Panic marred the faces of the crowd as King Theodore ordered the gates raised for his villagers to enter. He was astounded. Nothing like this had happened in the kingdom for decades. And now it happened on his watch. Each scream of pain felt like a stab wound in his stomach.
“Men!” King Theodore ordered, “this gate stays open until all villagers are in. See to their safety. I will see to the attackers.” King Theodore twisted his body and stormed into the hall, calling for his knights and Prince Braden to meet him on the upper platforms.
Each step up the stairs fueled the king’s anger. By the time he reached their vantage spot, his face matched the crimson of his robe. His eyes gazed over the surrounding area. It was clear what had happened. Plumes of smoke rose high into the sky, blackening the air. He heard the pained cries of his men, the fearful shrieks of the women, and the wailing of the children. Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Prince Braden and Daniel arrived at the top of the tower.
“Father, what’s happening?” Braden asked, his eyes widening as he looked down at the village. “What did this?”
Daniel looked from side to side, his face hardening as he focused on the group coming toward them. “Your Majesty,” he said, pointing to the mercenaries. “We have company.”
“Who is it? Who has done this?” Braden demanded, peering as far as he could over the edge.
“Look closely at the man in front: his armor, that lion on his chest. That is our enemy.” King Theodore replied.
“That can’t be,” Braden protested. “That’s Prince Paulsen’s crest.”
“Yes, Paulsen is behind this. Now we must figure out why,” King Theodore said, cupping his hand on Braden’s shoulder.
At that moment, Princess Madeline, Sophia, and Elias joined the men on the platform. Madeline’s brown hair flowed behind her in the wind. Her eyes glistened at the sight before her.
“Father,” she said, horror in her voice. “What’s going on here? The courtyard is full of our villagers, frightened for their lives.”
Sophia peeked over the edge and covered her eyes to hide her growing tears.
“When the lion attacks the dragon, a new beginning awakens,” Elias mused, recalling the cryptic words of the parchment.
Prince Paulsen’s mercenaries had nearly reached the castle walls. Their sweaty stench rotted the air around them as they trampled their way forward. Their faces were muddy, fire-singed, and deranged by the time they approached the gates. Paulsen stood back and shook his hair in the wind. Looking up, he smiled as his eyes caught a glimpse of Princess Madeline on the tower above.
“Princess,” he yelled so all could hear. “You will be mine! I am here for you!” He tossed his head back. At his command, his men started forward, banging their hands on the steel gates.
Princess Madeline shivered as her eyes connected with Paulsen’s. She looked over at Daniel, her lips trembling.
“But I don’t understand. Prince Paulsen? Why?” Madeline asked, remembering the man she had danced with at her betrothal ball. “He seemed so… so genuine. What happened?” Her voice shook, reeling at the sight before her.
“I know, my dear,” said King Theodore, trying to console her. The rest looked on, uncertain of their next step. Daniel reached out to hold Madeline’s hand in his.
Prince Braden and King Theodore looked at each other and then back to the others, shaking their heads.
“Badness isn’t always easy to see, Madeline,” said Prince Braden, “Sometimes it is simply felt in the heart. There has been something off about Paulsen ever since I first saw him come in looking for you. When he came back, demanding you, it had grown worse. He felt entitled. Those feelings rarely add up to anything good, and now…” he trailed off, waving his hand, motioning to the countryside.
“Some shift in his character has created all this?” she asked, watching the chaos below. Their people ran inside the square, gathering supplies for easier storage and dispersal. “How can we shift him back? There has to be a solution.”
“A solution to his character?” Prince Braden asked, “I fear it’s too late for that. We need a plan of action.”
“An answer to this attack,” Daniel jumped in, offering his support. “Sometimes, Madeline,” he said, “battle is simply a way to right a wrong when all other avenues are closed.”
“And have all avenues been closed?” she demanded, tears in her eyes. “There has to be a way to stop this without more bloodshed.”
