III - DEFY

Kat helped the Princess lace up the back of her dress before they raced out of the room leaving the startled guards behind them. Georgiana's hair was still dripping wet and clung to her back as they moved quickly along the twisting corridors.

The two ladies didn't talk as they pushed past the men and women that intercepted their path as they headed for the large wooden doors that lead outside. The guards either side of the door squinted as the girls approached them, their eyes widening when they realised it was Princess Georgiana. They fumbled, clumsily to open the door in time for the girls to rush through them.

The courtyard was nearly deserted apart from a few servants going about their daily chores. A couple of them stopped and stared after the two girls who ran down the front steps and across the courtyard. They passed through the gate and into the outer courtyard where a large crowd of peasants and village folk had gathered.     

Georgiana flinched and came to an abrupt halt when the sound of a whip was heard followed by a large cry from the gathering crowd. She looked at Kat out of the corner of her eye and saw that the blood from her friends face had drained. Georgiana was sure that hers reflected the same pale complexion.

Another lash of the whip encouraged Georgiana to start elbowing her way through the crowd. She ignored the curse words that were spat in her face as she pushed and shoved, desperation to find Benjamin surging through her veins. However, it seemed that whenever she took a few steps forwards she would find herself being pushed or dragged backwards.

"Stop! I have to get to-" She shouted above the cheers and screams but no one heard her or even took notice of her. Her hair was wet and stuck against her face and she was wearing one of her plainest dresses; no one would have taken her for the Princess of England.   

"Please I have to get to-" She strained her voice to be heard over the noise.

"Get back and watch from your own spot, girly." A grubby looking man spat down at her, flashing his rotting teeth.

"Georgiana!" A hand pushed through the crowd in front of her and the sleeve of Kat's dress came into view. Georgiana grabbed onto her hand tightly and pushed with all her might past the man with rotting teeth and the rest of the crowd.

When they could finally see the opening where the crowd filtered out, both the girls shoved their way past the last couple of onlookers. Now at the edge of the crowd, Georgiana breathed in a much needed breath of air as she took in the sight in front of her.

Bile rose and burned the back of her throat. One minute she was standing the next she was hunched over, gasping for air as she dry heaved. Kat was beside her, an arm wrapped around her waist and her hand held her hair away from her face.

"Deep breaths, Georgiana." Kat's voice sounded distant. Georgiana squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her jaw as the cheers around her grew louder and louder. The volume of their chanting and cheering thundered in a never ending beat that rattled around her skull. She had stopped heaving but still found it hard to breathe. She was terrified to open her eyes again and witness what she had just seen.

"Georgiana? My Lady?" Kat whispered beside her ear. Calling her 'My Lady' was a risk, especially exposed among the villagers. If anyone knew that the Princess of England was among them, alone and unprotected, who knows what havoc it may cause.        

Georgiana opened her eyes and turned to look at her friend. Kat's worry was written across her face. "I'm fine." Georgiana whispered. She dared herself to look up just as the sound of the whip hitting raw flesh rippled through the air once more.

Benjamin's shirt was torn and the two pieces of material clung to his chest, drenched in blood. He knelt, his wrists bound and tied around a post. His back was exposed, bloodied and broken.

Another flick of the whip sent his body surging forwards and his head tilted backwards, his face contorted in agony.

"Stop!" A scream echoed around the crowd. Georgiana snapped her head in the direction of the scream and gasped as Abigail thrashed wildly against the arms of two soldiers. "Stop!" She shrieked, her face red and tear stained.

Georgiana sprang forwards a shout of protest poised in her throat but a firm arm wrapped itself around her stomach and a gloved hand covered her mouth. Her body tensed up in fear and she clawed against the hand at her mouth. Kat stood, frozen and wide-eyed beside her.

"It's me, calm down. Stop drawing so much attention to yourself. You look like a mad woman." It took a few moments for Georgiana to recognise that the voice belonged to her brother. Alexander removed his hand from her mouth but kept her still with the arm around her stomach.

"Alex, we have to stop the whipping, he did nothing wrong." She shouted over the roaring crowd.

"You know we can't. He's under father's command." Alex said firmly into her ear. Georgiana clenched her eyes shut once more, wishing for all of it to disappear. When she reopened them Francis stood a few feet away from them his head covered under a large, black hooded cape. Their eyes met but Francis's face remained expressionless.

"Please." Georgiana breathed, whether it was towards her brother or Francis she was unsure. She caught the slight tension in Francis's jaw before his gaze locked on her brother behind her.

