Anya crawled out from the table, pulling the bag out after her and replacing it on her shoulder. Eliza turned toward her, her expression nervous.

“My lady, we must move quickly. The evening meal has almost finished, and the staff shall return soon.”

Anya nodded, glancing around. “I must find some food to take with me, something for the next few days. I will undoubtedly need all of the money I can find for preparations, I cannot afford to waste even a penny on food.”

They had returned to the tunnels swiftly, after Eliza had helped Anya find suitable provisions for at least the next few days. Eliza guided the Princess through corridors, moving quickly and without hesitation. They were headed to the servant’s quarters in the Palace’s eastern wing.

Anya hurried down a set of crooked wooden stairs, each one groaning as the pair of them descended. In front of her Eliza stopped, and she very nearly ran straight into the serving girl, only managing to catch herself an inch from her back. A door clicked open, and torchlight flooded into the passageway. Eliza stepped through, and Anya followed.

The floor was the same stone as the kitchens, cold and grey. Stone supports were embedded at regular intervals along the walls either side, and the ceiling was arched to support the floor above. Oil lamps hung from it, illuminating a fairly long corridor perhaps twice the width of the passage they had just left. Doors lined the walls, with a couple of chairs and tables scattered in the small space. On one of them sat a squat vase of purple flowers, bringing much-needed colour to the room. At the end of the corridor was an archway that spanned its width, and in the room beyond Anya could see the fireplace and a few more chairs.

She hadn’t been to the servant’s quarters very much, mostly sticking to the parts of the palace she frequently used and lived in- her bedroom was in the west wing. Eliza led her to one of the doors, pausing for a moment to dig out a key that had been buried in the front pocket of her apron, and opened it.

Anya knew it to be Eliza’s room- smaller than some of the other servant’s rooms, but with only a single bed. Many of the more permanent palace staff lived in these quarters, doubled up in rooms. Eliza, being Anya’s personal maid, got the luxury of her own room. The walls were covered in pale blue wallpaper, and a multicoloured patchwork rug covered the majority of the stone floor. Near the top of the far wall was a small window, beneath which was a metal-framed bed. The only other piece of furniture in the room was a cramped dresser, its top crowded with an assortment of objects ranging from ornaments to loose change. It was the dresser that Eliza went to, opening the third draw from the bottom and carefully moving around the clothes inside.

“You will need to wear these in order to blend in with the other servants when you leave,” she said hurriedly as she turned back to Anya. In her arms was a servant’s dress, much like the one Eliza wore right now. She held it out toward Anya, who took it hesitantly.

“Don’t you need this?” She asked, looking down at the bundle of fabric.

Eliza shook her head, opening the next draw down and picking out a crimson underskirt. She held it up in front of her, glancing between the skirt and Anya, before she put it back in and found another. “I have plenty of others, I can only hope it will fit you.” She put the new underskirt on top of the dress she had given Anya, before she moved past her and retrieved an apron from behind the door. “The guards will not look to your shoes, but you will need a bonnet.”

“Where can we find one?” Anya turned back around as Eliza placed the apron in her arms, and followed as the serving girl left the room again, gesturing for Anya to follow.

She led her to the room at the end of the corridor- the common room- and went into the small room that led from it. Inside was a collection of different clothing, at least one of every single item worn as the servants’ uniform. Eliza pulled out one of the bonnets, and placed it atop Anya’s pile of clothes with a flourish. The pair of them returned to Eliza’s room. “Will you need my assistance changing, my lady?”

Anya insisted that she would be fine, and Eliza left the room to wait outside and discourage any of the other residents from entering the corridor. Anya put her bag down on Eliza’s bed, and started to undress. She removed the trousers and blouse she had been wearing, and pulled on the underskirt and dress of the servants uniform. The material was thick and hardy, the dark fabric felt scratchy compared to her usual garb. She adjusted it around her shoulders, trying to get it to sit comfortably. When it didn’t, she decided to leave it, and pulled the apron over her head.

At last she tied the bonnet’s string beneath her chin, her hair hidden beneath the white cloth, and opened the door. “How do I look?” She asked, twirling before Eliza.

The girl smiled, gesturing for Anya to follow her again. “Perfect, my lady. The guards will not notice you.”

With that, the pair of them left the servant’s quarters, returning to the passages behind the walls and heading toward the back of the palace. It was getting late, and it was around the time at which the palace’s day staff headed home.

It didn’t take long for them to find their way up to the palace’s back doors, which were considerably less ornate and decorated than the front entrance. The back doors were open, and through them went a trickle of the palace staff. Either side of the doors stood two mens, dressed in the red uniform of the palace guard. Eliza stopped Anya before she left the passage.

“I must stay in the palace, my lady. I will try to disguise your escape for as long as possible. You must continue alone,” she said quietly.

Anya nodded. From here on, she would be on her own. She would have no companions, no company. From here on, she would be a regular person, ready to embark on the hunt for the traitor, Kole Tasker. She could not return until she held the Arcane Rune in her hands. A shudder ran down her spine, and Eliza curtsied, ready to leave. Just as the girl was about to turn back, Anya spoke. “Thank you so much, Eliza. For everything. I am glad you were with me.”

The girl looked back, and smiled again. “It was my pleasure to serve you, my lady.”

With that she hurried back into the darkness of the passage, and Anya started to feel very alone. She turned back toward the doors, lowered her head, and stepped out. She kept her eyes fixed on the ground in front of her, and moved with a slight shuffle. A few servants moved around her, talking to one another on their way out of the palace.

She was walking over the threshold, the two guards behind her talking to one another, oblivious to her passing, when she heard a voice from inside, cold and commanding.

“Ariannya Vasquez,” it said.