The Great Escape
Lex
The girl lies limp on the dungeon floor. I’ve drank more than I meant to this time, and I feel her blood running through my system. Since she first started to visit me a few days, she’s returned several times, and my body has begun. to heal itself. My ribs still feel tender as the bruises fade around my torso. I haven’t felt this strong in weeks.
I gingerly get to my feet, stretching my limbs. I try not to glance at herl. The faint beat of her pulse echoes in my ear, so I know she’s still alive. This time, she insisted I drink straight from her. She said she was willing to sacrifice herself for my cause. I have no idea why. So… if she doesn’t die from blood loss, she’ll become a vampire.
I don’t have time to dwell on that now. Most of the guards around the dungeon are gone as she said they would be. They have left the castle to fight in the battle against Crimson Peak. Knowing my chance will never come again, I reach for the key in my pocket she gave me and unlock the cell door.
It opens, and adrenaline pumps through me, urging me on. I glance back at the girl on the floor and decide to leave the cell open. She saved my life, and I can’t leave her trapped in there. I can’t take her with me as she’ll slow me down.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “And thank you.”
I have no time to waste. I walk quickly through the dungeon finding the staircase. After months of living in this castle, I’ve discovered all its little hidden hallways that the servants use to not be seen by the nobles. I make use of them now as I duck into hallways to avoid the remaining guards in the castle.
I could bump into any of the servants, but I’m hoping most of them are huddling together in the kitchens while trying to weather this out. They’ll be the ones who will want to be informed of any changes. There are still some servants doing their chores around the castle. Work is work whether there’s
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The Great Fren
a war going on after all.
I make my way to the laundry room to change into something else. The women are hard at work, washing and drying clothes. My bright platinum hair is eye–catching, so I grab a knitted cap along with clean pants and a shirt from a clothes line. Ducking out quickly before anyone can see me, I go into a broom closet and change clothes
Keeping my head down, I exit the broom closet, avoiding eye contact with two passing guards who are distracted talking about the battle. I find myself in the kitchen. The cooks are chatting about the battle, too. I’m on a mission, and I can’t afford distractions. Grabbing a bowl off the table, I use it to cover half my face as I pass by a group of servants hurrying toward the dining hall. The nobles haven’t left the castle and still expect to be served their meals on time.
I walk quickly past the hallway leading to the dining hall, trying to avoid the swerve of nobles coming in to eat. They expect me to move around them, and I roll my eyes as I have to swivel like an eel to pass. I manage to make it down the hallway and turn the corner toward the north tower. The hallway is empty, and my freedom is close.
I turn around and see if the coast is clear and drop the bowl on the ground before I make a run for it. There are footsteps behind me, and the clunking of armor alerts me that it’s the guards. I reach the door leading to the north tower and turn back to see them looking down at the discarded bowl on the ground. I slide into the north tower and lock the heavy wooden door with the deadbolt.
Out the window, I see the gardens below, so I head toward the stairs and make my way down, cursing the numerous steps. I’m slightly out of breath when I reach the first–floor landing, but I don’t stop. I open the door that leads to my freedom and to the outside.
The eastern gardens are filled with grotesque antique statues King Peter’s ancestors had commissioned or taken from other kingdoms they conquered. They are covered in vines and moss, largely forgotten by the gardeners some of which are trimming hedges and tending to flower bushes at the moment.
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I sprint past them, and they don’t pay any attention to me. I can see the crop of trees where a car should be waiting for me. I just need to reach it and can drive out of here. By the time anyone notices, I’ll be home where they can’t reach me.
“Lex!”
I stop. I don’t know why I do that. I should keep running, but the desperation in Opal’s voice forces my feet to hault. Turning around warily, I see her dressed in a white muslin gown, looking more innocent and sweeter than she’s capable of being.
The knit cap I’m wearing has flown off in the chase from the north tower to the gardens. My hair is exposed for everyone to see. I absently run a hand through my dirty locks as I look at her.
