The Shy Witch

Chapter 66

Chapter 66

That night, I woke up at 1:00 AM once again to a knock on my door. I already knew it was Ryder, but I was still overjoyed when I opened the door and saw him. He smiled and closed the door behind him as he walked in. 

"Hey there beautiful," he said, kissing me. I kissed him back, feeling great from the power I was getting. Eventually he broke away and held my face. "So I have a plan."

"Really? What is it?" I asked. 

Ryder smiled. "Tomorrow night, I'll meet you here again at 1 AM. We're sneaking out."

"Sneaking out?" I asked. "Ryder, you know I can't leave Daniel."

"I know, I already spoke with him."

"You did?"

"Yeah, he's on board with it. He'll be coming with me to meet you."

"That's so great," I said smiling. "I need to get out of here."

"Yes you do. We'll get back to school, and then I can finally take you on a real date." Ryder said, kissing me once again. 

"You know, I really don't understand this." I told him. "You could have any of the girls at school if you wanted."

He smirked. "I know, but I like a challenge."

~~~

24 hours later, I was pacing inside my room, waiting for the knock. I had a small bag with a few necessities packed and ready to go, since I obviously couldn't escape if I took everything. A few minutes later, a soft knock on the door was barely audible. I opened the door, and Ryder and Daniel stepped in side. I gave Daniel a long hug, and he smiled at me, hugging back. 

"Ready to go?" Ryder asked.

I nodded. "Ready."

We walked as quietly as possible down the staircase and out of a kitchen door. Guards would be everywhere, so we had to use an escape route with the least amount of protection. Ryder held his hand out to me, and I took it, allowing him to pull me along and guide me. We hurried quietly in the dark for a few minutes, but finally we came to a gate. Daniel gave me a boost, and I climbed over it and fell to the ground on the other side. Soon after, Daniel came down next to me, but he was able to land much more gracefully. I heard Ryder jump up to grab the gate, but as soon as his feet left the ground, a few lights were turned on. Ryder whispered a bad word, then turned towards the gate and looked at us through a crack. 

"You two go," Ryder said. "Follow the path and you'll get to another gate. Tell the guard that Ryder sent you, he's a buddy of mine and he'll let you through. Get a cab and head back to school. I'll be in contact, I promise."

"Ryder, no! I'm not leaving without you."

"Annalise, please go. Everything's going to be alright."

At these words, I nodded. I grabbed Daniel's hand and we began running down the path. In the distance, I heard Ryder talking to the guards. "It's okay guys, it's just me. Just felt like going for a walk tonight."

Daniel and I continued running down the path. Pretty soon we would be free from here, and I would never have to marry Devin. A few minutes later, we were still running, and I wondered how long it would take to actually get to that gate. As soon as I thought about turning around, a light stopped us in our tracks. 

"What are you doing here?" A voice asked. 

Daniel and I looked up. A guard was sitting on his horse, shining a flashlight at us with an angry expression. 

"Nothing," I answered.

The guard stepped off of his horse and reached into a bag, pulling out two sets of handcuffs. He put a pair on both of us and attached us to a rope he had on his horse so we couldn't get away. The guard rode his horse next to us as we walked back to the castle. I kept my head low. I couldn't believe it. I was so close to freedom. Daniel and I would've been free. But now we were back where we started. In fact, we were probably worse than where we started. I wouldn't be surprised if both of us were thrown into the dungeon for this. 

The guard brought us back into the castle and told another to wake up the king. Ryder was already in the main hall waiting with another guard. Ten minutes later, the King stood in front of us at the same desk he was sitting at when we first met. 

"Can someone please explain what is going on here?" The king asked. 

"These two were caught trying to escape the area. We believe that Daniel Jenkins was trying to kidnap her."

The king's eyes shot to Daniel. "I knew you were nothing but trouble as soon as I saw you." he said. 

"It wasn't like that!" I blurted out. "He wasn't taking me, he was trying to help me escape from here." I explained. 

King William looked furious. "Escape? Why would you escape? You are going to be the queen! And your marriage is in less than two weeks."

"I hate it here," I told him simply. "I just want to go back to my school."

The king shook his head. "I appreciate you trying to take the blame for someone else's actions." he said. "But this can't go without punishment. Daniel Jenkins, I sentence you to death."

"A death sentence?" I whispered. That's impossible. Daniel wasn't going to die. I had already agreed to marry Devin.

"To be carried out immediately!" He yelled, motioning for the guards to take Daniel. I threw myself forward trying to get to Daniel, but Ryder held me back.

"No! Please! Not Daniel!" I cried.

"If I may," Ryder and I turned around to see the voice we had heard. Devin was standing in the doorway. "I'd like to insist that Daniel Jenkins stays alive until the ceremony. He is part of it after all. You can kill him afterwards." he said simply. 

The king nodded. "Fine, fine. Now can someone please take everyone to their rooms?" he asked. "It's too late for me to deal with this."

Devin, of course, volunteered, and we followed him upstairs. He turned around to look at the three of us. 

"Well, I can't wait." he said. 

"Can't wait for what?" Daniel asked.

Devin smirked and walked up to Daniel, his nose inches from his. "For the two men who love Annalise see her marry someone else." 

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7/10/16

Thanks for reading!