Ayrin's Escape

The thunder of foreign soldier voices boomed through the hallways, striking fear into the hearts of all inside the castle. A knight sprinted through from room to room, his eyes darting, searching. The walls shuddered. The enemy was trying to ram down the front door and they did not have much time before the soldiers were upon them. The knight kept running. Staff were cowering in every corner and they watched the knight with empty eyes.

In the empty chamber beside the throne room the knight finally came to a halt. Inside, King Leolt was tying his young daughter’s cape around her shoulders with barely hidden nerves. His shaking hands double knotted the loops beneath the girl’s chin. As for the princess, her eyes were wide but unwavering.

“Sire.” The knight cleared his throat before speaking. Under ordinary circumstances he would be reprimanded for speaking to the king out of turn, but these were no ordinary circumstances. “The Northerners will breach the castle shortly and our soldiers – what’s left of them – are outnumbered.”

King Leolt did not look up. He helped his daughter pack a sachet, filling it with food, gold and clothing. “What of the ship Sir Reinjar spoke of?”

“Sir Reinjar sent message that the ship is still available, sire, but…”

“There’s no time for niceties, boy.” King Leolt gestured for the knight to continue talking when the silence held its space. “Every second of our time is precious now.”

The knight shuffled from one foot to the other before replying, “There is only passage for one, sire.”

The king’s hands stilled. He looked at his daughter for a long moment before turning back to the knight. “You’ll escort Ayrin to the ship and get her to safety.”

Princess Ayrin’s hands flew to her mother’s pendant around her neck. “No!” she cried, her eyes searching her father’s. “We both need to go. I won’t leave you, Father!”

“Prepare for the passage,” King Leolt commanded the knight, waving him away before kneeling before his daughter. Ayrin threw her arms around him and Leolt became hyper-aware of how small she was, how young and unprepared for the world. He should have had more time before this day came. Maybe if he hadn’t made that alliance, or if he gave up the Yirric territory when the Northerners demanded it his kingdom wouldn’t be falling to its knees. Leolt held his daughter tightly, trying his best to ingrain every detail of that very moment into his memory.

King Leolt broke their hug and placed his hands on Ayrin’s shoulders, meeting her wide eyes. “You are going to take that passage and board that boat, girl, do you hear me? Our men will keep you safe until you get there but after that you need to use that brain of yours to stay safe until you get to the Islands. You’re smart like your Mam. Don’t talk to strangers, don’t tell anyone your real name or where you’re from, you hear? On the Islands you need to find the Fruih family, you remember them from a few summers ago at the feast – find them, they’ll take you in.”

The princess’s eyes were filled with fear. She clutched at the pendant around her neck, worrying the large stone between her fingers. The noise from outside was nearly ear-deafening.

“I can’t do this,” she whispered.

“You can. You are a Noerichian.” He met his daughter’s fearful eyes and willed the last of his waning courage to flow to her, unspoken. “You are the future of our family and our kingdom, Ayrin.”

The sound of splintering wood echoed through the castle followed by blood curdling screams. King Leolt grabbed his daughter’s arm and dragged her out of the room. They ran through the halls with the sound of weapons clashing and people screaming pursuing them. They rounded a corner and collided with someone. Ayrin screamed.

“Your Highness!” The knight exclaimed as he composed himself.

“They’ve broken through the gates. We need to leave, now.” King Leolt’s voice no longer hid its desperation – he knew they were out of time.

The trio made their way through the castle; the knight strode ahead, sword drawn and ready and the king clutched his daughter’s hand while the princess held on to her bag trying her best not to think about the fact that it may be the last time she saw her home. They made their way to the library, checking over their shoulders every few seconds. Once inside the knight barricaded the door with the heavy oak desk and some chairs while the king put his shoulder to one of the ceiling length bookshelves, revealing a narrow passage behind it. Grabbing one of the already dimming lanterns from one of the library tables, King Leolt took a few steps into the passage. He held the lantern out in front of him and beckoned for his daughter to follow. The passage was barely wide enough for one person and filled with dust and cobwebs but it was an escape route that dated back to the Great War.

The knight brought up their rear and closed up the passage behind them with the iron handles on the back of the bookshelf. They made their way down the passage, treading over rodent bones and questionable stains.

“What’s that noise?” Ayrin whispered, stopping in her tracks.

The king and the knight halted, listening. A loud thumping noise was coming from somewhere behind them.

“They’re trying to get into the library.”

The trio hastened their pace, nearly running. The passage seemed never ending, winding this way and that way, lower and rising, narrowing and widening. It was nearly half an hour before they reached the tunnel’s end. The outside world seemed unnaturally bright after being inside the passage for so long. The trio looked around, trying to make sense of their surroundings. They were in overgrown farmland. A few tiny, desolate houses dotted the distance but other than that they were completely alone.

“Sir Reinjar told me he would arrange to have horses left for us,” the knight said, searching around and looking for said horses. He waded through the knee high grass, heading towards a wooden shack-like building at the very edge of the field. The king and princess followed.

“Father…are the soldiers going to get us?” Ayrin asked in a small voice, hand clutching at her pendant again.

“Not if I can help it, Ay,” King Leolt replied. “I’m going to get you somewhere safe.”

The shack looked even worse up close – it looked like it was held together by a few rotting planks and sheer willpower. Inside stood a brown mare, munching lazily on some hay. The knight walked up and grabbed the horse’s reins.

