men today also. I know it’s strange, and part of you feels awful, but if you hadn’t killed those men, then you would be dead right now.”
“I just can’t believe that I actually killed someone.”
“Why don’t you try to get some sleep?” I said. “We’re going to be moving again in a few hours, and you’ll need your rest.”
“I don’t think that I can sleep after today,” he replied. “I’m not sure that I’ll ever be able to sleep again.”
“How about if I get you some tea?” I asked.
“How are you going to make tea? We don’t have a fire to warm the water.”
I laughed slightly. “It won’t be warm tea. It’s from the palace so it will be cold. I brought some a long just in case.”
He nodded. “I guess that will be ok. Will you sit with me for a little bit?” He asked.
“Of course. I’ll be right back,” I said hopping up over to our bags of supplies. I pulled out the jug that had the tea in it, and then glanced over my shoulder as I slipped some medicine into a container, and poured the tea into it.
I sat down next to William, and handed him the container with the tea.
“Thank you,” he said.
“No problem,” I replied.
He took a sip. “Sir Owen, will you tell me some stories about being a knight?” He asked.
“Hmm I’ll have to think of a good one,” I said. I looked down at him, and realized that he was already asleep. It had worked quicker than I anticipated.
I realized that Lady Mary was watching me. “Do you give him something to sleep?” she asked.
“Yes. The boy will need his rest. How about the girls?” I asked pointed to them. “Did you give them something to sleep?”
She shook her head. “No, I think just the events of the last day gave them enough to sleep for a month. Poor Isabel,” she said. “I feel so sorry for her.”
“We’ll make sure that she’s alright,” I said. “I made a promise and I intend to keep it.”
“I know, it’s just that she’s lost everything so quickly. And now she’s going to have to live in a world, that might not accept her, and a world that she’s not going to understand.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You know very well what I mean. She’s going to have to be a commoner. Sure the King tried to teach her about being a commoner, but she was a princess. She never did her chores well or willingly, or was liked by the help. I’m not sure if it’s even going to be possible to conceal her identity as the Princess.”
“We’re going to have to make it possible,” I said. “There’s no other way.”
She began to cry.
“What’s wrong now?” I asked.
“Charles,” she said. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Do you think I could have some of that tea? I think that I might need it to help me sleep as well.”
“Of course,” I responded. I handed her the container that I had given William.
“Thank you,” she said. She took a few sips, and within seconds she was falling asleep.
I looked around and realized that my men were all asleep as well. What a strange day it had been. I hadn’t really had the time to think about it until now. I hadn’t had the time to process it. So much loss, I thought. It didn’t seem real. Yesterday, I had been one of the prized knights of the King, and today, I was a fugitive. They were all fugitives now I realized. If I was found smuggling them, I would be hung. Harold would have no mercy on me if he caught me. I would be a threat to him, a beloved knight of the King; one of the last links to him. I would have to be just as careful to keep my identity secret as the royal family.
I watched them sleep for a few minutes. They were entirely my responsibility now. I hadn’t wanted the responsibility, but now I had it. I had my own family that I had to protect for better or worse. But then maybe I had wanted it, I thought. All those years, growing up feeling disconnected, and now I had something. Isabel and William, were mine to take care of.
Suddenly I felt sick. What of my own daughter, and sister? Had Arthur been able to save them? I wondered what had happened to all the villagers, and all the people in the palace. The Queen had tried to help as many of them escape as possible, I wondered how much she had been able to help though. Had she been able to escape herself? If she hadn’t, then what had happened to the survivors after they got passed the palace grounds? Unarmed, there was no way they would escape the oar.
Isabel
I woke up to the sound of voices. I opened my eyes, and it took a minute to realize where I was. The events of the day before slowly settled in. Part of me wanted to believe that it was all just a bad dream, and that I would wake up for real any second now, but I knew that it wasn’t a dream. I looked up at Aunt Mary who was still asleep. Catherine was awake and talking to Owen. I got up and went to them.
