The Dragon's Kiss
Chapter 76 - SEVENTY SIX: Undaunted Knight

Was Lila part of The Yellow Marguerite?

There was only one way to replace the answer to that question.

Kel had to ask Lila herself.

The best way to get around the palace without being seen was through the secret tunnel, and, fortunately, the emperor had told her previously where it connected to his study. Seeing as Kel was in the room right next to the study, there should be an entrance to the passage from her side as well.

The biggest problem wasn't getting into the passage, though; it was where to go once she got in. She had no idea where Lila was being held. The lengthy passage would already be difficult enough to navigate with a destination in mind. How could she expect to replace anything if she didn't know what she was looking for?

So first off, Kel had to replace out where she needed to go.

The idea first crossed her mind of simply asking around. Thane seemed to be fairly loose-lipped, and Lucy was surprisingly knowledgeable about these things. There was also the possibility of approaching Roland. She could say she was making good on his promise to be someone she could talk to and swindle the information out of him that way.

The only downside of that method was that she probably wouldn't be able to reach Lila before word got back to the emperor. Plus, it didn't feel right taking advantage of Roland's innocent offer of friendship. At least, not for this.

With her first idea off the table, Kel needed to come up with another solution and fast. She fiddled with the stack of books on the table next to her bed as she thought. What could she possibly-

A book!

It wasn't a perfect idea, but it was the best she could do for now. Slipping her shoes on, Kel darted out of her room heading straight for the library. Luckily, Lucy was busy and nobody else questioned her much beyond asking where she was going as she pranced through the halls.

Several minutes later, Kel groaned as she shut another unhelpful book.

"Well, it wasn't a perfect idea, but I'm beginning to think it wasn't even a good one," she sighed, reaching for the next book in the stack.

With all the many purgings the royal library had gone through, how could anything useful have survived. Like a detailed map of the palace's layout with clearly marked prisoner-holding locations, for example.

"I'm just wasting time," Kel grumbled, standing up to leave.

She hadn't expected for it to be easy, but she had at least assumed there'd be some kind of information on the palace layout among the many books and diagrams in the library. Unsurprisingly, there was no such information to be found.

She'd have to just ask around after all, and hope she could get to Lila before the emperor found out.

As she leaned over to blow out the lamp flickering on Lila's desk before leaving, something caught her eye.

Peeping out from underneath a pile of novels and scrolls was a yellowing parchment. Kel had already scanned dozens of similar ones, but none were quite so large.

"Could it be?" she whispered, gingerly pulling the page out from under the books.

The document was actually much bigger than she originally thought and was folded into fourths. Carefully, she unfurled it to reveal intricate inkings covering the entire page. The markings formed lines and boxes, mostly contained in a single thick shape and all delicately labeled with tiny letters.

Kel could tell with a glance that it was a map of the main palace.

Excitedly, she spread the chart on the ground and searched for possible places Lila might be. It was difficult to tell from just the 2-D sketch, but after combing through the entire sketch, she settled on the three boxes lining the hallway next to the main dungeon. The lettering on the page referred to them as 'private holding cells'.

"Perfect," Kel smiled, folding the map back into quarters. She'd have to hide it in her dress somewhere to smuggle it out of the library.

If only there was a travel-sized version, she sighed, bending the map over and over until it was a thick stack in the palm of her hand. She could already imagine the number of times she'd have to stop, lay out the map, and use a candle to examine it.

Beggars can't be choosers, though, and the important part was that she finally had a target destination along with a map to guide her there.

With that settled, all she needed to do was wait for Lucy to tuck her into bed and then quietly slip into the passage.

The number of times Kel had successfully snuck out of the palace, or to an off-limits location in the palace, was approximately zero. Thanks to her undaunted knightly spirit, however, that didn't deter her from once again embarking on a secret mission.

"Ring the bell if you need anything, Princess!" Lucy grinned, closing Kel's bedroom door behind her as she stepped out into the hallway.

"Goodnight, Lucy," Kel replied cheerily.

After the maid had left, she counted to one hundred. And then counted again. And again. Until, finally, she'd counted to one hundred at least twenty times.

"I'm sure it's safe now," she whispered, pulling the map out from between the drawer on her bedside table where she'd stashed it earlier.

She grabbed the candle off the table as well and scurried to the far wall. It was small enough that it shouldn't take too long to replace the entrance to the passage.

Or so she thought.

"Come on," she grunted, throwing her weight against another section.

So far, not a single brick had budged.

Was she wrong in her assumption that the passage connected to her room as well as the study? Or was there some secret to revealing the opening that she didn't know?

"What now?" she whined, slumping against the wall.

Her undaunted knightly spirit was becoming more daunted by the minute.

As she thudded her head softly against the bricks, she considered her options. She could keep trying to replace the entrance in this room, but that would most likely end up being a giant waste of time.

She could try to sneak into the study next door where she knew for sure there was an entrance. But then again, did she really know for sure? The emperor could have been messing with her, and there was the possibility it wouldn't open without some sort of trick.

Aside from that, she knew of three other entrances to the passage. There was the one behind the mirror somewhere in the servants' wing of the palace. Another was in the back of a cleaning closet in the public wing. The third was the one that led to the room where she'd last seen Barclay, but even if she could get back there, she didn't want to.

"Besides, if I can't even sneak into the study, how could I sneak all the way across the palace," she huffed, pursing her lips. "Unless…"

Coincidentally, as she glanced toward the wardrobe, she remembered a conversation she'd had with Lucy a few days ago.

The maid had been tired from running back and forth between the west building and the main palace since they hadn't prepared a room for her near Kel's yet. Kel urged the maid to keep extra personal items, clothes, etc. in her wardrobe to minimize the amount of trips the maid would need to make.

A wicked smile spread across Kel's lips as she continued gazing at the wardrobe.

"I wonder if she really did put some extra uniforms in there."