When August was a little girl, her mother would tell her elaborate stories of the Aldham palace and it's wonders. Her mother herself was a previous resident of the kingdom and had only left once meeting August's father. These were in the days of when the gates were open and people of all lands were allowed to travel back and forth.
However when August was born, the gates had been long sealed. But the stories she would beg her mother to tell would allow it's wonder to carry on. Her mother would spend hours describing the silver lined streets that wove their way through every pathway in the entire kingdom, only to land at the palace entrance. The shopping district always booming with local produce and hand crafted goods. She would sometimes refer to Aldham as the "kingdom that never bothered to rest". And then there was the palace. "Truly a magnificent site to see", her mother would say.
It towered over the entire kingdom. Triumphantly watching everything and everyone under it. It was the kind of castle that made you feel safe under it's watch but still intimidated by it's stature. The rumors said that it held an entire library in the eastern wing, a fully stocked kitchen with chefs bustling at all hours of the day. And, August's favorite, the severed ear of Kind Arnold III, the final king to rein before the Edward's took over rule hundreds of years ago. She was almost sure the rumors were just that but nonetheless it was fascinating to hear about.
From then on August would dream of growing up and visiting the palace one day. She couldn't help but daydream about roaming the city streets once she got older. Perhaps meeting someone and falling deeply in love and moving into Aldham permanently. But alas, the reality was that the gates were closed. No one got in who didn't belong there and no one got out. Not that anyone would.
Her admiration for the royal palace had slowly turned into resentment as August realized that a girl with her abilities would never be able to step foot within the gates without being killed. Then imagine her fear when the King himself began sending out hoards of his guard to murder people like her. It was very clear she was unwanted anywhere near the palace.
So as she lay on the cold cave floor beside the next in line for the Aldham throne, August couldn't help but wonder how they were going to pull off breaking into the most highly protected Kingdom in all of the land. The entire plan seemed nearly impossible,
But if she had learned anything from the last few days, defying the impossible was becoming quite natural.
...
Izzy woke up to the shifting of the ground beneath her head. Her eyes popped open to find herself inches away from another face- August's. She couldn't help but stop breathing for a moment as she examined the scene around her. Somehow, they had managed to roll together in their collective sleep. August had stolen about half of the blanket coat and it had seemed that Izzy retaliated by using her arm as a pillow.
She watched as her partner shifted subtly in her sleep. August looked so peaceful when she was resting. It seemed as if she was always tense, on edge. Perhaps that just came with the territory of constantly hiding such an intense secret every second of every day. Izzy couldn't help but grin as she watched August's nose twitch slightly as she readjusted. She kept her head on her arm, letting the distance between them grow slightly closer with each subtle movement.
There was a strange feeling in the princess's stomach. She felt safe here, next to her. She should've been scared to be laying so close to someone so dangerous but instead it made her feel safe. August wanted to protect her. No one had ever done that out of their own free will for her before. Even before, her guards worked for their father. Protecting her was their job. It was Louis' too, he was a knight for the palace far before being chosen to be bethrown to the princess. But here was this girl who had no obligation to stay, no reason to risk her life, doing everything she could to keep Izzy safe. It felt different being with her.
August opened her eyes, suddenly aware of the body lying nearly on top of her own. She was met with the gaze of the princess lying up next to her. But only for a moment.
Startled, Izzy rolled back off of her partner and back to her side of the floor.
"Sorry," she mumbled quickly, feeling warmth spreading in her cheeks.
"No, you're fine," August replied just as fast. What had just happened? She couldn't help but wonder how long the princess had been lying like that. Not that she was mad. "Uhm, actually," she continued, noticing the sun setting outside "we should probably start off. If we do this right we can make the whole trip under the cover of night fall."
