Dorothea was unphased. She was beyond girly emotion, now that the worst had reared its ugly head. There was much to be done, queens to conquer, sight and a human body to be restored, a kingdom to be rescued. Sam had taught her to believe.

She smoothly stepped out from under Liam's hand, and she pressed his palm down with a paw. She knew he couldn't see her, and he couldn't understand her with his ears, but she could rely on his touch.

She remembered a game they used to play as kids, when they wanted to communicate without the grown-ups knowing.

[i]Little Dorothea sat in the middle of the parlor floor with Liam. Leaves still clung to her dress and her hair was a wreck, but she was grinning even after being scolded. "Next time we won't get caught, because we'll have a secret code." She held up one finger, showing it to Liam. "One means stay quiet. If I show you one finger, don't answer anybody's questions or we'll be in trouble, right? Same goes for me. One is silence. Two," she produced a second finger, "is run. Go hide in your room, or somewhere nobody will find you until the coast is clear. And three --"[/i]

Dorothea, struggling a bit with her paws, pushed Liam's thumb and little finger under his palm and held them there. Three fingers.

[i]"Three means come find me."[/i]

She stood on Liam's hand and looked up at Will with composed determination. She [i]would[/i] be understood.

---

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you," August said flatly, completely shut off by her accusations. He pointedly ignored her at the expense of what she might think of him, and he put all his focus on finding a place where the soldiers wouldn't bother her.

Finally, after some maneuvering through Liam's concerned men, he pushed open the door to a small room in the back, where there was a small bed among stacks of books. He laid Sam down here, pulled off her shoes wordlessly, and shoved a pillow under her head. His expression was still cold and closed -- he wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he'd have to do it soon. The queen was livid and likely to do something drastic.

When he'd pulled the blankets over her, he looked solemnly into her face. "I admit I need help. We're in this together -- you, and me, and the princess and Prince Liam. I'll alert them to the danger, and I'll do what it takes to keep everyone safe, and you will rest." He didn't give her a chance to respond before he backed out of the room, leaving the door cracked for light.