Trapped in the evil den

I was in the great hall, pacing up and down. I was waiting for any news from the battle outside our walls. Will our kingdom be doomed or will my father be in favour of the god of war ? The enemy had attacked relentlessly for 1 week now and all our men must have been exhausted. I watched near my father’s throne : my younger siblings were sound asleep. They didn’t want to separate from me last night so I just asked the servants to put some warm rugs and blankets in the great hall so they could sleep at ease. I could not sleep myself : being 18 years of age made me well aware that every life in this castle was at stake, ours included. My brother Eloy had tried to accompany me through the night but he was still an eleven year old boy and finally fell asleep around 4 in the morning.

The castle was so calm, it was almost terrifying knowing how many people were staying inside. We had welcome 3 days ago all the families of our servants living inside the outerwall so they would not be separated during this ordeal. Fear could be sensed everywhere. The once lively maids were now coming and going silently, with pale faces. I tried to keep everyone busy so that they could forget about the situation. Everyone in here had someone dear on the battlefield and it was a torture not to be able to help and not knowing what was happening.

Suddenly, I heard a commotion in the hallway. I stepped the fastest I could to the huge door and servants opened it for me. The hallway was leading directly to the grand entrance of the main building. The door was already being shut down by the few guards still in post while an injured soldier was slowing down his stallion. His armor was in an awful state. He didn’t have his helmet anymore and you could spot blood dripping from his forehead. He seemed to have survived hell. He tried to get down his horse, while servants were slowly forming a circle around him, waiting for news from the outside. He started when his eyes met mine.

- Princess Eluise…. The king….

He had trouble breathing and almost fell to the ground. I broke the circle and rushed toward him. I helped to support him until he found his own balance. I was too eager to hear any news from the outside so i urged him

- What about my father ?

- The king….is dead….. Our army is….. defeated…. The enemy is… at the gate...

I had to take support from the stone wall next to me when my brain started to process his words. All my prayers during the night had been in vain. My father, the king, was dead…. We were now orphans but pretty sure we would soon meet him and our mother in the grave. It was common knowledge that when an enemy was invading another kingdom he would kill all the lineage from the previous king to avoid rebellion in the future. Also the enemy my father was trying to repel was the king of Rokkur. His reputation was pretty bad. He was described as a heartless and cold man, spreading fear and despair everywhere he went. He was well known for his skills in the matter of war and his desire for conquest was infinite. He would battle and kill anyone trying to walk across his way. A lot of small kingdoms such as ours had been lost for the past few years, royal families being destroyed, towns being set on fire, people being mistreated and deported to the kingdom of Rokkur as a free labour force…

I looked around me and saw all the teary and shocked faces from our people. They knew too well the lost of the war meant misery and slavery for them and there families.

I tried to regain some composure. With my father dead, I was now the one in charge and I couldn’t just let our people be mistreated or murdered by our enemies. I had to take action before it was too late.

- Everyone, you need to hurry. If they are at the gate, it won’t take long before they are able to crack our outerwall and enter the palace. Go and tell everyone in this building to reunite into the great hall as fast as possible. I have a plan to help you all get out of here. Some of you, please help this poor soldier to get treated and give him food and water. Mary, I need you to hurry and find Sir Baptista and tell him to meet me in the chapel in about 10 minutes. Rosy, please, come with me. I also order all the remaining guards to stay behind these doors and help retard the entrance of the enemy.

The 2 women were my closest allies in this castle. Mary had been my nanny since birth. And when my mom died giving birth to my little sister Eleonor 4 years ago, she somehow managed to replace her, the best she could. She was a warm and strong woman in her late 40’s. My little sister Eleonor and my brothers Eloy and Elwir loved her dearly too. Rosy has been my personal maid since my 10th birthday. It was her duty to keep me company and take care of my needs but our relationship was much more than that. We were always together and I always saw her as a role model since she was a tad older than me and skilled in everything I was lacking. She helped me grow as a better person and was more like a female companion to me than a maid.

