The guard leads Alice along corridors, up some stairs, down another handful corridors, for a surprisingly long time, considering the size of the castle. Alice keeps tight track of the route they take, looking for any other possible exits, any other details that might come in handy later, and continuously updates their location inside the castle in the mental map of what the castle looks like on the outside.
It's warmer in the castle than she expected. She's not sure why she expected it to be cold. Maybe it's that a big stone structure like this should be impossible to keep warm simply due to the sheer amount of air inside, especially after it's been cold for long enough that the walls themselves are cold and sucking heat out of the air. But somehow the castle is well heated, and Alice finds herself sweating in her winter clothes. There's no way she can take them off, though. It would be immediately obvious she lied to get in.
Eventually they stop at a door on the second floor of the western wall of the castle. Alice is almost certain below them is the big hall she peered into through the windows while circling the castle. The guard knocks. They wait a long while. Then the door opens, and a tired-looking woman looks out.
Alice's stomach sinks. This isn't a face she's ever seen before. Did the guard lead her to the wrong place? Maybe he saw through her disguise that only barely qualifies as a disguise, and took her somewhere to be detained.
"An urgent package for lady Vanessa," the guard tells the woman, who nods and opens the door farther. She looks at Alice for a moment, as if she expects something from her. It takes her a moment to understand that this is a servant, waiting to take the non-existent package for her lady.
"I have clear instructions to only give it directly to the lady herself," she tells the servant.
"The lady is sleeping," the servant says. "I will make sure she gets it in the morning when she wakes."
"I'm sorry, but I can't give it to you. I was sent here this time of night, because it is, from what little I know, very important that the lady gets it as soon as possible, and it is important that I make sure she herself receives it. If it wasn't so I would have given it to the guards down at the front door."
The servant seems to think for a moment longer, but maybe the fact that the guard brought her up here at all convinces her, because she turns and disappears inside, leaving Alice and the guard waiting by the door.
She's starting to think the servant completely forgot about them when she finally hears sounds from the inside. Vanessa appears at the door, dressed in a long, soft robe, looking like she has just been dragged out of bed. Which, of course, she has been. Her eyes brighten as she recognises her (she would, in any disguise, not to mention a terrible one like this), and a lot of the fog of sleeps seems to clear up. But it all disappear again in a split second, her face completely under control. If Alice didn't know her so well, she would have never noticed. But she does, and she did, and her her heart is fluttering at the sight of her.
"What is this?" Vanessa asks, her voice thick with sleep.
"A package for you, lady," Alice does a small bow she hopes is at least somewhat close to something that would be expected of someone delivering a package to a lady. "From the oldest son of lord Callan."
Vanessa's eyes glitter and she gives a small smile that breaks Alice's heart.
"Oh," Vanessa says. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Come in."
And she moves out of the doorway to let Alice and the guard in.
"My lady, we shouldn't," the guard says before Vanessa has had time to take two steps into the room. "I must get back to my station, and I can't leave a visitor in the castle unattended. He can simply hand you the package, and then we'll go and let you go back to sleep."
"Nonsense," Vanessa says. "Since I'm already awake, I want a cup of wine, and you deserve one too, as well as a break from standing out in the halls all night. Not to mention this poor courier who has made it all the way here in the cold night."
"I must get back to my station," the guard repeats, but he sounds uncertain now.
"One cup," Vanessa says. "The front doors will be fine for the time of one cup of wine. Come."
The guard gives up. They follow Vanessa into the room and sit on plush chairs. Vanessa is clearly being treated well. She doesn't simply have a room, she has rooms, at least three, as far as Alice can see. She has more space here for herself than they have together back at home. And a servant. She might be here against her will, but at least she has everything she needs besides freedom.
"Tasi dear, could you please get us a bottle of wine, the red one from the west? I believe there is one more bottle in the cupboard here," she asks the servant. "And cups. Take one for yourself, too, and join us."
"So," Vanessa begins as the servant returns from the other room and starts pouring drinks for them all. "What is Callan's oldest sending me?"
"I wouldn't know, lady," Alice says. "I've only been paid to bring it here with haste."
"Ah, pity. He is such a waggish man, isn't he?" Vanessa says as the servant hands then each a cup.
"Again, I must admit I wouldn't know, lady," Alice says, pretending to sip from her cup. "I only met him very briefly, when he sent me to you."
"If I may," the guards says and takes a drink. "I worked in their household for a while, and I would not describe the oldest as waggish my any means. The middle one, maybe, but even that is a stretch."
"Hmm," Vanessa's face is thoughtful. "Maybe I have gotten the wrong impression of him, then. Most of what I know is from other people, after all. I've only met him twice."
For the next fifteen minutes Alice is newly amazed at how well Vanessa is able to keep a conversation going when she needs to. This isn't the first time she's seen it in action, but it has been a year since she's seen her at all. There's practically no substance to any of what she's saying, but somehow words keep coming out, and the guard keeps chatting with her, soon drawing in the servant too. Alice tries to keep out of it, knowing Vanessa is much better at this than she is. She sits, and pretends to drink her wine, and waits.
The guard sets the empty cup on the table, and shakes his head a little, like he is dizzy.
"I really do need to get back to my station now. Thank you for the wine. Come on," he's gesturing to Alice as he stands up. He begins to tip off balance immediately, takes a side step and falls back into the chair. The servant is already leaning her head on the back of the chair, her eyes closed. Alice goes to the maid as Vanessa looks the guard over. Both of them are in a deep sleep.
"You have planned this out a lot better from the inside than I ever could," Alice says as she straightens and suddenly finds her arms full of Vanessa.
She is warm, and soft, and wonderful, and Alice chokes on a sob. Despite the fact that her memories were locked away for almost the entire time they have been apart, they have still weakened. She has forgotten the way they fit together perfectly. She has forgotten the way Vanessa's, wild, wild hair always gets in her face when they're close. She has almost forgotten her scent, but not quite, and she can now smell it underneath the smell of Fey Wilds that is clinging on her after a year in this place.
And then Vanessa is gone again, pulling away.
"There's no time," she says. "Someone will get suspicious any moment now. He's been gone too long for it to be any way reasonable he's simply walking a package delivery to my room and back."
Alice wipes tears from her face, aching to pull Vanessa back in, but she knows Vanessa is right. They're in a race against time, and every moment they spend not moving they are closer to losing. They will have all the time in the world later, but only if they get out of here first.
"I brought you clothes," Alice says as she pulls them out of her backpack and hands them to Vanessa.
It takes Vanessa about a minute to pull off her night gown and pull on the layers of winter clothes Alice brought for her. And then they're at the door, peering through to make sure there's no one in the corridor, and through, trying their best to walk softly so they're hurried steps don't echo through the empty halls of the Winter Castle.
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The topic for tomorrow is Count.
~matleena
meep <3
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