How Familiar - 3. Larissa - Rescue

Larissa Willow

"Lady Willow," the young servant boy, aged no more than nine, gingerly knocked on the open door. "It's nearly time for dinner. May I tidy your chambers?"

"Come on in," Larissa beckoned him inside warmly with a smile on her bronzed brown face. Lorcan was her favourite of the young servant boys, and she often did his job for him so that they could spend some time together. Today, she needed information from him. She needed him. "Have a seat."

"I shouldn't," the boy said uncertainly, the small falcon perched on his shoulder giving a cautious caw. "I have to tidy up before it's time to serve Prince Ronan his food tray."

"I already tidied up," Larissa offered, beckoning with her head. "Come in and have a rest. It would be rude to refuse an offer from a Lady, wouldn't it?"

"Yes," Lorcan admitted with a smile. "But not for too long! I'll get into trouble."

"I won't tell," Larissa closed the door behind him as he walked inside. His yellow clothes were dirty and unwashed - a reminder of the position he held in the Iralian Palace. He was a servant. No more. No less. She was a Lady, and she wore a golden gown with black trim. It signified her position in the Palace. "I have something for you."

"For me?" Lorcan asked, immediately nervous. "I can't accept any gifts. You know that, Lady Willow."

"You can and you will," she ordered him with a smile on her face.

Her bedchamber was lavish and ornate in Iralia's home colours of gold and black. Pictures of her ancestors and the Royal Family adorned her walls. She was a high-ranking member of Iralian society, after all. No husband and no children, though. She did not fancy the idea of having her own family when there were so many unfortunate young boys and girls working in the Palace to make her life so comfortable. Viv, Warrick and Lorcan needed her. She reached into her second drawer and pulled out a lump of dark brown chocolate, and Lorcan's eyes lit up.

"I won't tell if you won't," she winked, and Lorcan's shaking hands gratefully took the prize from his friend.

"Thank you, my Lady!" He bowed respectfully before first breaking off a small piece for his falcon to gnaw on as he sunk his teeth into the sweetness.

"Do you think you could introduce me to Prince Ronan?" Larissa asked him, knowing what the answer would be, but she never liked to say never.

"Mm-mm," Lorcan shook his head sadly, his mouth full. Eventually, he swallowed and spoke to her. "Nobody is allowed to see Prince Ronan."

"You are, aren't you? You give him his dinner tray," Larissa ran her fingers through her long, straight chestnut hair. "How is the Prince?"

"I'm not supposed to..." Lorcan grimaced, but Larissa wasn't satisfied.

"You know you can trust me, don't you sweetheart?" Larissa reached over and gently caressed his cheek.
Lorcan, the property of the Queen, did not have a mother or father to raise him, and it was like petting her Familiar. He loved affection. Peeta the Rhinoceros was watching the conversation intently from her gargantuan cushion on the floor. As fearsome as the beast was, she loved the way her Human ran her fingers between her huge eyes and made grunts of approval.

"He keeps saying that war is breaking out," Lorcan whispered ever so softly, terrified of breaking the Iralian rules. She didn't blame him. If she were indiscreet, he could lose a lot. His fingers. His eyes. His head. Iralia built itself on discipline and order. Punishments were brutal and oppressive, but the common folk were used to them.

"Where? When? Who?" Larissa took his hand and sat him down on one of the golden cushioned chairs. This could make or break her mission. War? "Tell me."

"Prince Ronan's Pegasus can hear his brothers," Lorcan explained, gnawing again at the chocolate she treated him. "Two days past, Prince Soren wed Princess Charlotte and both Armyn and Kaden of Zyria warned them that there would likely be war."

"You're sure of this?" Larissa didn't doubt that Lorcan would tell her the truth, but she did feel fear from those words when he nodded shyly.
She was six when Alaeyas died, and the Zyrian demon seized the throne for himself and spawned four devil children the very next day. The fear that rippled across Ytia remained. A malaise across the continent. But Kai confined his genocide to the Alaeyan Royal Family it seemed. He killed Queen Palona Alae and King Jaiden Ira. But what monster not only spares infants but delivers them to Royal Families of neighbouring countries? If anything, Queen Ninon was the monster. So furious by the death of her brother Jaiden at Sorceror Kai's hands she was, she confined Prince Ronan Alae to his bedchambers for the remainder of his days. She only needed his claim to the Alaeyan throne, of course. After he gave Princess Melicent a daughter following their wedding, she would probably put him to the sword in the name of vengeance. That will not happen, Larissa promised herself.

