Meanwhile in Prince Jacob's room, the shadow that kicked Jacob in the gut caught him in its embrace. The other shadow finished exploring the room before they both headed towards the exit. The smoke from the room mostly hid their frames while they glided down the hall silently. When the night guard started coming towards Prince Jacob's room, the shadows silently ducked into a closet with their prize.
The night guard passed them without looking into the small space. Far away a man in robes laughed as he watched the guards move away from his shadow puppets. Once the men had reached the smoke filled room of the prince, the man instructed the shadows to continue towards him. He constantly watched ahead of where the shadows were headed had them duck into empty rooms or closets if people were about. It was a slow and magic consuming process, however it was providing a grand reward. His Lord will be pleased with his work. It took about a half hour before the shadows reached him.
The man was sweating profusely, his heart was racing, and he was breathing heavily. He unsummoned the shadows as soon as they set the boy down in front of him. After the shadows dissipated, he took a few minutes to just breathe. Afterwards, he grabbed a rope and began to tie up the prince's hands and legs. He then chanted a small spell. A bluish light lingered around the prince's mouth for a moment before disappearing. Once that was finished he scooped up the young man in bridal style and placed him in a nearby wagon. He shifted the prince and moved the other stuff within the wagon to hide his prize.
When everything was sorted, he climbed into the driver's seat and motioned to the horses to move. He set a slow pace through the streets of the dark city. Very few lanterns lit the way, however he didn't need them. He moseyed along turning this way and that before stopping by the wall of the city. He simply waited, breathing in the night air.
In the kings and Queens room:
The twins rushed to the parents, both crying huge tears and babbling incessantly. One attached themself to the king's waist. The other went to his mother. The King gently patted his son's head while the boy clung to his leg. The Queen dropped down to her knees and embraced the other son. King Leo gave a look to the general.
"I have already sent some guards to Prince Jacob's room. I should be getting a report on his condition soon."
Leo nodded, Jessica continued hugging, kissing and checking both her children. She gently removed their child from her husband's waist. The sounds of combat slowly started to die down around the couples room. Leo frowned and started pacing, occasionally he would look at the general who had moved out into the hallway. The queen moved the other two children to the big bed and was snuggling with them under the covers.
"General, how long before we hear about Jacob?" King asked with impatience.
"I wish I knew sir." He frowned as he watched the hall. "We might have to wait until all the attackers are caught."
" No. I will check myself." Leo turned to his wife who just made a shoeing motion to him. He nodded and walked out of the protection field. Most mages would have to remove the barrier to allow people in and out, however Jessica was able to mark who she wanted to freely enter or leave her protection circles.
" General, stay here and protect the rest of my family."
"Understood."
King Leo turned right and strolled down the hallway with his sword still in hand. He made several other turns while listening for danger. It only took him about fourteen minutes to get to his son Jacob's room. As he reached the door, a guard was exiting. Seeing his king, the guard bowed quickly and reported. " Your majesty, I am afraid that the young master is not within his room. My men and I are about to search the palace."
" Tell any guards you see on the way who are not engaged in combat to also search. I will wake the servants and have them search as well."
" We can wake the servants, there is no need for you to go to the trouble. "
" If I continue to sit still while everyone else is busy either fighting or searching for my son, not only will I feel useless, I would also be restless. Besides, it's not in my nature to sit still and do nothing." Saying this he began walking towards the servant quarters.
He personally woke at least five servants and explained what was happening and what he needed them to do. Each of these servants woke some of the others and soon every servant was looking everywhere. Little did they know that by the time the whole castle was searching for the prince, that he was no longer in the palace and was soon to be removed from the city.
By the city wall
Several men and women met with the man on the cart. They all gathered near the wall. " Where is the stone smith?" asked the man on the cart. " He is coming." Another man responded. " He does not have a choice if he wishes to see his newly wedded wife." The man on the cart nodded.
Sometime passed in silence. An angry dwarf glared at the lot of them as he moved towards the wall. Unknown to everyone around him, the dwarf had thrown a small bag into the back of the cart as he walked by it. When the dwarf reached the wall, he roughly spoke, " The lot of you have one month to return what is mine or you'll suffer a death of stone." Giggles met his statement. In their eyes, he didn't have the power to hurt them. The dwarf's eyes narrowed as he touched the wall. Before their eyes, the wall began bending inwards. Within a matter of minutes, a clear opening to the other side could be seen. The group moved through it and as it started to close the dwarf reminded them, " One month".
The man driving the cart snorted. In his mind stone magic was weak and harmless. It was clear that the others felt the same as they laughed and mocked the dwarf. After an hour the cart driver stopped. He climbed down and got water and food for the horses. After that he checked his prize while the others were busy chatting with one another.
" Do you think the other teams also succeeded?"
" We won't know until we hear from his lordship."
" I am more worried about the army coming after us. They will figure out how we escaped and what road we took."
"True, however that will give us the time we need to get to the wild woods."
A woman coughed on her water as her eyes went wide. " Why do we have to travel in that accursed place?"
" Because the army will never enter those woods. Besides, as long as we follow the rules, we will be fine."
" That means we should stock up months worth of supplies. Hunting, gathering, and fishing is not allowed in that forest. The only thing we are allowed to gather is water."
" How is the little Prince doing?"
" He will be asleep until morning. I currently have a silent spell on him. We will have to remove it before entering the forest. Magic is also not allowed in those woods."
The whole group shivered and frowned. No one was looking forward to the forest. However if it's a choice between survival and death, then survival was the obvious choice. If the army caught them, then they were dead.