Chapter 7: A Royal Deception

The cell was colder than expected. The stone walls were unyielding, and the iron bars, despite their rusted appearance, felt as if they could swallow us whole. Anthony paced the floor with his usual calm composure, while I could barely sit still, running over the events in my mind.

It all happened so quickly- the trial, the accusations, the way the church had bounded us outlaws for something neither if us had ever done. It wasn't the kind of story that made sense, not to us, not to anyone. But then again, did anything ever make sense in this ranged world of deception.

"I can't believe it," I muttered, more to myself than to anyone else. "Caught like rats. Of all the ways i thought this would end..."

"Not yet," Anthony replied, not looking at me but instead studying the barred window, the one that offered no hope of freedom.

His tone was quiet, measured. Almost like he knew exactly what was coming. It irritated me.

"How are we supposed to get out of here?" I asked, trying to suppress the panic rising in my chest. "We're locked in a bloody tower, with guards everywhere!"

"There's always way," Anthony said with a slight smile, as if he had everything figured out. His confidence only made me more nervous. I crossed my arms and leaned back against the stone cold wall.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" I demanded. "I'm not so sure you're as prepared as you-"

"I'm prepared," Anthony cut me off, turning his gaze to meet mine. His dark eyes were sharp, almost gleaming with hidden amusement. "In fact, I have everything I need right here."

Before I could respond, he knelt down by the bed and started tugging at the sheets. It took me a moment to realise what he was doing.

"Anthony..." i began, my voice faltering as I saw his plan unfold.

"Shh," he whispered, as if the very sound of my voice might ruin his carefully laid plans. "Watch."

He tied the sheets together with careful precision, knotting them so they were as secure as possible. I was skeptical - after all, how could we escape by climbing down a rope of sheets? But as he finished, he tied the other end to one of the beds. The weight of it seemed ridiculous, but something in Anthony's movements told me he wasn't going to make a fool out of himself.

"Wait-" I started again, but he was already tying the sheets to the window.

He smiled not in his usual charming way, but with something deeper. "I told you I had it under control."

I stood up and moved toward the window, my heart pounding in my chest. The night air was cold, and the moonlight flickering off the dark waters below. The idea of climbing down that precarious sheet rope sent a chill down my spine.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered, but Anthony was already going for it, his lithe frame slipping through the bars with practiced ease.

"Don't worry, Jack," he called over his shoulder. "I've done worse."

I wasn't so sure about that. But there was no time to argue. I followed him to the window, my hands shaking as I gripped my makeshift robe. I could feel my heart race, my breathing shallow as I prepared to climb down.

But just as I was about to being my descent, a loud crash echoed through the night. My grip on the rope faltered, and my heart skipped a beat.

The rope snapped.

I felt myself falling, my body crashing into the cold stone ground below with a force that left me winded. Pain shot up my spine as i groaned and struggled to regain my bearings.

"Jack!" Anthony's voice was frantic, but i could barely hear him over the rush of blood to my ears.

I looked up, my vision blurry, only to see a woman standing beside the boat, staring at me with wide, unblinking eyes. She was the most beautiful thing id ever seen, her presence like an aura of light in the shadows. She stepped forward, her hand outstretched, and I realised something in that moment - this was no ordinary woman.

A scream pierced the night. Guards.

"What are you doing?" I shouted, pushing myself up. "We need to go, now!"

Anthony scrambled down from the sheet rope with surprising speed, landing beside me in an instant. The woman, however, seemed unfazed by the approaching soldiers. In fact, she looked almost... amused.

"Quickly," she commanded. "Get on the boat."

"What?" I gasped, still dazed from my fall.

"Jack, do as she says," Anthony urged, grabbing my arm.

We both jumped into the boat as the guards closed in. But before they could reach us, the woman turned to face them her eyes flushing with authority. She raised a hand, and i swear the entire scene froze for a moment. Then, with a swift motion, she gestured, and the boat lurched away from the tower.

The guards didn't know what had just happened.

---

We were free.

As we glided away from the tower, I managed to catch my breath and glance over at the woman. There was something familiar about her, though I couldn't place it.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice still shaking.

She smiled, revealing sharp, regal features. "I am the empress of Russia," she said, her voice dripping with authority.

I blinked. "what?"

"Anth, I've come to help," she continued, her gaze slowly drifting from mine. "But we must hurry."

"Wait-" I stammered. "I thought you were..."

"Yes," she interrupted me without hesitation, her eyes cold now, "I'm giving up my throne to help my little brother and his idiotic boyfriend escape the Vaticans wrath. You will find your way to England, and I will make sure of it."

I stated at her in disbelief. "Brother? Why though?"

Anthony's grin widened. "Oh, Jack dear, you're such a horrid actor. I just had to make sure you didn't know."

I turned to him with confusion. "What are you talking about? What's going on?"

He gave me a cheeky smile, one that made me realise something like should've seen earlier. "The plan," he said, "was basically just you thinking we were doomed. I needed you to believe it so you'd play the part."

"You-" I began, but the words didn't come. Anthony knew. He had known the whole time.

"We needed the money," Anthony continued, "so we could disappear. Now that she's helping us, we've got what we need."

The empress nodded. "You've both been too reckless for too long. It's It's to disappear for good."

---

The sea was black glass beneath the boat, stretching endlessly in every direction. The wind bit at my skin, and the rocking of the waves threatened to lull me into a sleep. I resisted. The night felt too fragile to let my guard down. Too many things had gone wrong for me to trust that we were truly safe.

