I can't believe we're doing this.
I was too sleep-deprived last night to have been speaking rationally and my siblings tend to take my words as the gospel.
So now the four of us were in my room trying to work out all the details of my sister's crazy idea.
June had to be convinced but once Janae mentioned that she would have to be all alone she agreed to come with us.
I wasn't 100% sure about the idea as a whole but I knew that there would be no convincing Oliver, Janae, and now June and I refused to let them go alone.
They would definitely get themselves killed.
"Okay so mother and father leave in two days, the first thing on the agenda is to let the gate guards know that we will be joining them so that we can leave. Janae and I will handle this. Meanwhile, Oliver, I want you and June to begin packing up things and planning what we will be needing," I say.
"Janae and I will go and then return here to meet you guys to plan further. Remember not to act suspicious and try and stay clear of seeing mother and father," I continue.
I took Janae's arm and we left to head to the main gate. We made it to the front doors and were greeted by the first set of guards.
"Good day your highnesses, Is there something I could assist you with?" The man said to my sister and me.
"Good day sir, we have come to alert you as well as the main gate guards that in two days' time, when the king and queen depart, the four of us will also be leaving shortly after them, and for you to keep the doors open for us," I said while keeping my head up and using my "scary voice" that June likes to call it.
"Yes, your highness, we will do that. Would you like me to spread the word to the main gate guards or would you like to do it yourselves?" He asked.
"We can do it, thank you very much"
Then he opened to door for us and we walked out.
I had never walked out this door before. My siblings and I were born at home so we have truly never left.
It was really easy to get out. If I had known this when I was younger I would have probably already left.
"Do you think mother and father will find out? We can't tell the guards not to say anything, they could be killed for lying to mother and father," Janae said worriedly.
"I hope they won't, it to late now to turn back," I say.
We were walking arm and arm as we approached the main gate guards. They had most likely never seen us. We have only met very few of our own staff.
"Your highnesses," he bowed "What a surprise, how can I help you?"
You could tell he was slightly nervous talking to us. The man himself was huge though so it was kind of funny.
I told him the same thing I told the other guard and he agreed.
"Well that was easy," she said as we got back inside.
We kept walking as I told her, "Yes, maybe a little too easy."
I was of course correct because right before we walked back into Oliver and I's room you will never believe who we ran into.
Mother and Father, are both looking to be heading our way.
I subconsciously pull Janae closer to me in a protective matter and push her behind me a little.
I'm not too scared about them hurting her but I would rather be safe than sorry.
Mother comes up to us and says "Hello, there children, what were you doing?"
I was going to respond but Janae comes back in front of me and says "Oh nothing ma'am, we were just walking around for a bit."
Father then snaps and says "don't lie to me, girl, I can't stand liars and won't have one as a daughter!"
He was in her face and she was scared so I grabbed her arm and pulled her to me.
"She was not lying, sir," I told him while still holding Janae.
"Get out of my way," was all my father said before pushing into the two of us and storming off.
"Janae, are you alright?" I asked her.
"Yes I'm fine, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm okay, don't worry about me."
I open the door with my still wrapped around her and walk in to see what Oliver and June have accomplished.
This action doesn't go unnoticed of course because the first thing that June says when we walk into the room was "Is everything alright? Why do you have your arm around her and why does she look so scared."She comes and takes Janae from me before I could even speak.
"We ran into mother and father before we walked in and father ran into us," was all Janae said before sitting down.
"Are you guys alright?" Oliver asked.
"Yes we're fine, it just kind of threw me off guard I guess," Janae tells them.
"Did you guys start planning?" I continue, trying to change the subject.
"Yes, we decided that each person can only bring a backpack full of stuff," June says.
"Each person will bring their own personal things as well as a group item" Oliver continues.
"Oakley, you will be bringing the weapons. Janae, you will be bringing the medical supplies. Oliver will be bringing our sleeping supplies, and I will be bringing our food and water" June says.
"Okay, we'll of those sections, what should we bring?" Janae asks.
"Well Oakley, I'll let you decide what weapons you would like to bring. Janae, you need to have supplies for injuries but also plenty of medicine in case Oakley or I were to get sick because it's highly probable that we will. Oliver will bring things like our tent and sleeping bags, and all the food I bring will need to be stuff we can travel with, cook, and be kept animal-proof." June says with much thought.
