The Kingdom Pt. 01

Teritha crawls out of bed. She has her pajamas on but I'm still naked from my adventure with Micaelah. I look around and spot my trousers.

"Who's coming Jolie? What are you talking about?" Teritha asks.

"Guards. My father is sending them to arrest and imprison you. You can't leave the castle through the hallways."

"My guards should be able to detain them long enough for us to..." Teritha begins.

"Your guards aren't at their posts anymore. My father's guards are in the hall outside now. You must follow me and hurry or you won't escape," Jolie pleads.

Casting all modesty aside, I throw the covers off, get out of bed and quickly get dressed, donning my undershirt, hauberk and daggers.

"We need to get Lisbeth and Micaelah, and I need a few things from my room," Teritha tells her.

"I found them first after looking for you in your bedroom," Jolie explains. "They are already safe, waiting for us. Quickly, follow me."

I put on my tunic and grab my coin purse. The three of us quietly sneak into the sitting area and to Teritha's bedroom. She quickly changes out of her pajamas into plain trousers and a soft linen shirt, then buckles her daggers on. After grabbing a few items from her trunks, we follow Jolie back out into the sitting area.

At a bookcase along one wall, she reaches between two books. There's a soft click, then she pushes the bookcase in on one side, causing it to swing inward.

"In here. Quickly!"

Teritha goes in first. I follow her into a tunnel barely illuminated by Jolie's candle. Jolie comes in last and pulls the bookcase closed again. There's another soft click.

Suddenly I hear pounding on the door between the sitting area and the hallway. Jolie leads us quickly but quietly through the passage perhaps fifteen feet to a spiral staircase leading upwards.

As we begin to ascend, I hear a loud crash and wood splintering, presumably the door to Teritha's suite being forced open.

"Don't we need to go down?" I ask quietly.

"Shhhh. Trust me," Jolie whispers.

The stairs spiral upwards at least two floors, ending at a narrow passageway. After following this for thirty feet or so, it opens into a small room, no more than six feet square, with adjoining passages in each direction.

Here we find Lisbeth and Micaelah waiting, still in their pajamas. Micaelah has her new robe on too. At least they're not wearing dresses. Plus they have on plain shoes, although Micaelah is carrying her new slippers.

Both of them hug Teritha, relieved. Micaelah appears to have been crying. I can't blame her.

"Enough now," Jolie whispers. "Save your celebrations for when you've made it out." She turns toward one of the passages.

"But where are we going? How are we getting out? And what's going on?" Lisbeth asks.

"We can't talk here. We must keep moving. I'll explain later when we're safe. Follow me. Don't speak or make any noise. Watch your step."

She enters the passage, holding the candle before her. Teritha follows next, then Lisbeth and finally Micaelah, who hugs me briefly before following. I take the rear in case of pursuit, although the guards don't appear to have figured out where we've gone yet, or how we left without anyone noticing.

Jolie continues through the passage, which occasionally intersects other passages at a small room similar to the first one. As far as I can tell, we're heading toward the stables, or maybe the Grove.

Finally, Jolie turns right, following a side passage. This leads to another spiral staircase leading down. This one descends at least four or five floors. At the bottom is another passage that goes on for what must be a few hundred feet, which ends at a door. She opens it and enters a small room, barely large enough for the five of us, then motions us inside. Closing the door after we're through, she makes her way to the other side. I glimpse a second door before Jolie blows the candle out.

"Shhhh..." she whispers, even more quietly than before. After a few minutes, my eyes adjust to the dark. I can barely make out a faint trace of light coming in under the second door. Jolie carefully opens it. The smell of vegetation greets my nose. Through the open doorway, I can barely make out a stone wall with an iron rung ladder leading up.

"Wait here," Jolie whispers. Walking to the ladder, she climbs it, making no sound. I suddenly recall noticing the clothing she was wearing when she first woke me up, not realizing the significance in the moment. She wasn't wearing pajamas or a robe or a dress. She's dressed for traveling. She isn't just leading the four of us to freedom, she's coming with us.

I find Micaelah's hand in the dark and hold it, then reach out to grab Lisbeth's with the other. They each take one of Teritha's. The four of us stand there waiting, encouraging and comforting one another in silence for several minutes until Jolie comes back down the ladder and to the cramped room.

