Chapter Nine - The Play Begins (Part One)
Felix watched from a window in the airship that allowed a view down on the theatre seating. Thousands of people were now seated or in the designated standing area, the higher classes sat in the box seats that were raised above the main grandstand of seating while the main citizenry of Brimshare pilled into the small seating areas.
"It seems all of Brimshare has come to watch…" Felix suggested to Hurin who stood nearby, leaning against the wall, he was busy checking over a new sharp sabre that he'd found somewhere in the ship, Hurin believed he might need it before the night was out...
"Must likely" Hurin replied unconcerned, sheathing the wicked blade into his sheath. "And still many more to arrive I imagine, the play won't start until the royal family arrives and they'll still be some time before they show."
"Hmm" Felix murmured looking out at the milling crowds, his stomach clenched and he felt his leg trembling somewhat, was this excitement or fear? He groaned aloud.
"You need to focus yourself." Talim's voice sounded, Felix turned to see the young woman walk in followed by Cassandra, both had put on black robes over their normal dress so as to better blend in with the night.
"I'm trying…" Felix managed. "I'm just, apprehensive."
"Don't worry." Cassandra replied smiling but Felix could see that she her hands were clenched. "We'll do fine."
"Enough, we still have time to go over the plan one more time." Hurin briskly put in which Talim nodded. "Agreed, so we should, it will help better prepare us."
"Right" Hurin nodded. "Once the play starts which it will do shortly we shall leave the airship through the back entrance and infiltrate the castle, with the maps provided by Captain James we'll enter through the west gate of the castle which will be easiest."
"What about guards?" Felix asked. "I know all the guards are likely to be around here but there will be some there surely."
"Leave them to me." Talim replied confidently.
"Once we four have entered the castle we'll proceed towards the royal balcony from which the family watch, we will wait outside the box for a servant to pass bringing drinks, we will quietly render him prone, slip these pills into the princesses wine and then one of us (either myself or Cassandra depending on the servants sex) will deliver them to the royal box and then smoothly leave."
"What are the drugs effects?" Cassandra asked. "Its not going to kill her or anything is it?"
"No, no." Hurin shook his head. "It'll give her a laxative effect forcing her to excuse herself and then the sleeping draught will kick in shortly afterwards and then we simply take the crystal from her sleeping body and slip back to the theatre ship, once the play finishes we shall take off and be in Cartilge in two days, easy right!"
"At least you make it sound easy…" Felix groaned. "There are sooo many things that could go wrong."
"Relax." Hurin grinned suddenly. "This'll be fun."
The time had come.
Sara moved down the castle corridor once more followed by Galamore, she walked as gracefully as she had been taught and held her head high, she approached the double doors flanked by two elite royal Brimshare guards who opened the door for her as she walked out onto the royal viewing balcony.
The balcony protruded out over the curtain wall of the castle allowing a perfect view onto the theatre grounds below it, already the entire theatre seating was full of the citizens of Brimshare and as she entered she heard the roar of their voices in approval.
Walking steadily she moved down a small flight of stone steps to sit in a large ornate seat, Galamore took up station standing next to her, watching ever vigilant, she saw his lip curl at the sight of so many people, he never had loved the common man.
Sara looked to her right to an even more ornate chair which would be for the queen, she waited patiently, she would show shortly.
Indeed it was only a few moments before four heralds walked onto the balcony behind her carrying burnished golden instruments of brass. Rising them to there lips they blew the short, sharp announcing cry of the Queen.
Sara rose to her feet as below the entire stage audience, many tens of thousands of people also rose to their feet as silence reigned.
The music finished and the heralds stepped to one side as the doors opened once more and Queen Viola Lightby stepped onto the balcony and gracefully walked down the stone steps to her chair.
Approaching forty years she was tall and graceful dressed in a ornate golden gown, the crystal circlet crown of Brimshare adorning her head, her long black hair was streaked with silver and her face was lined but straight, she was getting old and she was also getting harder, she had lost a lot of weight since the kings death and it showed in the slight gauntness in her face.
General Helen Richards walked slightly behind her, dressed in a similar gaudy dress armour as Galamore but it fitted her so much better, possibly the youngest knight ever to win the position of general and head of the Queensguard in the entire history of Brimshare, her skill with both blade and elements was legendary. She carried herself as perfectly as the queen, long blond hair falling black over an extravagant white cape emblazoned with the crest of House Ivy, she was not yet twenty-five yet Sara admired how hard she worked and how she constantly strove to improve herself despite the fact that many belived she had already reached the peak of swordmanship.
The Queen stood in front of her chair and carefully sat down folding her arms as behind her Helen took up an identical standing position to Galamore on the other side of the box, her eyes flickering over everything. Down in the theatre seating the rest of the audience sat, now all eyes went to the theatre airships three tiers. In the top two the sets of the play were drawn up and in the bottom pit a full orchestra from the ship was sitting ready to begin.
