Forgotten Vale

Chapter 11

Ashton was sitting on a bench in the garden, basking in the beauty of the Creator's creation, when Pippa came hurdling towards him, obviously upset.

"Your highness, is something wrong?" Ashton asked in concern.

"It's worse than we thought," Pippa said, her voice barely above a whisper. Her normally calm blue eyes were wide with fear. "Tiberius is Lucas' advisor, and he's feeding Lucas all sorts of lies about how he should govern the kingdom. I'm afraid he's trying to start a rebellion amongst the people!"

"Wait, slow down," Ashton said calmly. "Tell me everything, from the beginning."

And so, Pippa did. By the time she was finished, Ashton was also alarmed.

"We have to do something," Ashton stated. "We can't just sit by and watch as Tiberius slowly takes over the kingdom. But what can we do?"

"I don't know, but here come my shadows," Pippa replied, glancing behind her back as two guards walked casually towards them. "I need to go before they get suspicious. Let's meet tonight, same time and place as last time."

"Alright," Ashton said. "Bring Britta with you, and I'll get Peter."

Pippa nodded before quickly turning around and walking away, leading the two guards away.

Later that night, Ashton snuck out of his room and walked towards the garden. When he got there, the girls were already waiting. Both wore dark black cloaks with hoods that covered their hair. Pippa was the first to remove her hood. She shook out her blonde hair then sat down on the bench.

"I already filled Britta in about everything," Pippa said. "So, all we need to do now is plan."

Britta nodded nervously and began to fidget with her cloak buttons.

"Are you sure you're willing to help us?" Ashton asked Britta kindly. "This may mean risking your life."

"For the prince, and the princess, I'm willing," Britta answered bravely. Her voice shook slightly, but he was still impressed with her. He hadn't expected this much from a maid. That's when Peter arrived. After acknowledging him, Ashton said, "Alright then, to the plans. We need to get Lucas away from Tiberius. With all the time they've been spending together, it's no wonder Lucas is so enamored with all his ideas. The only question is; how are we going to separate them?"

"We need some kind of a diversion to keep Tiberius busy," Peter spoke up. "It's our only chance."

"That's a good idea," Pippa agreed. "But what kind of a diversion?"

"Maybe I can "accidentally" spill some oil on the ground when Tiberius walks down the stairs for his daily walk," Britta suggested timidly.

"That's brilliant, Britta!" Pippa exclaimed. "And then while Tiberius is down, I can whisk Lucas away to Mage Charley's chambers, where Tiberius won't expect him to be."

"But won't Tiberius see you and Lucas leave?" Peter asked. "And won't that make him suspicious?"

"Not if I use my illusion charm on him," Ashton retorted. "Blind him enough so that he can see everything except for Pippa and Lucas."

"That's a good plan," Peter admitted with a nod of approval. "Now if we can just get it to work—"

"It will work, Peter," Pippa assured him. "And if it doesn't, then we'll just try something else."