Queen Bee

Runaways

     I  barely slept the night before, my mind in a constant spiral of questions. I manage to get myself out of bed and get ready for the day. A soon as I finish lacing up the front of my dress there's a knock at the door. I pull the last of the gold strings and hurry to see who it is. To my surprise, Sawney stands in the dim hallway, holding a bowl. This time he wears his mask and helmet. 

    "I..uh..wanted to apologize for yesterday. I probably should not have said what I said and, uh, yeah. Here." He shoves the bowl in my direction. I take it and am filled with delight by the inside. 

    "Thank you! Where did you get it?" It's filled with a large variety of fruits-some that I've never even seen before. 

    "The kitchen." I can see his eyes moving around anxiously. 

    "I forgive you."

    "What?" I pick out a raspberry. 

    "I forgive you. For what you said about the prince and I." 

    "Oh, yeah." I offer him the raspberry. 

    "I just ate." He holds up a gloved hand and I shrug, popping it in my mouth. 

    "Oh, and also, there's a lost looking prince waiting in the garden. He looks like he might just be waiting on a princess." I smile, the events from last night almost disappearing. A moment of silence passes as I contemplate telling him, of course that would be admitting that I was wrong. Nobody likes that. Sawney nods stiffly, then begins down the hallway. 

    "Hey, Sawney." He stops. "What you said about the king...not being trustworthy? I think you should still keep that in mind. You never know." I see his face harden through the back of his head as he continues down the hallway. I turn back in, shutting the door and chowing down on the fruits now that I'm alone. I take out my makeup palette with the red, powder stuff that Anna always put on me before a courting or a ball and apply a little to my cheeks. "One can never look too good" she always used to say. Before I leave, I decide not to bring last night's dinner event up with anyone. Maybe that was just the king's version of being friendly? Plus, I don't want to explain to anyone why I let him touch me. I hold my head up, wishing there was a mirror in this room to check myself out in before I leave. Alas, I just trust that I look beautiful and walk out like I own the place. Mother says that's the key to success. As I wander aimlessly in search for a servant to help me find the garden, I hear voices coming from one of the rooms down the corridor. 

    "Brilliant, Dar, Brilliant!" Jules' voice reaches across to me, inviting me to eavesdrop. Maybe just a little bit.

    "Thank you, Your Majesty." A rugged, female voice says back. I decide to forget about the prince for a moment, and let my curiosity lead me down the hallway. 

    "When do we need to leave by?"

    "Half an hour, tops. We need to be at least halfway to the Astarian castle before they realize that you're gone. If we're lucky, they'll be stupid enough not to even know that we've left." The girl's voice doesn't sound Frense. She has an Astarian accent, which must be why they're talking in English. 

    "How fast can you gather the troupes?" 

    "Already done, Your Majesty. We just need you and your say-so to get moving out of Franse." My heart thumps against my chest as I lean against the wall, sliding slowly towards the open door with the talking. 

    "I have some personal things to do once we get there and all the guests have arrived, if you know what I mean." 

    "I do." 

    "Very well," a book is slammed shut as the king finishes his sentence. "lets get a move on."

    "Do we need to get His highness?" 

    "No. He can wait here under the watch of the rest of the guardsmen. He doesn't even know about our plan, so let's not involve him yet."

    "I don't mean to offend you, Your Majesty, but wont he realize that his father is gone?" I'm right outside of the door, almost jumping when Jules lets out a hard laugh. 

    "He'll be so drugged up by then he wont even know where he is!"

    "Pardon?"

    "I slipped a little poison in his drink-not enough to kill him-but enough to make him sick. All of them, actually. Except for their princess, she doesn't drink wine." My heart drops, my face paling. 

    "I see. Shall we?" 

    "Yeah, let's get going." I hear footsteps at the door and take off down the hallway, turning around the first corner I see. I knock into a servant, pushing him to the ground. 

    "Where's the gardens?" I ask hurriedly, yanking him up from the ground. 

    "Down the hall, two rights and through the wooden doors. Are you alright, Your Highness? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

    "Yes, thank you. I must be going." I've already taken off by the time the words fly out of my mouth, following his directions exactly. I find a set of dark brown doors and push them open, ignoring the splinter now stuck in my fingernail. I spot Olivier, a few yards ahead. brushing dirt off his pant legs. He turns to me, a smile spreading across his face. We collide, me hugging him in desperation. He places his hand on my hips and begins to kiss the top of my head. 