“I don’t know my dear,” King Theodore said, “but we will try. Gentlemen, to my study.”
“Father,” Princess Madeline pleaded, “let me join.”
“Some things are still for the men to decide,” her father said. They walked out to make their battle plan.
Princess Madeline stared as the men disappeared into the tower stairs. Daniel glanced back with a saddened smile before following orders. Madeline’s outrage subsided, and a half-smile grew in its place.
“They don’t think they’re going to get away with it that easy, do they?” she asked, looking at Sophia. “It’s a princess’s duty to serve and protect her kingdom, right?”
“Oh no, Madeline,” Sophia shook her head. “What are you thinking this time?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Princess Madeline grabbed Sophia’s hand and pulled her toward the stairs.
“Madeline, stop, that hurts,” Sophia said, pulling her arm back and rubbing the spot Madeline’s fingers had grasped. “Where are we going?” Sophia looked at her friend.
Madeline took a deep breath. “Sophia, I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do yet, but I need your help. The men can make their plans, but I can’t just sit here and wait. Prince Paulsen attacked us because of me. This is all because of me.” She grabbed Sophia’s arm again. “I need to do something, but you have to trust me.”
Sophia wavered, deliberating between her devotion to Prince Braden and her friendship with Madeline. “I will help you,” she said, resigned, “but don’t get hurt. You have to promise me.”
Madeline smiled at her friend and raised her right hand in an oath. “Of course I’ll stay safe. I promise.” She gave her a quick hug and grabbed her arm again, leading her down to the library.
Madeline rushed around the room, grabbing maps, notes, and old war books. Sophia looked on as Madeline struggled to the table, her arms overloaded. They filled the library’s few tables end-to-end with books, maps, and scrolls.
Their heads were down, focused on each of their books, when they heard a soft cough at the door. Madeline looked up and saw a boy about their age standing in the doorway. His green robe gave him away as one of Elias’s group.
“I thought maybe I could help you,” he said, his eyes fixed on the ground. “I saw you run down here from the castle walls. With so much going on, I thought I could help. I’m Emmett.”
Madeline smiled and ran over to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the room. “Emmett, thank you,” she said with a broad smile. “We need all the help we can get.”
Madeline explained what they were looking for, and Emmett got to work. He sat at the table with Sophia and looked over the maps while she perused some old scrolls.
“I don’t know what you’re hoping to find,” Sophia said after a while had passed.
Madeline sighed. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know either. I thought something was going to jump out at me and tell me that this was what we needed to focus on.”
“Do you know what you want to do?” Emmett asked. “If you know that, then we can go from there to make a plan.”
“You make it sound simple,” Madeline said, realizing that it should be. The simple plans always seemed to work best. She knew she’d get bogged down with too many details.
“We’re looking for a battle plan,” she said, thumbing through her own notes. Embarrassed, she showed Emmett and Sophia the pages from the day she had learned about Hawthorne’s Theory. “Something like this.”
Sophia smiled at the sketches Madeline had drawn of her
self and Daniel, but Emmett went straight to the point. “That could work, Princess; something simple like this is perfect. We have no way to get out there though, to distract and surround them, without being noticed. We’re inside, and they are right on the other side of the castle gates.” His confidence grew as he spoke. He felt excited to have found a place to be and a way to help.
“We can if we do it this way,” Madeline said, her voice picking up speed, her fingers flipping through papers until she found the map she was looking for. “Here, right here on the map,” she said, pointing to an arch marked under the castle. “And here,” she added, pointing to the other arch in the great forest.
Emmett smiled. “A tunnel is perfect.”
Madeline looked at him in surprise. “You know what that symbol is?”
“We have lots of tunnels in the caves where I grew up. As an apprentice, I’ve been down them all. They say that the tunnels were once used as safe passage for wizards through all the territories, hidden underground. The tunnels to the north and south were collapsed by the dragons, and I guess these others haven’t been used since the days of the exile. We need to find the opening. We can do this together.” He grabbed the girls’ hands.
