Strike at Midnight(92)

“You’re welcome, Sister,” he replied, then he looked to his right before looking back at me. “I’ve got to go. Stay strong.”

“Always,” I said, and before I knew it the hatch was shut and he was gone. I hadn’t realized until I sat back down that my face was stained with tears, but I wiped them away with a smile on my face.

No matter my fate, I was a survivor, and I was a survivor who had amazing friends. If I did have to die before they could stop anything from happening, then I would die a happy woman just knowing that.





*



A noise of what sounded like a rumbling of carriages woke me up from my sleep, and I could see when I looked up at the hole in the wall that it was early evening. It wasn’t quite light, but it wasn’t quite dark yet, and I realized I must have fallen asleep again for a few hours after Marcel had left.

A trumpet sounded in some form of a fanfare, but the usual hustle and bustle of the outside returned to its steady pace once it had finished. Who knew what was happening out there in the world? And who knew what the hell was going on in the hunt for Lord Peacock? It was a waiting game that was making me anxious, and I tried to go back to sleep so the time would pass more quickly. Unfortunately, it was a futile task this time, as my body was too rested to sleep anymore. I lay there with my eyes wide open.

My beating heart provided a small entertainment as I counted the beats of it, then I thought of Melody and Rapunzel, and of Marcel, Rem, and Sir Raymond—even Mia entered my head with affection at that point. No matter what had occurred over the past few days, they were people who I thought of as family or newfound friends, and that surprised a smile out of me.

An image of the prince also decided to pop into my head at that moment and take up residence in there even though I had tried extremely hard for my thoughts not to drift towards him since I had been thrown in here. I wasn’t a masochist, and the pain of facing a death sentence was pretty much enough to deal with right about now. But there he was, in my head and smiling and looking all handsome and shit.

Damn, I missed him. And I didn’t know why. It wasn’t like we had spent days and weeks in each other’s company before our interactions had come to an end. But my heart still pined for him in ways I was yet to understand.

I missed talking with him and seeing his forever-changing expressions that told a thousand stories. I wished he could be here right now to tell me everything was going to be okay because for some reason I would believe it coming from him—and not because he was a prince. It was because of him and his calming presence and his sweet, yet innocent view on the world. He would have been a balm to my pain if he had been here.

He really was an amazing guy, and I wished him every happiness in the future. I really did. Even if I hated that it would be one without me.

If I did get out of this, it would either be because they had found Lord Peacock, in which case I would put an end to the prince’s notions about me, or it would be because I had managed to escape and gone on the run from yet another place.

But I would survive it. Just like I survived it all those years ago when I ran away from a home that had made me so happy growing up. It was just a place and a movement in time that I could move on from, and I could do it again by moving off to another kingdom to make another life, surviving like I always had.

But that isn’t living, a voice whispered in my head, and this time, I knew I had so much more to lose.

If I did have to flee, I wouldn’t only be running away from the prince. I would be running away from my friends and family too. I would have to leave them behind.

A sob of despair bubbled up in my chest before I could stop it, and I rammed my knuckles against my eyes to stop any more tears from escaping. I couldn’t take much more of this.

The sound of many footfalls hit my ears and pulled me from my pity party. I dropped my hands so I could scrabble closer to the door to listen.

“I cannot believe you have locked up my betrothed in this hellhole,” a voice boomed, and I leaned closer to the wood to try and ascertain who the voice belonged to. “Open the damn door.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” another voice said at the same time I heard a bunch of keys being clanked together. That voice had sounded like Ham. But then it hit me…Your Highness. Oh shit.

I quickly shuffled back as the door to my cell opened, and then in walked Prince Andrew of Carena followed by a harried-looking Officer Ham.

“Rella,” Prince Andrew said as soon as he laid his eyes upon me.

It took me a small moment to understand that this wasn’t a fantasy anymore. That this was really happening. He was really here.

“This woman is betrothed to me,” he continued, turning to face Ham with a look of thunder on his features. “You will apologize profusely to her and make sure all release papers are signed and handed to me immediately. Are we clear?”

“But of course, Your Highness,” Ham said, his cheeks bright red. “But I also have to stress that she didn’t mention that she was the intended princess of our Kingdom, Your Highness. She never said she was betrothed to you, Your Highness.”

Whoa. Ham really knew how to overuse words when he was nervous.

Prince Andrew looked at me with appeal to play along, and I stammered back a reply. “Y-Yes I did,” I said, finding my voice and looking at Ham. “I said that the prince knew about all of this and to send a summons to the castle. I told you he would vouch for me.”