The Slave trade thrived during the First War. It was the Humans and Fae who were the culprits. In order to keep the Centaurs in line, the two creatures would work together. Raiding centaur herds deep in the western woodlands. Fae and Human soldiers would overpower the older centaurs with their numbers. But they wouldn't kill them.  Instead, they'd tie them up and make them watch as they stole their young.

These young centaurs would be taken to the mines and forced to work. Centaurs were strong beasts, even as children. The best creatures to lift and carry the stone over and over again. The Centaurs left behind in their homes also became useful. The Fae and Humans blackmailing them to do their bidding. Threatening their captive children if they did not do as they instructed.

The Centaurs could not fight back in fear of their young. So they did as was commanded by their kings. Becoming his woodland toys to use as he pleased. Even being made to enter different centaur herds to either kill all or take their young.

Some of the free herds tried to fight back, to save some of the centaur children held in captivity. Most of the time, with little success. Together, the Humans and Fae had turned a race against each other. Resulting in the near extinction of wild centaur herds.

~The History of the First War of Vivelle. Volume One. Verse sixteen, Chapter One-hundred and twelve.

The Palace is in chaos. Last nights plan had gone better than I could have expected. Illyana is out. Myself, Master Audwin, Emlyn and Juliet had all been working on it since Illyana told us about the part of the Mad Queen's contract that we'd never been taught.

The fire had been a coincidence but proved to be the perfect distraction. I was fully aware of the protocol during an attack. Thankfully, the four of us were together at the time, planning Illyana's escape for the next night. Master Audwin had two maps in front of me. One was the original plans of the building. The other was the new plans. The new plans showed all the secret passageways. At least, that's what we thought. Which explains how my father managed to put guards at all the secret exits we thought he didn't know about it. What he really didn't know, however, is that when Nikalus remade the new palace maps, he kept some secrets off of it. Such as the passage that leads to the little spy hole over the council chambers. Also like the passage that leads from a small door in the courtyard, virtually next to the stables. The old workers entrance to the sewers. That was supposed to be the way Illyana would take. The old toilet drop we deemed too much of a risk if the current was strong. However, the fire blocked the way out into the courtyard. 

When the alarm was raised, we thankfully had everything we needed and knew it would be the perfect opportunity.

"Illyana will be in the Library," I had told the Master. I knew that she always struggled with mathematics and would want to study.  

"I know, I saw her there before we met up here," he told me as he rushed out going to find her. Taking the eyepatch and white eyeglass with him. Emlyn had rushed out too, grabbing the bags we'd just finished packing. He was to go to the stables and take Illyana's warhorse, Trouble, down to passage which would lead down the cliff and into the farmlands.

"Are you sure?" I asked Juliet. She nodded her head.

"Good," I said. I grabbed out the black wig and pulled some spare nightwear from my wardrobe. Thankfully, Juliet is the same height as Illyana and me. She pulls the white hood around her face, allowing the black braid of the wig to dangle from the side. We rushed over to the rug on my floor. Quickly, I opened the little door that was cut into my wooden floor. A passage I'd always known about which lead directly to the stairs of the tower where Illyana's room sits. She slides into it.

"Be quick, the guards will reach her room soon. Pretend to be asleep, keep the hood up and your head down. If they see the black hair, they'll assume it is Illyana. Keep the mark slightly exposed too. There'd be no one else in the room," I tell her, keeping my voice calm. We had painted Illyana's mark on her last night just in case. If the guards get a good look at that, then they won't even question if it is Illyana or not. She nods her head and takes off down the passage. I rushed around my room, finding the loose stone in the wall and sliding the maps into it before putting the stone back in again. Then, I jumped into bed and pulled the covers over me. Only seconds after I got into bed, the guards come in.

"Princess Fallon. You are to be escorted to a safe room. There is an intruder in the palace," a guard said as he shook my shoulder to wake me up. I groaned.

"Is that what all the commotion is about?" I asked, groggily. My room is a fair distance from the kitchens, however, a few corridors over are the main way to get toward them. So we had heard the panicked shouts of "Fire in the Kitchens!" whilst we planned.

I stood up and allowed the guards to surround me as we exited my room. We walked away from the kitchen where the fire was and met up with my sisters along the way. Some other guards were just coming out of the tower where Illyana's room was, surrounding Juliet. The hood was over her head, the black braid visible as is the mark. I wanted to laugh at the idiocy of the guards. Cordelia, Rayana and Shaelyn all looked scared. I didn't bother trying to reassure them. We are trying to play a part of enemies.

"What's going on? Cordelia asked.

"Intruder in the palace, Princess. They started a fire in the kitchens," he continued. We walked toward the safe room. I heard a shuffle next to us to see Master Audwin and a scholar running toward us. The scholar looked up.

Illyana.

The eye patch covered her blue eye and her face was a mixture of emotions. I let myself smile just a little and nodded. A tiny movement. A goodbye. Then, she was out of sight and we were ushered into the safe room.

Juliet, pretending to be Illyana curled up into the corner. She faced away from everyone and pretended to go back to sleep. Cordelia looked confused and I scoffed.

