The Companion (18+)

28. On the Run

"What on earth happened back there?" Étienne asked, holding himself steady as the carriage rocked side to side from the speed it was travelling at. The Saint-Clair party had managed to leave fairly quickly, the castle behind them growing smaller and smaller.

"Gustave declared himself King and cut down anyone who opposed him," Duke Saint-Clair said through gritted teeth, pulling back the curtains and peering outside. He let out a sigh of relief as he noticed that nobody was following them, the landscape outside blurring past them.

"Just like that?"

"Well I suppose he has been planning something like this for a while," Saint-Clair mumbled, turning back to Étienne and Aurélie. "Trevor and I should apologise to you two and Oliver. Perhaps all this could have been avoided had we done something sooner."

Étienne clicked his tongue. "We told you Delacroix had been behind the attacks on us. Or at least we had a strong theory. What did you end up finding, Aurélie?"

Aurélie sat up, not sure how well the Duke would handle the idea of her having broken into Delacroix's office. With a deep breath she answered, her voice stammering slightly.

"Well, I found letters that were passed between Duke Delacroix and a few of his men stating our locations. They wrote back about how they were unsuccessful in their plans and were waiting on the Duke's orders."

"And how did you find these letters?"

Aurélie shifted in her seat slightly.

"I asked her to break into Delacroix's office during the ball," Étienne said as a matter-of-fact, his arms crossed. His father shook his head and wiped his face, before starting to laugh. Both Aurélie and Étienne stared at him in confusion, briefly glancing at each other.

"What an event," Duke Saint-Clair mumbled after a while, his shoulders still bobbing every few seconds after he had stopped laughing. "Your mother would have loved this."

Étienne's face drew blank. "What do you mean?"

"She hated Gustave's guts. Always went on about wanting to set fire to his office. I do not know how you managed to sneak in without him noticing, but she would have been proud."

A few moments of silence passed before Étienne nodded. "I suppose she would have been. What do we do now?"

"I doubt we will be out of Hungary by morning. Gustave said that no harm would befall us if we left the castle, but I do not know if that extends to the whole country. We are better off trying to get out of this region and finding somewhere to rest in a human town," Noel said, sitting back and letting out a sigh. "This is not ideal."

"Not ideal? This is a nightmare. What is going to happen now?" Étienne said, his voice slightly raised.

His father did not comment on the tone or the volume, instead choosing to sit in silent contemplation. Truth be told, the Duke did not know what the best course of action was. There were no rules about individuals who were in line for the throne suddenly claiming it after the death of a King. With no immediate heir and with three families next in line, it made for rather unending discussions that lead to nowhere.

"I do not know, Étienne," Saint-Clair said after a while, turning to his son. "We must first head back home and find out who exactly we have lost and what we can do. Delacroix has always had a way with the people but his regions are small compared to ours. I doubt anyone would let his actions pass freely without putting up a fight."

Aurélie notice the sudden exhaustion that washed over the Duke's face. She leaned forward and gently took his hand, squeezing it.

"Let us rest for the day before thinking what comes next."