Chapter 13

Charles was the first to arrive at the fountain the next day. He was happy to help Yan find his friend, but he was very concerned about the "prince" who had been driving around. When he told Alex, Alex mentioned that an unfamiliar maid had come in to get some of Charles' clothes. She said they needed mending, but Alex thought they looked fairly new.

As he considered who this false prince might be, he was joined by Yan and Cinderella. Patch followed at Cinderella's heels. When Yan held out his friend's gloves, Patch sniffed them carefully then lifted his nose and began sniffing the air. He walked around the fountain, sniffing, then headed off towards the edge of town.

Charles, Yan, and Cinderella followed Patch out of town and into the forest. They walked through the trees until they came to a small cottage. It seemed to be abandoned, but after sniffing around, Patch started down a road that ran past the cottage deeper into the forest.

The path seemed familiar to Charles. He realized why when they reached a large cliff. They were heading for the cottage where Cinderella had been held hostage. She recognized it shortly after he did.

"Charles! This is where all those men were. Did you ever alert the royal family about them?"

"Yes, but when the royal guards arrived, no one was here. Perhaps they've come back. Maybe they've kidnapped Yan's friend and are holding him hostage."

Telling Patch to stay back, the three crept up to the cottage, which was unguarded, and peeked through the front window. In the large, open living room, a boy was fencing with an older man. Charles had to do a double take. The boy did look quite a bit like him, especially in the royal clothes, with his hair carefully arranged.

"It's Marcel!" Yan whispered. "I don't know why he's dressed like that."

"I think I know," Charles answered.

"Do you think he's impersonating the prince?" Cinderella asked.

Charles nodded. He continued to watch. Marcel wasn't bad, but he lacked the finesse and expertise Charles had developed over years of fencing lessons. They continued watching as Marcel sat through a lesson in table manners (which he failed miserably) and a dance lesson.

Charles wanted to laugh at the ridiculous situation, but he felt deep down that there was a sinister purpose behind Marcel's training.

Their opportunity to act came when the teacher called for a break and Marcel said he was going outside for some fresh air. As soon as he stepped out of the door, Charles and Yan grabbed him, clapped a hand over his mouth, and pulled him to the side of the cottage where they were well hidden.

"Yan!" Marcel said when they let him go. "What's this all about?"

"I was worried about you! My friends, Charles and Cinderella, helped me find you!"

"There's no need to worry! I've got a sweet gig here. They're paying me really well to play the part of Prince Charles."

"But why?" Charles asked.

"Apparently, some threats have been made against the prince's life. I'm going to stand in for him in case of any assassination attempts!"

Charles had to keep from letting his surprise show. There hadn't been any threats on his life. Zaral must have lied to Marcel to get him to take the part. Charles felt some relief in knowing that Yan's friend wasn't in league with Zaral, and was still loyal to the kingdom. What he wasn't sure of was how to get them out of this situation.

"Oh Marcel! I don't know if that's what's happening at all," Cinderella said. "I was held hostage in this cottage once, and the men who held me were plotting against the king."

"You think they're going to use me to overthrow the king?" Marcel asked.

"I think Cinderella is right. These men can't be trusted. If you were going to do something so noble for the prince, he would have met with you himself."

Marcel thought for a moment. "But what do I do, then?"

"We'll help you," Charles offered. "We can easily take the teacher together and we'll force him to tell us what's really going on."

"Oh, I'm not worried about him," Marcel answered. "It's the big brute who acts as bodyguard that I think will be a problem. And his three henchmen. I can take the teacher, maybe, with my sword, but I'm not very good."

"I can fight with a sword as well," Charles said. Cinderella and Yan both said they couldn't, so Charles quickly came up with a plan that would catch the guards by surprise.

When the teacher came to call Marcel back in, Marcel went quickly. As soon as the door shut, the other three watched through the window. Marcel waited until the teacher turned away and ran for his sword, which was leaning against a wall. He quickly unsheathed it and, without much trouble, the teacher had surrendered.

At a motion from Marcel, Charles hurried in and tied the teacher up. He grabbed the other sword and he and Marcel hid on the other side of the room. While they were taking care of the teacher, Cinderella and Yan snuck in without the teacher noticing and hid as well.

It took about twenty minutes for the guards to hear the teacher's cries for help. Charles had left him tied to a column in the middle of the room in plain sight of the door.

"There's another young man helping Marcel! They're hiding over there!" the teacher yelled as soon as the guards burst in.

As the guards approached the corner where Charles and Marcel were hiding, Cinderella and Yan crept out, behind the column, and began throwing rocks. They both had excellent aim and the guards stopped in confusion at the sudden onslaught of stones.

In the confusion, Charles and Marcel jumped out of their hiding spot and began making quick work with their swords.

Two of the guards fell quickly. The other two turned and fled, leaving the teacher and their fellow guards at the mercy of the surprise attackers. Charles and Marcel quickly bound the two fallen guards before they could come to.

"Someone needs to go for the royal guards," Charles said. "But we need to leave this place well-guarded.

"I can't fight very well. I should go for the guards," Cinderella suggested.

"It's too dangerous!" Charles didn't want to think of what might happen if she were caught on the road.

"I move quickly. I'll take Patch with me. We'll be back in no time. I'll stay in the trees instead of on the road."

Marcel and Yan looked at each other, then at Charles. "I think it's our best option," Yan said.

