Guardians of the Throne; Part I

by Rose-Merry Unan

was the safest thing to do. The children could be disguised, but not Lady Mary. It was too risky to have them all together, there was too much of a chance that someone would recognize them.

  I wouldn’t leave her yet though. I would move them out in a few days, and then I would leave her with a family that would keep her safe. I hoped that she would be safe. I tried to talk myself into feeling easier about it. Mary was not in line for the throne, but her child was. Maybe finding Mary without either child would convince Harold that they were dead.

  I packed up my bag. We had stayed there to long already I thought to myself. More and more people were coming. I began to wonder if the tunnels were even safe. I knew that Harold must have spies, and I knew that he was looking for the princess.

  “Sir Owen,” I heard a man call.

  I spun around. It was one of the orphans that I had grown up with, who was now one of the guardians of the throne.

  “Mathew,” I said happy to see him. “How have you been, I padded him on the shoulder.”

  “I am well Owen,” he said.

  There was something off about his behavior. We had been good friends since we were kids. “What is it?” I asked. Is there something wrong.”

  “I don’t know where to begin,” he said almost out of breath.

  “Just tell me,” I said.

  “We need to move, and now,” he said urgently. “Now that I think of it, I don’t think there’s time to explain.”

  “Come on,” I said urgently realizing that we were in danger.“ Where is she,” I yelled running towards Lady Mary who was sitting with a group of woman.

  “She’s in the other room with William and Catherine,” she said.

  “Get your things,” I ordered. “We need to go. Everyone needs to go, now,” I said. The woman began to scoop up their children and run down the tunnels.

  I flung the door open to the room the children had been staying in.

  “They’re not in here,” I yelled. I turned around to face Lady Mary. “They’re not in there,” I said again.

  “They have to be in there,” she said. “I’ve been sitting here the whole time, I would have seen them come out.”

  I walked into the room, and looked around.

  “Oh my,” I heard Lady Mary say from behind me.

  “What is it?” I asked

  She pointed up. They had dug a hole in the ceiling. “Damn it,” I exclaimed.

  “We need to get as many men as possible,” Mathew said. “Harold’s men know about the tunnel, and they are coming.”

  This couldn’t be happening I thought to myself. I grabbed Mary and pulled her out of the room. A girl was running by us panicked, and I pulled the scarf off of her head. I tied it around Mary’s hair and pulled it around her face the best that I could.

  “Sir Jacob”, I called to another knight who I saw putting gear on.

  “Yes sir,” he said. “This is Lady Mary,” I informed him. “She is the sister in law to the late King. I want you to get as far away from here as possible, and then get above ground. Hide her in plain sight,” I instructed him.

  “My daughter,” she said.

  “I will find her,” I promised. I spun around, and directed my men to follow me above ground.

  I could smell the smoke before I saw it. I could feel the fire before I could see it. As I climbed the stairs out of the tunnels, the screams sent chills throughout my entire body. I jumped out, and grabbed my sword. There were men in the room the tunnel opened up into. They were Harold’s men. Within seconds one of their weapons collided with mine, and I was fighting for my life.

  Isabel

  I waited impatiently for William to carve out the last of the whole. We had been working on it for weeks in secret. If Aunt Mary or Sir Owen found out about it, they would kill us. Catherine stood by the door keeping watch.

  Finally, we could see light. I beamed with excitement. It was the first time that I had seen light in I didn’t even know how long. We didn’t intend on being gone long, we just wanted to be outside for a while, to be kids.

  William went out first, Catherine and I followed him. It was a small village, but to me it seemed big. I had never been in a village before. I had never really left the palace grounds before. I saw some other kids playing a game and ran over to them.

  I asked them if I could play and they said yes. That was when I first heard the hooves. It was a sound that I knew well from living in the palace. I had heard the troops march into the palace often enough, to know that there was a lot of them.

  I looked at Catherine and William. Catherine seemed unaware that there was any danger, but William’s face looked white as a ghost.

  “We have to go,” I said.

  We ran away from the other children. I didn’t even know where I was running to, I just knew that I had to run and hide. The horsemen started to get off their horses, and I ran into a barn. Once inside, I ran up the stairs to the top level, and buried myself under some hay. I heard William and Catherine next to me.

  I heard a woman screaming. “What do you want?” She asked.

  “Where are they?” He asked.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I think they’re in the tunnels.”

  Traitor I silently thought.

  “You lie,” he said. “The tunnels have been searched and they are not there.”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I swear.”

  I heard a thud, and then more footsteps.

