Drake left the cell. The guards locked it behind him. He paused at the cell bars. “Maybe now The Wolf will talk. Watching you die just might break him. Love can have that effect.”
He laughed heartily as he walked away. Red could hear his laughter all the way down the passageway. It echoed throughout the stone prison cells.
Red sat up against the wall and rubbed her leg. It was not broken but badly sprained. She thought that maybe a ligament or two had torn. She rubbed at it and closed her eyes. Love? What did The Taker know about love? He only knew of manipulation, violence, and hatred. Not unlike her. Love was as foreign to her as another land. She could not even remember how it could feel.
Wolf did not love her. He was as incapable of love as she was. They had feelings certainly. But love?
Nonsense!
Red hunkered down onto the mattress and shut her eyes. She would need her strength. She would not die easily.
* * *
Wolf watched wearily as The Taker passed his cell.
He was still laughing. He had noticed the cut on his face. Red had obviously not been cooperative. Wolf smiled at that.
The guards passed, too. One paused at the cell bars. He smiled. The bruises on his neck were black and blue.
“Just thought you’d like to know, your girlfriend is going to the chopping block. I wonder if Master Drake will let me have a go at her while she’s bent over the block. I bet she’d like it from behind.”
Wolf was on his feet and to the bars in seconds.
The guard jumped back as Wolf’s hand jammed out between the bars. He just missed grabbing him around the throat.
The guard swallowed then gained his composure.
“Don’t worry, big guy, we’ll save you the head. That way you can kiss her any time you’d like.”
The guard puckered his lips and made a kissing sound. He pulled up his trousers and rambled down the passageway.
Wolf watched him go. His fingers flexed. He had just missed him. He pulled his hand back and sat back down on the mattress. He rubbed his face and sighed. Red. They were going to kill her. She had pushed them too far.
He smiled wistfully. He should have had more faith in her. No one could break her. She was a tough and as stubborn as an old redwood tree. Chopping at her would only make her angrier. But now she would pay the ultimate price for her rigor, and Wolf would be forced to watch. He would not be able to bear it.
They would have to make their move.
Immediately.
Chapter Nine
T he castle was very lavish. So lavish it was almost oppressing.
Red crept along the quiet gold trimmed hall. She felt fabrics hanging as she passed them. The materials felt soft in her hands. She kept on, stopping now and then to pick up a lavish trinket and marvel at it.
She stopped in front of a floor length mirror. She twirled around. Her new fancy dress billowed around her. She was a twelve-year-old girl again, with rosy cheeks, long radiant red hair, and a sparkle in her green eyes.
She perked up when she heard voices down the hall. She walked cautiously toward them. Her Grandma had told her to stay in the library, but she had soon gotten bored and ventured out into the halls. She was sure her Granny would not be mad.
She crept up to a set of large wooden doors. There was a crack of an opening. She slid along the smooth wood and peered through the slit.
She saw her Grandma sitting in a high-backed ornate chair. Red thought she looked pretty in her new dress and hat. She was speaking to someone else in the room.
“I told you she won’t be trouble. She’s an obedient little girl. She’ll listen to me.”
“But what of her mother? Surely, she will interfere.”
The voice was high-pitched and squeaky. Red instantly thought of a mouse.
“Her mother will be of no consequence. I will take care of her, as did I her father.”
Red’s throat closed up. Her heart raced. She felt her stomach turn over like she’d eaten too much candy. She fell against the door. It slowly creaked open.
Grandma rose to her feet as Red stumbled into the room.
“I told you to stay in the library. You are very naughty.”
“She’s very naughty, indeed.”
Red looked over at the two men in the room. They were both tall and spindly. They reminded Red of animated willow trees in the winter. They smiled at her, teeth stained yellow with age. She shuddered.
Red ran to her Grandma. Before she could embrace her, one of the men grabbed her arm. Red tried to pull away.
“She’s strong.”
“Of course she’s strong, she came from me, didn’t she?”
Red looked over at her Granny. She saw more in the aged face then she wanted to.
“We should take her now. She knows too much,” the other man said, his voice also cracked and high like a girls’.
Her Grandma tore Red from the spindly man’s grip. She hugged her to her chest. “You can not have her until you give me your word.”
The two men looked at each other. They nodded. “You will have your wish. To be Queen of all the lands. Now give her to us.” Spindly Man held out his long hand.
