Chaplain's Daughter

Her breath grew shaky and he pulled away, fearing he had done something wrong. Then she spoke and his eyes went wide. Everything seemed to click into place and it all made sense. This was it. This was their chance. Her voice shook and the thought of freedom faded into the back of his mind. He took her hands suddenly, holding her gaze. He needed to know. “Are you sure? If something goes wrong, if you’re caught-” he stopped, looking down. If something happened to her for helping him he would never forgive himself. No, he couldn’t let her take that chance, and he was about to tell her than when she spoke again and his heart stopped. “Osmund? My brother is alive?” 

It was not too late for her to go back if she wished to. She could hang the keys back where they went and lock his cell door, claim that he had stolen the basket away from her and leave him if she so wanted but she never could have lived with herself if she did. So much of her time had been spent in prayer about her feelings for Osgar and all of it had lead to this moment. God had given her the strength to set not only him free but herself as well. “Alive and waiting for you” she told him, “when we hit the woods I promise to answer every single one of your questions but we are wasting precious time right now. Please come with me?”

A thousand thought and feelings flooded him at the sight of her. She looked frantic and worried, but gods she looked beautiful. After worrying that he might never see her again he could not possibly imagine a brighter sight. “Idelisa, thank the gods, I thought that- what are you doing?” It took him a moment to realise she held the keys to his cell in her hand and as she unlocked the bars that had separated them for so long he stood there frozen. Before he had a chance to react she pulled him towards her, and his arms instinctually wrapped protectively around her. He didn’t understand what was happening, but he refused to let her out of his sight again. He couldn’t risk losing her. She pulled away and an ace filled the space between them where she had been only moments ago. “Time? I don’t understand.” She spoke again and he fell silent. Without those wretched bars between them there were a thousand things he wanted to do and say, but the urgency in her voice made him push those thoughts aside. He took the basket from her, frowning slightly at the sight of the mask and cloak. Osgar looked at her and then back at the contents of the basket before nodding. Hell, he’s wear a noose around his neck like a necklace if she told him to, so in a matter of moments he was donning the cloak and holding the mask in his hand. Before putting it on he reached out for her, his hand hovering in the air for a moment as he hesitated. Then his hand was on her cheek, holding her with such caution and care. “You’ve already saved me. I thought… I thought I’d never see you again.” 

Last time that there had been no bars between them he had been gravely injured. They had never had the opportunity to hold one another and even if they had she likely never would have allowed it. Right now Idelisa couldn't allow herself to think of how it felt to be in his arms because if this plan fell through the very first time would also be the last. The breath caught in her throat as his hand came to rest on her cheek but she fought to gain control again. She needed at least enough to understand the weight of hers and Osmund's plan. "Overhead there is a masquerade ball. The guards are distracted and we will be able to slip out into the ballroom" she said shakily, the urgency in her voice not leaving as she reached forward to smooth an upraised bit of his cloak, "If we act a normal couple heading out of the room to find a moment alone we can slip into the forest and I can get you to Osmund's hut. We have to hurry out of here though. He can only keep them distracted for so long and we have to try to blend back in"

flyinghigh-osmund:

Osmund watched the now closed door for a moment more before starting to put his plan into action. Shifting his cloak from his body he slipped on the leather gauntlets. If he was to act as if his birds were missing, he was going to look the part. Stepping to the balcony he let out a long short whistle. It only took a few moments for the sound of wings to fill the air. Arlo and Aragon joined him, he knew they would listen when he needed them to. Stepping back into the hall, he let out three quick whistles before watching the animals fly silently into the belfry of the ballroom. He heard a gasp or two from a few women but nothing much else. This was it, his only chance. 

Frowning a bit as he looked around, the man let out a long sigh. “Help…” He sighed before yelling louder. “Help! Someone please, my birds they’ve disappeared.” Quickly running into the hall, he paused when he heard steps coming up behind him. This was going to work. Hopefully, the guards in the dungeons would stay away long enough for Idelisa and his brother to be free.

Osgar felt like he was going mad. He hadn’t spoken with Idelisa since their kiss, and after the storm a gnawing fear had formed in his mind. If something had happened to her he didn’t know what he would do. Before the storm he’d been connived that the worst possible fate he could face would be her absence. He could have pushed her away with his feelings, reaching for something she did not want. He could have lost her. But after the storm… he would gladly live out the rest of his life in the agony of missing her only to know that she was alive and well. To know that she was safe. 

The sound of footsteps approaching lifted his heart and he stood up so fast he almost fell over. Still, he quickly rushed over to the bars of his cell, trying to look out into the shadows to see her. “Idelisa?” 

