After a few days locked in, Marina and I realized that the guards had a sort of soft spot for the two of us, though they would try to hide it, and it was easy to get what we wanted. I leaned up against the door.
"I'm so hungry!" I whined. Marina, being my twin, caught on.
"Miriel, be patient. You know as well as I do that we can't have our favorite foods whenever we want when there's a war going on," she said loud enough for the guards to hear through the door. "We'll just have to wait for tonight for food."
"But that's so long to wait!" I protested. "And I'd much rather have fresh rabbit."
"One rabbit's not enough to fill you up," Marina pointed out.
"Well there is a war going on, so I picked something that would hardly take any effort," I said.
"Don't get used to this," I heard the guard's muffled voice through the door. "This is a one-time thing." Marina and I grinned slyly at each other, knowing very well that it wasn't a one-time thing if we didn't want it to be. I felt slightly guilty for manipulating the guards like that; they were sweet, but this is what you get when you force me into my room like this. A few minutes later, the guard opened the door and dropped a rabbit on the floor. I feigned surprise.
"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed. "I never expected you to do this, thank you! You're so kind, thank you!" Satisfied with the number of thank-yous, I watched carefully to see his response. His smile was so brief that if I wasn't actively looking for it I wouldn't have noticed, yet it was full of kindness. He quickly replaced it with a serious disapproving face.
"Don't get used to it, Your Highness," he said and left. I ate the rabbit then looked at Marina.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked.
"Of course I am. I'm your twin, remember?" Marina said.
"Just making sure," I said. "So what do you think of my plan?"
"Idiotic, riddled with holes, almost guaranteed not to work," she said. "What? What 'holes'?" I asked, offended.
"The guards aren't that stupid. They'd notice if we distracted them like that."
"Well, how do we get out, then?"
"We need outside help."
"From whom?"
"You know who," Marina said slyly.
"Really?" I said, catching on. "Why him?"
"You know he'd do anything for you." I rolled my eyes and sighed. My twin was referring to Koorshi, who was the Ice Prince, and just so happened to be the one I was betrothed to. I'd heard about princesses and princes making a fuss about having an arranged marriage, but really I didn't see the problem. I'd known since birth that I would have an arranged marriage, and out of all the suitors I was presented Koorshi seemed like the best one.
Koorshi, I called out to him with my mind. I had taught him a while ago how to communicate via telepathy. Koorshi, can you hear me?
Miriel? What is it? Koorshi replied.
I'm locked in my room and need your help getting out.
What do you want me to do?
Get the guards away from my door and keep them away while I get out.
Got it.
"He's coming?" Marina asked and I nodded. About an hour later I heard Koorshi and the guards talking.
"Who are you and what do you want?" one of the guards said.
"I'm Koorshi and there's something you need to see," Koorshi said.
"You're the princess's betrothed?" the second guard asked.
"Yes."
"We can't go anywhere. Our orders are to guard the princesses," the first guard said sternly.
"That's why I'm here," Koorshi insisted. "The two girls in that room aren't the princesses. They're imposters."
"Imposters? That's ridiculous."
"It's the truth. Bring them out here and check," Koorshi said and the door clicked unlocked. I used more Psychic Dragon Magic than I needed to make them think the bracelet around my foreleg had blue gems instead of purple so that the guards would sense a larger illusion, rather than the small illusion it really was. Marina did the same, but she made her bracelet have purple gems instead of blue.
"There's definitely an illusion here," one of the guards said and the other nodded.
"Big enough to disguise an entire dragon," he said. "So, Koorshi, where do you think the real princesses are?" the first guard asked. "Follow me, and I'll take you there," Koorshi said. The guards roughly pushed us back into our room and locked the door again.
"When we get back you'll go straight to the dungeon," one said through the door.
"And the penalty for pretending to be a Royal Dragon is death," the other growled, and I heard the three of them leave. We stopped our illusions.
"They're gone," Marina said. "Hurry up and bust the lock." I took a deep breath and blew fire on the lock, melting it. I opened the door and the two of us snuck out of the palace, carefully avoiding any guards or servants that might see us.
