Nanowrimo 2023 Best Bit and Word Count - Day 6 (Patreon)

Today I added 1,835 words to my project, bringing the total word count to 10,049!

“Your Highness?”

Ayden froze, her hand tightening on her cane. Adelaide stepped around her, putting her body between Ayden and the voice. Ayden turned slowly, her eyes widening as she took in the source of the voice.

It was the boy. The one who had wanted to dance with her. He seemed...almost relieved to see her. It was an expression Ayden wasn't used to seeing anymore. His eyes shown bright behind his round glasses, the shade of red warmer than that of the Red Queen's.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently. "They didn't hurt you, did they? After what happened today, I mean."

"What would it matter?" Ayden asked, her voice flat and bitter.

The boy -- no, he was too old to be called a boy anymore -- flinched, a look of shame coming over him. "I know it means little to you at this point but...I am sorry for what my aunt did to you. You didn't deserve that."

Ayden froze. His aunt? The Queen of Red was his direct relation? And yet, he was apologizing for her. That was more than anyone else had done, even if it wasn't his place.

"Who are you?" Adelaide demanded.

The young man straightened his posture. "I am Percival di Vermillion, first son of the Red House of Vermillion. And...I want to help."

"You want to help?" Ayden echoed, not bothering to hide her skepticism.

"Yes," Percival said, his voice breathy in some kind of relief. Maybe he was just happy she hadn't laughed at him. She almost had. "I want to help you lift this curse the queen has put on you. It wasn't right for her to curse you. If she was angry, it should have been with her husband for being unfaithful, not with you for simply being born."

Adelaide scoffed. "For once, a noble with some sense."

Ayden set a steadying hand on Adelaide's shoulder as she stepped around her. If this man was sincere in his offer to help, then the maid's protectiveness was unnecessary. She took a few heavy steps towards the young nobleman, periwinkle eyes boring into him. He didn't flinch, though he did shimmy awkwardly under her gaze, a flush spreading over his cheeks.

"Do you remember my debutante ball?" Ayden asked him.

He seemed surprised by her question. "Yes. You seemed so lonely up on the dais, waiting."

"You felt bad for me," Ayden suggested.

"I empathized," Percival corrected. "It was a loneliness I was familiar with."

Somehow, Ayden believed him. She forced a smile, wondering absently if it was obvious she was out of practice.

"I'm leaving," she told him plainly. "If you want to help, you'll have to come with me now."

Percival's eyes hardened with resolve, and Ayden found she quite liked the look on him. "Alright. We'll take my carriage. I have a trunk of supplies in there that we hadn't yet brought in."

"Supplies?" Addie asked suspiciously.

"Weapons, traveling rations, a few extra changes of clothes in case we ran into inclement weather," Percival explained as he started walking away. He paused, however, realizing the others weren't following him. He flashed them a sheepish look. "I'm not going the right way, am I?"

"No," Addie said bluntly. She smirked good-naturedly. "Follow me."

Addie led them through another hidden door behind a tapestry, this one leading to a steep staircase. Ayden struggled, leaning heavily on her cane as she descended. It was hard when she was barely able to bend her left knee. Addie shot her a sympathetic look over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," she murmured.

Ayden said nothing, focusing of getting down these cursed steps without falling. Her progress came to a grinding halt as Percival suddenly stopped in front of her. He shifted into a rather awkward stance, his arms out behind him at a strange angle.

"What are you doing?" Ayden questioned.

"I'll carry you," Percival offered. "Climb on my back."

Ayden's face contorted as if she'd been fed something particularly bitter. "Absolutely not!"

"You are struggling," Percival pointed out plainly. "Let me help."

"No! So long as I can walk by my own power, then goddess damn it, I will!"

This. This is the one thing she feared more than the abandonment, the neglect. Pity. Poor, pitiful princess with her dreaded curse. She would not be coddled simply so that others could feel assuaged from their guilt. That was not the help she wanted, nor what she needed. If the Red noble could not understand that, then he could get out of her way.

A look of realization passed through Percival's eyes, and he straightened. "I understand. My apologies, Your Highness. Please, let me know what you need from me."

"I need you to move," Ayden said, her words clipped. "The more time we waste, the more likely we are to be caught. Surely your aunt didn't expect you to be gone this long."

Percival laughed lowly, though there was no humor to it. "You'd be surprised how little my aunt expects of me."

At the end of the staircase was a long, narrow hallway. The ceiling was so low that Percival had to crouch slightly to keep from hitting is head. Even Ayden had to keep her head ducked.

