The First Crack

  Amarantha was asleep when she opened her eyes.

  She remained motionless for a few seconds, still lying down, listening to the silence of the room. Then she spoke softly, barely a whisper:

  —It’s time.

  She rose calmly. There was no nervousness in her movements. She put on her maid uniform and left her room without haste, closing the door carefully behind her.

  She moved through the palace’s inner corridors like any other cloth maid. As she walked, she analyzed her surroundings. She wasn’t looking at random—she recognized the places. She had already studied those corridors; she knew the routes, the intersections, and the schedules.

  She knew she couldn’t run into the supervisor. At that hour, based on what she had observed for days, the supervisor would be asleep. Even so, if they did cross paths, she had excuses prepared—reasonable, simple, and believable. The same applied to guards, night staff, or palace workers. Everything was planned.

  She passed through several corridors where guards were stationed. Some saw her. None reacted. Since they knew she was a cloth maid, they ignored her. Many worked at night on irregular shifts, and her presence didn’t draw attention. To them, she was simply part of the palace’s normal operation.

  She kept moving until she reached the carriage area.

  There, she identified the carriage she had marked in advance: one headed toward Lower Rousth. Without lingering, she moved to the point where it would depart.

  In a discreet spot, taking advantage of a moment when no one was watching directly, she hid part of her garment. It was for the return. In addition, she had previously left other maid garments at different points near the carriage zones, meant for returning using different routes. At each point, there was a full change of clothes.

  Then she changed quickly and stayed at a distance, watching the carriage.

  Next, she made sure there was no one nearby, and then climbed into the carriage without anyone noticing. She blended in among the cloaks and the merchandise inside, shifting until she was completely hidden.

  The carriage began to move.

  It traveled for a good stretch until it reached the guards’ fortress. There it stopped. Amarantha remained motionless, hidden in the back.

  The guards approached. They looked into the carriage. They checked from the rear. One of them lifted a sack; it was clear it contained nothing but goods. They didn’t unload the cargo, but they carried out a basic inspection before closing it again.

  The carriage started moving once more.

  Amarantha adjusted herself slightly among the layers, shifting her position without making a sound, and stayed hidden as the vehicle continued on.

  A short while later, the transporter opened the back and gave the cargo a quick look. He didn’t linger. He closed it again, and the carriage kept going.

  It went on for a long distance until it finally stopped.

  They had arrived in Lower Rousth.

  The vehicle parked in a wide area where several other carriages were gathered—some unloading goods, others preparing to depart. The movement was constant but chaotic, typical of that part of the city at night.

  Amarantha waited.

  When the transporter had moved far enough away and she sensed no direct attention on the carriage, she slipped out quietly. She didn’t jump out all at once. First, she peeked out carefully, scanning the surroundings, and only then did she climb down fully.

  Moving with caution, she managed to get away from the carriage without a couple of nearby people noticing her. She pulled up her hood and moved quickly, blending into the flow of people out at that hour: porters, late messengers, hooded figures, and passersby who had no interest in anyone else.

  She recognized the place immediately.

  Without stopping, she walked with purpose toward the first marked point. She reached a closed door. She didn’t try to open it or knock. She simply took out a letter and slipped it through the window, placing it carefully so it would be visible from inside. Then she moved on.

  She headed to another point.

  She repeated the procedure: leaving a letter in a window, then walking away without looking back.

  Then she went to a third place and did the same.

  Every movement was precise. She didn’t remain any longer than necessary at any location.

  After that, she moved toward another part of the district, more secluded. There, at a hidden point she had prepared in advance, she changed her hood. The garment had been left there beforehand for that purpose.

  Once the deliveries were done, she recalled everything Victor had told her.

  It was time to return.

  She headed back to a sector where the carriages gathered. There, she hid among goods and structures, choosing a spot from which she could observe and listen without being seen. She stayed there, waiting.

  She rested only just enough. She didn’t fall asleep. She knew she had to stay alert.

  According to the information she’d been given, the carriage she needed was supposed to depart within a certain time. And indeed, after a while, it arrived.

  While she remained hidden, she overheard nearby conversations. That was when she heard the carriage wouldn’t leave immediately, but instead would depart in the morning.

  In that moment, Amarantha understood she had a problem.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  She couldn’t arrive late at the palace. A prolonged absence would raise suspicion. Staying there wasn’t a viable option.

  She waited for the men to leave the area. When the sector was relatively clear, she carefully emerged from her hiding place.

  She needed to find another route.

  As she moved, her mind worked fast. She was worried. She needed to locate another carriage point—and do it quickly, because she had to return within the time margin she’d calculated.

  The clock kept running.

  Amarantha kept walking with her hood up, blending among other hooded figures and drifters moving through that rough part of Lower Rousth. It was a district where no one asked questions, and where people avoided meeting each other’s eyes.

  She walked several meters, until she noticed something out of place.

  There were footsteps behind her.

  Not one. Two.

  They were steady—too coordinated to be a coincidence. She didn’t turn around right away. She kept walking for a few more seconds to confirm it. Once she was sure, she quickened her pace slightly and slipped into a narrow, lonely alley—tight and poorly lit.

  Just as she’d expected, the two men followed her.

  “Come on, baby,” one of them said. “Where are you rushing off to?”

  Amarantha didn’t answer.

  The alley closed in on itself. Tall walls, no visible exits. The men shortened the distance, and one of them tried to pin her against the wall.

  He didn’t get the chance.

  Before his hand could touch her, Amarantha reacted. With a fast, precise motion, she stabbed him in the neck. The man dropped immediately, with no time to respond.

  The second took a fraction of a second to understand what had happened. When he tried to react, Amarantha was already on him. She stabbed him in the liver. The moment she felt him about to scream, she covered his mouth and forced something in to smother any sound.

  She shoved him to the ground.

  Without wasting time, she stabbed him again—this time in the chest, lethally.

  The first lay motionless. The second, his mouth filling with blood, was incapable of speaking or screaming.

  Amarantha watched them for only an instant. She confirmed they couldn’t alert anyone. Then she turned and left the alley without hurrying, abandoning the bodies behind her.

  In that part of the district, they wouldn’t draw attention.

  She kept moving on.

  After several minutes, she managed to identify another carriage. According to her calculations, it would depart in approximately two hours. However, she knew that this route didn’t have a nearby point where she had a spare maid’s outfit prepared.

  That put her in a difficult position.

  Waiting for another carriage meant losing more time and increasing the risk of returning late. But using this one meant reentering the palace through a less favorable route, forcing her to move with extreme caution until she reached one of the points where she had left clothing.

  Amarantha assessed her options quickly.

  At that point, she couldn’t afford any more delays.

  She decided to use that carriage.

  She knew that with enough care, she could still reach one of the locations where she had a maid’s change of clothes before being seen.

  She hid herself among the cargo and waited.

  The sequence was similar to the previous one. Upon reaching the entrance to the Sovereigns’ Garden, the guards checked the rear. They lifted a few sacks, glanced over the contents, and, seeing nothing suspicious, authorized entry.

  The carriage passed through the gate.

  Once inside the garden, it traveled a long distance, moving into a more remote area—far from the sector where carriages usually operated.

  Amarantha remained hidden, memorizing the route and the approximate point where it would stop.

  When the carriage finally came to a halt, she waited.

  She knew the next move would be the most delicate.

  Amarantha stayed completely still inside the rear compartment. She didn’t emerge right away. She listened carefully until she could distinguish the sound of the transporter’s footsteps moving away. She waited a few more seconds to be sure he wouldn’t return.

  Only then did she move.

  She slipped down from the carriage without making a sound and stayed low, scanning her surroundings. There was no one nearby. She seized the moment and began moving in secret, using the environment for cover: trimmed hedges, stone pillars, decorative structures, and dimly lit corners.

  She moved slowly, controlling every step.

  Suddenly, guards appeared.

