Royce continued to grip Aubrey's hand as tightly as he could. He brought Aubrey running towards the back of the palace. Where there is safer than at the front of the palace.
Of course some of Jackson's troops also attacked the rear of the palace. But they all looked defeated and many died. The royal soldiers behind the palace seemed to be able to deal with the attack. It was very different from the soldiers who were in front of the palace, because they were all shocked by the sudden attack like earlier.
"Prince Royce!!" Athena immediately called Royce. The woman looked a little confused. Her left sleeve looks torn.
Royce was immediately worried. Just as he saw Athena, his grip on Aubrey instantly slipped. Making Aubrey pause for a moment, then Lucy pulled her to quickly sit behind the soldiers who lined up tight.
"Athena, are you all right?"
"Yes, prince. I'm fine."
"Then why are your sleeves torn off?"
Athena immediately looked at the torn sleeve of her dress. There was a thin scratch on the skin of the girl's left arm. "Ah, I was just trying to fight---"
"Athena has guarded Queen Victoria from an enemy attack that managed to infiltrate the palace, Prince." Said a soldier who immediately interrupted Athena's words. The soldier was indeed standing near the two of them, for the enemy was still shooting a lot of arrows.
Hearing those words, Royce immediately grabbed Athena's arm lightly. "Does it really hurt?"
"No, just a little sore. But I'm fine. The wound isn't bleeding at all." Athena said.
"Listen to me, I know you can do martial arts. But not in the current situation. Jackson's army is huge and their bodies are bigger than the rest of us. Even if you try to fight them one by one, you will lose to Athena. And... I am very grateful that you have taken care of my mother."
Athena smiled and nodded slowly. She understood that Royce was currently very worried about everyone, including herself.
"Ah, Queen Victoria over there. She's always been by Lucy's side." Athena said. The girl pointed to the west. There you can see Victoria, Lucy, Athena's parents, and Aubrey.
They all sat in the middle of the line of soldiers that surrounded them. They were all safe because each soldier carried two shields. One shield is used to cover the top, and one shield is used to protect themselves.
"Look, there is a very safe place. Only my mother and I know the place. To get there safely, there's a culvert that leads to it. The entrance to the sewer is over there." Royce said. Then he pointed to the lower part of the back wall of the palace. There you can see a circular hole covered by an iron door.
Athena looked at the circular door made of iron. She had always thought that the hole with the door was a drain, but it wasn't.
"Go in there and lead them there. But where are the other servants?" Ask Royce.
"Things are very chaotic, prince. They all went somewhere. They saved themselves and didn't come back. Some of them . . . have been killed." Athena said in a limp voice.
Then Royce grabbed Athena's shoulders. "All right, then you must fulfill my request. Go together with my mother, Lucy, Aubrey, and your parents. I cannot come with you. My father and King Philip have decided to lead the war which is imminent in a few minutes. I must help them, Athena."
"But, Prince... what if---"
"I really trust you. You will be safe. No one knows where the culverts are going. The culverts will go underground, and you just have to crawl along in the direction of the culverts. Ten meters from the exit of the sewer, there was a small fortress with an iron door. The building was covered by many vines. You will all be safe in there. There can only fit ten people. I have to go to the front of the palace again, Athena."
Athena's eyes immediately filled with tears. Of course she was very worried about Royce. The girl couldn't speak anymore.
Then Royce immediately handed his sword to Athena. A sword that is not too long, but very sharp and still wrapped in the sword's sheath.
"Take this sword with you just in case." Royce said.
"Are you going to catch up with us with the others?" Athena asked. Her voice trembled. A sign that she was currently very afraid that something worse would happen.
Royce smiled and gently stroked Athena's head. "I'll try to come back under any circumstances. That's my promise."
"No, prince. You should have promised to return safely, not trying to come back under any circumstances. Your mother and sister will always wait for you to come back with your father. You must promise like that!!" Athena said firmly.
Royce tightly gripped Athena's left hand. The man just smiled a little. "Do your job quickly. See you later, Athena."
And Royce immediately ran back into the palace.
While Athena was still frozen where she stood. Her right hand trembled slightly as she gripped Royce's sword.
"Go, Athena. Do the orders of Prince Royce." Said a soldier earlier. "I will escort you until you all enter the sewers."
Athena nodded, then she started to move quickly. The girl broke into the line of soldiers that circled Victoria, Lucy, Aubrey, and her parents.
Athena conveyed all the plans she had discussed with Royce. All heads nodded in agreement.
Then the line of soldiers slowly shifted towards the entrance of the sewer. So that the six people are safe until they enter the sewers.
The entrance to the sewers was made of thick iron. Athena had a little trouble opening it because the metal hook was very hot due to the hot weather today.
Ten minutes later, Athena managed to open the door and she was helped by her father. Then the girl went in first, but Victoria immediately said. "I'll be in the back row."
Everyone looked at Victoria. "No, Your Majesty. You must be behind Athena. I will be in the last row." Athena's father said.
Victoria shook her head. "No, just do what I want!! I want to wait for my husband and son to catch up!! I won't go if you don't obey my orders!!" The woman said. Victoria even burst into tears. Of course she was very worried about Arthur and Royce.
Everyone was still silent, then Athena grabbed Lucy's hand. "Then Lucy must be behind me. I promised Prince Royce that I would take care of both of you." Athena said.
"Then I will be in front of you, Your Majesty." Athena's father said.
Then Victoria nodded in agreement. There was no time for more talking. They entered one by one in the order that had been set.
Athena was in the front position, followed by Lucy, Aubrey, Athena's mother, Athena's father, then Victoria.
*****