    "Not now." As much I hate it, I pull away. I notice a bouquet of now rumpled flowers in his hand as he tried to hand them to me. 

    "Are you alright?" He asks, and I realize he really is paler than before.

    "Your..your father! I think he's..I heard him! He's leaving right now and is going to take over my castle while I'm here with the king and..and he's been poisoning us! Well not me, but you and my father. We have to go stop him before he leaves!" My hands grip his, shaking like its freezing cold. I scan Olivier's face through wet eyes, waiting for his reaction. He just stares at me blankly. 

    "What? Slower?" He pulls out a small book from his pocket, another Frense-English dictionary. 

    "We don't have time for that!" I scream, plucking the book from his hands. Now he looks at me, concern and a hint of anger in his eyes, 

    "Then go slower."

    "Your father...is leaving....to take my castle!" He looks at me, this time understanding, then breaks out in laughter. My cheeks go red, fury filling my veins.

    "Why are you laughing!?"

    "That is a funny joke! How did you make it?" He playfully tucks a piece of hair behind my ear, and I grab his hand. 

    "I'm. Not. Joking." His smile disappears, replaced with a frown. 

    "Jules just invited us here..."

    "Adela-" he pinches the bridge of his nose.

    "Just to help himself..."

    "Adela-"

    "take over our castle! My home! And he's been" My voice breaks, the words flooding from me. 

    "Adela ENOUGH!" He breathes heavily, the few centimetres of space between us hot from the breathes. 

    "Adela, listen. My father, would..would not! My head hurts, so I really do not-"

    "It's because he's poisoning you!" Olivier's hand flies up, and I flinch. It curls into a fist as I watch him.

    "Olivier, please. You have to stop him." He cups his hands around my face, holding it so I'm forced to look into his eyes. 

    "This is not happening. I will prove it to you." My hand reaches up and squeezes his.

    "Then go get him." The moment breaks, Olivier letting go and heading up to the wooden doors. I follow closely, knowing I'm right. 

    "I need to go tell my father." I say, breaking off to go in a different direction. 

    "I will bring my father to you." We depart, and I'm afraid of what comes next. 

        I pick out my father's door, the only one with guards stationed in front of it. 

    "Excuse me, I need to enter."

    "Only pre-approved visitors allowed." The guard says, his Frense accent clouding the English words.

    "I'm his daughter, I don't need approval." 

    "Only pre-approved visitors allowed." I let out an exasperated noise, clenching my fists. 

    "Listen here you little-"

    "She has approval." Suddenly, Sawney is at my side. 

    "The king isn't here." 

    "Any why not?" The guard shrugs, while the other says "Ask Manuel." I can feel my heart beat in my head as Sawney and I take off down the hall. I fill him in on everything all the way up to current times. On our way to Manuel, Olivier appears. 

    "My father isn't here, Olivier. I told you something is wrong!" 

    "We must not assume. I need to talk to-"

    "Manuel" We say in unison. 

    "I know a shorter way." Olivier suddenly jerks backward and begins to back track. He opens a door,one like all the rest, except this one has a stone staircase leading down. We follow him down it and into a stone corridor. He pulls a key out of his pocket and inserts it into another door at the end. It opens to a small, hot room cluttered with things of all sorts. 

    "Maneul!" Olivier calls out, then says something in his language. The royal advisor apears, looking chipper as usual. 

    "Your Highness's, to what do I owe the-"

    "Cut the crap, we need answers." Sawney surprises me, interjecting into the conversation. He nods at me to go ahead. I step up, Manuel looking very confused. 

    "Where's my father and where is Jules?" He quickly changes his expression into a happy one again like a switch.

    "They had to leave for very urgent business. I was just about to leave to join them myself. Their Majesties did not wish to worry you, so they did not tell you! Can I offer you a beverage or anything-"

    "Where is this 'business' taking place?" Sawney unsheathes his sword slightly, reminding Manuel of its presence. 

    "No need to get feisty, " he laughs it off, brushing his beard with his hand. "They just went to the Astarian castle and will be back later today, or tomorrow if it gets too late." 

    "I told you." Olivier says, holding his side and wincing. 

    "What's the matter, Your Highness?" Manuel goes to aid him, but Sawney blocks him with his now fully drawn sword. 

