"Shh," Cat muttered. Sly rolled her eyes, as if she needed to be told. She was the Queen of stealth. She flicked his ear irritably, and he raised an eyebrow at her smirking. She ignored him and slid around the corner, sizing up the guards. The one on the left would be easy; he scuffed his boot lazily on the ground watching the patterns it made. His partner would pose more of a challenge. His eyes were alert and scanning people as they passed. It was early evening and people were returning home from work and going out to visit friends. They would not stand out from the crowd. She moved back around the corner.
"And?" Cat asked.
"It'll work," she replied quietly. With that she moved confidently around the corner, walking past the guards, her sword badly hidden beneath her cloak. She saw with satisfaction that they had identified her black cloak and the blatant bulge of a weapon as suspicious. Their eyes followed her as she sat down next to the wall, nothing unusual about that. People met up there frequently and often walked at its edge. The Rechadian Palace loomed behind the wall, framed by evergreens. Sly glanced briefly at the guards; the one on the right still watched her while the other had returned to scuffing his shoes. Cat walked casually behind them and through the gate, no one questioning his easy confidence and unassuming demeanor. Perfect. Sly remained seated for a few minutes longer before standing and continuing away along the wall. Then she slipped back into the forest, following the trail to the winter castle.
Alyssa paced the floor, looking out of the window to her left until her neck became sore from the motion. Where was she? Had they been seen? Caught? This was ridiculous really, sending people to break into her own home. She looked up as the door opened and Sly entered.
"How did you get in here?" exclaimed Alyssa irritably, "I've been watching at the window!" But as Sly raised an impudent eyebrow, Alyssa hugged her and smiled. "Sorry, I was just so worried! I take it Cat made it in?"
"Course he did," Sly replied. "He'll talk to the King soon enough. And before you ask, no one recognized us."
"Good, now let's go tell the others shall we? And someone ought to send word to George." The two women moved back through the empty castle towards the dining room they used as a meeting place. The rest of The Council was assembled, with Friday and Sly as honorary members.
"Cat made it inside," said Sly without any preamble. Relieved faces flashed around the table.
"Our contact in Bryn says that there seems to be unrest at the Duke's estate, but that word of your disappearance remains secret. Everyone simply believes that you haven't left the Estate," said Jeff.
"Naturally," replied Hunter, "For what would the Duke tell the King? Their only hope is to find you themselves."
"Exactly. My contact also tells me that the black market is buzzing with a search for a woman, gorgeous apparently, with vibrant green eyes and chocolate brown hair." Jeff said conspiratorially, pretending to wonder who that might be. "The reward for her capture is apparently an impressive sum."
Alyssa sighed. They had already evacuated the people who sought shelter at this castle. She had been sad to see them pack their bags, the palace once full of life was now quiet and morose. They now resided in a few of Axia's many summer homes scattered along border. "Any word from the look out?" she asked.
"None yet Lyssa," replied Ryan who was the head scout. Alyssa rubbed her forehead again and turned her mind back to the plan.
"Alright, we can guess that Sir Patrick is the man behind the reward scheme. But he is also clever; he will think to look deeper. It won't be long before he discovers this place. I am surprised it has even taken him this long." Alyssa began, "but no matter, someone send Aaron with this news to Prince George. We're all clear on the plan?" a general nod went around the table. "Right then, no point in staying here to get caught. Sly, Ryan and I will take the passage to the forest. The rest of you leave in pairs the normal way. Don't go all at once, we don't want to attract attention." With that the Princess stood and left the room trailed by Sly and Ryan. "Ryan, tell your scouts they may leave as soon as the last member is gone from the cas—"
"That's the signal!" Ryan whispered urgently, looking out the window they had just past as water flooded the irrigation system against the wall. The canal, which had been dry for years now rushed with water that had been poured by the scout on the palace's ramparts.
"The others?" Sly asked now, looking warily all around them as though convinced their enemies would leap from the shadows.
