➷ ࿐ྂ

──────── 🏹ׅ۬∙ ────────

xiii. Espionage

for dinnerin silence, Y/N started a conversation which was a signal for her three allies to back her up. "Does anyone wish to come with us on our trip to France?"

"France sounds lovely," Enola said.

"I do have fondness with their lovely architecture. Mother would love a sketch of her old school," Guineviere followed.

"I'll go anywhere with you," Tewkesbury stated as he raised his goblet, slightly twirling it with a cheeky grin. Y/N hid her laughter while the Lords raised their eyebrows.

"I see French ideas do bring people together," Lord Leucrion remarked. Guineviere chocked and the ithers only snickered.

"It depends on the idea." The marquess answered. "French execution, French Revolution."

"French K — "

"Lord Leucrion, if you aren't too busy, will you come with us to France?" Guineviere asked. He smiled at her with joy lit on his eyes.

"As long as you're there," he answered making the Lady of Castalene scoff playfully at the platitude.

"What about you, Lord Theron? Lord Allistair?" Enola asked. They both nodded and laughed.

"My, I have business there with Sir Bordeaux. Of course!" Lord Allistair said.

"And you, Lord Cosko?" Y/N asked, arching an eyebrow. He cleared his throat.

"I have to politely refuse, Young Y/N. I have business somewhere else." He plainly replied.

"And where would that be?" She dabbed the napkin around her mouth and placed it next to her plate, clasping her hands and giving him a curious look. "We can't have fun without you. As Lord Leucrion here said, France brings people together."

Guineviere kicked Leucrion under the table in secret, offering him a smile once he yelped.

"Plus, I heard you love Notre Dame. We could visit that." Y/N persuaded.

"I really can't." Lord Cosko answered.

"Father, why not?" Guineviere asked. Y/N looked at her as she gave her a knowing look.

"I have business, Guineviere." He said.

"But father, I must protest. You — "

"Not now in front of our friends, dear."

"This! This is what I hate the most about you! You never have time for me! If you can just tell me where you're going and why, I would understand. It's as simple as walking under the sun, Father!" The lady shouted making her father slightly shift in his seat from embarrassment.

"Why don't you just tell her, Cosko?"

"Very well. It's an urgent business. I have to go back to Castalene and talk to some of my companions about the new project of the new landmark for our estate." He said.

"A landmark?" Guineviere asked in a play-pretend enthusiastic tone. "Is it going to be a statue of our family?"

"Ah, yes. Now, do you understand?"

"I certainly do. I hope it'll be finished soon!" She exclaimed in fake enthusiasm.

"I'll tell them to do their best, darling. Oh, I can already hear the busy meeting room."

With that, they knew where to go. Enola, Tewkesbury, Guineviere and Y/N looked at each other and fixed their gazes to their meals.

It's time for phase two.

"We'll be leaving as soon as the clock stikes one in the early morning."

"That's little time for packing."

"It was planned the other day, and in excitement, we made sure to make haste."

"Then I'll have to ask my servants to pack my things."

"Bon Voyage."

"Until we see each other again, Lord Cosko."

"Until then, Young Y/N."

⋆·˚ ༘ * 🕯️

"'You never have time for me!'. That was bloody brilliant, Guineviere!" Y/N and Enola complimented.

"Well, thank you. I try my best."

"Now, for phase two, we can't just trust the lords no matter how nice they are. So, we are going to mislead them by thinking we four went missing." Y/N said.

"How are we going to do that?" Tewkesbury asked.

Y/N fixed her gaze on Enola and smirked, "We jump off the train, of course! This one might be a lot different though as the compartments have two doors, one that you might think is a window — don't ask. Favour from a resourceful friend who has a knack for fixing things."

"We'll pretend that the door of our compartment, yes, only one, is actually open and we all accidentally fall. A few minutes after, we land on something high and near so we can get off and there we go!" Y/N explained with pride.

Everyone nodded. "This is going to be fun. Scary, but fun! We're like — a secret order set to do our work of espionage!" Guineviere cheered.

"It does sound pretty cool, doesn't it?" Y/N asked cheerfully.

"It does!"

"Let's get to work!"

⋆·˚ ༘ * 🕯️

They've been in the train for quite some time now. The transportation has started to move on its way to the port where a ship will bring them to France. The group looked at each other. "Are you all ready? I see a high and near land coming up in about . . . " Guineviere said and narrowed her eyes to the hill she was talking about. "A minute? Or Two?"

Everyone nodded. "Do you all feel like this is a suicide mission? What if we didn't jump off at the right time and die?" Tewkesbury asked.

"Stop overthinking, Nitwit!" Y/N exclaimed. Something about that nickname leaving her lips comforted him.

The boy sighed in relaxation. They heard the carriage's other door click, ready to be opened.

"Are you all really ready?" Guineviere asked. They all gulped and nodded.

"Let the adventure begin!" She cheered and opened the door, welcoming the wind of the dark early morning. This caused their hairs to whip behind them.

"Remember when we first jumped off a train?!" Y/N yelled, asking.

"Yeah!" Enola and Tewkesbury answered.

"I lost a button after that!" The Marquess shouted.

"Such pity. Shame you never felt the same way about losing your precious locks."

"You said you liked the new haircut!"

"Well—"

"Stop chatting like ladies in a tea party and jump!" Guineviere interjected.

With that, the Lady of Castalene jumped without hesitation, screaming in both fear and exhilaration. She was followed by Enola who groaned as she hit the ground.

Tewkesbury held Y/N's hand and looked at her with fear. "They made it, Nitwit. Don't be such a wimp."

He gulped.

"You survived the first time and got away with the gunshot your grandmother herself fired. You almost got killed by my father yet you still won. There's nothing you can't do."

Slightly but not completely convinced, he watched as the train went faster and almost there to the lake, a few seconds from passing by the nearest hill.

"Do you trust me?" Y/N asked.

"More than myself." He replied.

They both nodded at each other and jumped together hand-in-hand, screaming.

Then, they hit the ground.

Tewkesbury was still screaming, clutching the girl for dear life. She laughed so hard that she layed her head on the grass for support of her straining neck.

Y/N then returned her gaze to him with a calm demeanor, and tapped his shoulder, "We made it, you idiot. Stop screaming!"

He lifted his head up and looked around. "Oh."

What a dork . . .