(jaylor au) clandestine meetings in beautiful rooms

Baby, Let The Games Begin

Joe

The guards release us after Taylor's parents leave the room. They storm out with no further words. Alexander is just as speechless and winded as I am. Which is a relief, actually. Sometimes I find myself worrying about the fact he might be a traitor, might be fooling us all into thinking he's trustworthy, when really, he'll jump from whichever ship sinks first. But I understand his reasons for wanting to flee as much as my own, and I'm just hoping that he truly hates this life.
"We've got to find her." Austin tries to go after them, but it's clear that he's still in severe pain from the lashes across his back.
I almost find myself slipping into a headspace where I can't think straight. But I know that's not what I need to do. Taylor said to keep planning - and I know that she's not going to be sitting in that room, there all day counting the diamonds on her tiara or the pearls on her necklace.
She's so much more than anyone assumes - she'll be up there planning and finding an escape. She knows the palace like the back of her hand. She knows every passage. That's the benefit of being shut in here for all of her life with nothing to do.
"We have to keep planning on when we're leaving," I tell them. I know that there's every possibility that Taylor will find us. "And it's beginning to be clear that sooner, rather than later, is the best option."
"I'll need to speak to a few of my friends in Washington... and I'll see if I can get any of them to ensure a safe route." Alexander offers. "And then I'll have to make it clear that all guards are the be one the palace. So that there's very few of them roaming around. Although I'm sure that we'll be able to make it through undisturbed because a large part of Washington is empty."
"We'll need horses." Austin tells us. "I grew up with Laurie from the stables. He'll help us. We'll need to make sure that we have a clear path to escape this castle before we even think about what we're doing beyond this kingdom. I think we need to do it in the evening. The servants wake at four in the morning - so it's got to be before then. I think it needs to be one o'clock in the morning. That way, there's enough time either side if things go wrong." He brushes his hair away from his face. "And we need to make sure that it doesn't look like we are runaways. Either that, or we wear clothes that don't make us stand out as Royals. If we wear anything that screams royalty, the news will get back to New York too quickly."
"We can sort that out." I nod. I know that Taylor has enough dresses like that - and I'm sure that she will make sure her ladies will have them too. "What about-"
There's a knock on the door, and Alexander opens it. Abigail enters the room, looking breathless and exhausted.
"This," she says, trying to catch her breath as she presses a piece of paper into the palm of my hand, "is the route we need to take."
"How do you know?" Alexander asks. "You've never been-"
"Don't you assume to know anything about me," Abigail snaps. "I know people, okay? I know people that have escaped before. This is the route that worked for them."
Austin takes the map from her hand, and nods. "It does seem like this could work."
"Where's Taylor?" Abigail asks, and I sigh.
"We don't know. Her parents have locked her somewhere."
"Why?"
"Because she has a voice." I tell her and she rolls her eyes. "So we've got to keep planning it all to ensure that we can leave here as soon as possible. Who knows what could be happening this time in a month? The sooner we leave, the better."
I'll get her out. I'll get her away from this palace and show her what life should be like. I'll show her what living really feels like.

Taylor

It's a good thing that I wasted no time and did all my exploring earlier, because by the time a few hours have passed, guards stand at every exit to the room. Except the secret one that only I know about.
Luckily there is a door to the wardrobe, meaning that if I shut the door, no one can speak to me. However, I cannot simply vanish, as much as I would like to. So instead, I sit at the desk and begin to make note of the things that I will need to make sure we take. I will have to take my jewellery, to ensure we have something to sell. I will need food, I will need water and the list seems to just get bigger.
I hope that Joe is working on a plan while I'm here, because it's become all too apparent that my parents aren't going to let me go without a fight.
There's a knock on the door and I can't help but jump.
"Your Highness? Your mother is here to see you."
The words send chills down my spine. Ice cold. I feel ice cold and my mother is standing outside my door.
"I do not wish to see her."
"She insists, ma'am." I sigh, staring outside. I wish that I was one of them. Living a life where I could do what I wanted. Bake bread for my children and tuck them into bed at night without the title of king, queen, prince and princess. Living in a little cottage that was cozy in the winter, a little stuffy during the summer, but it would be home. A garden of wildflowers and a few weeds here and there.
"She'll come bursting in anyway, whether I give my permission or not." I say quietly and footsteps leave the door.
Sure enough, my mother storms in, banging loudly on the door.
"Stop fighting, Taylor."
"No. I will never stop fighting you." I tell her bitterly, which she clearly doesn't expect from me. She's on the other side of the door, I can feel her presence.
"A queen must do what is best for her people, and you know that. That is why you will behave now."
"I won't just shut my mouth and be silent, mother. I'm not just an ornament to hang at your wrist, to be discarded. I have tried so hard to be the best daughter I can be, but nothing is ever enough for you, and I'm sick of trying." My words are lifeless. All my life I've tries to fit into the mould she set for me and I can't do it anymore. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you're never enough. But that's not your fault, and I know that now.
There is a click, and she's there, and she is angry.
"You will do whatever I want to, my darling. Because I know about that little, what do you call it, fling? That fling with Joseph. I have everything I need, to... say... blame Joseph for bad things. Forcing himself onto the Princess of New York. You will do everything I say, or else your lover is going to hang for treason." The words catch me completely off guard, because we've been so careful - we've been loving in secret.
"You wouldn't do that. Elizabeth is your friend-"
"I will do whatever means necessary to keep you safe. If I have to-"
"You think this is safe?" I give her a cold laugh. "You don't know the meaning of the word."
"He will be killed and I will force you to watch."
Ice cold. Bitter. Heartless. Her glacial eyes tell me that this isn't a lie.
"What... what do I have to do?" Joe's life is hanging by a thread, and I have the scissors. The fact that she is using this to force me into submission... makes me feel like a nightmare.
"I don't know whether you have Alexander wrapped around your finger too - but one step out of line, and I'll make sure that he won't ever go home again." She's closing the distance between us.
This cage is more than physically. She's mentally trapping me in a glass box. "So, if you want to protect him, you will be the perfect daughter you never could be. Shut your mouth, Taylor. No one needs to hear your opinion every five minutes. You will sit there and you will not object."
Shut. Your. Mouth. I clench my hands in fists at my sides.