by Sara Ansted
Isaiah sat up straight with a new light in his eyes.
"I think we do now."
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Isaiah was trying to kill her. There was no other explanation it. He told her he finally had a plan, and then waited for the farmers to disperse before giving any more hint of what he was thinking.
The sun had nearly set, casting deeply golden rays through the trees. It was beautiful, but Evey didn't have the patience to appreciate it. When the last man finally left, Evey sat in front of Isaiah, eyeing him meaningfully.
"Okay!" he said. "You can stop burning my skull with your stare."
"Just tell me," she replied.
"Well, you're partly right." He paused for a moment, looking down at his boots, and then continued, "These problems are our fault. Not directly, of course. But we are provoking more of it, and we need to fix what we break. So that's what we're going to do: a jail break."
Will leapt to his feet. "A jail break! Robin, do you know what that's going to take?"
"Not so loud!" Isaiah scolded. "Those soldiers are still close enough to hear you. Now, look. I was in that dungeon. I think I have a pretty good idea of how hard it's going to be. But we don't have a choice. We can't let innocent people suffer or we're no better than the men we're fighting against."
"Right you are. I'm in," John agreed firmly.
"As am I," Evey said..
"Well of course I'm in," Will started. "But I'm just saying that this doesn't put us any farther ahead than we were before. We still don't have a plan, and we still don't know what the blazes we're doing."
"I know. But at least it's –"
"Wait..." Will interrupted suddenly, and his face changed. "I might have an idea."
"Well, what is it?" John folded his arms and waited.
"Hold on a moment. I've got to think."
He stood and paced around the fire, all the while mumbling to himself, and occasionally shaking his head. The other three kept silent. Evey fidgeted and stayed quiet as long as she could stand it, but in the end she was the first to speak. As usual.
"Well?"
"I've just had a thought," Will said.
"We've gathered that much," Evey said with a groan. "Care to expound?"
"I think we might be on to something with the servant clothes idea. And, as you may recall, the king's birthday is in three weeks' time. It is the biggest celebration outside of Christmas. There won't be any more opportune time to sneak through the castle grounds unnoticed."
Evey leaned back against a tree. "Yeah, and the castle won't be more heavily guarded at any other time in the year either."
"Also true." Will stood before them like a priest about to begin a service. "As I'm sure you've noticed, the soldiers, both common and knighted, are utterly predictable. They will expect some sort of trouble on a crowded holiday, especially in light of recent events. But they are also cocky. And so we can also expect that they think they think they know exactly what we will do. They won't be ready if we don't. Which is why we shall hit the day before."
"I like where this is going," Isaiah said.
Evey leaned forward again. "And we can plant a false lead with the soldiers. Make them think we really are hitting on his birthday."
"Yes. And if we've done our job right, they won't even know we've already been in and out," Will concluded.
"Of course. That's brilliant," Isaiah agreed. "I'll meet with our palace contact. We need clothes and celebration plans."
"Don't tell him the real day. Just in case," Will reminded him.
"Yes. It's better to be safe."
The plan was fairly simple. Disguised as servants, they would make their way into the castle grounds, one by one. After dark, Evey would meet up with John, and Will with Isaiah. The first two would climb the walls to the king's chambers, and make sure he couldn't call his guards. Then they would explain the dire situation his country was in. They had to make him aware of the problems, or change his mind about them if he already knew. Not that it was all that likely to work, but if they were going in anyway, she might as well try.
The latter two would sneak into the dungeons and quietly release the farmers. As they discovered before, there was only one way in and out. The idea was to stealthily release each prisoner, then chop the portcullis rope. Even when the guards discovered that their prisoners were gone, it would be days before anyone could warn the rest of the palace.
Will and Isaiah staged a discussion close to the captured soldiers. When they made sure the soldiers had heard them, they walked away casually, and "accidentally" left the bindings too loose. Once the prisoners had escaped, the four of them moved camp to a more secluded spot, deeper in the forest.
The weeks that followed were as busy as Evey had ever known. When they weren't observing the castle, they were gathering supplies, moving camp again, or meeting with their informant, who was always dressed in a heavy winter cloak that completely hid his shape.
The night before their action, Evey lay awake, feeling completely unprepared. There had been occasions in her life when time slowed to a crawl. Hours would last for days, and a week seemed to stretch into forever. This was not one of them.
For the first time that she could remember, three weeks felt like a day. In less than twelve hours they would begin their plan. Her stomach felt like a monster had climbed inside and set up camp. It was impossible to sleep.
Finally she couldn't stand it anymore. It wasn't her turn to watch for another three hours, but if she couldn't get any sleep, she might as well let the others rest. Silently she climbed down and made her way to the tree that Isaiah had perched against. As usual, Isaiah never heard her coming.
"Hi," she said, inches from his left ear.
"HOLY.... Curse you Marion! You made me jump about a yard in the air. My nerves aren't bad enough already?"
"That was for the thing on the horse," she said with a satisfied grin.
