The Alpha King Call Boy
Chapter 250

Third person

The blustery cold outside had turned Iris's nose red and numb. She left her mud-soaked boots at the door of her bedroom and hurried to the kitchenette to start some water boiling for tea. It'd been wet and gross out in the tool shed behind the rose garden.

But she went there because she was looking for something that would be useful on her planned journey through the dark, cold secret passageways of the palace, winding her way over to the door that opened into the study that adjoined Alexander and Fiona's bedroom.

And she'd found what she was looking for in the toolshed. An old gas lantern, one of those rustic, reliable kinds made of sturdy metal, with a thick glass dome holding a wick that burned kerosene. Iris figured it would be better than a flashlight, which could always stop working for some reason. And the heat from the torch might also help keep her and Lexi warm, especially when they were making their escape out that final part of the tunnels that led outside the palace grounds.

Iris took a quick, hot shower, then changed into fresh clothes. The tea kettle started to whistle just as she was pulling on a pair of wool socks. She hurried to turn off the stove.

She steeped and drank her tea standing in the kitchen, staring at the clock on the wall and thinking through her plan. She'd thrown it together quickly, but she was pretty sure it was going to work. As long as she timed everything right.

This afternoon, once she had decided what she was going to do, Irishad called Alex's employee and made her travel arrangements away from the capitol. She'd told the voice on the phone that she wanted to catch a train tonight, and he'd made it happen. He'd even arranged for a car to take her to the train station, too. Not that she intended to be in that car..

The train tickets had been delivered right to Iris's door. And now they were tucked into the inside pocket of the little shoulder bag in which Iris had packed the few belongings she needed for the trip.

Some clothes, basic toiletries, and just one rolled-up canvas... the only painting she was taking with her...She watched the clock tick, tick, tick for a few minutes. Until it was exactly one hour before that car would be coming here and waiting for her. That's when she decided it was time to go.

She finished her tea and left the dirty cup in the sink.

Then she methodically pulled on her shoes, her coat, and a knit hat.

It was cold in the tunnels that connected the secret passages in the palace.

Of course, she hadn't been inside them in a long, long time. But she knew where one of the entrances was, and she knew that it connected, at some point, to the office that adjoined Alexander's bedroom.

Iris often wondered, but of course never dared to ask, if the current palace staff knew about the secret passage ways. Back when she was young, it seemed like all the servants knew. But the people who worked here now... Iris didn't recognize a single one of them. Seemed like the new Luna Queen had installed a whole new staff when she'd taken over after killing Alexandra.

What Iris remembered from years ago was that the palace staff mostly all knew about the tunnels, but hardly used them. They never wanted to be caught going in or out of someplace they weren't supposed to be. And when they did use the secret passages, they didn't use them for anything bad. It was just that sometimes it you had to rush from one end of the palace to the other, it made for an easier way to go a long distance fast.

After one last, nostalgic look back at the cozy bedroom she'd called home for all these months, Iris slung her bag over her shoulder, pulled on her gloves, turned off the lights, picked up the kerosene lantern, and left on her mission.

Because it was late, there was not much bustle in the kitchen, but when Iris arrived behind the door she did hear a little activity from within. She pressed herself against the cold marble wall and waited...

After a few minutes, she heard a door squeaking open and falling closed, and the sounds of voices grew quiet and then disappeared.

Slowly, she pushed through the big double doors and peeked her head inside.

The kitchen was empty. Maybe only for a moment.

Iris darted through, heading for another door on the opposite wall that she knew led downstairs to the fruit cellar.

Through the cellar door, Iris tiptoed down a short flight of stairs into the dark, damp underground room. She crept through the space with her arms out stretched, finding her way by feel rather than sight. At last she reached a place where several pieces of old wood were piled against the packed-earth wall.

Iris pulled the narrow wooden planks off the wall one at a time, carefully leaning them against the other wall. At last she felt a cool breeze on her face and knew she'd pulled the last of the boards off and could now wedge herself through into the narrow passageway.She waited till she was a few feet down into the tunnel, where the darkness was blacker than pitch, before stooping down to set the lantern on the cold, stone floor and preparing to light the wick.

With only the tiny flame of her matches to guide her hands, getting the lantern going seemed to take forever. She used up half the box of matches before at last the whoosh of gas catching flame reassured her everything was going to be okay... The rest of her journey passed by in a flash. She went into a kind of haze, walking slowly, ever so slowly down and up and around the se dark, dark and cold, cold tunnels, trying to remember, trying to find...

And then she heard it. She heard women's voices as she rounded a corner, the corner that she had hoped would finally lead to that door into Alexander's rooms...

Just in case they had really good hearing, Iris slowed her already careful pace even more, and tried to quiet her breathing as much as possible.

With each cautious step forward, she could hear Fiona and Nina's voices more and more clearly. Iris could feel her mouth tighten into a grin. She had done it -she had found her way here! Now, all she had to do was wait behind the door for an opportunity. Wait and when the time was right, dart out and get the baby...

It was too bad Fiona had company, though. Iris had figured if she had to fight the princess hand-to-hand, she could manage. Especially because of the little knife she had in her pocket.

But with that strong, kinda scary friend of Fiona's in the room... Iris was going to have to be more careful. She couldn't fight both girls at once. She would have to be sneaky instead. She would have to wait till the baby was unattended, and after she'd snatched her, Iris would have to get back into the tunnel and disappear fast...

Finally she was there. The door was just a few feet away. The secret door that opened up a part of the wall into Alexander's rooms... Well, now it was Alexander and Fiona's rooms...

Iris's heart was beating so fast, she worried Fiona and Nina might hear its hammering beat through the walls. She set the lantern down on the stone floor of the passageway and crept forward.

Iris had gone through this particular secret doorway only once, and that was many years ago. She pressed her small hands against the door lightly, trying to remember how it opened. There was no handle, no lock.. Perhaps all you had to do was press on the wall, and it swung open... Yes, that was it...

She figured she would crack the door just a tiny bit and peek in, first.

She could hear the girls' voices but they sounded kind of far away, like maybe they were not in this immediate room, but rather the adjoining one.

So that's what she did. She gave a tiny little push on the door to open it just a crack.

No sooner did Iris catch a brief glimpse of the baby's nursery-so that's what was behind this door now, not an office -than an alarm began to blare in her ears. WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP!