Chapter 138:
Escape from Malcolm
Under the light of the rising sun, Theo stared at the man standing in front of the full-length mirror in his dressing room. He could not see the other man's expression, but his face was full of a doting contentment that softened the atmosphere considerably.
Some time had passed since Theo last laid eyes on Alywin, but it seemed his health had not deteriorated further than it had. Possibly threatened by Malcolm to eat, Alywin's face had a tint of ruddiness, and his cheeks had returned to their somewhat softer state, rather than appearing gaunt as before. He was still so skinny, skinny enough that Theo felt it would only take a single arm to wrap around his waist.
"You seriously think this will work?" Alywin stood in front of the mirror, his eyes falling on the maid uniform that was spread out on his thin frame. The dress was far more conservative than he had expected. The collar reached past where his adam's apple sat, effectively hiding his masculine features, and the length draped down to his ankles, the dim lace trimming brushing against the tops of his feet like kisses.
On top of his head rested a well-placed silver wig, tied into a tight bun behind his head. As Alywin turned, the deep makeup appeared aged on his face, making him appear to be in his sixties. With his already delicate features, Alywin appeared to be an aged woman with deep set eyes, heavy wrinkles, and a stern-looking, thin lipped expression.
Theo stared at Alywin with a crooked smile, attempting to hide his laughter as he put away the various cosmetics he had used on Alywin's face back into a small case.
Staring around the room, it looked nearly identical as it did yesterday. The blankets were dressed and made on the bed, clothes neatly folded and tucked into their drawers, and the books Alywin was reading lay abandoned on the table. The few pieces of luggage Alywin had brought to the palace were already tucked away and packed in the carriage prepared for Charlotte and Philomena. Theo had personally packed the items, ensuring no one, not even Alywin's servants, were aware of what was to come.
Most of all, neither of the two men wanted to bring anything that reminded them of Malcolm. Regardless how lavish the gifts were, the value was tarnished by the hands it had passed through, tainted with the memories of an insane, murderous man and his lasting obsession.
"There's one more thing I need to do." Alywin added, his voice low as he stared at his left hand, a piece of jewelry resting on his finger. Theo turned towards the other man, wanting to say something, but Alywin only fell silent as he lifted his right hand and forced the item off, nearly throwing it away from himself as if it were on fire.
In particular, it was a ruby ring, inlaid with sparkling white gems and a golden band. It was placed on the nightstand, resting on the far side of the bed. If he had not been forced, Alywin would have refused to wear it, but now, staring at the indent the ring left in his finger, nearly tight enough to never be removed, he let out a weighty sigh of relief, the weight of his hand lifted.
Theo tactfully ignored the ring, his eyes on Alywin as he stared at the nightstand with shifting expressions. "Is there anything else you want to bring? I'll place it in the carriage." Theo broke the silence, pulling back their focus to the matter at hand.
"Are you ready?" Theo asked with finality.
"I think so." Alywin looked towards Theo, his expression heavy. "But what about you, Theo?"
Theo shook his head, "There is one more thing I need to do. I'll catch up with you later."
"The moment Malcolm finds I escaped, he'll try to hunt you down." Alywin's face continued to darken as he added, "At least come with us."
Seeing the worry on Alywin's face, Theo felt his chest pang, unconsciously smiling. "You seem to forget I have this." Reaching into his shirt, there was a small purple gem hanging from a thin chain wrapped around Theo's neck. Touching the gem with his fingers, the gem grew warm, lightly glowing as it rested in his hand. "As long as I have this, I'll be fine." He paused, staring at the other man with a heated gaze. "Once you're safe, I'll escape. I promise. He already tried to kill me once. I won't let it happen again."
Alywin raised his hands, dressed with liver spots and wrinkles from the makeup, and held Theo's face, his eyes red from the tears threatening to fall. His lips quivered as he held back tears, biting his lip to prevent himself from sobbing. He looked up to Theo, who stared down at him with a gentle expression. Standing on the tips of his toes, he lifted his lips and gently pecked Theo's lips, pulling away before the kiss could deepen.
"Sorry, it feels a bit odd with your disguise." Theo said with a laugh, garnering a slap in the arm from Alywin, whose face was flushed under the heavy makeup, "I feel like I'm kissing your grandmother."
