Lost In Time Chapter 6:
"So do you know where we are going?" Sophie asked Wylie, hopping on his horse. They had just successfully stopped a group of bandits from raiding a food stand. Marella was right behind them with some food as repayment for saving the grateful family.
"Well one of the knights can take the group back to their barracks, but we are going to the palace." Sophie whipped her head around at that. "So that means we will get to see Fitz and Biana?!" Wylie and Marella shared a look. "If they let us in we might be able to," Wylie responded, "but it's impossible to get into the gates of the palace." Sophie nodded, trying to come up with an idea of how they could enter the palace gates. "Looks like we have to sneak in then." Wylie and Marella nodded. "You're finally thinking like me," Marella winked. "Let's go before it hits sunset though." Wylie yanked on the reigns, and off they went.
"Which path do we take?" Dex asked when Fitz came to two roads. To the left was a flat field, and to the right, it was covered in trees. "We have fifteen more minutes of daylight, so we need to take the one on the right," Fitz said. "It's quicker," he added when he saw Biana's sketchy face. As they neared the entrance, a pain in Biana's head emerged. "Turn back," a voice whispered. "You okay sis?" Fitz asked. "I'm fine, just keep going," she responded quickly. "No," the voice said again, "tell them to turn back. TURN BACK! TURN BACK!" The voice got louder and louder as they got deeper into the forest until Biana couldn't take it any longer. "TURN BACK! TURN BACK!" Biana screamed, clutching her head. Fitz and Dex frantically turned their horses around, galloping back to the entrance.
"Biana! Biana are you okay?!" Fitz asked, grabbing her hand. Dex pulled her closer to him and moved her hair out of her face. "I'm fine- I just want to go the other path. I don't know why I just got a bad feeling." Dex shrugged to Fitz, waiting for his reply. "Fine," he sighed, "but we just lost 5 minutes. We can't stop anymore." Fitz led them through the other pass, but no one noticed three hooded people intently watching them.
"What made that girl turn around, we had them in the palm of our hand." The second voice whispered, "be patient, for their time is almost up." The third one took out what looked like a tiny circle. "We found them, master." A voice chuckled. "Well obviously you found them, now kill them!" the voice shouted at them. "Don't worry, we have a plan," the first hooded person said. "We won't let you down, Alvar."
Biana wrapped herself under the covers. There had been too many weird things that had happened today. A good night sleep would do her some good. Just as she was about to slip into her dreams, a light knock came from her door.
"Come in," she muffled, covering her face with a pillow. Dex shuffled in, placing himself on the side of her bed. "What happened back there? When you told us to turn around, are you hiding anything?" Ugh, Biana hated it when he asked her things that she wanted to keep secret. It was no use to try and lie to Dex; he knew when she wasn't telling the truth. Taking the pillow off her face, she met his periwinkle eyes. She was prepared to tell him everything when Fitz came in with a guard. "Someone is trying to break into the palace. We need to go," he said, helping Biana up. Dex stopped Fitz. "I'll go with the guards to see who it is. If we know them, we don't want the guards to hurt them." Fitz hesitated. "That would be very unlikely, but you can try." Dex nodded and left with the guards, mentally praying that it was Sophie or someone.
"Why- is breaking- into a palace- so dang hard?" Marella wheezed, stopping to catch her breath. "Probably because they don't want people to actually break in," Sophie said, jumping down from the top of the fence. "We need to hurry though because I can't tell if it's just trees, or if a giant army is charging toward us." Wylie hopped down next to her. "Well they are getting closer, so it isn't trees." Pulling Marella and Sophie with him, they raced behind a tree. "At least it's dark, and no one can see us," Sophie thought to herself.
As they watched the army charge toward them, they didn't notice Dex slip behind them. "Fancy meeting you here," he said as the other three jumped in alarm. "Dex?" Marella said, squinting to try and make out the figure. Stepping closer they could barely make out his face. "Dex!" they yelled in unison, pulling him into a group hug. "How did you get here?!" Sophie said, not quite letting go of him.
"I was rescued by Fitz and Biana, but I'll tell you the full story later." He walked out behind the tree waving his arms. "It's all right, they're with me!" he yelled at the approaching army. They stopped at his command, but still eyed the intruders as Marella, Wylie, and Sophie shyly stepped out from behind the tree. After everything was explained, they were escorted to the palace. "Wait here," Dex told them, and went to go get Fitz and Biana. But he didn't need to, for the royal siblings were already sprinting down the palace stairs. "Sophie," Fitz whispered as she ran to hug him. Almost instinctively, she tied her hands in his smooth hair. "I'm glad you're okay," she said, hoping he didn't hear her voice crack. "Alright lovebirds, break it up," Marella laughed as Sophie and Fitz quickly pulled apart, blushing. "Biana," Sophie said, not meeting her eyes. "I'm glad your safe Sophie," she responded. Those words were sweet, but Sophie knew there was an emptiness to where the love should've been. Wylie broke the awkward tension by pulling everyone into a group hug. Even though he was tall and brooding, he was honestly just a giant teddy bear. The reunion was bittersweet since they were still missing Tam, Linh, and Keefe. "First thing tomorrow we will look for them," Fitz said as he sent them to their quarters. Everyone murmured in agreement. "We will find them. We will find her." Sophie said, putting a hand on Wylie's shoulder. He gave her a shy smile in response. "I really hope so." As everyone was escorted to their rooms, Biana stopped Sophie. "I mean it, Soph, I know things are rocky, but I'm glad your safe." Sophie smiled, "Me too B, me too." Biana smiled and walked away. Sophie could feel the tears form in her eyes. "That's the first time since the accident Biana has actually talked to me." she thought to herself.
It wasn't a secret that Sophie felt awful, she just wanted her best friend back. But it wasn't her fault. Alden was working along with the Neverseen, and when the council discovered that, they had ordered Sophie to complete the mind break. Biana had begged her not too, saying that Alvar had framed him. But Sophie hadn't listened when she should have. Alden was framed, and before Fitz had a chance to stop her, Alden was broken. Fitz had forgiven her rather quickly, but Biana still gave her the cold shoulder. Sophie felt the tears roll down her face. Maybe someday she could fix her and Biana's relationship, but for now, she had to work and find her other three friends.
"She's probably scared out of her mind." Wylie thought to himself, closing the door to his quarters. "Linh," he whispered, "if you're out there, I'm coming. I'm coming to rescue you."