Suddenly, my body jerked. The horse must have moved. After a brief silence, someone removed the burlap sack from my head, restoring my vision.
“Are you all right, Lady Edigma?”
As the captain’s face appeared before me, he removed the ropes binding my hands.
“Yes,” I replied. “What’s going on right now?”
“I was told to wait here.”
On closer inspection, we’d been led into a small waiting room with only plain chairs and a desk. The captain had knocked out our captive, who was lying on the ground.
“I needed to put him to sleep for a good, long while,” the captain said. “We can’t trust him, after all.”
He bound and gagged the man with materials he seemed to acquire from thin air. That done, he tossed the man out of sight. Albert’s knights took their jobs seriously.
“How many soldiers did you see on our way here?” I asked.
I hadn’t caught a single glimpse of our surroundings due to the burlap sack. Conversely, the captain saw everything while playing the part of a mercenary.
“I didn’t see many on my way here,” he replied. “This stronghold doesn’t seem to contain a large force. It should be easy for us to signal to the high commander.”
“And how are we going to do that?”
“Oh, I forgot myself. Please take this. I have an extra one.”
The captain handed me something called a smoke candle. I’d never seen one before, but I knew about them. They were used to raise smoke signals.
“Break off this part when you want to raise the signal,” the captain instructed. “The inside will ignite, and smoke will pour out of the candle.”
“Thank you.”
“This will be the signal for the high commander and his men to attack from the front. I’ll throw a rope over the wall to let a portion of our forces in from there. I’ve already decided on a possible location, so we can raise the signal and have them scale the wall in the same place. All that’s left is to put the plan into motion. If a better opportunity presents itself, use the candle then. Our men will see the signal as soon as one of us uses it.”
As I placed the smoke candle in my pocket, the captain peeked through a crack in the door.
“We should be safe now,” he said, opening the door softly. “Let’s go.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
We did our best to leave the room quietly. Thankfully, we didn’t see many soldiers inside the gloomy fortress. Based on how unaccustomed they seemed to security roles, they were probably mercenaries. Regardless, we continued onward while holding our breaths.
Eventually, we arrived at a place that served as an easily identifiable landmark. The captain threw his rope over the wall and secured it to a large tree on our end. With Albert’s men storming the front and scaling the wall, they could surround the enemy.
Next, we needed to locate Reynaldo. We kept ourselves hidden while searching for him and the queen since we didn’t know where either was.
Albert’s plan was: We would regroup with Reynaldo if possible, but if this proved difficult, we would hide and observe from nearby. Alternatively, we would raise the smoke signal if we found the queen or Reynaldo was in danger. Either way, Albert wanted us to raise the smoke signal as soon as we found the queen, even if Reynaldo wasn’t there. After all, he might not have reached the fortress. In the worst-case scenario, he might have been captured already.
“It’s a dangerous gamble, but Reynaldo would agree if he were here,” Albert said. “He would prioritize the capture of Queen Tia, regardless of whether his life was in danger. Oh, but please don’t misunderstand. This isn’t for revenge. Capturing the ringleader—in this case, Queen Tia—provides us with the best chance for survival. If we leave her to her own devices, she could cause international problems. As the new prime minister, Reynaldo believes this would be the worst possible situation for Dirésias.”
At any rate, I wanted to confirm Reynaldo’s safety as soon as possible.
Please be okay.
Unable to do anything but pray, I walked around the fortress with the captain in search of Queen Tia. My prayers fell on deaf ears. While hiding in the shadows, I heard a voice that plunged me into despair.
“We’ve captured Reynaldo Rose!” a soldier shouted excitedly. “Take him to Queen Tia!”
When I shot up to catch a glimpse of Reynaldo, the captain pressed me back down by the shoulders. We needed to be patient.
“The situation is dire, but we’ll be able to locate Queen Tia,” he said. “Let’s stay put for now.”
I nodded. Still hiding, I stole a glance in the direction of the voices. They were gradually approaching us. Multiple men restrained a silent Reynaldo and led him forward. Ropes bound his hands, and wounds covered his body. He showed no signs of resisting arrest. Though the soldiers claimed to have captured him, he must have brazenly marched into the fortress after reading Tia’s letter.
I feared as much.
I correctly predicted how he would react to the stolen coffin. That broke my heart. Reynaldo would lay down his life to retrieve his sister’s remains, no matter how many years she’d been gone. The knights had doubted that he would be so impulsive. However, I’d known the truth—come hell or high water, he’d storm the fortress.
Despite knowing that I was her reincarnation, Reynaldo’s one and only beloved sister still slept within that coffin, even if only her bones remained. Rosemary’s foolish and most beloved younger brother would never give up on her.
In that case, I can’t give up either.
My past self prayed for Reynaldo’s happiness, and I would grant that wish no matter what.
“Let’s follow them,” I said to the captain, steeling myself.
He nodded. More people gathered in the fortress due to Reynaldo’s capture, and we followed them stealthily.