Chapter 2: Anne’s Resolve

“That takes care of that, and then...” Anne looked around. Her shoulders fell, and she let out a deep sigh. “I...guess I’m done.”

Having finished preparing the last of the greens according to Nina’s instructions, she no longer had any more work to do. She’d never imagined she’d be left alone on an uninhabited island. Wholly unprepared for this scenario, she had no idea what she was supposed to do now.

“I wish milady was here. That way I could at least keep busy. There’s so much I could do for her...”

Their current environment was a harsh one, and she desperately wished she could perform some preemptive care routines to shield Mia’s hair and skin from the elements. In fact, it had taken all of her restraint to keep from fussing over them constantly. When it came to maintaining Mia’s beauty, Anne spared no hassle.

“I do wonder, though... Where in the world did Lady Esmeralda go?”

Personally, she wasn’t particularly fond of Esmeralda, but she certainly wished no harm on her either. Malice just wasn’t in Anne’s nature, and she honestly hoped that they’d find her safe and sound—all the more so because even Mia, despite her frequent grumbling, still treated Esmeralda as a friend. The girl’s whereabouts were, therefore, a cause of concern for her.

“...Could she really have just wandered into the forest?”

But there was one question that Anne had been mulling over ever since they’d discovered that Esmeralda was gone.

“I mean, it’s Lady Esmeralda... Could she even have left this cave on her own?”

Everyone had just assumed offhand that she’d gone out of the cave.

“She didn’t really seem like the type to be brave enough to wander around in a forest by herself...” she murmured pensively.

Recklessness and boldness went hand in hand. After all, a certain amount of courage was needed before one could engage in a rash act. Even if Esmeralda had thrown a tantrum and stormed out, would she have headed into the forest? Alone? At night? Did she really have the guts?

“If it was milady, maybe...but her? I just can’t see her doing something like that.”

Mia could be a bit of a chicken sometimes, but when push came to shove, she definitely had the courage to step forward into darkness, no matter how scary it seemed. Or so Anne believed, anyway. The truth was another matter. What she didn’t believe, however, was in Esmeralda’s ability to do the same, which necessarily led to one conclusion...

If she was nowhere to be found, but she hadn’t left the cave, then...

“She must still be in here somewhere...”

The first thought that came to Anne was that Esmeralda was hiding, secretly watching everyone lose their heads over her disappearance and having a jolly ol’ time. It fit the image of the stuck-up noble girl so well, in fact, that Anne was almost sure she was right and felt a wave of honest irritation roll through her. A thorough search of the premises, however, revealed no snickering Esmeraldas.

“She really isn’t here then...”

She looked again for good measure, examining every nook and cranny near the entrance, but to no avail. It wasn’t a difficult search either. While the cave opened up a little past the initial opening, there were few places that could hide a person. Figuring Esmeralda must have gone outside, she was just about to give up when another thought occurred to her.

“Could she...have gone deeper into the cave? And gotten stuck there?”

Things began to fit together in her mind as if she’d happened upon a missing piece of a puzzle. Instead of venturing outside into the darkness of the forest, wandering further into the cavern where everyone slept seemed more plausible. The latter was technically still the same place, offering a sense of security.

“She was told not to go any deeper in...but wanting to do the opposite of what you’re told is apparently a thing for high-ranking nobles...”

Anne was well aware that there were people of principle and integrity among the aristocracy, but the term “nobility” nevertheless conjured up images of brazenly conceited lords and ladies who paid no heed to the advice of others. Deciding to explore the cavern’s depths by herself in a fit of haughty indignation sounded exactly like the kind of foolhardy thing someone like Esmeralda would do.

“Either way, Mia and the others are already looking for her outside...”

Waiting here alone was by no means a pointless task, but it felt so...passive. Driven by a desire to be useful—to do something, anything, but sit around and wait while everyone else was out scouring the island—she squared her shoulders and stared at the entrance for a few seconds before finally whispering, “I can’t be twiddling my thumbs while they’re all out there looking for her.”

