Royal Rebellion {on hold}

Chapter 10

It's been two weeks since I told Charlotte and Skye about my dream and being halfway through July with the heat steadily increasing hasn't helped with the nightmares. No new memories or parts of the prophecy have arisen from the depths of my mind. It has just been the same; the seer's raspy voice repeating the verse over and over like background noise as the memory replays with slight variations. Once, I woke up gasping after dreaming I'd been drowning in blood that had seeped out of the dungeon walls.

Charlotte has gotten me her father's documents and though I insisted that she not involve herself, she has remained helpful and kind.

The few documents from Lord Hargreave were mostly reports to father about the state of his land and the situation of the rebellion in his own territory; Brimemore. However, I found a couple documents about the rebellion here, in Aellyn. Most of the rebel activity is in the capital, Ainsworth. (The city is named after the royal family's last name.) Charlotte also managed to sneak me a paper with a few sketches of a symbol. Some of them closely matched the symbol on the back of the woman's cloak from my trip two weeks ago. While father and his advisors are unsure of where exactly the rebellion is hiding out, they have a good hunch that the rebellion may be hiding in the town itself. Though, some say they may have more advanced weapons hiding in the Hundred Foot Forest, North East of Aellyn.

Once again, I skim my hastily scribbled copy of the documents, trying to find a clue to a more specific spot the rebellion could have headquarters. As always, I am no closer. I set down the sheets, rubbing my forehead and wishing Skye could help me.

Recently, it's seemed as if she was avoiding me, leaving early in the morning and coming back very late at night. Of course, she could be very busy, right...?

I also have been avoiding father even more than before. His guard, Alvrin, seems to be everywhere. Of course, I have a bigger secret than the fact that father's drink didn't work. (because of Charlotte's remedy.) Over the past week, after the documents yielded nothing more than a vague location, I've snuck out twice and visited the town, scouting out the house I last saw them at. Nothing. I've impersonated Darrel everytime and told the guards to keep quiet about my expeditions. They listened, only because they thought I was Darrel.

My searches didn't reveal anything. I didn't know why I wanted to find the rebellion so bad but I felt like they were a key part in this.

Four days after my latest search, Charlotte sidled up to me during dinner, whispering to meet her as soon as I was free. Her words sent a thrill through me. Perhaps we had finally discovered something.

All through dinner I tried my best to ignore the laser stare of Alvrin, and the one time we made eye contact, I felt like he could read my mind, finding everything I'd been hiding. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

After dinner, I closed the door of Charlotte's rooms behind me. She whirled around with a relieved grin on her face. "I found something," She said excitedly, rushing up to me. I smiled down at her.

"Well go on then. Tell me."

"I um..easvedropped," she blushed, "on father and I heard some of them speak of a few addresses in the town. They're going to check them out in a few days. One of the most frequently mentioned appears to be a tavern. That would be an easy place to hide something. Below or in a spare room."

My brow furrowed. "Do you think we should go tomorrow? Before they have a chance to scare them off?"

"That seems like a good idea, but I can't go with you. Father wants me to help him with...something tomorrow night," Charlotte replied. "You should take Skye.

"Alright." I decided to meet in a more empty part of the palace at half past eleven with Skye. The trip down to the town would bring us there at a little after midnight. I spent a couple more minutes smoothing out the details with Charlotte's suggestions. I checked the time. It was getting late.