Princess Prince by Elizabeth A. Freeman (a court of thorns and roses ebook free TXT) 📕

Abigail spoke swiftly as she and Emily continued to disrobe the new queen with haste.

"What?!" Ophelia exclaimed but was quickly hushed by Emily who placed a hand over his mouth and made a shushing noise.

"I know this is something that is going to be a difficult task for you, but it is the only way out. If you do not flee now then that man will never let you go. You must dress as a man and flee the kingdom, head for one of the port cities to the north and take a ship to the continent of Elnath. A horse is waiting for you outside this room if you follow the passage through that door." Abigail continued, gesturing at the servants exit from the chamber and then beginning to dress him in the clothes of one of the palace lords which she had liberated from the dirty laundry for this purpose.

"But what about you, Nanny? Emily? If they find out you helped me escape you'll be killed." Ophelia lowered his voice as the two ladies in waiting dressed him in the male garments that they had taken. The feeling of wearing the closely fitted breeches and the loose tunic shirts irritated his senses which were used to tight corsets and billowing silk gowns.

"We already have that figured out as well. Now, take this pack." Abigail lifted a small leather pack and draped it over one of Ophelia's shoulders. Ophelia chewed at his lower lip, looking between his beloved nanny and the made who he considered to be like a sister to him. If their plan was calculated wrong he knew that this would be the last time he would see them alive, however if he did not do as they said all of their efforts would have gone to waste and he would be bound to the one man that he did not want to have to be married to.

"There's enough money in there to get you several nights in an inn, and passage on a carrier ship." Emily say, pointing at the pouch and then stepping back from Ophelia to examine their handiwork. Even dressed in male clothes, Ophelia still bore the feminine look of the way he was raised.

"Give me a hug before you go..." Emily added as Abeigail turned her back on them briefly to rifle through several other things that lay spread out on the table in the small chamber. With those words the gravity of what Ophelia was about to do hit him with the force of a stampeding bull and tears sprang to his eyes as he threw his arms around Emily and hugged her close.

"Oh Emily... What am I going to do without all of you at my side?" Ophelia whispered softly, burying his face in the maid's shoulder and giving a soft sob. Emily stroked his long golden hair, placing a gentle kiss against his cheek.

"You're going to get yourself out of here and get away from King Vladimir. Your going to go, board a ship, go to the country of Elnath and find your true prince." Emily replied and then pulled back, pressing a kiss to Ophelia's forehead and then retreating from his embrace. As she stepped back Abigail raised and iron skillet high in the air and struck Emily on the back of the head, knocking the maid unconscious and watching her drop to the floor.

"Nanny!?" Ophelia gasped quietly and looked from Abigail to Emily and then back again.

"This is the part of the plan that keeps us from getting in trouble, my dear child. This makes it look like you knocked us unconscious and escaped of your own accord." Abigail murmured and then wrapped her own arms around Ophelia and drew him close. Emotion battered at Ophelia once more as Abigail drew him into her embrace.

"Nanny... I'm going to miss you. Please be safe until I can figure out how to come back." Ophelia whispered, holding his adoptive caretaker close until they finally broke their embrace.

"I'll miss you too, my child. Now, you must knock me unconscious." Nanny said softly and offered the iron skillet to Ophelia who blanched at the mere thought of doing such a thing to his beloved caretaker.

"I.. I can't. I couldn't do something like that to you, Nanny!" Ophelia hissed, holding up his hands to ward off the offered skillet.

"You must, for both of our sakes. If you want me to live, you must do it." Nanny pleaded, grasping Ophelia's hand and placing the handle of the skillet into it. Ophelia chewed his lower lip as Abigail turned her back on him. He hesitated and then lifted the skillet high and brought it down against the back of Abigail's head, watching her crumple to the floor as Emily had.

"I'm sorry Nanny..." Ophelia whispered and dropped the skillet to the floor, casting one last glance around the room and at his beloved caretakers before heading toward the servants exit and sprinting through the passageway beyond the door. His heart pounding in his chest as he ran as fast as his legs would take him down the stone pathway which led to another door which exited outside the castle walls. He threw open the door and found that the horse that Abigail had spoken of was waiting outside for him, tied to a tree to keep it from roaming off.