The chaos was now invading the palace. People were screaming to hurry to others, everyone was looking for their relatives. They were all hanging to the tiny hope I would save their lives and I was hoping the only plan I had prepared would work. Indeed, before he went to the battlefield my father asked me to see him in private and discussed with me about the right thing to do if the worst was to happen. He told me that our castle had been built with 2 secret passageways so that we could escape easily. One was leading directly into the old monastery of Lysdrïte to the east. My great great grandfather, first king of Amineci, had entirely paid for the reconstruction of the edifice after a huge war at the time and since then, the monks living into that religious fellowship had secretly vowed to protect our family if dark times had to arise again. I hoped they would keep their word. The other passageway was leading into the woods somewhere in the North. My uncle’s realm, the kingdom of Derriegër, was only 1 or 2 days of walking from there and I knew our people would be able to get help and maybe safety there.

I hurried back into the great hall, Rosy on my heels. My brother Eloy was already awake. He was a sweet boy of 11 years old. We had the same blue eyes from our mother but he had inherited the strawberry blond and curly hair from our father while I had darker chestnut one like our mother. He was our crown prince since in our kingdom, girls could not become sovereign and all his short life had been educated as the one of a king he should once become. Eloy came to me with a worried face :

- Eluise ! Sorry I fell asleep… What is happening ? I heard some noises outside...

I placed my hands on his shoulders and looked at him with a serious face.

- Eloy… The worst has happened….

I knew I didn’t have to elaborate. My brother might have been young but he was really smart and quite discerning. And I knew my father must have untrusted him with his plan too. I saw in his eyes the profound sadness he was feeling and silent tears started to roll on his cheeks. He was the closest to our dad and the fact he would never be able to see him again was probably killing him inside. But, like me, he knew he had a duty to accomplish. He soon got a grip on himself and wiped his tears with his sleeve, furiously. He asked, with a firm voice.

- Are we following the original plan ?

I just nodded. We both knew we hadn’t many choices. I first went to the end of the room, behind my father's throne and searched for a while before spotting what I was looking for. Near a large cabinet, a candlestick was kind of crooked. I pulled on it and after a loud “click” was heard, the cabinet started to move to the side and you could see a dark corridor starting behind the wall. All the people in the room except my brother and I seemed shocked about this sudden discovery. It was the passageway my father had told me about. The one leading near the North.

I went back to the middle of the room and turned to my friend Rosy

- Rosy, I need you to wake Elwir and Eleonor and change them into servants' clothes. Tell the people coming here they can go through this passageway, it will lead them into a wood, miles away from here. They must rush to the North and ask for a sanctuary into my uncle’s realm. You wait for me here with the kids and we will escape once I'm done with Sir Baptista.

She stayed silent. I could sense her fear and the fact she didn’t want to part from me. I gave her a short hug and whispered into her ear.

- You know you’re the only one I can trust.

She hugged me back and nodded before letting me go. I didn’t have to say anything to Eloy, he just tagged along with me when I exited the room. We rushed through the corridors and went down a couple of stairs to get to our private chapel, located in the basement of the castle. That part of the castle was far enough from the great hall to be totally deserted. We passed the door and came across Mary, Sir Baptista and 2 men in armor. I bowed to them slightly.

Sir Baptista was an old man, with a long grey beard coming down to his waist. He had a gentle face and was a warm and patient man. He devoted his life to the Gods and helped the people of our town and in the neighbourhood with prayers, blessings, medical knowledge and even served as a teacher to the less fortunate in order for them to learn how to read, write and count. He had been our cleric since I was a little girl and he officiated in most of our events and ceremonies, were they religious or not.

The old cleric came to me and my brother and touched both our foreheads with his thumbs and made a quick prayer before saying in a sad voice.

- My poor children, I fear your lives will never be the same from now one. You are being thrown into adulthood quite harshly. But as long as there is life on earth, there is hope, and I pray to the gods so they will assist you in your upcoming journey. May you keep your faith and overcome every hardship to come.

He turned to my brother and bowed to him with the utmost respect :

- I, Sir Baptista Andeo, emissary to the gods and good friend of the late King Edward de Marco , pronounce you, Eloy de Marco, the lawful King of Amineci. I promise to serve you dutifully and help you gain back what’s rightfully yours.

Everyone in the room, myself included, bowed to Eloy. It was a mark of respect for our new King and to show him we were supporting him. Mary was crying silently. She never expected to see my brother succeed to my father so soon. Neither did I.

Sir Baptista, broke once more the silence. He looked into my brother’s eyes.

- Now, my young friend, you know what is your part in this new game we will be playing ?