She had gone slowly about the room, buying as much time as she could for Osmund to distract the guards, but when she heard feet trailing on the steps to the dungeon echoing against the damp walls and then the opening and closing of the heavy wooden door she dropped all pretense and raced for Osgar’s cell door. Her heart raced in her chest as she caught sight of him after what seemed to have been an eternity. There was so much that she wished to say but they didn’t have the time. The deaconess unlocked the door to his cell and slipped inside, pulling him into a quick embrace out of the sheer relief that he had made it through the storm. After a moment she pulled away and handed him the basket. “We don’t have much time” she said in a rushed whisper, “This is the only chance we have to save you. Please put these things on. I promise I’ll explain later. Please - please just trust me”. To ease her fear her fingers clutched at the golden cross she wore about her throat as she hoped that the prayer she had uttered earlier had been heard. 

His hand flexed against her back, his own nerves starting to show. All this time he’d spent believing the only true kin he had left was gone, it was almost a bit too much for him to handle. “This will work, Idelisa. It has to.” They made another turn around the dance floor before he led her off. He was too impatient and he wanted to see his brother now. “Come, we should do this now. It appears that most of the guard is here, so we may only have to worry about just a few of them at the doors.” Stepping back to the hall and to the doors she had pointed out before, he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I shall make the distraction, get in and out as quickly as you can, I will meet you at my home in an hour.” 

They had gone about the room for what she hoped would be a sufficient amount to draw attention away from their slipping away. Each of them had taken turn in conversing with others even, just to play up that they were merely attendees rather than two people on a mission. She prayed that he was correct about this working. If it didn’t both of them could face imprisonment and perhaps sentences of death. “Alright, now” she agreed, gathering the basket of bread she had carried through the night closer to herself as she headed for the doors, “It’ll take me a moment to the key to his cell from the guards. Follow me down in maybe five minutes”. 

Those were the last instructions she gave before slipping through the doorway down to the dungeons. As she neared she discarded her mask into the basket, making sure it was hidden beneath the few loaves of bread she had brought with her. Guards would recognize her far better if they could see her face, especially since her ballroom attire exceeded the grandeur of her usual attire by leaps and bounds. “Good evening gentleman” she said in greeting to the two men on duty, “I’ve come to bring a bit of fresh bread to the prisoners. My father has also sent me with an oil of anointing so that I may say a prayer over them. I also believe there’s a bit of cloth so that I may redress the wounds of a few”. It was lucky she had come so much and the guards were used to permitting her entry to certain cells. They handed her the keys and sent her off with their usual words of advisement against whom to avoid. Idelisa began passing out her bread, buying a bit of time for Osmund overhead. 

“Your father isn’t in the church tonight is he? The last thing we need is to have any of us getting caught by him.” He hadn’t learned much about the girls father, but from what she had mentioned of him, he didn’t seem like the pleasant type. “I think that may be the best idea, before the mild madness ensues. I’d like to see what we are up against.” Adjusting the mask on his face, Osmund turned to lead the woman toward the party. Once in the hall, the man took in a breath. So many masked faces, so many people to watch and be careful of. Stepping back from her, Osmund bowed, like he’d seen so many others do before holding out his hand. “I do believe once around the room should suffice.”  

“No” Idelisa affirmed. Usually, her father avoided events like this one. He and the master of the treasury spent time together, one to bemoan the expenditure and the other to take in his share of drink before what would assuredly be a busy week. Time and time again he had told her that dancing brought out the worst in people, and she did have to admit that some only sought their religious counsel after a full night of dancing and making far too merry. She took the hand that he offered her, nestling the little basket of supplies in closer to her side as she forced a smile to her face. “I’m nervous” she admitted, her voice still in a whisper. 

His mind was still reeling from the events of the past few days. He had learned his brother was not dead, he was alive in the dungeons of the castle. Truth be told, when the red haired woman on his arm spoke of his brother, he thought it to be some sort of trick. He’d already met a sorcerer of sorts, he figured she was of the same cloth. A few more conformations and a lengthy conversation later and here they were. His free hand clenched and un-clenched at his side, he was nervous. Though he had good right to be. Breaking someone out of dungeons of Camelot. “As ready as I shall ever be.” Looking down at her, her smile seemed to put him at ease. “Which way are the dungeons from here?”

Idelisa subtly lead him from where they had been rooted, leading him towards a door just behind the raised dais where the royals could sit if they so wished. “Just beyond this door there’s a servant corridor. It branches off in two directions, the first to the outside of the castle. It’s a path that will lead straight to the churchyard and my father, but most importantly it’ll get you outside. The second branch will lead to a series of stairs that descend into the dungeons” she replied, standing close to the man and whispering vehemently. Hopefully onlookers just hoped that the couple was flirting rather than conspiring. “Should we go once or twice about the room? Dance perhaps?”