Chapter 22



Two of the boys lead the three men away from the house. One was Matthew, the boy who had originally helped, and the other was a slightly older boy around the age of twelve.

They expertly made their way through the darkened streets, never once passing anyone. It was like they were shadows, unnoticed by all.

"Where are we going?" Andrew asked them.

"Shh!" the older boy whispered back, his eyes not swaying from the direction they were walking in.

The walk was only short, and when they reached the edge of the village they stopped. There weren't many houses around, and those that were there looked very abandoned. It was similar to the area that Elle had lived in in Grea.

The streets were overgrown and the houses seemed to be falling down. It was difficult to see anything else. The moon was bright, but it still didn't help show the surroundings.

"Where is it?" James asked, looking rather confused. There was no on around.

"She's in one of the buildings. I don't know which one." The boy replied.

"How are we supposed to find out?" Oscar asked, looking around in dismay.

"We know someone who can help," the boy started, his words almost silent, "But you have to wait here while we get her."

The men nodded and the older boy walked off.

He walked in the direction of Rose's house. She was the wife of the leader of the group. It wasn't her choice to marry such an appalling man, as she was forced to marry him for money. In order to keep the villagers happy Rose was ordered to look after them. It was an unspoken agreement that Rose would help people out and no one would question the group's activities.

The boy knocked on the front door. Immediately Zelroth answered the door. He was part of the group, and lived with the leader and Rose. He was the leader's right hand man.

"What do you want, little boy?" he spat.

"We need Miss Rose, sir." He began, trying to look as innocent as possible. "My Ma is sick." He lied.

"Rose!" Zelroth yelled back into the house.

She quickly came and when she saw him she sent him a secret smile whilst Zelroth was focused on something else.

"What's wrong, Noah?" She asked, a stern voice.

"My Ma is sick!" he repeated.

Rose nodded in understanding. She knew that he had come for something else. His mother was the heathiest woman in the village, and she had never once asked for help.

"I'll be coming now." She replied bitterly. Noah knew that she wasn't really bitter. It was all an act.

Rose grabbed her coat and slipped it on. When they were out of the building they began to walk in the direction of his house. Once they were out of sight they stopped.

"What's going on?" she kindly asked him.

"There's three men. One is a royal. They've come for a girl." He replied.

"Can you take me to them?" she asked him. He nodded his head and they walked back to where the three men were left.

When they got there Rose gestured for them to follow her. She took them into another old building that was never used. The lock had been broken for years, and the door was stiff. It took all of Rose's strength to shift the heavy door.

"You'd best go home," she said to Matthew and Noah. They both nodded and walked away. She closed the door behind them.

"You're here for Elizabeth?" she asked, studying the men.

They nodded their heads.

"We are. She is my little sister," Andrew explained.

"You must be the prince!" She said, quickly dropping into a curtsey.

"There is no need for that." Andrew said, motioning for her to get up.

She quickly blushed and stood up straight.

"Can you help us then?" He asked.

"Yes."

"What is happening around here? Why do they even want her?" Oscar asked.

"My husband is an evil man." She began. "All he wants is lots of money. But he has a hatred towards the royal family. His father was a guard and was murdered at the castle. Ever since he was a child and found that out he has pledged to destroy the royals."

"Why would you marry him?" Andrew interrupted, his eyebrows furrowed.

"I was sold to him by my father. Anyway, he came up with a plan to hurt the royal family, and earn money at the same time. So he employed Zelroth and some other men to kidnap the princess. He plans to sell her back to the palace or to the highest bidder. I think he will only give her up to the royals if the King and Queen give up their throne and all of their money. That will be the price." She finished.

"Why didn't he try to do this years ago?" Andrew asked.

"He had to wait until she was sixteen. There was a man, an advisor, from the castle who helped with the kidnap. He was made to do it by my husband. It was his one condition that the princess would have a normal childhood. He wasn't a heartless man. His own son had been brutally killed by my husband. He didn't want another child to have a completely destroyed life." Rose told them.

"Who was it?" Oscar asked.

"His name was Johan. I know nothing else of him." Rose said apologetically. She really did feel bad that she didn't have much information to give them.

"There was a man called Johan who killed himself about two months after the kidnap." Oscar said, thinking back. They had all been shocked, and had assumed that it was because of his son being killed.

"How come she ended up with Mr. Winters?"

"Well, they didn't want to keep her in Vriles, as the place is known for being horrid They were right as well. The palace folk came and searched Vriles straight away," she replied, "They wanted to send her somewhere less obvious. So they went Grea, as it is known for being so peaceful

"She ended up with Mr. Winters as his wife and daughter had died and he was alone. It was his debt to pay off to my husband. He was a gambler and made some stupid bets while he was in Vriles."

"But how come she doesn't remember us? Surely she would come back to us at the castle if she did. We are her family." Andrew asked. It just didn't seem to add up.

"I'm not overly sure about that. But there are drugs around here that can make people forget things. They are dangerous substances, but I know that my husband is involved. He pays people to farm for him, and I'm sure that he grows them somewhere."

"That's awful," Andrew relied. To think that his sister had been put into so much danger hurt Andrew.

"We have to save her!" James said. "Can you help us, Rose?"

"There is only so much that I can do. You'd best go when they are in there with her. It is impossible to open the door with no key, and they will notice if I give away a key. Besides, there are guards who will kill you if you get close. They aren't watching when there are people with her."

"So we will wait for them to unlock the door and then attack?" Oscar probed.

"Yes. You need to be careful when you do it though. I can give you patrol times but I know nothing more."

She gave them the information that they needed.

"I must be off. You cannot mention this to anyone. They will kill me!" She said, and she left them alone.

The two boys had already left, leaving Oscar, Andrew and James alone. They had to wait for around an hour, and then they could fight.

The nervous energy radiated around the room as they waited. They would soon see Elizabeth again. They could only hope that she was okay.

Rose had done an amazing thing. She had risked her life to help, similarly to what the family had done. The men couldn't be thankful enough. They would surely be rewarded in time.

James was unbelievably nervous. It was his fault that she hadn't been found, and now he hoped more than anything that she would forgive him. It was a huge mistake that he had made.

He was, however, slightly excited. He couldn't wait to see Elle as he had missed her terribly. He didn't know how he would cope when she lived at the castle. It was so far away. James would never see her.

They heard voices outside approaching, and all three of them turned towards the door. They could hear the footsteps go past, and the lock on the next building could be heard.

"It's time to save my baby sister," Andrew whispered, as he shuffled out of the door, closely followed by Oscar and James.

A/N- My new cover is made by latenightlaughs :)

Thanks for reading! :)

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