  “Someone tipped them off,” I recognized the voice instantly as Harold’s. The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

  “Burn it,” he said. “Burn the entire village. If they’re still here, they’ll have to come out of hiding, if not then at least we’ll make an example out of anyone who chooses to hide them.”

  I lay motionless until I smelled the smoke.

  William was shaking me within seconds. “We have to get out of here,” he said.

  The hay fell off of me as I stood up.

  Tears were rolling down Catherine’s face. I felt too afraid to move. William shook me again, “We have to leave now, or we’ll burn alive.”

  “If we leave, he’ll find us,” I said.

  “If we stay here we’ll die.”

  I grabbed onto Catherine’s hand. “Let’s go,” I said.

  We ran down the steps and out of the barn. “Keep your heads down,” William said. “ We have to find Owen," he added.

  I coughed as I chocked on the smoke.

  “We need to get out of plain site,” I responded, and took off to run behind a building.

  William

  We had been so stupid to leave the tunnels. I didn’t know what we had been thinking. All I knew was that I had to protect the Isabel and Catherine somehow. We squatted behind the building for a second. Both girls were out of breath, but I knew that we couldn’t stay there for long.

  I noticed the woods behind me. I wondered if they had oar demons in the woods like the woods by the palace. I didn’t know, but it was a chance that I would have to take.

  I nudged Isabel, and glanced in the direction of the woods. She shook her head. “It’s too risky,” she said.

  “We have to,” I responded.

  “I’m afraid,” Catherine replied.

  I shifted. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to either one of you,” I responded.

  I peeked around the corner of the building to see if the coast was clear, and I suddenly felt afraid; very afraid. As I looked around me, all I could see was carnage. The villagers were being I slaughtered.

  I spotted Owen in a sword fight, and realized that he would be unable to help us at that moment. I swallowed the hard lump in my throat. “On the count of three, we have to make a run for it,” I said.

  I held my hand up, and counted off my fingers, “one, two, three,” I grabbed Isabel’s hand and she grabbed Catherine’s.

  Suddenly I felt less weight behind me, and I looked over my shoulder. Catherine
had fallen. I stopped, and told Isabel to keep going and not to look back. I would stay behind and help Catherine.

  Catherine was trying to get up, it looked like she had twisted her ankle. I was beginning to run towards her, when I saw the boots step in front of her. I saw Isabel behind another building. Stupid girl, I thought to myself. If I could see her, then anyone else could. I looked back and forth between the two girls.

  Then I recognized the man. It was Harold. I ran to Isabel. I had to get her out of site. It was too late to run into the forest. We would be seen. I couldn’t risk it, not with Harold there. Isabel was crying again.

  “We have to help her,” she pleaded.

  “Ok, we will,” I promised, “but we have to stay safe ok?”

  “He’ll kill her,” she sobbed.

  I looked back around the building. Catherine was no longer in site. We had to find a way to get to get to safety somehow. I saw some soldiers coming our way, and I grabbed onto Isabel’s hand and ran towards another cottage that was on fire.

  “What are you doing?” She asked.

  “They won’t expect anyone to be going towards the fire,” I replied.

  I noticed an outhouse behind the cottage, and ran towards it. I shoved Isabel in and slammed the door.

  I wasn’t sure how long we were there for, when I finally heard Owen yelling for me. I opened the door slightly and looked out. He was limping. I could tell that he was badly injured. I ran out of the outhouse and flew to him.

  Sir Owen

  For a moment it was the happiest moment of my life. The kids were safe. Then I realized there were only two of them.

  “Where is Catherine?” I asked; my throat scratchy from the combination of fighting and the smoke.

  “Harold took her,” Isabel said.

  I fell back onto the ground. I had failed.

  “Is this the Princess?” A man asked.

  “Who are you?” I asked standing up, my hand on my sword.

  “Sir Robert, Guardian to the throne.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, this is the Princess,” I replied.

  “Come then, there is a place where we will be safe.” He whistled, and some other men rode up.

  “Where were all of you when we were being attacked?” I asked.

  He hung his head. “We were at our secret location in the mountains. Word didn’t reach us until it was too late.” He looked around uncomfortably. “It’s is not safe to stay here.”

  I touched the man on the shoulder. “Harold took the other Princess; I need to go rescue her.”

  “Which princess?” He asked.

  “Princess Catherine, and I intend to rescue her.”

  “That’s suicide,” he replied.

  “I made a promise to the king’s sister in law, and I intend to keep it.”

  I looked at the children’s frightened faces. I limped over to them, and knelt down. “Listen, I have to go find Catherine, but I promise that I will come back to you.”

  “How will you find us?” Isabel asked.

