In the wide hallways of the palace, Neva was quickly but very carefully moving through all the rooms: the workers' room, the party room, the guest room.
The room she stopped at was the most important room in the whole palace. At the entrance was a wide door made of dark wood, with carvings of wavy lines on top. The door handles were bronze, polished to a soft shine.
"Finally, I've reached my parents' room."
When she entered, she saw a large space with a high ceiling held up by white marble columns. The tops of the columns had detailed carvings of plants. The floor was made of shiny stones, arranged in a regular white and gray geometric pattern.
"Where could that key be?" Neva thought, looking around the room.
Her eyes fell on a large rug in the middle of the room, covering a wide part of the floor. On both sides of the rug, long copper torches were fixed to the walls, giving off a soft light that reflected on the marble.
"It can't be here."
She looked to the right side of the room where large wooden chests were placed, carved with old designs.
"Could it be here?"
She started searching through the chests until she accidentally dropped a small knife,which made a loud sound that echoed in the big room.
"I need to be quieter."
After searching all the chests with no luck, she turned her head to the left. There was a round marble table with shiny metal pots on it. Around the table were low chairs made of stone, covered with light-colored fur. And in the middle of the table, there was a small key.
"This key is too small to open that door's lock," Neva thought, and she started to look disappointed.
Neva was starting to get tired from searching. It began to seem impossible to find the key in such a big room. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, but this time, she didn't even know what the "needle" looked like.
"Ugh, Neva think, think! Where would he hide a key to keep it away from me?" Neva thought while lying down on her father's bed.
"Oh, that's it. It must be the same place he hides his underwear... but where could that be?"
Neva turned her head, her eyes scanning every spot in the room, until she noticed the king-sized bed on a stone platform with three steps. Behind it was a back wall decorated with a wide mural showing a scene of fighters in a battlefield. Its colors were faded but still clear. In front of the mural, two wide chairs were placed side by side, made of dark wood and metal, facing the room.
"I remember now! After I stole that underwear, I heard the workers were installing a new safe, but I never saw it."
Neva went closer to the mural until she saw what she was looking for.
"The mural is perfect, but I didn't find any signature here. My father loves buying original paintings."
Neva brought one of the chairs, climbed on it, and moved the mural. Behind it was a locked safe.
"Great. To find a key, I have to find a key," Neva thought. Then she remembered something.
"I saw a key earlier. It must be the right one!"
She quickly jumped off the chair, went to the table, and took the key. Then she hurried back and put the key in the lock.
"Please open, please open."
Click…
The lock opened. Neva quickly opened the safe doors. The inside walls were lined with simple velvet padding to protect what was inside. But what was inside wasn't gold or something valuable. It was just a collection of the King's underwear, folded neatly. Some were made of soft cotton, others from light silk. The colors were calm, mostly dark.
Neva thought while a slight smile appeared on her face.
"The witches of the kingdom will love to see this."
Then, her attention was caught by a metal key. It was a dull silver color, medium length, with a simple oval head and a straight shaft with clear teeth. It felt light and had a faint shine. Compared to the kingdom's room keys, this key looked like it was made to open the doors of hell.
"This must be it," Neva laughed, holding the key in her hands.
She rushed out of the room without putting anything back in order. She ran through the hallways until she heard a voice coming from the direction of her room.
"Hey, Princess Neva! Where are you going?" It was Elie behind that voice.
But Neva didn't hear her calling. And even if she had heard, she wouldn't have stopped. In her mind, there was only one goal now, and she had to achieve it.
Neva kept running until she completely disappeared from Elie's sight. Elie was about to run after her until she saw the King's room open, with things looking scattered inside.
Elie thought, "Did Neva do this? It doesn't matter. I have to clean it up before Master and Lady Valerion return."
Elie walked quietly down the hallway to the room. When she entered, she saw everything Neva had left behind: an overturned chair, scattered furniture, and a painting thrown on the floor. But Eli didn't care about that because she saw the secret safe was open.
"She couldn't have taken it," Elie thought, searching the safe again and again to make sure.
Trying not to blame the Princess unfairly and get into trouble, she wiped the whole room clean again, looking for the key. But unfortunately, her fears were correct.
"Darn it, Neva. Why can't you just be a normal kid?" Elie said, biting her lip from worry and anger she had buried for a long time. Neva had been causing trouble since she was little, and it hadn't been good for Elie.
Elie's thoughts were spinning in her head nonstop. "I have to tell the King right away... No... There's no time. I have to stop her myself."
Elie hit the door, making her hand turn red, but she didn't even notice. Then she looked toward the path leading to the lower floor, like someone who had made up her mind.
"How long will I have to keep cleaning up your messes?"