The Blood Red Rose

Chapter 17

Notes:
I'm so so sorry for how late this is. It was hard to find the right flow and I just wasn't pleased with what was written for a long time. I promise the next chapter won't take nearly as long.

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"Aaron," Sally said gently, pursing her lips when her brother ignored her and rammed himself into the bars. "They're metal bars, you can't break through them."

Aaron winced as he stumbled back from the bars. He clenched his fist. "They're going to kill him, Sally." He said. "I can't let that happen!"

Sally frowned and walked over to him gently grabbing both his hands and squeezing them.

"You need to calm down." She said softly. Aaron's eyes flashed angrily and she quickly continued. "Once you've calmed down, we can think of a way to get out of here."

Aaron let out a soft sob and buried his head in Sally's shoulder.

"They're going to kill him." He whispered. "And it'll be all my fault, I can't-"

"I know Aaron..." she said. "We'll save him okay? I promise we'll figure something out."

She squeezed him tightly and kissed his forehead. Aaron took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He relaxed into her warm embrace, blinking back whatever tears rose.

"Ow..." Someone groaned.

Sally's eyes widened and she gently separated herself from her brother before rushing over to the bars.

"B-Bellamy?" She called, pressing herself against the bars, trying to see if it really was him. Jonathan's face appeared a second later, looking very concerned.

"Why are you two in here?" He asked.

Sally scowled. "George King locked us in here! Can you please get us out?" She glanced at her brother, who was staring at them with wide, hopeful eyes.

Jonathan blinked blankly for a moment, before suddenly scurrying into action. "Right! I'm on it. Just sit tight."

"Please hurry," Aaron said as Jonathan moved away. Jonathan looked back at the two siblings.

"Don't you two worry. I'll have you guys out soon." He said, before hurrying to the locked door. "Sally, do you have a hairpin?"

Sally fumbled a bit, feeling around her head. "Ah! I got one." She quickly handed it to Jonathan who stuck it in the keyhole.

It took a couple of minutes and quite a lot of broken hairpins (good thing Sally had plenty), but the cage door opened.

Immediately, Aaron rushed out and ran to the carriage's horses.

"Jonathan!" He said once he'd mounted the horse. "Keep Sally safe, don't let Mr. Jefferson come after her."

Jonathan nodded. "I will, but where are you going?"

"I'm going to go save my friend."

---

"Eliza!" Peggy said, flying over to her. "What happened? Where is Alexander?"

Eliza sighed heavily. "He's not coming."

Peggy's eyes widened. "What? Doesn't he know the castle is under attack?"

"Yes, of course. But..." Eliza looked up to where Alexander was sulking. "He doesn't care anymore." She said softly. "He's... He's given up."

"W-What? But what do we do now?" Peggy whispered, her feathers deflating.

"We defend the castle," Eliza said firmly. She looked out the window at the approaching mob. Her eyes hardened. "No matter what."

Peggy nodded. "Right."