The Scarlet Assassin

Chapter Forty-Two

We had the maps sprawled out on the dirt by the fire. All of us were staring down at it intently, and for a long time, no one spoke.

But then Sophie breathed, "This is..."

"Bad," Sorin finished.

Carter swallowed. "It can't possibly be that bad." Pausing, he stared a little more at the map. "You can go through here." He pointed to a spot on the map.

"There's bound to be guards posted there," Ace mumbled. "That's a tower. And even with the drug, you'll be leaving at least two guards on the ground. They'll raise the alarms. You could try to go through here." She pointed to a spot above where Carter's finger had pointed.

"Too risky," Sorin mumbled. "You'd be walking right past the Keep."

"We could go along the outermost walls," Rafe suggested with a shrug.

Again, Sorin shook his head. "Too time-consuming. Plus, where the steps leading up from the servant's quarters lead, you'd be passing the entrance of the castle. That, and the ballroom itself, will be the most heavily guarded places."

"But we'd get through with the uniforms."

"The maid's laundry and the soldier's laundry are on two different sides of the castle, Rafe," Sorin said, rubbing his face. "We've already been over this. That's why this is beginning to look impossible. Usually, the maids wash their uniforms, the royal clothes, and the soldiers' uniforms in the same laundry room which is usually by the maid's quarters, but they are all separated; as good as we are, the probability of us sneaking blindly through an entire castle unseen is impossible."

"The only way we can get through without detection is through the bailey," Sophie said. "On the last day of Wintertide, a small festival is held there for the small children and their governesses while everyone else is at the feast and the ball. Vera and I can go through the bailey which leads directly to the soldier's wing. We could get your uniforms and get back to the tunnel unsuspected."

Rafe was shaking his head. "You're not going in, Sophie. We've already been over this. You'd be in a room with the other kingdoms, with ambassadors and dukes and lords and ladies. Someone is bound to know you. You're going to stay here with Carter and Ace."

"I won't go into the ballroom," Sophie insisted. "But let's face it–the Targaryen castle is much more complicated than we expected, and I'm pretty damn sure I'm the only one who's gotten a tour. You won't be able to memorize the entire map in less than an hour."

"Even one of us in there is risky, but now we're looking at four?!" Rafe tried to reason. "The more people, the more likely we are to get caught."

"Then have Sorin stay. For God's sake, didn't he drown yesterday?"

Sorin, now examining one of his knives, said, "Nearly drowned, darling."

"Sure," Sophie scoffed. "And what if it wears off? What if you collapse? Not only will you compromise the entirety of this mission, but you will also get caught. Isn't that like the first thing you're taught not to do?"

Carter said softly, "It's really not something we should fi-"

"Can it Carter," Sorin snapped, making the boy purse his lips and go quiet. Sorin then turned to Sophie and said cockily, "Let's have Vera decide then. We'll see who she picks to stay and who she picks to go."

And then all eyes were on me.

I had been silently sitting against a rock (not the most comfortable of things) deep in thought. My eyes nearly flicked up to Sorin's but went to Sophie's instead, soon darting to Rafe. Finally, they ended up fixated on the ground.