Chapter 4
Chapter four
The last bell declaring midnight rang behind Cedric as he paced.
Moonlight spilled over tangled ivy and crumbling stone, illuminating the rust over the iron bars of the Old Weaver’s Gate.
Tree branches quivered against the wind, their songs echoing through the dark forest bordering the passage.
Two decades ago, the gate served as a passageway for silk merchants for the royal family.
However, the passageway had been abandoned to accommodate a more convenient entrance, built years later.
The damp ground flattened beneath Cedric’s polished boots as he paced back and forth, his dark cloak rippling behind him, hands clasped tightly at his back. The pocket watch chained to his coat ticked down the excruciating minutes.
“You’ll dig a hole at this rate, Cedric. You must be patient.”
Cedric snapped his head toward Princess Marianne, disguised under a deep blue cloak.
Her long hair lay plaited around her head like a crown, but her dress was no more than a simple, woolen frock.
Three of his trusted men stood around her like imposing sentinels, though instead of armor or uniform, they donned peasant garb.
The small lantern swaying in her grasp betrayed the concern in her eyes.
“Forgive me, Your Highness, but I cannot, not when it concerns your safety,” Cedric said, his posture stiffening. “I don’t know if she’ll even come.”
“The hour isn’t even half over. We can wait a little longer,” she said gently.
Cedric continued to pace despite her reassurance.
Three days had come and gone in a blur with frantic preparations for the princess’s potential departure.
When he proposed the plan to the princess, she was initially skeptical, but he had anticipated her hesitation.
When he explained what steps he would take to ensure both her and the thief’s safety, she relented.
No one else would know. The King and Queen would not know about his plan—the less they knew, the better. He knew they could punish him for this, but it was a gamble he was willing to risk if it meant protecting the princess.
Another twenty minutes passed, and unease curled in his stomach.
Only ten minutes remained. The princess had abandoned standing, preferring to sit on the jutting stone while she continued knitting a scarf, as the guards shifted nervously around her.
Perhaps all the work Cedric had obsessed over had been for nothing.
Two minutes were left. Cedric expelled a long, exhausted sigh as the minute hand inched toward his imminent failure.
Cedric turned to the princess. “I think we’ve waited long enough—”
The leaves rustled in the treetops. Cedric whirled around, his cloak snapping in the cold air with one hand on the pommel of his sword.
A small squeak sounded as a lithe figure dropped from the branches, followed by a dull thud.
Cedric took a hesitant step forward, his eyes narrowing on the small lump groaning on the ground.
The figure then sprang up in a tangle of leaves. Cedric startled, whipping his sword and aiming it at the person’s nose.
Their hands flew up in surrender. “It’s me!” the feminine voice yelped. “Please don’t skewer me!”
One of the guards rushed to his side with a lantern, and the flickering light revealed a very familiar face.
“I’m here!” Nin announced with a sheepish grin.
The two remaining guards lowered their weapons, and Princess Marianne exhaled a soft sigh. Cedric could only stare in disbelief, his pulse pounding a relieved but exasperated rhythm.
Nin brushed off the leaves and twigs clinging to her tattered clothes with an air of nonchalance. “I thought I took the shortcut, but it turns out going through the forest was a terrible idea.”
Cedric snapped out of his stunned stupor. “Could you have a little bit of decorum?” he half-hissed, half-whispered. “You are in the presence of royalty. And you’re late.”
Nin swung around, and her eyes widened when she caught sight of the cloaked princess. Cedric nearly groaned out loud as she bent into a low, clumsy bow.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize you would be here,” Nin sputtered.
Princess Marianne stepped forward with her lantern, her lips forming a tight line as she regarded Nin from head to toe. She circled around her, and Nin followed her movements, her head swinging to keep up with the princess.
“What? Do I smell that bad?” Nin asked.
“You will hold still,” Cedric said through clenched teeth. “Allow the princess to examine you.”
“I didn’t know I was here to be a show pony,” Nin said with a nervous-sounding chuckle, but thankfully, she obeyed.
Princess Marianne stepped closer, and Cedric glimpsed Nin’s throat bob in a tight swallow.
Then the princess stilled. The two women stared at each other in stunned silence as the Princess’s scrutiny flickered to Nin’s eyes, down her jaw, and up at her face again.
Nin’s mouth parted as she blinked rapidly.
“Whoa…” Nin murmured, leaning forward to examine the princess in return. “This is surreal.”
