Chapter 20 THE PLAN

• I find myself in a large mansion tending to one visitor to another. Most of them came with gifts. I don’t think I have received this many visitors before but I find it very entertaining. Mothers come with gifts of beautiful linens and apparel, and the men come bearing gifts of their kills and services. The young ones put up a show for me. I don’t think I have laughed this much in a long time. I thought my people will not accept me for disappearing and locking myself in the castle but no, they just missed me and I was happy to know that because I missed them too.
• It just started to get dark and everyone started returning home. Veronica is instructing the guards where the gifts should go. As usual, the linens and apparel will go to the orphanage and the kills are to be shared among the guards.
• I stand from my chair and walk to the window. I look past the trees and I notice the rocky hills. Father forbids anyone from climbing those hills because of how unstable the rocks are. People who climbed those hills are known to have fallen to their death. The rocks are always falling off into the sea.