"They know to use the secret passages to the forest," Alyssa replied already running down the hallway after glancing at the band of armed men approaching her front door. Ryan and Sly followed swiftly behind her, ducking under every window the passed so as no to be seen. They crossed paths with Jeff, Hunter and Mary, already sliding them selves into the corridor behind the tapestry of Alyssa's grandfather in full battle armor.
"Good luck," Mary whispered as they passed and Alyssa smiled at her gratefully. And still they ran, needing to beat the intruders to the entrance hall where the stairs to the Dungeon were located. At every window they passed Alyssa resisted the urge to peek, for at the moment she hoped they thought the palace unoccupied. The fervor with which they would break down the door if they knew she was inside made Alyssa's skin crawl uncomfortably. They skidded to a halt outside the doors to the entrance hall and the three of them immediately pressed their ears to the crack between door and wall. Nothing.
No not nothing, a dull knocking coming from what she assumed might be the front door. Polite of them really, she thought absently, knocking first. And then the sound of something huge slamming against wood reached their ears followed by a sharp reprimand.
"Use the lock picks you idiot," said the peeved voice of Sir Patrick. Alyssa's eyes widened and she yanked the door open running across to the stairwell, Sly and Ryan following. Their footsteps were soft on the marble, but to Alyssa's tense nerves they sounded like elephants. Why oh why did this have to be her chosen escape? What was wrong with the passage on the second floor balcony? She asked herself, then her logic immediately answered that the dungeon escape route took her farther away than the balcony would. She ran her hand along the railing so as not to loose her balance while moving quickly down the stairs. They reached the bottom and the musty smell of mildew and rust assaulted her senses, but she pushed the sensation aside counting the cells as she sprinted past them. Three, four, five. She spun around the corner into the cell and counted the gray stones. Seven from the left, four down, two to the right and there. She pressed the palm of her hand hard against the rock, throwing the weight of her body behind it. With an ominous creak the rock slid back into the wall and the whole slab opened back into a dark tunnel.
"Someone has made recent tracks in the dust on this railing." Sir Patrick's voice echoed down the stairwell. "You there, go down and check it out. I'll follow." Alyssa looked down at her hands, the left one was covered in century old grime, stupid railing, she chastised herself. And here I was supposed to have the gift of gracefulness.
Ryan looked ready to stay and defend the entrance, but Sly yanked him into the tunnel with them, gesturing for him to help her close the door. Alyssa moved to push it closed too, the three of them throwing their backs into it while simultaneously trying to breathe silently. Footsteps reached the dungeon floor and the light of a torch bounced off of the walls. And then the doorway closed with a light thud that Alyssa prayed would be blamed on one of their own men. She yanked the lone torch from the wall and reminded herself not to light it until they were far enough away from the doorway. The last thing they needed was for the tell tale rectangle of light to shine through the cracks. Again the three of them set off, jogging lightly down the tunnel and into the darkness. Alyssa sent out a last intense wish for the others to escape to safety in time, and then focused on running silently behind Sly.
"I'm sorry," Alyssa gasped, sliding down the cavern wall to sit. "I need a break, Princess' aren't trained for sprinting." Sly laughed at her but also took the opportunity to stretch out her own limbs. Ryan grimaced as Sly touched her toes and then did the splits on each side.
"Unnatural, that." He grumbled, also unaccustomed to running. He sat down beside Alyssa and leaned his head back. "How long d'you reckon it's been?"
"An hour or so," said Sly now happily creating pretzel like formations with her body just to irritate him. Ryan closed his eyes, preferring not to witness this spectacle and Alyssa smiled. The smile soon faded.
"I hope the others made it out," she said quietly. That pronouncement made Sly sit normally.
