Page 37 of Unkindness of Crimson Ravens
For Sandra, for Eleanor and Frederik, I could do this.
Making my way down to the stables, I checked every corner of the castle for unwanted eyes. The castle was still asleep, longing for the lively conversations of its residents. Bright moonlight intruded the empty rooms, indicating the start of a new day. I had to hurry.
One of the many useful skills my Royal life had taught me was to walk silent. Though, hiding from trained Royal knights for some privacy had been somehow easier than leaving a castle full of vampires undetected. Nevertheless, I managed to make my way down to the stables without anyone spotting me.
The weather was colder than before, as though the winter itself warned me to stay away from the insanity I was about to walk into.Should I go back before it is too late?The unwelcome thought crossed my mind.For Sandra, for Frederik, for Eleanor.I repeated the words, forcing my legs farther into the stables.
My trembling hands blindly fought with the straps of the saddle; too afraid of being caught, I had not taken a candle from my room: a decision I deeply regretted now.
“Going for another run, Your Highness?” The voice froze my body in place.
Damnation. I was so close!
Forcing my hands to obey, I slowly managed to get the straps in the right place, aware of the gaze on the back of my head. I swallowed the lump in my throat, slowly turning toward my intruder. “For a ride,” I shrugged innocently, taking my seat in the saddle.
I could only hope the saddle would not fall down during my journey, but that would be a problem for later. Right now I just needed to get rid of Francis: who now grinned at me as though he’d found a naughty child stealing sweets from the kitchen.
“Is that so?” Francis smiled, crooking his head to the side. “Did no one teach you proper manners, Princess? Lying is rude.”He frowned at me. “Let's try this again, shall we? Where are you going?”
My mind wandered, trying to come up with some kind of believable excuse. Why hadn’t I thought of this earlier? My planning skills surely needed some practice.
“Save me the trouble, and just tell the truth, Princess.”
Groaning at my own foolishness, I gave up. “I am going to get the proof you need.”
My honest answer made Francis’ brows frown in confusion.
I rolled my eyes at him. “I will get the documentation my mother keeps in her study about all of the attacks. Roxanne said you need proof for the nobles. I know where to get it.” Getting comfortable on the saddle, I tried to adjust my dress.
For a moment Francis just stared at me, pure disbelief written on his face. “Are you out of your mind?” he whispered at last. “That is not your responsibility.”
“I thought you wanted me out of my room,” I countered. “I know where the Queen keeps them, I can do it.”
Francis laughed so hard that, for a moment, I wished to run him over with my horse. “What?” He finally said. “You think you can just knock on the front door, and kindly ask them to let you in for old times’ sake?” His teasing tone challenged me to act upon my wish.
Did he think me a fool? Ridiculous.
“No,” I groaned. “I know every hidden passage in the palace. If you would move out of the way, by the time I get there everyone will be going to rest. No one would even know I took a step inside.”
Francis massaged the bridge of his nose. “Moon, please help me,” he murmured, as if actually praying. “And where are you going to hide when the sun is out?” He did not give up. To be frank I had not thought about this part yet, but surely I would’ve found shelter. Francis narrowed his eyes on me when I didn’treply. “Why do you care anyway? It is not like you care about the well being of our kind. And human villages were never in the interest of aroyal.” He spat out the last word.
Did he truly think that simply because I’d been born Royal, I cared not for humans?Of course I do!I wanted to scream at him, yet perhaps he wasn’t completely wrong. The only reason I’d decided on this dangerous adventure was the thought of my siblings suffering. Perhaps I was the egocentric Royal he painted me to be. Nevertheless I wanted to help, even if it were selfish motives enticing me to act. “I will not stand aside while my siblings are in danger,” I admitted.
Sighing, he put a saddle on the brown horse beside Annabelle. “All right then,” he said after a long pause.
“What are you doing?” I narrowed my eyes.
“You think I am cruel enough to let you go straight into a death mission without my protection?”
“I do not need protection!” I absolutely did.
“‘Tis not for you, Princess. The documents you are about to carry cost a fortune, someone must be there in case of trouble. We don’t want your little adventure to be in vain, now do we?”
My lips turned into a thin line. “Fine,” I agreed reluctantly, preparing for the longest night ahead of me.
A few hours into our very awkwardly quiet trip Francis took out a glass flask filled with some clear liquid: as though he’d been prepared for the trip. Or perhaps he always had a bottle with him no matter where he was: something told me it’s the latter.
“Would you like some?” he asked me, catching my gaze.
