Once Upon a Twist (7 page)

With a jolt, Ella realized the crowd were all staring at her. They were on her side. God help them, they were putting their trust – their lives – in her hands. “Does anyone have a key for the cellar?” she called out, mentally crossing her fingers.

Two maids rushed forwards, both brandishing a bunch of keys in their hands.

Ella nodded, staring at the keys as the plan solidified. Addressing the one closest to her, she said, “Please go to the Queen’s chamber and tell her to come to the cellar.”

The maid paled.

“I know it’s against protocol but you
must
try. Tell her it’s my idea – I’m Ella. If she refuses to listen, then leave her and come join us. All right?” she clarified when she feared the maid might pass out with fright.

The maid jerked a nod.

“Then go.”

As the maid ran off, Ella faced the remaining maid. “What’s your name?”

“Rachel.”

Ella cleared her throat then addressed the expectant crowd. “Okay, everyone follow Rachel to the cellar. If you find anything that can be used as a weapon, take it – swords from the suits-of-armor lining the corridors would be best. As we have all seen, chopping the foul creatures’ heads off is the only effective way of killing them. I cannot stress enough how important it is for everyone to keep calm. We cannot afford to fight amongst ourselves over weapons, or to push and shove into each other.”

Her words seemed to do the trick. As quiet and orderly as school children on an outing with a particularly strict teacher, the crowd began to disperse through the doors. She had no idea if the two soldiers went with them or returned to their troops or, most likely, returned to the Prince to report about the trouble-making
female
guest. Despite the dreadful circumstances, her lips twitched as she considered what his reaction would be when he learned it was his own fiancée leading the rebellion.

That’s if either of them lived long enough to find out.

Goosebumps crawled all over her flesh.

She shook her head and blinked the thought away. James
would
survive the night. He would. He had to.

“Ella?”

She turned her attention to Izzy, who was kneeling upright, and hurried over to help her get to her feet.

“Do you think Ana is safe?” her stepsister asked.

Ella froze, her throat filling with bile. Would Ana have had enough time to return home? And even if she had made it home, how safe would she be, unaware there was anything to hide from? If there were disturbances and she heard them, would she investigate…?

Ana would be all alone. She wouldn’t stand a chance against those creatures. Ella wouldn’t wish that fate on anyone. Not even her worse enemy. And that included Domino – he might be the laziest cat in the Kingdom but he was also the nosiest. He would certainly investigate any disturbance.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Ella said firmly, hiding the dread rampaging through her veins. “Hold on to my arm and
please
keep that blade away from my face.”

They followed the crowd down to the depths of the palace until they reached a corridor that’s only light came from half-a-dozen lanterns. Shadows flickered off the walls. Everything was eerily silent, the shuffling of feet the only sound, creating the illusion they were cut off from the rest of the world.

Perfect. If the creatures find us before we get in the cellar, we’ll be able to hear them say boo before they start eating our brains.

“Ella.”

She whipped her head around in the direction of the booming voice that echoed along the corridor. “James?”

***

James had never been so grateful for his privileged life as he was now. The crowd parted in an instant, allowing him through so he could lead his fiancée away from this madness. Until he knew Ella was far from danger’s reach, his difficulty in concentrating would imperil his men, which in turn would imperil the entire Kingdom. He wrapped his arms around her; a difficult task considering she was propping her stepsister up.

“Darling, we need to get you out of here,” he said, keeping his tone low to protect against eavesdroppers and trying to ignore the fact her stepsister’s arm hung at an odd angle.

“I’ll be leaving in a minute, once I’m certain everyone in the palace is in the cellar. I’ve sent a maid to get your mother and bring her here…”

“You’ve done what?”

“James, your plan was crap,” she stated bluntly. “If the undead wiped out the entire town of Lillespeth in one night, imagine the carnage they will do here. In the ballroom, just one of them morphed into ten in a matter of minutes. You told me they only hunt at night. Your cellar is the best hope we have of hiding until daylight.”

