Broken timeline - Part One

Chapter Nineteen - Snake in the Grass

I was terror-stricken, standing in front of the window, desperately trying to find a solution, when I was suddenly hit by a stroke of genius. I grabbed the sheet that was on my bed and threw it out of the window, while carefully attaching one end on the bed frame.

The door slowly opened and two men entered the room. The were each holding a dagger and had their faces hidden away in dark masks made out of iron.
"Where is she ?!" shouted angrily one of them.
"I do not know, she was supposed to be here !" hissed the second, fuming.

It took them only a few seconds to notice my subterfuge. They both walked towards the window, in a very hesitant gait. One of them bent over and looked perplexed.
"Good lord ! She jumped out ! Can you see her ?" asked one of them.
"No... but I do not believe that she could have survived such a fall" answered the other.

I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to remain as silent as possible. I had pulled a John McClain on them, Die Hard style.

'If I ever go back home, I have to thank Caila for making me watch all those action movies!'

I was hiding inside the wardrobe, trying to stay still and avoid making the wood crack. Any bad movement could possibly reveal my location. I could see them through the small space between the two doors.

"Then I believe that our work here is done. I think we may take our leave now." said triumphantly one of them, while removing his mask.

'Finally ! I can see what they look like !'

He wiped his face with his glove and put the mask on again. I didn't recognise him, but I managed to notice a very large scar on his neck, going from his left ear to his throat.

"But they will not trust our word if they do not see her body ! They shall not reward us !"

"Let us say that we threw her in the Thames, for fear of being found out by His Majesty."

One of them looked very dubious and wasn't at all convinced by his accomplice.

"We cannot have failed them twice ! Listen to me ! If questioned, you must tell this ; we have come into this room, strangled her whilst she was asleep and gotten rid of her."

"I do not think that we should lie ! Lets search the castle for her, she might not have gone far ! Imagine what could happen to us if they find out that we have misled them..."

"Which is why we need to be allies in this ! You wanted to murder a young lady and now you want to be an honest man !? Why the sudden change of heart John ?! "

"I only do not understand what happened... no... she could not have jumped, not without screaming. I don't think that she would ever miraculously survive." John said while pacing the room. "Believe me George... they won't save us if we are found out ! We have to question her, for she told us that she would be asleep ! She even locked her in !"

'What ?!' I gasped
I struggled not to make any sudden moves. Astounded by what I had just heard, I was trying to stay calm but this revelation had shocked me to my core.

'Is... Maggie behind all of this ? No. No. No. This can't be ... she helped me ! She looked after me when I was poiso...'
My mind stopped.
Processing that thought felt like had been hit by a lightning bolt. Margaret had betrayed me. She had been behind everything.

'I can't believe it...Little innocent Maggie is a first class mastermind ! But... she must have had help. There is no way that she could've done this all alone !'

I was shaking, barely able to stop my eyes from tearing up.

"Listen John, we cannot be presuming to ask too many questions. They have summoned us to murder her and that is it."

"And what if she is not dead ? It is too much of a risk to take ! We could be hanged for this ! If she survived and tells The King about this..."  He hesitated for a second then looked over at the wardrobe.

"Did you take a look inside ?" John asked while pointing at where I was hiding.

'Oh shit... Oh shit !'

"No I did not, I thought that you did." answered the other man.

John took his dagger out and quietly started walking towards me, his blade ready to cut through me.

'OMG, Em! We're screwed ! What do we do ? What do we do ?!"

What the hell... why was this happening to me ? I didn't understand, I just wanted to go home !

"What are you doing John ? Leave it ! Let us go before someone sees us !" hissed the other man.

I put my head between my knees, and started sobbing quietly. That was it, I was about to die in a few seconds. I had no friends or allies here, and someone wanted me dead. This situation couldn't get any worse.

'What has my life become ? Let them kill me ! At least it'll be over for good !'
I considered bursting the door open, hoping that it would hit him in the face, and running out of the room.

'Yeah sure Em... let's do that... If we want to die !'

Right. My mind was right. I couldn't go anywhere without being noticed. Everyone at court had heard of me, and they would report me to the King. And I couldn't leave my bag underneath the wardrobe. I had managed to hide away my modern stuff, but if they found it, I was sure to be killed once they would get their hands on me. I would be accused of treason, heresy or even witchcraft for using an iPhone.

John was five inches away from me, ready to grab the doorknob. I started heavily breathing, and mentally preparing myself to die, when I heard someone else coming in.

"What in the world are you doing here ?! Where is Lady Emma ? What have you done with her ?! " shouted the third person with a hint of worry in his voice

'OMG. What's happening Em ?!"

I... don't know.