A failed escape attempt

Princess Elena sat on the cold stone floor, her back against the damp wall.

Her fingers traced the jagged edge of a loose stone ledge—a habit she had developed during her weeks of captivity. It was her only connection to the outside world, a small, incomplete crack that seemed to mock her with the illusion of freedom.

Elena was a philosopher and a scholar; she had read many books in her life—from the scriptures of the ancient Elysian sages to the revolutionary theories of the Britannian Enlightenment. Her brain was her most powerful weapon, and since her captivity she had spent every moment analyzing her surroundings, finding weaknesses and devising escape plans.

She knew that Fort George was a fortress of unparalleled strength, but no fortress was impregnable. Every system has weaknesses, and every weakness could be exploited.