    "You guys are poi-"

    "He's just not feeling well!" Lying, I cut Sawney off before he can finish and push his sword down. "We'll be on our way. Thank you very much." I grab onto Olivier and drag him out of the room before he can fight back and Sawney follows closely, slamming the door behind us. I figure he doesn't need to know that I know. 

    "I told you!" I push Olivier up against the cold wall, worry filling me.

    "What's the matter?" 

    "Nothing!"

    "We need to leave." Sawney pushes through us and sheathes his sword. 

    "Why?" Olivier pushes himself off the wall and follows as we enter back into the main hallway.

    "Because that guy was obviously lying. And this was all just a big wast of time!" Olivier lets out a sigh, muttering incomprehensibly under his breath in Frense. 

    "I'm not coming." He stops suddenly, looking at us with defiant eyes. Sawney barely even spares him a glance before moving on. I turn to him, the want to stay with him urging me to choose different words. 

    "Fine." I turn and leave, not trusting myself to look back. 

    "I need to grab something from my father's room before we head out." I say, catching up to Sawney. 

    "M'kay. Just pack some clothes and meet me at the front entrance in fifteen." I nod as we depart, starting our own treks through the castle. 

    I somehow manage to find my father's room, unfortunately with the two guards still in front of the door. 

    "Excuse me, but I have permission to be in here!" I announce, using my best princess voice. The two guards eye each other, silently exchanging words. Finally, they step to the side and let me pass. Once inside, I head straight over to father's dresser. I've never liked to unpack my clothes, but I know that the king always done. Why, I'll never know. I slide open the top drawer to reveal different sets of casual shirts. The sort of tops he would wear while working in his office when nobody was around. I grab a couple of them and head back out, making sure to smile sweetly at he guards. One of them blushes and his friend smacks him on the head. Taking off in a sprint, I backtrack and find my room nearby. I burst in, my heart pounding more than ever as I grab a small hand held duffel bag with straps. I shove the shirts in, leaving one out. A dark green one that still has my father's signature smell. Its smells of something rough, like firewood right after you douse it in water after a fire. I hurriedly take my dress off, possibly just ripping the strings instead of taking the time to undo them. Anna would have my head for this. Government overthrow or not, she always got very angry at me for ruining perfectly good dresses. 

    "I'll just buy a new one." I say to her, even though I know she's not here. I find a pair of pants that I would wear to go horseback riding and slip them on. Then, throw the shirt on over my head. It hangs down to my knees, so I decide to take the time and tie a belt around my waist after rolling the bottom hem of the shirt up. I've never worn these sort of clothes before, but I don't have time to find someone to correct me on the style. I don't own any normal shoes, so I just find a pair of the comfiest slippers I brought and put those on. I zip up my duffel bag, slinging in over my shoulder. Just as I'm about to open the door, something metallic glints in the corner of my eye. The pocket knife Mother gave me sits lonely on my dresser. I pick it up, examine it slowly, and ultimately stick it my pants where my belt is to hold it up. 

    Sawney waits at the bottom of the stairs at the castle entrance. To my surprise, so does Olivier. The two seem to be bickering about something. As I approach, Sawney looks to me in desperation. 

    "He's not coming, right? Tell him he's not coming!" I turn to Olivier, who looks annoyed and tired all at the same time.

    "Are you sure?" I ask, reminding myself of our time on the balcony. 

    "Yes. I will be here to get you out of the trouble." I turn back to Sawney, who, for the first time, wears civilian clothing in front of me. He looks out of place, even with his sword still strapped to his side. 

    "He's coming." I start walking. Partly because there's no time to sit around and bicker about this, and partly for the simple fact that I don't want to give Sawney time to argue. 

    "Horse?" Olivier asks, pointing to a white stable in the distance. 

    "We don't need horses." Sawney grumps, following close behind. 

    "How else are we going to get there?" He silently follows us as we run over to the stable. I wish I was wearing shoes like their's-made for this sort of thing. I guess I'll just have to make do. The place obviously hasn't been visited today, so we have to push the big, white door open ourselves. Once inside, we search the stalls for a horse. 

    "Do you need to ride with me?" Sawney asks, mounting on a big, black stead. 

