Out of Bounds (Book II)

III - Defy

III - DEFY

Kat helped the Princess lace up the back of her dress before they raced out of the room leaving the startled guards behind them. Georgiana's hair was still dripping wet and clung to her back as they moved quickly along the twisting corridors.

The two ladies didn't talk as they pushed past the men and women that intercepted their path as they headed for the large wooden doors that lead outside. The guards either side of the door squinted as the girls approached them, their eyes widening when they realised it was Princess Georgiana. They fumbled, clumsily to open the door in time for the girls to rush through them.

The courtyard was nearly deserted apart from a few servants going about their daily chores. A couple of them stopped and stared after the two girls who ran down the front steps and across the courtyard. They passed through the gate and into the outer courtyard where a large crowd of peasants and village folk had gathered.     

Georgiana flinched and came to an abrupt halt when the sound of a whip was heard followed by a large cry from the gathering crowd. She looked at Kat out of the corner of her eye and saw that the blood from her friends face had drained. Georgiana was sure that hers reflected the same pale complexion.

Another lash of the whip encouraged Georgiana to start elbowing her way through the crowd. She ignored the curse words that were spat in her face as she pushed and shoved, desperation to find Benjamin surging through her veins. However, it seemed that whenever she took a few steps forwards she would find herself being pushed or dragged backwards.

"Stop! I have to get to-" She shouted above the cheers and screams but no one heard her or even took notice of her. Her hair was wet and stuck against her face and she was wearing one of her plainest dresses; no one would have taken her for the Princess of England.   

"Please I have to get to-" She strained her voice to be heard over the noise.

"Get back and watch from your own spot, girly." A grubby looking man spat down at her, flashing his rotting teeth.

"Georgiana!" A hand pushed through the crowd in front of her and the sleeve of Kat's dress came into view. Georgiana grabbed onto her hand tightly and pushed with all her might past the man with rotting teeth and the rest of the crowd.

When they could finally see the opening where the crowd filtered out, both the girls shoved their way past the last couple of onlookers. Now at the edge of the crowd, Georgiana breathed in a much needed breath of air as she took in the sight in front of her.

Bile rose and burned the back of her throat. One minute she was standing the next she was hunched over, gasping for air as she dry heaved. Kat was beside her, an arm wrapped around her waist and her hand held her hair away from her face.

"Deep breaths, Georgiana." Kat's voice sounded distant. Georgiana squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her jaw as the cheers around her grew louder and louder. The volume of their chanting and cheering thundered in a never ending beat that rattled around her skull. She had stopped heaving but still found it hard to breathe. She was terrified to open her eyes again and witness what she had just seen.

"Georgiana? My Lady?" Kat whispered beside her ear. Calling her 'My Lady' was a risk, especially exposed among the villagers. If anyone knew that the Princess of England was among them, alone and unprotected, who knows what havoc it may cause.        

Georgiana opened her eyes and turned to look at her friend. Kat's worry was written across her face. "I'm fine." Georgiana whispered. She dared herself to look up just as the sound of the whip hitting raw flesh rippled through the air once more.