"Lorcan, do you ever think of a life outside the Palace?" Larissa asked him, putting her hand on his. She was quiet. The death of Queen Ninon's brother made the crazy bitch paranoid and easily slighted. She had eyes and ears everywhere.

"No," Lorcan immediately answered and shook his head. "I am here for the rest of my days."

"Like Prince Ronan is?" Larissa asked, and she saw doubt in the boy's eyes. The three servants who attended her were not part of her mission, but she was not going to leave them behind. Viv, a girl of fifteen, served her breakfast and tidied her room in the mornings and Warrick, a boy of twelve, had noon duty. She loved them. All three of them. "He will be married to Princess Melicent in a week, and then he will spend the rest of his life locked away. Viv and Warrick, too. And you. You will never leave the walls of the Palace, and neither will they. Does that seem fair to you?"

"It doesn't," Lorcan whispered, his eyes nervously fixed to the chamber door. "But that's how things are."

"I'm a Lady of Ilaria," Larissa reminded him. She would say anything to win him over at this point. Leaving him here was simply not an option. The poor boy would not be unscathed by her disappearance, especially if Prince Ronan happened to disappear as well. Queen Ninon would find a reason to have him put to death. He's too young for that. "I have wealth. Friends. Influence. Nobody can take care of you better than I."

"Yes, Lady Willow, but you speak of treason," Lorcan shifted away from her. It's true what he speaks. But I have a mission. Treason is the least of my worries.

"I speak of taking a trip to the islands of Ulisse!" Larissa corrected him, hoping this would convince him. "It's lovely up there. Ulisse is warm and free. Common folk and nobles alike share bread and water. No prisoners. Only freedom. I was hoping you would accompany me. Viv and Warrick too, and Prince Ronan. Do you want to see the Islands for yourself? Do you want to live in freedom? Or do you want to be a servant until the Queen decides you are a spy or traitor and she takes your head? Don't you remember Greta?"

"Of course I do," Lorcan sniffed, wiping his eye at the memory of the girl he replaced. Princess Melicent disliked her because she was too pretty and that was enough for her to disappear.

"Help me, sweetheart. If you do, I will keep you safe," she smiled at him. "I promise."

"What do you want me to do?" Lorcan asked, and she knew she'd won his support. Good. We're leaving tonight, then.

"Do your jobs as you would normally do," Larissa instructed, watching him finish off the chocolate she had given him. "If it is safe to do so, let Prince Ronan know of our plans when you serve him his tray. Speak to Viv and Warrick, and make sure you are all awake tonight while the castle sleeps. I will come for you, and we will take Prince Ronan with us to Ulisse where his brother lives."

"Why Ulisse, Lady Willow? Eodanira is much closer. So is Odesh," Lorcan pointed out. "We would have to travel such a long way."

"Queen Layla Lisse wishes it so," Larissa whispered. Although she had not liaised directly with the Queen of Ulisse, her employer did. Rescue the lost Prince and bring him to Ulisse. "Prince Orion is as a son to her, and he wants his brother safe and happy. Ulisse is the only safe place for him, do you understand? Alaeyas will not have him. He will not be welcome in Eodanira, because Queen Tyffane wants her daughter to be Queen of Alaeyas. He will not be safe in Odesh, because Queen Erika Ode will treat him no differently than Queen Ninon. You could be a hero, Lorcan! People will sing songs of those who rescued Prince Ronan from the Ilarian Palace."

"Okay," Lorcan nodded, and Larissa kissed him the forehead. She did not need to liberate these three servant children from their lives in the Ilarian Palace, but they deserved freedom. "I'll tell Prince Ronan when I see him."

"I'll come when the castle sleeps," Larissa promised him. "Now, go on! I'm getting hungry, and we can't escape with empty bellies, can we?"

Lorcan shot her a grin, and he left with his bird on his shoulder.

Oh, Peeta, Larissa looked over to her Familiar, happily ensconced on her pillow. It's finally coming to an end. So much waiting and planning.

We could have done this weeks ago when we were charged with the duty, Peeta grumbled back at her, moving her enormous head to make eye contact. Her terrifying horn put fear into the hearts of many women and men alike, but Larissa found it fascinating. Are you certain those servant children worth all this delay?

I won't leave without them, Larissa insisted. We're not arguing about this again. Lorcan will be an asset to us. His falcon can give us eyes from above.

