32. The Plan

"You can't do this!" Lucy screamed at him. They had returned from horseback riding and had been arguing in the round table room for several minutes now over his 'plan.' Lucy wholeheartedly disagreed at his attempt to do the right thing.

"I can do anything I want, I'm the King." He argued back.

"King of arrogant jerks maybe." She said under her breath, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Come on Lucy, please just try to understand," he begged, "I'm doing this to protect you."

"Protect me? I don't need you're protection! I need to find my sister." She yelled at him, throwing her arms up in the air.

"We know where your sister is, she's with the enemy." He glowered at her. He couldn't help but grow frustrated with her.

"But she's just a kid. She doesnt know any better. We can't just leave her with those savages." Lucy rationalized. She couldn't just give up on Mary, she needed to help her. That's what big sisters do.

"Lucy, she's old enough to make her own decisions and obviously she's decided to side with them." Arthur argued. He couldn't justify putting the entire kingdom at risk over one misunderstood girl. It wasn't just her life at stake, but rather, potentially thousands of lives, and Arthur couldn't make that bet.

"I can't let you just kill her! That's my sister!" Lucy cried. Hot tears bubbled in her eyes and started streaming down her face. Everything was finally coming to a head and she couldn't stop the sudden overflow of emotions.

"And I can't just take her prisoner either. It would ruin any democratic relations within the mage community that I working on re-establishing. I'm sorry Lucy, I have no other choice. She is a direct threat to both you and this kingdom."

"Then I will deal with her myself. I appreciate your hospitality and your kindness, but I am no longer in need of it."

"Excuse me? What did you just say to me?" He asked, astounded at her audacity.

"Goodbye Arthur." She said with finality then immediately turned and started to walk the other way.

"Lucy, please come back here." He called out to her retreated form once he has stumbled out of his shock induced haze.

She didn't spare him the chance to hear him out any further, but rather kept walking. A small part of her hoped he would chase after her but a larger part knew he wouldn't. He probably didn't believe her, but even so Arthur Pendragon doesn't chase after girls, especially crazy ones like herself. She craved her independence too much and being stuffed up inside that castle had quickly become suffocating.

She went to her room, changed into the clothes she had received from the Academy, grabbed her coin purse and and bag to carry some supplies in and then headed to the library. When she got there she waz glad to find it empty. She didn't need anybody to know that she had been in here. She quickly and quietly went over to the familiar shelf and grabbed the book she had came for. She was a bit relieved as there was a chance Merlin would have taken his journal but as she assumed he was too respectful to remove it from its home in this library. Lucy, on the other hand, had no other choice. If she was going to bring her sister home she would need this journal to do it and she just hoped that she would be able to return it to it's rightful place back on the shelf. She quickly tucked the book into her satchel then head back for the library door until suddenly it opened. She quickly hid behind one of the shelves and carefully watched for the intruder. It was Mága.

Lucy watched the mage like a hawk, carefully keeping her body in the shadows. Mága slowly walked into the room until she arrived to the center and then just stopped and listened. It was a tense moment, Lucy was sure Mága would turn and see her any second.

"I know you are in here Lucy. Arthur told me everything. Please stop this nonsense and let us help you."

Lucy stayed deathly still and held her breath to be as quiet as possible. Mága seemed to be focusing on her senses, waiting for Lucy to slip up. Time ticked back at an excruciatingly slow pace and Lucy almost began to panic. She needed to get out of here without tipping the highly trained mage off to her position and well obviously Mága wasn't leaving anytime soon.

Think! Think! Think! Lucy's mind screamed at her.

The lack of oxygen was starting to have an effect on her as a headache began to form, her heart raced faster in her chest, and she could feel her cheeks heating as her brain screamed for her to breathe.

She needed to do something quick and soon. She carefully bent down and searched for anything and found a small pebble and grinned maniacally. Thankfully she didn't need a plan but rather just a simple distraction would be enough to get out of sight. She tossed the pebble across the room away from the doors and hastily made her way to the door, finally allowing herself to breathe again. As the pebble landed, making the slightest noise, Mága immediately turned toward it. Lucy checked to make sure Mága had her back turned to the entrance before hurrying out the door and getting as far away as possible. With one last stop to make, Lucy swiftly made it to the kitchen to snag some goods.

Thankfully the kitchen was mostly empty except for the main cook, Debora. She was much too busy preparing the next meal to notice Lucy's arrival. Lucy loaded her bag with some bread, smoked meats, and cheeses for her journey and grabbed the fresh apple tart off the counter. Waving goodbye to Debora, she dashed out the side door, and down too the stables. She was so close, yet so far away from breaking free and finding her sister.

She knew she should have done this much sooner, but have you ever tried to tell the king no? She shook her head, it was necessarily all Arthur's fault, she was afraid too. Afraid of what she might find. Her sister's betrayal wasn't easy to comprehend, more or less understand, but Lucy knew despite her feelings she needed to step up and the big sister she was supposed to be. She could berate herself all day about the matter but none of that actually helped find Mary, but at least a visit to Rowan the stable boy she would have a mode of transportation.

Lucy knocked on the barn door before entering quickly with a smile on her face to greet the adorable boy.

"Hello there Miss Lucy, it is so nice to see you twice in one day." The gleaming boy greeted her.

"T'is truly a special occasion. How long would it take to get Blizzard ready?"

"Oh, I don't know Miss Lucy. His Majesty has specifically requested that you only go out with an escort."

"Oh come now Rowan, do I look like the type of lady who needs an escort."

"No mam', but-"

"No buts, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself," she said sternly, then smiled at the boy, "But I'll even sweeten the pot a little for you if you let me go and keep this little secret between just you and I?" She offered, showing him the fresh apple tart. His eyes went wide and his jaw slacked. He nearly started drooling on the spot. Something as tasty and free wasn't readily available to the boy and Lucy knew she was taking advantage of that.

"You are quite proficient with a horse."

"Oo, I see you have been keeping up with your studies using big words like that." Lucy complimented the boy lovingly. She had grown accustomed to him and momentarily grew sad that she was lying to him so that she could leave, but she had no other choice. She needed to find her sister before Arthur and his Knights do.

"Thank you, I have been working very hard."

"And that hard work is paying off, allow me to reward you for being such a bright, kind, and trustworthy young man." She offered him the delicious dessert.

He greedily took it and stashed it away for later and Lucy chuckled at the little boy. He was cute and she could only imagine the type of man he would grow to be. Some lucky girl would take him as a husband and Lucy was sure she would probably cry with joy on his special day. She could only hope she would still know the boy then.

He helped her ready her horse and before she set off she hugged the boy and thanked him. She never made promises of returning soon as lying was too difficult, but she managed to reassure him that she would indeed return unharmed. They parted ways with sad smiles, both well aware of the chaos that would soon transpire.

Author's Note:

Hey guys! I'm still here. Sorry this is so late but work has been crazy, I've been working on other projects and I got sucked in really hard to Thanatos Triology by Devita33 (Available on Wattpad for Free) because it is so good. If you like Greek Mythology I totally recommend you check it out. It also has been inspirational as I development my plot deeper (especially for the re-write) and continue to understand the characters and their motivations more.

Anyways its late, I'm exhausted. I hope you enjoyed!

I love you all very much!

-Surviving (11/14)