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Chapter 8
Vayle
The carriage stuck a little on the road among people going to the fair, and Nocté and Agnes got to the king's castle late in the evening when the masquerade ball began. The girl was the only late guest.
The servant met them at the main entrance and intended to escort them to the ballroom, but under Agnes’ icy gaze, he faded away and asked nervously, trembling from something:
“Would the lady like to refresh herself up?” he stretched out his hands to the valises, which the coachman thoughtfully helped to carry, and returned to the horses.
“Of course! We were on the road all day! What kind of servants does His Majesty have? Who do you think you've met now? A low-born philistine? Come on, show me the way to the apartments, my dear,” Agnes stamped her foot, and the servant heard a crunch, as if something had broken in the old woman.
Muttering apologies, he led them through the dimly lit corridors, puffing from
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Nocté scratched her foot and winced in pain. A great deal of time has passed since the sorcery, but she still walks on the ground as if on glass shards. Every step is a torture.“Sister was right. I put too much at stake and bit the dust. Why am I not as far-sighted as you, Erida?” The strange gulls’ behavior circling over the black reef attracted girl's attention. The birds attacked something hidden from Nocté's eyes, carrying away some pieces in their beaks. Putting the pain aside, the girl ran out of the bedroom, slid down the spiral staircase past Agnes carrying clean linen and got to the first floor. The maid shouted something behind her, but Nocté didn’t hear.“Maybe there was a shipwreck somewhere nearby and the victim was washed up on the rocks? Or was it a monster that attacked?” Almost colliding with a cook holding a huge basket of fresh seafood, the girl ran down the st
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