And the others? You're too soft, Peeta was Ilarian to the core. Tough and ruthless. She did not understand emotional attachments, but Larissa did. It often caused arguments between them. Being disciplined and strong were Ilarian values. Larissa was both of those things - a Lady, yes, but also a formidable woman. Tough and well trained in combat. All Ladies in the Ilarian Palace were. It was a country that glorified strength above all. It will eventually kill us.

I don't plan on dying, Larissa walked past and stroked Peeta's horn. Neither should you. But this might get messy. Can I count on you to do anything necessary to keep my children safe? To keep the Prince safe?

You're soft and reckless, Peeta nuzzled her with her horn. I think you're mad, but whatever you need of me will be done.

Larissa dined alone that night on synthetic pork with vegetables. She had a particular love for corn and often hoarded cobs of the stuff in her room. The meal came with a message she discovered in her mashed potato. Once she cleaned the parchment off, she grinned.

Viv and Warrick are in!

Excellent. To rescue Prince Ronan as a trusted citizen of the Ilarian Palace wasn't going to be easy, but she had been ready for a long time. It was her love for the other children that stalled her and caused tension with her employer. I need them with me, she thought. They're my friends. An hour past midnight, Larissa changed from her loose, golden nightgown into an all-black outfit - a long-sleeved tunic, tights, leather boots and gloves. She tied her long brown hair into a tight bun. Showtime.

Stay. I'll be back with the young ones, Larissa ordered Peeta, who enjoyed her last few minutes on her favourite pillow. She would have felt safe with Peeta by her side or under her legs, but she was a great, massive beast and much of tonight's work needed to be completed covertly if they were to succeed.

If it goes wrong, let me know, Peeta replied, giving the nod to her Human. Larissa was not going to let anything go wrong. Over time, she'd learned everything she needed to know for this operation to work. The shifts of the guards, the patrol routes, when people went to bed and the torches snuffed out. She knew how to get to the Prince, and she knew how to get to Lorcan, Viv and Warrick. Her only regret was that she could not personally kill Queen Ninon tonight. Even if she had access, the Queen's Griffin would tear even Peeta to shreds.

The Iralian Palace was all stone. Grey, with gold and black decor. It made it easier to be unseen in the dark, and Larissa moved quickly and silently. She was not a trained assassin, but she was confident she could fight and incapacitate a guard if need be. Many of the guards in the Iralian Palace had bear Familiars patrolling with them, however. She did not like her odds against them. The three child servants slept in an unlocked room behind the kitchen where they might be called upon at any point by the Queen, Princess or a Lady of the Palace. Larissa gently opened the door, and as instructed, all three of them were alert and ready to go. Lorcan with his falcon, Viv with her small cat in her arms and Warrick with his great creepy rat hiding somewhere in his garments.

"Let's go and get the Prince," Larissa whispered, and the three youngsters all followed her out as silently as possible.

Prince Ronan's bedchambers were conveniently close to her own, at the top of the tower. She sometimes heard guards changing shifts on the landing outside her door, but the handoff had already happened tonight. Larissa took an elaborate route from the kitchen to her bedchambers. One that was awkward and frustrating for everyone involved, but the one that carried the least risk of discovery.

You're up, Peeta! Larissa told her Familiar as they climbed the spiral staircase towards her bedchamber. You're going to break down the Prince's door.

As you wish, Peeta was already on the landing by the time Larissa, Viv, Warrick and Lorcan all arrived. Larissa saw her Familiar's look of disdain but ignored it. Peeta saw little value in the children. Well, she can get over it. I'm the Human, not her.

"Alright everyone, this is the part that gets dangerous. Are we ready?" Larissa asked. There was no covert way to slip past the guard at the top of the stairway and get Ronan out of his prison.

"Yes!" All three of the kids excitedly replied.

Peeta lead the way up the stairs. The sole guard that kept the public from Prince Ronan heard the rhinoceros coming and cautiously came down to investigate. It wasn't uncommon for Peeta to walk the stairs at night when Lady Willow had a troublesome night with sleep, so he wasn't expecting anything out of order. Larissa lay in wait, obscured by the darkness and black wall, and used her dagger to stab the man's heart. There was no sound, except for a gasp from Warrick. It was easier to kill the Human than it was to deal with the Familiar. Bears did not play around, and a fight between Peeta and a bear would wake everyone from here to the Ulisse Palace. Sure enough, the small group stepped over the dead bear around the corner.