"It looks clear, but we need to move fast," she says. "No talking. Follow me closely and watch for my hand signals. We are coming up in the middle of the Grove and the sky's beginning to lighten. We need to reach the far wall where another ladder will take us down to the river."

"What then?" Teritha asks. "Is there a boat? What about my men? Where is Norgin?"

"M'lady, your guardsman have all been taken captive and are likely already in the dungeons. Your Chamberlain..."

"Is he okay?" Teritha asks. "Is he alive?"

"I'm afraid he's a spy, m'lady. Apparently he was planted by my father into your household years ago. I heard my father talking with him not long before I came to find you. I wanted to see you again before you left, but didn't want anyone to see me, so I was going through the secret passages to your suite. It goes past the council chamber where I overheard them talking, so I listened just long enough to know that all of you were in danger. I went back to my room, grabbed some necessities, then hastened to warn you. I knew you'd be trapped if I didn't help you."

"But why are you helping us?" I ask.

"I thought about what m'lady... Teritha said. I can't be on my parents' side in this. It's not right. I think I've always known that, but I had no idea there were other people who felt that way too." Jolie pauses a moment, then continues. "I'm coming with you, if you'll let me."

"Of course," Teritha says, hugging her. "Now let's go."

"Hold on," I say. They all hesitate, waiting expectantly. "Captain Kendric is still in the city, with Corinne. He's going to show up at the castle without any warning. They'll take him like they took the others. We must find him before he gets there."

"Do you know where Corinne's shop is?" Teritha asks.

"Yes. I can find it again. Jolie, is there a way into the city from here?" I ask.

"If we follow the river, we can come in through the gate near the wharf. That's in the southern district. Where is Corinne's shop?"

"I'm not sure. I know it wasn't far from a large square with some statues. I think they were horses."

"That's in the east district, but not far from the wharves. Let's get to the river. Follow me."

Jolie leads all of us up the ladder and out the top of the stone shaft where an iron grate has been swung open.

Climbing out last, I find myself in the center of a circular shaped hedge, six to seven feet across. Jolie carefully closes the iron grate. I'm puzzled as to why it isn't squeaking loudly, announcing our presence to the entire castle. Then I see Jolie tuck a small container in her satchel. I run my finger along the hinge, discovering it's covered with what looks and smells like lard.

Jolie unerringly squeezes between what must be the only possible way through the thick tangle of branches. The rest of us follow.

Winding our way between trees and along hedges, occasionally sprinting across open spaces, Jolie finally leads us to a place at the outer wall, then enters a narrow opening in the perimeter hedges much like the earlier one.

"Hey there! Stop!" I hear someone shout. Twenty feet away, two guards run at us with swords drawn.

"Lisbeth! Micaelah! Quick, follow Jolie! Don't wait for us!" Teritha instructs them, drawing her daggers. I follow her lead, drawing my own pair, turning to face the guards. Lisbeth and Micaelah scramble through the hedges.

"Stop!" Teritha yells at the guards. "We don't want to hurt you!"

The guards slow their momentum, approaching cautiously. "Throw down your weapons Duchess and we'll let the others go," the apparent leader of the two guards says with a sneer, the word Duchess spoken with derision. "We've orders to arrest you. If you surrender now, we won't harm you."

"If you attack us, it will be considered open war against the Duke of Jasper," Teritha counters. "Think about that carefully."

Ignoring her, they move closer, one squaring off against Teritha, the other against me. "You've no chance with those toothpicks." He laughs, gesturing with his blade. "Give up now or die. This is your last warn..."

Before he is able to finish his sentence, Teritha darts past his blade and feints to his neck. He dodges out of her way, barely in time, and is too slow and off-balance to prevent her from sinking her other dagger in the pit of his sword arm. He tries to swing it at her, but the sword falls from his grasp instead, his look of surprise turning to agony.

The second guard swings at her now unprotected flank, but I step in and deflect his sword before it reaches her, gaining Teritha just enough time to step out of reach. His blade glances off mine, striking the top of my shoulder. The hauberk saves me from a mortal wound, but the impact causes my shoulder to go numb with pain. Losing my grip, the dagger tumbles to the ground.

