23. Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
C harlotte would have preferred to have longer to catch her breath before Celandine’s arrival, but at least it sounded like she was coming from the direction of the main door. She wouldn’t have passed their people in that case.
Charlotte strained her ears to hear the key turn in the lock and the door open. As expected, the first steps to enter sounded like the boots of guards.
Some low, surprised murmurs drifted out, presumably at the discovery of the empty room. Then Emmett started whimpering, his cries pathetic and weak. He spoke amid the blubbering, but Charlotte was too far away to catch his words. More footsteps sounded, and then Celandine’s imperious voice demanding to know what was going on.
“Now!” Charlotte whispered and raced out of the door. Henry was a step ahead of her, two burly men from the city ahead of him.
The four of them lined up along the wall behind the open door to the prison rooms, staying as quiet as possible. A shout rang inside the room, and then the sound of a scuffle broke out. Charlotte recognized a fist hitting flesh and more shouts before the count’s son raced from the room, Emmett in his arms. He didn’t stop, continuing down the corridor toward the back exit. Emmett looked back over his shoulder and met Charlotte’s eyes, grinning broadly. He held up his prize—the queen’s key—and Charlotte saluted him.
One of the other rebels came next, walking backward, a sword in his hand and a bruise already blooming under one eye. Two of the queen’s guards followed him, both on the attack, and behind them came a crush of people that was hard to distinguish, some rebels, some guards. Charlotte struggled to complete her head count of the rebels, ensuring they had all emerged. But she reached the correct number at the same time as she noted the other important point—the queen still hadn’t emerged.
“Close it!” she yelled, and the two rebels against the wall heaved together, pushing the door ahead of them.
One of the guards shouted in protest, trying to throw himself into the closing gap, but Henry darted forward and shoved him hard enough to send him staggering all the way inside. The two rebels gave a final push and slammed the door closed, leaning against it to keep the guards still remaining inside from opening it again.
Charlotte darted between the struggling bodies, inserting their key and turning it before dashing away, heading further down the corridor in the direction of Emmett and his father.
From the other direction, the remaining rebels streamed out of their hiding place, joining their comrades and easily subduing the guards with their superior numbers. Charlotte counted heads again, not relaxing until she had confirmed her original count. Everyone on their side was accounted for, along with many of the guards.
She could hear screaming and shouting from the other side, but the wood was the thickest she had ever seen, and the hinges were on the outside. The guards who had ended up locked inside with the queen could pound on it for hours without breaking it down.
“Do they have any weapons left in there?” she asked one of the rebels who had been hidden inside.
“We disarmed most of them,” he said. “They might have a dagger or two, but they won’t get through that door in a hurry with only that.”
“We’re fortunate that once we sprung into action, most of them leaped to form a shield in front of the queen,” another added. “It meant they unintentionally blocked her exit.”
A piercing scream cut through the wood of the door. “Why don’t we move upstairs?” Charlotte suggested, happy to put distance between her and the enraged queen, even if Celandine was locked away.
“What about this lot?” a rebel asked, indicating the subdued guards.
“We can take them upstairs with us. There’s rope up there, and we can tie them up with their comrades.”
“There must be others who knew the queen was coming down here, though,” the count said. “If they come looking with a key…”
“They’ll have to come through us.” All four of the volunteers who had identified themselves as experienced fighters stood before them, now armed. “In a corridor like this, the captain of the guard would have to bring his entire force—split and attacking from both directions—to get through us.”
A grin spread over Charlotte’s face. “Then it’s our job to make sure the entire force isn’t available, even if they do work out where she is.”
The four of them grinned back, moving to take up positions by the door. The rest of the rebels dragged their new prisoners with them up the stairs, finding a crowd on the other side of the door. The remaining rebels rushed forward to help secure the guards, having already found the rope Gwen left.
“What about Gwen and Easton and the others?” Charlotte asked one of them.
She shrugged. “They didn’t stick around.”
Charlotte nodded, hoping that meant the other part of their plan was succeeding as well. If the captive servants all decided they were taking their freedom and left without helping, the later parts of the plan would falter.
“You all know what we have to do now,” the count said loudly. “Split up and find weapons if you can. Pair fighters with someone less experienced if possible, and I want at least one member of the court in each group. The guards will hesitate to do any serious damage to a member of the court without direct commands to do so. Our goal is to sow chaos and confusion. Find guards and then lead them on a chase for as long as you can. Keep them running and confused. We can’t let them gather into a force of any size or give them time to stop and seek proper command. If you see someone else has been captured, free them if you can.”
A chorus of agreement sounded, and the group spread out, breaking into smaller clumps. Charlotte looked at Henry with a smile.
