The night Delrose attempted escape from the camp, she didn't sleep. Nervous energy circled through her body, making any rest impossible. Having figured out the knight's watch and rotation, she felt confident she could go past them unnoticed. Crickets chirped from outside the window of her shared room as Charm snored gently across the room.
Delrose held her breath and went as still as a corpse when Miss Lidia peeked into their room. Then the door creaked close when the older woman was sure they were asleep. The girl had estimated how long it was between each of the dorm mistresses' night passes. Three hours. It was more than enough time.
The bedsheets on the small mattress rustled softly as Delrose moved to the edge of the bed. Her bare feet twitched when they met with the cold floor.
She reached for the small bag under the bed she had prepared. The material was flimsy, but it held all she would need. In it was one of Charm's earrings, not a pair, one of the pair, so she'd miss the other. This she would sell for some pocket change. The rest of it was a change of clothing.
She stepped into her boots quietly, stopping intermittently if she made any noise and watched for signs of movement from her roommate. She gave a deadpanned stare when Charm only snored louder. Delrose wouldn't miss anything from this camp.
The dark haired girl gave one last look into the room and smirked, confident that she wouldn't be returning. Her hand moved to the doorknob, but before she twisted it, she heard the familiar pitter patter of footsteps tip toeing on flooring. She held her breath.
Was it Miss Lidia? Had she miscalculated? Panic seized her, but she couldn't run back to bed. The footsteps moved closer and then past their room.
Delrose felt confusion, but mostly relief. Perhaps the dorm mistress had forgotten to lock the cabin door. Their room was the first when one came into the girl's cabin, Miss Lidia would naturally need to pass to do so. She heard the latch of the lock, but then — The door opening.
A few moments passed, her confusion only grew. The darkness of the room only served to put Delrose more on edge. Was she leaving? If Delrose left now, the dorm mistress could bump into her.
Then two voices began to whisper. The muffled noises were indecipherable but one was clearly feminine -- measured and melodic---- and another was masculine and further muffled by something. Fabric perhaps. The door closed softly, and then she heard the latch of the lock. Everything fell back into place. A second later, the same quiet footsteps made their way back into the cabin, past her door.
Silence ticked by for a few seconds as Delrose struggled to make sense of what had occurred.
Not my problem, Delrose decided. It didn't matter as long as her plan wasn't in jeopardy. As long as she left here tonight, the world could burn.
She waited for a tense moment, then opened her door slowly and carefully, careful of any cries it could make. It was even darker in the narrow hallways. Delrose felt as if at any moment, Miss Lidia would come into view, her usual wrinkled frown set on her. But it never happened.
She reached the cabin door, then stepped out, the night air light and refreshing, but telling that she'd struggle with her light gown on.
Delrose let out a sigh of relief, ducking to the ground and aiming for the shadows. She approached the familiar patch of trees where their bath and outhouse were, conveniently sandwiched between tall trees. The girl attempted to make way, she could taste escape on her tongue.
"Delrose Reginald," came a man's voice. The hair on her arms stood on end. "How disappointing!"
As fast as the fear had come it had left. She whirled around and met face to face with Sir James. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, then she narrowed her eyes, "Why are you near the girl's bathing area."
He simply shook his head at her and sheathed the sword he carried. Delrose paused, why had the sword been out? "I think the better question is what you think you're doing, my lady." He looked up into the sky, seeming weighed down. "It's past your curfew." His gaze settled on her but then back at the woodland around them, searching, scanning for something unknown.
Delrose crossed her arms, "I'm just going to the restroom."
He tsked, "You know the rules, young lady," and she did. When a girl needed to use the baths or toilet, they needed to be accompanied by two other girls or an adult woman.
"I didn't want to disturb the dorm mistress," the girl said, trying her hand at deception.
He huffed out a laugh, before gesturing back to the dorms, "How kind of you, my lady. Now follow me." Sir James seemed more serious than the girl had ever seen him. His mind seemed preoccupied. Perhaps he was upset with her for breaking the rules. Or maybe it was ---
Not my problem.
Delrose took one step forward, making to follow him before she whirled around and booked it in the opposite direction. But Sir James was quicker and instantly snatched her arm, gentle enough not to hurt, but firm enough to keep her in place. It was as if he were pulling her back from the path of a carriage. Grabbing hold of a child unaware of danger.
Dark eyes looked up at him with a hatred too great for simply having done his job as her guardian. Her dark waves fell into her eyes, and painted her an eerie frightening girl. "Let me go," she ground out.
She noted that Sir James hadn't begun dragging her quite yet, as if waiting for her to follow willingly. Like hell, Delrose thought.
"How were you going to get over the walls?" he asked, letting her arm go. "Tell me your plan. If it 's feasible, I'll look the other way and let you go."
Delrose considered running once more, but she knew she wouldn't make it far. She titled her chin up in defiance. "You should let me go, regardless."
"I'm afraid not my lady, you see, you are my responsibility." Before Delrose could snarl back at him in response, he continued, "If you get caught, there will be punishment, one that is not befitting of a lady of your status. I'll only let you go if I think you have chance."
A stupid wager. She shouldn't indulge it, but she had no other choice. Fine, she'd use her brains.
"And that's your word as a knight?"
He smiled, crooked and charming, "Yes, of course."
The shadows of the tree leaves rustled over them, Delrose admitted it was a pretty, artistic-like sight. "Very well," she finally said. "I would make my move when the knights rotate shifts."
He hummed, "Go on."
She hadn't thought past that. "And of course, then I'd..." she took a breath, buying herself time, "I'd open the front gate when there was no one there."
"Because of shift change, of course."
"Right," She nodded.
Sir James didn't laugh, but he gave her a patronizing smile. "I fear that is an impossible plan, my lady. Back to the cabin we go."
Her mouth opened in disbelief, "It is not!" He was a bloody liar. Something sharp bit at her skin. She thought it anger. But it felt almost like betrayal.
The graying knight stopped and sighed, "That gate requires four men to open. Four highly skilled and trained men. Only one other if I'm helping." He gave her a knowing look, "Can you do that, my lady?"
She knew he was right, but she refused to give up. "And when I notice that, I would think of another way." Delrose waited for his answer, if he'd humor her. She was begging for scraps, it humiliated her.
A look flashed through his eyes, something... regretful? No, not that. More like, pity.
"Alright, what after that."
Hope filled her once again, "I could climb over the wall."
"That wall is ten feet tall, my lady."
She shot back quickly, "I'll use a tree for a ladder."
"All those trees near walls have been cut for that reason," he fired back.
"Then I'll..." She paused, before she looked off to the side. Disappointment settled like smoke in soil.
Delrose began walking back to the girls cabin. Defeat clung to her like a cold dip in a frosty lake. Sir James kept his distance as they walked back. The silence was deafening.
Suddenly, he said. "If you got three... no, five others, you could open the gate. Or climb over the wall."
Delrose stopped outside the cabin door and shot him a look. What was he getting at? "What are you talking about?"
He smiled and gently opened the cabin door for her, "I'm saying if you did it with help, it would be a good plan."
Delrose huffed, "So an impossible plan after all."
The girl retreated back into her assigned room, quietly. She set down her bag and unlaced her boots before going back under her covers.
Everything fell back into place.