Betrothed

Chapter Forty: Uncovering the Truth

Rolf awoke on the ice-cold floor, next to the fallen chair he had been sitting in. As he lifted his head, a string of drool followed him from the floor, until it snapped and hit him in the chin. Wiping off his chin with one hand, he held his head with the other, discovering a large painful knot on the back of his scalp. As his head began to clear, he realized the presence of the king and Witch standing next to him.

"Where is your prisoner, Prince Rolf?" the Witch asked. Rolf looked over to where the princess had been tied up, only to find an empty chair, and shredded ropes.

"I... I... I don't know, Your Highness," he answered. The Witch bent down and picked up broken pottery lying next to Rolf's chair.

"It appears as though someone ambushed you with a vase to the head," Zymjai concluded. "Any idea who might have done that?" Rolf's head was still rather dazed as he traced back to his last conscious thoughts.

"My betrothed was here right before I blacked out," he replied.

"The slave girl?" the king asked.

"Two-After-Five," the Witch answered. "She's freed the princess."

"Why would she do that?" Rolf asked. "The Nadeauan princess struck her in the face, and chopped off her hair. Why would she free her?"

"I don't know," the Witch responded, "but I am certain that is what happened. Alert the palace guards. Find them immediately!"

"Where do you expect them to go," Malcolm asked. "They will never survive outside without proper clothing." The Witch spun around and pointed her finger in the king's face.

"Don't underestimate that little girl," she said. "She seems to have an uncanny ability to become quite bothersome."

As Audrianna and Janessa quickly made their way down a darkly lit hallway, the sound of a ram's horn echoed through the palace.

"What is that?" Audrianna asked.

"They knows we be running," Janessa replied, frantically pulling on Audrianna's arm. "Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

As they scurried quickly near the end of the passage, the sound of running guards could be heard coming in the opposite direction. Both girls stopped dead in their tracks and looked for an alternate passageway. Janessa spotted a door a little further to her right.

"Gets with me in here," she quietly exclaimed. The two girls scrambled inside the door and shut it behind them. They both leaned against the inside of the door while the sound of the guards faded away.

"Shoo!" Audrianna sighed. "That was close!"

"Whats we do now?" Janessa asked. The two girls looked to see what was in the room. Except for another door, the room was completely bare.

"Its be very cold in here," Janessa observed. "Its be colder here, than in the hall."

"Let's see where this door leads," Audrianna suggested, grabbing a hold of the door handle and opening the door wide. Before the princess could fully assess what was on the other side, a large wrapped package fell forward, knocking Audrianna to the ground and pinning her to the floor.

"Help!" Audrianna screamed. "Help me! Get this big bag off of me!"

"Shush!" Janessa responded. "You needs to gets quiet."

"If you don't roll this thing off me," Audrianna squealed, "I'll be quiet forever in a few seconds."

Janessa pushed the large wrapped package to one side, allowing Audrianna to gain enough leverage so she could help push it off her the rest of the way. Straddling the top of the heavy bag, Audrianna panted heavy, making steam clouds with her breath."