“What about us?”
“We’re a pair,” he said. “And I don’t think we need anyone else.” He held out his hand, and she put hers into it.
“I’ve still got that master key,” she said. “So I think we can get up to enough mischief on our own.”
It took them several minutes of running to find their first pair of guards. The two men strolled leisurely across their field of vision until one of them recognized Charlotte and let out a shout. Charlotte and Henry took off running immediately, Henry taking the lead as they led the soldiers around in circles. When he darted through a door, he led Charlotte straight through the receiving room on the other side and out through a door in the opposite wall. He closed it behind them and gestured at the keyhole.
Charlotte locked it, and the two of them dashed back around to lock the other door while the protesting soldiers were still trying the handle of the locked one.
“There are windows, so I don’t know how long it will keep them,” Henry said.
“Long enough for now.” Charlotte grinned back. “Let’s go and find some others.”
With Henry’s knowledge of the castle and their master key, they managed to pull the same trick on ten different soldiers, strolling away each time to the sound of shouts and curses.
Charlotte grinned up at Henry. “Is it terrible that this has been kind of fun?”
The thrill of being chased was both terrifying and exhilarating, and if it wasn’t for the exhaustion setting in to her legs, she could have gone on much longer. She glanced out a window, noting the lowering sun. They had passed several other rebel groups in the last few hours, even rescuing one as they were being escorted back toward the guard barracks. She hadn’t seen Gwen or Easton or any of the servants, though. The rebels had purposely been trying to keep the guards away from the section of the palace that included the throne room.
Were the wedding preparations finished? Had the ceremony started? She wished she could be there to see her friend married, but she knew her role was too important to worry about being a guest.
Thought of guests made her wonder how the arriving wedding guests had gone. Had any of them spotted a rebel group being chased by royal guards? Had some of the guards been available to guide guests in? She hoped some of the intended guests had made it through the chaos to be the witnesses Gwen and Easton needed.
“Do you think it’s—” she started to say to Henry, but a figure jumped out behind him, making her words falter.
Before he could respond to her horrified expression, the enormous guard had his arms around Henry from behind, pinning his arms to his side and holding a knife to his throat.
A sneering courtier stepped out from the shadows, another guard at his side.
“Shall I restrain her, Lord Rafferty?” the second guard asked, looking toward Charlotte.
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” he said in an oily voice that sent a shiver up her spine. “I think she’ll be most well-behaved.” He looked toward Henry and smiled again.
Henry shook his head, but even that small movement made the knife tip prick his skin. Charlotte gasped.
“Don’t listen to him,” Henry choked out before his captor tightened his grip.
“All I want from you is that key in your pocket,” Lord Rafferty said. “I can’t find the captain of the guard, but I know you have a master key. Don’t bother trying to deny it. I just watched that neat little trick you pulled. If you want this fellow here to live, hand it over now.”
Charlotte’s mind moved faster than seemed possible, heightened by the danger to Henry and all their plans. If this lord was after the key, he must know or guess where the queen was. But she couldn’t just stand by and watch Henry be killed.
She glanced again at the window. The sun was even lower. Soon it would be kissing the horizon. She had to trust they had held out long enough.
“Fine.” She drew the word out, keeping her expression downcast and fearful. Slowly she plunged her hand into her pocket and drew it out. But as Lord Rafferty reached for it, she flicked her arm back and then whipped it forward, sending the key sailing over his head and down the corridor.
He cursed, and the second guard raced after it. But Charlotte’s eyes were on Henry. As the guard holding him turned to watch the hunt for the key, Henry’s eyes flickered down to the man’s left arm.
Charlotte jumped at him, biting hard into his left arm. The man screamed and pulled it away, shaking her off. But the second he loosened his grip, Henry’s own left arm broke free, snapping up and pulling the wrist holding the knife away from his throat.
The whole thing took only a second, and Henry was free. A line of red dribbled down his neck, but he brushed it away, appearing unharmed in any serious manner. He kicked the guard in the shin, and when he shouted and doubled over, he punched him hard in the stomach. The man went down, winded, and Henry took Charlotte’s hand.
For what felt like the hundredth time that day, they ran.
“Never mind them!” she heard the lord screaming behind them. “We have the key. That’s all that matters.”
“Should we try to get down there first?” Charlotte gasped out between panting breaths. “Try to stop them?” But when she glanced back, four more guards ran up to join them.
“I think it’s too late for that,” Henry said.
Charlotte nodded. “I just hope we managed to give them enough time. Should we head to the throne room in case Gwen and Easton need help?”
“Actually,” Henry said. “If the queen is about to be free, I think there’s somewhere else we need to be.”