The Hibernian Runaway

Chapter 22

Will could hear the jingle of the harness and the rumble of cart wheels from where he sat, hidden from view. Since the early hours of the morning, they had been up, waiting for the cart carrying King Sean to go by. Their Hibernian allies had broken camp and started moving towards Dun Kilty, hoping to be there to give support to the Araluens.

Will turned his head slightly and stared at the dense green foliage, knowing, rather than seeing, that Halt was there with his bow up and an arrow nocked. Then out of the quietness of the morning was the deep thrum of the longbow and an ugly smack as it buried itself under the seat of the driver.

The driver jumped with a shout, falling to the ground, the air in his lungs rushing out in a whoosh. The guards stopped suddenly and drew the weapons at their sides, their horses prancing anxiously under them.

"Show yourself!" a guard shouted, his sword ready. "And surrender peacefully. The Queen might show you mercy."

As per the plan, Horace stepped out of the foliage, followed by five of the Redmont soldiers. They were carrying light armament; swords and leather padding they had been able to get from the Hibernians.

"Give us the valuables and we'll be gone." Horace shouted, trying very hard to sound like a Hibernian. Will winced as he listened to him, knowing that his friend had missed the mark.

"Who do you think you're dealing with?" the guard continued, oblivious to Horace's mispronunciation. "This ain't no money cart. This is the prison cart of Stonewall, carrying the Queen's prisoner to Dun Kilty for public execution." Then he raised his sword. "So you can be on your way, or we can show you true Hibernian strength if you insist."

Will sighed; the entire plan had been built on the grounds of injuring a little people as possible. He was sure that the Araluens could more than handle the Hibernian guards, but doing that without harming them might be a problem.

Horace obviously thought the same thing, dropping his fake accent. "That's exactly what we came for."

"What the?" the guard said, it finally registering in his drunken mind the gravity of the situation. But it was too late, Horace lunged forward his sword up and ready.

Will could only watch as the Hibernians fell under the Araluen swords. Will could tell that they were being as careful as possible, trying to knock the guards from their horses rather than killing them in the saddle. But they weren't making it easy.

Will quickly nocked, sighted, and loosed and arrow, the missile smacking against the wood of the cart, pinning the driver to it by his shirt. In the blink of an eye, another arrow was on his bow string, it seemingly appearing there. But there was no need for it; all of the Hibernian guards were on the ground.

Will nudged Tug forward, the rest of the Araluens following him out of the tree line. Almost immediately, they started stripping weapons and armor from their captives, taking their places. Will watched with an approving eye and nodded to Halt who was observing exactly how he was. They both rode towards the cart and slid off of their horses.

Halt picked the lock, and dropped it clanging to the dirt. Will pulled open the door and they both looked inside.

"Well, isn't it nice to see familiar faces." a voice said from the darkness.

"Better here and now than later." Halt said. "How are you King?"

Lilly ignored the pain in her wrists as they chafed against the metal cuffs binding them. She was trying to dig out a loose nail from her cell door, but the chains that held her were barely long enough to reach it. She groaned as she strained to pull it from the old, warped wood, but was only able to loosen it a little.

With a sigh, she sat on the cold stone ground, giving up. She pulled her legs in and wrapped her arms around them, trying to comfort herself. Lilly couldn't tell how long she had been locked in the cell, let alone if it was day or night. She heard footsteps and her heartbeat sped up, knowing that whoever it was wasn't there for her wellbeing.

The door flew open, the rusty hinges squealing in the silence. Gregory stormed in, looking angry. Lilly scrambled backwards, the chains rattling on the ground loudly. He fumbled at his side and her heart sped up, hoping that he wasn't groping for the knife that she knew was always at his side. He grabbed her wrists and she screamed, fighting to get away.

But instead of feeling the ice cold slash of steel, the cuffs fell from her wrist. She stared at the cuffs on the ground, trying to figure out what was happening.

"Come on, Princess." Gregory almost spat. He grabbed her by her hair and hauled her to her feet. "The Queen would like to see you."

She was shoved ahead into the hallway, Gregory behind her. He herded her through the hallways, Lilly barely able to stumble forward. Unlike her first herding through the hallway, there was nobody to be seen, which didn't make Lilly feel any better. She knew where Gregory was taking her and that made her even more uneasy.

Gregory threw open the doors to the Queen's private chambers, and Lilly stumbled inside. Before her father had been deposed, this had been the series of rooms that belonged to her father. But now they were under the control of Queen Josephine.

Not even a second later, the woman strode through the doors at the other end of the room. "Ah, Lilly, I'm so glad you were able to make it." Her manner unnerved Lilly, the Queen was acting way too sporadically for her liking. "Are you ready to celebrate?" She smiled as she beckoned for Lilly to walk with her into the other room.

"Ready to celebrate what?" Lilly asked, wincing as her voice grated against the inside of her throat.

Queen Josephine smiled and beckoned Lilly into the room she and entered from. Lilly could barely contain her gasp of surprise when she laid eyes on the room. Her mother's wardrobe was wide open and her dresses were strewn across the bed. Queen Josephine held up a beautiful green dress embroidered with gold to Lilly. "Why for your execution of course!" she laughed.