Tremors

*T-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t*

“I thought we were gonna die…” She said, clinging to the floor.

“Haha… sorry about that.”

You should be more worried about the guards not having heard your screams tho…

“Anyway, stop trembling, we are safe now.”

“Oh… right… Sorry for making you help me… This wouldn’t have happened if I was more careful… but the spider was too much… ” She slowly stood up. Still trembling legs.

“Don’t worry, it’s alright, more importantly, how do you plan on getting out?

“Hum… I could use an invisibility spell but I can only make it last for ten seconds…”

“Yeah, ten seconds won’t be enough… What about disguising as a maid? That way you can get close enough to the exit and then use your invisibility spell.”

“No way! I can’t do that…”

“Why not? It’s the best solution I can think of.”

“What if someone confuses me with a maid???”

“That’s… the whole point…”

“There’s no way… absolutely no way! I wouldn’t be able to handle it…”

“What’s there to handle?”

“Picture this—I successfully blend in with the other maids, then a butler says: ‘You! The short and unfed one! The one who is a sneeze away from tumbling and falling! Go bring the King’s favorite plushie!’ Then I go search for it but I don’t know what the plushie looks like, after a careful gamble I bring whichever assuming I manage to find where the King’s room is, then lets say by a miracle it’s the correct one, but then when the King receives it he says: ‘I’d like to thank the maid who brought me Freddy personally’ then they take me to the King and he recognizes no maid so tiny and ugly was ever hired to work in the castle, then he sends me to the guillotine and in my last moments alive, I cry for not being able to return home with my cat Mavros! And alone in what used to be our home, Mavros sits besides the window, waiting for my arrival—the one which will never be, and after countless sleepless nights, he dies waiting for me, leaving our souls in an eternal state of unfulfillment, as our bodies rot, leaving only bones as proof of our bond. Wouldn’t that be sad?” She then proceeded to put her hands on the windowsill, look up to the sky and say: “I’m sorry Mavros… Mom got herself into a difficult situation, please don’t wait for me… Please live a happy life.” With tears in her eyes.

Your overly-specific scenario has left me so many questions that picking one to ask is an impossible task… Is this what goes through your head all the time…? Isn’t this a mental health issue?

“There’s no way that happens… What makes you think the king has a plushie named ‘Freddy’ in the first place? Just relax, no one will notice you aren’t a maid.”

“Have you seen the maids of the castle? I cannot fathom them being anything but the most beautiful women in the kingdom! They would immediately be able to tell me apart...”

“You’re blowing things out of proportion, you are sufficiently cute, besides, if they happen to see through your disguise then you just have to turn invisible, run and hide, I’ll make sure to distract them enough for you to recharge your magic power or however it works.”

“… What… What did—”

“Rey! Are you ok? Is there someone else with you?”

Shit-

“Quick! Hide in the closet!”

“Huh?”

*Slam*

“What was that? Is everything ok?”

“Yeah! Perfectly fine! I just tripped! Haha. It’s hard to get used to this new body. No need to worry mother.”

*Creak* the door opened—Mother and William entered the room, looking around.

“Listen Rey, some intruders are wandering around the castle, the guards are searching for them but they’re nowhere to be found… you haven’t heard anything strange have you?” She grabbed me by the arms.

“Nope, everything’s fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“The window wasn’t open before sir, did you open it?” William said.

I forgot to close it… How stupid…

“Ah yes. Some fresh air can never do us wrong can it?”

“If you say so sir. But for security reasons let’s keep it shut until we find the intruders.”

“Right.”

William closed the window.

“We thought we heard you talking with someone, is anyone else here?”

“Nope, only me.”

“Then if you’ll excuse me I’ll continue searching. We’ll place some guards outside of the room for you to feel safe. Rest assured we won’t rest until finding the culprits.”

“Ahaha, thanks. Good luck finding them.”

*t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t* Was heard from the closet.

“What is that?” Mother said scared. Stepping in front of me.

“Stay back Lady Rachel. I’ll take care of this.” William re-entered the room.

What should I do? If they find her she will probably be executed… She might even have a panic attack before that… Like a hare or a deer… She wouldn't die of it right…? No… The possibility exists…

“It’s dangerous William! Wait for the guards to arrive!” I tried to win some time to think.

“I’ll be alright sir. It may not look like it but I am rightfully trained in martial arts.”

“Even so! They must be extremely capable to have entered the castle!”

“I appreciate your worries, but it’s my duty.”

There’s no options, I’ll have to fight and hope mother covers for me.

Once the closet door opens, I’ll have no choice.

A *Creeeeeaaaaak* signaled me to strike. And fortunately before I did, I noticed it was empty, she was nowhere to be found. So I started to count:

1

What if she cast the spell some seconds earlier?

2

How much? Two three?

3

I signal her to get out of the closet.

4

I signal her to get under the bed

5

William looks around.

6

Mother looks tense.

7

I hear the guards footsteps through the hall—heavy armour *clinking* tight.

8

“They were heard outside right? Have the guards already checked the roof?”

9...