Opal’s blue eyes are wide, pleading. “Don’t go.”
“I can’t stay,” I tell her. “We’re at war, Opal. I have to get home.”
“That’s why you should stay,” she insists, stepping closer to me. “If something were to happen, you’d be safer here.”
“I am not safe here. Your father and brother both want me dead.”
She shakes her head. “They want Kane dead. You were just the closest thing
to him.”
“I’m done being their proxy for my brother. I have to go, Opal.”
“Lex, please!” she exclaims, her face crumbling. “Kane is going to lose this war, and my father will want him dead at all costs. When that happens, my baby won’t have a father anymore.”
Opal has a hand on her belly, and I can see the rounded shape of it through the thin muslin. That protective tenderness makes me want to stay and take care of her. That baby inside of her is innocent and is already being used as a tool in this mess. It’s not fair to this kid who hasn’t even been born yet.
“I need you to stay so this father will have a baby,” she continues. “I’ll persuade my father to make you the king of Crimson Peak, and we can rule.
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together. We could have everything.”
The suggestion rings through my ears like a gunshot.
“That is Kane’s throne, not mine,” I retort. “It was never mine. I will not take it from him.”
Opal bursts into tears. “Lex, please. I can’t have this baby alone. I don’t know. how to be a mom. I don’t know what to do.”
She starts sobbing, ugly wet tears. Opal hates looking less than perfect, so she covers her face in her hands. I move closer to her and pull her into my arms. She sobs into my chest as I try to soothe her.
“Everything is going to be okay,” I assure her. “No matter what happens, I’ll take care of the baby. I promise you, Opal. We’ll get through this together.”
She sobs harder. “I was supposed to be married by now. Not pregnant out. of wedlock like some cheap whore.”
“Well…”
“Will you marry me?” She looks up, her face wet from tears. Her eyes move back and forth frantically as she contemplates her next desperate move.” You were right. It’s your baby. You want to do right by this child, don’t you?”
I stare at her in disbelief. She’s finally acknowledging the baby is mine, and she wants me to marry her. I’m very uncomfortable with all of this. I’m not. sure whether to believe Opal is serious or if this is some kind of a terrible joke.
“We don’t like each other,” I point out. “We have nothing in common but sex.”
“That’s better than most arranged marriages.”
I don’t want to entertain this insanity more than I already have. I place my hands on Opal’s shoulders and tell her, “I will be there for the baby, but I have to go now.”
She grip my shirt with her sharp nails. “Don’t go. My father’s men will hunt. you down like a dog.”
The Great Escape
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I pull her hands away from me. “Not if I get out of this cesspit of a kingdom
I first.”
“Lex!”
We both turn to see Jacob walking briskly toward us. He’s carrying a sword in one hand. Oh shit. Now I really had to go.
“We’ll discuss co–parenting later,” I say to Opal, kissing the top of her head and gently patting her belly. “Hang in there, Junior. Papa is coming back.”
I make a run for it, but my wounds haven’t healed completely, and I’m slower than usual. Jacob reaches me and tackles me to the ground. He
uries his sword into my shoulder, and the sharp pain of metal cutting through skin. and muscle makes me hiss in pain. Jacob keeps me pinned to the ground with the sword buried in the earth up to the hilt.
“Did you really think I was going to let you get away?” he snarls. “You owe
me an arm.”
“Rainer.”
“What?”
“Actually, it’s that Rainer owes you an arm. I had nothing to do with you losing a limb even if you did deserve it.”
He pulls out the sword, dirt and blood flying into the air. He raises the sword and aims for my heart. Jacob isn’t a bad swordsman. I would be dead if Rainer hadn’t taken his dominant hand.
