SAVING THE DAMSEL

Chapter 3 Countess of Nithsdale

The maid brought the bowls out to the children.

"I'll make sure the children are fed breakfast too, on me." The Alewife opened her food service window to spy.

The children marched upstairs with their bowls of potato soup and slept on the floor.

Petunia and her adult troops partied. Her men chugged jugs of the lowest-quality spoiled ale, prepared with fermented swill, boiled swamp water, and bootleg honey, to become drunk.

"A fan of the queen bought four more rounds," the Alewife shouted from her service window. She counted the money again. "No! Seven rounds of the good stuff, with free boarding, and steak for breakfast."

Edgar gave her more money. "When Alva comes, give him the hard stuff."

"They'd steal if you didn't pay," the lady whispered. "But they'd leave the kids to go hungry."

"The officers, and even half of the prisoners, chipped in. I want you to know where this money is coming from. Thank you for your help." Edgar tipped his hat, staggered outside, sat on the broken sidewalk, and waited until the six unicorns pulled the police wagon beside him.

An officer pointed at Edgar. "Step into the drunk tank. You're too heavy for me to lift."

"Whatever you say." Edgar stepped inside. A prison officer sat by him.

Drunks slept in the back of the cart. It began to move again.

One of the guards wrapped his arm around his friend. "Edgar, we hate arresting you again, but you're my favorite drunk, and thank you for helping us."

"Better than your least favorite." Edgar belched.

"At least you never tried to drive a carriage," the guard said.

"I gave up my unicorns." Edgar pretended to fall asleep.

Fifteen minutes later, he strutted inside the prison.

"I'll work off my debt in the clinic. Call my sister and tell her you'll sneak her through. I want the prince to be able to die in his own bed." His eyes shifted to Blackstone's cell.

The officer spoke. "We've tried to break him out, and I'm lucky I'm alive. Can your sister actually help?"

Edgar rested his beefy hand on the guard's shoulder.

"Florence is brilliant," a prisoner said from behind. "She carried me across the battlefield, and I think she treated men like the prince, but I'm not sure."

Movie Theater Basement:

Florence practiced with a wooden ax and then switched to a laser sword in the basement before her dad picked her up.

He held a bag of food. "I'll take you to the station."

She climbed into his carriage.

"Wendy says, I might be the lucky person who wins a solar car built this year. I'd rather someone else receive the blessing. Getting parts from The Lyric Kingdom or Earth is next to impossible."

The driver sat up front and, in three minutes, they stopped at the train station.

Her dad walked to the front window and purchased Florence a yellow ticket.

He frowned at her, and he handed her the food. "You have to waste another day retrieving that lazy brother of yours. His talents are wasted."

"The guard told me he isn't drunk, but is ill from withdrawals, and I am worried. Don't tell anyone. We're sneaking past Ava's men, but Edgar is ill."