Chapter 26

Mr. Squibbles flattened his ears and burrowed into her pocket. Naomi looked over at Yula and saw that she looked alarmed. Naomi waved and quickly moved out of eyesight.

She bent closer to her pocket and hissed, “Are you insane? Tavik keeps his door locked every night and will kill anyone who tries to sneak in.”

“That will be problematic, but a night time departure is still your best option. If you try to leave during the day, someone will notice you’re gone before too long.” Naomi paced unhappily.

“There has to be another way.”

“We could try lots of different ways. We would have to because none of them would succeed.”

Naomi frowned at the mouse. “Well, if this is the best plan, how are we supposed to accomplish it?”

“We?” Mr. Squibbles squeaked.

“You know the secret passage, and you know where the witch lives, of course you’re going to guide me. That’s what she sent you to do.” Naomi held her breath waiting for Mr. Squibble’s response. She needed him to go with her. She did not know if she could escape if she had to face it alone. Mr. Squibbles appeared to be thinking about his answer. He took a long time. Naomi feared she would go blue waiting.

“Fine,” Mr. Squibbles finally sighed. “I don’t suppose you know how to pick locks do you?”

“No, unfortunately I have always been a fine upstanding citizen.”

“We will have to get a key then,” Mr. Squibbles said flicking his whiskers.

“We?”

“Sorry, you will have to get a key. I suspect only Tavik has the key to his chambers. You’ll have to use your feminine charms to distract him and slip it away from him.”

“Yes, I’ll just do that the next time we’re alone together. I’ll bat my eyelashes from behind my blindfold and slip my tied hands right into his pocket.”

“If you really want to get out of here, you’ll figure something out.”

Naomi huffed and wondered if there were more helpful talking animals somewhere in the castle like maybe a hungry cat. The day was getting late, and Yula and Naomi gathered their flowers and went back into the castle. Naomi asked what the plans were for dinner, and Yula said dinner had been arranged to be served in her room. Lord Tavik was to dine with one of his vassals that night and would probably sleep at their home. Naomi was slightly relieved, that meant there was no way for her to act upon her and Mr. Squibbles plan, instead she could spend the night actually trying to formulate their plan. Yula sat with Naomi that night in her chambers. Naomi kept to her own thoughts while Yula did some embroidery.

“You are very quiet tonight, milady,” Yula said from her seat by the fire.
Naomi looked up from her daze and gave the old woman a wan smile. “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Are you bored?” she asked.

Naomi played off the question with a shrug. “It doesn’t seem like there’s much for me to do here.”

Yula nodded and stared at her embroidery. “Once Lord Tavik leaves, you will find something to do.”

“Tavik’s leaving? When?” Maybe she wouldn’t have to worry about creeping through Tavik’s room while he slept.

“In a few days, I suppose. He’ll be done with all the business that required his attention. His primary goal for coming back was to get you situated.”

“Oh, so he just wanted to dump me here and get back to his wars.”

“A soldier camp is no place for a lady.” Naomi snorted. A sick thought popped into her mind.

“Are you leaving with him?”

Yula’s mouth thinned for a moment, and she did not raise her eyes to Naomi. “Our lord has not said if he will want me to go and tend him. There are plenty of maids in the castle, all of them younger than me, one of them can tend to you.”

“But you’re who I know. You’re who I trust.” This was terrible. Naomi had barely gotten a glimpse of these younger maids. Mrs. Boon made sure of that. If Yula left, Naomi would be alone. Yula’s mouth thinned again.

“I have enjoyed tending you, milady, and I would not be averse to staying here to serve you, but it will be Lord Tavik’s decision.”

“I’ll tell him to let you stay. He can’t expect you to go back. If it’s no place for me, it can’t be a place for you. Let him take Mrs. Boon. She’ll probably fit right in with the soldiers or scare them.”

Yula’s mouth lifted into a tiny smile. She began gathering her things. “It’s late. I will leave you to rest, and thank you.”

Naomi went over to her and gave her a hug. “We’ll figure something out. I’m not going to let you go easily.”

Once Yula was gone, Naomi turned to go to bed. She was a little sore from her riding lesson but felt a good night’s sleep would make her as good as new.

“Psst.”

Naomi stopped at the edge of her bed and looked down. Mr. Squibbles crawled out from underneath. “Why are you dressed for bed?” he asked.

“Because I was going to bed.”

“No, you’re not. This is the perfect opportunity to try to get into Tavik’s room. I bet he doesn’t lock it when he’s not in there. He doesn’t keep any papers or other important things in there.”

“You want to leave tonight?”

“We might not get a better chance!”

Naomi looked around her room in apprehension. She had not planned on trying anything tonight. She had not made any preparations. She was not even dressed.

“You said so yourself, it is near suicide to try and sneak into Tavik’s room while he’s there. Tonight is our chance,” he reminded her.

“Yula just said that Tavik will not be staying much longer in the castle. He’s planning to return to his troops before too long. We could just wait till he’s gone for good.”

“Do you really want to wait, or do you want to not do this at all? For someone who wants to find a unicorn to take her away from here, you aren’t acting very eager to start.”

Naomi stared at the small rodent and knew he was right. If she didn’t want to spend another night in this messed up world, she should leave now, not wait around. She had to consider her life back home. What was happening while she was away? What was her family suffering? With her priorities realigned, Naomi began to change.

Continue to Chapter 27.