Surprise?

37: Surprise?

In the palace foyer, a grand painting depicting the suffering of the vampires during the purging suddenly moved. The wall behind it opened. It was a door! And Lara's head peeked out from behind it, her gaze looking left to right.

"Hmm." Lara closed her eyes and focused on her hearing. She listened, analyzing her surroundings for movement. Hm… No movement. There was no one in sight. Good.

Everything appears to be in order...

So, trying not to make a sound, Lara squeezed herself out of the secret door and closed it quietly. She watched her surroundings again. As soon as she shut the door, she needed to make sure once again that there was no one approaching her location.

Okay, clear.

Lara relaxed. Since this is her home, she already knows where she is. Other's may find the many rooms and hallways of the castle confusing, but Lara lived in that place her whole childhood. No one can navigate the castle like she does. And she's currently in the west wing. Short for the princess wing.

Yes, this is her wing. The whole western area of the castle was hers.

Perks of being a princess… She smirked inwardly at the thought.

In any case, she doesn't have to get comfortable just yet. First, she must locate Avery, her personal maid. Why? Because that girl is loyal to her, meaning she will help. Second, she needs to hide. Guards will eventually come to change their shifts soon and she knows the perfect spot to stay out of sight. 

Looking left to right, Lara stooped low as she continued forward. Her back was to the wall, her eyes alertly scanning the surroundings.

Not long after, Lara arrived at Avery's front door It's located right next to her door. Their room was right next to each other. Sleeping beside the princess' bedroom even though she's a maid is not right. But Lara was so stubborn that she pleaded with her father to take Avery away from the staff dormitory and bring her to her wing.

At first, the king refused her desire. But Lara didn't give up. Days of nagging and nagging, the king finally grew tired of her stubbornness and gave up. Her days become more bright and less boring after having Avery as her roommate.

Before opening the door, Lara pressed her ears on it and listened to whether anyone was inside. When silence was all she could hear inside, Lara reached for the doorknob and entered her the room. 

The interior still looks the same as before...

Even the arrangement of her books is still the same. Lara laughed. Anyway, now that she has secured herself a hiding spot, all she has to do now was to wait for Avery to come back.

Minutes later, Lara became bored. Most of Avery's books were hers, so obviously she already read every single one of them. Suddenly, she remembered Noah as she fell on her back to the bed with a plop.

"*Sigh...*" Lara absorbed the surrounding silence, thinking about what she left behind. Because despite her best efforts, Lara couldn't contact him. She tried, but she was in a hurry. So she called Stefani.

When Stefani answered her call, it confused her at first. Lara expected that. She didn't tell her the whole truth about her urgency to go home, but Stefani was nice enough to grant her the two weeks of leave she requested despite the vagueness of her explanation.

Lara sighed again. She wondered when her maid will return...

Avery must have a lot of spare time since she was her personal maid, after all. When Lara left for the human world, Avery insisted to come. But Lara didn't agree with that idea. She wanted to live like a normal, independent person and having a maid serving her is not normal or independent.

Lara's ears perked up when her heart footsteps approaching the door. Judging from the jumpy rhythm of the steps, Lara smiled. She immediately knew who it was.

Lara sat up on the bed. Suddenly, a wicked idea came to her.

Ready to surprise her ever loyal servant, Lara stood beside the door with her back to the wall. When the door swung open and a humming, Avery walked in. She was a humble-looking girl, with dark hair and green eyes.

When Lara shouted, "Surprise!" Avery shouted her lungs out and jumped to the wall like a frightened cat.

"Pft- Ahaha!" Witnessing the hilarious sight, Lara bursted into fits of laughter. Gosh.

Avery's razor like nails dug into the concrete like nails. She looks like a lizard. A human looking lizard. Suddenly, Lara missed the old times where she would play pranks on Avery just for fun.

The castle was a boring place for a little girl to grow up. There was nothing entertaining there, only lifeless statues, paintings and other stuff were there. And aside from Cedric, who became her constant playmate, Avery was the only one of the castle who more brought light into her childhood days.

Avery pursed her lips and frowned upon seeing her mistress. 

"Your highness, why do you keep scaring me like that?" She whined and climbed down from the wall.

"Sorry." Lara chuckled. She just can't help it! Avery's reactions were always so priceless every time. "Did you miss me?"

Avery pouted. Of course, she missed her!

Seeing the answer in her face, Lara grinned, opened her arms, offering her loyal servant a hug. 

Avery approach slowly and wrapped her arms around Lara's shoulders.

"I missed you too…" Lara said and hugged back. They stayed like that, embracing each other like the old friends that they were, until Avery (suddenly) remembered something.

"Your highness, you're not supposed to be here!" Avery half-whispered-half shouted at her.

Lara cringed at the sudden change in the mood and made a mental eye roll. Her father's commands are so annoying sometimes.

"Yes. Yes, I know that." In fact, Ulric told her the same thing! She wanted to rant that in front of Avery, but stopped herself from doing so. 

"Anyway, where's father?"

Avery blinked. "Uh, his majesty is in his office, of course."

Lara nodded, "Good. Anyway, I heard there's a rebellion going on."

Avery frowned, confused. "A rebellion, your highness?"

"So, you know nothing about it..." Lara studied her face. Does Avery really not know about it? Lara dismissed her suspicions. Perhaps her father didn't announce the appearance of the rebellion to the public so that he wouldn't alert the enemy. "I'm going to see my father."

Avery's heart leaped in panic when she said that. "But your highness, the king hasn't permitted your return yet."

"No worries. I'll be punished for disregarding his commands but I will not die."

"But, your highness!" Lara glanced behind her and frowned when Avery followed her.

"You don't have to go with me. I know where the study is."

"Your highness,"

Lara sighed her irritation and walked even faster.

On her way to the study, the palace staff were all surprised to see her. Good thing the palace guards watching the hallway didn't stop her from going to the office.

Upon arriving at the doors, the royal knights guarding it thrusted their spears sidewards and barricaded the door, stopping her. Lara frowned at her displeasure.

"I'm here to see my father." She informed the guards.

They bowed their heads to greet her before speaking, "Greetings, princess." The one on the left side said. "His majesty is having a meeting at the moment. We will highly appreciate your patience if your highness could wait here for a moment." 

Lara gathered her breath. "I know you're only doing your job, but I have important matters to discuss with my father. Open the doors."

Before the guards could reason out, the double doors of the study stopped them when it opened and a man with a sling on his arm came out. Lara froze.

"Lord Keldrich," the guards greeted him, but it surprised Lara to see the person standing in front of her.