Rose brushed off her dress and hurried along the castle grounds. It was a very long walk around the entire stone building. The princess had done it a few times before with potential suitors, but never with this kind of urgency.
Fortunately, this time she would not be making the full circle. Only half of it.
The Hanging Gardens looked stunning as Rose hurried beneath the leafy vines. Just a couple of weeks ago, she would have done about anything to be free of their view, but now she longed for nothing more than to be strolling under them without a care in the world.
Rose ran by them without smelling a single bloom. There were many more places to see before reaching her goal. 'Hurry!'
Next in her journey, Rose came across the spot where the small market had been set up before the knighting ceremony. Littered among the verdant grass, the ground still had a few divots where the temporary stalls had been erected.
Rose tripped on one of the indents and fell to her knees. It was uncomfortably close to where Ethyn had bent down to retrieve her elderly companion's coin purse when they first met.
Their eyes had locked and his penetrating gaze had made the Princess's stomach flop uncontrollably. Rose had dismissed it at the time, but now she knew that it hadn't been a passing feeling.
The princess wondered when she might see those green eyes shining at her again. If things went well, it would be very soon. If not...
"Go be with him, Hanna, please!" Rose had no idea if the Fate could hear her, but a light breeze against her face comforted her spirit.
Invigorated, Rose leapt to her feet and moved faster than ever before. She was now in full view of the guards on the wall. If they were still loyal to Birle as Silver believed, then she saw no reason to hide from them.
In fact, if one called down to her, she might even convince them to blow Distress Horn on her behalf. Or, at the very least they might head to the gate house and light the signal for the horn to be blown. Rose was not too picky just now as long as it got done.
But none of the guards on the wall seemed interested in her mad dash. A couple of them glanced her way, but went back to work immediately. It would be no use trying to engage them. It would only waste time she didn't have.
Rose's body was not used to running. Because of the exertion, sweat poured down her brow. The makeup on her face smudged even further, causing black circles to form around her eyes.
But at last the gate was in sight.
"Stop there, ya hussy!" Someone was exiting the castle at a similar speed to her own.
The princess immediately recognized the man as the one who caused her to leap from the window in the first place. 'He's a fast runner!'
Had he been tracking her this whole time? Or had he just gotten lucky when using the main exit from the palace?
It didn't matter. Rose was only a little bit ahead of him, and he was closing in fast.
The keeper of the inner curtain's gate heard the yell and turned to view the chase. However, he did not immediately intervene.
"Help!" Rose called out to him, not sure what else to do. "Please!"
The man behind her caught her arm and lifted her into the air by it. "Thought you could get away from Boulder? Think again!"
Rose cried out again, gaining attention from other men on the wall. None seemed sure how to react.
"What is the meaning of this?" The gatekeeper finally asked.
"Stop him, Sargeant. He's hurting me!" Rose was in pain, but not nearly as much as she was pretending to be.
"Put her down!" The gatekeeper ordered.
The Sergeant outranked Boulder, but Rose knew that would not stop the Lakilian soldier. All of the men on the wall now paying attention...that was a different story. Boulder had no desire to get cross-ways with them just now.
He let go of Rose and she collapsed into a heap.
The sergeant looked into the young woman's face. She must have been badly beaten to have such dark circles around her eyes.
Palace staff were never treated in this manner.
"She was caught stealing," Boulder explained.
"I was not," the princess defended herself. She held up her hands in her own defense.
The gatekeeper's face paled. "Did he do that to your hands?!"
Rose stared at her shredded palms. They looked even worse than they hurt. It appeared like she had been caned.
"I didn't steal anything," she said pathetically. "Boulder just didn't like that I was trying to leave him."
"Why ya little liar!" Anger flashed across Boulder's face. He leaned down as if to strike her.
The sergeant had seen enough. "Unhand the maid and go back to work, soldier. I will take the woman into my custody and get to the bottom of the matter. Dismissed."
Boulder could see he was out matched. No pay day was worth his life if they should find out he was an imposter before the takeover was complete.
He reluctantly backed away and headed into the castle. The sergeant reached down his hand to help up the young woman.
Under all the discoloration, the maid must have been quite pretty. Not that it mattered. No woman should be mistreated the way he saw just now.
"Are you alright?" The man looked into her eyes.
Rose smiled at him. The sergeant had no accent nor any of the gruffness of the Lakilian men. He also looked vaguely familiar.
"I am doing better now. Thank you, sergeant." The princess dipped her head in the courtly manner. She furrowed her brow.
As they walked back towards the gate, the princess's gaze traveled up he nearby stairs. Above their heads hidden from view at the top of the wall was the signal fire. If lit, the horn would be sounded from the outer wall. Rose was so very close.
The man could sense the trouble in her spirit. "Is everything alright? I meant it when I said you would have to stay with me for now, but I will make sure you are safe. I can even call a healer..."
"Everything is not alright," Rose admitted. "In fact things are quite dire." The princess paused, trying to gauge the reaction of the sergeant before continuing.
He looked at her with concern and surprise. If he had shown even a hint of nervousness or deceit, the princess had resolved to give some story and look for a different person to trust.
"Please tell me what bothers you." The sergeant slowed as they reached the gate. He seemed grateful that the woman did not try to run away from him. That only confirmed her innocence in his mind. "I will do what I can to make things right."
"What is your name?" The princess asked.
"Sergeant Iker." The young man gave a small tip of his helmet with his answer.
"Well, Sergeant Iker," Rose leveled her gaze at the soldier. It was time to lay everything out. "I am Princess Rose. I know it sounds crazy, but I we are under attack from within. If we do not get the Distress Horn blown, the entire kingdom will be lost. We need to light the signal. And we need to do it now."