Chapter Three - Escaping to the Sea

Ara and Matt escape.

Grabbing hold of Matt’s arm, I pull us across the dance floor leaving trails  of bewildered looks and shouting voices. I see the guard’s stunned faces for only a moment as I push through the mass of skirts and limbs when the their shouts start to echo up to the ceiling. 

“Stop!”

“Halt!” 

As though simultaneously realizing what was going on, the crowd seems to part before us, but just before we reach the grand double doors that lead out into the entrance hall, two sentries rush from around the corner pulling on the hilts of their swords. Blood pounds in my ears and everything seems to be in slow motion: I jerk against Matt’s arm, trying to stop running, but he drags me forward; Somewhere behind us Poppy screams my name; We knock through the two sentries and out into the  entryway. Without pausing to think, I steer us down the corridor on the right of the ballroom, willing my feet to run faster. 

Behind us I hear the shouts of Guards and my Aunt’s cold voice rises above them, piercing night like a blade as she angrily screeches. 

“STOP THEM!” 

Racing past door ways, I fight through the panic in my head and try to focus. What door is it again? Oh no. Clinking metal against stone. Think. Think. 

“Here!” I slam us into the wooden door and throw us inside before slamming it behind us. 

“You look for the letters, I’ll guard the door.” Matt says, starting to move the large table from the center of the room to block the door. 

I nod, lost for breath. I scramble pieces of parchment on the top, skimming through lines, looking for something about war, anything.  The door starts shaking as loud booming thuds hit from the outside. Hurry up. Hurry up. 

Not finding anything on the top of the desk, I swipe in one great slash, ink and parchment scattering all across the floor and rug, and heave open the top. Right on top is a neatly stacked pile of letters tied together with twine. …marching the soldiers….spy…..kill all captives…. 

CRUNCH! 

I look up and see pieces of splintering wood scatter across the floor as a large blade is thrust through the wood, slicing through the makeshift barricade as Matt desperately tries to hold it in place. 

“I found it! Matt, I have it!” 

“Hurry!” He withdraws from his pocket a steel scroll quiver and tosses it at me. As quickly as I possibly can I start rolling the packet of letters and stuffing them into the canister just as the last giant thud breaks the door entirely and Matt is thrown backward into the middle of the room as the first of four guards climbs his way into the room. Hands shaking, I fumble with the top of the holder as in front of me Matt dodges a slice of a blade and smacks the first guard in the back. Stumbling, he falls head long into the stone wall with a horrible crunching sound. Matt stumbles backward as well as he’s hit with a hilt of the next sword. Quicker than I ever though possible, Matt stands back up, grabbing the sword of the fallen guard’s men.  Parrying the next attack, the two spin around blocking deathly blows as steel clicks against steel. From behind the next Guard is climbing his way over the wooden rubble and it dawns on me that Matt is in danger. Unthinking, I rush out from behind the desk. On the floor a strewn piece of table leg is laying. Matt blocks one last blow of the Guard’s sword before bringing his own swiftly down onto the other man’s head. The sickening crunch of bone and metal shake the room and blood flies all over the room. Red pools. The third Guard raises his sword. Glint of metal in the candle light. 

“MATT!” I scream, swinging the table leg as hard as I can. It makes contact with the back of the man’s head with a sound like the cracking of ice. The lights fade form his eyes and crimson tears run down from his hair. Behind me, another crack sounds out and the last guard falls to the floor; unconscious. Shaking, I turn, splintered remains still in my hand, and see Mari standing in the midst of the fallen barricade. Flushed and pale, she holds a large bread roller in her hands as she pants and pushes locks of red hair from her face. Matt pries the pieces of broken wood from my hand, and takes my face in his hands, smoothing my hair down and looking me in the eyes. 

“Are you alright?” 

I nod breathlessly, feeling dizzy and sick. 

“You must go.” Mari says, gaining some of her composer. “More guards will be coming soon and we can’t fight them all.” Matt nods his head and looks around the room, trying to find the best escape. But my eyes connect instantly with the large bay windows overlooking the sea. It’s our only chance.

“Come on. This way.” I peel myself form Matt’s hold and step across the room to the windows, pushing them open. 

“Ari, You can’t swim!” Mari says, frantically looking back at the door. 

“It’s the only way.” Mari looks at me, fear mangling her warm eyes, but nods her head in understanding. She steps forward and folds me in her warm embrace. 