“Good morning Princess,” Owen greeted me.
“Good morning,” I said.
I noticed that Catherine was eating a piece of bread, and I suddenly realized that I was starving. I realized that I hadn’t eaten since the night before we left the palace.
“Would you like something to eat?” Owen asked.
I nodded, and he handed me a slice of bread.
I felt disoriented. I wasn’t sure how long I had been asleep. I wondered if it was still the same day, or if a new day had come. “Owen, have we been gone a day yet?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I have no idea. For all I know, it could be the middle of the night.”
“Oh,” I said.
“We’ll wait awhile for everyone else to wake up, and then we’ll move on,” he explained.
“It’s best that way move at odd times anyway.” He took a bite out of the loaf that he was holding. “It’s likely that William, and your Aunt will be asleep for a while. I gave them both something to help them sleep.”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure what to say. It was all a bit much. Suddenly I missed my parents, and I began to cry.
“What’s wrong Isabel? Catherine asked.
I shrugged, and wiped the tears from my face. “Nothing,” I said finally. “Nothing is wrong.”
Owen moved over, and put his hand on my chin. “Whatever it is, you can tell us.” He looked concerned.
“It’s nothing,” I said and turned away. It wasn’t proper for me to display my emotions in front of Owen. I was a princess, it was hardly proper for me to display my emotions to anyone at all.
“Ok,” Owen said. “But I would really like for you to tell me. I’m kind of going to take care of you for a while, you know. It’s ok for you to tell me things.”
I shrugged and turned away. I went back and sat down next to Aunt Mary. She stirred when I sat up against her.
Catherine rushed over to her, and offered her some bread.
“I know it’s not much,” Owen said. “But we weren’t able to bring that much.”
She shrugged. “Bread will do,” she said.
“How did you sleep?” Owen asked.
She smiled. “Like a baby. How long before we are out of the tunnels.”
Owen looked pensive for a minute. “I’m not sure yet. I know it’s a few days from the nearest village that the tunnel goes through. The King set it up that way on purpose. He figured Harold would look for you in the closest villages first.” He frowned.
“What is it?” Aunt Mary asked him.
“Well,” Owen began. “When we do reach the first village, we might not stay above ground.”
“What?” Aunt Mary asked.
“Well,” Owen started. “It might not be safe. They are going to be looking for you, all of you. I might be the only one to go up for a while.”
“You mean that we’re going to live down here?” Aunt Mary asked.
“I don’t want to stay down here,” I protested.
Owen knelt down onto one knee, and looked Aunt Mary straight in the eyes. Then he took her hands into his, “I know that you�
��re frightened,” he explained. “But this might be the only safe way for a while. After some time has passed, they won’t look for us as much, and then we can go above ground.”
“You’re sure this is the right thing to do?” She asked.
He nodded.
“How long?” She asked.
“At least two months. Enough time so they hopefully won’t look for us anymore.”
She nodded. It was the first time that I had ever seen her not put together. It was a strange thing for me to see as a child. My aunt was someone that I had always seen as being strong, and now she was weak, and unsure of herself.
William
At least two months. It seemed like a crazy idea. Maybe I could go above ground with him. They wouldn’t be looking for me. I hoped that he would let me go with him. Two months seemed like a long time to not be able to even see the light of day.
Shortly after they were done talking and we began to walk again. This time, the knights did not carry us. As my eye began to adjust to the tunnels, I could see that they were actually carved out walls. The floor was not dirt, but wood.
It was the most that I had walked since the attack. I wished that we had brought my wheel chair with me. Every muscle in the leg that I had broken was screaming at me. I couldn’t help but start to limp a little bit.
I asked Owen about the floors being wood.
“It hasn’t been like that the whole way lad,” he said. “ When we first got to the tunnels, the floors and walls were dirt.”
We heard noise up ahead and Owen stopped us. He put his finger to his lip, and told us to stay behind. Signaling for several of the other knights to follow, they began to creep along. When the others weren’t paying
Guardians of the Throne; Part I Page 21