It was spring, and the rains were pouring down. The sound of the rain beating the roof filled the small room.
The door opened, and Horak came in. He took off his wet cloak, and hung it on the wall, while the servants helped him take off his muddy boots.
Horak started speaking before the servants had even finished. “It’s just as we feared. The order has already been given. And not just Henry. All three of King Trad’s children are in danger.”
“They’re in a secret place now,” Peter said. “But we can’t hide them in the city for long. There are too many spies”
“They should have left this city years ago,” said Philip. “It’s a miracle they’ve survived this long. That boy can be so stubborn…”
“Does he at least realize now what danger he’s in?” asked James.
“Yes. Now that it’s too late to do anything about it, he’s finally realized his situation,” said Peter.
“The boy can be stubborn,” Horak agreed. “He should never have pressed his claim to the throne. We all told him that. But it only hastened the inevitable. Richard would have had him killed sooner or later anyway.”
“But if he had left the city when we told him to…”
Horak waved his hand to stop Philip. “None of that matters now. How soon can we get him out of the city now? The soldiers have already begun searching the houses.”
“We’ll sneak them out the South Gate tomorrow morning,” Peter said.
“How?” asked James. “You’ll never disguise them as servants. Their hands are way too soft.”
“They can pass as soldiers. They’ve all had military training as part of their education. They can act the part. And we’ve managed to get some spare uniforms.”
“But what about Princess Grace?”
“She’s had the military training as well.” Some of the members looked shocked at this, so Peter added, “It’s a bit unorthodox in the case of a princess, but Princess Grace herself insisted on it.” Still looks of surprise. Peter cleared his throat and made yet another addition. “I’m afraid the three of them have had a lot of freedom over the years. Richard and Queen Eleanor have given them very little in the way of parental supervision, so they’ve mostly been on their own since King Trad died. And because of their status as princes and princess, no one has ever been able to tell them ‘no’. They’ve been used to getting everything they want since they were five.”
“No wonder the boy is so unmanageable.”
“Yes, they are spoiled,” Peter admitted. “But they have good hearts. King Trad’s spirit lives on in them. In spite of everything.”
“Getting back to the disguises,” said James, “What will you do about Princess Grace’s hair? It’s far too long to ever…”
“The princess has already cut it. She cut it all off herself just this evening. She still has a beautiful face, but she could possibly pass for a young soldier as long as no one looks at her face too closely. We’ll try to put her in between her brothers as they walk out.”
There was an awkward silence that followed, so Peter decided to say what was on everyone’s mind. “I know it’s risky. But this is the only chance we’ve got. We can’t risk leaving them in the city another day.”
“And then once they’re out of the city?”
“Yes, what then? Nowhere in the country will be safe. Richard will send his soldiers into every town and village to find them.”
“We’ll have to send them to a foreign country. It’s the only place they’ll ever be safe.”
“The problem is that Richard has done too good a job of making peace. He’s allies with all the other kings. There’s no kingdom nearby that’s not friendly to Richard.”
“We still have some connections. We could possibly arrange something with a foreign court…”
“But that could take weeks, or months. We don’t have that kind of time.”
“We’re sending them into the Western Forest,” said Horak. “It’s their best chance. The forest is so big, and so thick, and so dark, that they might just be able to elude Richard’s army for a few weeks.”
“But they’ve grown up in the palace! They’ve never foraged for food in their life. They won’t last two days in the forest.”
“We’ve managed to make some arrangements,” Horak said. “At the edge of the forest is a woodsman’s cabin. He’s a friend. At that house, we are sending several bags of food: bread, and vegetables, cheese, dried fruits and figs, and some nuts. They’ll go to this cabin and pick up these bags from the woodsman before they enter the forest. They should be able to live for at least a week off of that food.”
“And then after a week?”
“We’ve found a ranger who will guide them through the forest. He will help them find their way through the thick foliage, and help them make shelter, and then once the food runs out, he will help them forage for new food.”
“No one knows their way through the Western Forest. Not even the rangers.”
“A few rangers do. Do you remember Midor the Ranger?”
“Yes, he was the greatest ranger of the kingdom. But Midor died years ago.”
“Not before he passed all of his knowledge on to his son.”
“His son? His son is only 16! We’d be sending children to lead children!”.
“He is the son of Midor. He is the greatest living ranger in the kingdom. If anyone can keep the princes and the princess alive in the forest, he can.”
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