Sophia looked down at Emmett’s hand and grinned back at him tentatively. “Where do we begin?”
Madeline interrupted, “The dungeon. Let’s go.”
The three of them dashed through the hall until they reached the courtyard. People huddled in every corner, trying to find a place in the crowded square. Women cried, afraid to let their children down. The armed guards walked through on patrol, trying to keep order and calm. They held hands, afraid to lose one another in the crowd.
Inch by inch they made their way from one side of the courtyard to the other, trying to remain unnoticed. Emmett’s face remained hidden beneath his hood, and Madeline and Sophia kept their heads down. Madeline looked around discreetly, feeling the anguish of her villagers as they struggled to find a place to sit, a place to weep. The snow settled on the cobblestones, chilling everyone to their bones. Their faces grimaced with pain. Madeline clenched her teeth, more determined than ever. These people were hurt because of her, and every one of their cries felt like a heavy weight added to her shoulders.
Madeline found the entrance to the dungeon and let out a sigh of relief: no guards. Looking left and right to make sure no one had seen them, she pulled as hard as she could and opened the door. The three of them slid inside as quickly as they could and closed the door behind them.
The air was cold and dusty, sending Sophia into a coughing fit. Madeline found it hard to imagine the magic that Elias had spoken about. The dungeon’s rough walls were stained, the crevices home to colonies of mold. Piles of dirt and hay littered the floor. Emmett saw her scrunch her nose up at the smell, and chuckled.
“It was even worse inside the cells,” he said, recalling his brief imprisonment. “Let’s find the opening. I’m not sure it’s the same, but in our caves, we have the arch marked on the wall, so even those wizards who cannot see can feel where it is.”
Emmett started on one end of the room, Madeline and Sophia on the other. The walls were cold, but the dust and dirt did not bother them once they got started. Urgency spurred them on.
Madeline found it. Her fingers traced the outline of the carved arch above a locked wooden door.
“This must be the entrance,” she said. “Now we need to find a way to open it.”
Emmett gave her a wink. “At my princess’s command.” He reached into his robe and pulled out a wand and some powder.
Sophia watched him with a silly smile.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Exhaling, he opened his eyes and focused on the lock. He pointed the wand, touching the tip to the steel, and blew the powder toward the end of his wand. The powder sizzled as the wand twisted the lock. Emmett bowed deeply to Princess Madeline. “Your Highness, here is your tunnel.”
Princess Madeline let out a squeal of joy as she hugged Emmett and Sophia. She had a plan.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The grisly scene below worsened. The king’s men watched, mouths slack and brows furrowed as insults and rocks were hurled at the castle walls. The men were tired. King Theodore’s face had grown piqued and pale. Braden’s temper burned as Prince Paulsen continued his tirade below.
The growls echoing from the ground sounded like a slaughterhouse. Their beautiful sky had been blackened with smoke, and the harmonious sounds that usually filled the air were exchanged for the yells of a raucous mob.
It was the second day of the siege, and no progress had been made on either side. Prince Paulsen seemed content to stand his ground outside the walls, mocking and harassing the guards above as he paced.
On top of the platforms, King Theodore’s men kept watch. Daniel led the knights, yelling out orders and maintaining their defense. His face was tight, his lips pursed, refusing to give any hint of weakness to Prince Paulsen and his men. But he knew it couldn’t last forever. His legs were tired from running the length of the castle walls, his throat sore from calling out new orders.
The wind blew against his hair and face, clearing his mind. There was no time to focus on his worry. It was his time to act, to protect his kingdom and princess.