"Oh, no, no, no." He folded his arms. "We are not keeping score. First of all, you'd slaughter me."
"Well, there's no way I'm letting you off the hook for breaking my perfect streak," she replied as she sat down.
"Who says you get to sit next to me?" Isaiah grumbled.
"I do."
She smiled as obnoxiously as she could.
"Can't sleep?" he asked.
"No. I've been awake for hours. I came to let you go if you want. I'll watch."
He shook his head. "I can't either. I already sent John off early. He's out cold already."
"Jealous. So very jealous," she said as she looked at the two sleeping men.
Isaiah pulled his blanket closer. "I guess some people react to nerves differently than others."
She shrugged. "Yeah, but this is different. I always get nervous before a raid. It keeps me focused. But this..."
"We'll be okay. We always are."
"You're probably right. It'll be fine. But..." She shifted around a little. "Never mind."
"What is it?"
He asked so gently that her resolve weakened.
"Nothing."
"Tell me."
She set her jaw and leaned against the tree. "No."
His whisper came again. "It's okay to be scared."
"Me? Afraid? HA!" She turned away.
"Yes. But don't worry about it. It's normal," he replied.
"How do you know it's normal?" she asked, but in a softer tone than usual. This was an argument that she did not want to win.
"I don't," he said.
He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She settled against him under his blanket. It made her feel marginally better.
Isaiah rested his forehead against her temple.
"I'm scared too," he whispered.
She sat up for a moment and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Isaiah was scared? He was one of the bravest people she had ever known. How could he possibly be afraid?
But he
had said it plain as day, and she knew he wasn't lying. For some reason that she didn't quite understand, knowing it did make her feel better. She leaned back against him, and soon drifted off.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
The sun shot through the tree branches. It was still early, but something about it woke her up. She cracked an eye open, then sat bolt upright. Where was she? Where was her hammock?
A few seconds later, she remembered her conversation the night before. She relaxed again, leaning against the tree trunk behind her.
"What is it?" Isaiah asked.
"Nothing. I just forgot where I was."
He set a pan down and laughed. "Forgot what it's like to wake up near the ground? I can't say most people ever have that problem."
He handed her a piece of re-heated meat. "You should eat. It's going to be a long day."
"I'm not sure my stomach is up to it," she replied, but she took the meat anyway.
"Feeling a little gross now is better than starving later."
She grunted her agreement and took a small bite of pheasant.
"It's going to be fine," he said.
She didn't reply. She wasn't so sure about that. So many things could go wrong, and that feeling in her stomach felt an awful lot like foreboding. Her hands even felt a little numb. With a shudder, she pulled her blanket higher, as if the warmth would keep problems away.
The hours flew by with inconsiderate speed, just as they had during the past weeks. Evey suddenly discovered that it was noon, and Isaiah ushered her to road. She carried her servant's clothing in a bundle with a basket of bread that would serve as an excuse for her presence in the castle.
"Just remember, John goes in first, from the North Entrance. Then you from the East."
"Isaiah. I know the plan." She spoke more irritably than she had intended. "I know when to go in. I know where to wait. I got it."
He cleared his throat. "I know you do."
"It's okay. I'll see you tonight."
She tried not to dwell on the 'I hope' that she bit back. She just wanted to get it all over with, and so she started down the road.
"Hey, Marion?" he called before she had gone far.
"Yeah?"
"Remember your promise in the dungeons?"
"Yes."
"Promise me again. Please."
He was starting to get exasperating. "Isaiah–"
"No, just promise. If anything does go wrong, just–"
"I know. I know. Get out of there. No heroics. I promise."
She said it to placate him. She didn't want to stand there acting like they wouldn't see each other again. It made everything worse.
"Thank you," he said, and he visibly relaxed.
She started walking again, purposely looking straight ahead. With every step she was tempted to look back at her friend, just for the sight of something familiar, but she resisted. It seemed too much like saying goodbye, and that was something she refused to entertain. She would see Isaiah again. And she would see Will again. And John.
She was more than a hundred yards away before her stubborn resolve broke. She glanced back, just for a moment. Just for the comforting sight of someone she knew. Something safe.
Isaiah still stood there. He waved, and she nodded back. She couldn't see his face clearly, but she could tell that he said something. It looked like three words, but there was no possible way she could know what they were. Probably a good luck wish.
They had camped nearby the night before, so the walk to the castle gate was short. She hid herself in a thick bit of foliage, where she stripped off her mask and her cloak. The green tunic would be hidden under the servant's livery, which was fortunate, since she had nothing else to wear.
All she had to do was to wait for the hour to chime from the chapel. She spent the time trying to make her hair look as though it hadn't just been tangled in the bark of a tree. She had very limited success. Hopefully no one would look at it too closely.
The bells tolled. No, they did not sound like a death knell. She couldn't afford that sort of thinking. She took a deep breath, bundled her cloak, and hid it in the basket. Then she stepped out onto the road, as though she were supposed to be there.
