The Lionesses get Marcus to safety, but it isn't what he expected

Marcus shivered in the cold wind. Even wrapped up under Charlotte's cloak, the chill seemed to cut right through him, not helped by the rather short dress he was still wearing. As embarrassing as the outfit still was, at least it had worked somehow! With the help of the three brave adventurers, he'd managed to escape the castle under Gaius' nose! They'd run into a group of armed soldiers almost as soon as they'd left his room, trampling around his family home in full armor. They'd been wearing the emblem of crossed spears over a bear's head on their cloaks and shields, his uncle's sigil, and they'd been looking for him! Stopping the three women and the disguised young prince, they'd tarted asking questions, demanding to know if anyone had seen a silver-haired boy. Marcus had been so frightened they'd recognize him he'd hardly been able to breathe, but just as she'd promised, Charlotte had smoothly talked her way past them, telling the men that he was a relative of hers she was trying to get to safety.

Her story had sounded convincing enough, but the men had still been a little suspicious of Marcus judging by how they'd been staring at him so intently, all those intense looks making him cower and hide behind Charlotte's back, silently praying that no-one would realize who he was. That was until Tabby had snuck up behind him and smacked him right across the butt, quite hard too! He'd jumped and squealed in shock, as Tabby had laughed loudly and told the men he was just a shy girl, but they were all trying to get him out of his shell. Winking at the soldiers, she'd told them Marcus might be looking for a boyfriend soon, drawing eager smiles from what seemed like every one of the men, even if that definitely wasn't true! Probably because they thought no real prince would ever let himself be handled that way, the soldiers had let them past after that, much to Marcus' trembling relief. He really wished Tabby hadn't been so bold as to smack his butt like that, especially hard enough to sting, but...her plan had worked, so he couldn't exactly complain. If he was honest with himself, it wasn't like he'd ever manage to muster even a word of protest to the slender brunette and her endless teasing smirks that made him feel so small and helpless.

Now, having slipped out through the castle gates with no further incident, they were all on horseback, riding down the empty road away from the only home Marcus had ever known and leaving his family's castle to Gaius. It was still hard for Marcus to believe his uncle had turned on his father like this but...after what he'd seen he could hide from the truth no longer. Gaius was a traitor, planning to overthrow the kingdom, and he was looking for Marcus too! If it weren't for Charlotte and the Scarlet Lionesses, he'd have surely been captured by those soldiers! And who knows what his uncle would have done to him then?

Just the thought made the young prince shiver again, and Charlotte shifted against his back, her arm slipping tighter around his chest to hold him firmly on the saddle in front of her. Despite how cold he was, the young prince felt his cheeks flush with heat as he felt the strength in her grip. He wasn't much of a rider himself, as much as he did like horses, so he was very glad Charlotte had volunteered to let him ride with her, even if it meant being tightly pressed against an armored woman. She really was a lot like the heroines from his favorite stories, and as they rode down the long and empty road Marcus together the young prince found his mind wandering. He could almost imagine himself in the place of the hapless young peasant boy from the book he'd just been reading, who'd been saved from the clutches a wicked monster by a brave lady knight. After defeating the beast, the knight had carried him in her arms out of the cave, a part of the story that always made Marcus sigh with delight. Now, he had his own lady knight, and Charlotte certainly seemed strong enough to easily carry a boy like him.

Marcus felt rather dizzy just thinking about it, but he couldn't shake the lingering fantasy from his mind. The saddle between his legs rolled him up and down, and with Charlotte's arm wrapped around his chest he was feeling rather safe and secure in spite of everything that had just happened. In the cool dark, with Tabby and Juno a little ways behind on their own horses, it wasn't hard to imagine it was just the two of them instead, and she was taking him back to her splendid manor to care for and protect him. The young prince felt his eyes flutter, a wave of exhaustion sweeping over him. After all the fear and shock of the past few hours, he suddenly could hardly keep himself awake. He slumped over the horse, only Charlotte's grip keeping him upright, but he somehow knew the brave lady knight would never let him fall. With that comforting thought drawing a shy smile to his lips, the young prince drifted off to sleep, lulled there by the rhythmic beats of the horse's hooves beneath him.

"Wake up, prince." Charlotte's voice jolted him awake what felt like an instant later. The young prince's eyes snapped open, a little shocked gasp escaping his lips. He was still sitting on the horse, under Charlotte's cloak with the lady knight holding him against her chest, but they'd stopped riding. He raised his head, glancing around him. It was still mostly dark, the air chilly, but he could just make out the horizon starting to brighten off against the far-away hills, the red of dawn just creeping up over the sky. It must have been very early in the morning, he supposed, much earlier than he usually ever bothered to crawl out of bed. Ahead of him and Charlotte, both Juno and Tabby had dismounted, and were holding their own horses by the reins.

