

I shifted my gaze from them and ran at full speed I can't miss it I don't know what would happen next but it was already too late to go back.

I continued running until I heard swords clash, I stopped looked behind and found the four guards died and a man starting at me with his face covered, I felt frightened, the man started walking towards me, the door was already opened so I hurried to the suite, the moment I got in, the door collapsed behind me preventing anyone from getting out or entering!

....

in the palace's garden

"Laura!, where is Victoria??" aunt Portia asked.

" I don't know, princess victoria..my queen!" Laura called out desperately.

they all started looking through the guests...

"Peter!, have u seen the queen??"

they were all frightened and I was nowhere to be seen!

...

back at the west suite

the room was empty of human beings but I could see fresh blood on the floor, it was turned upside down, The ground was broken, the boxes contained digging tools and knives!, nothing seemed in place it was all destroyed, they even broke the cupboard into pieces, cut the pillows and Mattress!

but I already came knowing what I was looking for!

I gripped a knife from the floor, and my gown caught fire, I took it off, and headed to the mattress I tried flipping it while I was coughing and pushing myself it was really heavy and I started losing energy I kept struggling and struggling coughing and coughing I pushed it aside with all the energy I've got and finally, I succeeded in flipping it over!

I knew I had not much time until the smoke starts getting heavier, I held the knife tight and dipped it inside, I made a square cut in the middle I struggled to get out the cotton and cartoon pieces and finally I reached it! I extracted a leather black old book from deep inside the mattress, confusion was written all over my face.

so it is that book! I stared at it frowning struggling to stand up and holding myself up, I struggled to keep my eyes open but...I held it tight.....tight...before I could think of anything I could see nothing, and in no vain, I lost consciousness.

...

in the palace's garden

guests, maids, princess....they were all staring in surprise, fear and sadness from far enough distance at the fire devouring the west pavilion....!

what has gotten into our lives the queen and king have just died, that cannot be a good sign at all!

they couldn't help but think about what was coming for them!

they couldn't stop thinking about what was going to happen in the next era...queen Victoria's era!