However, Captain Kendric's training takes over and my other dagger shoots up to pierce his jaw, entering his brain. As I pull it out and step back, blood gushes down the front of his armor. He stares at me for a few seconds, confused, then collapses like a rag doll.

The first guard, holding his arm tight against his side desperately trying to keep his life from spilling out, turns and runs for his life.

I fall to my knees and retch from the pain and the gore. Teritha gets down on her knees beside me. She puts her arm around me and says sympathetically, "I know you probably just want to lay down, close your eyes and hope to wake up later from this nightmare, but we need to keep moving. More guards will be here soon and we can't fight them all. Can you stand?"

I try to focus on her face through my tears. "Is this what it feels like to actually kill someone? Did he have a family?" I ask helplessly. "He was probably just doing what he was told."

"Quill," she says gently. "He made a choice to attack me. You stopped him. Someone was going to die today. Thank you for deciding it would be him instead of me."

Wiping my tears away, I now see that she too is crying. Whether for me or for the dead guard, I'm not sure, but her words reach me through the grief.

"Alright. Let's go," I say after a few moments, somehow finding the strength to get to my feet. I wipe my blade off on the guard's clothing and sheath it, trying not to look at his face. Teritha already has hers put away and holds out the dagger I dropped, but I am unable to take it from her because I can't feel the fingers of my left hand, so she sheathes it for me.

She leads me through the opening in the hedges and to another shaft in the ground with an already opened iron grate. Because I'll have enough difficulty climbing with my injured shoulder and numb hand, she tells me to go down the ladder first and she will close the grate behind her.

I manage to make it down the first few rungs without falling, despite the pain. Several feet lower, I hear the grate closing above me.

§ 14 ~ Obligation

The descent lasts an agonizing ten minutes, but feels like an hour. Halfway down, my shoulder is dreadfully sore, but thankfully I'm able to feel my fingers again.

Finally reaching the bottom, I emerge from a short tunnel concealed by a dense thicket to find Jolie, Lisbeth and Micaelah waiting in the dawn light. Micaelah hugs me fiercely and cries a lot. Lisbeth hugs me too, pressing against my sore shoulder, causing me to wince.

"Are you hurt?" she asks concerned, looking for blood.

"Just a little," I tell her. "Nothing serious."

Mollified, she rushes to hug her sister who finally appears behind me.

Assuring Lisbeth she's okay and unharmed, Teritha asks, "Where next, Jolie?"

"Follow me," Jolie answers. She leads the four of us along what seems to be not much more than a game trail, twisting and turning along the river. Trees line both banks, obstructing our view of the country beyond. Micaelah insists on holding my good hand as we follow Lisbeth and Teritha. I allow her, somewhat surprised at her level of concern, but grateful as well. Trusting someone else to lead me as I follow blindly is all I'm capable of right now.

Fifteen minutes later, the trees thin out, revealing a rocky beach. Further down, we see the wharves and several boats, some small enough to hold only a pair of fisherman, and some large enough to hold a hundred or more sailors.

"I've been thinking," says Jolie. "They're searching for four people, especially you Teritha, so I think you should stay here with Lisbeth and Micaelah. You'll have to protect them if someone should find you. Only Quillion and I need to go into the city. I know how to find the area and he knows where this shop is. Two of us won't attract any attention. We should have no trouble finding your Captain and bringing him back here. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to obtain a boat on the way back as well."

"That sounds practical," Teritha says.

"But won't someone recognize you Jolie?" I ask.

"Not likely," she says. "Certainly not in this attire. Besides, no one knows I'm out here with you. They won't be looking for me on the docks or in the streets. Not yet anyway. But eventually, they'll figure out which direction we went, so we need to move fast."

All agree to the plan and the two of us start heading towards the wider part of the lake at this point of the riverway. As we draw near to the smaller docks, Jolie puts on a bonnet she had in her satchel, then pulls out a cap for me. She situates it on my head then says, "We're a young couple on our way back from turtle hunting. I became light-headed soon after we got to our favorite spot and you're helping me back home to rest. Put your arm around me."

I do, and think she's very clever for making up such a wonderful story on such short notice. She hunches over slightly as we walk together, affecting to be ill. The two of us receive some curious glances, but no one bothers us.

Jolie glances up occasionally as she directs me through the streets. Still early in the morning, not many people are out and about yet. Shopkeepers are setting up their stalls while a few others hustle on their private errands.

