The Damsel and her Knight

22nd ☾ Ember and Smoke

"Crescent moons?"

"Strange things will happen today, Alec," I warned him. "And I must go. I'll see you tonight."

"Where are you heading?" Alec asked, as I was deciding which path to take.

"I don't know yet. I need to find a place to hide," I replied, throwing a rueful smile to him before I started to run. Holding my skirt up, I went deep into the forest, until I reached a dirt road that I couldn't recognize.

From here, the sound that the soldiers made could hardly be heard. I had to get as far away as possible. By now, Henry knew that I had finally appeared once more. I'd been out of his sight for years, and considering the extent he went through to find me before, I was certain that he would never let me off that easily.

Not this time.

Catching my breath, I stopped from running when I reached a river. Was this far enough? I wondered to myself. Just to be sure, I climbed a high tree, trying to locate where I was. When I reached the top, I saw that the town was located northwest from here. I couldn't go that far away, either. It would be harder for me to find my way back.

I still had time, and it felt wasteful for me to just wait out here. I already found the missing prince, and he had already agreed to meet me tonight. The only problem left was if I could make him agree to the conditions indicated by the scroll.

It really felt odd for me not to do anything and just wait. I wanted to go to town and see what was happening there, but disguise was not an option anymore. If the guards would look into my belongings left in the inn, they would be able to figure out how I'd escaped their eyes for years.

I wondered where Lancelot went off to. There were also questions that I needed to ask him.

Alec had also confirmed that Lancelot didn't ask him anything, after Lancelot had claimed that there were several things he had to ask Alec. I wondered why he let that chance slip by? Did he run out of time? If he really needed his answers and he even snuck out of the castle to come here, why didn't he ask them?

There was one way to gain my answer to all this, and that was to find him. Where could he be?

If he was hiding from the soldiers like me, I thought of one place where he could hide. It did have a basement, and it was a place that we both knew. Heck, I even told Alec about it. The only problem would be the guards, if they were patrolling near the area.

Deciding whether it was a good decision to go to that place right now, I considered the pros and cons of what might happen. I would have my answers if Lancelot was really there and he would be willing to share his childhood stories with me. I might be able to find the missing pieces of the conflicting events that surrounded this mysterious seal. Even if I couldn't tell him about the seal, he might know a few things indirectly associated with it.

I would only check, I'd told myself. There was nothing much to do while waiting here, anyway.

I went ahead to look for the prince of Incantasi. After a short trek, I arrived near the shack, stayed on watch, and confirmed that there were no guards around the place before slipping inside.

A few hours before dusk, the shack was marginally lit up by the sunlight coming from the spaces in between the plank of woods that covered the windows. I couldn't tell if Lancelot was really here and he had already heard me come in.

Lifting the same floorboard that he'd used before, I saw the wedge. It was already pushed forward, indicating one thing. I put back the board that covered it, heading for the trap door.

Like expected, it was already unlocked.

I took a deep breath, lifting the trap door that led to the basement. There was an ample light that came from the bottom of the well, but I couldn't see him.