The Warrior of Avelyn

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If there was one thing Clara taught them well; it was to turn their disadvantages into advantages.

And that's exactly what the women of Avelyn did to proceed with their rescue plan. The first step was to stay invisible; to hear and learn everything they could around the kingdom. It wasn't that hard of a task considering most men refused to believe they could be any threat.

The next few days had gone by smoothly; with the women reporting back to Hazel with every new detail they learned.

Alan was sent out to some outer villages by order of the new general; Robin.

Hazel noticed that the knights who were closest to Clara were sent away from Wisteria, and that made her suspicious.

Clara could still be in Wisteria, she concluded.

Letting all of the other women know about her thoughts, they all kept an eye out for anywhere one could be trapped.

They noticed a rather odd pattern of more guards going to Rowan's house. That was the perfect loose thread to pull on.

Walking to the kitchen, Hazel could see Robin's men watching her every move. They were on high alert. Everything they did only proved to the maiden that her friend had been imprisoned rather than run away.

Fortunately, they weren't too good at covering their tracks.

Hazel smiled to herself as she continued to walk along the halls.

What the guards didn't know was that she had appointed Rowan's maids the job of looking around his house.

Specifically, the hidden dungeon he had under his house.

"We finally have a delivery for Rowan's house!" Molly said as she rushed over to Hazel when she entered the kitchen, handing her a slip of paper. The younger girl grinned brightly, having been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

"Perfect!" She said. "I'll get started on it right away."

"Are you sure it's safe for you to go there?" The cook trailed behind her, her voice low with concern. "We could send someone else instead, I don't want you to get into trouble."

"I appreciate your concern, Molly." She paused her work to smile at her. "But no one else knows how to open the hidden door, I'm afraid this is our only shot at this."

Molly sighed, expecting this. She smiled nonetheless.

"Please be careful." She said to her. "We don't want both of our troublemakers behind bars."

"Who, me?" Hazel gasped, faking surprise. A giggle escaped her lips before she nodded and assured the older woman once again.

She thought it was best not to let her know that she would do whatever it took to save Clara.

Her heart ached for Lila, who she had to keep the information of Clara's disappearance a secret from. She couldn't tell her that her sister was in trouble. Though young, she'd experienced much loss, even if she weren't aware of some of them.

She couldn't add Clara to her list.

Instead, Lila thinks Clara is on a secret mission to save another kingdom from a dragon.

Sometimes, Hazel wished it was only a dragon that they faced; for humankind was much crueler than any mythical beast their minds could come up with. The scariest monsters were those who looked just like herself.

You wouldn't know their nature until it was too late.

She hoped it wouldn't be too late this time.

Finally done with cooking and baking everything on the list sent to them, Hazel began her journey to the Duke's mansion. The cart she strolled in front of her almost slipped from her sweaty hands many times, but she still managed to get through her nerves.