"It's for the greater good," Larissa reminded the children, but the horrible scene did not scare them. Executions were frequent in the Ilarian Palace. Queen Ninon pointed the finger at someone she deemed to be a traitor, and that was it for them. She saw enemies everywhere. The room at the top of the stairs. Larissa had never seen it for herself, but the children had. They alone saw the Prince. Not tonight. Tonight, he's coming with me.

Go! Larissa commanded, and this was the end of the stealthy part of the escape. Peeta charged at the heavy wooden door and knocked it clean off its hinges to a squeak of surprise from within.

"Ronan?" Larissa looked in the darkness and saw him. A boy so pale from lack of sun that he seemed to absorb light from every source around him. So white. He was shirtless and barefoot, clad only in undergarments. He looked so thin and frail for a boy of sixteen, and he was the saddest person she'd ever met in her life. That changes now.

"Is this the rescue?" Ronan asked, terrified. The poor thing. He might have been expecting an execution, for all Larissa knew.

"Get on your Pegasus. We're going to Ulisse," Larissa ordered, and the Alaeyan Prince did as commanded, hopping atop the silver Pegasus. Larissa briefly stopped to admire the beauty of such a creature. Twelve feet long and glittering in the light of the torch on the wall. Ronan either kept the torch on for the rescue, or he was terrified of the dark. "Children, hop on either Peeta or the Pegasus."

Viv and Lorcan opted to ride with the Prince. The Pegasus lowered itself so that the youngsters could hop on its back along with Ronan. Viv wrapped her arms around Ronan, the cat safe under her tunic, and Lorcan wrapped her arms around Viv. The falcon was free to fly. With no more room on the Pegasus, Warrick and his rat hopped up onto Peeta's strong back with Larissa.

"Hold on tight, darling!" Larissa told Warrick. "It's going to be a rough ride."

Peeta set the pace - almost a gallop down the stairs. With the recent ruckus going on in the tower, people were beginning to move around in the castle. Guards and civilians.

Mow down anyone who gets in the way! Larissa commanded. Queen Ninon was a mad, evil woman. Anyone in the Palace lived by her rules and tolerated her tyranny. That made anyone who stood between her and her mission fair game in her eyes. Peeta would not mourn their deaths. Neither will I.

Like you needed to ask, Peeta snorted through her large nose to emphasise her point.

Larissa looked behind her and Ronan was following close behind on the Pegasus. She felt Warrick's arms squeezing the breath out of her as she maintained her grip on her Familiar's harness. Ladies of the Palace screamed and ran back into their rooms as Peeta charged her way down, threatening to impale or crush anyone who tried to stop her. This is going to happen, Larissa thought. We're going to get out! Peeta knew where to go, and Ronan's Pegasus only needed to follow. Once they were out of the tower, they ran across the courtyard to the north entrance to the palace. Giant wooden doors that kept the Palace secure.

Hold on! Peeta ran at full speed, a great black battering ram that weighed three metric tons going at seventy kilometres an hour. Larissa did as Peeta warned her and put her head down, telling Warrick to do the same. It worked. She ploughed through the door, making a crash that would have woken up every single person in that damn Palace. They were out. Peeta kept running, and Larissa saw the Pegasus flying above them. We've done it! She looked back to see if Warrick was okay, but she was shocked to see that he wasn't there. He was gone. Where did I lose him?

Go back! She commanded Peeta. We lost Warrick!

Are you crazy? Peeta yelled back at her. If he's not dead, he will be. We don't need to die as well!

I'm not leaving him behind! Larissa smacked Peeta on the side of the head. Go back! Now!

You'll thank me for this when you come to your senses! I'm not letting us die! Peeta stubbornly refused to go back and continued at a gallop as the three children on the Pegasus flew a dozen metres above them.

You bitch! Larissa choked back a sob. Warrick was a person. A good person. He deserved a life. A full life. Larissa promised him one, and now he was gone. I did this.

You have Ronan, Viv and Lorcan, Peeta reminded her, running at a steady pace. There would be pursuers, particularly now that the Prince was no longer in his prison. That's two more than we needed. Two people you saved.

I guess, Larissa thought, but rather than thinking about the lives she saved that night, all she could think about was failing Warrick as the four of them and their Familiars fled north into the night. They reached the Forest of Night before they slowed down, a couple of dozen kilometres away from the Palace. Both Peeta and the Pegasus needed a brief rest after the sprint out of the Palace.

"Who are you?" Ronan asked, clinging to his Pegasus' neck.

