The Hidden King's Stolen Wife-Chapter 33: Thieves

"How did you even make it in without getting caught?" Soleia asked as they reached the winding staircase at the end of the tunnel.

The wooden steps were small and uneven, and mold and moss had grown over them to create a slimy, slippery layer. Soleia held onto the railings with one hand, clutching for her dear life as she attempted to maneuver up without slipping and falling to her death.

On the other hand, Ralph was much more nimble. He walked up quickly and only stopped once in a while to wait for Soleia to catch up.

"It was easy to sneak past the old crook," Ralph said with a shrug. "She can barely see past her fingers and quite frankly, I am wondering if she can even hear properly at all."

Soleia wrinkled her nose. She knew for one thing that wasn’t true. After all, the old woman could easily see who she was under the hood, as well as the fact that she was wearing a pair of selenite earrings, otherwise hidden by both the hood and Soleia’s long hair.

However, Soleia didn’t bother thinking too hard about how Ralph entered the underground passages. She was more worried about how they could leave.

There was a hatch above their heads at the top of the stairs. Ralph was in front, and he gave Soleia a look as he placed his hand on the door, to which the latter nodded once in affirmation. He pushed the door open, and the hinges creaked as it moved to reveal a small slit which Ralph used to peer into the store.

Once he was sure there was no one else present in the backroom, he fully opened the hatch and climbed out before reaching in to help Soleia out.

"Grab my hand," he said, offering his hand for Soleia to hold, but the latter merely stared at Ralph’s outstretched hand hesitantly.

"I... I can handle myself fine, Sir Ralph," Soleia said as she pinched her lips together. Her eyes flickered from the wound to his eyes. "You shouldn’t be putting too much pressure on that wound."

Ralph looked down at his bandaged hand and flexed his fingers. Then, he allowed his hand to drop back down to his side with a smile.

"What a shame," he said with a shrug. "And here I thought I had the perfect excuse to hold Your Highness’s hand once more."

Soleia could only roll her eyes at Ralph’s attempt at humor to break the tension. She held her skirt and climbed out of the basement, watching as Ralph swooped past her to close the door as soon as she was out.

The hatch was hidden behind rows of shelves, one of the reasons why Soleia hadn’t noticed it when she was first brought in by the old lady. Paired with the dim lighting, it blended perfectly into the shadows.

"This way."

Soleia gave the trap door one last look before she trailed carefully after Ralph’s footsteps.

The shop had amazing business outside, surprisingly. Even with their ears pressed against the door, Soleia and Ralph could make out the sounds of customers talking, along with the ring of the bell whenever someone entered or exited the store.

That was good news.

Soleia adjusted the hood of the cape she was wearing. As she did so, her hand was enveloped by a larger, warmer hand, causing her to inhale loudly in surprise.

"Pardon me, Your Highness," Ralph said. His face was hidden by the hood he wore, and Soleia was unable to discern the expression on his face. "But it might be best to stick close. We might need to run."

Soleia pursed her lips and nodded. She could feel her fingers start to turn clammy in Ralph’s hold, but instead of releasing his grip, he merely clutched onto her a little tighter, causing Soleia’s stomach to turn and jump.

Ralph pushed the door open just enough so that they could slip out once he was sure that there was no one looking. Once they were out, it was easy enough to see― the old woman was across the store, talking to a pair of customers, her back facing them. On the other hand, the clerk that Soleia had seen talking to the old woman just now was cleaning up a shelf for the newest shipment of crystals.

"They’re distracted," Ralph said, to which Soleia could only nod once.

Her head was absolutely pounding. Between the crystals shoved into her clothing and the ones in the store, her vision was starting to swirl. In fact, she thanked the heavens that Ralph was holding onto her hand so tightly. If not for that, her knees would’ve slammed into the floor with the waves of nausea that washed through her.

"Keep calm," Ralph said, not noticing how pale Soleia’s face had gotten.

They had already crossed half the store. A little more and they would be out. This last shelf had been the one Soleia was browsing before the old woman approached her. Rows and rows of glittering purple stones lined the shelves. Out of all of them, the amethysts caught Soleia’s attention once more.

"We must not raise suspicion―"

His words were stopped by the thud that echoed through the store. A clear quartz had rolled out of Ralph’s pant leg, the huge crystal causing so much commotion that nearby customers had stopped and turned their heads their way to see what had happened.

"Fuck," Ralph cursed under his breath, barely even audible, but no matter whether or not it was, the old woman already had her eyes on them.

"You!" she yelled, pointing a wrinkly finger at them. Her eyes zeroed in on the huge slab of clear quartz that had dropped to the floor, and her eyebrows shot up her forehead. Soleia could almost hear the cogs turning as the words flew out of the old woman’s mouth. "Thief! They’re thieves!"

More and more people turned to look. The old woman’s voice was raised so loudly that even some folks passing by outside turned to look into the store just to see what was going on.

Soleia’s head started to spin as she raised a hand to her head. Her lips parted as she started to gasp for air; her lungs felt oddly deprived, as though she was a fish out of water. No matter how much she breathed in, it did nothing to help the dizziness she felt.

"Princess, we need to― Princess?" Ralph called out, cutting himself short when he noticed Soleia slightly hunched over. "What’s wrong? Are you alright?"

"I don’t..." Soleia gasped. "I don’t feel so good..."

Before she could squeeze another word out, spots filled Soleia’s version as her knees buckled. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

"Soleia!"