Chapter 54

Lyana thought it was nice that Alisen didn't push her to do it, even though she would have loved to

see the princess in it. But should she really take that risk? For now, she wanted to postpone this decision. "We still have time. I'd rather take a bath first. Who knows when I can relax next time."

Actually relaxation was out of question. Even the warm water couldn't stop her from thinking about

her dream. No matter how many times she went through it, she couldn't figure it out. In addition,

time was running out, it was almost lunchtime. So Lyana expected her family to be here soon.

"You look depressed, Your Royal Highness," her maid apparently worried as she dried Lyana.

"Everything's fine," she tried to reassure Alisen with a smile. But Alisen didn't seem reassured, she looked ... disappointed?

Lyana just didn't want to burden her, but she had completely forgotten that she didn't have to go

through it alone. So she took her maid's hand and sat down with her on the edge of the bed.

"Forgive me. I didn't mean to make you feel like I don't trust you. To be honest, I had a dream last night in which the ice princess appeared to me."

Alisen's mouth opened in surprise. "What did she say?"

Lyana sighed heavily and looked into space. "Only that I can be the only one to help King Ulric and

that I have everything I need."

"That's not very accurate," Alisen remarked with raised eyebrows. "How about we go through the dream together again? Maybe there is another detail that you overlooked."

The princess agreed. So they started from scratch. The two women thought together how one could

interpret Feronias words and Alisen did not even stop at their movements and gestures. But in the end they weren't much further than before.

"And she didn't say anything else as farewell except for "It's time"?" Alisen asked for the third time.

"No. That was all. Then she just got up and disappeared humming happily." Resigned, she let

herself fall back on the bed.

"I do not understand that. The situation is not exactly easy. Even if she is only a ghost, how can she sing in this situation?"

Lyana closed her eyes. "Well, she didn't sing directly, just hummed." As if to prove it, the princess began to hum the song from her dream. But in the middle she suddenly stopped and jumped up.

"But that ..."

Her maid gave her a startled look. "So what's going on?"

Lyana quickly turned to her and grabbed her shoulders. "Alisen, you are a real genius!"

With that she had confused her maid completely. "How did I deserve this praise?"

Laughing happily, Lyana fell around her neck. "I finally found the key to this puzzle. Oh, Princess Feronia is really clever." Happily, she began to dance around the room. Her maid was meanwhile even more confused than before. Then the princess stopped abruptly and looked at Alisen in shock.

"What time is it now? We are in a hurry!"

That was Alisens cue. Immediately she got up. "Just tell me what to do."

Lyana bit her lip lightly. "I've decided to trust Nevis, so we're taking the full risk and taking Princess Feronias dress."

Her maid clapped her hands enthusiastically and began her work. It took a while because she

wanted everything to be perfect, but the end result was all the more spectacular. Lyana almost didn't

recognize herself anymore. If she looked so good in that dress, how good would Princess Feronia

have looked in it? Suddenly she had doubts again. Was that really the way to go? On the other hand,

being nice had done nothing with this stubborn king.

"All right, then I should go now." Lyana threw her cape over her shoulders and went to the door.

She took another deep breath and then stepped outside. There she ran straight into the arms of two

guards who were presumably commissioned by the king. The sight of the princess had probably

made them speechless for a moment, but then they caught up again. "You are not allowed to leave

your chambers", one of the two immediately called out.

Without showing her nervousness, she looked at them both with raised heads. "Didn't Baridi explain

this to you at all? This order was only valid for the morning." Confused, the two men looked at each

other, unsure whether they should believe the princess's words or not.

"If you don't believe me, ask Baridi personally," suggested the princess confidently. Fortunately for

her, the men agreed and one of the two immediately went to fetch the king's valet. When he came back with Baridi shortly afterwards, she could already tell from the look on the guard's face that her plan would work.