The Traitor's Daughter

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

By the time that Elizabeth and the guards had reached the palace, it was nighttime, the moon hidden by the storm clouds that brewed overhead, lightning flashing in the distance. Mary had been right; it had taken a day, if not longer, to reach the palace. It had taken a few
extra hours, as there had been more checkpoints and more guards than they had anticipated.  They had had to move slowly, and had even had to stop for a few minutes until the king's guards passed as they made their rounds.

The entire journey had been more nerve-wracking than Elizabeth had expected, and there was more than one occasion when she thought that she would be discovered by the guards. They would have taken her alive, of course, and she knew that she wouldn't have been able to escape again like she had at Sir Richard's. The king would make sure of it.

The three of them stood in the trees beside the palace, their horses ditched many feet back in order to keep the sound of them whinnying from getting the wrong people's attention. They crouched down behind bushes and kept their eyes on the guards who walked back and forth, their eyes on the forest.

Elizabeth was tired and her legs were cramping from being crouched down for so long, but she was ready to get everything over with. She had plaited her hair halfway through the journey, her appearance polished as it usually was, but the wind had pulled the majority of her hair free, and the humidity had made it frizzy. Her dark locks hung around her face in messy waves, and she constantly had to reach up to tuck it behind her ear, but it was the least of her worries.

She had changed into a looser fitting black gown in order to be able to move more freely, and it helped her blend in with the shadows better. She wore a black cloak with the hood pulled up over her head, which helped to block out the chilly spring night air, and wore a pair of riding boots to make it easier to move around faster.

"We're supposed to get past all of those guards?" Elizabeth whispered, her heart beating fast. She wasn't a fast runner, and knew for a fact that she wouldn't be able to make it to the palace without the guards noticing.

One of Mary's guards, who she learned was named Michael, turned to her and shook his head. He pointed towards the trees in the distance to Elizabeth's left, which caused her to look at him with confusion.

"I don't-"

The guard stopped her from speaking by putting his hand over his mouth as one of the king's guards came uncomfortably close to their hiding place. Elizabeth could smell his body stench from where he stood, and she held her breath in order to keep from gagging from the scent. She was also paranoid that he was close enough to hear her breathing.

"Could have sworn I heard something out there in the woods," the king's guard shouted to a guard standing on top of the palace's battlements.

"It's a forest for Christ's sake. It was likely an animal, you fool."

The guard nearest them looked in their general direction again, then nodded.

"I hate not knowing what we're looking for. They tell us to be on the lookout for something that doesn't belong. What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

The other guard yelled something unintelligible in return, which caused the other guard to laugh. He shook his head and went back to his post, which was a safe distance away.

Elizabeth took a deep breath through her nose, glad to be able to breathe in fresh air again.

Michael removed his hand from Elizabeth's mouth, then nodded towards the guard on her left. He gently grabbed Elizabeth's forearm and motioned for her to move forward slowly. He led the way, staying crouched down in the bushes, and crawled along the ground, Elizabeth and the other guard, John, following suit.