It was at that moment he looked at her properly, taking in the blood-flecked ripped dress, the bare, pale legs, the golden hair that had fallen free from its confines and spread in a tangled heap across her shoulders. And the smudge of blood on her left cheekbone. And the steely determination in those big blue eyes…

“Ella,” he said, trying his hardest to keep his tone calm. He was learning to recognize that look, “If everyone hides in the cellar there will be no escape if those creatures find you.”

“As long as everyone is quiet they
won’t
find us,” she replied, her tone fierce. “For all their strength, the undead are stupid – if they’re not looking at you directly they don’t see you. And even if they do find us the cellar door is impenetrable – you told me that yourself.”

It struck him then that the crowd were not paying any attention to their conversation. Instead they continued to shuffle quietly down the corridor, disappearing through the thick door that led down to the cellar. These people, men and women alike, had total faith that Ella’s way was the right way.

“James, we’ve already lost hundreds of our men in a fight we had no chance of winning. Now these creatures are here, amongst our families, we cannot fight them without endangering everyone. We need to hide and then, in the morning when they sleep, we can track them down and decapitate every last one.”

It chilled his stomach to hear those cold words from such a warm mouth. But the chill mingled with a pure, raw emotion that filled his heart to bursting. God, but she was magnificent.

Slowly he inclined his head before turning to Jonas. “Assist the Queen to the cellar. Let it be known our priority is bringing all the staff and household members to the cellar – our men are to defend it without drawing attention to it.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Jonas said, snapping his heels together and leaving with the other soldiers, who had been hovering behind him.

But Ella wasn’t finished barking her orders. “Your soldiers need to warn the rest of our countrymen.”

“A delegation are already undertaking that task,” he assured her at the exact moment a distant crash reverberated through the walls. “Let’s get you to the cellar. We need to hurry.”

Too distracted by the nearing yells and screams, he paid scant attention to Ella’s uncharacteristic compliance, figuring she was too busy helping her injured stepsister to argue.

The crowd could hear the growing cacophony too, their movements becoming increasingly agitated. He fought to control his own agitation, although his stemmed from a need to be out there with his father and his men.

When they reached the cellar doors, he pulled her into an embrace, holding her as tight as he could, inhaling her scent, trying his hardest to imprint it into his senses.

“Be safe,” she pleaded.

“I will,” he said, a promise he fully intended to keep. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that Ella’s plan was perfect. From a short, bleak future, they now had the chance of a long, happy life. All they had to do was get through the night.

Closing his eyes, he kissed her, praying this would not be the last kiss they shared.

“I love you,” she whispered into his mouth, her hot, sweet breath tickling his skin.

“I love you too. Now go.”

He stood and watched as Ella, holding Izzy close, walked through the door and began to descend the stairs. His gaze stayed on her until she had disappeared into the palace’s bowels.

***

Despite its size, the cellar was packed. There was enough room for everyone to rest but it was a tight fit.

Ella helped Izzy onto the floor and made sure she was comfortable. Unfortunately the major flaw in her plan had revealed itself – under her direction approximately five hundred people had converged in a cellar that was, by its very nature, cold.

But they were safe. Given time, the shared body heat would warm them sufficiently. Or so she hoped. She wouldn’t be there to find out.

“Are you going somewhere?” Izzy asked when Ella remained standing, looking at the stairs.

“If I’m going to find Ana I need to leave now.”

Her stepsister’s eyes widened. “You can’t go back out there, Ella. You can’t.”

“I have to,” she replied simply. “I can’t wait here worrying about her.”

“Why? After the way she’s treated you, why?”

“Because she’s still a human-being.” Or at least Ella hoped she was.

“But…”

“And I need to get Itchy and Scratchy away from here.”

“They’re
rats
.”

“They’re the best friends I’ve ever had,” Ella contradicted. “And at this moment they have human form. If the creatures spot them, they won’t stand a chance.”

“Get the soldiers to bring them to safety.” Izzy’s voice had become shrill. “You can’t put yourself in such danger.”

