Erivale: The Lost Princess

Chapter 19: Part 3

I felt the wind get knocked out of me as Ulric and I landed in a clump on the damp grass. I rolled off of him and lay staring up at the stars and the aurora. I grinned at the sight; it had worked. I did it.

"Amberleigh, what the hell was that? You could have gotten yourself killed." Ulric growled as he looked down at me.

"Ulric, we're both fine. You don't have to be the hero all the time. I can take care of myself."

"You might wanna listen to her, she threw you through the portal like a scolded child." One of the rebels snickered, and Ulric's face stormed over in annoyance.

"Enough of the chit chat," Soren said. "We don't have much time before the palace grounds are swarming with soldiers and men. Right now, it's still too chaotic in the palace, they will be working to organize all the civilians."

"Come now, your majesty, we best get your belongings and head on our way." Another rebel held out his hands to me. He looked younger than me by a few years and had black curling hair that flopped over his eyes.

I accepted his hand, and he helped haul me to my feet. The second I was standing, I felt myself sway as my head spun. Black spots filled my vision, and I nearly crumpled back to the ground if Ulric hadn't caught me.

"You used a lot of energy, making such a large portal. You need to rest," Ulric spoke gently in my ear.

"Yes, I thought this might happen. We will have to find our way back into the palace without magic," Soren spoke. "Good thing, I know exactly where to go."

A rebel I came to know as Sven scouted out our path back into the palace and came back, informing us that it was clear. My portal had spit us right outside near the garden maze. There were boats in the water that we planned on taking to escape.

Even with Sven's information, our progress was still slow to remain as stealthy as possible. We all held our weapons ready for any battle. Luckily for us, the commotion at the front of the palace was still drawing the majority of the guards and soldiers away from our path. Once inside the palace itself, there were only a handful of moments where we had to stop and hide to prevent being seen from guards.

Soren was leading us, and at first, I was confused at the direction we were heading, because it most definitely wasn't the way to my room, but the second he opened a small door revealing an old stone hallway that was completely black I understood. This was the passageway that Soren had taken every time he delivered notes to my room.

It was almost entirely pitch-black inside, but Soren seemed very familiar with the path. The air was cold and damp against my skin, and I could feel the hem of my dress growing heavy as it was saturated with foul water. Whatever these passageways were, they were absolutely ancient. The ceilings were low, and I had to duck my head to prevent knocking the crown off. Everyone else was crouched even lower save for Gerard.

The passageway was silent except for the echoing drip of water that seeped from the stones and the clopping of Gerard's hooves. Finally, the ceiling of the passageway began to slope up, allowing everyone within the party to stand freely.

Soren began running his hands along the stone wall, and the rebel, Ogen, held up a small stone emitting light. It was the magical equivalent of a flashlight, and I briefly wondered how it was made.

A soft click could be heard throughout the stale air of the passageway, and the door silently began to open. Soren pressed his body against the door, forcing it open wider. Ulric and Sven went in first, they held their weapons in front of them, ready for any threat.

There were no sounds of a struggle, and everything seemed safe, so the rest of us followed through. As I stepped over the border to enter my room, I felt the slithering feeling that I was doing something wrong. It was hard to justify the feeling that I was breaking into this room as it was my own bedroom, but the sentiment still followed me as somehow the room felt as foreign as it did on my first day.