The Royal Mark-Chapter 350: Tunnel

Elsa opened her eyes and slowly sat up at the edge of the bed. Beatrice hurriedly pulled out something from her leather scrip and put it on Elsa’s head.

"This is the best I can do. I cannot find any good horse hair outside the castle," Beatrice said after helping Elsa wear the wig that she was told to make. "I also made this to cover your nose and mouth. We tell the guards that you are a sick servant in case they stop us from leaving." Beatrice added before she swiftly wrapped Elsa with a cloak and helped her stand up.

"Can you walk, My Queen?" Beatrice asked.

"I think I can, I feel much better now," Elsa said.

"Let’s not bring anything anymore, but ourselves. Let’s move," Beatrice was the first one to walk out of the room to check the hall. When she didn’t see anyone, she briskly helped Elsa walk towards the stairs that the servants used.

The stairs lead to the servant’s quarter where all servants await their order or just simply hang out. Fortunately, everyone was busy with the wedding preparation and no one was there when Elsa and Beatrice stepped in.

She quickly leads Elsa to the back door which the servants use to enter the castle. As expected they were stopped by the guards.

"Remove your cloak, we must inspect everyone that goes in and out of the castle," the guard ordered.

"Don’t touch her!" Beatrice exclaimed when the guard was about to pull Elsa’s cloak. She’s one of the servants and she’s sick. I was tasked to escort her out from the castle before she spread the disease before the King’s wedding day.

But the guard didn’t listen and still pulled Elsa’s cloak, and it was the right decision that she told Beatrice to make her a wig for the guards didn’t recognize her. However, they seemed to be curious about her and were about to pull as well the mask that she was wearing, so she coughed hard and as loud as she could to scare them away.

"Move, hurry! Before you infect us with whatever you have."

Beatrice and Elsa bowed to the guards before walking as fast as they could towards the stable where Beatrice’s husband was waiting.

"What took you so long? The stable master kept telling me to go already or the hay would become moist," Leon asked in worry, Beatrice’s husband.

"We got into some trouble. I will tell you later. Let’s help first the Queen get into the hay."

Leon nodded and they both helped Elsa hide inside the hay before heading to their house.

Elsa had hoped to use the travel time to reflect and gather her strength, but instead, her tears fell uncontrollably. She tried her best to remain silent.

She couldn’t believe that Milda wanted to harm not only her but also her unborn baby. She had thought her aunt’s ambition was limited to seeking power, but today’s events proved that Milda was willing to kill innocent people. She had to be stopped.

The carriage halted at the gate of Beatrice and Leon’s property, where guards were stationed. "Step down from the carriage, we need to inspect it first."

Leon and Beatrice refused. "Forgive us, but this hay must be fed to the cows in my barn right away, which are being prepared for the King’s wedding feast. If we delay any longer, the hay will spoil, the cows won’t taste as good, and the King will be furious. Both you and I would face punishment.

You know I’m the only one who can produce this quality of meat, and the King would spare me if I told him it was your fault," Leon declared boldly.

"Geez, old man, calm down. We’re just doing our job. Go ahead and feed your cows; we don’t want to lose our heads over some hay," one of the guards replied.

Leon quickly urged the horses to move faster. Their two young daughters, who were expecting their arrival, swiftly opened the barn gate to let them in. Once the horses and carriage were inside, Leon jumped off to secure and lock the barn gates. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Is everything ready?" Beatrice asked her daughters, while Leon helped Elsa out of the hay.

"Yes, Mother, we left everything where we last saw Lulu."

Beatrice nodded and gestured for her daughters to lead the way. Elsa watched intently as the girls removed a jute carpet in the middle of the barn, revealing a wooden floor that they lifted.

"Wow, I didn’t expect the door to be this refined. When I made the plan, I only expected an improvised cover," Elsa praised.

"I am also a carpenter, Your Majesty. I wanted to ensure this door would provide some delay when they start searching for us... We should go before they discover you’re missing from the castle," Leon reminded.

Beatrice and Leon helped Elsa climb down the ladder under the barn. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Elsa looked around in amazement at what Lulu had accomplished.

She had instructed Lulu to dig a hole big enough for them to walk from her house to the northern mountains where Vrenada is. Given Lulu’s earth magic, Elsa knew she could do it, but she hadn’t expected a tunnel large enough for a small carriage to pass through.

"Where are the girls?" Elsa asked, noticing Lulu’s sisters were not below.

"They should be waiting for us under our house. There is a small carriage there where you can sit comfortably, Your Majesty," Leon said.

"Just me? How about you?"

"We will take turns in pushing the carriage even though it was not in your plan. Lulu and I saw how sick you are getting every day. I asked my husband to make a small carriage that is easy to push and that could fit in here. But just like the door, he made it bigger so it could also carry food and water. Grenada is quite far and we don’t know how long are we staying underground," Beatrice explained.

"Understood. I will obediently sit on the carriage to not be a burden to you all," Elsa said.

Leon locked the door and once again Elsa was amazed at the craftsmanship that Leon possessed. He didn’t only put locks on it but also placed some traps that could surely keep the demons busy before they could pass through the tunnel.