As it turned out, Maria indeed knew a way to get me out of the castle. We didn’t leave immediately, however. Four guards had been placed at the door, to ensure that I wouldn’t receive any guests or be able to leave.
Only Maria was allowed in, and even so, it had to be because she was bringing me food. Knowing that she decided to bring me six different meals, each one separately.
"How could she possibly eat all that?" one of the guards asked when Maria returned for the sixth time. "No one can eat all this food you’ve been bringing and live to tell the tale."
"Is there a horse inside the prince’s chambers that we don’t know of?" another guard asked before they all broke into laughter.
Maria said something I couldn’t hear, and soon the doors swung open and she walks in carrying another
