A Royal Ruse

Chapter 4

The Great Escape

Princess Zita knew she needed to act quickly.

She dashed back to the King's desk and continued working on the lock of his drawer. Once she finally felt the lock click open, she yanked at the drawer and fished out a blank page of his stationery. However, her plan had suddenly taken a different course of action.

Zita no longer needed to forge her father's signature to free the foreign queen— she just needed to get a message to her. After she was done writing, she squeezed the letter into her bodice and stalked out of the legal council chamber. As soon as she emerged from the murky bowels of the secret passage, Princess Zita made her way to the royal apartments in the west wing of the palace. She was certain her plan would work; however, she was also certain it would have dire consequences.

While she was scuttling through the hallways, she heard the voices of two men. Zita quickly fished the letter out of her bodice, knowing she was going to encounter the guards as soon as she rounded the corner. The princess clutched the piece of paper in her hand, summoning up all the courage she could before continuing on her perilous scheme. She took a deep steadying breath, straightened her posture, and strode confidently up to the armed men guarding the door.

"I have a message from the king that needs to be delivered to his guest," the Princess stated as assuredly as she could while fighting her galloping heartbeat.

The guards eyed her with suspicion. She then presented the letter before them, hoping that the king's stationery would legitimize her ruse. The guards hesitated a little longer, their eyes darting from the letter and then to each other.

"If you don't believe me, by all means, go ahead and read it," the princess said impatiently, "I have better things to do with my time than stand here and —"

"Make it quick," one of the guards said gruffly as he opened the door.

The Princess breathed an inward sigh of relief. She knew how dicey it could have turned if the guards had taken her up on her offer, but she figured there was no room for doubt in this subterfuge— and she was right. She had now gained access to the room acting as the Haddonite queen's holding cell.

The room was cold and joyless. The high ceilings in the royal apartments were so high that despite the time of year, the chambers were always terribly draughty. There was a canopy bed to the left of the room — a hulking structure of deep reds and dark woods. There was a low rust-speckled table to the right where the queen was sitting, looking intently into the nearby lit fireplace. An ebony chest of drawers stood awkwardly against the back wall. Zita shuffled nervously toward the queen, seeing out of the corner of her eye that one of the guards had followed her into the room.

"This is for you, Your Majesty. From the King." Zita set the letter down on the table next to the brooding queen. Queen Tatiana didn't stir. She continued to look obstinately into the crackling flames, avoiding all eye contact with the princess and showing no interest in reading the letter whatsoever. An uncomfortable stretch of silence ensued.

Zita started to panic. This was most certainly not where she thought she would encounter the most resistance. She was unsure of how to proceed.

"Your majesty, I must insist you read the letter. I was given strict instructions to ensure the message was delivered to you."

"Well, you've delivered it," the queen replied shortly.

Zita cleared her throat, desperately hoping that it would snap the monarch out of her trance. Short of grabbing the foreign queen and pleading, she did not know how to convey the urgency of the situation. Zita was also growing increasingly aware of the guard's looming presence shifting closer. He was no doubt becoming curious about the contents of this supposed urgent letter from the king.