"I can't, you know I can't." Alex hissed. He suddenly removed his arm and turned her so that she was facing him, "I'm sorry Gee. I know he's your friend but I can't intervene." He said sympathetically, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze.

"Please," She begged, "It's all my fault. It should be me who's getting punished."

Alex looked down at her in alarm but she was looking away from him in the direction of the whipping, a look of determination on her face. Alex knew that look, he'd seen it one too many times. He nodded at Francis and said, "Take her back to the castle." Francis returned the nod and grabbed Georgiana's wrist before she could even begin to interrupt.

"Alex, no! What are you doing? He needs my help; I need to put a stop to this." Georgiana cried, but her voice once again became muted under the crowd's loud shouts.

As she was dragged away by Francis, she turned her head just in time to see Alex step into the open circle with ease and stride up to the man holding the whip.

***

"My Lady, please stop shouting." Kat said calmly from behind them.

"Let go of me!" Georgiana continued to scream. Francis hadn't said a word. He clutched her elbow tightly in his hand and with the other he kept her body pressed closely to his, taking her angry remarks with no retaliation. 

"Get your hands off me!" She spat, pulling against his tight grip.

"Prince Francis, Your Highness, maybe it would be best if I see to the Princess." Kat proposed, running to keep up with the Prince's long strides.

"Leave us." Was all Francis said as they stopped momentarily outside Georgiana's chambers for the guards to open the door.

Leaving a bewildered Kat on the other side of the door, Francis turned and shook the Princess by her shoulders.

"Are you mad?" He shouted. "Do you know what sort of attention you could have drawn to yourself? Hell, you probably did with that dramatic outburst."

"He is my friend." Georgiana said through gritted teeth.

"People get punished all the time, Princess."

"-And I'm supposed to stand back and let it happen, am I?" She replied, shrugging his hands off her shoulders and shooting him a glare.

"Yes!" He exclaimed, running a frustrated hand through his hair. When his back was turned to her, Georgiana's gaze flickered towards the door, every thought of escape running through her mind. 

"Don't even think about it." Francis said each word thick with seriousness. She looked over at him and saw that his back was still towards her. How did he know?

"I know you like the back of my hand. I know you'll stop at nothing to defy your father."     

"If you think you know me so well, maybe you should have let me step into the circle and stop the whipping myself-" Georgiana started smugly.

"-And what? Get whipped half to death yourself. Not one of your best ideas, love."

"Don't call me that." She said, irritated at the heat rising in her cheeks.

"The moment you step out of these castle walls your life is in danger." Francis continued, "If you had stepped foot into that circle and protested that man would have given you a good lashing, Princess or not."

"He wouldn't have dared."

"Is this the usual attire for a Princess?" Francis stood up straight and looked at her from head to toe, deliberately slow to prove his point. "You're not even wearing shoes."

Georgiana looked down at her mud splattered feet and flexed her toes. An overwhelming feeling of exhaustion raked over her body and her head was throbbing from all the anger she was feeling.

She felt the Prince's gaze follow her as she walked wearily over to her bed and fell backwards onto it. She couldn't stop the tears as they pinched the backs of her eyes before falling onto her cheeks.

"He's my friend." She whispered turning her head away from him as she heard his footsteps approach the bed. She hated crying in front of people. Feeling the bed shift beside her, her body tensed when see sensed him lying down next to her. They both lay in a comfortable silence, Georgiana focused on stopping her tears.    

It was only when she felt his fingertips brush against hers that a small gasp escaped her lips. She looked over at him and met his gaze, a small smile tugged at his lips as if to say, 'It will be alright.'

***

Fourteen year old Georgiana lay alongside the riverbank, picking at a small cluster of flowers beside her head. Her father, the King of England, had just scolded her for her rude behaviour at a ball the previous day and now she determined to sulk until nightfall.

She hated that she was forbidden to talk to anyone at the balls that were held in their castle. Her father had said that she was beginning to develop a reputation for voicing her own opinion at inappropriate times and that would not do. He had ordered the guards to escort her back to her chambers early before she even had the chance to dance.

So, now she lay with her eyes closed, her ears pricked at the sound of the water running beside her. The hot summer sun beat down on her face and the exposed skin on her arms, causing her body to feel like it was slowly melting into the freshly cut grass.

The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted her moment of paradise. She propped herself up on her elbows and squinted against the bright sunlight at the two figures that stopped several feet away from her.  

"Still sulking?" the French Prince asked with a heavy accent.