"Oh, I'm sorry darling," Larissa dismounted off Peeta and made her way over to the three children on the beautiful silver Pegasus. "This young man didn't tell you? I'm Lady Larissa Willow, and this is Peeta. And you're Prince Ronan Alae."

"I am," Ronan looked at her suspiciously. He looked older than sixteen. Years and years of living in a windowless chamber had taken a serious toll on him. "Where is Warrick?"

"Warrick... didn't make it," Larissa revealed to the sobs of all three children she was looking at. "I'm so sorry."

"He died for me?" Ronan asked, his long, wavy hair falling over both shoulders. He looked like a girl, Larissa thought. He was beautiful, but he looked distraught and broken. "Warrick?"

"What happened?" Viv asked with a shaky voice.

"Somewhere on the run, we lost him," Larissa choked on her words. Warrick's dirty, angular face and oily brown hair weren't exactly beautiful, but he was a lovely kid. Lovely, obedient and friendly to all. Now he was gone. Dead for sure. The Palace Guard would execute him on the spot with their bears. "I'm sorry."

"Can we go back?" Lorcan asked, his bird flying around overhead.

"I want to go back!" Ronan demanded, and his Pegasus nodded. Timi the Silver. Three Pegasi, the tale went. One black in Eodanira, one silver in Iralia and one white in Ulisse. It was truth. Moonlight glittered off the beautiful beast's silver mane and enormous wings.

"We can't go back," Larissa told him firmly. "I'm sorry, but I'm in charge of this operation, and you're staying with me until we get to Ulisse. Your brother is waiting for you."

"Orion?" Ronan gasped. It was as though he had only now realised he was free. Imprisoned so long that the walls were in his head as well.

"Yes, darling," Larissa nodded happily. "Now, my Lorcan tells me that you believe there will be war soon. Can you tell me about that? Your brothers told you?"

"I was watching for myself," Ronan replied, beginning to shiver and his teeth chattering. The poor boy. He didn't put on any clothes, but he clearly knew that she was coming for him in the night. Maybe he didn't want to get his hopes up, she realised. Perhaps he protected himself by preparing for failure. Being a prisoner for so long... she couldn't imagine what it must be like for him to leave his bed chamber for the first time.

"Here," Larissa slid off her snug leather jacket and slipped the Prince's arms through them, and he almost began crying with gratitude. "You need to stay warm. We're still on the south side of Ytia and we won't find Ulisse until we reach the north coast."

"I didn't think it would ever happen," Ronan reached back and looked at the two other children. Viv, her large, fluffy grey cat peeking out from her tunic and Lorcan, the sweet boy whose bird flew overhead. "I thought I would live through my brothers forever."

"What did you see, Ronan?" Larissa asked him, putting her gloved hand on his white, almost grey fingers. "Tell me. War?"

"I saw Soren's wedding. He rode me to the throne with Princess Charlotte," Ronan explained. "I watched through Vyma's eyes. I never truly believed I would see anything like this for myself."

"Yes, but we have a lot of traveling to do, my Prince," Larissa snapped at him, causing him to flinch. "I need to know what to expect. Is Alaeyas coming to liberate Iralia? Is Eodanira planning to invade us? Or Alaeyas? What is going on?"

"It's those demon children," Ronan's voice was barely a whisper. He was still so cold. "They want to kill us. Me and my brothers."

"Well, nobody's going to hurt you while I'm around," Larissa promised, and she extended her promise to both Viv and Lorcan as well. "We're going to Ulisse. Together."

"Lady Willow," Lorcan interrupted. "My falcon can see riders from the Palace coming in our direction!"

"No!" Viv whimpered, and Larissa's heart began thumping. We don't have much time.

"Come along. We won't let them get to us," Larissa ran back over to Peeta, who had regained her breath and a look of determination in her great, black eyes. "They'll do anything to get you back, Ronan, and they won't be happy with any of us for escaping the Palace. We need to go forward. Now. We'll find some clothes for you soon, but right now we have to put as much distance between Queen Crazy Bitch and us as we can."

"Larissa?" Ronan yelled out to her as she mounted Peeta again.

"Yes, my Prince?" Larissa looked over at him wearily.

"Thank you!" He smiled for the first time, and in a grand swoop, Timi the Pegasus flew off, enjoying the privilege of stretching his wings after being in captivity for so long while Viv and Lorcan held on tight. Good. They'll be safer on Timi than Warrick was on Peeta. Maybe I failed Warrick. But three children are alive and free because of me. I didn't fail them.