Finally a lone figure walked onto the top stage, he was a big beefy man dressed in elaborate green showy robes, a golden crown sat astride his head, he moved slowly and deliberately to the centre of the stage and turned to face the audience, he then bowed, looked up the royal box and bowed again. When he spoke his words were amplified by the theatre ships interior so his words could be easily heard all the way up in the royal box.
"Yes I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve, but I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you the illusion that has the appearance of truth; I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion..."
"...To begin with I turn back time, I reverse it to that quaint period, before the great war, before the breaking of the world when in the city of Lenrius (that no longer exists) was in its heyday, a time when its king ruled over them with justice and wisdom but this was all to change when a princess one day stumbled upon a passing peasant boy in the streets one day…"
"Mother you look lovely this evening." Sara quietly complimented her; she knew the lines of the intro off by heart anyway.
"Quiet." Her mothers tone cut like steel. "Watch the play."
"Yes mother." Sara replied turning away, her mother had changed over the last two years, once she had been full of light and laughter, now she was as iron and steel, firm and unyielding, what had happened to her?
"…Therefore our tale begins that very evening when the princess of this small city did flee from the castle building seeking adventure and romance and getting far more then she bargained…" The man bowed again and slowly walked away as a solemn music chant began in the orchestral pit as the first actors moved onto the stage as the play began.
Down in the aft-section of the Elemental Rain the group heard the music strike up.
"That's our signal, let's go." Felix urged.
They were all assembled at the back of the ship ready to go, Hurin carried his sabre and Talim her metal tonfa's but he and Cassandra were unarmed, hopefully he reflected they would not need to rely on force of arms for this mission.
A crewman stood by the ships rear exit hatch, on seeing them ready he turned the handle fully round and pushed open the hatch.
"Good luck to you!" He said softly. "Remember when you come back knock on this hatch three times, I'll be waiting for you, don't be late, we can't wait for you longer then necessary."
"Don't worry." Hurin nodded as he went past stepping out into the night. "We'll be back before the second act ends."
Felix wished he shared his confidence.
The four of them stepped out onto the grass, behind them the massive airship rested; preventing view from where at the other end the opening act of the play was under way.
Hurin led the way, moving quickly across the grass onto a nearby deserted street illuminated by soft glowing ambient streetlights, they moved away from the theatre ship along the castles low curtain wall, round the corner towards where a gatehouse allowing access to the castle was.
Hurin led the way, ever alert, following him Talim moved swiftly and silently, then Cassandra and Felix tried as best they could to mimic the other two's more professional stealth moves.
It took a while before they finally saw the gatehouse, luckily the gate was raised but Felix spotted two guards, one either side, both holding long spears glinting in the moonlight.
Hurin stopped and the others drew up alongside. "Talim are you sure you'll be alright?" Cassandra asked.
Talim stepped forwards, Felix guessed the guards would just think her a young girl out for a walk so it was unlikely they were going to realise what they were up against.
"Just wait here for a moment." Talim for her part replied confidently moving forwards down the street towards the gatehouse.
The group watched in baited breath as Talim strode down the street until she came level with the gatehouse, then she moved towards the gate and walked up to one of the guards as if to ask a question.
The guards did not seem to consider her a threat or anything and remained ill at ease as Talim moved up to the closest one…and jammed her right elbow straight up into the helmeted head sending the guard crashing backwards. Before the other guard could even lower his spear Talim had leapt over to him and backhanded the guard with the flat of one tonfa, even with his helmet on the guard was sent crashing back to the ground.
Talim turned and beckoned them over.
The three moved to join her, Cassandra bending down to look at one of the fallen guards. "Is he…?"
"No he's not dead." Talim replied. "We don't want to kill anyone tonight if we can help it, dead people get more attention that living ones, help me hide the bodies." She indicated a set of convenient bushes inside the castle walls.
After all four of them had worked together to heave the heavily armoured men into the thick bushes, once confident they were well hidden they moved forwards towards the silent castle building.
It was an amazing building, like a solid bock of stone it rose up into the sky, inside were dozens of floors and at the top was the massive crystal tower of the castle, getting to the queens royal balcony was going to be hard.
"Right" Hurin stopped them; he pointed towards a small wooden door in the castle building. "If we enter through there all we need to do is keep on walking north, take every staircase we find and we should come to the royal box in a few moments."
"So sure…" Cassandra mumbled.
"What about people inside the castle, guards, servants, what about them?" Felix asked worriedly, his heart was still beating ten to the dozen.
"Servants and the like we just need to walk confidently past, they're not told to question strangers with a purpose." Hurin replied echoing James's words earlier on the Elemental Star. "Guards we should try and avoid but if we have no choice just act confidently and walk right past them."
"Right" Talim nodded her agreement.
"As easy as that huh…" Felix mumbled again but a look from Hurin made him fall silent.
"Right lets go!" Talim urged. "I can't see anyway in the courtyard, lets make a run for the door, it's the servant's entrance and they'll all be busy right now so we should be fine."
Nodding in agreement they dashed at a run towards the door.
"Yes i have tricks in my pocket..." - If any one recognised this its from, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, i'm not sure why i used thi :P i have to write a coursework essay on this tho :(