"Hello there, Aurora." Ophelia smiled at the sight of the familiar chestnut colored mare, giving the horse a light pat on the neck and then untying the reins from the tree. Stepping back toward the saddle he carefully pulled himself up, sitting side saddle rather than straddling the horse because that was how a princess was taught to ride.

"If I follow the shore I should come to the next port city..." Ophelia murmured to himself, he didn't know the world outside the castle at all but his reasoning was quite sound. Grasping the reins he nudged the horse in the side gently with one foot and made a soft clucking noise, urging the mare to take off running.

Chapter Seven

"Now, tell me exactly what happened?" King Ambrosius addressed Abigail, while King Vladimir paced behind him. Vladimir's face was contorted with rage, his green eyes seemed to glow with a savage light.

"Well, you see your highness. Miss Emily and I were setting about preparing the new Queen for her wedding night. When our backs were turned the Queen took an iron skillet and struck Emily on the back of the head. I tried to stop her, but then she knocked me out too." Abigail explained, folding her hands on her lap.

"And just where in the world did Queen Ophelia get a skillet?" King Ambrosius raised an eyebrow, gazing down on the nursemaid as he interrogated her.

"I don't rightly know your majesty.. I suppose she snitched it from the kitchen that morning and secreted it on her person." Abigail blinked thoughtfully and reached back to rub the spot where she had been struck, wincing at the sensation.

"Her clothes were found discarded in the chamber. Are we to assume that Ophelia left the palace wearing nothing?" King Ambrosius folded his arms, obviously perplexed by the situation.

"I would certainly hope not! I ain't as smart as the Queen you see, but one of the other maids found the laundry baskets over turned. I suppose she stole some of the dirty clothes." Abigail shrugged and then sighed softly. King Ambrosius shook his head and turned his back on Abigail to face the foreign king who stopped pacing.

"Her story matches that of the other maid who was in the room, and the other servants found similar evidence regarding the stolen skillet and clothing. Given the facts, it appears that Queen Ophelia has run away." King Ambrosius sighed and then met Vladimir's gaze, a hint of fear in his own crimson eyes that Vladimir might reveal Ophelia's secret as punishment for allowing this to happen.

"Well then, we need to send soldiers out to retrieve my dear Queen. It is likely she was just uncertain about me, after all the wedding was short notice." King Vladimir's words were smooth but his smile was cruel with malicious intent. It was plainly obvious that when he did get Ophelia back that whatever retribution he had in mind boded ill for the new queen. Abigail silently prayed that Ophelia had enough of a head start to get him to a port city and out of the country before Vladimir's men were able to track him down.

Chapter Eight

Ophelia groaned, blinking awake to the sight of the rising sun and and the feel of the mare's footsteps as she carried him along. Sitting up in the saddle he ran a hand through his matted hair and looked around him to try to get his bearings through the fog of drowsiness. Faithfully the mare had continued to follow the shoreline throughout the night, however one thing was amiss.

"Th-the pack! Where is it?" Ophelia looked around himself but the small leather pouch was nowhere to be found. Twisting in the saddle he looked back in the direction he had come from.

"Oh curse it all! I must have let it slip when I fell asleep... I can't go back for it now!" Ophelia exclaimed and continued to curse silently for several more minutes as he rode along. Shaking his head finally he snapped the reins, coaxing the mare into a full canter once more as the creature had slowed its pace slightly when he'd fallen asleep. Ophelia rode for three days straight when finally a port city came to view in the distance, one he'd heard of when studying maps of his kingdom.

"Look Aurora, we've finally reached Azuron!" Ophelia nearly broke into a cheer and gave the tired mare one final nudge in the side, urging the creature into a full run toward the city. Reaching the gates to the city Ophelia reined the mare in and dismounted, continuing on foot as he guided the horse into the city.

"I suppose I should find you a kind owner, Aurora. They don't generally allow horses on passenger ships.." Ophelia murmured and then started to search for a stable where he could leave Aurora. It was little trouble to find one and he tied the mare to one of the posts outside of the stable when he was unable to find the owner, assuming that it was too early in the morning for the stable master to be up. With the mare's safety taken care of Ophelia ranged out into the city, realizing as he reached the merchants district that he was absolutely starving after not eating for