Fooling the Tower

Prologue

The scent of the letter reminded her of the sweet memories weaved by the mercy of time and the blessing of childhood. Relishing the touch of the paper which had also been embraced to heart by a fellow soul, Winifred celebrated the sisterly passion that their relationship had cradled. The letter had been one of the various joys she would remember in her life.

"Dear sister,

It's been a long time, I agree, since my sister has etched her name into the pages of history by so eventful an escape in the silence of the dark. Tales of your bravery have become famous and your courage shall be saluted. I by no means intend to flatter you; it's just that my heart yearns to see the events with my naked eyes for I had missed it. The words heard from the lips of the common folk and the gentry does little help to suppress the fire of curiosity within me. With every word spoken I go even the more restless. Thus, I request you to narrate to me everything, from the melancholic moments to the joyful conclusion, so that I can satiate myself.

Your loving sister,
Lucy."

Not often could they converse. Yet with the rise of letter writing and the prospect of being able to feel connected to a loved one far in physical distance, such words of love were being increasingly exchanged through letters instead of just daydreaming about meeting the loved one.

But after reading the letter, the joy increased tenfold. So did the anxiety reach a peak and the spirit of thrill throbbing inside her. Winifred could do little to now shush her own victorious laughter as she reminisced the olden days.

The love rippling across France and the zeal of the citizens kept Winifred and her husband at peace and inspired them to continue to fight for their cause in silence. Days had passed since that fateful night when the greatest escapade of history had taken place.

William snored diligently. It would have been rude of her to make fun of his habits as he aged yet she did. She lived every moment to see him sleep this happy and wake up even happier. His love for her had become dangerously possessive and often immature were his sudden proclaims of love, but she enjoyed all these for she knew she had won them.

It had been a night as deep as this when she had planned the whole thing, to free her husband from the clutches of the prison and flee to a safer country.

It had been the night of the century.

She dipped the feather in the ink, closing her eyes and recalling each and every moment of the day she got the unfortunate news till the day she had proven to be one of the most powerful wives of the world!

Thus, she began writing.

Dear sister,

The story of my Lord's escape is now so old that I am amused how you are still so interested in knowing it. It's like a nagging child requesting his mother to repeat the story of the fairy and the prince. For yes, I am his fairy and he the prince I had rescued from the dungeons of the dragon!

I shall try to narrate with as much detail as possible for many moments I have forgotten, but the emotions are still so fresh as if it had happened just a week ago. The tension and the relief– everything seems so real even now. More than just a years old tale.

I feel glad to be a woman who could protect her Lord and escort him to safety. I feel I have made an humble attempt in expressing my love for him, such deep and loyal that I am ready to revolt against Time indeed. I never wished to be a heroine of history but if that's the gift of love that the world must present to me, I gladly accept. Even that King seemed to be admiring it– the quick witted enemy I am!

So, let me tell you the tale, of how I defied the Tower of London.