Ruby Locket #2: A Grand Wedding

CHAPTER 4-The great escape.

If there's one thing maidservants know how to do very well, it would be gossip. They never stop chattering on about every piece of information they found by happenstance. With mouths that never stop jabbering, all Lyanna had to do, was listen.

"I still can't believe the prince is marrying a man. You know some say that Amari is a warlock and has the prince under a spell", went one whispering kitchen maid.

" Wouldn't that explain things? Remember what happened during the betrothal ceremony? I have no doubt Prince Nicholas is under a spell" went another.

"So why not help him? He's clearly in danger", asked, a third.

" Rose, I am only here to work. Once I've saved up enough, I'll be out of this kingdom. There is no way, I'll be ruled by an evil warlock", replied the first one to the third.
Unfortunately, what may shine on the surface will mostly turn out to be something else. Something jagged and harsh. Not every smiling face comes from a place of love and adoration.

"They say, there is another warlock just beyond the woods," Rose said. "The water maids say he used to be a part of Armedea but left to be in the woods. Octavius! That's his name, I think.

"The way these warlocks are peeping their heads out of nowhere nowadays is frankly beyond me. I'll do what I have to do and go live amongst decent people", the second maid added which received a unison of hums in agreement to her statement.

Once Lyanna was assigned to clean Amari's room right after the ballroom, It was too good to be true. The opportunities were throwing themselves at her. All she needed, was his face powder. By crushing some dead cockroaches and some dried wild illyrium flowers, she once again recreated her sleeping powder. She kept it on her whilst she patiently waited for the right moment to escape. She made sure to seem effortlessly regular that day.

The moment she was back in her cell as if on cue, a kitchen maid brought her supper. The guard opened the metallic door and she walked right in. The maid was a bit concerned seeing a shivering Lyanna in the corner. She slowly walked up to her and whispered "Are you well?". Before she knew it, her eyes were clouded in white, and she soon fell unconscious. Lyanna was quick to catch her avoiding the making of an alarming thud.

Quickly, she donned the maid's clothes and crept up behind the guard. She grabbed a rock she had tucked away and whacked him unconscious. She dragged his limp body into the cell, tied them up, gagged them, and locked it; making sure to throw away the key.

Everyone suspects a criminal to be sneaky with their escape but that just draws more attention. The safest alternative is to do it right in front of them. People are quick to point at things they notice from afar but no one detects the simplest of anomalies that occur right under their noses- hiding in plain sight.

With the maid's garment, all she had to do was walk out. Quite simple. Quite easy. Quite quiet.

ꕥꕥ

Dawn.
Amari did not sleep a wink. He was too disturbed to even think about sleeping. Now that she is gone, what will she do? kept ringing in his mind. He paced around the room countless times almost denting the marble floor with his feet.

A warm pair of hands caressed him from behind. Nicholas planted a kiss on his ear as they stared out the window. The sun was just on the horizon about to rise. Nicholas was about to head out with a group of soldiers to search twice as much.

" I'll go with you", Amari said.

"Out of the question. You have to stay here where I know you're safe", Nicholas suggested.

" So, you're saying I won't be safe by your side?"

"Uh-...."

Amari triumphantly nodded and got dressed. The gallop of a dozen horses rushing out of the castle was a literal wake-up call. It drowned out the rooster's morning cockle-doodle-doo. The morning air was cold and wet and each gallop was accompanied by a muddy splash.