  There were four of them. They walked in a relaxed formation, talking among themselves. Amarantha reacted immediately—slipping into the space between a pillar and a nearby structure, hiding herself completely. She stayed motionless, holding her breath as the guards passed in front of her.

  When they had almost gone by, a slight shift caused a nearby shrub to rustle softly.

  One of the guards stopped.

  “Did you hear that?” he asked, turning his head.

  The others froze. While they debated what the sound could have been, Amarantha, with extreme care, slowly moved to the other side of the pillar, placing herself in a blind spot. From there, she couldn’t be seen—neither by the guard approaching nor by the others.

  The guard took a few steps forward and watched from a distance, without getting too close.

  “Must’ve been an animal,” he said at last. “Rabbits get in here sometimes.”

  The four resumed their walk and moved away from the area.

  Amarantha waited a few more seconds before moving. Once she confirmed there was no immediate danger, she released the tension she’d been holding and continued forward—always in cover, always unseen.

  She advanced until she identified the zone she was in. To reach her next point, she needed to cross an internal garden road—an open stretch where supplies and staff circulated.

  She stopped.

  She looked both ways, assessed the traffic, and when she had the chance, she crossed quickly to the other side.

  She had taken only a few steps when she heard a firm voice behind her.

  “Stop!”

  A security guard was approaching from a distance—positioned at an angle where Amarantha hadn’t seen him.

  “Who are you?” he asked.

  Amarantha stopped and answered calmly.

  “I work with the merchants,” she said. “I’m in charge of restocking food in this sector of the garden. I was coming to meet the carriage transporter.”

  The guard stepped closer, watching her carefully.

  “And why are you so hooded?”

  “It’s the clothing we wear,” she replied without hesitation.

  In that moment, they both headed toward one of the nearby carriages. As they walked, Amarantha began speaking about the cargo it carried: she described the food, explained the importance of inspecting the fruit to ensure its quality, and mentioned that it was destined for the Sovereigns. Everything she said, she had studied beforehand.

  The guard listened, nodding.

  At last, he seemed convinced.

  Just as he was about to leave, he stopped and looked at her again.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Laura,” she answered.

  “Alright,” the guard said, before walking away.

  Amarantha picked up a few small crates naturally and began walking as if she were carrying out a routine task. The guard watched her from a distance, then disappeared from the area.

  Amarantha waited until no one was watching. Then she left the crates in a discreet spot, hiding them, and headed to one of the points she had prepared in advance.

  There, she pulled out a spare maid uniform.

  She changed quickly and carefully, hid the hood, and rearranged her appearance. Once she was dressed again as a cloth maid, she moved stealthily through low-traffic areas until she reached a normal sector of the palace.

  From that point on, she began walking with complete normality, like any other maid working her night shift.

  She had left.

  She had returned.

  Amarantha’s first exit and re-entry into the Sovereigns’ Palace had been completed successfully.

  After the entire journey, Amarantha returned to her room and lay down on the bed, exhausted. The fatigue was physical, but also mental. The night had been intense, and every decision had demanded constant focus.

  As she lay there, she reviewed what had happened.

  She recognized that even with everything studied and planned, unforeseen problems could always arise. This time, she had been lucky. Nothing had truly gone wrong, but that didn’t mean she could afford to relax. For the next outings, she would need to be even more alert.

  Still, she had accomplished her mission.

  She had managed to deliver the information within the established time frame—enough for them to know she was still operational, and that the infiltration had been successful. The report had been sent on time.

  Her next steps were clear: she needed to obtain more relevant information inside the palace and, when possible, reach the merchant on Brokling Street. The information he was supposed to have—maps of tunnels and other passages—could make future exits easier, avoiding dependence on the supply carriages and reducing the risks.

  She thought about it for a few more minutes.

  Then, aware that the next day she would return to her role as a maid, she decided to use what time she had left to rest.

  She closed her eyes.

  She surrendered to sleep, knowing the mission was only beginning.

  Amarantha, Sapphire Division (22 years old)