Ascension (27 page)

Holding my breath, I held my
crouched position as they made their way past me. They were walking
slowly, and my legs began to tremble. The corridor seemed endless,
each step they took coinciding with my heartbeat, growing louder
and louder as they grew closer. I was sure that they would be able
to hear it, the echoing thump thump, an audible betrayal of my
hiding spot. Over the thuds ringing through my ears, I could hear
their conversation.

“
Did you hear
that the King is making us widen the women
’
s quarters? We
’
re gonna be up all night trying
to add extra rooms down there. One thing though,
there
’
s nowhere
else to dig! They are already under the castle. Seriously, why do
we need to make more room for them? Just shove them all in
together. Its not like they care. They
’
re used to living in cramped,
dark spaces.
”

“
Yeah, like rats
them girls are.
”

“
All the Nethers
are rats. They breed like them too. That
’
s why we gotta make the quarters
bigger. Apparently a lot of fresh meat will be coming in the next
few weeks.
”

“
Meat?”

“
You know, women.
I
’
d like to get
a first taste of them, if you know what I mean.
”

“
Yeah, me
too.
”
The larger one on the left nodded
his head, and then a sudden look of understanding crossed his
face.
“
Oh, I get it. Yeah, a taste.
I
’
d like to
taste a few.
”

It was all I could do to not appease
my screaming legs and stand up, risking discovery for relief. I
tried to ignore it and focus on the discussion happening before me.
More servants? That means that more girls would be coming in from
the colonies, which means we better get working fast if we want to
get the soldiers out. I gasped as the harsh reality dawned on me,
covering my mouth just a second too late. The guards looked around,
obviously hearing my exclamation of surprise.

“
Ay, did you hear
that?
”
The shorter one looked around,
peering into the bushes. The other followed suit, looking into the
shrubs on the other side of the lane. I froze, attempting to be
invisible. The guard came closer and closer to me, his eyes
scanning the bushes, until he was looking straight at me. He
squinted, as if trying to determine whether or not I was a trick of
the light. I watched in horror as his hand stretched out to grab
me, just as another hand seized me by the shoulders and pulled me
back.

“
Shhh,
don’
t make a sound,
”
a voice whispered in my ear.
“It
’
s alright men!
I
’
ve got
her!
”

“
Your Highness,
is that you? We
’
ll be right there, sir!
”

“
No need to
worry, I can manage! I
’
ll take her back to the quarters myself. You can continue
your patrol.
”
I felt his hands move from
my shoulders down onto my waist, and then just as quickly release
me, as if realizing they had gone astray. I spun around, startled
to find him so close, his eyes meeting mine.

They lingered for
a few moments, and after I was released by their powerful grip, I
noticed that they looked sad and tired, the creases in the sides
less from smiling and more from lack of sleep. Looking away, he
took my hand and pulled me from the hedge, steering me down an
unfamiliar path. We continued to walk for a while in silence, until
he finally broke it, coughing as if to clear his throat before
saying,
“
So, how have you
been?
”

In a most
unladylike fashion, I laughed sarcastically and rolled my
eyes.
“
Really? After not speaking to me
for days, you ask me how I am? If you must know,
I
’
ve been to
the end of the city and back, nearly getting myself killed on a
number of occasions, I
’
ve found out that Heath, you remember him, right? Or did
you forget about him too? Well, Heath lost both the stables and his
home because he was charged with treason, and now he wants to help
with the rebellion. Jean wants to help as well, but Lydia thinks
I
’
m setting us
all up for ruin, and now I
’
ve just found out that your
father is sending a swarm of troops to the colonies in order to
bring more young girls over to this castle, so that your men could
steal their innocence in order to pass the time. Not only that, but
it means that we have even less time to round all the Nethers up
before the men get there, but we haven
’
t been able to plan anything
because Croxley has been off who knows where and
you
’
ve been too
enraptured with Lena to know the difference.
”
I huffed, having unleashed it all in one
breath.

However, it seems
that my rant proved effective, because for the first time since
I
’
ve known him,
the Prince was speechless. He walked away from me, his hands
holding his neck behind his head. He turned back towards me,
inhaled, then sighed again and turned around. I waited as this
happened a few times, until finally he sat down on a marble bench
and said,
“I
’
m sorry.”

The way he said
it, with so much weariness, had me apologizing for my sudden
outburst.
“No, I
’
m sorry. It isn
’
t all your fault. You have a lot
of responsibilities.
”

“
That is true,
but I also need to have priorities. And lately, they
haven
’
t been in
order. Lena
…
she just takes so much out of
me.
”

I gave him a look, not
sure if I wanted to hear what he had to say.

