The Fairest (Sample)
Chapter 12: The Escort

MAGEIA UNKNOWN

“Release me. You cannot take me to Prince Gideon,” Mageia ordered as she struggled against the strong grips of her escorts.

The redheaded Knight Escort tightened his grip on her arm and grinned so wide it made his goatee stretch into a sharp triangle. “Why not?”

“I may be a thief, but I do have some dignity,” she said, still feeling her skin crawl after the commander’s assault.

Right when the commander pressed against her, her defenses dropped dead to the floor. His closeness was too hot for reasons she didn’t want to feed into and made her gut churn. The gentleness of his breath and his touch almost forced her pleading words to catch in her throat. But she managed to psych herself out. How? She’d never figure it out. She just wanted the man to get off. Her words of alliance seemed to work, but thank the Ordained for the intrusion.

Lisa, Trekon’s wife, advised her at thirteen years of age, when she became a woman, that boys and men would begin to see her differently. Her body and mind would change and mature, which may lead to falling in love one day or, as bad luck would have it catching unfriendly eyes. Preserving her virtue was one of her main priorities, but never had Mageia thought someone would try to steal it. She trembled, realizing how quickly she had frozen in place under Eron’s weight, and her knees buckled. If she could, she wouldn’t mind giving him a good beating of her own.

“According to the gods, you have no dignity, Strange,” the Knight Escort barked, lifting her back onto her feet and pressing her onward. “Keep walkin’.”

Mageia rolled her eyes and scoffed. “You Fair people are delusional.”

“Just shut your mouth,” said the dark-skinned soldier. He wasn’t much of a talker.

She recalled how easily they extracted her from the commander and saw what little power he had. No wonder his temperament was short and his orders sharp and direct. Then again, that eerie smile he gave in his strange altercation with the handsome, blue-eyed soldier could not be ignored.

What were they concealing, and what was a good letter? Whatever it was, it had something to do with the scroll the commander took and the pin that her silent fingers had slipped from his pocket when he came to reclaim her.

She swirled the red pin between her fingers, happy that it was a perfect fit for her shackles. However, thanks to Merlin and his unnecessary use of force, she couldn’t unlock them.

Their winding pathway led them through the palace to an outdoor corridor with long rows of archways slowly being smothered with colorful vines. The palace swallowed them up on both sides. Its grayish tan stone blocks were larger than her and both escorts’ heads together. She cringed, just imagining the pain of them crushing a person.

Her eyes skimmed the walls, the windows, the entrances, the pillars, adjoining pathways and courtyards, the guard outposts, the gates, the trees, and even the slaves dressed in their plain uniforms for ways to escape. “I will say this, good sirs, if that prince puts a finger on me, I will harm him. Best return me to the Doomed and leave me there to rot until I’m taken to the Dungeons.”

The soldier snorted. The knight halted for a second and snatched her up to his snarling nose. “Try harming His Highness, and you won’t have to wait to rot in a cell. I will relieve you to the hands of the gods without hesitation.”

Mageia glared and wanted to rip his large nose right off his puny face. “Just like the commander, you all are just stupid, loyal little doggies.”

He raised a hand to strike her, but the soldier caught it.

“Aye, Merlin. Why don’t you go and let me take her the rest of the way?”

“Yeah, Merlin, listen to your friend,” Mageia said with a smirk.

Merlin growled, then grumbled a curse and retracted his hand. “Be quick about it. It’s my break, and I want to use all of it before Gideon returns.”

“I’ll meet you at our spot, no worries. Let me take the Strange to Gid’s quarters afore you do something you’ll regret.”

The Knight Escort huffed and shoved her into his companion. Giving her one last glare, he spat to the side and strolled away.

Mageia relaxed her shoulders, but the ordeal was not over yet. The dark-skinned soldier had an unreadable expression in his eyes as he watched his friend leave.

What’s this one up to? She wondered.

“Come on,” he said, gripping her arm and nearly puncturing it. He yanked her onward until they entered a different part of the palace.

“Quick now.” He glanced side to side as if he was truly up to something.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Just shut your mouth, Strange, and keep walkin’.”

She caught eyes with slaves walking by, who didn’t look so happy to see her or the soldier. She tried fumbling with the lock on the shackles, but the pin’s point was wet from the sweat on her hands. Dropping the pin would be the end of another escape attempt.

“Sir, you seem like a good soldier. Don’t hand me over to a reliq. I’m a pure girl. I don’t want this to mark me to darkness.”

“We all are marked for darkness either way,” he mumbled, eyes focused on the task at hand.

Two guards turned into the hall some feet away, and instantly, the soldier yanked her down the closest hall.

Yes. He is up to something. “Um… Are you trying to help me escape?”

“You wish,” he murmured, eyes dark and focused.

A tinge of fear unraveled in her nerves. Panicking was not an option. However, her body fell into defense mode, alerting her this man may have bad intentions like the commander and Gideon. She tried forcing them to a halt.

“Please, don’t try anything stupid,” he grumbled.

“But what’re you doing?”

