[b]Chapter 25: Escape[/b]

The uproar from the outside sounded well within the keep. The exterior wall had collapsed and it wouldn't be long now until the attackers breached the final gates. The girl was barely keeping up with the elderly knight as they rushed through the various halls and corridors of the keep, but her grip around his wrist was iron. They had been navigating around the keep for a while before her protector finally spoke up to her relief. "It's not far now, princess. Just a little further."
She felt her smidge of worry dissipate, the knight still remembered the path - he had to. Eventually they stopped by a large wall, adorned by an equally large painting that depicted the northern highlands. As always, she was absorbed by its masterwork beauty and didn't notice the wall open up to reveal the tunnel behind until the knight hollered for her. "This way, princess!"

The knight reached out for a nearby torch on the wall and cautiously made his way down the set of stairs that led into darkness. He reached behind him with his free hand and the princess swiftly scurried up behind him to take it. Shortly after she sneezed.
"I know. Nobody has used this passage for decades, the dust is everywhere." the knight muttered as he continued down the steps under the illumination of the torch. The princess nodded meekly to herself and glanced sideways to the walls. They were plain and terribly dusty, but she did not expect anything else from the secret passage. The opulence was reserved for the rest of the keep.
She sniffled and looked back ahead, past the knight and into the darkness. "Is it far, Sir John?" She eventually inquired in a well-practised highborn tone. She was only twelve, yet she carried with her the royalty and authority of her father and dynasty. The only dynasty.
"Do not worry, princess. We'll be out in a few minutes." Sir John concisely replied. She nodded and fell silent. The knight took to words before she could think about what to ask next. "I'm taking you north, Josephine, to friends and safe harbours. Nobody can harm you there until your father has restored order."

She nodded again and looked behind her but was solely met by darkness. The air inside the passage was near unbearable and thick from the dust, and she felt as if she was suffocating. She was just about to tell her guardian when rays of light pierced through the darkness. She blinked a few times and looked past the knight. A distance infront of them barred an iron gate their path with two men on the other side of it. Upon spotting the princess and the knight, one of the men rose a large hammer and swung it down upon the rusted lock that kept the gate shut and knocked it off with ease. The men opened the gate and allowed the two others to pass through, out into the fresh air. Josphine took a deep breath to wash the salty air down her lungs but had little time to do anything else. Sir John urged her on and they continued down a petrous path along the crags below Monarch's Rise, though she heard preciously little from the city above.

The path took a turn and led them to the shore. A small group of men armed with swords and garbed in stout leathers waited by a boat that would take them to a ship that lay anchored further out. Josephine could see other ships as well, though they were much further out and appeared to sit in some form of formation. The group stopped by the boat and the guards gestured for them to get in. Sir John entered first and positioned himself in the center, beckoning Josephine over, who climbed in next and sat down next to the knight, cluctching his arm with a hand for balance. The rest of the men thereafter followed and one of them pushed the boat off of shore. They dipped down the oars and started to row towards the waiting ship.

The waves were vicious, but the rowboat made its way to the ship without incident. A rope ladder was lowered down along the portside and Josephine, Sir John, and the armed escort climbed up in turn to the ship's main deck. The ship was bustling with activity, and as soon the group was on steady feet a man bellowed across deck. "[i]They're onboard![/i]"
A prominent man upon the upper deck raised a hand. Josephine assumed he was the ship's captain. "[i]Signal the fleet! We have her![/i]"

A crew member rushed to the main mast, although Josephine couldn't quite see what he was doing. Moments after a white and blue flag were raised high and the princess followed them with her gaze until they reached the top of the mast. She then squinted off at the formation in the distance and could just barely spot a hoisting flag from one of the ships in response. She didn't know what the flags meant, but they were used for some sort of communication.

"Princess?" Sir John's voice sounded from her left. She looked to him and he gestured her along. The two followed a sailor into one of the cabins and they had a clear view to the outside from several windows.
"The captain would be honored to accommodate the princess in his cabin until we have reached a secure port." The sailor spoke up, directed to Sir John, who simply nodded. "Your captain has our thanks. You may leave."

The sailor briskly left the cabin and shut the doors behind him. Josephine sat down next to the windows and peered outside. She could hear the many voices of the crew on the deck and within moments the ship begun to move. She turned her head and looked up towards Monarch's Rise, doubting if she would see it again in its current state. She worried for her friends that she had to leave behind in the keep, and she worried for her father that was out there somewhere, poised to take back the city.