Perhaps twenty minutes later, I recognize our surroundings, so I stop Jolie and whisper, "This way." She allows me to lead her as we cross two more streets, then turn left down a narrower lane. One more street further, I spot Corinne's workshop.

Trying not to hurry, I walk to the door with Jolie in tow. The door is unlocked so we let ourselves in. Seeing no one around, I head to the back near the anvils, then to the back room where Corinne was storing my daggers before I picked them up yesterday. It too, though, is empty.

I search further and find a door, when opened, reveals a flight of stairs going up.

"Corinne!" I call, but hear no reply. "Corinne!"

"Hello?" I hear from the front of the shop. As I make my way there, I nearly run right into Corinne coming the other way.

"Quillion? Aren't you supposed to be leaving this morning? Did you come to find Kendric?"

"Yes. Where is he?" I ask anxiously, dreading her answer.

She sees my look of distress, and replies carefully, "He just left. I walked with him to the next street." She blushes, then adds, "It was difficult to say goodbye after last night..." she trails off, slightly embarrassed. "Thank you, by the way." She smiles at me.

"We need to catch him! He can't make it to the palace!" I say, practically running to the door.

"But why?" Corinne asks, coming after me, sounding concerned.

"I can't explain it right now, but his life is in danger." Reaching the door, I throw it open and start walking quickly in the direction of the palace, hoping to catch him. Corinne follows me.

"Wait!" Jolie says from behind.

We stop and turn, looking expectantly at her as she catches up to us. Looking at Jolie, Corinne says, "You look familiar..."

Jolie ignores her and continues speaking to me quietly. "You're going to draw too much attention to yourself." She turns to Corinne. "Please, if you care about him, you need to catch him and stop him. Tell him he forgot something at your shop that he must come back for. Make him come, but don't make a scene, and don't say anyone's name out loud, not even his. Go! His life depends on it."

Corinne moves quickly in the direction I was about to go. Jolie takes my hand and, despite my resistance, leads me calmly back to Corinne's shop. Once inside, she says, "It will be okay Quillion. Trust me." She holds my hand and eventually I calm down the more I realize she's right.

"You're really good at taking charge, Jolie. You handled that well. I probably would have gotten myself caught."

"I was born and raised as a noble who may need to lead one day. You can thank my parents for that." Then, apologetically, she adds, "Although, I suppose it's their fault we're in this predicament in the first place."

"Thank you Jolie. Truly. And... please... call me Quill."

She smiles then kisses me briefly on the mouth. Her face scrunches up. "Eeeww!" she backs up quickly. "You need to do something about your breath!"

I have to laugh at that, because the alternative is to cry. Jolie follows me as I walk to the back door and open it, looking around. A barrel of rainwater sits nearby. It appears clean enough, so I cup my hands and bring some water to my lips, filling my mouth. I swish it around and spit it out on the ground, then repeat until I can no longer taste vomit.

"Sorry about that. The guards attacked us in the Grove," I confess. "I had to kill one of them so we could escape. My stomach didn't handle it well."

Her initial look of shock changes to sympathy, and then to contemplation as she appears to reassess her view of me. Just then, Corinne and Kendric come through the back door.

"Quillion. What's this about? I don't want to be late for our departure. And what's this nonsense about my life being in danger?"

As I'm about to answer, he notices who's with me, and adds quietly, "And why is Lady Jolie with you?"

Corinne gasps. Jolie's chin thrusts upwards with a look of defiance.

"Captain," I say, bringing his attention back to me. "Let's go inside."

I explain calmly, and as quickly as possible, everything that's happened over the last two hours. First, Kendric becomes upset when he hears about the fight between the guards, then disgusted that Duchess Teritha has to step in, then baffled about her attempted arrest, followed by amazement at our flight through the castle, then pride at the outcome of the fight with the two guards. Finally to rage when he learns of Norgin's treason. I've never seen Kendric angry before. I didn't even know such a thing was possible. This was beyond rage though. He looked ready to commit murder.

Corinne somehow manages to keep him calm though my retelling of the events. She also seems impressed by the way I handled myself against our two opponents.

"But we have to leave, right now, or we may not make it out of the city," Jolie urges. "Every minute we spend here also increases the risk of Teritha and the others being captured."