part 2 Two years later

How well I remember every frightening detail of my last night on my beloved Iona. Once my mother kissed me farewell I was taken by the arm by Hilda, my personal protector , and rushed down the bank to a waiting boat.. She had been my protector and teacher ever since I was old enough to remember. As we crawled into the shallow boat I was relieved to see that she was coming with me. Even though she was much older then my mother, overweight, and not able to move very swiftly from arthritis I knew she loved me and would always protect me.
We could not have had a worst night to go on the water. It was dark, cold, breezy and a fine mist was falling. Worst yet the fog was rolling in. I was frightened, heart sick and cold but I was assured by Hilda and the two boat men that all this worked to our advantage. If the enemy saw us there was no predicting our fat e.
Hilda wrapped me up in a heavy blanket and encouraged me to try to get some sleep to help the time go by but that was impossible. I could not turn off my mind. Too much had happened to me in just a few hours. Mother and Hilda had known about this for a week and had been organizing the escape privately for me to leave immediately after my party but felt it best not to say a word until the time for my escape. As I was next in line for the crown, eliminating me was necessary to destroy the organization.. I could understand there reasons for top secrecy but it did not make the shock any easier for me. In the deep pocket inside my cape was a letter wraped in parchment, with all the instructions for my escape and future. For security I would reach in and touch the pocket wondering what would happen to me. I had never felt this horrible insecurity before.