The king sat back on the throne and the prince gave a signal to the trumpet boy. The boy waited till the end of the song and then started playing the melody that screamed "all attention to the king, now!".
As the dancing hall quieted down and the eyes turned to the throne, King Rikkard stood up with his hands reached out, small smile on his face, and addressed the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen and other beloved guests, I must thank you for coming tonight to honour my humble castle with your presence." It was obvious from his tone that no matter his words, he meant to say that it was them who can be honoured to be in the same room as him, in his quite incredible castle.
The king continued his speech, but I didn't really listen. I started slowly closing in to the king, my heart beat echoing in my ears. It was time for the fifth step of the plan.
Just a feet or so away from the king, I have calculated my escape plan once more. I took one last deep breath and reached for the king's belt with the knife I have took from my boot just before the speech. Thanks to my profession, I knew exactly what to do.
The knife reached the king's belt and cut it, which caused the king's pants to fall on the floor and had his legs-unfortunately, his manhood, too, since he obviously wasn't a fan of undergarments- shown to the crowd. I used the initial shock and also snatched the crown from the royal head and then leaped into the crowd.
"Get her!" I heard the king yell, him being the first one to recover from the shit show I have just created. The crowd enclosed around me, just like I planned. Everyone was so eager to grab me, so they didn't really look at what they were doing and where their hands were reaching. Which gave me a perfect opportunity to finalize the step six.
In the raging crowd I have managed to successfully get rid of my dress, switch my mask and tie my hair. Under the red dress, I wore a long black body- tight dress. Thanks to the chaos, no one had noticed my little wardrobe change and I have also managed to crawl my way out of the crazy people, desperately trying to get a hold of what was now just a piece of fabric.
The crown, I have transformed into a bracelet and was ow wearing it on my wrist.
Not going to lie, I was pretty proud of this plan and was damn well pleased with myself when it actually worked.
I stood next to the ladies, still too in shock, and mimicked their expression, trying hard to supress laugh.
"Move!" I heard a cold commanding voice shout to the people around the dress.
Oh, I wonder, what he had thought of my plan. He must have been at least a little bit impressed, right? Not that I need his confirmation, or anything.
The prince and his guard shoved the people away, until they finally reached the dress.
"She's gone." One guard pointed out, sounding surprised, but just so I can feed my ego, I'm going to say he sounded impressed.
"Found her!" The king yelled. "That shouldn't be too hard for you, since she's probably naked."
King Rikkard raged and threw orders in every direction, looking mad. Like, mentally unstable mad. I knew that if I get caught tonight, I am sure to die. Painfully, too. Seeing him like this, every doubt I had from the stories about him evaporated. He truly was a heartless monster. "The rest of you, go home! The party's over!"
I have joined a group of ladies, trying to sneak out with them. "I can't believe she showed us his shaft." One of them giggled. "Shut up, Mary." The other one said, "If someone hears you, they will sure have your head." There was a lot of chatter going around about tonight's events. Some were admiring my bravery, some couldn't believe my stupidity, but the best comments were regarding the king's shaft. "But it was small, wasn't it?" One lady asked her sister and I couldn't help but snort.
Sadly, I wasn't fortunate enough to see what the crowd has seen and give my own opinion about it. Still, I am happy to be of service to these ladies and gave them something to gossip about for at least a week.
After I have successfully left the castle, I almost made the fatal mistake of asking for my carriage. Thankfully, I spotted the guards examining the one I came her into just in time.
I eyed them carefully and continued my way on foot. After about half an hour of walk the exhaustion of the night started dawning on me and I praised myself for not wearing the stilettos the prince had chosen for me. I continued my way to the forest, realizing I don't really know exactly where the house I'm staying at is.
"Fuck," I muttered in the cold night air, struggling to keep my eyes open. For the better part of the walk, I drained my energy from imagining the faces of people tonight. The king's expression must have been priceless, prince's probably, too. Sadly, I missed them both. But now, I drained every ounce of energy and just wanted to lay down and fall asleep.
"No, keep on going Alex," I encouraged myself, "the house can't be far away." Besides, I would probably freeze to death if I fell asleep outside. The autumn has started and the temperature fell down considerably at night. It was really cold outside, especially when one was only wearing a thin, strapless dress.
I continued for a few minutes more, until I reached the edge of the forest and realized I have absolutely no idea where I am. I leaned against one of the trees and closed my eyes for a moment, trying to think about my next move. Obviously, going to the house wasn't an option, therefore what I need is warmth.
I am too tired to collect wood for fire, so that's not an option. Think, Alex, think. Where could you go?
I slid down the tree, my bottom hitting the moist ground. Stand up, Alex, open your eyes! My brain shouted at me, but my body just wouldn't listen to it.
"Here you are." I heard a voice said, a strangely familiar voice. "I've been looking all over the kingdom for you." I heard the steps approach me, but I just had zero willpower to move. If the guards came to get me, I might as well face the consequences of my actions. I am too tired to protest, anyway.
The next thing I felt were strong arms lifting me up. "My god, you are freezing cold." Said the voice I was used to be so cold and distant. "Don't worry, I'll get you home."
Home? Where is that?
As he raised me to his chest, I snuggled into the warmth and inhaled the pleasant voice of wood and lemons. I put my head on his fast beating hear. Had he been running? I felt his chest vibrating and I realized he must have been saying something, but I didn't have the energy to listen. Too bad, he never talks and I would like to hear him, when he does.
At some point of our ride back I put my hands around his neck and tried to absorb more of his heat with my body. Funny, how someone that cold felt this warm.
"We are almost there," he whispered in my ear and I smiled in his shoulder, not really knowing why.
When I next opened my eyes I found myself being carried on the stairs. I raised my head, looking around and realizing I'm back to the house.
The strong arms laid me in the warm bed and before I could stop myself the words sounding suspiciously a lot like "Please, stay" left my mouth. Next thing I know, I felt the arms move me closer to the edge of the bed and then the bed shift after additional weight.
I couldn't believe it. He actually climbed into my bed. "Sleep now, you did good." His soft voice whispered, while his hand caressed my hair.
There is now way this is real. I must be dreaming. Still, I cuddled into the body next to me. "You're so warm," I whispered sleepily, closed my eyes and fell asleep.