It was difficult to keep a normal pace. She wanted to cover the distance as fast as possible, but the guards would notice her if she did. As it was, a stray servant walking through the open gate with a basket was of no concern to them. She felt them watch as she passed the massive doors, but nothing was out of order, and so she entered without incident.
A wave of emotion hit when she stepped into the vast courtyard. The first to come was horror. This was where she had nearly come to a premature end. The second was fascination. She now had the time to leisurely look at everything in the grand palace. And despite her past experience, she could not deny that it was, indeed, a marvelous place.
The third feeling was a profound sense of exposure. In the seven years since her first cart theft, the only places she ever went without her bow were those that she attended as Lady Evelyne, with Emeric at her side. She and Isaiah had thought through everything, but there was just no possible way to get her longbow inside without attracting negative suspicion.
Aside from that, she had depended on either her hood or her mask for months. It was easy and safe to be anonymous. Here in the open, anyone could see her clean, un-greased face. She felt as though every person she passed was staring.
As quickly as she could, without drawing attention, Evey made her way around to the north side of the castle where the kitchens were located. They were conveniently near the tower that housed the king's personal chambers, and she planned to use this to her advantage.
She scoped the area disguised as a baker's assistant, and soon found a perfect hiding place that gave her both a view of the king's window, and cover from those going to and from the kitchens. She settled in to wait until night fell.
Why wouldn't time just make up its mind? The first half of the day sped by too quickly, and now it dragged. By the time the sun had gone, Evey felt as if she hadn't moved for days. Her knees cramped, and her back refused to bend at all.
The kitchen was nearly deserted, now that the king and his court had eaten. Only a few page boys remained to scrub dishes. She emerged from her hiding place and stretched. She was supposed to stay hidden until John came into view. That was the safe plan. But she couldn't stand that hiding place anymore. At any rate, she was good at sticking to the shadows, so it was just as safe as anything.
From a corner near the kitchen door she kept a lookout, freezing at every sign of movement. For another half an hour after the sun completely disappeared, she loitered there waiting for John. Where in blazes was he?
She heard a vaguely familiar voice coming from the kitchen door. Assuming that it was John, she stepped around the corner to ask him why he was so late.
A moment too late she realized her mistake. The voice was familiar, but it did not belong to John. For a split second she found herself face to face with Sir Robert. In that moment a thousand things flashed through her mind, all competing for space.
Her feet ignored her frozen mind and took her back outside before she could really comprehend the danger she was in. She thanked every power in the universe for giving her quick reflexes, as she dove back into the shadowed corner and pulled the rolled cloak from her basket. She had seen Sir Robert clearly, and she knew that he had seen her. She could only hope that her speed had saved her from recognition. She held her breath as she listened for any sign of approach.
"Who was that?" Sir Robert asked.
"A kitchen servant, obviously." replied the man who walked with him.
"Yes, I do realize that. But there was something familiar about her. Something out of place."
Evey's stomach clenched.
"It was a bit odd how she dashed away like that," the other man agreed, and the two of them walked out of the kitchen and into the side yard. Evey could clearly
see them in the moonlight. She didn't even dare to shift her gaze, for fear of alerting them to her hiding place with the movement.
Both of the men looked around the yard curiously. Twice Sir Robert's gaze passed right over Evey, but her cloak disguised her form. She looked just like part of the shadow. After a few moments, the men looked at each other and shrugged.
"Perhaps she was just frightened to see the king's steward, and his chief of foreign affairs. After all, we are very important men."
"Perhaps," Sir Robert answered.
Evey could tell he was only partially convinced. He glanced around one more time, then went back inside with the foreign affairs minister.
As they disappeared from sight, she heard him say, "As I was telling you, George, I am worried about my son. I'm afraid he might have gotten mixed up with a dangerous crowd. I do my best to give him everything that I never had. I even arranged his marriage with a girl that seems a bit more like him than I would normally approve of. But he keeps..."
The rest faded away as they wandered further into the kitchen area. Evey still didn't dare to move. She was too paralyzed by the close call. If Robert had seen her here in the castle, the entire plan would have been in jeopardy.
While she gathered her courage to move, she thought about what he had said. Clearly he wouldn't normally have approved of her as a suitable daughter-in-law. As insulting as that was, it didn't surprise her. She had a feeling that she would very rarely see eye to eye with either Robert.
The thing that did surprise her is that Emeric was right about his intentions. He really was trying to act in the best interests of his son, despite the clear departure from character that it required. She couldn't fault him for that.
But why was he concerned that the younger Robert had fallen afoul of ruffians? Had something happened to him? If it had, would she be glad or disappointed? Despite her solemn vow to hate everything about him, she, too, wondered if he was safe.
Or, was he the one causing the trouble? Could he actually be one of those rogue knights that she even now risked her life to stop? From what little she knew, it didn't seem like the young Robert to involve himself with criminals. But, she reminded herself, it really was very little that she did know. She made a mental note to put the situation right. Perhaps a visit from Robin Hood would straighten the boy out.