Danika

Chapter 34

Adamina:

The day of them breaking into the palace didn't exactly pass quickly. They came dead last in all but two contests, a gameball game where they came second and a hammer throwing contest where they came in tenth place. At least it wasn't last place, but there was no price. By now, Danika's dad had won more than Adamina and Danika combined. Good thing they had another plan to get the money. Even if it was risky.

Adamina wondered if Mr. Evenstad suspected anything about her being the princess. But he couldn't have. If he suspected it it would be easy to figure out the truth. If he did, he had no reason not to rat her out.

Just as they had expected, Mr. Evenstad went to bed only a few hours after they got home from the Contests. They had at least three more hours than they would've had on any other day, though they were less prepared. They'd finished all possible preparations the night before. It took close to four hours to ride to the palace. 

It had been sunset when Danika's dad had gone to bed. The night sky was almost as dark as it would get. It was time to go. 

Danika seemed to think the same thing.

"I'll go check that dad's asleep if you can go saddle the horses?" Danika said.

Adamina nodded. "Sure."

Adamina finished saddling the horses. She sat down next to one of the horses and leaned against the inside wall of the barn. This would be the last time she would be here. After they'd gotten what they wanted from Adamina's rooms they'd be going straight to wherever there might be any cheap land available. They hadn't yet planned that part out entirely, but Adamina had heard that there might be a small plot of land available three towns over.

It would take them more than a day just to travel there, so it should be far enough away from the palace for them to be safe. And far enough away from Danika's father for no-one to discover them.

Soon, Danika returned to the stables, and Adamina and Danika took one horse each and guided them out into the cold night air. They each had a small bag with them, Danika's carrying all that they owned, and Adamina's empty and ready to be filled at the castle.

Four hours later, they arrived at the palace. They stopped behind some bushes a few meters from the hedge around what had once been Adamina's gardens.

"You wait here," Adamina said. If they caught her she just wouldn't be allowed to leave again. If they caught Danika it would be much worse.

Danika nodded. "Be quick," was all she said before Adamina waved her goodbye and went to climb over the hedge.

The hedge was tall, but it was not among the tallest Adamina had seen before. Her parents' gardens had hedges twice as tall as this one. Adamina spent a few minutes getting the right footholds in the perfectly manicured bushes, before she managed to get herself over the top. On the way down the stabbed herself in the back of the knee with one of the branches.

Adamina winced in pain. This was not supposed to happen. She could barely walk from the pain, and she knew her pants were dampening with blood as she stood there. But she was inside, so she took a deep breath and continued forwards. She hid behind the tree closest to the door and checked for anyone through the window next to it. There was no-one. The room was oddly quiet. Adamina waited for a few seconds, but she knew that she had to take the chance soon enough.

After another deep breath, she reached for the doorknob. The door was unlocked. Another strange thing. Adamina hadn't been here in a long time. As far as she knew, she was the only one who had ever used these rooms in over a decade. Her parents were still searching for her, so they wouldn't have given her rooms to anyone else yet, would they?

Either way, Adamina continued even more carefully. The decor was still the same as when she lived here, but then most of it hadn't been chosen by her. In her bedroom she checked the drawers. Her things were still there, so why had the door been unlocked? Adamina went to her jewelry drawers and started to pick out some of the less expensive, least noticeable things. Those things she had never worn, both because she hadn't wanted to and because her mother had never wanted her to.

Her pants had big pockets that she filled with jewelry. She left the bedroom and took a few other smaller less valuable pieces from the rooms outside on her way out and put them in her bag.

Adamina reached the door to her gardens and took one last look around. She was never going to come back here again. She had taken enough for them to be able to afford everything they needed to start up their farm and more. Even if they didn't have enough, Adamina couldn't stand the thought of ever returning. She breathed in one last deep breath before she pushed the door open, but it didn't budge. Someone had locked it. Someone had been here while she had been in the bedroom, and she hadn't heard them.

A/N: So, finally a new chapter. What do you think of the ending of this chapter? There are only a few more chapters left of this book and I'll try to have the next chapter out sometime during the next week.  I hope you enjoy this chapter!