"This leads to a hatch in the stable floor," Addie explained. "I wasn't going to take us this way, but when the young lord mentioned his carriage, I knew we'd have to go this way. It's the only way to get there without getting caught in the open courtyard."

"What way were you going to go?" Percival asked.

"There's another passage that leads to a cellar door just inside the castle gate," Addie said. "The servants use it to transport food so that they don't track dirt from the vegetables through the main hall. it's a slope rather than a staircase since they don't want anyone tripping and spilling all the food."

"What's this passage then?" Ayden asked.

"An escape route," Addie answered plainly. "A way to get the royal family out of the castle should a revolt happen."

Ayden found it odd that she was never told about this. Then again, perhaps that was the point of it being a secret. But then, how would Addie know about it? She'd only been in the service of the royal family for a couple of years now. Maybe it was simply something the servants knew? Or perhaps she was simply good at eavesdropping on the guards. Ayden supposed it didn't matter at this juncture. So long as she got out of the castle, she didn't care how Addie knew.

Addie paused at the trapdoor, pushing it up slightly to get a peek at the stables. Determining it to be clear, she pushed the latch the rest of the way open and climbed out. Percival followed quickly after her. Ayden, however, hesitated at the bottom of the ladder. It wasn't terrible tall, the trap door mere inches above her head, but she'd barely managed with the steep staircase. This would not be possible for her.

"Lord di Vermillion," she called. "I need your help."

The young lord leaned into her line of sight with a curious expression. "Yes, Your Highness?"

"I need you to lift me out," Ayden said, a splotch of shame coloring her cheeks. "I can't climb up on my own."

"Oh! Yes, of course!" Percival sputtered. He moved to sit on the edge of the opening. "Give me your hands, Your Highness."

"Take my cane first," Ayden instructed, passing it up. "Be careful with it."

Percival set the intricately designed cane to the side like it'd shatter at the slightest mishandling. He turned back to reach for Ayden, taking hold of her arms as she reached up to meet him.

"You'll have to jump a little, Your Highness," he said with a hint of apology. "Can you do that?"

"I still have one good knee left," Ayden said in response.

She focused on moving her knees, hoping that it would be enough.

"On the count of three," Percival said gently. "One. Two...three!"

Ayden jumped, putting as much force behind it as she could. She could feel something move through her veins, heavier than blood, and to her surprise her glass knee actually bent. She shot up with more force than either she or Percival expected. She ended up bowling him over backwards, landing on top of him in a way that knocked at bit of air from both their lungs.

Their eyes met as they caught their breaths, every exhale mingling. She could feel his grip tightening ever so slightly on her arms as a yet another flush turned his cheeks the color of roses.

"My apologies," she murmured.

"Oh, no. It's fine," he responded, tripping over his words as he finally let go of her arms.

She rolled off of him, taking hold of her cane in the same movement. She saw him offer his hand to help her up, but she waved him off. Hoisting herself up on her cane, she noticed that strange sensation running through her veins once more. Again, her glass knee bent more than she expected. She frowned.

"Your Highness!" Addie called before Ayden could even begin to ponder.

She hobbled over to where Addie was standing with metaphorical hackles raised, Percival not far behind. Leaning against the Red Kingdom's carriage was the young man from Green, his sharp, chartreuse eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Took you long enough," he teased fiddling with the open pocket watch in his hand. "I know you probably had to go the long way 'round to get here, but really. I thought you might have been caught. Look! I even had the time to get the horses fitted."

"Who are you?" Ayden demanded. "And what do you want with us?"

The young man's smirk didn't fade as he tucked his pocket watch away and took a bow. "Laurent Pine, son of the Green House of Pine. As for what I want..." He stepped forward, a hand out with a palm upturned as if offering something...or expecting it. "I want to see the Princess of White take her vengeance on the people who wronged her. That is what you're going to go do, isn't it? Or did I misunderstand that display you put on today in the ballroom? I must say, I appreciated the dramatics."

"Vengeance?" Percival repeated. Ayden could feel his questioning gaze.

"They made me a monster in their own minds," Ayden stated. "Now they will face the monster they created."

She turned to Percival, leveling him with a hard stare, daring him to argue with her. Daring him to turn back now. A multitude of emotions passed through his eyes, though his face remained unchanging. Shock, fear, hesitation, and then, finally, acceptance.

"Alright," he said gently.

"Excellent!" Laurent said, clapping his hands together with a wide smile. "Now. What, exactly, is the plan?"