"Probably trying to rest as much as possible for the mathematics test tomorrow. You know how much she struggles with a simple sum," I taunted. Juliet didn't react.

"I suggest you all try and sleep princess," the guard said. "We don't know how long you'll be in here and you should rest as much as possible for your trial tomorrow." The girls all nodded and slumped on the floor. I did the same and I pretended to sleep.

We were in that room for about five hours before we were allowed back to our own.

"What about the intruder?" Shaelyn asked nervously.

"Found and killed on the spot. Seems as though a drunk local city boy thought it would be funny to break in and have a look at the sleeping princesses. Snuck down the kitchen chimneys. Somehow in his stumbling drunk state, he managed to spill flammable liquid into the flames of the oven and caused it to spread. In his panic, he ran and tried to hide. All a big misunderstanding really, but the boy had to be made an example of," the guard told us. "We shall escort you back to your rooms."

I scoffed again.

"No need, we can look after ourselves," I said, walking out. Juliet followed me as did the other girls. We didn't speak, just headed back to our rooms. When I got back to mine I opened the hatch on the floor and waited. Juliet appeared about thirty minutes after.

"Sorry, the guards were watching to make sure I got back to my room safely. Had to make sure they were all gone before I went to the passage."

The sun had just started to rise and I sighed in relief. We had done it. Illyana was out. I put the black wig in the fireplace so it burned away and handed Juliet back her work uniform. I then gave her a little potion to scrub the paint of the mark off her chest so she wasn't discovered.

"You should go now," I told her. "Check on Illyana when you normally would and then report her missing," I ordered. She nodded her head and walked out the door. She bowed quickly as some guards came up to my door. Shit. I thought. Now she's been seen in my room. They barely glanced at her as she disappeared.

"Princess Fallon. You are to be escorted to the Throne room," he told me.

"Why?" I snapped angrily.

"Your father has requested your presence," he replied and I followed him out annoyed.

Now, four of us stand in the throne room. Father's face is red with rage and the room is silent. We are the only ones in here.

"Where's Illyana?" Shaelyn whispers next to me. I dare not answer as father's gaze slams straight on us.

Finally, he speaks.

"That's the same question I've been asking myself all morning." His voice is oddly calm and he closes his eyes. He takes a long, slow deep breath. My sisters tense beside me.

"I will give you this one chance girls. Do any of you know where she is? Somewhere asleep in the Library perhaps, studying for the tests ready for today? Or maybe, she's gone somewhere quiet to study and lost track of time?" he asks, again with an oddly calm voice.

"No," Cordelia chokes. "I haven't seen her since she left back for her room this morning. After the attack," she replies with a shaking voice. He nods his head slowly.

"Fallon, Rayana, Shaelyn?" he asks.

"Same as Cordelia," Shaelyn and Rayana says nervously as they hide their shaking hands behind their backs. Father looks at me and I shrug.

"I've not seen her since she sulked back to her room this morning," I sigh, sounding board. It goes quiet again. So quiet that we all jump when the doors open. I turn and almost curse under my breath. It's Sir Jago. He is supposed to be with the Red Guard joining Lord Kristoff in the Northern borders. What the fuck is he doing back? I glare at him as he walks down next to us. He just smirks, the jagged line of his scar over his eye crinkling. He walks past us and bows in front of my father.

"My King," he bows gracefully. It is an odd movement. So smooth and elegant. Not suiting his rough, dark attire which hides him almost completely. He doesn't belong in the finary of court.

"Have you found her?" Father asks.

"I have searched thoroughly around the castle and even the passages marked on your building plans. I even enlisted the help of all the other members of the Red Guard who are here to help," he says. "There is no way she would have been able to hide from us all. She is gone." Father gulps and nods his head.

"What do you mean, gone?" he asks. I watch as my fathers face gets redder and his hands grip the throne so tightly they go white.

"It also appears as though her warhorse is missing from the stables. I found an old workers passage in the courtyard and explored down there. It has not been used for many years, yet when I went down the walls were stained from fresh wax from candles," he explains. "There was another passage which leads to the river that goes through the cliff. I believe it used to be the old sewage disposal. There were two sets of footprints in the mud coming from the river, leading back into the main passage. That passage then ended at a small exit in the cliff face which has a narrow path leading to the farmlands. What I found on this path once I looked further, were hoof prints. Big enough to match those of the missing warhorse."

"Two sets of footprints in the mud?" he asks. "What size? What type of shoe?"

"One was a regular working boot. Male," Sir Jago responds. "The other was smaller and bare. I found a slipper floating on the edges of the river. As though the swim knocked it off. The shoe and foot size of a young woman," he finishes. I curse Emlyn in my head. He was meant to deal with all this shit! Leave no trace behind! How did Jago even find it?

I focus on keeping my expression neutral, letting nothing on. Father is quiet again, shaking his head.

"I reached the bottom of the cliff. It would seem whoever took the horse is headed toward the mountains across the farming plains. My guess is that it was the Princess. The only horse missing was her's and you know that beast would only respond to her command."

"What time would all this have happened?" Father asks, obviously still in denial. We shouldn't know about the contract. We should have no reason to leave.