Anthony sat across from me, his back straight, his hands resting easily on his knees as if we weren't fugitives drifting towards an uncertain fate. His sister - the empress, apparently - stood at the helm, she looked at peace while she steered.

I pulled my coat lighter around my shoulders. I was still sore from my fall, and my pride had taken just as much of a beating. Anthony had know. He had known the whole damn time, and he let me believe we were doomed.

I should have been grateful. We were alive. We were free. But all I could feel was irritation clawing at my ribs.

"You're awfully quiet," Anthony hissed, breaking the tension. His voice was calm, almost teasing.

I glanced up at him, narrowing my eyes. "I'm just," I paused looking back out to the sea, all i could feel were his eyes fixed upon me. "Thinking."

"That's new," he exhaled then gave me a concerned look, deepening the tension between us.

I angled my head fourty five degrees to look at him, whilst rubbing my hands together for warmth. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Anthony tilted his head, slightly reaching my shoulder as a place to rest. "Tell you what?"

"Oh, don't play dumb." I snapped, jumping up from the uncomfortable seat we had on the boats floor. "That you had a plan. That your sister was behind it. That we weren't actually about to rot in a cell for the rest of our lives."

Anthony Smirked, looking up at me as if i was the stars in the night sky. "Would you have played along so convincingly if I had?"

I clenched my jaw, he had a point. I had panicked. I had believed we were going to forever rot in the loneliness of a brick room. And my fear was real enough to convince everyone.

I ran a hand through my hair, giving a slight smile to mimick the look he gave me just a second ago. "You could have atleast given me a hint."

Anthony leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Jack, you are a terrible actor when you know the truth. I needed you to believe it. If you had known the plan, the guards would've seen right through you."

I scoffed. "Im a fantastic actor."

"You fell out a window." He giggled trying to hold back the burst of laughter on its way.

I glared at him, his smirk widened. I wanted to be furious. I wanted to stay angry. But damn it, he made it impossible.

The empress - whose name apparently, was Harriet - finally turned toward us. "We'll reach England by dawn. You'll have to keep your heads down." Her voice was cool, composed, as if she hadn't just staged a grand betrayal to help us escape.

I folded my arms. "And what about you, your majesty? Surly someone will notice the missing empress of Russia."

She arched her perfectly shaped brow. "I was never missing. As far as the world is concerned, I have simply retired from the throne. My loyalists will handle the rest."

Anthony watched her closely. "You didn't have to do this."

She smiled faintly. "Didn't I?"

I didn't trust her. Maybe it was the fact she had handed us over for the reward in the first place. Maybe it was because she seemed entirely too at ease for a woman who had just thrown away her empire.

Anthony must have noticed my hesitation because he nudged me with his knee. "Jack, she's on our side."

I gave a slight huff. "Forgive me for being cautious. It's not every day I'm sold out then rescued by the same person."

Harriet smirked. "Consider it a learning experience."

I huffed once more and leaned back against the boats edge, staring up at the sky in awe. The stars were sharp pinprickles of light, scattered across the heavens like shattered glass. The night smelled of salt and distant storms.

Anthony shifted closer, his voice quieter now. "Are you really that angry?"

I let the silence stretch between us. I wasn't angry, not really. I was... unsettled. Shaken by how close we had come to losing everything.

"No," i admitted, rubbing the back of my neck. "Just - next time, warn me before you let me think we're doomed."

Anthony laughed softly. "No promises."

I shot him a look, but he only grinned, his face bathed in the soft silver glow of moonlight.

And for once in days, I felt a little lighter.

---

By the time we reached England, the sky was streaked with pink and gold, the first rays of morning spilling over the horizon.

Harriet led us through the streets of London with ease as if she had walked them a hundred times before. She had traded her royal attire for something more fitting - a long dark coat and a simple dress, elegant but unassuming.

Anthony and I, however, stood out. We had no disguises and no plan beyond staying alive.

"We need new names," Anthony murmured fairly close to my ear as we ducked into a nearby allyway.

I chuffed. "We need more than new names. We need a place to stay, money, a plan.

Harriet pulled a small pouch from her coat and tossed it to me. I caught it, the weight of gold coins settling into my palm

I blinked. "Where did you-?"

She smirked, the same smirk Anthony gave me when he was about to say something clever. "You didn't think I'd come unprepared, did you?"

Anthony clapped a hand on my shoulder. "See? Everything's handled."

I rolled my eyes but put the coins in my pocket for safe keeping. "Fine, but what happens next?"

Harriet folded her arms. "You hide, you disappear. And if your lucky, the church will forget about you."

Anthony looked at her, something different - something new about his gaze. "And you?"

Harriet hesitated, just for a moment. Then she smiled. "I have my own path to follow."

Something about the way she said it sent a strange feeling through me. A farewell. A finality.

Before I could say anything, she stepped back into the shadows, disappearing into the city like she had never been there at all.

Anthony sighed and turned to me. "Well, Jack. The world is ours."

I raised an eyebrow. "You say that like it's a good thing."

He grinned. "It is. Because for the first time in a long time, we are free.

I wasn't sure if freedom was the right word. We were still running, still looking over our shoulders. But as I glanced at Anthony - his lips quirked in that way that made me stomach twist - I thought maybe, just maybe, we had a chance.

And if we didn't?

Well. We'd find a way. We always did.