Chapter 213
Cassius was pacing the narrow walkway between Kit’s interior chamber and the antechamber and had been for several hours. So far, there’d been no word as to where Kit might be, and Eli had yet to make it back to the castle, as far as he knew. Unless he’d been intercepted. He prayed he’d scramble through the tunnel any minute because Cassius didn’t know precisely what they needed to do to find Kit; neither did Avinia, who’d done her best to try to locate the princess and now sat slumped on the settee leaning on Isla’s shoulder. Seph, Jate, Danyen, and Reeve were also there, sitting on the floor, while Landon and Drake were out making inquiries. Wherever Kit was, she wasn’t safe.
“Maybe we should go over what we do know again,” Seph offered, wringing her hands as she spoke.
“We don’t know anything. Only that her mother requested her presence this morning, and she never came back.” Cassius didn’t stop his pacing to answer the question.
“Where could she possibly be?” Seph asked, not deterred by his non-answer of her last question. “Surely, her mother wouldn’t have put her in the dungeon.”
“No, if she’s jailed, it’s likely in one of the towers,” Avinia replied, her face devoid of expression.
“Do we know which one she’d use?” Jate leaned up a bit to look at Avinia.
“There are four. I don’t know for certain. The one closest to the queen’s throne room is called the East Tower, even though it’s no longer on the east side of the castle, because it used to be the furthest tower to the east before Wrenbrook was extended. If she wanted to put her somewhere quickly, that’s where she’d go. But I asked the servants who work that part of the castle, and none of them knew anything. I believe at least one of them would have to know if Kit’s been locked up there.”
“Unless Rona is using only her own people to bring Kit whatever she may need,” Isla offered.
“Unless Kit isn’t getting anything that she needs.” Danyen’s voice sounded defeated already, and the battle hadn’t even begun.
“How long has it been since you signaled Eli?” Seph asked.
He had already answered that question. “Hours.”
She sighed in defeat. “Is it possible he didn’t see?”
“I don’t know. I doubt it.”
“Perhaps he was waiting for cover of darkness.” Of all of them, Isla sounded the most hopeful, but even her happy disposition was failing.
Cassius was about to say that was a possibility when a noise in the adjoining room caught his attention. With his hand on the hilt of his sword, he stepped into Kit’s bedroom where one lamp and an open window illuminated the expanse enough to see, and waited.
The door opened slowly, and Eli stepped out without saying a word, dressed in black with a black cloak. Cassius recognized him immediately, despite the dim light, and dropped his hand off of his sword, almost laughing with glee at how happy he was to see the man he’d only left early that morning. “Eli. Thank the goddesses.” He embraced the other Representative and pounded him on the back a few times before letting him go.
The ladies rushed over to hug him as Cassius closed and latched the door. They’d only left it open for Eli to get in, but now that he was here, anyone else trying to use it for any reason could knock. As much as he would like to think it was possible Kit could show up at the same entry, he doubted that would be the case.
“Did you have any trouble getting into the castle?” Jate asked as he also greeted Eli with a pat on the back.
“No, but... Kit’s still missing?” He looked around the room for her, and Cassius realized they had much to tell him, and yet not enough.
“Yes, we don’t know where she is. That’s why I signaled you,” he began as Eli turned to look him in the eyes. “Her mother called for her this morning, and we haven’t seen her since.”
“But... why would she...?”
“Do you think she could be keeping her in one of the towers for some reason?” Avinia asked, the first tinge of hope in her eyes Cassius had seen for hours.
“Possibly. But why would she?”
“Perhaps Kit’s mouth got the best of her while she was in her mother’s presence, and she’s said something to tip her off,” Isla offered.
The thought had occurred to Cassius, though this was the first mention anyone had made of it aloud.
“Perhaps. Have you checked outside of the towers, for guards? If Kit is locked in one of them, her mother would want her own guards placed there.”
“Not personally,” Cassius admitted. “We haven’t been able to access any of the halls where the stairwells to the towers let out. Those are in parts of the castle where we shouldn’t tarry.”
“I asked the queen where the princess was myself,” Isla said, “when I saw her in the hall, but she only told me not to worry my pretty head.”
“How unusual. Why wouldn’t you worry that your mistress is missing?” Eli asked.
“Exactly.” Isla’s eyes were no longer twinkling at all.
“All right.” He rested his hands on his hips, and Cassius could almost see the wheels spinning in his head. “Our first objective must be to establish where the guards are located. Wherever the guards are, that’s where we shall find the princess.”
“How will we do that without the queen suspecting our goal?” If Cassius had thought of a way to do that earlier, he would’ve done it by now.
Eli didn’t answer. Instead, he said, “Avinia, do you have the uniforms?”
The duchess nodded. “In my room. None of them are large enough for Cassius, though.”
“No, I suppose not,” Eli replied. Cassius did his best to follow the conversation, but he wasn’t sure what they were speaking about. “How many are there?”
“Four.”
“And they’ll pass for Queen’s Guard?”
“I believe so. They look identical to me. The only difference has been the stripe, has it not? And that’s changed.”
“Yes. Very well. Danyen, Jate and I shall need those. Cassius will have to be assigned a different endeavor, for now.”
“You have uniforms for us to wear so that we may blend in with the Queen’s Guard?” Jate clarified. “But won’t they recognize our faces?”