King Theodore and Prince Braden looked back and forth between the inner courtyard and the mercenaries outside, discussing their options as Daniel approached from the west corner. “Your Majesty, Your Highness,” he said, pointing to the commotion below. “The area is protected. I have surveyed every corner, and there are no evident weaknesses. The castle walls are high and strong, and the men are brave and ready. Most of the villagers have been accounted for and are settled into new dwellings for the time being. Supplies are still being counted and divided up for rationing. We can hold this position for as long as we need to, or we can move on your command at any time.” Daniel’s steel gray eyes were steady and sure.
King Theodore’s robe billowed in the wind as strategies formed in his mind. Glancing down, he could literally see both sides of the problem. On one side of the wall, Prince Paulsen and his men pounded on the gate, swords drawn, faces scowling. On the other side sat the villagers, heartbroken and wounded, huddled together for warmth and comfort as they relived the destruction of their homes. The wind and snow continued to gather as the king rubbed his beard, hoping their strategy was right.
With a quick glance at Braden and Elias, King Theodore cleared his throat and spoke loudly and clearly.
“At this moment, we stay, we stand tall and strong. Our fortress is secure, our men’s vision clear. Winter is setting in, and we’re on the better footing. Let the snow freeze them and their tempers. Our people have seen enough tragedy for now.” His eyes swept over the horizon, filling with tears at the memories of the carnage.
Prince Braden nodded in agreement, clasping his hands on the castle walls. “I agree, Father,” he said, looking down at Paulsen. “It’s the best plan for now.” Daniel looked them both in the eyes and nodded before returning to his men.
Sophia grabbed the soft velvet lining of Madeline’s dress. The princess dropped the bag she had hastily packed for the trip.
“Madeline, please,” Sophia begged. “You can’t just leave. You have to tell your father, and consider all your options.”
Madeline stopped for a second and turned to face her friend. Holding Sophia’s hands in hers, she offered a sad smile. “I understand you’re scared. I am too, but we don’t have time to think about that right now. Our village is gone, destroyed right before the festival. Our people are displaced, our harvest and food scattered, land taken siege, and why? All for Prince Paulsen’s obsession with me.”
Her eyes searched Sophia’s face and saw it soften. “It’s my duty as princess, but also as a person, to try to find a solution for this. I have to try,” Madeline said firmly.
Sophia knew her friend’s mind was set, and she also suspected she was right. “It is your duty to be prepared, but i
t is also your duty to be safe,” she said. “That means talking to your father first. Try to get his help.” Sophia let her hands go, satisfied with her lecture, and grabbed something from behind her. “You’ll need this,” she said, handing her a hooded blue woolen cape. They exchanged a quick smile before Madeline finished packing. She wouldn’t be gone long, but she still wanted to be prepared.
With Sophia’s help, Madeline changed into a soft white dress with leather trim. It was made for movement, fitting closely where it needed to. Sophia pulled Madeline’s hair back away from her face in a loose braid, functional but still beautiful. Before she left, she slipped on her shell necklace. Daniel had found the green shell on his adventure last summer while searching for her. She wore it close to her heart. Its soft, reflective rainbows sparkled around the room. At the very least, she would look every inch a princess.
Madeline smiled as she saw herself evolve in the mirror, feeling her friend’s support. “Thank you,” Madeline said. “It’s time to go.” She reached around to squeeze her friend’s hand.
“Yes, but first,” Sophia said, “go see your father.”
Madeline’s heart sank. “My father?” she asked, dreading the answer. “I thought you understood why I am doing this.”
“If you want my help, then you need to at least try to show that you have learned from last summer. I understand, but I’m not going to let you be reckless. You can’t leave while we’re under siege.”
“I’ll be back before he notices,” Madeline protested, knowing even as she said it that her friend was right.
“What happens if, for some reason, you aren’t?” Sophia asked, concern in her eyes. “I’m helping you, but I’m not convinced that this is going to work. What happens to your father, or to Daniel, if you’re captured? Please, talk to him. Try,” she pleaded. “Show him how much you’ve grown.”
Resigned, Madeline nodded in agreement.
The Battle for Princess Madeline Page 6
