Ashlea and I don't question the interruption. We know what it means. I had a dreamless sleep. I am not sure if that means anything, but I am happy in knowing that I was able to get some rest. Ashlea and I follow Soolena from our bedroom up to the room that has all the different suits. We enter the room, and the twilight sky is seen through the windows on the ceiling. We follow Soolena's lead and suit up. Rosaleen barges in, “Good, you guys are dressed. We are leaving soon.” She is gone in a rush and from what I see Rosaleen is also suited up for flight. We exit the room and meet Princess Rosaleen and Izavelle for breakfast. I just noticed this now; the ship is on the move from the mild vibration felt on the bottom of my feet. I can only imagine the reasons why, but I am not certain on where we are headed, and I won’t ask. I am where I need to be, which is by Ashlea’s side. We sit down to a hearty breakfast. The air has the aroma of fried meats, warm breads, and the sweet smell of fruit. I fill my plate because I know what being hungry is and have a feeling that the next time that I have a chance to eat will not be for a while.

  Rosaleen brings us out of the dark by explaining the plans, “We are going to move fast, travel quickly and lightly, and we are going to settle all of this today. The sun should peek over the horizon soon and we are going to take flight to the castle. The key is, we need to act quickly, and the unfortunate thing is that the king knows, and we must assume he is now taking precautions to protect himself and seek me out before I seek him out.” Rosaleen takes a large bite of meat, swallows and continues, “I really can't say what we are going to do once we make it to the castle. We are going to have to look at our options once we are there and decide what is best. The precautions I have taken to avoid capture of this ship is it will remain on the move until I return to it. Taylan was able to find us on someone’s assumptions, and its sheer luck that she found us before Wolfrim's guard did. I know that Wolfrim would have sent them.” Rosaleen’s manners have fallen to the wayside. She takes her fork, shovels in another large bite, and looks at all of us, expecting us to chime in.

  I nod, “These plans work for me.”

  “Yes, me too.” Ashlea adds and Soolena with her mouth full nods in agreement. Izavelle does the same.

  Rosaleen adds, “Izavelle is going to stay aboard the ship and make sure that my directions are followed.” No one objects to this; we finish our food, and then other servants clear the table. Most of the faces are new to me however, I do recognize one of them being Zethel and she quickly gives me a smile and a wink when I catch her eye just as I am leaving. We all head out to the deck and all of us except for Izavelle are suited. Izavelle is there only, to help see us off.

  Izavelle pulls Ashlea and me aside, “With flying you really have no choice, but to travel lightly so when you get to your destination make sure to pay attention to your surroundings. If you see something that you think you can use, take it. Your suit has little to provide for self-defence and protection, but I wasn't going to let you two starts with nothing. In both cuffs, you will find a small blade. It's not the greatest of weapons, but I think it’s safe to say that with your training and experiences I don't need to teach you how to use them.” Ashlea and I feel our cuffs and sure enough, a small sheath can be felt.

  “Okay ladies let's do this!” Rosaleen's voice booms. She is the first followed by Soolena, Ashlea and I, we run and leap into the warm dawn sky. I guess it doesn’t take much sun light for these suits to work. It is not long before the skyline reveals a land mass and Rosaleen guides us straight to its shore. We eventually find ourselves close to the exit to the cave where Jodis and I parted the day before.

  I ask, “Rosaleen have you been through the passage that leads to the castle’s yard?”

  She turns to me, “No, what are you talking about?”

  I realize that I left those details out, “Jodis got me out by using a passage near to here. I marked it by placing three rocks not much larger than my hand in a pile on a bolder near the entrance. We could try to use it to get back in?”

  Rosaleen answers, “That's a promising idea. I am reluctant for us to fly all the way to the Palace walls. We would be easy to spot and knowing Wolfrim, his guards would be on the lookout.” Rosaleen addresses everyone, “Let's spread out and find the marker.” We search along the shore and maneuver around the large boulders. I am glad that I decided to lay down a marker because there would be no way anyone would be able to find the mouth of the cave without it. Ashlea has the legs of her solar suit rolled up and is walking through the water about ankle deep. I guess that maneuvering around boulders isn't really her thing.

  Soolena hollers and waves us over, “Over here I've found it. We all close in around the rock pile.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  I explain, “It’s within a few steps of this pile.” We all glance around the area; I spot the mouth of the cave first and am happy with myself, “Look there!”

  Rosaleen answers, “We should all go in together. There is no point in splitting up yet. We have no other cover and no alternative plan.”

  “Agreed” Soolena adds.

  I am still listening, but at the same time, my eyes are distracted, spotting something on Ashlea's calf. “Ashlea turns around.”

  Confused she answers, “What?”

