A Queen Conflicted (Alys Book #3)

Chapter 35

Everything happened lightning fast.
The courtyard erupted into chaos as soon as the horns sounded the alarm.
Endolynn's eyes scanned the area, desperate to find a way out. There was no way they could make their way to wherever the stables were now that their absence had been discovered. Leoford would have the entire place crawling with soldiers in minutes.
"There!" Zari grabbed Endolynn's right shoulder and pointed towards a crowd. It took Endolynn a moment for her eyes to find the brown horse tied to a post.

It was already saddled, likely the beast of one of the people visiting court that day.
Endolynn nodded, realizing what Zari was trying to convey.
If they could get Maajida to that horse before the soldiers took control of the courtyard, Maajida might get free.
It was a gamble. But if they did not take it, they would surely be captured within minutes.
Endolynn turned quickly to look at the other women, hoping the chaos of the crowd would keep them from being noticed. For now.
"We are going to get Maajida to that horse," she pointed behind herself, looking at each woman directly, "We get her out of here, or die trying. Maajida, you know where we are?"
The Joreshian princess nodded, her face tight with agitation. Good thing Atheena had talked so much in her fury with her once betrothed. Even with basic details of their location, Dastrehan would be able to figure out where they were.

Jocelynn, though pale, looked calm and collected. At peace with what they had decided.
"No matter what you all think of me," Endolynn said firmly, unwilling to turn away without saying something that felt more final, "I am proud of you all. We will not go down without a fight."

She turned away, bringing her sword up. There were already several guards between them and that horse. They would be fighting their way to it. And the longer they waited, the more guards they would need to fight.

Zari ran past the queen with her own weapon up, not hesitating for even a moment as she struck at the nearest guard.
The guard yelped in surprise, not expecting such a powerful blow to come from the woman.
Endolynn followed, cutting down a guard with a few strokes of her sword.
Jia Zhen move past them, and Endolynn was not able to tear her eyes away as she watched the princess disarm two guards at the same time and fell them with their own weapons.

Jia Zhen fought like she was dancing, but her moves were deadly.
Endolynn shook herself from staring and moved towards the next men that stood between their little group and the horse. Zari fell back, guarding the back so that no harm could come to Maajida or Jocelynn without going through her first.

Getting towards the horse was painfully slow. Thankfully, it seemed that the guards were too focused on stopping the royal women that they did not notice the horse they were moving towards.
Endolynn's back protested every time she lifted her sword, every time she twisted for a swing. But she ignored it, determined to get to the horse.

After, she could worry about her back.

If she survived this.
As they reached the horse, the tone of the crowd changed. The fighting in the courtyard had alerted them to where the danger was, causing the crowd to push back away from the clash of guards and royals.

Endolynn turned her back to the horse while Jocelynn moved to help Maajida into the saddle.
The pushed back crowd left them vulnerable to more guards being able to spot and attack them. The hooves of the horse stomped on the tiles of the courtyard, the mount impatient and spooked. As Endolynn focused on the six guards advancing on her and Jia Zhen, all she could do was hope that Maajida would be able to control the horse.
"GO!" Zari shouted to the Joreshian princess from beside Endolynn, but the queen could not hear if the horse had started moving or not as the clang of her blade blocking the sword coming at her rang in her ears.
The man was strong, and the weight of his blow threatened to bring her to her knees. She was weakened; not just from the whipping, but from so many weeks of inactivity. Clenching her teeth, she shoved the sword away from her, ignoring the screaming skin of her back.
Jia Zhen had already taken down three guards herself, and Zari moved on to her second as Endolynn fought off the guard in front of her. The man was massive, and she quickly realized she would not be able to overpower him at all. All she could manage was to use his bulk and muscle against him.
With several quick but painful moves, Endolynn navigated around him and to his behind, vaguely aware of the soldiers standing a fair distance away posed with bows. She could not focus on that now; she had to first stop the man attacking her.
As she slid her sword into the man who had not yet had the chance to turn around, realization hit her. Her eyes looked forward as the man fell, to where Maajida was riding the horse to the open gates. To escape.