  I looked over at Sir Robert. “Don’t worry; the other guardians of the throne will make sure that I can find you.

  Robert jumped up onto a hoarse, and scooped Isabel up.

  He reached for William, and I held my hand up. “Make sure this boy is armed. He hasn’t been formally trained as a knight, but he is extremely talented. He killed an oar demon, and survived.

  Sir Robert raised his eyebrows, and shrugged his shoulders. I could tell that he thought that I was exaggerating, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care that the King had ordered William, not to touch weapons. It didn’t matter anymore. William was in it for the fight of his life, and I trusted no one more than him to protect Isabel.

  I watched them ride off with a heavy heart, and wondered if I was doing the right thing. I had just entrusted them both to men that I didn’t know. But it was the way that it had to be. I had to find Catherine.

  I began to make plans in my head. I would take some of my men, and some of the knights from the village. I began to walk back towards the tunnels to look for them. It soon occurred to me that I might not find very many of them alive.

  Before long, I was stunned that I was even still alive. I began to feel more and more desperate the further I got. “Is anyone alive?” I yelled. I got no answer.

  Bodies littered the ground like fall leaves on an autumn day. They had killed them all, woman, children, even babies.

  “Owen,” I heard a voice call. It was Sir Mathew. It looked like he had been beaten severely.

  He hobbled over to me, and I limped over to him. “Where is Mary?” I asked. “I thought you guys had made an escape before the attack started.”

  “It was too late,” he said. “They were waiting for us at the next tunnel exit. They killed most of us. They’re burning every cottage within a hundred mile radius. If they can’t find the Princess, they intend on burning out her entire escape route.”

  “What about Lady Mary?” I asked panicked. “Where is she?”

  “They took her,” he said.

  I buried my head in my hands. “This can’t be happening,” I said. “They took Catherine too. We have to go, we have to rescue them.”

  “We’re in no condition to fight,” Mathew said.

  “We have to fight, it’s our duty.”

  “Did any of the other guards survive?” I asked.

  “A few,” he said. “But they’re not in much better shape than we are.”

  “Gather them,” I ordered. “We leave immediately,” I said walking away.

  “Where are you going?” He asked.

  “To get supplies,” I replied.

  The Queen

  When I woke, my clothes had been changed. I felt my face, and I could no longer feel the caked blood on me. I sat up, it was still painful to move, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been. I wondered how long I had been asleep for. Then I saw her. It was the servant girl who had helped me to my bed.

  “Did you take care of me?” I asked her.

  She nodded. ”You know Harold would have your head for that?” I said.

  She shook her head. “Cat got your tongue?” I asked.

  “No my majesty,” she said. I was taken aback. “He would certainly have your head for referring to me as that.”

  “I know, but I am loyal to you,” she said.

  “How is that you’re allowed to help me?” I asked.

  “Well,” she said. “Harold wants you well.”

  “Why is that?”

  “For the wedding and the execution,” she said.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Well, he’s captured the Princess, and Lady Mary, and he plans to execute them. He then plans to Mary you” “No,” I gasped.

  “I’m going to help you,” she said.

  “How?” I asked.

  “He still doesn’t know about the secret passageways,” she responded.

  “I plan on earning his trust, and then once he doesn’t suspect anything I will help you escape in the middle of the night.”

  “What about Charles? Does he live?” I asked.

  She nodded. “He lives, and he’ recovered from his injuries.”

  “Good,” I said. “We can escape out the tunnels together.”

  She shook her head. “Harold knows about the tunnels, so in an effort to hide the passageways, the tunnels entry has been cut off. I plan on delivering you to Charles, but after that I don’t know how you’ll escape.”

  “What about my daughter?” I asked.

  She looked down. “I’m not in a position to help her,” she said.

  “But you’re helping me!” I said. “I won’t leave without my daughter. Surely you’re not the only one that is still loyal to the late King.”

  “I’m sure that I’m not your majesty, but I’m too afraid to tell anyone that I am.”

  I shook my head frustrated. I couldn’t be mad at the girl, she had already
risked so much just to be friendly to me. I would have to find a way to save my daughter myself. “What is your name?” I asked the girl.

  “It’s Anna,” she replied. “Well Anna, it looks like we are going to get to know each other quite well,” I said. I knew what I had to do. I had to find a way to make the girl not afraid. No, that wasn’t the answer; I had to give her courage. If I gave her courage, then I knew that she would help me more, I knew that if she had courage she would reach out to others for help. She must already have some, I thought. Otherwise she wouldn’t be helping me. I realized that there was hope, there had to be hope.