Chapter 10

Lyana lit the oil lamp on her bedside table. She had slept so much today that she couldn't waste a

thought on sleep at the moment. So she got out of bed and looked in the closet to see if something

could be found for the night. In fact, she found what she was looking for and took off her blue dress

first and then slipped into the nightgown. It was pleasantly soft and kept her warm. Still, she threw

on the white cape again. It felt like her mother's soothing hug, which somehow gave her comfort.

He also encouraged her and she could use it for what she was up to now.

She crept quietly to her room door and opened it a crack. The princess had feared that King Ulric

might have placed guards at her door, but there weren't any. She let it irritate her for a short

moment. Wasn't the king afraid she might try to escape? After all, she was still a prisoner. On the

other hand, she herself had to admit yesterday that that would be far too difficult. So why bother?

Nevertheless Lyana could now make use of this carelessness and sneak out of her room unseen.

She knew that the king had forbidden her to visit the castle alone, but something was wrong here. If

there was always someone by her side, she would never find out why. So she went on a hunt for

discovery.

Luckily the hallway was well lit. There were windows everywhere and the moon made everything shine brightly with its light. The walls even seemed to glitter. As so often before, Lyana was overwhelmed by this beauty. The sight was like out of this world. All that was missing was that fairies appeared, that's how enchanted the hallway looked like.

However, she had to pull herself together, after all, she had a mission. So she kept walking through

the corridors, always careful to remember any clues in order to find her way back to her room. The

castle was really big and Lyana felt completely lost in it. In between she had tried to open a couple

of the doors, but they were all locked. Slowly she was overcome by a feeling of disappointment.

It seemed like their mission had come to an abrupt end. But she didn't want to give up that easily. Just

one more hallway. If she didn't find anything there either, she'd turn around again. So she turned again, hoping for something other than locked doors. But to her great disappointment, there were only two doors in this part of the castle. She was about to go back to her room when she heard something.

"Don't go." Very gently and clearly, but so quietly that she thought she had just imagined it. Nevertheless she turned around again and listened if she would hear the female voice again.

Instead, she suddenly saw light behind one of the doors. Now the princess was frightened. She

couldn't get caught. At the same time, she really wanted to know who was behind the door. Without

really thinking about it, she quickly jumped behind one of the thick velvet curtains on the window.

Her heart was beating like mad and she put a hand over her mouth for fear of the person hearing her

breathing.

For a while, absolutely nothing happened. Then she heard footsteps and the next moment the door

was opened. Lyana looked over to the window, hoping to see something from the reflection. And she did. Her nocturnal encounter turned out to be King Ulric.

Lyana heart seemed to stop for a moment. Of all things it had to be him. If only it had been a servant. But with the king she had to fear that he would find her quickly. His senses were extremely sharp.

The sun princess was already expecting the worst when she heard a faint click. Again she dared to

look at the reflection of the window. Since the king had left the door open from which the light shone brightly, the window now had almost the same function as a mirror.

He was holding something that Lyana thought looked like keys. But then he moved away from her

and probably went to the second door in the hallway.

She could hear him opening the door and then closing it the next moment. After that there was

silence. Lyana used this to get out of her hiding place. Although she feared the king might return at

any moment, she dared to take a look through the door that was still open. It turned out to be the

king's bedchamber. Lyana hadn't expected that. She would have thought it was his study and the

second door was his bedroom. Before she could think about it any further, she decided to go back

into her own room quickly. She'd had enough excitement for today.

Fortunately, she didn't meet anyone else on the way to her room. So after everything that happened

one could say that her nightly action were successful. Still, she wondered where this woman's voice

had come from. Or maybe she just went crazy.

She quickly slipped back under the covers. She hadn't even taken off her cape yet. Lyana just wasn't

ready to let go of his warmth. But as soon as her bed had warmed up, she told herself, she would do

so and fell asleep a short time later.