The General and the Princess

Chapter 40 || Alleyni

 Kyald peered through another chink in the door and furrowed his eyebrows. "There are guards down there, more than we can handle!" He spun around, the whites of his eyes glowing in the dark. "What if we're spotted? You don't know what they'd do to me, to Azi, to all of us, if—"

"You'll get out. I'll distract them, and you'll get out. And I know what they'll do to me. My father's cruelty is the reason I don't remember my mother," Alleyni's harsh whisper of the explosive truth seemed to shock Kyald.

Azi touched his arm "Listen to her, Kal. This is our one chance. We have to get away and flee to Avlyn; it's our only chance. Perhaps your father can't find us there."

"You'll have to ride quickly; your escape will not be hidden for long. Ride and don't stop riding until you reach the Avlynian wilderness," Alleyni warned.

Azi turned to Alleyni, her eyes strong and vibrant. "Thank you for putting everything on the line for us. Kyald and I could never deserve your kindness, not with how you've been treated. I hope you won't always think of us with such despise as you surely do now."

Her voice lower than the dirt, Alleyni answered, "I obviously don't despise you too much since I'm risking my life to get you out of here."

Azi touched her hand to Alleyni's arm, and for a brief moment, their eyes met and Alleyni found she could not hate this girl as much as she wished she could.

Kyald, still glancing through the window, murmured, "We should go."

Alleyni nodded and withdrew her knife, prepared to defend them upon detection. Gently, she opened the door wide enough to fit Kyald, the largest of their number, and slipped through, her feet padding against a layer of soft straw. At this point in the early morning, the stable boys were all in bed. A few bags of grain leaned against the farthest stall and a chestnut horse munched on hay. At the end of the stable, a group of men huddled around a table with a lantern and a deck of cards. Alleyni heard the clang of glass on glass and saw a pile of abandoned weapons at the foot of the table. Alleyni motioned the other two past her into the first stall. She stood at the door, watching the men warily.

"Can you saddle a horse?" she asked Kyald as she motioned to the saddle and bridle slung over the low wall.

He touched the bridle as if it were foreign to him. Before Alleyni could berate him, Azi grabbed the saddle and slung it onto the horse's back, threading the bit and bridle through his mouth in only a few minutes. Alleyni stood at the door, jumping every time a chair slid against the floor or a guard shifted. Every nerve ran vividly through her body, reminding her of whitewater rivers racing inside of her. Once the horse was saddled, Kyald jumped on and pulled Azi behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and Alleyni rushed to open the door. She ushered them out of the stable into the darkness, watching behind her for any notice.

In the darkness, Alleyni could only see their dirty faces outlined against a black night with only a spattering of stars. She wanted to say a lot of things. She wanted to remind Kyald that she had loved him, that she still loved him. She wanted to steal their horse, run off to Corrina, and never return. She wanted...she did not know what.

Kyald leaned down and offered her his hand in friendship. Alleyni just stared at his outstretched hand, then back to his face.

"Kyald, I...I can't."

He nodded, his eyebrows gathering. "I'm so sorry. For all of this, but we have to go. Or they'll find us."

Alleyni nodded, silent. The oceans inside of her were threatening to burst from her lips, but she would not let them. She pressed her lips together, wondering if she ignored the oceans long enough they would finally dry up.