Bound to the North {Complete!}

07| The Maid

I reluctantly shouldered my bow. "Wait here," I said. "I'll come back with your precious princess."

She nodded and perched herself on a rock. "I'll be here!" she gloated.

"One last thing," I added. "Why do you care so much about Irene?"

A look of conflict appeared on her face. "I'm her maid. Without her I don't have a job."

I nodded, and without another word, turned my back on the girl and set off toward the elf palace. I wasn't sure what to do. There would be an uproar if Irene was freed, but what was more important to us...Irene or Pelos? The answer was obviously Pelos.

As one of the head knights, I had no problem getting the key to Irene's cell. I descended into the dungeon with ease, and unlocked her cage.

"Irene?" I asked hesitantly. The girl from before appeared, taking one step after another cautiously. She had a black eye and a bloody lip. "I have instructions to take you back to the fairy kingdom."

She picked up her pace and strutted by, more like royalty and less like the timid creature she was before. Chin held high, she said, "Get on with it then. And that's Princess Irene to you."

On the ride back to the silver woods, Irene was a mix of angry and grateful. When we passed the castle and headed into the forest, she demanded to know where we were going.

"You're...maid's holding something I need as ransom for your freedom."

"My maid?" Just then, we came into view of the girl. I saw them lock eyes, some unspoken message traveling between them. When we reached her, I realized exactly how alike the two of them looked. They had the same hair, face, nose, and body shape. Irene was just a taller, blue-eyed, more confident version of the girl.

"Lady Irene," the girl said, curtsying. The girl then turned to face me. "Take the flower," she said, handing it to me.

"No!" Irene shrieked.

The girl looked at her in shock. "Why not?" she asked. "He brought you back." The girl sent Irene a warning glance that said we'll discuss this later.

Irene reluctantly stepped back as the girl handed me the glowing flower. She met my gaze, her silver eyes glowing pinkish from the reflection. When her hand grazed mine, I dropped a note that I had written earlier into it. She closed her hand around the note, raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. I nodded formally at the two of them, and walked away from her. I could only hope the girl would do as the note said.

***
I sat in the palace with Amara, who was recovering from her many wounds: physical and emotional. The Elven Army had just suffered its first defeat in years. Of course, it was being led for the first time by General Amara. "It wasn't your fault," I soothed. "We invaded their castle. We were certain to lose. It was a diversion, remember? We won, because we got what we actually needed."

When I'd returned with the flower, a healer had put it in a healing solution which immediately revived Lord Pelos. He was fine, and back to his old self.

Just then, Ozio ran down the hallway. "Irene escaped!" he yelled as he ran.

"What?!" Amara demanded.

I chuckled nervously, and ran after Ozio. I pulled him to a stop. "I let her go!" I whispered fiercely. "A girl in the woods was holding the flower ransom. I didn't have a choice."

Ozio widened his eyes. "Have fun explaining that to the council, bro," he said. He then slipped away, trying to play off the fact that he'd just been running down the hallway screaming.

Soon enough, there was an uproar in the palace over the 'escaped' princess. "Finn, what's gong on?" Amara asked.

"I'm going to find Father!" I called behind me as I ran toward his study. "I need to explain everything to him before the entire kingdom hears about this!"