Chapter 11 - Rescue

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CW: Blood, mentions of injuries

The only parts of the Fairy Fort left standing are the castle and the watchtower. We decide to plan in the throne room of the castle, as it's the only space large enough to fit everyone.

"We'll be able to sneak you in, but there's a good chance we'll have to fight our way out," Martyn says. Lizzie frowns. "It'll be hard to fight our way out, even with all of us."

"Why don't we help?" Scar says, gesturing to him and Bdubs. Lizzie shakes her head. "Your mom would kill us if we let you come along." "If you don't let us help, our mom might be the one getting killed," Scar retaliates.

"I can help too," Grian chimes in. "Oh, absolutely not," Pearl replies, crossing her arms. "Why not?" Grian whines. "I want to help." "Gri, I really can't handle this right now," Pearl snaps. "I just want to know why-" "Because I'd never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you!"

I'm surprised to see tears in Pearl's eyes as she continues. "Grian, I know you think that I'm being bossy or strict sometimes, I get that. But I'm just trying to protect you. I'm trying to keep you safe, because I don't know what I'd do without you, Gri."

I see guilt flash through Grian's eyes. "Sorry Pearl, I understand," he mutters, but it's obvious he still wants to help.

"What if we came up with a compromise?" Joel says. Pearl and Lizzie both start to argue, but he cuts them off. "If we don't let the boys come along, they're just going to follow us and end up fighting anyway. It's better we let them come and set some rules."

"What sort of rules?" Ren asks. "Well first off, they need to promise to do anything we tell them to, no matter what," Joel replies. "And they need to stay out of the fight unless it looks like someone truly needs their help. Besides, if they get a little scratched up, Jimmy will be there to heal them."

"I don't know," Pearl says, hesitant. "Pearl, please," Grian begs. "Please let me help. I promise I'll follow Joel's rules. Just let me help."

Pearl sighs. "Fine. But you have to stick close to me unless I'm fighting." Grian nods enthusiastically. "We'll stick to the rules too, if it means we can help save Mom," Bdubs says.

"Ok, well with that settled, we'll need a few disguises," Gem starts. "Disguises?" I ask. "You think we're just gonna walk in with hybrids?" Etho says. "We'd be dead in seconds. Besides, we just need disguises for Lizzie, Ren, and Grian."

"I have some spare cloaks," Pearl muses. "Could we use those?" "Do you have any cloaks that aren't red?" Lizzie asks. "Not to sound picky or anything." Pearl smiles. "I might have something."

"Well then," Gem says, grinning, "let's start preparing."

Everyone is silent as we walk into the kingdom the next morning. By the end of today we'll know if all our planning and preparing was worth it.

Grian, Pearl, and Ren are all wearing red cloaks, while Lizzie is wearing a blue cloak that Pearl found in the back of her closet. Etho, Gem, and Martyn are leading the way, easily clearing a path with their uniforms. Once we reach the castle, they look past the gates before shepherding us inside.

We hide behind some barrels while Gem and Martyn scout ahead. Etho is standing guard just in front of us. While we wait, I try to calm myself by counting up to 100 and then back down to 0.

I'm counting down for the third time when Gem and Martyn return. "All clear," Martyn whispers. Etho nods and gestures for us to follow them.

We go through a side entrance and walk as quietly as possible to a staircase down the hall. In the silence, every small sound is deafening. My heart is beating so loud I'm sure that someone will hear it and find us, but we make it to the staircase without any trouble.

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