Julia Hopkins
The sun had barely risen before the houses around them began to wake up. People gathered their belongings and started their days when the first glimpse of the sun appeared.
Anne lay awake on her bed. She had plenty of time to see the men and women gathering their things outside the single window. A dead mouse had been laying on the window but a stray cat had banged on the window until it fell to the floor. It was rather impressive that the cat had managed to come up with the plan and even more impressive that the ladies hadn't woken. Anne had spent a decent amount of time considering moving the mouse outside but decided that the screams the others would make at the sight would be rather amusing for such a dire situation.
The reactions of the other Ladies likely wouldn’t matter for much longer because Anne was also very sure that as soon as they were rescued, she would be out of a job. Unless the princess got whiny in which case she might get the honor of a beheading. She wondered if she would be allowed to wear that nice beige dress her mother had sewn for her birthday. Then again, the blood would likely ruin the dress and that wouldn’t be pleasant. Decisions were so fickle.
Truthfully, Anne could not explain why she was as calm about the situation as she was. Something inside her knew that she was perfectly safe, despite the circumstances. It didn’t make much sense but she had decided to ignore the irony of it in favor of feeling at peace. It was very comforting and frankly, she was entirely done with silly things like pleasantries. The next time she saw Henry, she would have to confront him head on. She had nothing to lose at this point.
Somewhere in the winding houses, a bell rings. Feet dig up gravel as people rush for breakfast. Against her will her stomach growls and Anne's body stiffens as she tries to determine if it woke up any of the girls.
Light footsteps grow louder as they make their way to the door. Several seconds pass before the door finally opens and the sun highlights Henry's slim form.
With a wide grin of yellow teeth and puffy gums, he let out a high pitched scream. As the girls shot up, he began stomping near the Ladies heads and flipping their pillows over before tossing himself in one of the many overstuffed chairs.
The girls, with knotted hair and wide eyes, all huddled near the wall on Anne's bed. She wondered if they would notice the dead mouse but considering that they seemed to have forgotten the argument from the night before, she decided that it was entirely possible they wouldn’t.
Henry sat with his feet propped against the couch, dirt digging itself into the patterns on the extravagant pink couch.
“Hello ladies! How fareth thee?” He giggled under his breath.
Anne's heart beat a little faster and her face flushed, feeling sharp words build in her throat, but Lady Anne's nails dug into her back so she clenched her jaw.
Henry's eyes swept over them, sticking first on Anne than Lady Anne before settling onto the princess. She had tucked herself behind one of the Janes and was intent on not looking up from the broken oak floors.
“Your highness, I’m speaking to you,” he drawled in his lazy high pitched voice.
Lady Anne didn't have the chance to stop her before the princess shot her head up. “You would dare talk to your future queen like that? When my father finds me-”
“He won’t.” Henry was angry, fire brewing in his eyes. “Your claim to power means nothing here.” He stood up and pointed out the window to the townspeople as they worked. “Do you think if I let you go, the people outside will help you? At best you would be kidnapped again or worse! Right now, I'm the only thing between you and a riot.”
The girls were silent. Anne felt something crawl up her throat but couldn’t find anything to say. Henry was right, painful as it was to admit. The people of Stonecastle were just as likely to kill them all as they were to assist them.
Henry, satisfied that he had won, continued. “Now, I believe it's time we had a proper discussion on my demands.”
The princess turned her head from the window. Locking her jaw and pretending that no one could see her tears, she whispered, “Go on.”
He smiled. “I want ships. Not row boats, proper ships with sails. I want weapons and lots of them. Knives, swords, the whole lot. And,” he leaned forward to view the princess at eye level. “I want the wall around Bridswor destroyed.”
Bridswor was an old coastal town that was the perfect landing point for pirates. To prevent anyone from reaching the castle, a large stone wall was erected to separate it from the rest of the land. No one was really sure what happened in the town since the guards rarely let anyone in or out. It was a stronghold in its own right.
“I can’t do that!” the princess sputtered.
Henry sat back in the chair. “Well then I guess we’re at an impasse. You can’t give me what I want and, as such, I no longer need you.”
Anne snorted.
He turned to her. “Something funny?”
Nails dug deeper into her back. “Of course you need her. Kidnapping a princess had to be your final resort unless you’re a complete moron who got lucky.”
Indignation washed over his face. “Last I checked, you’re the one trapped here, not me. What makes you think you can speak to me like that?”
“One way or another, I’m dead. Might as well make it as difficult for you as possible on my way out.”
Henry paused. After a minute he sat up, opened the door and spoke to the guard in a low tone. As he walked away, the guards grabbed Anne by her forearm and roughly pulled her from the room.
The ladies didn’t have a chance to do anything before the door slammed shut.