"You asshole." Alywin muttered, stepping back, "You should be grateful."
Carefully, listening to Alywin's temper, he raised his hand and pushed back a lock of the gray wig as he stepped forward and planted a gentle kiss on the other man's head, his eyes full of doting. "Go on. It's time." As much as he wanted to hold the other man in his arms, they had spent too much time together already. They had to leave.
"Don't forget our promise, Theo." Alywin said as he stepped towards the door, his eyes distant. "I'll be waiting."
Leaving the room, Alywin walked down the hall with his hands in front of his hips, appearing as a slow-moving older servant, while Theo watched the door close, his eyes falling shut as he adjusted the gem in his hand, changing his own appearance with swift movements, prepared to face what would soon come.
…
Downstairs, Philomena and Charlotte were led by their maids to the front of the palace. Malcolm had been regrettably roped up in palace affairs, but he sent his warm wishes to the pair as they prepared to leave through his watchful aide, who assisted the girls' preparations to leave.
While the last of the luggage was nearly finished packing as the sun left the horizon, there was the sound of footsteps slowing moving towards the carriage, loud enough to attract the attention of the strange aide of Malcolm's, the man's face tightening slightly as he stared at the older woman's painfully slow approach.
"My, is this one of your servants, Lady Charlotte?" The aide asked with a heightened tone of voice, his eyes bent into crescents, full of interest in the unfamiliar woman.
"Of course. Carmile, my nanny, has been in poor health recently. She'll be returning home with me to rest." Charlotte's smile was uncharacteristically sweet, nearly pouring sugar around her as she stared at the strange old woman with a sweetened gaze. "Are you ready, Carmile?"
Alywin, nearly clenching his fists to the point of drawing blood, only nodded solemnly, playing up his old woman disguise.
Staring at the old woman, Carmile, Philomena stared around her, looking for any trace of Alywin, but before she could say a word, Charlotte spoke first, her knight by her side as the aide carefully watched their reactions, waiting for any mistakes to occur. "I hope you are feeling better today. Mother will be thrilled to see you again."
Philomena's head whipped to the side, her eyes quickly bulged before she controlled her own shifting expression, staring at the old woman. She could not help but feel something familiar about her, but she could not quite put her finger on what.
Alywin stared at her with irritation, feeling embarrassed that he approached the two princesses in such a disguise, but the thought of remaining in the palace allowed him to put aside his embarrassment as he walked to the side of the carriage like a struggling old woman, lifting his "wrinkled" hand to help the two woman into the carriage as any servant would do.
"Thank you." Charlotte said passively, her eyes trailing over Alywin's disguise with some interest, sitting down to the side of the carriage as Philomena quickly joined her, lifting her dress with practiced movements.
"Carmile, please enter the carriage." Charlotte, using the name of one of her past servants, spoke aloud, watching as the guards around them monitored their close departure. Anything could go wrong at this point, but the three of them would do anything they could to ensure a safe exit from the devil's palace.
With the help of Charlotte's knight, Alywin quickly entered the carriage, hunching his back as if he really were old and addlepated. His movements were slow enough to make Malcolm's aide clap his hands in impatience, urging the coach to prepare the carriage for departure as Alywin's rear end met the seat.
Even on the seat, he sat with the gentle demeanor of an aged maid, acting as if nothing was wrong, but his anger flared at the impatient aide's attitude.
As the door to the carriage closed, the servants bowed their heads. "His grace wishes you a safe departure." The aide bowed his head with a smile, his arm resting in front of his waist as he bowed.
"Safe travels, my lady." The guards had bowed their heads, watching as the royal carriage departed the palace walls. Their backs remained low until the carriage finished its passage through the gates. Once the gates closed behind them, the guards returned to their usual posts, standing watch with no further movements.
Within the carriage, their chests were beating, their heads heavy as they stared forward in the carriage, their eyes dodging the person adjacent to them with deft eyes. They could watch as the backdrop of the palace quickly disappeared, allowing them time to discuss what had just happened, and what would happen to them beyond this point.
The carriage clattered aloud as the royal carriage was led behind one other carriage, containing the other two women. Alywin's luggage, while meager, was hidden deep within the bottom of the carriage they were currently in, allowing him peace of mind during their journey, allowing for no mistakes.