"I'm sure they did," Sly promised. And although her words were empty, they comforted Alyssa all the same. Summoning strength she did not know she possessed, Alyssa climbed to her feet and started to walk again. Another hour or so later, it was impossible to tell time under ground, the three companions reached the end of the earthen passageway, and Alyssa cleared aside the dirt and grime to peer out of the peep hole carved into this secret doorway. The forest appeared silent. A bird flitted about on the ground in front of her and a rabbit foraged at the far side of the clearing. Turning back to face the other two, Alyssa nodded and they extinguished the torch. Alyssa carefully slid her fingers beneath the edge of the door, pushing the lock up and out of it's casing. Slowly, Sly creaked the door open, glancing left and right as she did so. Ryan and Alyssa followed silently, trusting Sly's forest instincts. Alyssa pushed the door shut behind her, and locked it once more. Now it merely looked like a dead tree trunk scorched by lightning.
Ahead of her, Sly froze. Every muscle in the girl's body tightened and tensed, seemingly waiting for something. Only her eyes moved, swooping around the clearing with alarming speed, searching for something. Alyssa and Ryan had also frozen, horrified, watching her. If Sly thought something was amiss then surely…
"Up here!" trilled a voice happily from a neighboring tree. They spun around to face the evergreen, whose branches housed a slim young man with sandy hair who was laughing at their expressions.
"Cat I'm going to kill you!" Sly shrieked, launching herself towards the tree's base and easily yanking him down where he landed with a surprised grunt.
"Hey!" Cat protested as she wrestled him to the ground.
"Honestly, Cat, what did you expect? We thought you were more of Sir Patrick's men!" complained Alyssa, but she laughed at the scene they were making all the same.
"Get off of me!" demanded Cat, ignoring Alyssa's contribution to the conversation.
"Not until you apologize," said Sly in a supremely snooty impression. She had him pinned to the ground, his arms twisted behind his back and a knee for each of his legs.
Cat glanced over his shoulder at her, trying not to ingest to much of the forest floor and replied, "I guess we'll have to stay like this forever then." Sly rolled her eyes but her cheeks pinked ever so slightly and she shoved his head back so that he couldn't see. However this meant that she was holding two of his arms with only one of her own, and he twisted from her grip. "Haha!" Cat crowed triumphantly, that is until Sly threw a lump of dirt at his head. "Oy!"
"Consider yourself forgiven," was Sly's only reply as she turned to find the trail.
"You two," said Alyssa with mingled exasperation and affection, "are unbelievable." Cat grinned, shaking the earth from his hair. They trailed Sly to the path and started walking towards the city. Alyssa pulled her hood up, hiding her face and hair from people who might recognize her.
That evening found them all seated happily around Jay's table enjoying dinner with his wife and kids. His spouse was beside herself when she opened the door to admit the Crown Princess, but had since relaxed and now they were having a marvelous time, the flight of that morning nearly forgotten.
After the children had gone to bed, Cat, Sly, Alyssa, Ryan and Jay gathered around the dining room table.
"Someone should go check if the others are okay," suggested Alyssa. "I can't stand not knowing."
"I'll go," said Sly, "No one will recognize me here. And anyone who does will know better than to cross me." She added menacingly as Jay made to argue. Cat laughed a little at her aggression until her fierce gaze turned to him.
"Hey, I believe you! You proved yourself this afternoon by shoving my face in the dirt." Sly smirked at that as she stood to go.
"Anything else before I leave?" Alyssa shook her head, and Sly made her exit.
"I saw Mary already, so they made it out safe." Said Ryan, "Our friends in the city say that there is no news of you from the north good or bad."
Alyssa nodded slowly, then turned her full attention to Cat. His were the answers she wanted. "The King? The Queen? Did you reach them?"
"I did Lyssa, but they are skeptical. The Queen kept trying to convince me that no one with the Duke's mannerisms could ever be so cruel. The King wishes for more evidence, you know already the political upheaval it would cause should the King act now. He cannot stand alone with these accusations, or march up north and demand answers either. Sir Patrick was clever to maintain such secrecy, the King, even with our knowledge, is forced into a corner; awaiting attack but unable to prevent it."
"My mother, bless her soul, always wishes to see the best in everyone. And even when there is no 'best' to speak of, she sits in her denial to fashion a silver lining for them." Alyssa smiled wryly. "But father will take preventative measures, I'm sure, he will not dismiss our warning."
