43 Chapter 43 Secret Mission (1/2)

Joseph waited beside the suit of armor, as Stella checked to make sure the coast was clear. They were in one of the main halls, but it was empty at this time of the day. Everyone was preparing for the evening meal. Stella know the way to their destination, but Joseph didn't. If anyone saw them, the mission would be over, so they had to move carefully.

Pulling on the tight sleeves of his servant's outfit, Joseph almost missed her signal. Darting from behind the suit of armor, he dashed across the hall to a heavy tapestry that was hanging on the wall. It reached all the way to the floor, and the wall behind it was uneven, giving him just enough room to hide behind. Stella joined him, squeezed back against the wall, just as the sound of someone walking down the hall, reached their ears.

Joseph all but held his breath as the servant pa.s.sed by, completely oblivious to their presence. He grinned wildly at Stella as she checked to make sure the way was clear again. He had no idea Sylva had been so sneaky.

They both dashed down the hall, trying to run as quietly as possible, pausing at the corner to make sure no one was around, before darting into an alcove that held a small statue.

Stella pointed at the small door hidden just behind a pillar, and Joseph nodded. This was so much fun! Like one of those spy movies he had watched in a previous life! He had never tried to sneak around his house before, since he was never restricted from anywhere in the house.

The door was a servant's entrance, that was very small, and thus not used very often. They shouldn't have any problems using it, but at this time in the day, not many other servants would be using it.

Voices down the hall, alerted them that there were people coming, heading to the dining room for supper. Because of the number of n.o.bles who stayed at the castle on any given day, there was no way of knowing who was coming. They only had a few seconds to make up their minds. Darting across the hall, they hid behind the pillar as Stella pulled on the door. It was stuck.

With overwhelming panic, they both jerked on the door together, and it popped open. Jumping through the door, they barely had it shut before the prince and his retinue came around the corner. Listening from the other side of the door, they heard him complaining about how awful the food was everywhere else in the kingdom, except here. He was looking forward to his supper, they were serving his favorite, duck.

Glancing at each other, they grinned. So far, so good! Turning their backs to the door, they made their way down the stairs. They were stone steps, but worn in the middle, making the trip very hazardous. The stone was slick from countless feet having worn them away, so they moved slowly to keep their footing.

At the bottom of the stairs, there was a thin pa.s.sage, very tight, and hard to walk along. If they encountered anyone, there would be no room to pa.s.s each other. Maybe that was why no one used this route anymore.

Pausing at the door, at the end of the hall, they listened to the bustle of countless of people. Joseph was up now. He moved to the door and peeked through a hole along the edge of the door. He had to be very careful how he did this, to make sure it worked just right. He wanted to create a diversion, but at the same time, he didn't want anyone to get in trouble.

A servant was stirring a large pot of water, balanced precariously over the fire in the stove. There were so many pots on the stove, this one was barely on the edge. The woman kept having to push it back on using a stick so as not to burn herself.

”Ready,” murmured Stella, so softly, no one else would have a prayer of hearing it.

Joseph caused a flash of his magic to shoot up out of the pot into the woman's face. It startled her, causing her to give out a shout of surprise. She b.u.mped the pot, tipping it over onto the fire, throwing steam and curses from everyone in the room into the air. During the chaos, they burst out of the doorway, the two of them grabbing different things as the servants all scrambled around, trying to salvage the food and fire, while trying not to step into the puddle of boiling hot water.