The Princess Switch

Stealth Was Key

Chapter 30:

It had been three days since my parents had forced me into the carriage and further away from Derrick.  Since then, I had refused to eat or do any of the required “princess duties” that I normally was assigned.  Only drinking water, my parents were satisfyingly frustrated with me.  I’d always been the perfect child, and they were beyond confused that I suddenly decided to rebel at what they were forcing me to do: stay away from the one I loved.  He needed my help, and here I was, just sitting in my bed staring at the canopied ceiling.  

After so many escapes, I couldn’t exactly run away.  Everyone in the world expects me to do that by now.  I would need to come up with a way that I could influence people to help me from inside of the castle.  I thought back on all of the palace staff to think of who would be the most willing to take a bribe and then continue to stay quiet and not tell my “parents.”  There were several people, but most of them weren’t physically capable of what I would ask of them.  The few that finally made it through all of the cuts were Stephan the horse groom, one of my more.... Hefty maids Eleanor, and then lastly, Parker!  He would do it for me!  

So the next day I went off to where all of the knights lodged.  Normally I wasn’t allowed anywhere near the men’s sleeping quarters, but lately I’d been feeling really rebellious, so I didn’t care.  I stormed over to where I knew Parker would be.  He always told me that his favorite place in the lodge was right by the fire, so I went to go find him.  As could be assumed, I did indeed find Parker sitting there, in a chair much larger than his lanky figure.  When he saw a woman in the men’s section, he jumped up, about to tell me to go back.  However, once he realized that I was no ordinary woman, he abandoned all required formalities and attacked me with hugs.  I had to say that while I was gone, he had most definitely gotten better looking.  

I explained the whole situation to him, hoping that he had no outstanding mission that he had to go off to.  He seemed to understand and be excited in a weird way about it.  “Yes I will help you!  I’ve been so bored lately.  You see, I’ve been promoted to captain, so my life and action outside the palace slowly decreased.  I’m eager to help you in any way possible.  Especially since that Jean guy’s always really bugged me.”

That was enough for me as I plunged into the rough plan I had formed.  There wasn’t much to it yet, besides sneaking out and then heading wherever I had previously been.  On the carriage ride back to the palace, I had been too sullen to be sensible and notice landmarks, and now it was coming back to bite me.   We would just start going in the opposite direction that the carriage had and hope that we eventually made it to Derrick.  

Now, the main issue was how to sneak me out of the palace.  Obviously I wasn’t well guarded, since, well, I was standing here in the men’s boarding section, but that didn’t mean that I could exactly just exit the building.  I was still being watched, even if they were more laid back.  My parents believed me to have run away once; they would have no issues with locking me in a tower until my marriage to some fifty year old man if they caught me doing it again.  Stealth was key.  It seemed as though I was running away from everything now, but as long as I didn’t get caught I didn’t see anything wrong with it.  It was also an added bonus that I always seemed to be escaping alongside an attractive male.  But since the last attempt was not overly successful, I figured it was best to think this moment out rather than simply going with whatever felt right in the moment.

After deciding that sitting out in the open, especially in a place I wasn’t supposed to be in the first place, was maybe not the right decision, we retreated into a more private sitting room.  He threw out a map onto the table, and we began talking about possible ways to escape the palace.  Having also been a battle strategist, Parker was quite talented with coming up with different ways to exit, while I just pointed out the more obvious routes.  Finally, we decided on a plan.  Parker was to act like he was taking me out for a ride, like he used to do when we were both much younger.  Instead of taking me along the traditional riding route, he’s going to take me along the back exit, saying that we’re trying out something new.  Hopefully we’d escape the eye of the more gossiping nobles and avoid rejection from any surrounding guards.  Once we were out of the view of the castle, we would charge off into the forest and try to figure out where Derrick could be.    There were more than a million ways we could fail, but there was that one slim chance that we’d succeed, and that’s all I needed to know.  

I had already gotten tired of being stuck in the palace, and it hadn’t even been a fortnight.  I urged Parker to move forward our action as soon as possible in order to protect my sanity.  Sure, it was nice to see the few people I had missed, but knowing that my parents didn’t care for me and had no intent of hearing my side of the story gave me no desire to linger any longer.  

That night at dinner, my parents gave me even more reason to break free.  “We’ve arranged a fitting suitor for you!  Your father and I figured that a husband is just the thing you need to settle you down and calm your wild fantasies.  He’ll be arriving tomorrow, and we will be throwing a ball for him, so try to look at least slightly presentable.”  My mom stated, looking me up and down while a look of repulsion came to her face.   “Now, what dress should you wear?  We don’t really have time for the seamstress to create a new dress... Maybe the violet taffeta?  You’ve not yet worn that one, so it’s almost new.  Or maybe we could get the old blue one altered to fit this season’s fashion?”  As my mom rambled, I sunk into my chair.  An arranged marriage?  My appetite had vanished, and I dismissed myself to go to my room.  Parker better be ready for us to leave really soon.  

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