"How are you feeling?" Alywin finally asked, his voice strangely different from his disguise.
"I think we're both anxious, leaving the kingdom like thieves like this, but-" Charlotte paused, letting out a tense breath, "I'm relieved nothing has happened so far."
Hearing Charlotte's words, Philomena could not hold on any longer as her face was filled with tears as she cried aloud. Her lip was twisted in an ugly expression, the stress of the previous situation nearly wearing her down as she finally let her emotions take control. "I-I'm so glad you're s-safe, Alywin. I thought that something h-happened to you."
With a gentle, knowing pat, Charlotte gave Philomena her handkerchief she had tucked into the embellished sleeve of her dress, gently patting her arm with her other hand, feeling the stress of escaping the palace wearing on her as well.
Alywin felt awkward, staring at Philomena's reddened eyes with an awkward frown, attempting to say something to help console her. "
As Philomena's sobs quieted, half of her face tucked into the handkerchief with embarrassment, Charlotte broke the silence. "Who was that man?" She asked first, changing the conversation directly. "He seems quite at home within the palace walls, might I add."
Alywin, knowing Theo's usual tricks, shook his head. "That was Theo. He's-" He trailed off, his lip twisting into a deep frown as his eyebrows furrowed. Charlotte stared at him with interest, as did Philomena, her eyes still flushed red. "He's a friend. He entered the palace to help me get out."
"Without his help, we never would have escaped. When we see him again, we'll have to thank him." Charlotte muttered, her eyes falling on the open curtain, the light of the sun warming the side of her face with a dull glow. "Whenever we see him again."
Alywin nodded absently. "We should be seeing him again in the near future."
"The plan with the letter was quite clever. I'm sure it would have been easier to leave the palace without the two of us." Charlotte added with a strange note, her words nearly biting. "Why did you plan to escape with us?"
Alywin fell quiet for a moment before he said, "Escaping without you two was never an option." He stared sideways with a knowing glance, the darkness under his eyes darkening with his falling expression. "Malcolm would have killed you both otherwise."
Hearing those words, everyone in the carriage fell silent. There was an air of finality to Alywin's words that made them both fall tense, knowing full well the consequences of their escape with Alywin.
Just like Alywin, there was never an option to leave the man in Malcolm's clutches. Otherwise, he would have died at the hands of that demonic villain.
"That man-" Philomena said, her voice thick with tears, "He's evil."
No one could refute her words, knowing full well the atrocities committed by the Godfreed family.
Staring out the window, on the other side of the carriage, Alywin said in a quiet voice, "There is still some time before we reach the nearest town. Why don't you both rest for a while? I'll let you know when we're close to arriving."
As much as the two women wanted to refute, the stress of escaping had already begun to fall, and now, their fatigue was threatening to take over. Charlotte said nothing as she adjusted in her seat, finding a comfortable position to look out the window, while Philomena had set the used handkerchief to the side, her eyes falling down as she stared into her lap, allowing the three to lull along with the carriage in a silence that felt comfortable.
It allowed them to process their thoughts before the next incident would occur.
…
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Wow, this week has been shit from start to finish (ahaha), but good news, the chapter is out in time! (yay!) Hunny and I were psychoanalyzing Alywin this week and I died inside a lot, so short chapter before more fun happens next week. Chopped a section off to move into next week.
Good news, my store opening was pushed back so I could prepare for my opening party, so yay! But... today, some moron (recognized their car peeling out of the parking lot after we caught them) wrote "Asshole, Bitch" on the dust on my car's back window for parking in the loading bay and stealing their "spot" right by the door. I was just loading stuff into my store with my mom, but... my sister in Christ, that insult was moronic as well, you crusty ass motherfucker :))) I did report it to security, but that insane weirdo was just starting drama, I believe :l
I've had a hell week at work, and I've been feeling not good so I checked in with my doc, and she said I'm all good (lab tests are good~), but she told me to stop stressing out so much (mostly over my job), or I may get sicker. If there are any future delays, it's my health. I'm sorry (╥ω╥) I'm taking some days off work to decompress, but when I can, I'd love to shoot the shit about my day job! ヽ(>∀<☆)ノ
Again, thank you all for the lovely responses and messages (Hunny and I have been reading them ;; )!! I'll post pictures of my store soon~~ ;D See you all next week!!