The princess retreated and turned to him with rounded eyes.
“I can’t believe it,” Princess Marianne whispered. “The resemblance is uncanny.”
“I thought so myself,” Cedric said, relieved that the princess agreed with his assessment.
“It seems your spontaneous plan may work after all. Granted, she learn to act and speak like me,” Princess Marianne said.
“Give me two weeks, and she will be indistinguishable from you.”
The princess hummed in thought.
“Wait, only two weeks?” Nin asked, hooking a thumb in the princess’s direction. “To become like her?”
“Yes, I will teach you,” Cedric said more impatiently than he intended. “It will be grueling, but you will learn.”
Nin’s lip curled into a grimace. “You have a lot of confidence in a stranger you barely know.”
Cedric opened his mouth to speak, but the princess stepped forward, face-to-face with Nin. “May I entrust you with this task, Nin?” she asked. “We know what we ask is a challenging and dangerous assignment, but you will be rewarded beyond measure.”
“About that…” Nin started, rubbing her shoulder, her eyes darting between him and the princess.
Cedric steeled himself for some ridiculous request, such as gold, diamonds, or her own butler to order about. However, she pulled out a folded piece of torn parchment from her coat and handed it to him.
“What’s this?” he asked before opening it to reveal a crinkled map.
“It’s where you can find my brother,” Nin said, pointing to a circle marked on the parchment.
“He’s been sick—really sick—for a long time.
” Her chin quivered before she steadied herself.
“If I’m to do this task and whatever else is needed of me, I need a good physician and someone to take care of him while I’m gone. That’s all I ask.”
Cedric’s grip over the map tightened. He had expected nothing but greed, not selflessness. Her words chipped at the glass walls around his heart.
Princess Marianne didn’t hesitate, “I will ensure your brother is well taken care of by the best physicians. And you both will be granted a private home just outside the city, protected under the crown, for your safekeeping.”
“I will ensure that happens by tomorrow,” Cedric promised.
Nin’s mouth parted. “Th-that’s more than generous. Thank you… your—uh… ladyship.”
Cedric tilted his head back and sighed up at the starry sky. “Your Highness,” he corrected with his fingers pinched over the bridge of his nose. “It seems we must start our lessons straight away.”
“Oh,” Nin winced. “Highness. Got it.”
“Captain,” the head guard said. “We should leave now.”
Cedric nodded. They had wasted too many precious minutes beyond the hour they had planned to wait.
The guard saluted and extended his arm to the princess.
Princess Marianne nodded from behind her hood and offered Nin a smile. “Thank you. May the Maker bless and protect you.”
Without another word, the guards ushered Princess Marianne away, toward the darkness of the forest. Horses would be waiting for them in a quarter mile, and then, if all went well, they would ride through the night until they reached the safe-house.
When they disappeared behind the trees, Cedric’s furrowed brow loosened. At last, he could breathe.
A cough sounded behind him, ruining his short-lived relief.
He turned to Nin, and she stared back, scratching her nose and shuffling in an awkward sway. Cedric closed his eyes for a brief, weary moment. The three days he spent mapping escape routes, preparing disguises, and coordinating guards had somehow been the easy part. The challenge still lay ahead.
“Come,” he said, gesturing for Nin to follow.
“Where are we going?”
“Through a secret way. You must stay quiet.”
To his surprise, she obeyed without complaining. Good, at least she had enough sense to follow orders when the stakes were high enough.
Cedric led her around the perimeter of the wall until they came across a curtain of ivy and vines. Pushing them aside, the moonlight shone off the narrow iron door built into the stone. He unlocked the bolt with a silver key and removed one of the lit torches from its sconce.
The passage did not cut through the wall; rather, a set of stairs plunged beneath the earth.
Cobwebs draped over their heads, and the sound of stale water dripped from somewhere in the darkness, echoing a rhythmic sound.
Moisture clung to the air, carrying the smell of damp earth and mildew.
Nin followed close behind, but he continued the descent in silence.
Soon, the path flattened, and he guided her through another concealed door carved into the rock.
Closing it behind them, they stood within the shadows of the servant’s tunnels under the palace.
The passageways were a labyrinth of torchlight, low ceilings, and old stone, but he navigated them with expertise.
Left, then right, and left again, he had every tunnel memorized from his years of service. Eventually, he unlocked the final door.
“After you,” he whispered.