THE LUNA CHOOSING GAME - Season 5 Episode 10

That night, I left Elva with the nanny, and met with Nicholas, Julian, and Veronica in one of the sitting rooms. “Why are we meeting here?” I asked as I entered the room. “Wouldn’t it be easier to meet near the royal family wing?” “It would be, if that’s where Joyce was,” Julian said. I blinked, surprised. Julian stuffed shook his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He didn’t seem likely to explain so I looked to Nicholas instead. It was so nice to see Nicholas without his Bridget shadow. I wondered what he had to do to escape her for this long. But he didn’t say, and I didn’t ask. I wanted to enjoy him on his own for as long as I could, without bringing Bridget into it. Plus, talking about her in front of Julian would hurt him. “Joyce isn’t in his rooms,” Nicholas said, bringing me back to the matter at hand.

I pulled my brow together. “Then where is he?” “He’s in the dungeons,” Julian said finally. Now I was even more surprised. A direct member of the royal family locked in the dungeons? It seemed so unheard of. Sure, that’s where they had put Terry, but he’d never been a true royal by blood. Only his relation to his sister kept him close enough to gain the royal benefits. Joyce was a prince, the son of the King. Nicholas must have seen my confusion. “He kept trying to escape.” “Don’t worry,” Julian said. “His cell is not like you are imagining.” I didn’t know how Julian knew what I was imagining, but… yeah, I was imagining something pretty bad. Dark and cold with water dripping down and a bucket for the bathroom. Dirt floors. A straw bed. Maybe chains connecting him to the walls. “You’ll see,” Nicholas said. He held out his arm for me, and I slid my arm through his.

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Julian did the same for Veronica, who seemed lost in thought. I wasn’t sure she was even listening to our previous conversation. Though from her plainer-than- usual clothes, it was likely she had already guessed where we were going. +15 BÔNUS As a group, we moved slowly and stealthily to the dungeons. We couldn’t sneak past the guards stationed at the dungeons, but when they say the princes with us, they waved us through. No, when we had been stealthy, it was mainly to avoid the cameras. The very last thing that we needed was the public wondering why two princes and two candidates were descending down into the dungeons. The dungeons were housed under the barracks where the guards stayed. We went down two flights of stairs before we went through another checkpoint and then entered the dungeon proper. It was nothing like the medieval torture rooms I had imagined. No, this facility was entirely… modern. Cameras and clean concrete floors, and glass everywhere. The doors were metal, but there were no bars. Guards patrolled the hallways. Others were stationed in watch rooms with monitors that viewed every corner of this place. “This is his room here,” Nicholas nudged me as we passed. The room was empty presently, but… wow! It looked like a prince’s room: a plush bed, a wooden desk, and tall-back sitting chairs. Dozens upon dozens were sca ttered throughout. He had his own personal bathroom with a door. It was the nicest prison I’d ever seen, and so far beyond even the nicest thing I could think of. “He’s not there,” I said. “We moved him into one of the discussion rooms, in preparation of our visit,” Nicholas said. Discussion room seemed like a nice way of saying interrogation room. Farther down the hallway, the princes led us into a small room with a giant glass window on one side. In the room beyond the window, Joyce sat at a simple table, waiting.

“He can’t see us in here,” Nicholas said. “But we can see himn. We can stay here and watch, if Veronica needs our help.”