45

The morning came swiftly.

Sephora and the queen were restless in the room as they knew it was time to go to the courtroom. The air was so tensed between them, especially for Sephora, who knew she was in bigger trouble than the queen.

The previous night, she had gone to the cell to speak to Louise about it, but seeing that she was placed together with the other tutors, she couldn't bring it up as that would make the rest of them know she was behind it. She felt trapped and doomed.

"My queen, what do we do?" Lines of worry etched her forehead. "What if Louise exposes me in the courtroom? It will be very bad for my image."

The queen's hands were tied. Last night, she had gone to the King again to talk him into letting the tutors go, but the King seemed angry as well and wanted to know if Masha was truly innocent. As a matter of fact, her persistence was beginning to make the king suspicious.

For a long time, she was silent and didn't know what to say. Then, taking a deep breath, she