“I was promised two horses,” the knight fumed. “Damn that Reinjar.”

Ayrin clung to Leolt. “What now?” the king asked, stroking his daughter’s hair. He already knew what it meant – one horse meant that one of them would have to stay behind or they would risk moving too slowly.

The knight held out his hand, offering the horse’s reins to the king. “You and the princess will make the journey to the ship, sire. I’ll leave a trail leading in the opposite direction in case the Northerners try to follow.”

King Leolt took the reins and gave the knight a nod of respect. “You are a good man who has served me and my kingdom well.”

“For the love of Noerich.” The knight stood up straight and touched his hand to the kingdom’s emblem on his breast.

“For the love of Noerich,” the king repeated, holding his hand out for the knight to shake. They grasped hands and for a moment were equals in their cause. Once the moment passed the knight gave instructions on how to find the ship that would smuggle the princess out of the kingdom.

Within minutes Ayrin was seated on the horse in front of her father. The knight confirmed the directions and with final greetings they left. They pushed the horse hard, knowing that every mile they put between themselves and the enemy mattered and that the ship would not wait forever. It was hours before they reached the wharf. Aylin kept nodding off, leaning into her father’s chest and Leolt wished he could stop and hold onto the moment forever. Once they reached their destination, the pair dismounted and continued on foot, making sure to stick to the shadows and stay out of sight. They made their way to the very end of the wharf, Leolt searching for a ship named The Joyous Morning. He found it at the far end, isolated from the rest of the vessels. It was a tiny ship and it had seen better days. The Joyous Morning was painted on the side of the ship in peeling paint.

King Leolt made sure his hood was up to obscure his face; by now the Northerners would have seized the castle and started their takeover of Noerich, making his capture and execution their first priority. They approached the vessel and asked one of the workers, a scrawny boy barely in his teens, to fetch the captain. The boy returned followed by a hulking sailor who looked the king and princess up and down.

“What do you want,” the captain asked in a booming voice, taking in the pair’s elegant clothing with a critical eye.

“I believe Reinjar arranged passage with you, Captain.”

Realization flashed in the captain’s eyes and he waved the boy away. “So he did, your highness,” he spoke the last words mockingly. “I also told him I only have space for one in the cargo hold and it’ll cost you. I’m not one of your blindly loyal Noerichians you can guilt into free service.”

“Just my daughter.” Leolt placed his hand on Ayrin’s shoulder. She was staring at the captain wordlessly. “As for payment…”

Leolt put his hand into Ayrin’s satchel and pulled out a purse heavy with gold coins and tossed it to the captain. The captain opened the purse and inspected its contents, unimpressed.

“The Northerners are offering more than this for information on your whereabouts.”

Leolt’s heart dropped. “I don’t have anything else. Please.”

“I wonder how much the Northerners will pay for you and that little girl of yours?” the captain threatened. “It’s nothing personal, I just have a crew to take care of and money is money.”

Leolt tightened his grip on his daughter’s shoulder, wondering if they could run and make it out alive. There was a long silence. Ayrin gripped her mother’s pendant so hard it cut into her hand and took a tiny step towards the captain.

“Money is money no matter where it comes from, right?” she asked in a shaking voice. Her father tried to pull her back, unsure of what she was doing but she continued. “This necklace is made from one of the biggest Adlocade stones ever found and it’s a royal heirloom. It’s worth more than the castle up on the hill and probably worth more than the reward the Northerners are giving.”

Ayrin unclasped the necklace, feeling as if she were tearing off a piece of her soul. It was her mother’s necklace, a last memory she was now offering to this man who would just as easily betray them as offer them safety. She held out the necklace so that the captain could see the stone. The deep purple gem glinted magnificently even in the weak light. Adlocades were all but gone and one this pure was rare indeed. The captain’s eyes shone with greed. He reached out his hand to take it.

“Do we have a deal?”

“Money is money, kid,” the captain said, grabbing the pendant. “We have a deal.”

Leolt let out a breath of relief he didn’t know he had been holding. His daughter would be safe, come what may.

“The ship departs in two hours. You’re going into a crate, kid, to make sure we pass any surprise checkpoints. Say your goodbyes and get your ass up on deck,” the captain said with a head motion to the ship before boarding.

Ayrin turned to her father, tears suddenly streaming. He embraced her and held on tight, stroking her hair and whispering reassuring nothingness in her ear.

“I can’t leave you,” she sobbed, clutching onto Leolt’s shirt in desperation. “How can I just leave you and never come back?”

“You aren’t just leaving, you are saving our kingdom. Everything Noerich is, is inside you and you carry that legacy with you. Noerich will survive because you survive. You are strong to do this, Ayrin.” Leolt took off his crested pin and stuck it on Ayrin’s cape. “You may have had to give up Mam’s pendant today, but you’ll carry a piece of me from here on out.”

Aylin traced the crest with her fingertips. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Ay. More than anything in the world.”

The exchanged one last hug before Ayrin boarded the ship. Once on the deck she waved to her father who looked a lot smaller and more vulnerable than she remembered. The sailors ushered her to the cargo area of the ship and helped her into a crate filled with animal feed.

In the next few days en route while stuck in a small space between animal feed and overwhelming grief and home sickness, Ayrin made a vow. One day she would go back. One day she would reclaim her home and all she lost – or die trying.