Chapter 32

Alexia

"The water is cold."

Estevan came over and picked me up.

"What are you doing?" I asked and he put me in the bath, I felt the impact of the water on my skin and I cringed at the cold.

I looked at him angrily.

"Estevan!"

He got into the bath with a playful smile, I splashed him with water and he didn't seem to mind splashing me with water too.

"It's too cold."

"It's delicious, don't you think? I thought you were hot, you're sweaty."

"Yes, I am" I admitted, my body was already adapting to the water, but I didn't want to give it away so I didn't say anything else.

Estevan brought our hands together under the water, catching me off guard, and he played with my fingers lightly:

"Do you think we'll have a girl or a boy first?"

I looked at his face, not expecting this question. My heart ached a little at the thought of it, because I had never thought that I would get married one day, let alone have children, I didn't want them to be born in the castle and become servants like me, stuck in those walls having to put up with the nobles and the royal family.

"I don't know, I've never thought about it," I said sincerely.

"What do you mean? You're a princess" He laughed.

"I've never thought about getting married either" I continued, even though his words warned me that I should lie, I wanted to tell the truth.

He broke into a smile.

"Does this have to do with your past?"

I nodded, I thought Estevan was going to insist that I tell him about my past again, but instead he came up behind me and wrapping his legs around me, pulled me to his chest.

I lay on him and felt him pour cool water over my head, and I closed my eyes.

"That's good."

"Get used to it then."

I sensed an enormous sadness in his words and let a silent tear fall amidst the droplets. Taking advantage of the fact that Estevan couldn't see my watery eyes, I took his hand firmly in mine and he wrapped his arms around me, covering me like a blanket.

"Charlotte, I love you..."

"It's raining" I cut him off, I could imagine the words that would come out of his mouth, but I didn't want him to speak.

I wasn't Charlotte, he loved the person I invented.

"How do you know?"

"Thin drops were falling when I closed the window, the day dawned cloudy."

He nodded and kissed my test, allowing me to relax a little more before returning to reality.

When we went to bed, Estevan fell fast asleep while I lay on his chest, watching the time, every second the hand moved made me more nervous, I knew I would soon have to get up and leave Estevan behind.

Nothing I'd experienced this week would count, it would all be behind me, I'd have a new name, a new life in Zaim after crossing the borders and I'd never be able to set foot in Torrem or Olimper again, that was the deal with Princess Charlotte.

I didn't care about any of that, I didn't care about jewelry that cost more than my life, expensive shoes and dresses, carriages, looks, flattery, power, money, luxury, none of that life that Charlotte was used to interested me.

Despite the fact that I had never eaten so well in my life and the bed that made me sleep like a newborn baby, there was only one thing I would miss.

I closed my eyes for a moment, I was about to freak out when I saw the clock strike three in the morning.

I slowly got out of Estevan's arms and walked on tiptoe, putting on an easy, light dress without corsets and a cape over it, knowing that it was raining outside.

I approached Estevan on the bed and looked at him for a moment to record his face before I left, certain that I would never forget who he was to me.

I opened the door and looked out into the empty corridor, there was always a guard there, but today for some reason there wasn't one.

Charlotte said she had infiltrated the castle, that was her influence.

I walked on tiptoe, riding boots were the most comfortable shoes I could find and less noisy than heels.

Right at the end of the corridor a man in a black cloak with dark skin startled me, I froze because I didn't know whether to go towards him or run. He held up something shiny for me to see, it was a brooch only given to the high nobility of Torrem, so I knew it was him and went towards him.

He showed me that a piece of the wall was false and that this was a secret door, I looked into his face, but with the black mask covering his, I couldn't identify him.

"Who are you?" I asked intrigued.

"We don't have time, come in!" He said impatiently and I obeyed his orders.

Taking the lead, I grabbed the only torch I could see to shine in front of me and started down the stairs, we stopped in parallel corridors, I looked around not knowing where to go.

"To the right," he pointed, his hand across my face.

I nodded and continued down the corridors at a brisk pace with a man whose face I didn't even know, because my life depended on it.

"Right again," he said, taking the lead.

I heard the sound of footsteps and turned around sharply, my chest heaving, and looked around for someone, lighting the place with the torch.

"What happened?"

"Nothing," I replied, perhaps I was delirious with nervousness.

"Then let's go."

I shook my head and continued.

When we came to a door, it was hard, it seemed stuck, he approached and pushed me away roughly, then with a strong tug opened it.

The biting cold of the night mixed with raindrops hit my face.

"Put out the torch!" He said and I threw it to the ground, kicking dirt at it. He grabbed my hand and walked out into the rain.

I looked back and almost fell to the ground. The man in the hood squeezed my hand harder.

"Pay attention or put both our lives at risk, no matter what you've lived through in the last week, this isn't your life, you weren't born for this world!"

"Yes, I won't look back!" I spoke in a firm voice, the rain covering my face no matter how hard I pulled up my cloak, the cold running through my bones, my chin trembling and the sight in front of me becoming difficult.

He looked at a guard who nodded and let them pass through what looked like a door hidden among the bushes out of the castle.

My feet sank into the mud and I slipped, being caught by the hooded man. We didn't say anything, we just ran back, stopping at a tree where there was a horse tied up in the middle of the rain.

"Charlotte and George."

"They're on the border," said the man. He climbed onto the horse nimbly and held up his hand to help me up. I held on tightly to his waist.

I was too nervous, my eyes blurred by the rain and shivering from the cold, my heart racing with the adrenaline of the moment, the fear of being caught, the weight of the whole situation, feeling like a criminal, but everything was going well until I heard Estevan's voice calling me.