The Vengeful Princess

Chapter 24: A Confrontation With Mortality

A single night had never felt so long. Perhaps it was because the room I was trapped in had no window, providing no concept of time. Or perhaps, it was because I was counting down every single second until dawn inevitably arrived, lifting the world out of darkness and plunging me into it.

The man in the cell next to me sobbed softly to himself. It was just the two of us here, in the section where I could only guess that King Francis kept those who were awaiting execution. As I stared into the darkness, I was tempted to curl into a ball and sob along with the man.

"Why have you been sentenced?" I murmured softly.

"When has King Francis ever needed a reason?" He retorted quickly. The man's voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't had water in days. He didn't bother to continue the conversation and neither did I. The silence hung over us like an ominous cloud, suffocating us.

I don't know how many minutes passed when I saw the flicker of light at the end of the hallway. I bolted upright, eyes fixed on the growing shadow on the wall. Were the guards here to take me to my execution? Was I going to die?

Any calm that I had mustered immediately left my body as I watched the shadow stretch around the corner. I hadn't been this scared since the day that my family had been slaughtered. I hated the way my body shook uncontrollably. I refused to let them see the fear in my eyes. If King Francis was to execute me, I would stare directly into his eyes until the last second.

The hooded figure stopped as they neared my cell.

"Rose?"

I felt myself let out a breath that I didn't realise I was holding.

"Grace?" I gasped, rushing to the bars of my cell.

A hand reached back and gripped mine. Her face came into view under the warm glow of her lantern as she set it down.

"How did you get in here? I thought I wasn't allowed any visitors."

"After Amelia told me what happened, I knew that I had to visit you. Charles paid off the guard on duty to look the other way." She handed me a waterskin. "Are you alright?"

I drank eagerly before answering. "I'm in one piece. How many hours until dawn?"

"Seven." Upon seeing my expression, Grace tightened her grip on my hand. "Alex is working on clearing your name."

"How is that going?"

"He's... working on it. Word has spread of your capture and there are a fair few people who don't think your immediate execution is right. There was even an ambassador who spoke in your favour... I think his name was Nicholas?"

"What if..." I gulped, not wanting to think about it. "What if all this doesn't stop King Francis?"

"Charles and I have been working on another plan, just in case." She glanced down the rows of cells. "I should go."

"Grace, please don't..." I begged. "Just... just stay three more minutes."

I didn't want to return to the darkness. The silence. The dread.

She sent me an apologetic look as she picked up her lantern. "I promise I will do everything in my power to get you out of here. You won't die here, Rose."

♕

Sometime during the night, it started raining. I could hear the soft pitter patter above my sub level cell. I had left the waterskin by the edge of my cell for the man. He didn't say thank you, or give any indication he even noticed, but by the time I went to reach for it, the waterskin was gone. He was asleep now, having cried himself to exhaustion. His light snores were rhythmic and somewhat calming; it reminded me that I wasn't alone.