The Night Prince - Chapter 31 by CaptainQuirk, literature
Literature
The Night Prince - Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty One
In Which Lucia Finally Meets Princess Evangeline
As Lucia and Julian made their way back to the mansion, Lucia dared not look any of the townspeople in the eye. She focused on the rhythmic crunching of the gravel beneath her feet and tried to match her cadence with Julian’s. The prince walked at a pace that was a little slower than Lucia’s, although he seemed determined to stay just a little bit ahead of her. In any case, Lucia was careful not to stray far, because she dared not risk that the townspeople might think she was out alone. Too many people knew her face – and knew too little else.
They cru
The Night Prince - Chapter 30 by CaptainQuirk, literature
Literature
The Night Prince - Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
In Which Lucia And Thomas Are Set Free From Prison
The sound filled the dank air of the jail, flooding down the hallway and rushing into the cell. Lucia was quite sure she heard two distinct sets of footprints. William the jailer caused the same heavy footfalls as before. Along with his steps came the sound of the metal keys, knocking together like ominous wind chimes. However, when Lucia listened closely, she heard a second set of lighter footsteps following William an instant later. They seemed to have the weight of a man yet the stealth of a cat. The sounds’ echoing off the stone walls made it difficult to deter
The Night Prince - Chapter 29 by CaptainQuirk, literature
Literature
The Night Prince - Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty Nine
In Which Lucia Learns Something Interesting From Thomas
The cold, hard jail cell offered little but silence. Through the iron bars, Lucia stared morosely at the wall opposite the cell. The sun, which had previously been visible through the thin slits that stood in for windows, had since arched out of view. As she guessed at the late hour, a knot formed in Lucia’s stomach. Poor John might think she had run off for good. Or, worse, Claudette might think she was lazing around idly somewhere, and would take it out on John and maybe even poor Margaret.
Margaret. Was anyone tending to her? If it was up to John to
The Night Prince - Chapter 28 by CaptainQuirk, literature
Literature
The Night Prince - Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty Eight
In Which Something Terrible Happens To Lucia And Thomas
Lucia burst through the apothecary's front door so fast that the shop bell's ring sounded more like a high-pitched thud. Breathless, she fell against the inside of the door and leaned against it with all her might.
Looking briefly in Lucia's direction, the apothecary nodded, and then just soon returned to what he was doing. He climbed up on the stool once more and began to rummage around in the upper shelves. Scarcely looking, he extended one long arm out to where he had left his hat. He grasped it between two fingers, brought it up to his head, and dropped it
The Night Prince - Chapter 27 by CaptainQuirk, literature
Literature
The Night Prince - Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty Seven
In Which Lucia Is Chased By An Angry Mob
The man who had initially spotted her had very few teeth remaining, and those that still clung to his mouth were darkened by years of ale and tobacco. His decaying grin contributed to the menacing look on his angry face, which, had he been in better health, would still be terribly frightening. He raised one arm and pointed at Lucia as he marched towards her.
"You," he barked. "I know who you are."
Frozen on the spot, Lucia could only watch as the townspeople behind him fanned out, creating a half-circle around her. Amidst the crowd, Lucia could scarcely pick out several dif
The Night Prince - Chapter 26 by CaptainQuirk, literature
Literature
The Night Prince - Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty Six
In Which Lucia Sets Out To Do Something That She Meant To Do A Long Time Ago
Lucia left the mansion in the early morning. The sun had not yet risen, and along with her mother's cloak, the scarcity of light was enough to provide cover. She silently shut the great wooden door at the front of the mansion and then paused for a moment, just to feel the wind in her hair. And then, she set off. Quietly, she crept further and further away from the towering stony walls that had so quickly become her prison. Step after step, out into the coldness of morning, she ventured. In all directions around her, purple clouds rolled alo
The Night Prince - Chapter 25 by CaptainQuirk, literature
Literature
The Night Prince - Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty Five
In Which Claudette And A Perturbed Prince Julian Make Life Quite Miserable For Lucia
The next morning, after very little sleep, Lucia was awakened by a loud and persistent knocking at her door. Groggily, she picked her head up and looked towards the door, which concealed the source of the noise. She muttered a response incoherent to even herself, which garnered another loud series of raps at the door. At long last, a gruff voice barked out at her the late hour.
Lucia pulled herself up to a sitting position and rubbed the back of her neck. She was in a great deal of pain and found her movement quite restricted. In a
The Night Prince - Chapter 24 by CaptainQuirk, literature
Literature
The Night Prince - Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty Four
In Which Julian's Curious Reaction Causes For Lucia An Unpleasant Surprise
The clouds that night were so thick that they obscured all the glow of the moon. Once again, the senses became confused upon entering the secret room, tempting one to believe that they could see with their ears and hear with their skin. Lucia clicked across the bare floor, navigating mostly by using the source of the music as a beacon. The notes fell loud and hazardous, and even when Lucia's path curled around in front of the piano, Julian seemed to take no notice of her whatsoever. Standing just offside of the path between him and a weakly fl
The Night Prince - Chapter 23 by CaptainQuirk, literature
Literature
The Night Prince - Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty Three
In Which Lucia Becomes Understandably Quite Vain While Preparing To Meet Julian
The evening was filled with the sounds of Claudette ranting and complaining. Very little had gotten done that day in the way of cleaning, although no residents of the Drake mansion had suffered from this in any way. Much of the afternoon had been spent taking care of Margaret, whose condition worsened as the hours wore on. She grew more and more fatigued, which could certainly be expected of a sick person. However, seeing as this was Margaret, someone so usually energetic and filled with good cheer, to see her become exhausted over nothi
The Night Prince - Chapter 22 by CaptainQuirk, literature
Literature
The Night Prince - Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty Two
In Which Lucia Tends To Margaret And Also Discovers A Lovely Item In A Curious Place
The remainder of the morning passed quickly. Lucia had hurried through her chores – or, at least, she hurried through making it seem as though she had done a thorough job of her chores. Instead, she concentrated her efforts into many clandestine trips to the servants' quarters to check on Margaret. If Claudette found her there while she was supposed to be working, there would doubtlessly be some sort of trouble, and while Lucia would certainly have preferred to avoid being caught, she did not particularly care one way or the other. To