Noble Blood

Chapter XIII - Guile

Dietrich had spent all day thinking, and finally walked downstairs. "You there!" He exclaimed as he entered the Western Courtyard through the armoury. He pointed at one of the guards training vigorously, who stopped immediately upon the Prince's arrival.

"I, Your Majesty?" The man asked astonished as he attempted to catch his breath. It was uncommon that the German royal ever spoke to the guards especially in such a demanding tone.

"Yes you!" Dietrich eyed the armoured fellow as though measuring him up. "Follow me." He declared, turning back into the armoury and walking through it towards the meeting room.

As the Crown Prince seated himself at the large table, he gestured to the soldier to sit as well.

"I have a task for you." He began, "I need you to dispose of someone for me. I've tried to dispose of him but somehow he still here." He muttered the last part more to himself then to his listener.

"It must be done with utmost discretion," he continued, "For no one is to ever know I had a hand in his demise." As he spoke further of his intentions, another guard passed by the meeting room.

The door hadn't been shut, and Dietrich lowered his tone. The young man nodded as the Prince laid out the details in a hushed whisper.

"Make sure his body is left to rot in the deepest parts of the dungeon once you've killed him!" Dietrich firmly ordered the guard in a louder voice once the guard was gone, "And dispose of all his belongings as well, so everyone may think he simply left."

"Of course your Majesty." The grave man bowed deeply before exiting the meeting room.

-----

"I see it too!" Alyss exclaimed, her eyes squinted as well towards the faint light at the end of the underground corridor.

"We're almost there!" Katheryn announced, earning sighs of relief from all the girls who had begun to feel tired. They had to walk slowly in case they ran into anything, as they couldn't see their surroundings.

Finally the group reached the mouth of the tunnel, hidden from the outside by the numerous branches of a willow tree. Pushing the leaves aside, the group exited the dark corridors into the forest.

"What do we do now?" Gwendolyn asked after a few moments of silence as they took in their surroundings. None of them seemed to have thought of what would happen at the end of the tunnel.

"We walk back home." Clare stated bluntly as if the answer was obvious, still excited by the discovery the girls had made.

"Yes, but how? Do we have any idea where we are?" Gwen insisted, now pulling the Lady out of her excitement as she looked at the assembly wide-eyed.

"This must be a strategic place if Lilianna uses it." Alyss reasoned, now looking through the trees for any sign of a road or habitation. "But to get home, we must find a road." She declared. "We will all search for one, but everyone must stay at ear's length so we don't separate."

All four ladies listened to the German Princess intently, she did have impressive leadership and reasoning skills like the rest of her family. Though, contrary to her brother and sister, she used those skills for a good purpose.

Each maiden set to work, examining the ground sharply for any sign of a path. Though Evie preferred chasing the butterflies, she too made an effort to focus on the task at hand.

"I've found something!" Clare shouted, beckoning her friends to join her. "There is no grass growing here, and there are fresh horse tracks in the mud." She exclaimed, pointing out the winding trail of mud.