[Music Recommendation: 6.6 Gigue ~ Peter Gregson and Richard Harwood]

"We are leaving the palace for a secret mission?" Freya asked, her voice slightly raised.

Oriana nodded. "Yes, now bring down your voice; nobody else is supposed to know about it."

Madame Rosalie folded her hands across her chest. "But why do we need to go?"

Oriana removed her shoes and started removing her heavy gown. "We need to join the women who will be serving tonight, and the only way for us to know what’s going on is by talking with the women."

Freya sighed, now going to help Oriana out of her gown. She struggled to pull the bigger skirt, and when it was off, she said, "I don’t know, but I just have a bad feeling about this. What if something happens out there, just us in the night?" The girl had a bad memory of going to the inn, and she didn’t want to relive it.

"That is why the King is going with us, and don’t worry, it’s not just him. The general and Rowan will be coming too," Oriana informed, and in unison, Freya and Madame Rosalie shouted.

"No!" Both of them turned to look at each other, then cleared their throats.

Oriana furrowed her brows, raising the new gown she was going to change into. "Do you both have a problem with this?" She stretched her hand forward. "Change into this; we will be leaving soon."

"Can I not go? I mean, Pa needs help in the kitchen..." Freya started, not wanting to have any reason to be around the personal guard.

Madame Rosalie nodded. "Um, yes, my girls need to be trained too. So maybe I can just not go."

Oriana raised her eyes. "Freya, your father said you haven’t been helpful lately in the kitchen. And Madame Rosalie, training your girls in the middle of the night?"

"It’s when they learn faster," the older woman added in her defense.

Oriana sucked her teeth. She didn’t know the reason Freya and Madame Rosalie wanted to stay back, but she had her own reason for leaving the palace. She wanted to stay with Adric and see his face at all times. Their love had only just blossomed the previous night, and since then, they haven’t had a whole day for just them. Leaving him to go out alone, and when he returns, she must have slept off, didn’t sit well with her.

They had been so close yet apart for so long, and Oriana wanted to make up for all that time. She wanted to see Adric’s face and follow him, and nobody was ruining that for her.

"Freya, come tie this up for me." Now dressed in the new gown, she turned to look at Freya and Madame Rosalie. "Get changed," Oriana grinned.

After the women were done getting ready, they were the last to leave the palace while trying to sneak out without being noticed.

Adric waved when he saw Oriana stepping out of the palace to the place they had all agreed to meet. Though the girl was wearing a commoner’s dress, she still looked very beautiful even at night, and he couldn’t deny it. It made him worried that she was going out there to be seen by different men.

"We are ready," Oriana smiled, going to stand in front of Adric and tucking a piece of her hair that was falling on her face.

Adric patted her hair gently. "I’m still worried. You can go back if you want to. It’s not safe, considering how beautiful you are."

Oriana blushed, forgetting that others were standing here looking at them. She hit Adric’s chest playfully. "I tried to hide it all. I didn’t even put on makeup or jewelry."

"Then I’m scared because you even look more beautiful now." He smiled, seeing what his words were doing to the girl. Adric was happiest when Oriana acted like herself without fear of being judged. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and tied Oriana’s hair.

"This will make me recognize you in the crowd and also cover your unique hair from attracting too much attention," Adric muttered, tying her golden hair gently. He paused. "It’s not too late; you can go back."

Oriana shook her head. "No, I really want to go with you, please."

"That’s fine then," Adric decided not to deny her that. "I’ll keep my eyes on you," he turned to the others.

"Let’s go. The women will leave with the carriage while we walk behind them to avoid any suspicion. We act like we are just travelers," Adric instructed, pointing at the man from the village. "You’ll take the women to the inn where your wife works. Leave the rest to Madame Rosalie."

Madame Rosalie cleared her throat. She had been hiding behind Freya, trying not to look at the general who had bruised her ego a few days back. "I’ll handle it with my best experience, Your Majesty."

"The Queen is now in your care," Adric’s voice was soft when he said this, and Rosalie gave him a reassuring nod. He continued, "The rest of us will go together."

The village charmer raised his hand. "I don’t have a reason to be here. Maybe I can go now."

Freya nodded in agreement. That was what she was about to say, but the man beat her to it. It didn’t matter as long as it meant the same thing. When she raised her eyes, she saw Rowan looking at him, and for a moment, she saw a mischievous smile grace his lips but disappear immediately.

This gave Freya more reasons to run back to the palace. She had never trusted the guard since the very day she set foot into the palace. And maybe this night, he was really going to do something evil to her and call it a mistake. The thoughts Freya had buried after Rowan saved her in the woods came running fresh to her mind.

"What’s your name?" Adric asked the young man, whose dressing had made him look so old and tattered, but beyond all that, he was still very young.

"Your Majesty, my name is Galen. I promise I’m not a swindler—"

Adric snapped his fingers. "Galen, you’ll be waiting outside the inn. It seems like the married women confide in you. So listen to what they have to say and come back to us with important information."

"I—" Galen raised his hand to object, but nobody waited to hear from him as everyone dispersed to their different teams. The women mounted the carriage and left, while the men wore their hoods, following behind.

Galen raised his hand, looking at the sky that had now turned black with little stars blessing the night. "I am just a charmer!" he cried, not ready to disobey the king and face worse punishment. He turned around before following them.

As the King and Queen with their friends set out in the night discreetly disguised for their undercover mission, what they didn’t know was that Princess Sophie, who had been keeping her eyes on her sister since after what Bessie had told her, now followed Oriana and the others outside the palace, hiding behind them without anyone noticing her in the dark.