A wave of people rolls against a barely holding wall of soldiers and guards. Screams and shouts fill the air and a feeling of discontent settles in my stomach. These people are not happy. Shiobhan and I duck down and watch as a group of guards encircle someone at the front of the mass. Soon the guards make a line in front and Lanessa is revealed. While she stares out at all the people with a determined face, the crowd starts to quiet down. Finally silence surrounds the people and Lanessa speaks.
“What are you doing? Why must you do this to me after all I’ve done for you? There is no reasonable excuse for this! If you will all return home now I might be able to forgive you, but if you will not I may have to do things you will regret.”
Her last statement seems to echo as the crowd holds its breath. When I am sure no one will speak up again and everything will go back to “normal”, a tall man steps out of the crowd.
“We stand up because we are tired of your tyranny. You have stolen our crops, our goods, our freedom and even some of our lives and now you expect us to let you kill two girls? Where are they? Have they already been put to death? What “crime” did they commit? If you ask me your reign has gone on long enough, it is time you were dealt with. No more Rules!” His last words are swallowed up by the shouts of approval and the sudden surge of the crowd.
“Very well, if that is your choice then so be it.” Lanessa declares and with one final nod to the lead guard, she disappears into the castle once again. Instantly swords are drawn and all the soldiers and guards swing at the crowds, cutting them away. I can’t watch anymore so I turn to go inside but the cries of those poor, oppressed people fill my ears and swirl around in my mind. I turn to Shiobhan and whisper,
“Do you believe me now or do you want more proof?”
“I believe you, but now what? I mean…are we staying here?”
“Why would we stay here? I think we should make a run for it while we can!” I exclaim.
“I agree, but we better hurry. We’ll need supplies; water, food maybe even blankets,” she lists while hurrying to our rooms.
“Wait! We’re not going to have enough time.”
“What do you mean? If we hurry we can make it,” she says urgently.
“You’re probably right, we could get pretty far. But think about it, the first place she’ll come is our rooms. If she finds it empty, all the guards and soldiers will be looking for us. If we wait until tonight we can have more time before people will start to look for us.”
“Okay, but how do we know she won’t hurt us until then?” she asks nervously.
“Unfortunately, we have to take that risk but I think she’ll be too occupied with the rebellion to deal with us,” I respond.
“You’re probably right. We better get back to our rooms before she comes up,” she responds.
“Right!” I declare as we begin to sprint down the long empty halls.
We slip quickly into my room and try to calm our breathing before we here the clatter of feet hurrying up the stairway and to the bedroom door. Then comes the quick tap, tap and a faint call.
“Are you two alright?” Silence fills time before Shiobhan calls out.
“We’re fine. Is everything under control?” she inquires curiously.
“Oh yes, everything is fine. All is well; it was just a…well nothing of great importance. It was easily dealt with. Why don’t we continue our earlier discussions over a cup of tea? I’ll meet you in the sitting room soon. Are you sure you are alright?”
“Yes, perfectly fine, thanks. I’ll see you soon,” Shiobhan assures.
“Good,” Lanessa states as she turns away from the door. I swear I hear her sigh with relief.
“Better get changed,” Shiobhan shrugs as she turns to me.
“Yep,” I respond.
