Finally tearing herself away, the princess hurried down the stairs. The castle was full of noise, although the sounds of fighting had mostly died away, replaced by noises that sounded worryingly like the ones Lila had been making.
As she crept along a gallery that overlooked one of the great halls, the sounds seemed louder. Swallowing, she decided to risk glancing over.
What she saw made her stifle a cry of shock. There were about a dozen of women down there, all of them dressed in, at most, torn rags of their clothing. And there were more men around them, using them in ways Sophiana had never imagined. She recognised all of the woman, and was horrified to see that some of them were nobles, degraded to the level of the servants they were being violated beside. But worse was the fact she recognised some of the men that were abusing them, members of the guard and even some of the palace servants. Lila had been right. They had been betrayed.
She hurried through the door at the end of the gallery, and wondered where to go next. She could exit through the servant stairs (if she could find her way, she’d never used them before), but that would lead to the kitchen, and from what she’d overheard the villains had already been there. Or she could try continuing through the main halls, hoping that the occupants of the other ones would be similarly distracted. The best way to avoid encountering resistance would be to try climbing down outside the castle, to the gardens, but the thought terrified her.
She tried not to consider what she’d do if she actually got out of the castle. |