The Kingdom Thief

Chapter 19

I can't think straight. My vision is blurry at the corners, though from my panicked tears or loss of blood I can not tell.

The only thing keeping me upright right now is my grip on the cell bars seeing as my legs refuse to make even the slightest of efforts to support me during this fearful time.

Jack is inside the castle and is heading for Mason as we speak. He has allies on the insides. Two faced guards.

I close my eyes and try to picture which of the guards the traitors could be but I can't pick any of them out as suspicious. They all seemed the same, brave and loyal.

Obviously my sense of whether someone can be trusted is rusty.

"Somebody! Anybody! Get me out of here!" I continue screaming though my lungs are on fire and my throat is burning. My words are almost incoherent through the tears and cries that come out, all for the fact that Mason was going to be killed and I won't be able to stop it.

But the fact that I am alone and trapped does not stop me. I don't give up. That is a trait about myself that annoys me deeply. I refuse to give up on anything until it's too late. I waited too long to give up on Jack. I still haven't accepted the fact that Mason is going to die and I still believe that somebody will let me out, though I know it's a foolish belief.

I rest my head on the bars, trying to regain even the slightest bit of composure. My head is ringing and my breathing comes out as jagged and unsteady.

But through my breathing I hear the smallest of noises. It is a sound of something like a tin cup being knocked over.

My head whips around at the sound and for the first time I notice the grates at the top of my cell which, though I can't reach, allow me to see out to the streets in front of the castle.

And through those bars I see a boy staring straight back at me.

Peter.

"Peter!" I call out, hurrying to the wall that holds the grates. Peter scrambles to get up as if he is about to take off and I scream out "No, wait Peter!".

A feeling of hope goes through my body when the boy pauses and falls back to his knees, looking at me.

"I shouldn't be here" he speaks. "I shouldn't be wearing this" he states, pointing to the servant outfit he is wearing. "Jack is in there and if he sees me like this he'll kill me. Melody too".

"I won't let that happen" I reassure him. "Now listen to me Peter, you have to go and get somebody. You have to tell them to get me out of here. Tell them that the prince is in danger".

And though the boy's face is pale and he looks scared, he nods.

"And Peter" I add. "There are people on the inside that are not your friend, people that, if you tell them what I just said, will turn you over to Jack. You need to be smart about this. Find somebody you can trust. Find either Melody or Kane".

Peter nods his head, looking braver now. "Hurry" I whisper back to him and like that, Peter takes off in a sprint.

When I am alone again I rest my back on the wall and let out a breath of relief. Maybe it isn't too late.

I finally decide to look down at my arm, where Jack had sliced it. The blood coats my guard sleeve in red but it hasn't done any real damage. Jack barely grazed the top of my skin, which was odd. Why would he do that unless-

My eyes go wide. "He wants to make Mason believe he killed me" I shout aloud.

Of course Jack would think of something this terrible. He wanted Mason to believe that there was no hope left before he killed him. He wanted him to suffer and to not put up a huge fight. What better way to do that then to convince him that nobody was left to fight for him?