Rose tumbled out of the small door in a less than graceful heap. Why did even the maids have to wear such voluminous skirts?! It made no sense.
Rose only hoped that Silver hadn't seen the awkwardness of her exit.
Wait, was he planning on following her out of the throne room?
The princess wasn't sure about the rest of his plan. Maybe she should have pressed him for more information. But there had not been much time.
'Stick to your part and don't worry about the rest,' Rose scolded herself. If she got caught up in other people's roles, the princess might neglect fulfilling her own. 'Sound the horn. Get to safety.'
Rose crawled out from under the table and immediately ran into booted feet. Her eyes trailed up the purple and gold uniform before meeting the confused gaze of a soldier.
"Did ya just come outta da wall?" The man had been patrolling for any stragglers in the halls when a tablecloth suddenly billowed. When he went to examine the anomaly, a woman had been spat out at his feet.
Thinking quickly, Rose dropped her eyes and began searching the ground. "Good Sir, I am so glad you are here! I cannot find it anywhere. I was sure it fell under the table. Please help me!"
The princess had been taking lessons from Caitlyn and Ethyn in their previous run-ins with the soldiers of Lakyle. She quickly came up with the only story that came to mind as to why she would be under a table: she was looking for something
As expected, the guard was taken aback. "What are ya lookin' fer?" he asked curiously. The maid seemed very frantic. What had gotten her into such a tizzy?
"I lost one of the king's rings. The royal treasurer ordered me to bring it to His Majesty and my buttery fingers went and dropped it. It rolled somewhere, but I cannot find it! Will you help?" Rose made her eyes big, pleading with all of her feminine wiles in hopes of invoking any shred of chivalry he might have.
"What's it look like?" the soldier seemed only minimally interested.
'If he doesn't like my charm, then maybe he will find something else more charming.' Rose clasped her hands together. "Oh thank you, sir! The ring is hard to miss. It is pure gold with every manner of ruby and emerald inlaid into it. I don't know how His Majesty can keep his hand up with it on. It must be worth a fortune...and I have lost it!"
Rose whimpered and went back to looking at the floor, but not before seeing the look of greed in the guard's eyes. He knew that the king would be executed this day and the ring would never be missed by the royal.
If he found the treasure, what was to prevent him from telling the girl that he would deliver it himself? Then if the bauble disappeared in the chaos, who would even miss it? No one, the man wagered.
He dropped to his knees. "Where's da last place ya saw it?"
Peeking under the table, he awaited the maid's answer. But none came.
"Did ya hear me? Where's the last place..." When he pulled his head out, he watched the maid fleeing down the hall.
He had been tricked! "Come back here, ya wench! Show me da jewels! I promise not to hurt ya if ya come back now."
But the maid was already running full tilt. He would have to chase after her or risk losing more than just an easy pay day.
Rose fled as soon as the man ducked his head. There was no telling how long he was going to believe her, and so she took the first opportunity to get away. She needed to get outside.
That was easier said than done. The inner and outer curtains of the castle were formidable, and getting to the Distress Horn meant making it to the outermost point.
There was, of course, the signal pyre at the top of the inner curtain. It would let the outer wall know the castle was in distress and the horn would be blown automatically.
But that was a risk. Rose had no idea if the inner curtain was taken by the men of Lakyle. Silver had only mentioned 'the wall' still had soldiers loyal to Birle on it.
The princess also did not know exactly how to light the pyre. If there was a trick to it, then she might fail before she even began.
'Too many moving parts. It is best to go to the source and just blow the horn.'
None of that mattered if she was caught by the man chasing her. He was much bigger and faster than the princess, so she needed a plan.
She ducked into one of the many guest chambers and shut the door. Fortunately, it was empty. Rose did not have time to explain herself just now to one of the castle's many visitors. Barring the door, Rose hoped the Lakilian soldier would move on down the hall.
Almost immediately there was banging on the door. Rose had not put enough distance between herself and the greedy guard. He had seen her hasty retreat.
"Open the door! Don't make me ask again!" he boomed.
'I need to hurry. His yelling will attract more attention.' Rose got to work.
She took the long cords holding back the curtains and began to attach them together. She counted the windows and mentally judged the distances. A weary smile appeared on her face.
'This is what I get for teasing Caitlyn about our last escape...' The princess continued to work until she had made a loop and attached one end of her connected cords.
All too quickly, the man forced open the door with a grunt. He scanned the room and found the maid bent over by the farthest window.
"Don't give me even a little trouble, ya hear me?" the man growled.
Rose smiled at him as she stood. She tightened the cord wrapped around her wrist. "Trust me, I don't plan on giving you a little trouble."
Gripping the rope, Rose did the last thing the soldier expected. She fell out the window.
Rose had a better hold this time than the last time she fell out a window. If she had had time to ponder this fact, she might have laughed at history repeating itself.
She fell from the third floor and made a short stop about even with the second story. As she began to carefully descend--which was much easier to do in the daylight--the guard peered down at her with a scowl.
"Ya little minx! I'm gonna break yer legs!"
Rose felt the curtain cords, which she had hastily tied together, begin to slacken. The guard was going to hurl her to the ground!
Throwing caution to the wind, Rose loosened her grip and allowed herself to slip into a controlled fall. Rose belatedly realized that although the cords of the curtains were silky, they were interwoven with threads of actual gold.
The wiry thread tore at Rose's hands as it passed through her fingers. Her palms split open.
Then it stopped slipping through her hands altogether and began to fall with her. Unable to untie the cord fast enough, the soldier had simply cut her loose with his sword.
A moment of pure panic filled the princess as she was in freefall.
But only for a moment.
For although her hands stung, Rose had accomplished her goal. The princess had only been a half-horse length from the ground when she fell.
She tumbled into the grass, but was otherwise unharmed by her landing.
'Whew,' Rose worked to catch her breath. She looked around and gave a slight groan. She was on the opposite side of the castle from where she needed to be.
There was only one thing she could do.
Get moving.