"Indeed, but there is little he can do without alerting the spies we must assume the Duke has." Said Ryan.
"As if the Duke would be clever enough to plant spies," scoffed Alyssa, "can't we just refer to the Duke and Sir Patrick as the twisted partners in crime that they are?"
"Ooh! I know!" Cat exclaimed, gushing with false enthusiasm, "They need a joint name, like Du-Pat or DP or Durick." They all laughed then at Cat's idea, which wasn't necessarily that funny, but a much-needed relief of tension. "But anyway, remind me again why your Prince-y friend couldn't do the message delivering? He wouldn't have had to sneak in or anything!"
"Because," said Alyssa, hoping fervently that she had not blushed at Cat's reference to George, "I need Axia doing other things, like taking care of The Council and readying troops in case the Duke gets any ideas. Rechad can't be seen preparing for battle, it would cause suspicion."
"But no ones suspicious of Axia…?" Cat asked, clearly at a loss.
"Course not," said Jay, "They ready their troops once every two years or so just for practice. They have so many natural resources to protect that their military hardly shrinks during times of peace. It's a ruffling of feathers if you ask me."
"Feathers?" asked Cat bemusedly.
"You know, like intimidating other countries." Jay elaborated, blushing that he had to explain himself.
"Aaron would understand, bloody peacock that he is," laughed Cat now.
"Ah, but he's a loyal bird," replied Jay with an uncharacteristic wink.
Just then Sly burst back into the room, clearly brimming with news. "The others are fine, they all made it out." She responded quickly as Alyssa made to get up from her chair, a look of concern settling on her features. But at Sly's news, some of the familiar worry leaked away and Alyssa took her seat again.
"And?" Cat asked, for Sly's body was practically vibrating with adrenaline.
"Well," she said, as the others exchanged foreboding glances, "it's not that terrible!" she cried out, exasperated, "I mean, it's bad, but not silent-eye-ball-communication bad. Right so, I was just walking back through the market after finding Hunter, and I saw these soldiers pinning up signs with your portrait. I gathered round with the rest of the crowd and a man upfront read out loud for the rest of us to hear, that the Crown Princess Alyssa has been kidnapped."
Cat looked over at Alyssa pensively, "Right, I can see that." Sly smacked his arm playfully.
"Sir Patrick becomes a worthier opponent by the minute." Alyssa groaned.
"Excuse me," Cat interrupted, "I thought we agreed to call them Durick?" Alyssa rolled her eyes while Sly looked a little confused. "It's an ingenious combination of Duke and Patrick, see?" Cat happily explained to her.
"Right, so Durick," Alyssa paused for emphasis, and Cat smirked, "has been a right fiend. Now all five kingdoms will be on the lookout for me. Anyone I'm found with, aside from the Duke's—"
"Durick's!" Cat interjected
"—aside from Durick's men obviously," Alyssa continued, "will be labeled as my kidnappers."
"Couldn't you vouch for us though? As the Crown Princess?" asked Jay.
"My word would be written off as madness, or speech under duress. They would claim that you coerced me into pleading for your innocence. Threatened me or something equally ridiculous." Alyssa said sadly, already watching the pathetic court case play out in her mind. She winced as the imaginary Duke took her hand in his, and his desires flooded her just as they had the night of the ball. Princess.
Alyssa forced her mind away from those images and focused instead on the secret kiss she had shared with George. But soon her imagination careened away from that memory to create horror stories in which he discovered her curse and hated her for it. She should tell him, she knew she should. But he wasn't here to tell, and she wasn't sure she had the courage to maybe lose him. Her conscience replied in a voice rather like her mothers, that any man who refuses to be with you on account of that silly curse is a coward with something to hide and an idiot for losing you. Thanks for the self-esteem boost conscience! Alyssa thought a little sarcastically, it wasn't that black and white. Was it? This train of thought was perhaps even more confusing than her previous one and Alyssa let her head slump onto the table in exhaustion.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
A new chapter, post editing frenzy. Thanks so much to Pepper wishes for inspiring me to improve this story!