“My braver girl.” She mumbles into my hair. With one last squeeze, she pulls back and turns on Matt, raising her bread roller and shoving it in his chest.

“You take care of her, do you understand me?” She says sternly, narrowing her eyes. 

“With my life.” She looks him right in the face, scrutinizing his answer, but seems satisfied as she nods her head and smiles. 

“Be careful, I’ll hold them off as best I can.” 

“Thank-you, for everything. I love you.” Tears run down Mari’s face, but she nods her head determinedly. Braver than a thousand knights. 

Turning back towards the window, I take a deep breath to steady myself and grab hold of Matt’s hand. One. Footsteps and raging voices sound in the hallway. Two. Crunching wood from the door way. 

“GO!” Mari yells. I scream. 

All I can hear is the rush of wind in my ears and I clutch Matt’s hand tighter as the chill of the icy sea engulfs me whole. Plunged deep into the murky green, I feel weightless and helpless in the vast expanse of open sea. Lungs stinging, I fight to rise to the surface as Matt helps me push against the heavy weight of the water. Arrows suddenly pierce through the water. Multiple swoosh past, I can feel their wake as they barely miss my skin, and looking over at Matt one grazed past his shoulder, cutting into his arm sending tendrils of wispy black through the water. I gasp, letting the murky water fill my lungs. 

Stay focused. Don’t pass out. Don’t pass out. Please. 

I grab hold of Matt’s upper arm, helping as best I can to pull us both to the surface, breathing in desperate relief when we break through the crashing waves. 

“Just kick your feet, You can do it.” Matt repeats in my ear, voice strained as his arms become slick with blood.  Keeping close to the base of Ingemar, we make our away through the green surf. The gods must be on our side tonight, for a stormy cloud cover moves in, obscuring the moonlight and allowing us safe passage as we swim slowly under the Ivory Bridge and to the shore of Môrwyn.

Exhausted and injured, we came to rest just beyond the harbor of the city in a low marsh of grasses and reeds where we could take cover. The sky was already starting to lighten in the east, threatening us with the approach of dawn. We had heard the sound of soldiers running across the bridge all through the night, lanterns alight as they relayed messages from the queen to the villagers and other Guards for our capture. 

“We have to keep moving.”  Matt said, struggling to sit up without moving his arm. 

“Are you alright?” The wound still seemed to be bleeding profusely, and looked to be slightly swollen; the beginnings of infection.

“It’s only a scratch, Princess. I’ll live.” I give him my best reprimanding look through my exhaustion, but I can feel a small smile playing in the corners of my lips. I crawl closer to him, putting my hands on his shoulder to better look at the wound. 

“This is not just a scratch, Matthew. This could kill you if we let it get infected.” His skin was warm to the touch, but it didn’t seem to be oozing or swelling too badly. 

“Matthew?” I stoop down and tear a section of my dress hem off, and rinse it in the water we’re still sitting in. 

“Hold still.” I  roll my eyes at him, and start slowly wiping away the blood. He tenses as the salty water touches his open wound.  “I’m sorry. But at least this will clean it well.” Once the blood is wiped mostly away, the wound doesn’t seem nearly as bad, though it’s still deeper than I would like. Tearing a bit of my dress again, I wrap his arm tightly, sighing lightly when I’m finished. 

“Thank-you…” He says, looking me closely in the eyes. “Are you alright?”

“This is just….so ridiculous. I can’t believe I’m free of the castle….of her…” I smile lightly, then uncontrollably a laugh bubbles up from my chest. 

“I can’t swim….I can’t swim, and I jumped from a window into the Sea. With someone I don’t even know. Who does that?” But Matt just looks at me curiously and smiles, shaking his head before looking back up at the sky. 

“Lets rest here for a little bit before we move on. You can sleep if you want…I’ll keep watch.” I smile gratefully at him, and lay down in the reeds next to him, slipping my heels off and closing my eyes. 

“Wake me up after a little while, You need to sleep too, and I can keep watch.” 

“Whatever you say, Princess.” 

“Ara,“ I say firmly “Princesses aren’t rebels...“ He was silent for a few long moments, but then I heard him nestle down in the grass next to me. 

“You’ll always be a Princess…Ara….just one made of a different things…” 

I want to ask him what he means, but sleep is quickly descending upon me and I can my thoughts growing heavier and heavier as I slowly lose consciousness. 

“I do trust you, by the way….I don’t know why, but I do.” He doesn’t answer, but I know he’s listening as I drift to sleep,