- I do. And I promise to do everything in my power to free our kingdom from those invaders even if it must take me years.

- Great. Now we don’t have much time left.

He went to the altar and brought back a monk habit he passed to the new king.

- Hurry up and wear this my king. I already sent letters to my friends at the monastery of Lysdrïte. They are expecting our venue and will accommodate us there, for the time being. Lady Mary Meadow will accompany us during this trip.

He turned his eyes to me and took my hands in his.

- And you my dear princess Eluise, you do know what role you will play in all this don’t you ?

- Of course Sir Baptista. I will make sure nobody can ever take or find this tunnel after your departure so that nobody can go after the king. I will also help our people escape and bring them to safety into our uncle’s land.

- Quite precisely. I suppose I don’t have to remind you that our departure with the king must remain a secret.

I put an hand on my heart and raised the other before responding

- I, Eluise de Marco, sister of the king Eloy de Marco vow to never betray his majesty and keep his whereabouts secret until his return or until death comes upon me.

The old man seemed to evaluate my seriousness with his eyes and soon seemed convinced by my words. He gave me a small smile before going back to the altar. He bypassed it and pulled up an old tapestry representing gods fighting demons and then pressed on a specific stone. We heard a loud sound of a mechanism being set in motion and suddenly the altar just moved to the side and stairs appeared. I knew the time had come to say goodbye. I turned to Eloy and bowed in front of him doing my best to offer him a smile.

- I’ll see you again my King, and I hope this day will come soon.

My brother who was now wrapped under the monk habit came to me and hugged me tightly. He was still so young and small. The top of his head was just reaching my chest. He told me with an earnest voice

- You must take care of Elwir and Eleonor, Eluise. You must stay safe and sound. I will miss you all so much. I’m definitely going to come back for you all…

- I know you will… Now, go, the enemy will get here soon.

My brother nodded and I let him go to Sir Baptista. Mary came to me and it was my turn to hug her tightly. I tried to memorise her scent and every feature of her face. I had already lost the most important woman in my life and now I was about to lose the second. She seemed to sense my distress since she stroked my back gently

- We will see each other soon, little one.

- We will.

I smiled at her, a single tear pouring on my cheek. She kissed my forehead and erased the tear with her thumb.

While we were saying our goodbyes, Sir Baptista had retrieved from the underground a box full of explosive devices. He went to me and gave me the box.

- Wait for about 5 minutes after we disappeared. Close the altar by pushing on the same stone I pushed before. The secret passageway will be closed. Then put this box on the altar, uncoil the fuse until you are out of the room, close the door and light the fuse. The explosion it will create won’t be enough to damage the castle but should be enough to destroy entirely this chapel and the trace of the tunnel underneath. I wish you good luck Eluise. Your dad must be really proud of the capable woman you’ve become.

I blushed at his compliment and took the heavy box into my arms.

- Goodbye Sir Baptista. Please take good care of our Eloy.

The man nodded before ordering

- Now, we must hurry. Let’s go !

He took a torch from the wall and led the way until he disappeared completely from my sight. My brother followed not without giving me a last and sad look. Mary followed waving at me one last time and then the 2 men in armor. I heard their steps draw away and soon I was alone in a completely silent chapel. I waited some more to be sure they would have sufficient time to get away from the blow of the explosion I would create and finally I did as instructed. I shut the entrance of the passageway, I put the box of explosives on the altar and started going out of the room with the fuse in my hands. I closed the door. I looked around and spotted a torch on the wall some meters away. I got it and finally after a huge breath I lit the fuse and immediately started to run away from the door. I ran into the corridors in the opposite direction, as fast as my long dress allowed me to. Finally I could hear a huge bang and I even felt the walls and floor tremble because of the blow. I had to cover my ears with my hands because of the sound of the explosion. I didn’t have time to take a look back since I knew I was running out of time.

I rushed back to the great hall and I knew a lot of people must have already fled through the passageway since it was awfully quiet again. But when I reached for the main corridor leading to the great hall, I let a scream of terror escape when I suddenly heard a loud bang coming from the front door, followed by muffled men’s voices. They were here. They were trying to smash open the door with a battering ram. Another “bang” helped me get out of my torpor. We had to hurry and get out of this place. I ran to the great hall and yelled to the people still inside.

- They are at the door. Everyone in the passageway now !!!!