"You'd be sulking too if your father had denied you the chance to dance at the ball."

"Ah but my father is in France." Francis grinned as Georgiana rolled her eyes and fell back onto the grass.

Francis had been in Georgiana's life for as long as she could remember. From infancy it was important for the King and Queen of England and the King and Queen of France that their eldest sons were friends. Alexander and Corbin became good friends but it was the King of France's second eldest son that Alexander bonded with the most. Growing up, Francis spent long periods of time visiting his friend's country and learning their customs.  

"You're lucky. I'd love to be away from my family." Georgiana said placing an arm over her eyes to shield them from the burning sun.

"Hey!" Alexander protested and nudged his sister's side with his foot.

"Not you, or Elizabeth or Mother for that matter. You know exactly who I mean."

Alexander sighed and sat down beside Georgiana on the grass. "I know you and father don't see eye to eye but you could at least try to get along with each other."

Georgiana snorted. "Like that will ever happen. You have more chance of catching me cooking something edible in the kitchen before me and father are civil with each other."

"I'd pay good money to see you cooking." Francis chuckled at the sarcastic grin the Princess shot in his direction.

"And I'd pay good money to watch you eat it without throwing it back up." Alex retorted, earning a smack on the arm from his sister.

"You two are very aggressive towards each other today." Francis stated, sitting down on the other side of Georgiana.

"We're siblings." Alexander and Georgiana said in unison. They looked at each other and broke into a fit of laughter.

High above them the leaves on the trees twisted and fluttered against the light breeze. Georgiana treasured this place, away from the hustle and bustle of the castle, with the only sounds being the running stream and the rhythmic sound of wings flapping as birds flew freely overhead. How she longed to be one of those birds, flying freely, allowing the wind to be your guide.

A feather like sensation against her skin made Georgiana look away from the birds in the sky and down to her arm. Her eyes widened a fraction when she saw Francis brushing the tips of his fingers against the inside of her forearm. She watched in silence as he caressed her skin like a painter would a canvas. Holding her breath, she dared herself to look up. He wasn't looking at her, well he was but his gaze was focused on her skin. As if sensing her gaze he lifted his head and his grey eyes met her hazel ones. Neither of them said a word. The silence wasn't suffocating, to Georgiana it felt peaceful. Offering her a timid, friendly smile Francis pulled away his hand and stood up abruptly.

"Well I don't know about you two but I feel like doing something today rather than lounging about doing nothing in this heat." He said placing his hands on his hips. Alexander groaned and rolled over onto his side, facing away from his sister and friend.

"Not in this heat." Alexander mumbled.

"Come on, Alex. Last one to the centre of the maze has to do a forfeit."

Alex rolled over and looked up at his friend, "You're on." Pushing himself up off the grass Alex shoved his friend backwards and sprinted off towards the maze.

"I'll get you back for that!" Francis shouted stumbling over his own feet in order to catch up with Alex. "Come on Georgiana, who knows what the forfeit might be." He called out behind him.

Georgiana sat up and watched as her brother and his friend raced towards the garden maze. With an unladylike groan, she pushed herself up, gathered her skirts in her hands and ran after them.

***

Their blissful silence was interrupted when the chamber doors swung open to reveal a tense looking Alex. Both Georgiana and Francis sat up immediately and Francis retracted his hand from hers.

"Well, it looks like you got her to calm down. I won't ask how exactly." Alex said, raising an eyebrow at their current position. Francis rose from the bed and took three large steps in the direction of the balcony.

"Are you angry?" Georgiana asked looking over at her brother.

"Yes, but not as much as father would have been if he'd seen you there."

"Did you stop it? Is Benjamin okay?" She asked panic rising up in her chest.

Alex winced and shuffled awkwardly on his feet. "I stopped it. Benjamin is with the nearest physician, Abigail is with him." Georgiana rushed to her feet and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Thank you." She breathed. Alex patted her back and returned the embrace before they both pulled away.

"I think it would be best if you stay in your room for the rest of the day. I'll have Evelin bring you up some dinner. I don't want father finding out about this." Alex shot Francis a look before kissing his sister on the forehead and leaving the room.

Georgiana turned to Francis as he walked over to her, "I'm sorry for lashing out at you earlier. I know you were just trying to protect me."

Francis gave her a weak smile before pressing a delicate kiss on her cheek, "Always, love."

Once he had also left the room, Georgiana sat back down on the bed and stared at the door. Dread pulled at her heart and she couldn't help but think that there was something they weren't telling her.

***

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