“Of course they may, if they know what you look like and happen to see you in full light. My thinking was that we could more easily reach portions of the castle we are not to be in if we wear their uniforms. But it isn’t without risk.”
“We still need to verify what lies behind the door the queen has been keeping under close guard for all of this time, too. Perhaps those uniforms would be helpful in completing that task. If we have no proof that the queen is paying off our neighboring realms to the detriment of Yewforia, then the only charges we have against her are interfering with a Choosing, which is hardly enough to have her dethroned.” Avinia seemed to have been thinking about this for a while.
“That and illegal imprisonment of hundreds, if not thousands, of Yewforian citizens,” Eli nodded.
“Still, there are members of the council who would not vote to terminate her reign for those reasons alone, I’m afraid,” Avinia continued. “But if we can show proof that she has been mishandling tax money, that should be enough.”
“Even if we can get into the room, will we find any evidence there, other than the taxes themselves?” Isla asked.
“I have no idea. There should be a written accounting log somewhere, but that doesn’t mean there will be.” Eli folded his and shook his head.
“Would it be possible for me to cause a distraction while the others sneak into that room?” Cassius asked.
Eli seemed to think it over for a moment before he shrugged and said, “It would have to be quite a distraction.”
Cassius nodded. He had no idea what he might be able to do that would pull guards off a door they hadn’t left unattended night or day for as long as any of them could remember. “I’ll think of something.”
“All right. I have a good idea that Kit must be in the East Tower. It’s the closest to the throne room and the easiest to keep guarded because of its location. If that’s the case, I shall pay her a visit.”
“How?” Danyen wanted to know. “The guards will certainly recognize you.”
“Yes, that’s true. But in all likelihood, the Queen’s Guard is only stationed outside of the door at the bottom of the stairwell, while those on duty behind the closed, locked door at the foot of the stairs and the landing are members of the Prison Guard.”
“And those are our friends?” Jate asked.
“Some of them, yes.”
“You’ll still have to get past the guards at the bottom of the stairs to get up the stairs,” Danyen pointed out.
“No, I won’t,” Eli assured him, a slight grin taking over in a display of confidence. “Avinia, the uniforms?”
She nodded and headed to the chamber door without another word. “What shall we do while the men are out solving the world’s problems?” Seph asked.
“You need to get to the roof and place your signal.” Any hint of amusement was gone from Eli’s face as he answered her question.
A slight tremor swept through Seph’s small frame. “We’ve reached that point then?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Shall I go with her?” Isla also seemed frightened, but it was a question full of bravery.
“No, she’ll have to go alone. We can’t risk both of you falling into the guards’ hands. You should go with Cassius and see if you can help him with his distraction.”
Isla nodded, and Cassius wasn’t sure whether he should protest that that wasn’t necessary or be happy for the help. Isla was clever. Maybe she would help him think of something.
“How will we get into the room once we have the opportunity?” Danyen inquired.
Eli reached into a pocket on the inside of his cloak and produced a keyring. He studied it for a moment and then opened it to remove a large, silver, skeleton key and then handed it to Danyen. “That key should unlock any room in that section of the castle. If it doesn’t, that means she’s changed the lock. Don’t bother trying to force your way in. We’ll have to find another way.”
“And what are the chances it won’t work?” Jate folded his arms across his chest.
“I would say chances are it will let you in. Rona isn’t likely to think anyone she trusts enough to give a key with that sort of power would ever dare to use it against her.”
“How did it come into your possession, then?” Seph asked, knowing full well, as all of them did, that Rona certainly didn’t give it to Eli.
“Let’s just say she trusted the wrong person.”
Isla had a sparkle in her eyes as if she knew to whom he referred, but she didn’t say, and Cassius decided it was likely Junno or some other member of the council who had lost faith in the queen.
The door opened, and Avinia ducked back inside carrying a basket with a pile of blankets on top. She took it over to the bed and dumped it out. Within each of the blankets, she’d concealed what appeared to be a uniform matching those worn by the Queen’s Guard, though Cassius had gathered that they were actually uniforms from the Princess’s Guard modified by having the old stripe of purple removed and the maroon one sewed in.
Eli picked one up and inspected it closely. “Yes, this should do nicely, Avinia. Thank you very much for your nice work.”
Avinia blushed, which Cassius found unusual since she was typically so unemotional. “It was your idea.”
“I could’ve never executed it, though.” He gathered one of the uniforms into his arms and passed out two of the others to Jate and Danyen. “We’ll leave through the tunnel so that no one will spy members of the Queen’s Guard coming from Kit’s room. I’m sure the other Representatives, the ones that don’t know much about the movement, are wondering what’s going on.”
“Should we find the others and fill them in? Landon, Reeve, and Drake will want to help, and they will need to know I’m placing the signal.” Seph seemed to want their protection, which in Cassius’s opinion, wouldn’t have been a bad idea.
“If you happen across them, fill them in. Otherwise, you’ll need to get to the roof before the sun comes up.” He took his black cloak off and handed it to her. It would be long on her, but it should help her to conceal her identity and move in the shadows. He also handed her another key, this one from a different pocket. “Don’t lose this.”
“What will it unlock?” she asked, looking at it carefully.
“Everything.”
Seph looked as if she wanted to ask more, but she didn’t.
Eli looked each of them in the eye and then unlocked the door that led to the tunnel. Cassius let the others go through first and then followed behind them into the irresolute darkness.
