The Escaped Princess

Part 24

As I exit the street and reach the square someone from behind suddenly wraps their arms around me, picking me up and trying to carry me away. I scream and throw my head backwards like Dav taught me, catching the person off guard he drops me with a curse. Not stopping to see who the assailant was, I make to sprint towards the Gallavanties caravans but another man comes from the side and tackles me to the ground and then another dives on top to help him. It's then that I see these are not ordinary men taking a chance on a random girl. These are Karhaner soldiers and true fear now sets in. These soldiers are here with a purpose. They are not here to kidnap any ordinary girl, they are here to get a Princess. There is no doubt in my mind, these men know who I am.

I scream and fight, kicking my legs and trying to hit anything within range, but it's no use. Not with four of them now holding me down. They manage to catch my flailing legs and bind my ankles to stop me kicking any more. Then they do the same with my hands as I still desperately scream out until someone stuffs a rag in my mouth, silencing my protests. Just when I think all is lost the Gallavanties suddenly appear. As they race towards me, Risa calling my name, for a moment I think rescue is coming, but then at least twenty armed guards flow into the square from all sides, surrounding us all, and I know there's no hope of the Gallavanties coming to my aid. Instead the soldiers insist that they are to come with us too. In contrast to my battle the Gallavanties allow the soldiers to lead them without protest. I stare at Pepe and Dav who appear to be furiously thinking and sharing a hurried whispered conversation. Looking at Risa I see my own fear reflected back in her eyes too. What is happening? What are they going to do with us? This is all my fault. The Gallavanties are only in this danger because of me. I try to tell Risa and Luis how sorry I am with my eyes but I'm not sure they understand my message. With my legs bound the soldiers practically drag me down the twisting streets. People come out of their houses to watch the procession in an eerie silence. We reach the castle walls and enter, the thick barred portcullis closing swiftly behind us. They march us up the entrance steps and through a wide corridor which seems vaguely familiar from my one and only previous visit here when I was a child. I'm sure there used to be royal portraits hung all the way along here but now the walls are plain.

We arrive into a large great hall, not unlike the one back in Carrard. The guards lead us down the central aisle until I'm pushed to my knees in front of a man wearing military uniform and sat on a large throne raised above me. General Srumthro I assume. The Gallavanties remain standing somewhere behind me. "Well well well, this is an interesting development." The General stands and approaches, looking at me intensely. Slowly he nods, "Yes, I see it now, once you ignore the grub and the clothes, you look exactly like the girl in the portrait. A little more grown up perhaps. Princess Elisa. The only daughter of King Rafael and heir to the Aleti throne here in my Great Hall. A most unexpected though not unwelcome surprise I must admit. How on earth did you end up in Otraf, Karhaner of all places? Last I heard you had been banished by Lord Fagan to some palace in the countryside?"

I shake my head at the cover story which Lord Fagan has spread, "I ran away from Carrard and Lord Fagan a long time ago."

"But now you plan to return and inform them of my plans, yes? Well I must disappoint you. Those in the city are extremely loyal you see." Glancing to his left I follow his gaze to see a man I recognise from the square. The one who was hanging around backstage and was always watching us from across the yard. He twists his hat in his hands and refuses to meet my eyes. "Yes, you see. Like a faithful dog. You will be rewarded." The General tells the man.

"Thank you sir," he bows.

The General waves his arm, "The Princess and her friends can be locked up. I will speak more with her later."

As the guards move to surround us once more Pepe suddenly pipes up, "We ain't friends."

The General looks up, appraising Pepe, "What did you say?"

"We ain't her friends. She ain't one of us. We've only known her a few weeks. Asked us for a ride outta Carrard and we said alright in return for payment, din't ask questions. We only found out who she was just before your men came bursting in. If your informant is any good he would've told ya that. She bloody lied to us, kept us in the dark for weeks bout who she really were."

General Srumthro glances at the thin man who is still hovering off to the side, "Err yes sir, I think that's true. They certainly weren't treating her like a Princess. They were calling her Cara when I first overheard them. The princess only revealed her true identity when she said she needed to get back to Aleti and warn them of our plans to attack. They all did seem rather shocked by it."

He seems to consider this whilst I try to catch Pepe's eye. What is he doing?

"And now that you do know who she is, what do you intend to do?"

"Well if we'd known there was a reward for her we would've turned her right over to you ourselves. Seems to me like we should get a share of the reward anyhow. We were the ones who brought her here to Otraf in the first place."

General Srumthro nods slowly at this, "Well clearly you're not close associates with the Princess here so I've no further use for you. A scrawny bunch of travelling showmen are worth nothing to me. They'll be no reward but you're not being thrown in jail so count yourselves lucky."

Pepe smiles and nods, "Thank you very much kind sir. Are we still permitted to perform our show for the good people of Otraf tonight before we move on?" he asks. The General waves a dismissive hand, "Yes yes, perform your show then continue on your merry way." Pepe then bows in response. He actually bows at him. Then the General calls out to his guards and he stands to leave the room, "Take the Princess away, lock her in the dungeons."

I stare at Pepe in shock. He can't mean what he's just said. But before I can say anything two guards grab my arms on either side and start to drag me from the room. I see Risa take a step forward but Pepe's arm shoots out to stop her and then Luis tugs her back. Tears fill my eyes. They truly are abandoning me. Tears splashing down my face as I wallow in my despair allowing the guards to take me down a flight of stairs without protest. They lead me down a mazy corridor and another flight of stairs before we reach what is clearly the prison dungeon. They open a heavy metal door and shove me inside. My eyes slowly adjust to the darkness to reveal a plain square room containing only a bucket and wooden pallet. I pull my cloak tightly around me as coldness seeps in and slowly sink to the floor. Unable to control my tears I let out a sob, and then another one follows. Once I start I can't seem to stop and just let everything pour out of me. The upset and sense of betrayal mixing with my fear.

Eventually my tears do dry up and I simply lie there curled up on my side on the cold hard floor, reliving that moment in the great hall over and over again. How could they do this to me? The more I think about it the more I just can't believe it. I know what I saw and heard with my own ears and eyes but the Gallavanties are my family. I trust them with my life. They wouldn't betray me like this. I know they wouldn't. Even after I lied to them about who I was they still forgave me and were willing to help. Suddenly I sit up. That's it. They promised to help Aleti, to warn them of the impending attack. That must be what they are doing. The General was going to lock us all up and then there would have been no-one free to travel south to get word to Aleti. Pepe must've known there was no chance of the General letting me go, but there was a chance of him releasing the Gallavanties, leaving them free to fulfill their promise and alert Aleti. It makes such sense. It was a choice between sticking with me or protecting an entire country. And though I don't doubt it would have been tough for Pepe to make the decision, he always makes the right one. I breathe a sigh of relief that I've figured out what Pepe was doing. The more I think about it , the more I know in my heart that this is true. That the Gallavanties didn't betray me and abandon me, they made a choice to fulfill a promise. I send up a silent prayer of thanks to the Gallavanties. I try to send a message through the universe to tell them that I understand and support their decision and I wish with everything I have that they make it in time. Exhausted and with a pounding headache I finally drift off to sleep.