Jade

Chapter 14

I put the knife back just in time to slip in behind the door as it opens. A guard with greying hair steps in with his back towards me. He walks towards the desk with heavy feet and tiredly rests his hands on either side of the documents on the desk. He murmurs something to himself, deep in thought. I start creeping in behind him, controlling my breath. Catlike, I position myself behind him, and then I pounce. My arms quickly swing around his throat, my left hand covering his mouth. Distress fills his eyes as he struggles to break free. He then runs backward, pushing me into the wall and I gasp as my breath unwillingly gets forced out of my lungs.

Hopefully, nobody heard that.

My arms still hold their position for a few more seconds, and then there is silence. He drops to the floor, still breathing.

I try to regain my composure. I should probably do something about him.

I leave him in his chair by the desk, his head lying on his arms. Looks natural enough. I'm sure he takes naps all the time.
I quickly grab the knife from the wall, attach it to my belt, and go back to the door. Still no one.

I make my way to the guard's stables to see about twenty horses, saddled in case of emergencies. The stables are situated in a courtyard on the side of the building, with a big locked gate leading outside. A sigh escapes my mouth. Time to put my new weapon to use. I go around, cutting their saddle straps so that they will break with the least bit of strain. Some of the horses protest, but luckily the worst response I get is some dirt kicked in my mouth. The knife is surprisingly sharp and cuts the leather with ease.

When I finish, I climb onto a cart filled with hay that stands next to the wall. I jump from the cart onto the wall and climb over, dropping onto the ground on the other side with a thump. Easy enough.

I am met by an impatient Fletcher. "What took you so long?"

I roll my eyes. "I had problems, but I got the job done. You could sound a little more grateful."

He starts walking towards the road. "Don't get too cocky princess. Like I said, bad things happen to people that don't know their place."

Pure annoyance flows over me. Between him and Keith, I feel like the universe is punishing me by forcing me to work with the two most pigheaded men I have ever met. And that's saying something.

It looks like the crowd has finally lost interest in Amelia's story. Took them long enough. I'm surprised she was able to keep it up for so long.

"Ugh, thank goodness. It was getting hard to keep their attention. I eventually had to fake a heart attack."

"Well you did well, I managed to sabotage all the saddles."

"Well let's get on with it then," Fletcher says hoarsely. His voice sounds as if he swallows hatchets in his free time.

He leads us along the cobbled path, to where we saw the caravans earlier. We sneak behind one that stands slightly apart from the rest, the one with different herbs, dried plants, and crystals hanging from the roof. It looks unattended. The town center is now nearly empty, yet the bonfire still burns brightly against the darkening sky. We can see the hall from here, bursting at the seams from activity and warm fires. Every now and then, a new servant struggles through the doors with a mountain of food on a comically large silver tray.

The door of the caravan is opened, and the smell of medicine mixed with incense streams out. Fletcher climbs up to the driver's seat and takes the reins in rough hands. Amelia and I both take our places inside the caravan, closing the door behind us. It is dark, and no one seems to be there.

"Okay," I say. "The rest will most probably be near the hall, so let's go." With that, Fletcher cracks the reins, and the brown mare goes into a steady trot up towards the great hall. I wince every time her hooves hit the cobble, still thinking this plan will get us caught. Everything sounds louder when you don't want to be heard.