His grip loosened just a bit. Enough to plant a good strike with her elbow into his exposed gut. He arched over with a grunt, but wasn’t incapacitated. She managed to take a few steps before he grabbed her. His strength lured her backward, and he used her momentum to spin her around towards a wall– face first.

“Agh!” she screamed, beginning to hate ending up like this.

His whole hand gripped the back of her head, preventing her from relieving her face from the cold wall. “Stop it, I tell you. Gods above, if we both are caught, we both are dead. Now stop it.”

“Why?” she muttered.

“Just be still, girl,” he ordered.

She wanted to bombard him with questions. Was he working for the Blesseds? Did he have good or bad intentions? She hated when people kept things a secret, as if everything needed to be a surprise. What could be worse than meeting Prince Gideon?

Men’s voices arose from a hallway. He cursed, grabbed her, and yanked her down another hall. They were moving fast, and she walked in curious silence.

Mageia rubbed her cheek, most likely swelling more, and noticed they entered a very dull part of the palace with brown shaded walls and dark marble floors. No beautiful paintings hung on the walls, and they passed not a single window.

“Are we in the slave quarters?”

“Shut it.”

“I don’t understand,” she said. “Where are you taking me?”

“To see the prince,” he muttered.

Mageia had read the soldier wrong. He was still taking her to see the perverted Prince Gideon. Perhaps one of his lairs was located within the slave quarters. She shook her head and tried to slow them down, but he pulled her as if she was made of wool.

When they broke free from the narrow hall, they entered a circular foyer with a high ceiling and two exits with propped double doors. One of the adjoined halls possibly leading to the palace’s east wing because the walls seemed to have come to life again with paintings, drawings, and windows. Two slaves standing deep in conversation glanced at them and quickly dispersed, as if afraid to be caught in the area.

Instead of taking one of the two halls, they approached a stairway that curved up to a single entry.

Mageia wondered why the guard wasn’t afraid of the slaves. Weren’t they just as loyal as the guards and soldiers? Or perhaps the slaves were not loyal to any Royal because of their crude punishment of lifelong servitude? She didn’t know what to think or what to do.

One thing was for sure; since they entered this part, she saw not a single guard, soldier, or knight. Which meant she could try to attempt another move. She took some steps with the soldier, then abruptly stopped. Before he could react, she sharply twisted right and elbowed him straight in the forehead.

“Agh,” he grunted and stumbled downward. The awkwardness of their position forced him to release her. She tried to duck and slip past him, but he recovered faster than she expected. He grabbed the ripped portion of her dress, reclaimed his balance, and gave her a great shove, slamming her into the opposite wall. She slid down a few steps before catching her balance. She gritted her teeth as he grabbed her again, except this time, she raised her right foot and kicked him in his lower leg with the back of her heel.

He yelped again and stumbled back to the bottom of the steps in pain. He still blocked her way, so she turned and dashed up the stairs.

“Stop!” the soldier shouted.

Once at the top, she entered the only doorway and prayed she would replace a few hallways to escape into. But instead, she met a corridor of windows with double doors at the very end. She scoffed aloud and continued running, hoping the doors were unlocked. She passed ugly dark curtains that sent chills up her spine, but she kept moving. She slammed into the doors and tried the knobs, and cursed.

They were locked.

A warm breeze met her from the open windows. She ran to one, pushed away the thick curtain, and froze in place. Nothing but air stood between her and the other side of the building. Not even a ledge to climb on protruded from the windows. She backed away just as the soldier jogged to a stop.

“There’s nowhere for you to go.”

Mageia glared at him and tucked the pin away into her dress pocket. She prepared herself to fight the stocky soldier who held out his hand to put her at ease.

“Get out of my way,” she said.

“I can’t let you go, Strange,” he said. “I promise you. He won’t hurt you. You will be fine.”

“I don’t want to go inside,” she groaned. The door probably led into Prince Gideon’s chambers.

Suddenly, the door flew open. Mageia spun around and froze in place. A servant man, tall and well-dressed, came to stand in the doorway. He looked at them like a father scrutinizing his children. His thin lips opened and closed, opened… and closed, unsure whether to speak or stay silent.

“I can’t believe you actually did it, Dargany.”

The soldier she outwitted seemed to drop his guard a bit and dragged a long sigh.

“I can’t believe it either.” He shook his head and pointed to her. “This one’s a handful, for sure.”

The servant cut her a glare and raised his chin with great authority. “Come inside.”

“No,” Mageia said.

“See? A handful.” Dargany unsheathed his sword and aimed it at her neck. She backed away from the point. She wouldn’t be able to outwit him now that he was armed. “Go inside. Rasheem, we took her from the commander, so tell Gris to reduce his time to at least an hour, no more. I’ll be back to fetch her then.”

“Fine,” the servant said. “Come, girl.”

“Wait,” Mageia said. “I thought you were taking me to Prince Gideon.”

“That’s the jest of it,” Dargany said, keeping his sword aimed.

“What?”

“You’re not here to see Gideon, young lady,” the servant said. “This is Prince Grisonce’s quarters.”

“Prince Grisonce?” She said, feeling sick all over again. “You mean the Strange Prince?”