Jacob isn’t as sure while wielding a sword in his other hand. I push his arm away, and he stumbles to the side. Without his other arm to steady him, he falls to the ground beside me. His blue eyes are wide in shock and humiliation
“I hate to knock down a man with one arm and a sharted leg, but sometimes exceptions have to be made,” I quip. “I really do have to go,
I Jacob. You understand.”
I move to leave, but Opal grabs my arm, her nails digging into my skin again.
“Don’t go, Lex. You have to stay. You’re going to make things worse,” she insists.
“Opal, let me go!”
Jacob hobbles to his feet. He raises his sword at me. I look between him. and Opal and decide whether he could hurt his own sister. Without thinking about it, I pull her behind me and out of harm’s way.
Jacob snarls. “Did you really think I would hurt Opal? I let myself be captured
for her.”
“I don’t know. Maybe you lost your mind in the dungeon.”
Jacob gestures to the side angrily. “Get away from her. We’ll fight like real
men.”
“Fight like real men?” I repeat in disbelief. “I don’t have a weapon!”
A shovel seems to fly out of nowhere and land on the ground in front of me. The gardeners who have become my saviors are nowhere to be seen. Great. I’m bringing a shovel to a swordfight.
It’s better than nothing.
I move away from Opal, and she looks like she’s about to cry again. I grab the shovel and raise it against Jacob. He scowls at me and then lunges. The sword collides with the shovel with a metal clang.
Jacob raises the sword again, and I parry with the shovel. The shovel is heavier and clumsy to use. If Jacob was fighting with his other hand, he would have made quick work of me by now.
Sword meets shovel. Our faces are only separated by his blade and the garden tool.
1 raise an eyebrow. “Give up?”
“Never.”
He pulls back then lunges again.
The Final Battle
Lex
The sword hits the wood of the shovel, digging into the weathered wood. Jacob’s blue eyes glare into me. I don’t think I’ve ever had someone hate me this much before. The ferocity with his attacks tells me that he truly wants to kill me.
This isn’t just a mean boy wanting to pick on someone. Jacob wants me dead.
The wood begins to break under the weight of the sword and Jacob’s strength. I step back, and he takes the opportunity to swing again. The blade catches me in the arm, easily slicing through the thin layer of fabric. I’m wearing. I hiss my arm begins to bleed, staining the white shirt red.
Jacob swings again, and I dodge, opting to tackle him to the ground. The sword flies out of his hand as I force him on his back. I drop the shovel and wrap my hands around his throat, cutting off his air. He scratches at my arms with his one hand, his legs trying to kick me off, but I sit on his torso to steady myself.
I have never truly wanted to kill anyone. I never thought I had the stomach for it, but looking down at Jacob and thinking of all the shit he and his family have put my people through, my grip tightens on his throat. At this moment, his father is marching into my kingdom and spilling the blood of my people. This is the same man who threw me into the dungeons to die.
“Lex!” Opal cries out. “Let him go!”
I ignore her. Jacob begins to turn blue.
His sister is at my back, trying to pull me away. “Please let him go! Please!”
I shake her off, and she lands on the ground. I instantly regret it and get off Jacob to check on her. Opal has landed on her hands, breaking her fall. I fuss over her, hoping I haven’t truly harmed her or our child.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her, checking over her for her wounds. “Are you okay?”
Opal slaps my hands away, impatiently. I’m fine. The baby is fine.”
From my peripheral vision, I can see Jacob has recovered. He’s on his feet. He picks up the shovel I discarded. Hk around me for any weapon and see Jacob’s sword a few feet away. I crawl toward it as fast as I can.
Jacob is walking briskly toward me, ignoring his sister’s pleas to stop. My hand grips the handle of the sword, and I turn around just as he raises the shovel to strike. I lunge upward and the blade goes through his chest, piercing his heart. His blue eyes widen in shock before he goes down, the sword sticking out between his ribs.
Opal lets out a horrified scream and runs toward her brother. He’s gone completely still. I’ve done it.
I’ve killed Prince Jacob.