“
No, no, not like
that. She is just so, I don
’
t know how to say it, royal. You
thought I was bad, living the palace life, going to parties and
such. She makes me look like a shut in! All she ever wants to do is
go out, and when she isn
’
t doing that, she is getting
fitted for a new gown, buying new jewelry, demanding that merchants
from across the land come in and bring their finest decorations. If
she is to be queen, Ahrenia will be in ruins before long.
”
He put his head in his hands, as if just
thinking about it gave him a headache. As bad as I felt for him, I
couldn
’
t help
but smile inwardly at hearing how badly he was tolerating
Lena.
“
I must be honest with you, when
Jean told me you needed to speak with me, I nearly came dashing
here to meet you. It took a while to lose my guards, but I just
mentioned that Lena needed them, and half of them fled while the
other half flocked to her rescue. That woman has the castle in
quite a state of riot.
”

I filtered
through this in my head, so many of the things he had said sending
my emotions in directions that I didn
’
t currently have time for them
to go.
”
Well shucks, it sounds like
I
’
ve missed out
on all the excitement,
”
I finally
replied.

He rose from the
bench and walked towards me until we were nearly touching.
“
Out of all the things in my life right now, you
are by far the most exciting.
”
We stood
there in each other
’
s company for a few moments, until he cleared his throat,
announcing,
“
So, Jean said you needed to
speak to me about something.
”

“
I do. I
mentioned that Heath was ready to help us out. He wants to come to
the colonies with us to rally them up, prepare them for the revolt.
Jean and I know a few girls that might help get things together on
this end. If only I knew where Croxley was. He was the main mind
behind this plan. He would know what to do, now that the soldiers
are going to raid the colonies.
”

“
Croxley, the
cunning devil I know him to be, is most likely working things out
from wherever he is. It
’
s up to us to just follow the
plan. But we have to start soon. When will you be able to speak to
Jean and Heath again?
”

“
I can try to get
the message out to Heath tonight, and I will see Jean when I return
to the chambers.
”

“
Good. Meanwhile,
I will prepare the horses and the bags for our journey. I shall
tell my father that all this wedding planning has driven me a bit
mad, and that I require a short journey to clear my head.
I
’
m sure he
will understand. Or if not understand, at least not be suspect. I
mean, it wouldn
’
t be the first time that I just up and ran from my
responsibilities.
”
He grinned sheepishly,
not in the least sorry for his past actions.

“
Alright. It
isn
’
t safe for
me here, so I will have to return to the Harris
’
s home after I find Jean. If you
need to get to me, ask Jean how to get there.
”
I pushed myself away from him, my hand pressing against his
chest, which felt warm and strong. As right as it felt, I knew that
we were pushing our luck spending so much time together in the
garden.
“
We should get
going.
”

“You
’
re right.
”
He put his hand over my own on his chest, pulling it off
and setting it down at my side.
“
Fara, I
truly am sorry for having ignored you. If circumstances were
different...yes, well. I
’
ll be waiting to hear from
Jean.
”
And with that, we went our
separate ways, him back to the castle and to Lena, myself back to
the chambers, underground.

Chapter
26

As I made my way
back, the hallways were in a buzz. Courtiers were dashing between
rooms, while the guards were walking from door to door. I navigated
through the servant
’
s corridors, hoping to stay out of sight, wondering all the
while what had the castle in such a state.

Rushing around
the corner, I smacked into someone, bringing us both to the ground.
I hurriedly pulled myself up, only to be dragged back down by the
arm as a group of guards ran through the hallway.
“
Fara, stay down.
”

“
Jean?
What
’
s going
on?
”
I asked when I saw that it was her
hand on my arm. She was bowing her head so no one could recognize
her and I followed suit, walking close to her while she filled me
in.

“
Someone ratted
us out. I don
’
t
know who. I promise it wasn
’
t me, and none of the other
girls said anything, they all swore. But Mathelda knows. She knows
what you are trying to start. She might even know about the Prince
and Croxley. I
’
m not sure, but you need to get out of here, fast!
She
’
s looking
for you, for me, for Prince Erik, she
’
s even had the King send out all
of his guards to get every servant back into their quarters so that
they can find you.
”

I stopped in my
tracks as everything came crashing down. How? How could this have
happened? My mind provided the answer, but my heart
didn
’
t want to
accept it. Lydia, she
’
s the only one who would have told. You
’
re being selfish.
You
’
ll bring
everyone down, she had said. She must have thought she was helping
me, helping everyone from a terrible fate.

As the last of
the guards passed through the corridor, Jean pulled me up and
pushed me out, whispering fervently,
“
Go!
Run! I will try to tell the Prince, but you need to get out of
here! If I don
’
t make it out, they
’
ve either captured me and have
me imprisoned, or
…
well, or
I
’
ll be
dead.
”

“
No, Jean, you
need to come with me! I can
’
t leave you behind, not again! I
told you we would be together in this!
”

“
That
doesn
’
t matter!
All the Nethers, all of the families, the children, they matter.
You need to save them, and waiting around for me
won
’
t get you
any closer. Just promise me, Fara, promise me you will find my
family. Here,
”
she pressed something soft
into my hand, and I closed it tightly, placing it in the pocket of
my skirt without looking at it.
“
Give
this to my family when you find them.
”
She looked over her shoulder, and then let go of my
hands.
“Now go!”
She gave me a quick hug
and I squeezed her tight, releasing her, then dashing towards the
exit. Before I made it out, I glanced back and saw her leave around
the corner, then watched a group of three guards emerge across from
the hall. At the last second before they saw me, I heard a
“
Hey! Hey, you dumb dogs! Over here!
”
Thank you, Jean.