"Okay," I said once we were in the clear. "Now to General Bloodfang's camp."
"I'm so hungry!" I whined. Marina, being my twin, caught on.
"Miriel, be patient. You know as well as I do that we can't have our favorite foods whenever we want when there's a war going on," she said loud enough for the guards to hear through the door. "We'll just have to wait for tonight for food."
"But that's so long to wait!" I protested. "And I'd much rather have fresh rabbit."
"One rabbit's not enough to fill you up," Marina pointed out.
"Well there is a war going on, so I picked something that would hardly take any effort," I said.
"Don't get used to this," I heard the guard's muffled voice through the door. "This is a one-time thing." Marina and I grinned slyly at each other, knowing very well that it wasn't a one-time thing if we didn't want it to be. I felt slightly guilty for manipulating the guards like that; they were sweet, but this is what you get when you force me into my room like this. A few minutes later, the guard opened the door and dropped a rabbit on the floor. I feigned surprise.
"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed. "I never expected you to do this, thank you! You're so kind, thank you!" Satisfied with the number of thank-yous, I watched carefully to see his response. His smile was so brief that if I wasn't actively looking for it I wouldn't have noticed, yet it was full of kindness. He quickly replaced it with a serious disapproving face.
"Don't get used to it, Your Highness," he said and left. I ate the rabbit then looked at Marina.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked.
"Of course I am. I'm your twin, remember?" Marina said.
"Just making sure," I said. "So what do you think of my plan?"
"Idiotic, riddled with holes, almost guaranteed not to work," she said. "What? What 'holes'?" I asked, offended.
"The guards aren't that stupid. They'd notice if we distracted them like that."
"Well, how do we get out, then?"
"We need outside help."
"From whom?"
"You know who," Marina said slyly.
"Really?" I said, catching on. "Why him?"
"You know he'd do anything for you." I rolled my eyes and sighed. My twin was referring to Koorshi, who was the Ice Prince, and just so happened to be the one I was betrothed to. I'd heard about princesses and princes making a fuss about having an arranged marriage, but really I didn't see the problem. I'd known since birth that I would have an arranged marriage, and out of all the suitors I was presented Koorshi seemed like the best one.
Koorshi, I called out to him with my mind. I had taught him a while ago how to communicate via telepathy. Koorshi, can you hear me?
Miriel? What is it? Koorshi replied.
I'm locked in my room and need your help getting out.
What do you want me to do?
Get the guards away from my door and keep them away while I get out.
Got it.
"He's coming?" Marina asked and I nodded. About an hour later I heard Koorshi and the guards talking.
"Who are you and what do you want?" one of the guards said.
"I'm Koorshi and there's something you need to see," Koorshi said.
"You're the princess's betrothed?" the second guard asked.
"Yes."
"We can't go anywhere. Our orders are to guard the princesses," the first guard said sternly.
"That's why I'm here," Koorshi insisted. "The two girls in that room aren't the princesses. They're imposters."
"Imposters? That's ridiculous."
"It's the truth. Bring them out here and check," Koorshi said and the door clicked unlocked. I used more Psychic Dragon Magic than I needed to make them think the bracelet around my foreleg had blue gems instead of purple so that the guards would sense a larger illusion, rather than the small illusion it really was. Marina did the same, but she made her bracelet have purple gems instead of blue.
"There's definitely an illusion here," one of the guards said and the other nodded.
"Big enough to disguise an entire dragon," he said. "So, Koorshi, where do you think the real princesses are?" the first guard asked. "Follow me, and I'll take you there," Koorshi said. The guards roughly pushed us back into our room and locked the door again.
"When we get back you'll go straight to the dungeon," one said through the door.
"And the penalty for pretending to be a Royal Dragon is death," the other growled, and I heard the three of them leave. We stopped our illusions.
"They're gone," Marina said. "Hurry up and bust the lock." I took a deep breath and blew fire on the lock, melting it. I opened the door and the two of us snuck out of the palace, carefully avoiding any guards or servants that might see us.
"Okay," I said once we were in the clear. "Now to General Bloodfang's camp."