Then, just behind the pair he could see what looked like a small wooden farmhouse, surrounded by a little vegetable garden and a small orchard off to the other side. A long wall made of rough stones heaped over each other ringed the entire area, separating out this patch of land into a little homestead that he imagined might support a single family. There was nothing else though, just empty, windswept plains stretching all around. Even the road they'd been riding along had turned into a rough, muddy track that almost disappeared into the landscape. Nor did there seem to be any people here either. The house itself was quiet, with only black shadows visible through the windows. It looked...fine, Marcus supposed, but it was a house for peasants, not really the sort of place a prince like him was supposed to visit. So why had they all stopped here? Weren't they supposed to be meeting his parents?

"What's going on?" Marcus asked uncertainly.

"This is where we're staying for now, prince." Charlotte explained. Sliding herself back on the saddle behind him, she neatly dismounted in a single, smooth motion, landing on her feet just beside the horse. "Come, off you get. It's been a long, hard ride and I need to get Zephyr settled." She glanced expectantly up at him.

Marcus shifted uncertainly in the saddle, swallowing nervously as he glanced down at the ground which seemed really quite far below him. He'd always been alright getting on and off the small ponies he'd learned to ride with, but...Charlotte's was a genuine warhorse, with the size to match. Gingerly, he lifted one leg off the side of the saddle and awkwardly slung it over, letting both his feet dangle off the side. The horse chose that exact moment to shift underneath him, making him yelp in fright, the shrill sound echoing over the empty fields. All three of the women were watching him now, that usual teasing smirk on Tabby's lips, while Juno's pretty face was unreadable. Charlotte meanwhile, was looking confused, staring up at him as if unable to believe he was too nervous to even get off a horse's back.

The young prince blushed hot, embarrassment and fear warring inside his churning stomach for a few nauseating moments. In the end, shame won, and he decided he wasn't about to look even sillier in front of this brave lady knight. With a gasp, Marcus slid himself forward on his hands. There was a sickening lurch in his stomach as he dropped off the side of the horse, landing badly on legs that just gave way underneath him. The young prince collapsed like a doll, falling flat on his face in the soft muck.

"Prince!" Charlotte gasped as he struggled in the mud, the wind knocked out of him by the impact. Gasping for air, he raised his head. He saw the brave lady knight standing over him, worry in her eyes. "Are you hurt? I can..."

"I'm okay." Marcus stammered. Despite the shock of falling, he hadn't actually been hurt, the ground here soft enough to cushion his fall. Of course that meant his clothes were now thoroughly stained with mud, and when he struggled to lift himself up again the slippery earth he found it hard to even get his hands underneath him without them sliding everywhere.

"Here, I'll help." Charlotte leaned forward. Even she was looking a bit shocked at how thoroughly he'd managed to mess up, and the young prince felt his cheeks burn with shame as she gently took hold of his shoulders and lifted him back up onto his feet. Just like he'd thought, she was definitely strong enough to carry him, though he'd rather anything but her seeing him in such a pathetic position. He felt his heart sink as he saw her glance over his shoulder at her two comrades and shrug slightly, a bemused smile on her lips. Of course she must also think he was so very pathetic now, just the woman he'd been hoping so much to somehow impress.

"Unbelievable." Tabby chuckled, the amusement in her voice making the young prince's stomach twist. Even still, he couldn't blame the slender brunette for laughing. She'd proven herself almost as capable as Charlotte, while at every turn Marcus had just been showing how stupid and cowardly he was.

"We all have our talents." Juno shrugged. "I suspect his lie in...other areas." Her full lips curled ever so slightly, leaving Marcus wondering just what she meant by that thin smirk.

"Enough, let's make sure the prince is inside before he hurts himself." Charlotte sighed. "I'll stable the horses, Tabby, Juno get the prince safe and then check out the area, see just what we've been left here. Don't know how long the client's expecting us to stay, but I want a full inventory."

"Come with me, boy." Juno turned on her heel, heading back towards the house with Tabby slinking after her. Marcus hesitated, giving Charlotte a wet, pleading look as she started gently guiding her mount forward by the reins. He'd much rather stay with her and the horses...