"Right, also when packing personal belongings keep everything to a minimum, only bring a few changes of clothes, bring things you can be comfortable in and move around in. Don't bring anything super heavy and keep in mind that once we're gone we can't come back so do not leave anything behind." I tell everyone.
"Okay one more thing, how are we going to keep the palace staff from not noticing we're gone? If they notice they will immediately send out watch parties and we will get caught. We need to have a plan that will allow us enough time to put some distance between us and here." Oliver says
"Your right, we will have to get at least a few days away, or else we would immediately get caught. The gate staff will know we're gone but if the maids find out we're missing they will flip." June says.
"And we can't tell the maids we're leaving because then word will definitely get to mother and father," Janae continues.
"What if we pretend me and June are both severally ill and can't be seen for fear it might spread? They wouldn't come to try and visit us and we could pretend to stay in our rooms the whole time." I say
"That would be perfect, plus we could go and get supplies and not be suspicious!" Janae says.
"Okay so tonight, June, you will start to say you are feeling slightly sick. We will make the staff aware that the three of us will be taking care of you and that you would like to be alone. This will allow us to gather up supplies like food, water, medicine, and extra blankets/pillows." I say with enthusiasm because we have a good solid plan now.
"Right, so now that we know how we are going to pack, how are we planning on getting out without mother and father seeing? We told the gate staff that we were leaving with mother and father, and they are going to expect us to ride out with them," June then questions.
She was right, we would have to leave close enough behind mother and father for the gate staff to think we left with them but not close enough where we could get caught. Not to mention not to make it look like we were trying to escape.
"I've got it, we could tell the staff that we will be leaving a little later than our parents because June is sick and she needs to be cleared by the doctor!" Oliver says.
"That's perfect," I say.
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The next two days consisted of more planning, packing, and trying to keep anyone from becoming suspicious.
Mother and father were the easiest to keep away. They didn't talk to us much regardless so keeping them away for two days was a breeze.
Today I needed to go into our armory and get our weapons. That was my job.
I needed to get things to keep us safe as well as things for hunting.
I have been trained in both so I knew exactly what I needed as I headed downstairs.
The tricky part was going to be getting the weapons without raising suspicion.
Unlike the other items we needed, I couldn't blame this on June's sickness.
I made my way downstairs carefully as we kept our armory deep down in the castle.
It was very dark down here and you could feel the moisture in the air.
I reached the bottom of the stairwell and was met with a very surprised-looking guard.
"Your Highness? Is that you?" He asked unsurely.
"Yes sir it's me, I've come to collect some weapons for my father. He is taking them on his trip so they will not be returned until he comes back," I lie.
"Of course your highness, just let me know which ones, and I'll make note of it."
I went into the dark room and looked around. I have only been down here twice and I would rather not speak of why.
There are at least 100 different types of weapons down here. From different types of swords, knives, spears, and armor, if you wanted it we had it.
Most of them were passed down from generation to generation and they were all made of the most high-quality materials in the world.
I picked 3 hunting knives. Two big ones and a little one. It was a matching set that had nice leather grips and matching leather cases.
I also grabbed two swords, one for myself and the other for Oliver. Father had taught us how to use swords since we were big enough to hold one.
I then grabbed the most expensive-looking pocket knife we had. I figured we would need to bring something to sell in order to have enough money to live off of for a good bit.
The knife could fit into my hand but it was wrapped in gold with a diamond-incrusted handle.
The last thing I grabbed was an axe. I figured we would need to cut down a few trees for either firewood or to build a shelter.
Finally satisfied I headed back upstairs.
I took the weapons into the girl's room where we were holding most of our things to go. Mother and Father would leave early in the morning so we would have to as well.
All four of our bags were against the walls, packed and ready to go.
"Well this is it, our last night," I said.
Janae looked a little sad and said "I know this was my idea and that this place is awful but I'm kind of sad to leave."
We all slowly nodded in agreeance. This was the only place we have ever known and it was bittersweet to know that this was the very last night we would be here.
"Good night everyone, sleep well, we have a big day ahead of us," I told them before we all headed to bed.
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AN: Okay everyone it's the last night! Who's excited?
This is the longest chapter I've written so far (almost 2100 words) so it would mean a lot if you could leave a vote or comment.
But seriously thank you and I LOVE YOU <3