“You can have her in five days time. It will give me time to prepare her, and her mother.”
“Very well.”
Red struggled in her Grandma’s arms. She looked up pleadingly into her face. Her Grandma smiled. She brushed her hair from her face. “Hush now, darling. It will be all right.” She plucked a shiny red apple from her pocket. She handed it to Red. “Eat this, child, and you will feel better.”
Red took a small bite of the apple and fell into a deep sleep.
“Mistress? Mistress?”
Red struggled from her sleep. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She bolted up and grabbed the intruder by the neck. She opened her eyes.
Rose stared wide-eyed at her. Her face grimaced in terror.
“I could kill you for what you’ve done,” Red growled.
“I’m sorry, Mistress. It was the only way. The only way he’d believe me.”
Red glanced around the cell. No one else was present. “Why are you here?”
“To help you.”
Red furrowed her brow. Why should she believe this lying whore? “Where are the guards?”
“Dead. I’ve poisoned them.”
“How?”
“A little hemlock in the tea I always bring them in the night.”
Red searched Rose’s face. She looked deep into her eyes. She saw hope and fear in them. She let go of her neck.
Rose rubbed at it. “Thank you, Mistress. We must hurry.”
Red jumped off the bed. Rose handed her some clothes. “I brought you these.”
Red nodded and dressed quickly. They left the cell.
Red glanced down the passageway. The two guards lay on their sides, eyes bulging, tongues hanging out blackened by death.
“Do you know a way out?”
Rose bowed her head. “I’m sorry, Mistress. I do not. I thought you’d have a plan.”
Red shook her head. “Damn it!”
“I know the way.”
Red turned. Wolf was stalking toward her. She smiled. She could not stop it. He raised his hand and touched her gently on the cheek.
“How did you…?”
“I had a little help.” He stepped to the side.
Rapunzel stepped around him. She nodded to Red and Rose.
Red spurted. “But she’s one of them.”
“She knows a way out,” Wolf protested.
“It’s a trap. She’ll get us all killed.”
Rapunzel smiled. “You were going to die anyway.
What do you have to lose?”
Red looked up at Wolf. His eyes glowed brightly.
She would trust him. She could see the truth in him.
“Fine. But I need something first.”
Red neared the fallen guards. She grabbed their crossbow and tossed it to Wolf. He caught it on the fly. She relinquished their clubs and their knives. She tucked a club into her pants, and gripped a knife in her hand. She handed the others to Wolf. He tucked them into his trousers.
Rapunzel led them the opposite way down the narrow passage. There were no more cells down the way. No more lit torches. Just rock and dirt. They soon came to a dead end.
Red advanced on Rapunzel. “I knew it. It’s a trap.”
“If you’d just wait. I’ll show you.”
“Show me what? The knife you’re holding so you can stab me in the back.”
Rapunzel stomped on the ground. She kicked at the dirt.
They watched her in disbelief. Red grabbed her arm. “What are you doing? Alerting the others of our whereabouts?”
Voices wafted from down the corridor. Someone was approaching them.
“You see? A trap, just like I said.”
Rapunzel continued to stomp hard on the packed earth. Wolf finally understood what she was doing.
He stomped on the ground too.
Red looked at him. “What are you doing?”
“Helping get us out of here. Maybe you should shut up and do the same.”
The rock caved in where Rapunzel was stomping.
It crumbled away to reveal a quick moving stream of water beneath them.
Red looked down in amazement.
“The stream runs under the castle and comes out into a lake on the other side. I’m not sure how long it is. So we could all still die in the process.”
“It’s better than the alternative.” Red kicked away the earth. More dirt fell away, producing a hole big enough for a man to fit through.
The voices neared.
“In,” Red said to Rapunzel. “Why do I have to go first?”
“Because it’s your escape route. If it was mine, I’d go first.”
Rapunzel put her hand on her hip. “You’re a bitch.”
“Yeah, and?”
“Fine.” Rapunzel sat down on the dirt and dangled her legs into the water. “Good Lord, it’s cold!”
“Go!” Red commanded.
Rapunzel slid into the water. She took a deep breath and went under.
“Now Rose.”
Rose stepped up to the hole and looked down. She looked back to Red. Her eyes were pleading. “I can’t do it.”