Resolve hardened within, and she launched into action. As a precaution, she scratched a message into the soil in case Esmeralda actually made her way back here. It would also let Mia and the others know where she was when they returned.

“Also, I’ll need a light source if I’m going deeper into the cave...”

She quickly trekked down to the beach where they’d set up the smoke signals and took the remainder of the thick branches that had been used to perch the cooking pot above the fire. Using a length of ivy she found in the forest, she tied a couple of them together into a bundle, then stuffed dry leaves and thinner twigs with more resin into one end. The ivy had been too thick to use as a fishing line, but it came in handy for keeping bundles of wood together. Soon, she had herself a makeshift torch.

“Now, all I have to do is light it...”

She hadn’t expected much, figuring it’d be fine as long as it produced some light, but her improvised creation turned out well, burning with a strong, steady flame. With the torch in hand, she returned to the cave. As she stepped into its deeper recesses, however, its glow suddenly seemed a lot weaker and less reassuring than before. The wavering light from the meager flame was all but swallowed up by the overwhelming darkness. Her grip tightened around her torch, but she pressed forward.

“She’s milady’s friend...” she reminded herself. “I have to look for her...”

The inside of the cavern was winding and uneven, filled with twists and turns and slopes of all sizes. There were passages so small she had to crawl to get through. There were also spaces so large she couldn’t touch the ceiling even if she jumped. Eventually, she came to an area with stalactites hanging down like icicles. The path forward narrowed, and she couldn’t tell where it led.

“It looks like it’s downhill though... If I go down there, I probably won’t be able to get back up...”

Before her was a steep incline descending into the bowels of the earth. Looking down, she found nothing but darkness. Figuring this was as far as she could go, she turned back. And then immediately spun back around, her eyes having caught a glimpse of something strange during the initial turn. There, near the top of the incline, hanging just close enough to reach if she stretched out her arm, was half a stalactite, its exposed cross-section suggesting the lower end had broken off.

“This...”

She leaned forward a little and examined the broken end. There were plenty of similar rock formations nearby, but only this one had lost its tip. The missing fragment was nowhere to be seen on the ground.

“This looks like it was in the perfect spot to hold on to... If someone grabbed it and tried to...”

She imagined herself leaning forward further to peer down the slope.

“Oh no... If she fell from here... I need to let everyone know.”

Just as she was about to turn back, there was a deafening crack, followed by the sound of tumbling rocks.

“Waaaaaah!”

She screamed and squatted down, bracing as she threw her hands over her head. No impact came. After a few seconds of silence, she gingerly looked up, shielding her nose and mouth from the dust with her sleeve. As she picked up her torch and raised it again, she found that the path she’d taken to come here was now blocked by a wall of rock.

“Oh no...”

She gulped. A flurry of thoughts sped through her mind. She was stuck here. She might never get out. She could die here. She would never see her family again. But one thought stood out more than all the others.

Milady... I won’t be able to serve her anymore... She’s done so much for me, and I haven’t even begun to repay her...

Her vision blurred with tears.

“Milady... Mia...”

The words left her as a pleading whisper.

“Mia...”

She spoke her mistress’s name like a prayer. Then, she stopped, closed her eyes, and drew in a deep, trembling breath.

“I need to calm down... I’m Princess Mia’s personal maid.”

Mia had said that she was her right hand and confidant. If she had even the slightest intention of living up to that claim, she couldn’t afford to give up so easily. Mia’s right hand wouldn’t sit here and cry to herself. It would stain the name of the Great Sage of the Empire.

“And more importantly...it would be an insult to all of Mia’s hard work.”

She brandished her torch again, pointing it forward. Its light shone not upon the solid footing of the tunnel behind her, but down the slope into the waiting darkness.

“I’ve come all this way... I might as well keep going.”

It was too early to give up and cry. She’d have plenty of time to do that at the end, when her life was flashing before her eyes.

“Wait for me, milady... I’ll find my way back...”

With that quiet whisper of resolve, she began sliding down the slope.

Little did Anne know, the cause of the cave-in was none other than her dear mistress.