Deck of Cards (12 page)

“Philip, wait,”
Charles said, putting a hand out to stop him. “I think you should go the other way, down the back staircase. It’s closer.”

Pausing for a moment to consider this alternative, Philip asked, “What about Katey?”

“It’s too risky,” he replied. “Let me go back for her.  You need to get out of here, right away.”

Philip knew what he said was true. It would take too much time. It was highly unlikely that Charles would reach Kate
y and be able to make it back. Though he loved Charles like a brother and wanted to hold on to one of the few assets he had in Princess Katherine, he was not willing to risk his own neck for it. And debating the topic would take too long as well.  “Fine.  Go get her, meet me in the tunnel.  But I can’t wait long.”

Charles understood.  The two clasped hands and went their separate ways. 

Philip was able to use a secret tunnel to wind his way down to the dark layers below the castle.  In this way, he was able to avoid the entire invading army. As he entered the underground labyrinth, he saw a group of guards huddled nearby. He knew there purpose was to ensure he was not followed, no matter the cost to themselves. When he arrived at the entrance to the tunnel, he saw a few members of the King’s Guard waiting for him, his horse saddled.  There were two empty horses ready as well.  He assumed one was for Queen Katherine, the other for Charles.  He did not know the name of the guard who handed him the reigns to his horse. “Where is my mother?” he asked.

“She left already, Your Highness, about twenty minutes ago.

Philip nodded. If he had left when Charles made the suggestion that would have been about the same time.  “And where is King Matthew?”

       
                               ***

It was actually a lot easier than he had even imagined.  They hadn’t even pushed the cabinet out from the wall.  They checked under the bed, looked out the arrow slits, as if he might have squeezed himself through, and the
n ran out the door, yelling his name, as if he might answer.  The lock did exactly what Angel had thought it would do.  The masticha kept the locking mechanism from fully engaging. The door swung closed, the lock banging against the jam, and then flung back open.  By this time, the two guards were halfway down the stairs.  He could tell by the noise outside of the window that Caleb’s forces were very close.  Taking a chance on being discovered by Philip’s guards dragging an advisor back up the stairs, he decided to forego Angel’s hiding spot, and sprinted down the stairwell. When he reached the bottom, he hesitated for a moment, afraid he may run into the guards coming back in.  Holding his breath, he pushed against the door, and found himself peering into a hallway.  Just as he was slipping out a couple rounded the corner. He could tell by their dress that they were dignitaries. He fled to the shadows, hoping they would take no notice of him. They were clearly panic-stricken and seemed not to even see him, though they passed right by. As soon they passed, he hurried on his way, following Angel’s directions precisely. He had run into several more people as he approached the flight of stairs that ascended below the castle but none of them recognized him and none of them seemed to be looking for an escaped prisoner.

When he reached the dank area below the castle, it became very difficult to see. He had no torch and wouldn’t dare light it if he had one. He heard voices off in the distance, down other dark corridors. He knew that the tunnel entrance he was looking for was on the other side of several other passages. Luckily, the darkness allowed him to hide with ease and any time he thought he heard someone approaching, he was able to cower down in the shadows and wait for them to pass.

Eventually, he reached the correct tunnel. He could tell by the way the grate was leaning that Angel had opened it recently.  He stepped inside, bending down to keep from hitting his head on the low roof.  A few feet inside, he found the treasures Angel had left him.  He quickly changed into the clothing she had procured from him. Though he couldn’t see it, he could tell by the fine linen that it did indeed belong to Philip. He also pulled on the boots. They were a little big but would certainly work and he would rather have extra room than have to walk several miles with pinched toes.  She had also left him a canteen and a small basket with food in it. She had thought of everything.  As he began the long flight towards freedom, he reflected for just a moment, unable to believe he would soon be reunited with his brother. He had been in that prison for so long and had almost lost the will to live until Angel, his beautiful Angel, had come along.  He said a quick prayer for her safety and then took off down the tunnel, hoping that, wherever it let out, Caleb’s men would be nearby.

     
                                 ***

Rose had been outside the castle when the breach had taken place.  She knew that Arterian soldiers were not the pillaging, raping type.  She calmly waited as the first round of soldiers raced by.  These were the ones who would be fighting off whatever rabble was left behind by the remnants of the King’s Guard.  The next group, these were the ones she was after, the ones that would round up the citizens that were left behind, those that didn’t escape or weren’t accidentally killed.  Those that appeared to be useful would be placed in the back of prison carts and hauled back to Arteria where they could either swear allegiance to King Caleb or find themselves as prisoners for the rest of their lives.  She was more than ready to swear her allegiance to a new king and she was hopeful that, soon enough, if she played her cards right, he would be swearing allegiance
to her as well.

     
                                     ***

By the time Charles reached
the landing at the bottom of the stairs, he could see that he was going to be too late.  The passage he needed to use in order to reach the king’s bedchamber was clogged with members of the Arterian Army, surrendered soldiers from the King’s Guard, and civilians attempting to flee peacefully.  Still, he had sworn to Philip that he would do his best and he was not willing to abandon the princess just yet. 

With his hand on the butt of his sword, he stepped out into the passage. He would need to fight his way through this hall, around the corner, and into the next hallway before rescuing the princess and making his escape. 
Taking a deep breath, he stepped out into the foray. 

