She paused, wiping her eyes with her hands and blowing her nose on the back of her sleeve.

“Was the best thing that happened to me.

He was mean.” Mean.

Something about that word brought on a wave of déjà vu.

I remembered the time I’d heard it coming from the mouth of another ogre, that time I’d visited Brett in his cave.

He’d referred to female ogres as mean.

That was his excuse for always being a bachelor.

Hm.

Before I could think much more of Brett, Bella broke through my thoughts again.

“My daughter used to get scared sleeping alone, you know.

She always tried to creep into our room.

She was a naughty child.

And she did something very bad one day.

Stole a plate of food from the royal kitchens.

My husband crushed her up for it.

Didn’t want her bringing shame on our family.” “I’m glad he died,” I said.

“He was a monster.” Bella heaved a sigh.

I held my breath, wondering if she was going to continue talking.

As much as I was horrified by what Bella was telling me and my heart went out to her, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

Before when I was trying to drain her for information, she couldn’t tell me anything.

Now the woman won’t keep quiet.

But after ten minutes, she began snoring.

I heaved a sigh of relief.

Now the real work begins.

I pushed myself off the bed, making as little noise as possible, and padded across the room toward Bella.

Her snores grew louder by the second, and I hoped that she was a deep sleeper.

I knelt down on the floor next to her and looked over her heaving body.

I scanned her waist, looking for the key.

It wasn’t on the side of her that was facing me—her front—so, walking around her body, I crouched down on her other side.

The keys weren’t there either.

Where in the world… My heart sank as I caught sight of a glimmer of metal coming from her chest area.

I knelt closer over her to spot the tip of the keychain—lodged securely beneath her shirt.

Oh, great.

I’d been hoping that once she’d fallen asleep—depending on how deep a sleeper she was—I’d be able to unfasten the keys from her waist and let myself out.

I wasn’t sure how I would ever manage to dislodge them from their current position without her noticing.

I sat kneeling for several minutes, staring at the keys.

When she hadn’t stirred at all for ten solid minutes, I looked around the room for anything that could possibly help me.

My eyes fell on her knitting needles still lying on the table.

I crept over to them and slid one of them out of her scarf, then walked back over to Bella.

Holding my breath, I extended the needle, lowering it slowly and steadily beneath her shirt until its tip had slid through the chain.

My hands sweaty, I pulled up slightly to gauge just how lodged it was.

Since she was lying on her side, it was lodged well and good.

It didn’t budge an inch.

I needed to get her to turn over somehow.

If she was lying on her back it would probably be easier to pull out.

But how would I do that without waking her? It all depended on just how deep a sleeper she was… I walked over to the large cupboard in the corner.

I opened both doors, wincing as the wood creaked.

I cast a quick glance back to check that she hadn’t stirred from the sound.

She hadn’t.

I scanned the shelves.

My eyes fixed on a light silk shawl.

I pulled it off the shelf and crept back over to her.

Standing directly over her, I dangled the shawl down over her, letting the very tip of the shawl brush against the tip of her nose.

She was still at first, but as I applied a little more pressure, her nose wrinkled and she reached up a hand to scratch it away.

My mouth went dry as I expected her to open her eyes.

She didn’t.

I continued tickling her face gently.

She brushed it away a few times with her hands, but eventually, she shifted position and lay on her back.

Once she was safely snoring again, I discarded the shawl and picked the needle up again.

I lowered it beneath her shirt again and lifted the key chain.

It was looser this time.

I inched it upward slowly, watching her face for any sign of a reaction.

I’d just managed to remove it and was lifting it back up toward me when she swiped her hand, sending the keys clanging to the floor.

I froze, barely daring to breathe.

She didn’t react.

It seemed that it hadn’t been loud enough to pierce through her snores, which had resumed again.

I picked up the keys from the floor and, watching her closely, moved toward the front door.

I breathed out deeply as I reached it.

I examined each of the keys.

There were almost a dozen of them on this single chain.

I tried to figure out which one would fit into this lock.

I started with the longest key.

It didn’t work.

I made my way through the whole keychain.

I was beginning to have a horrible feeling that perhaps the key wasn’t even here, and was tucked in some other part of her body, when the second-to-last key worked.

The door clicked open.

My blood pounding in my ears, I clutched the knob and was about to turn it when Bella spoke suddenly.

“Hey!” I froze, turning around slowly.

I was expecting to see her standing, having finally heard the clanking of my keys as I’d tried to open the door.