    "Sawney," I put my hands on my hips for emphasis, "I've been riding since I was three." Olivier snorts as Sawney blinks in annoyance. I go down the stalls and find a nice light grey horse with black dots all over her body. Sawney waits- not so patiently- as the prince and I saddle up the horses and get ready to leave. Once outside, we start down a path that goes through the woods and, as Olivier says, will lead us straight to the town. Once there, we'll just have to figure out how to get past the gate and leave Franse for good. 

    Olivier takes the lead, causing Sawney to fall back next to me. 

    "Nice clothes." He says, and I can't tell if he's joking or not. 

    "Thanks. You've got some nice clothes yourself." I tip my nose in his direction, taking another look at his outfit. He has black pants with a brown, sleeveless leather jacket over a black shirt. 

    "Yeah. It's my color." He looks off to the side and I wonder if I may have hurt his feelings. 

    "Hey, Sawney," I clear my throat and he looks at me. "Do you think this will all..be okay? Like, it'll turn out alright?" Now that we're on the road, I realize I have no idea what I'm going to do once we get there. He sniffs the air, looking at the sky for a moment, then back at me. My heart begins to beat faster and faster, hoping he can calm my nerves and just say that everything will be alright!

    "Yeah, sure. I mean, probably. What choice do we have?" He spits on the ground and a lump forms in my throat. 

    "You're right." We ride the rest of the way in silence. I focus in on the sound of birds and the trees shaking in order to ignore the feeling of anxiety and fear waiting patiently at the back of my mind. As the forest starts thinning, the sound of a village rises from the peaceful silence. People yelling, children screaming, and animals calling out erase the sounds of the woods. Olivier looks back at us, his nose scrunched and a look of dread on his face. 

    "What?" I ask, willing my horse to go a little faster so I can hear him. 

    "The people...they are..excited." 

    "For what?"

    "I."

    "For you?" Then I realize he means that the people get excited when a prince comes in the village. The same things happen whenever a member of our royal family ever go anywhere out of the castle. The people flood the streets and try to get a few words in with us-whether rude or sociable. Some even go as far to to try and touch our clothes or take something from us to sell. It's all quite chaotic to say the least. 

    "I'll go in front to clear a path, the prince should go in the back so we can hopefully contain the people to the back." Sawney commands, taking the lead. Olivier takes a place next to me, looking confused. 

    "He said to go behind me." I whisper, loud enough for him to hear. He gives a nod of thanks and takes his position a few feet behind me. We exit the forest and come face to face with the village. Out of the corner of my eye I see Olivier's face go red as he leans down into his horse. Unfortunately, he's not hiding well enough to not be seen. Before we know it, the villagers are crowding around us. Some stare at our trio-mouths agape and eyes wide- while others are yelling things in Frense and drawing more people closer. Olivier's given up, and is now sitting strait, smiling politely and nodding his head. 

    "Move! Move it!" Sawney doesn't hesitate in the front to reach down and physically push people out of our path. They all call out to him, seemingly asking questions. Some point at me and I recognize a few words relating to "Astaria" and "Marriage" in the jumble of words. After a few moments of moving at a snail's pace, I begin to get as impatient as Sawney. 

    "Can we go any faster?" I ask him and he looks back at me, a devilish look on his face. 

    "I though you'd never ask." He suddenly, in a large motion, draws his sword a waves it in the air. Then, he begins yelling threats that no princess dare repeat-even on paper- to the villagers. Normally I would be angry, but my time restraint erases that emotion. The people back away, looking at him like one might look at a mangy dog. We take off down the cobblestone street, threatening to run down run through anyone who gets in our way. It takes us more time than I'd like to reach the gates, but I'm relieved we've at least made it this far. Surprisingly, Sawney puts his sword back without me having to tell him to. We come up to a single guard who is busy swatting at a fly as we approach. 

    "Papiers-" He looks up, then realizes Olivier is the one he was was just about to give a nasty look to. He quickly ducks down in a bow. 

    "Altesse Royal." 

    "Tell him we're going for a horse ride or something." Sawney looks at Olivier. The prince does as he says as the guard slowly stands back up. The guard says something in a questioning voice and in turn Olivier turns back to Sawney.

    "What?"

    "Uh..how come we leave here?"

    "What!?"

    "Just tell him we're going someplace special." I interject, remembering that Sawney hasn't had time to practice understanding the prince's broken English. The guard looks at us one last time before calling out and having the gate opened. 

    "Merci." Olivier says.

    "Merci." I add as well, riding off and out of the safety of the Frense castle.