  “I thought I saw something on your leg?” She swivels on the spot and sure enough, there is an insect the size of a hand gorging itself on her blood. Ashlea panics, trying to swipe the thing off.

  Soolena yells, “Stop!” She darts over with a rock in hand; I didn't even see her pick it up. Instead of squishing the bug, she puts the rock to Ashlea's skin above the insect’s head and rubs the rock toward it and in one swift movement, the parasite drops to the ground, still alive. Soolena tosses the rock on top of the bug and steps on it, squishing the thing like a rock jelly sandwich. The crunching death of it and its blood curdling shrieks sounds like a baby screaming at the top of its lungs.

  For the amount of blood that is trickling down Ashlea’s leg, her injury is not as bad as it appears, given the size of the parasite, it only made a poke mark to siphon her blood.

  “Ash how could you not feel that?” I asked astonished.

  “I don't know, but I feel it now, it is kind of a burning itch.” Ashlea describes.

  Soolena, who is just behind me says, “They inject venom so that you don't feel them when they latch on. It was a rock piercer, and they are found by rocky shores like this. Fortunately, they only feed in the early hours of the morning; after the sun rises in the sky, they seek cover and shade under the rocks to protect them against the sun and its predators.”

  Ashlea asks, “What are their predators?”

  “Predatory birds, sea turtles nothing that's a threat to us.” Soolena assures.

  “Let’s get moving.” Rosaleen says and we enter the dark cave.

  “What should I do about this bite?” Ashlea asks because we are about ankle deep in water now.

  “Touch you hand to the bite.” Soolena says.

  “Okay, I’m touching it.” she answers.

  “Is the blood dry?”

  “Yes” Ashlea replies.

  “You don't need to do anything except just make sure to not scratch it.” Soolena says.

  Making our way deeper into the cave we eventually must feel our way along the walls, soon we are submerged in water; the current helps us with figuring out the direction. It feels like this trip back is a lot shorter than it was on the way out and in no time, we find ourselves at the grid. It is mid-morning, by now I would assume that most have finished their breakfasts and are starting to go about their day. Rosaleen is at the front of the group. The tunnel is so narrow at this end. Only Rosaleen can look through the grid. She is uncertain on whether to go through, or to wait it out until night.

  Rosaleen whispers back to Soolena, who is behind her. “I don't know what to do. What do you think?”

  Soolena whispers back, “Describe to me what you see.”

  Rosaleen scans the area and whispers, “An empty lazy river and plants, I can’t see anything else.”

  Soolena asks, “Do you hear anything, or smell anything?”

  “Just the sound of moving water and the aroma of the plants,” Rosaleen replies. Soolena is going through scenarios and trying to use every sense to decide.

  Finally, Soolena suggests, “Let’s split up. We send two of us into the lazy river and then they can navigate the grounds to seek out Jodis. The other two will wait until nightfall and then make their way in. I think that we can slip in unnoticed if it is only two at a time.”

  Rosaleen replies to Soolena, “Okay, I was also thinking along those lines. So, if we go with this plan then the next decision, is who? I am just weighing the options. If I go in the first wave, it will at least give me the chance to get in without giving them the heads up, instead of if I were to wait back and go in the second wave. I should bring Taylan because she knows the most recent happenings within the Palace and should anything happen, you and Ashlea can make it through on the second wave.”

  Soolena agrees, “I think that is probably the best move. They are on alert now, and if you were to wait until the second wave to send yourself in after the great possibility of our first wave, being discovered it will be a massive failure Rosaleen. You and Taylan must go first, and Ashlea and I will be your strength to follow.”

  I lean over Ashlea's shoulder, I am the last in line and in a muffled voice, I direct my question over to Soolena, “Do you know where Jodis' window is?”

  “It’s on the opposite side. The first window from the corner, do I have that right?” Soolena confirms.

  “That's right.” I answer.

  Rosaleen confirms, “Okay after sunset we will meet again, head for Jodis' room.”

  Ashlea and Soolena respond in unison, “Okay” I can feel the nervous tension starting up in all of us. I can taste it and Rosaleen knowing her Palace instructs, “Taylan you need to undress, pull your two sheaths out of the suit cuffs, there are straps” Rosaleen reveals and continues, “Ashlea help her tie them to her forearm, blade and sheath on to the inside of her forearms.” Ashlea turns to face me in the shadows, and I am out of the suit with the blades secured to my arms. Ashlea wraps my suit around her torso and ties it in place, like a belt so it does not float away. I think that Soolena does the same with Princess Rosaleen's suit. Ashlea and I do a shuffle so that she is now in the back and then I do a shuffle with Soolena so that I am right behind Rosaleen. Rosaleen looks me up and down and satisfied with what she sees she snaps the grid out of place, hands it back to me and I hand it back to Soolena. We both swim through into the blinding light.