"My guess from the dryness of the mud and the distortion of the footprints from the wind which hit us at three a.m plus the temperature of the candle wax against the wall, it would have been in the early hours of the morning. Probably during the time of the fire, judging by the very faint burnt smell I could sense," he tells him.

"You have to be wrong, Sir Jago," my father seeths. "Illyana was accounted for. She was picked up out of her room during that time. The guards and girls all saw her," he warns. Jago just laughs which enrages father a little more.

"It would have been easy for someone to appear in the Princesses room. Have a bit of black hair on show and a hood over the head as is normal for keeping warm. The guards would have taken one look at her in the dark and assumed it was the princess. Who else would be in her room, wearing her clothes with black hair?" he asks.

Father glares at us again.

"Did no one look at her face? You are her sisters, how did you not look at her?" father shouts. I scoff.

"We aren't exactly on talking terms," I sigh as though I'm bored. "We have no reason to pass a glance at each other. We were just grateful she decided not to open her trap and leave us alone to rest ready for today's test," I shrug.

Another figure comes in. A servant I am barely familiar with.

"Your majesty, all the staff have searched every part of the palace. In every gap we could think of. We haven't found her," the servant says. He leaves quickly as my father silences again. My heart beats in my ears as we stand in uncomfortable silence for what feels like a century. Fathers face gets redder and redder. His eyes flicker as though his brain is running at a million miles per hour. Sweat pours off his forehead and his whole body is shaking with rage. Then, he explodes.

He lets out a scream of rage I've never before witnessed that even has myself and Jago stepping back. My sisters cower and instinctively step closer toward me. 

"That fucking bitch!" he shouts. Spit flying from his mouth and his green eyes bloodshot. "Find her!" he screams "Gather all the Red Guard and bring her back. Send word to Kristoff and get him back here. Follow the tracks and hunt that bitch down! Take every soldier you can find. You're in charge whilst Kristoff is gone. Send patrols out all over Vivelle in every fucking direction! I want every inch of this miserable fucking country searched! Get it done quickly before the people know she is gone!" Sir Jago nods his head and runs from the room and I hear him shouting orders to all the guards he passes as he disappears down the corridors. Father looks at us. He walks slowly toward us and we stand still. We dare not move.

"If I find out any of you fucking helped her, I'll kill you," he tells us. Cordelia stares back at him angrily.

"Why that fuck would we help her escape?" she snaps which shocks me slightly. He growls and paces in front of us.

Master Audwin walks in.

"Your majesty," he bows.

"I haven't got time for your shit! Get out of my sight!" he orders.

"I'm sorry my king, but I have distressing news," he says.

"What?" father booms. Master Audwin gulps and licks his lips nervously.

"I heard you shouting to find the Princess before the people find out," he gulps, his voice drying.

"My scholars have just returned from their usual morning walks around the city," he whispers in fear. The Scholars will always walk around the city three times a day. Dawn, midday and Dusk. They report everything they see and here to go into the history books.

"What is it Master Audwin? Spit it out!" father growls.

"The people know," he gulps. "They know she's gone. They are talking about the contract. Saying she will be the True Queen."

Another silence.

"What contract?" Shaelyn asks timidly. My sisters have picked up quickly and are playing along. Thank goodness. Father's eyes dart straight to her and she cowers.

"Get the fuck out! All of you get out!" We run out of the hall quickly. We rush to one of the balconies which look over the city and the courtyard below. Sir Jago is shouting orders to a sea of soldiers. They rush around panicked as the stable hands grab their horses. They all mount their horses and ready to leave, the red guard in front. The gates open and most of the soldiers leave, their horses racing into the city. Jago opens the passage that leads to the path Illyana went down last night. The Red Guard file into it, their warhorses ready to go. Jago looks up at us with a grin before disappearing. My heart thuds in my chest. I then catch the eyes of Merissa and Wyatt at the back. They nod their heads at me and I smile with relief. They managed to work our whole friendship group into the team searching for Illyana. Not that it meant she was safe, of course. There are at least eight more Red Guard with them that are loyal to my father. With a long sigh, I turn and run to a balcony at the back of the palace that looks over the farmland plains. I can see the Red Guard confidently racing down the mountainside before reaching the bottom. Once on the ground, their beasts take off, running at the immense speed that only a warhorse can reach. A group of fifteen in total. Fifteen of our best spies and warriors all hunting Illyana. I watch them disappear into small dots and let out a small smile. They won't find her.

"So, she's done it?" Rayana barely whispers in my ear. I nod and turn to my sisters and Master Audwin.

"She's doing her part, now its time to do ours. Now, we move onto the next step," I tell them. They nod, their expressions shifting from those of fear to determination.

We walk back into the corridors and are met by Scholar Jensen. The slimy new scholar who father has made officiate most of our trials. His way of trying to push Master Audwin out.

"Princesses," he says with a bow. "I must regret to inform you that due to your sister's disappearance, your Queen's Trial has come to a halt." We look shocked.

"The King requests your presence again. You are to go to the city to make an announcement to the rest of the people." We nod our heads and walk away. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. We are one step closer.

One step closer to being free.