Mira handed me a bundle of cloth, her hands gentle but firm.
"Wear this. Keep your head down, and don't speak unless you must."
I nodded, pulling the dark cloak around my shoulders. It was heavy and smelled faintly of herbs and smoke. Mira stepped closer and reached into a small bowl filled with crushed leaves. She rubbed the mixture into my hair, muting its color until it looked dark brown.
Eric stood by the door, watching quietly. He had changed into simple trader's clothes, nothing too fine, just worn leather and a canvas shirt. His sword was hidden beneath a long coat, though I knew he would never be without it.
"I won't let anything happen to you," he said as I adjusted the cloak's hood over my head.
Mira stepped back and studied me. "You look like a tired farm girl now. No one will guess you were once a princess."
I looked at myself in the small, cracked mirror on the wall. My purple eyes were hidden by brown-tinted lenses Mira had found in an old chest. My face was pale, thinner than before, but with the dirt smudged across my cheek, I looked like just another peasant.
"Ready?" Eric asked.
I took a breath and nodded. "Let's go."
We left the cottage just after sunrise. The forest was quiet, filled only with birdsong and the crunch of leaves beneath our boots. The path curved and twisted through the trees, leading us to a hidden road that stretched toward the nearby village.
"Do you think anyone will recognize me?" I asked, my voice low.
"Not if you stay quiet and close," Eric replied.
"People aren't looking for a princess. They're looking for a maid who vanished. And even then, only those close to the palace would know your face."
That didn't comfort me much. But I trusted him. I had to.
The village came into view as the sun rose higher, casting golden light over stone houses with thatched roofs. Stalls lined the dirt street, selling wilted vegetables, bread, and threadbare cloth. The market was quiet, with people moving slowly, their faces thin and weary.
Soldiers stood at each corner, dressed in the same red cloaks with the silver phoenix crest. They carried swords and didn't smile. I saw one man get shoved to the ground for accidentally bumping into a guard. No one helped him.
I gripped Eric's hand tightly. He squeezed back once.
"This is what Asdrel has become," he said softly. "Fear and hunger."
We walked slowly through the market, pretending to browse. Eric bought a sack of beans and a loaf of hard bread from a bent old woman who didn't meet our eyes. I kept my hood low and eyes to the ground, listening more than looking.
Two women nearby whispered to each other.
"They say another noble house disappeared last night."
"Gone? Like the others?"
"They refused to bend the knee. And now they're ashes."
I swallowed hard. This wasn't just about Carlos anymore. Landre was worse. He had taken power and turned the empire into a prison.
As we turned a corner, I saw a small child crouched by a stall, her hands shaking as she tried to steal a piece of apple. The vendor slapped her hand away with a loud smack.
"Thief!" he barked.
The girl stumbled back, barefoot and thin as a twig. She didn't cry, only stared at the apple with wide, hungry eyes.
My heart clenched.
Before I could stop myself, I knelt beside her and pulled a piece of bread from Eric's sack.
"Here," I whispered, offering it to her.
She hesitated, then took it and ran off, disappearing into the crowd like a shadow.
Eric hissed beside me. "Aeris"
"Sorry," I muttered. "I couldn't watch."
One of the soldiers nearby stepped toward us. His eyes were narrowed, hand rested on his sword.
"What's going on here?" he asked.
Eric moved quickly, stepping in front of me.
"My sister's too soft-hearted," he said with a rough laugh. "She gives away our food even when we can't afford it."
The soldier eyed us both. "Where are you from?"
"North fields," Eric replied easily. "Came down to trade beans."
The man stared at us for a moment too long. Then he grunted and walked away.
Eric waited until he was out of earshot before whispering, "We need to leave. Now."
We didn't run, but we moved fast. Around the edge of the market, down an alley, through the back gate of the village. Eric didn't speak until we were back on the forest path.
"You can't do that again," he said, his voice tight.
"I know," I replied. "But she was starving."
"So are we all," he said. "And they're watching. Always watching."
We returned to the cottage by afternoon. Mira was boiling roots in a pot when we walked in. The scent was bitter, like burnt wood and herbs.
"You were almost caught," she said without looking at us.
I blinked. "How did you know?"
"I always know," she said simply.
Eric sat down and rubbed his hands over his face. "We need to move more carefully. The soldiers are getting nervous. The people too."
I sank onto a bench by the fire. My legs ached, and my heart still hadn't calmed from the moment the soldier questioned us. But something deeper inside me burned.
"I saw their fear," I said. "And their anger."
Mira glanced at me. "What did you expect? A warm welcome? This is the world Carlos and Landre built."
I shook my head. "No. I expected pain. But I didn't expect hope. There's still a spark left. People were whispering. Planning. Something is building."
Eric leaned forward. "If they knew you were alive"
"They can't know," I said firmly. "Not yet."
Mira stirred the pot and said nothing. Eric watched me with quiet eyes.
"I'm not ready," I continued. "But I will be. We need to prepare."
"Prepare for what?" Mira asked.
"For the day I stop hiding."
She turned to me slowly. "Then we start tomorrow."
That night, I couldn't sleep. I lay on the straw mattress, staring at the wooden ceiling. The wind outside rattled the windows.
I thought of the girl in the market. Of the soldiers' cruel eyes. Of the broken streets and burned banners.
I remembered the palace...the white stone, the laughter of my cousins, the garden with purple flowers, the way the sun hit the tower window just right at dawn.
All of it was gone.
But I wasn't.
Carlos may have murdered a princess. Landre may have hunted a ghost.
But they didn't destroy me.
Not yet.
And not forever.