The Dorston Fall [Book I in the Dorston Legacy]

Chapter 27 - Plan B

"Wakey wakey Samuel!" cheered Katelyn, grinning as she threw the supply bag at her sleeping companion. Sammy yelled, sitting upright as quick as lightning; his hands throwing punches. She laughed, her cheeks warming as he glared at her.

"I thank you for the wake up call," he sneered, throwing back the covers and heading for the water basin. "Why are you up so early anyway? I thought you might have been tired."

Katelyn looked to her hands, remembering her dream, vision, whatever it was. "My being tired doesn't matter. We only have three days to reach the mountains, and we're not going to make it on foot."

Sammy scrubbed water and soap over his face quickly, wincing when bubbles got in his eyes. He tried reaching for the towel but, searching blind, he looked in the wrong direction. Katelyn rolled her eyes, walking to retrieve the towel off the window sill. She tossed it in his face and smiled, hearing his murmured, "Thank you."

Katelyn looked away, as he dried and changed into a new shirt. She turned back, gulping at how finely the white shirt clung to his body. How lucky he was, to have stumbled upon a man's outfit similar to his own. Disgruntled, Sammy pulled on his old, trusty waistcoat and sat to put on his shoes.

"So, with three days left, how do you propose to getting there?" he grumbled. He looked up at her. "We have almost no money, not nearly enough for two horses, not even a carriage ride there. How do you propose?" he said, almost spitting out the words.

"Well someone's grumpy this morning," Katelyn pointed out with a smirk, one hand on her hip.

Sammy rolled his eyes, looking down to tie his shoe. "Someone kept me up last night. What do you expect?" He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. He sighed. "Katelyn, I'm sorry-"

"It's fine," she said quickly, her eyes glistening and her mouth twitching. Sammy sighed again, getting to his feet. He reached for Katelyn's cool hands and held them tight. She stared up at him, seeing her own exhaustion in his eye shadows and frown lines.

"I'm sorry, that was rude of me," he apologised, his gaze on their hands. "I'm just worried, you know? About my brothers, my father. You're worried too, I know that. We have every right to be, because so much and so many are depending on us."

Katelyn nodded, nibbling her lip anxiously and squeezing Sammy's hands for warmth. He sighed, continuing. "I know how limited our time is, I do, but how are we going to pull this off?"

She sucked in a breath and met his gaze. "As you once put it, we're going to acquire a few things."

"Acquire?" echoed Sammy, his grin widening swiftly. "You mean-"

"Yes," she affirmed, gulping. "We're gonna to steal some horses."

--

"This is madness. I don't know what I was thinking," whispered Katelyn, looking round the door into the stable. Her heart plummeted. It was occupied by the two stable boys who worked there. They looked about Daniel's age, tall and well built. One had golden locks, the other had red hair. They were shovelling at the pile of hay in the back, talking and joking.

Katelyn grimaced. Just my luck, she thought. The Gods were looking down on her in disapproval, and she didn't blame them. Everything about this plan felt wrong. She was the Princess, she'd never done anything wrong in her life.

Except maybe neglecting your mother, cursing and killing people, I'd say you were a saint, a voice taunted, cruelly.

"Oh shut up," she ordered the voice quietly, as she retreated into the shadow of the building where Sammy stood waiting with their supplies and weapons.