"Go on, prince." She urged, as she reached up to take Tabby's horse by the reins in her other hand. Marcus bit his lip, realizing she probably wanted to get him out of her hair. No wonder, with how he'd kept messing up in front of her. With a sad sigh, the young prince turned, meaning to follow Tabby and Juno into the house. The pair of scary women were waiting by the door for him and looking at the house closer Marcus realized just how small it was. Of course he was used to the castle, but even still he doubted there was more than one bedroom in this little place. How exactly was he supposed to stay here with three strange women, and his mother and father too. He paused again, wondering just where they were. Of course they must have escaped as well, and he supposed they must have been the ones to organize the Scarlet Lionesses coming to rescue him in the first place, so he knew they had to be coming here at some point. It would be nice if someone would tell him a bit more about what was going on, even if...they probably already thought he was too silly to know much of anything.

"Oh...and um, will my parents be here soon?" Marcus asked quickly, his uncertain gaze flickering between Juno and Tabby.

"Your parents?" Tabby asked, frowning in confusion. She paused, and for a moment the young prince was sure he saw a flicker of sympathy pass through her dark eyes. "Don't know nothing about them." She glanced across at Juno, looking a bit helpless.

"I'm afraid that the king and queen were already taken prisoner, before we even reached you." The older woman sighed.

"What?" Marcus gasped, freezing stiff. "No...no that can't be true!" He shook his head frantically. "There's no way...my father would have..." His lip trembled, the tightness in his throat threatening tears. It couldn't be...the king was a brave, strong warrior, he'd have fought his way out and saved his queen as well! Even if, a cold voice whispered in his mind, Gaius was even stronger, and he'd had a whole army behind him too.

"My apologies, prince Marcus, but...it is true." Juno replied. She leaned forward slightly, her voice soft and sympathetic in a way he'd never have expected from the strange older woman, even if her words were like a cold knife in the young prince's heart. "I heard it clear enough from your uncle's soldiers. Your mother and father were taken captive almost as soon as the castle fell."

"Then...why didn't you save them too?" Marcus gasped, the first wet, painful tears already starting to trickle down his cheeks. He couldn't believe this! All the time these women he'd thought were such brave warriors had been sneaking around and laughing at him for wearing a dress they'd **** him to put on in the first place, they could have been rescuing his parents instead! "You should have done something!" He snapped, his voice weak and trembling no matter how hard he tried to **** out the words.

"The client hired us to rescue you, and you alone." Juno shook her head, her face slipping back into that cool, unreadable mask that gave nothing away. "That was already difficult enough, the three of us couldn't have fought through an entire army to save them as well."

"No!" Marcus yelped, his hands clenching into tight fists by his sides. "You're useless, you should have...!" His voice died in a strangled sob at the cool look Juno gave him in turn, any shadow of sympathy vanished from her dark green eyes at that first hint of his childish anger. He glanced wildly over his shoulder, looking for Charlotte, somehow convinced the lady knight was going to tell him this all some sick joke, that his parents were waiting for him just around the corner. The blonde wasn't even looking at him though, far from offering the comfort he so desperately needed from...anyone. Instead, she was leading the three horses away around the side of the house, in fact she didn't even seem to have heard what was going on. No sign of her going to fetch his parents, or heading off to meet anyone at all.

So...it really was true then? None of these women had even tried to help the king and queen! They'd wasted time saving him, the useless prince, instead! If he'd been braver...if he'd at least tried to help instead of naively following these strangers and trusting everything would be alright like a child, maybe the king and queen would be safe instead of in Gaius' hands! And what would his uncle even do to them now? Guilt twisted in his stomach, mixing with the cold, icy spikes of worry for his poor, captive parents. After everything else that had happened...the fear and panic of finding his home so suddenly attacked by his own uncle, the shame of being paraded around in a dress and then falling flat on his face in the mud right in front of Charlotte, this felt like one blow too many. His lip trembled, tears dripping down onto the front of his muddy dress, while his throat clenched painfully tight.

"Sorry." Tabby murmured. She'd half-reached out her hand for his shoulder, but then paused instead, shifting uncomfortably on her feet. "That's just the way it is. Go on inside then, get yourself warm, there's a good lad." Leaning over, she pushed the door open in front of him. Not wanting to see any of these women ever again, Marcus darted forward, throwing himself through into the room beyond. His vision a blur of tears, he hardly saw what waited for him inside, just a vague impression of rough, wooden furniture, an empty, cold hearth, and a shelf of books. Another door hung open across the room from him, a large bed waiting inside. With a last, strangled sob, the young prince darted forward on trembling legs. As soon as he was close enough, he leapt onto the bed, throwing his trembling body onto the covers and burying his tearful face in a pillow like he could shut out the world. Maybe this was all just some horrid nightmare, maybe if he **** himself to sleep again now he'd wake up back in his room and everything would be fine! No matter how hard he tried, folding the pillow over his head and screwing his tear-filled eyes tightly shut, the world just refused to go away, and sleep felt as far as it had ever had.