The night was tranquil as the pale princess, Maria Blanca, hopped along a specific hallway inside the palace. She was singing and joyful, for she was done early with her chores. As she looked up at the sky, the moon was on its waning gibbous phase, and he was bright, grinning down on the princess as if he was wooing her to ease down.
"Good tidings, my handsome moon! Tomorrow is the day!" she told the heavenly being, giggling, since the day after would be her birthday. It has been a tradition that she and the servants would bake apple cake, and her mind was spinning at the thought—now she could not contain her excitement.
As she went on trotting and singing in the long hallway, one large door seemed to be tempting her, calling out her name as its voice tingled the insides of her ear. It was large and made with the finest bronze with intricate details carved on it. Since she was a little girl, she marveled at those details, trying to decipher the hidden story in its imagery. Maria Blanca then remembered that the door her attention lingered on was the door that led to her father's quarters. She had never been inside her father's quarters—in fact, she was forbidden. Her chances to pay a little visit had become a will-o'-the-wisp since the passage was now chained and locked with the keys nowhere to be found.
She moaned at such a sad thought, nevertheless, it did not stop her from moving closer and touching the large chain that snaked on its handles.
"What is the sneaky mouse doing here?" The pale princess was startled to see Lord Waldebert, the queen's adviser, walking towards her. "Good evening, my princess."
"Go—good evening, Lord Waldebert! I—I was just looking at the carvings on this door." She cheekily smiled at him.
Out of the blue, the adviser raised one hand and gently caressed Maria Blanca's cheek, prompting a faint blush and a cumbersome feeling in the air. The princess froze and was completely maimed by his unforeseen affection.
"You are really beautiful." His voice softened, eyeing her face with underlying eagerness. "Tomorrow is your birthday, am I right? Ah, you are becoming a fine lady."
"Tha—thank you, my lord." She responded humbly while trying to hide the shiver in her throat.
There was stillness for a moment. The sound of the evening was becoming clamorous when Waldebert's eyes could not stop staring at Maria Blanca's face. His hand remained cupping her face, which did not help the poor princess's uneasiness.
Noticing the faint color on her cheeks and the little quiver she made when he pinched her cheeks, he chuckled and lowly said, "Since you will be ten-and-eight years old tomorrow, any potential creature who caught your heart by now?"
Maria Blanca's golden eyes widened. There was something in Lord Waldebert's smile that sent shivers down her spine. She did not understand the emotion, but when he moved his hand away from her face, she felt relieved, letting out a soft sigh between her rosy lips.
"I do not understand what you mean, my lord?" Her face shied away from his growing fiery sight when she asked him.
Lord Waldebert laughed, pinched the other side of her cheeks, and said, "What I mean is, does my little princess now eyeing someone for marriage? You are now blooming into a full woman when the dawn breaks."
The pale princess shook her head sideways. "No, my lord. I—that thought never occurred to me."
"I see… Well, it will occur soon enough. Good night, my princess." The adviser took her hand and kissed her palm before he bowed and left.
Once he blended into the shadows, he curved an eerie smile again and vowed, "You will soon be mine, princess. Sooner than you think."
Left bewildered under the moonlight, Princess Maria Blanca breathed heavily and frantically calmed herself as if she had come from a long marathon. Her heart was racing—pounding in her chest and her ears, and her mind felt a little repulsed from what just happened. Lord Waldebert's gaze, uncanny laugh, and how he talked had imprinted an unfavorable guise in her core. She knew not what to comprehend, but she did sense something odd, and she hoped that the thoughts running through her head were nothing but imaginings of a free-spirited girl.