Crown Princess Dylan

Chapter 1 (Part I)

"Your Majesty, you need to get up! Now! The palace has been overrun!" Jace slammed his palms against Dylan's bedroom door. Seriously! I know you heard me! Come on, Dylan! "Princess! Get up now or I'm coming in. The King has charged me with protecting you, and I plan to do just that." Nothing. "Dylan, this is your last chance."

Not so much as a sign indication she'd heard him, though he knew she had.

Patience worn thin, Jace kicked down the door to the Princess's chambers. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, panic tore through him. She wasn't there. No! I can't lose you again. Not after last time!

"What are we waiting for?"

Jace whipped around. Dylan stood near the door, a satchel over her shoulder, arms crossed, her long, wavy black hair looked almost blue in the midnight darkness, and the same annoyed look he'd known his whole life. "By the Greats, Princess! What are you wearing?"

Dylan looked down. The second she'd heard the first of the guards shout a warning, she'd ditched her gown for a beige tunic, black leggings and leather boots as precaution. "It will be easier to escape if we don't look like royalty." In one graceful move, Dylan had shut her bedroom door, though it wobbled precariously. "Here. Put these on." She handed him a tunic, vest, some baggy pants and a pair of worn leather boots. "The Adoans won't let us out the front gate if a Cordonian guard is escorting a 'servant' out."

"Who said anything about the front gate?" dylan glared at him. Jace turned his back to her. "Fine." as he changed, Dylan was a whirlwind around the room, grabbing anything she thought could be a weapon. Finally, her eyes settled on the coronation dagger. Though she was still to young to assume the throne, her mother for all intents and purposes, Queen Viola, had convinced her father, King Grayson to allow her to be the guardian of the dagger, as a representation of her responsibility, to prove she could handle the pressure of the throne after what happened with her older brother Wil. It made no sense to Dylan, but it had been important to her mother, so she had went along with it. Now, she slid the dagger into a sheath around her waist. "Dyl, I look ridiculous." jace said, foregoing all sense of formality. "I hope this plan of yours works."

"It will." Dylan said, with such determination that jace was taken aback. "Now take your sword and sheath and hide them under your clothes." Jace followed her instructions. "Go wait outside, I have to grab something."

Jace stood impatiently in the hall. Why do I let her boss me around? He heard the faint echo of footfalls in the distance, and not knowing if they were friend or foe, decided it wasn't worth Dylan's and his lives. "Dyl! Come on! Someone's coming!" And here we go again. I know you heard me, Dyl.

The door flew open. Dylan stood, a heavy black cloak draped over her shoulders and buttoned down to her waist. She held another bag, a leather rucksack. The cloak covered her satchel but he noticed a large lump on her back as she shoved the rucksack at him. "What's under the cloak?"

"Something you'd best hope we have no need of." She replied darkly, pulling her hood up to hide her face.

The footsteps in the distance grew louder. Jace grabbed Dylan's hand and took of down the corridor, took a right through the hall of Kings, and finally stopped at the hallway crossroads. "Which way?'' He panted.

Dylan released his hand gently, instead of the harsh yank he expected. Wait, since when would Dylan let me hold her hand? She looked down both corridors, then began arranging the fallen paintings around the table shoved in the space of wall between the split.

And the princess has gone off the freaking rails. Instead of escaping, we're making forts. "Uh, Dyl? What are you doing?"

She tossed him the same look she gave him when they were kids, and he'd done something very stupid. He had gotten that look a lot. Dylan gestured for him to come over. When he did, She stood up on her tiptoes, and whispered, "Adoans down both halls and behind us. Closing in fast."