From the base of the tower, the pageboy and nobleman moved swiftly down the hall.
The blushing servant with the tray of food had not been far behind them when she regained her wits and began to descend the stair. So the two needed to hurry.
It was a tricky balance to move fast enough to stay away from the eager servant but not run and attract the attention of someone new. In a last ditch effort, Caitlyn ended up taking a turn down the hall which would send them straight to the main foyer.
It was less than ideal, but at least it would put them off the path of the person pursuing them.
Slowing their pace, Rose and Caitlyn tried to silently coordinate their next move. They had planned to go directly to the king and then work to free Silver and Ethyn.
However, the halls were very empty for the time of day. A few servants had been seen, but that was all. A chill went down Rose's spine. With the soldiers of Lakyle already inside the castle's defenses, Borit's plan must already be in motion.
While she wasn't sure on the timing of things, the lack of palace chatter suggested things were moving far faster than she was comfortable with. By now the princess should be hearing the noise from the outer court. But all she could hear was silence.
No, that wasn't true. There were footsteps coming her way.
Caitlyn looked over her shoulder at Rose. The princess gave her the nod to continue. It was easier to pass someone with confidence than it was to run and hide at this point. They would have to do a lot of bluffing to get past the guards protecting the king anyway. This was good practice.
It turned out the person coming toward them was a knight. Rose was bolstered by his presence until she realized he was wearing a helmet too small for his head. Had his head grown or his helmet shrunk? Could metal helmets even shrink?
Not as far as Rose knew. Something was off.
Rose decided that it was best to pretend that the nobleman was above noticing the knight. Caitlyn had said her attempt at sounding like a man was terrible. It was safer for her to be silent anyway.
The knight walked past them and ignored her as well. If the princess had been in her normal clothing, she would have been offended. But all she felt was relief until...
"My lord," a nasally voice called over his shoulder belatedly.
'Oh no!' Rose lost her step, which she was having trouble maintaining anyway. Noblemen often had dandy walks, but nothing close to her usual glide.
"Good Sir," Caitlyn answered him. She modulated her voice to be low enough to pass for a pageboy.
The princess felt intense relief but not for long.
The knight turned on his heels and started walking towards them. Rose had clearly offended him! The women sped up. They could not be caught now.
"Good Sirs!" another person even further behind called out. Caitlyn turned around and her face visibly paled.
'Soldiers,' she mouthed silently to the princess.
'Go!' Rose mouthed back.
The two began to back away as one of the guards explained that everyone was needed in the throne room. The soldier was clearly one of the men from Lakyle. It was all the more reason to run.
"Forgive me, but I am looking for an angel. You haven't seen her have you?" The knight's nasally voice had a foppish tone, but the words stopped Rose in her tracks.
'Ethyn!' Rose had heard him call her an angel more than once since admitting his feelings, and even through the nasally tone his words were recognizable. The words were meant for her.
The knight sensed that Rose had stopped and put one hand behind his back. His fingers moved back and forth to shoo her away. But the princess did not want to leave the man she loved.
It was only when Caitlyn pulled her from behind that Rose came to her senses. While Ethyn stalled, the ladies all but ran away.
"We cannot leave him!" Rose whispered as they moved through the halls. She felt fiercely guilty about abandoning her love to the mercy of the soldiers.
"There isn't a choice. If we stay, he will be forced to fight." Caitlyn knew that Ethyn would never let Rose be taken by those men as long as he was alive. The only way to save both him and themselves was to flee as the knight had suggested.
Footsteps rang on the stone floor behind them. Two of the soldiers had detached from the group and were now pursuing them.
"Good Sir! You and yer attendant are needed in da throne room!" One of them called when they spotted Rose at the end of the hall.
The hurried walk immediately turned into a run. The frantic women saw more soldiers coming from the other direction.
"Halt!"
"Hurry!" Rose hurried down a separate corridor. The pair turned and then turned again.
More soldiers. And none that Rose recognized.
The two women were being funneled toward the throne room whether they liked it or not. In a moment there would be no way to escape.
"Stairs!" Caitlyn pulled on Rose's arm as they found a narrow passage tucked in an alcove. They descended.
In all her years in the castle, Rose had never been down into the earthy darkness of the tunnels. Even as a child, the thought of being buried in the earth was enough for her to stay away from the servants' domain.
This time, the princess was too frightened of the soldiers chasing her to worry about the oppressive feeling of the ground enclosing her. She followed Caitlyn blindly in and out of the periodic torchlight as they fled.
They continued on for many minutes, listening for the sign of any pursuit.
"Where are we going?" Rose asked when she finally remembered to breathe.
"I'm not sure," Caitlyn answered. "I've only been down here once before and I was following someone. I may serve you, but I am still a lady. I take the upstairs pathways when going places."
"Two men? I saw them. They went that way." Behind Rose heard a servant giving the soldiers directions. Not even the tunnels were safe.
The princess could not blame the young man who helped the soldiers. He probably thought he was doing his duty as a loyal citizen of Birle.
"Up we go!" Caitlyn made the decision to exit.
They were nearing a dead end and a wall made of stone. It was likely a shared wall of the dungeon, which was also sprawled under the palace in a maze all its own. The two intertwined in an intricate pattern that was difficult for anyone without a map to fully comprehend.
All that Caitlyn knew is that she had no desire to be lost in the darkness. Cutting up the wide exit before the dead end, the ladies were met with a large wooden door.
Thankfully, it was on a floating hinge and swung away without even needing to turn a handle.
Caitlyn and Rose were immediately confronted with two things. The smell of food, and a startled servant.
They had reached a part of the castle where Rose had never visited.
The kitchen.