Just a few steps in, an Arterian soldier commanded him to halt. Instinctively, he drew his sword, engaging the other man in hand-to-hand combat.  This immediately drew the attention of the other soldiers around him on both sides.  Members of the King’s Guard who had not yet handed off their weaponry also drew their swords.  Charles was a master swordsman and he was actually able to wound or kill several combatants before a tall, lanky looking officer stepped forward.  Charles almost snickered; certain he had this one.  But looks could be deceiving and this gentleman meant business. As they fought, the man began to attempt to reason with him. Why didn’t he just surrender?  Didn’t he know there was no other way to make it out of the castle alive? But Charles was not one to back down.
With one full swing of his sword, he was able to knock the other man’s weapon into the air, pushing him backwards into the wall.  As he fell, Charles came down with his sword, intending to run him through.  Just as he prepared to plunge his sword deep into his enemy’s chest cavity, he saw a small flicker of silver and fell back into the wall behind him.  Struggling to breath, he looked down and saw the handle of a small knife jetting out of his neck.  Blood began to fill his mouth. He reached down, pulling the blade from where it had struck him, dropping it to the ground and collapsing.

Noel calmly reached down, picked up his knife and wiped it on the sleeve of his shirt before collecting his sword and continuing his survey of the hall.  The little rebellion caused when this suicidal soldier decided to attempt to stand his ground was quashed now and by the sound of things, there was not much left to do but find King Matthew and clear the castle.  Hopefully, King Philip had also been located but chances were he had managed to escape. 

As Noel made his way down an adjoining hallway, he came across what he could only assume was the king’s bedchamber. The finally carved door was an indicator that this room was significant.  He tried the handle but it was locked. He knew that there was very little chance that the king was actually hiding in his own sleeping quarters but he would need to open the door in order to clear the hallway. Glancing around, he spotted a small wooden pillar holding an urn.  Knocking the decorative pot to the ground, he picked up the pillar and began using it as a battering ram.  After several swings, he was able to force the door open. “Well, what’s this now?” he said, staring into the most terrified pair of eyes he had ever seen.

The room was dark and, at first, he wasn’t sure whether or not his eyes were playing tricks on him. Then he realized he really was staring at a young lady, apparently naked, tied to the bedpost.
He grabbed a torch hanging near the door outside and stepped inside to ascertain the situation.

Katey was terrified but the officer seemed like he was going to be helpful. He placed the torch in a holder on the wall,
and while it helped, it was still difficult to see in the dimly lit room. He peered down at the velvet ribbon.  “Hmmm,” he said thoughtfully. He couldn’t really see exactly how it was tied so after a quick assessment, he pulled out his knife and made two quick slices, freeing the girl, who immediately gathered the bedclothes around her. “Alright,” he said, looking around the room. He could hear voices in the hallway and, though he knew none of the shoulders would harm the women while on his watch, he also knew how distracting a beautiful naked woman could be. He saw her gown and other items across the room but didn’t think she would have time to put on all those layers.  Rather than messing with all of that, he simply grabbed King Philip’s robe from where it lay on the floor next to the bed and tossed it in her direction. “Here,” he said, “Put this on and I’ll walk you down to where we’re holding the prisoners.”

He turned his back to her and though the door was still open, she was able to slide the robe on and tie it while still under the sheets.  Hearing her stand, Noel crossed back over to her, taking her by the arm, and leading her toward the door. She glanced over at her dress, a pleading look on her face but he continued to pull her out of the room.  She hadn’t even had time to slip on her shoes.

Outside in the courtyard, there was a throng of people, mostly soldiers and mostly Arterians.  Caleb’s optimism in taking the castle could be seen by the amount of prison carts he had brought. Katey could see at least five. On the way out of the king’s chamber, her rescuer had been called upon to complete another task and she was left in the hands of another soldier, who then passed her to another, and finally to a fourth before she finally found herself standing outside in controlled chaos, still completely nude beneath the king’s robe, and absolutely shaking from the traumatic situations she had found herself in for most of the day.

She was promptly escorted to
a wagon containing only women.  Most of them were about her age, though a few were younger and a two or three were much older.  “Step in, please, Miss,” this last soldier said. He didn’t seem to notice that she was wearing only a robe, one made of lavish purple velvet, with a giant “P” embroidered on it in the finest silk. To him, she was just another prisoner, one less person to chase down. And that was fine with her.  She climbed in and took a place in the back of the cart, hoping that it wouldn’t be too crowded so that perhaps, she might actually get some rest. 

Some of the other girls were sitting down, leaning against the back of the wagon, the only solid section,
the rest being just wooden bars with a small gate at the far end.  A few were crying, begging to be released so that they might find their husbands or mothers.   Most of them did not look scared, rather their faces showed signs of relief.  Perhaps they were grateful that they had not been killed or wounded, that the invasion had been as peaceful as possible. Many of them may have even been happy to finally be loose from Philip’s oppressive hand.

Katey did notice that none of these women were nobility. They were all commoners.  She assumed that meant one of the other carts held the dignitaries. If that were the case, then
, they had no idea who she was.  For the moment, she decided to let that be. Until she was able to ascertain exactly what her new circumstances were going to be, she decided to hold her cards.  There was no use showing her hand just yet.  Speaking of hands, she was very fortunate that she still had her ring on her finger, the one with the family crest.  That would prove to anyone who she was, without a shadow of a doubt.

It was difficult to see wh
at was happening around her from her current vantage point. Even if she were standing, there would really be no way of seeing exactly what was going on. She was certain of two things, however. If Philip were brought out of the castle, she would know by the reaction of the soldiers and if Matthew were located, then she would know that, too. Unfortunately, she had no earthly idea where Joan was and she was very worried for her welfare. Likewise, she was hopeful that Matthew was not too far outside of the castle walls, if he had managed to escape, and that he would reach Caleb’s men safely.  If Philip had managed to get away and took Matthew with him, there was no telling what might happen.  She just prayed that both Joan and Matthew were safe and that she would see them both again soon. As she sat there, lost in deep thought, she did not notice how intently another captive was staring at her from across the crowded wagon.