Charles nodded. "Promise me you'll be very careful?" he said, walking Cinderella to the door.

"Of course I will. I'll be back before you know it!"

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The trip to the castle went without incident. When Cinderella arrived and said she needed to talk to the royal guard, she was taken to a room with a familiar man, Duke Zaral, and two soldiers.

"Ah, the little Dalben girl," he said. "What news do you bring to the royal guard?"

"Some friends and I have discovered a plot against the prince! We have some of the perpetrators tied up in the forest in a small cottage. We need to go get them before they escape! My friends are waiting with them now."

"I see. How many friends do you have there?"

"Three."

"And how many perpetrators?"

"Three, but two escaped and might come back at any moment! Please hurry!"

"Of course. You two, go assemble a party to ride out. I will see that this girl makes it safely back to her home."

"I want to go with the guards to see my friends, please," Cinderella said. "I need to make sure they're safe! Besides, I can show you where the cottage is."

"I shall have the guards bring you news as soon as your friends have been found," Duke Zaral said. "I know the cottage you are speaking of. I can direct the soldiers on how to reach it." His voice held a note of finality that made it clear he wasn't in the mood to be argued with, so Cinderella stopped her complaints. She followed him out and he helped her into a carriage.

As the carriage drove off, she noticed the two guards he had sent standing in the courtyard. Zaral began talking to them. It didn't look like they were in any hurry to get to the cottage!

"Stop the carriage!" Cinderella called as soon as they were out of sight of Duke Zaral.

"Is there a problem, Miss?" the driver asked as she climbed out.

"I need to speak with the prince. It's urgent!"

"I can take you to him," the man said, jumping down. He left the footman in charge of the carriage and he and Cinderella walked briskly back through the castle. She made sure to keep out of Duke Zaral's line of sight as they crossed the courtyard. Soon they were standing outside the grand doors she remembered from her stint as a maid. They were the doors to the prince's quarters.

The driver knocked loudly. The door opened a crack. Alex looked at them curiously. "What is it, John?" he asked the driver.

"This lady says she must speak with the prince on urgent matters," John answered as Cinderella stepped forward.

Alex looked surprised. "Prince Charles isn't here at the moment. Shall I send for you when he gets back?"

"No. Perhaps you can help me," Cinderella said. "My friends and I found some men in a cottage in the woods. I believe they were trying to set up a false prince to take Prince Charles' place. We have three of the perpetrators tied up. I told Duke Zaral, but he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to get there. My friends are waiting, and we need to take the royal guard now!"

"I shall round up the guard immediately. Would you be willing to guide us to the cottage?" Alex said, joining them in the hall and walking briskly towards the stables.

"Yes, of course!"

"John, will you bring the carriage around for the lady?"

"Yes sir." John split off and headed back towards the front of the castle.

"I can ride," Cinderella offered. "A carriage might slow us down."

"But we'll need a carriage to carry the prisoners back anyway."

"Okay."

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Charles was getting worried. Cinderella had been gone much longer than he thought she should be. What if she had been captured? He finally left Marcel and Yan in charge of the prisoners and took to the trees around the cottage where he could keep watch for the return of the other men or for the coming of the royal guard. It was from his post in a tree that he finally heard the sounds of hoofbeats coming down the road.

When he saw that it was indeed the royal guard, he decided to remain hidden. No sense in blowing his cover. He watched as the guards entered the cottage and came out carrying the three men. Cinderella exited the carriage and joined them as they spoke with Marcel and Yan.

He heard bits of their conversation floating across the clearing. They were asking about him. Yan told them he had gone to keep watch.

"We need to get these prisoners back to the castle," Alex said. "Perhaps one of you can stay and wait for him to return."

"I'll stay," Marcel said. "It's my fault this all happened to begin with."

"If not you, they'd have found someone else," Alex said, echoing Charles' thoughts.

"I wish I could stay, but I must get home. Mother will be very angry if I'm not back soon," Cinderella said. She left with the royal guard while Yan and Marcel stayed to wait for him. Once he was sure the guard was gone, he climbed down and wandered into the clearing.

"Some watchman you turned out to be," Yan said. "The royal guard came and left without you even noticing."

Charles laughed at Yan's lecture. "I saw. I figured they had everything well in hand, so I made sure the other men couldn't sneak up on them while they were taking care of the prisoners."

"Oh. Well, shall we head back to town?" Marcel said. "I'm so hungry!"

"Me too. Let's go!" Yan agreed.

The walk back to town was fun. Charles enjoyed the company of the two young men. Their antics had him laughing most of the way.

When Charles finally reached the castle, it was late afternoon. He had stayed to eat with Yan and Marcel, then taken a long detour on the way home to make sure no one had returned to the cottage.

Alex was waiting for him in their quarters. "Charles, there you are! Where have you been?"

Charles told Alex all that had happened. Then Alex told him what had happened when Cinderella came for help.

"Thank goodness she noticed that Zaral wasn't moving quickly," Charles said. "I should have told her to go straight to you."

"She's a smart girl. I'm glad we were able to get those prisoners."

"Did you make sure the guards are trustworthy?"

"Aren't all the guards trustworthy?"

"Well, the two with Zaral were clearly not."

"True. I'll go check right now."

"I'll go with you."

To their dismay, they found the dungeon deserted. The prisoners were nowhere to be found, and the guards were lying unconscious on the floor.

"Zaral," Charles muttered angrily as Alex ran for help. "I'll find a way to stop him!"