“Itchy and Scratchy are terrified of humans – they won’t listen to anyone but me.”

At this, Izzy slumped forward and clutched at her hair with her good arm. “There’s nothing I can say that will stop you is there?”

On impulse, Ella knelt down and kissed her stepsister’s cheek. “I won’t be able to come back here until sunlight. I’ll see you in the morning.”

The glimmer of faith that resonated from Izzy’s eyes filled her with even greater determination.

Skipping back up the stairs, weaving in and out of the last people to file in, she reached the door and came face-to-face with the Queen. Her Highness was flanked by her maids and two high-ranking Knights. It was with some relief Ella noted Jonas was not one of them. There was no way he would allow her to leave. Even so, the Knights blocked her path.

“Going somewhere?” For someone so ill, the Queen’s face was positively alight with excitement.

“I have to find Ana,” Ella said, keeping her voice firm but polite. She didn’t bother mentioning Itchy and Scratchy. The Queen did not strike her as the sentimental type. “She knows nothing about the creatures or that there is any danger.”

“A foolhardy exercise.”

“Possibly,” she conceded. “But a necessary one.”

“You do realize that if anything happens to you, my son will be devastated?”

Ella’s throat closed. She
really
didn’t want to think about James, not when he was in so much danger. She nodded. “I know.”

“Then make sure nothing happens to you. This kingdom needs a Queen who can show these men we’re not all delicate little flowers.” To her Knights, she said, “Let her pass.”

After throwing Ella a most unladylike wink, the Queen descended into the cellar.

Despite everything, a bubble of laughter escaped from Ella’s mouth.

She hurtled through the corridor, the tightness in her chest loosening a fraction, only to constrict again when she reached the end and found two soldiers blocking her way.

“We have orders not to allow anyone to pass,” one of them said with pumped up authority. “You need to go to the cellar ma’am.”

She rolled her eyes. Where the heck did James find these men? Had Merlin cloned an army for him? Flashing her blade at them, she said in a voice that broke no argument, “Either you let me pass or I will poke this through your kneecaps. And don’t bother underestimating me just because I have breasts – I also possess a pair of balls; they’re just hidden from view. Now kindly let me pass.”

Whether her words had been enough to convince them to move would have to be debated another time, because the loudest explosion to date rent the air, startling the soldiers. Ella grabbed the opportunity and ducked between them, running as fast as she could away from the chaos and carnage at the front of the palace. Using only her sense of direction to keep heading straight, hiding from view any time a harried person came into view, she emerged outside a few minutes later in a large square at the rear of the palace.

Chapter Eight

The pumpkin carriage had been left in a neat row with dozens upon dozens of other moonlit carriages.

Ella looked up at the moon and wished she had paid more attention to the time. She rushed up to Itchy and Scratchy and threw her arms around them both. “Thank God. You’re both safe.”

All the other carriages were empty; the footmen all having been led to the cellar, the horses released to find safety for themselves. Only her faithful pets remained, loyally waiting for her to find them.

“Have you seen Ana?”

Unfortunately neither had mastered the art of talking human in the short time they had spent as men. Itchy shrugged.

“You haven’t seen her?”

He shrugged again.

“Do you even know what Ana looks like?”

Looking decidedly shamefaced, he shook his head. Ella knew why. The mere sound of Ana’s voice or footsteps had sent him and Scratchy diving for safety.

“Never mind,” she reassured him, rubbing his forearms. “Ana is in grave danger. We need to return home as quickly as possible.”

Itchy and Scratchy exchanged glances.

“I know she’s an evil bitch but beneath it all she’s still a human-being.” She didn’t add that it would be safer for them back at the house, especially in their current form. Itchy and Scratchy were nervous creatures at the best of times.

The reigns holding the horses that were really frogs to the carriage had already been unclipped. She stroked their loyal heads. “I hope you two can swim in this form,” she sighed. “The bridge at the front is, err, unavailable.”