Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 49

With only time left to them, Cole sat down by her mother's side and gently stroked her hand. Her mother did not respond, but it was enough to have her there. Meegan sat down somewhere a few feet away, whispering to herself a story or a song. The time seemed to stretch on forever as they waited, wondering if Tanwyn would ever show up.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the guards would be more likely to discover them first. Harsh voices filled the air, floating in through the hole they had crawled into. Boots stomping on the fallen bamboo leaves and clanking armor accompanied them, and worst of all, the light of torches. Flashes of orange burst through the hole and into the underside of the building. Cole pushed her mother further into the shadows, and Meegan scuttled away to the side. All of them held their breaths, frozen and straining their ears, ready to scatter like rabbits in a warren.

"Looks like somewhere they'd try to hide," one guard said, his voice distant but unobstructed. "We need to search this bamboo thoroughly. Call the rest of the men over here and we'll start a proper search. Every single burrow or hole needs to be checked, no matter how small."

A small chorus of confirmation rose up, and then the torch light moved away, along with the sound of footsteps and armor.

Meegan let out a blast of air. "That was too close," she said.

"We need to move," Cole said, gripping her mother's hand and pulling her closer.

"We're only going to have a few minutes at most," Meegan said. "If they come searching, they'll find this place. It's not well hidden."

Cole nodded, even though no one could see her. "We'll head out now and try to find new cover. I don't think we should wait for Tanwyn anymore. He probably isn't coming."

Meegan made a soft noise of agreement. "We'll keep moving until we're out of the palace grounds. He can find us outside if he makes it."

Cole got up into a squat, pulling her mother along with her. "You lead the way, Meegan. You know the palace better than I."

"Keep close and don't stop," Meegan replied, her voice moving toward the opening. Cole followed her, and her mother brought up the rear, their hands still joined. They walked out from under the building and back into the night air. It was cool and fresh, free of the dust and staleness of the confines of their previous hiding place. Cole took a deep breath, glad in one sense that they had been forced to move.

Meegan took off, walking quickly in a direction that seemed arbitrary to Cole but which must have meant something to Meegan. Thankfully, this direction was toward a less dense part of the bamboo forest, and Cole was able to glance back and see her mother's features in the faint starlight. A face that Cole could barely remember looked back at her, but it was damaged and bruised. Famine and disease had destroyed her once glowing skin and hair, and her eyes were dark with bruises. She followed behind them with a blank look in her eyes, her mouth hanging slightly open. It was difficult to see how this woman could have spoken to Bastian before, or how Tanwyn had talked to her either.

Meegan kept running and soon they found their way out of the bamboo forest and into a cluster of dark buildings. Though this seemed like the last place they would want to go, no one was outside and the air was quite and still. Meegan avoided the paved paths and instead ducked around and behind the buildings. Cole could hear her mother's ragged breath grow more labored with each passing minute. They wouldn't be able to keep up the movement for much longer with a break, and yet they had no time to spare. It was flee now or become trapped by the guards as they tightened their security and made sure no one could escape.

After a few more minutes, Meegan paused and waited for Cole and her mother to catch up. As soon as they were by her side, she pointed forward and leaned in close to whisper. "The wall," she said. "We need to climb over it, but there's guard towers every few hundred feet."

"Will they be able to see us?" Cole asked.

"If they're looking, yes. But hopefully they won't," she said. "But if they are... well, we'll just hope that we can run fast enough that it won't even matter."

The wall was tall, taller than they could stand, and uninviting. The stones were smooth and no trees offered easy access over the wall. It would be a tough climb, and one that wouldn't be fast. Especially with Cole's mother.

Meegan pressed her finger to her lips, signalling absolute silence, and then crept forward away from the buildings and toward the wall. Cole followed, pulling her mother along behind her, until they all three huddled against the cold stones and hoped that the guard in the tower a few hundred feet away was not looking in their direction. All they could see of him was the light from his bonfire, but he would be able to see three people crouched where they should not be. Even if word had not yet gotten to him about the attempted assassination, they were not exactly in a position that looked at all law-abiding.

"Boost me up and then I'll help pull you mother up and lower her on the other side. Then I'll pull you up," Meegan whispered.

They stood up and Cole linked her fingers together to create a foothold for Meegan. Meegan put one foot into Cole's hand and then bounced up with her other foot. Using Meegan's momentum, Cole surged upward, heaving her arms up as fast and hard as she could to try and fling Meegan as high as possible.

 The work in the mines had built up strong muscles, and Meegan's own manual labor in the castle assisted her as she pushed away from Cole and flew a few inches into the air above Cole's head. Her hand smacked into the top of the wall, and for a moment she dangled there, kicking and trying to find a purchase while Cole held her breath and watched from below. 

But only a moment later Meegan's other hand flung up, gripping the top of the wall tightly, and she pulled herself up enough to hook her elbows over. From there, she easily scrambled until she was perched on the top of the wall, one leg dangling in the world outside and the other hanging down on the castle side. 

She flapped her hands at Cole, signalling that she was ready for Cole's mother.