Amazing Grace ~ Part 5

You ready for it? Here comes the plot twist. >:)

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Claire and Lanie darted down side streets and dodged around corners. 

Claire had slipped into her own clothes, and Lanie had put on the maid's outfit, so as to draw less attention to themselves. They had, with Lanie's navigation, been avoiding guards for at least half an hour, when Claire spun on her heel to look at Lanie.  

"What is wrong?" Lanie whispered, fearing that they might be found.

"Do you even know where we are?" Claire asked bluntly.

"What? Um, well, I mean, I have a sense of the direction we need to go." Lanie replied evasively.

"Please don't ask anymore questions." The princess thought.

"Because," Claire continued, "I'm pretty darn sure, we're just going in circles!"

"Look, Claire, you didn't let me tell you before and..." Lanie trailed off, "Quiet. They're coming."

"No. I won't be quiet! Tell me where we are, and where we need to go. Now." Claire demanded.

"Claire, I just need you to be quiet!" Lanie snapped.

"No! Look around and tell me where we are!" Claire shouted.

Lanie held eye contact with Claire.

"I can't." She replied, looking at the ground now.

"Wait." Reality came crashing into Claire's mind, "Lanie?"

Lanie was crying now.

"Lanie, what colour is my hair?" Claire asked very seriously.

Lanie looked up again.

"I don't know." she answered, "I can't see."

"You're blind." Claire whispered, then she shouted, "You're blind!"

"Claire, quiet! They'll hear you!" Lanie pleaded.

But it was to late the guards roughly shoved them into a cage.

One guard smiled and said, "The King and Queen told us about you. You know what the penalty for being a defective royal." He began to walk away but his voice floated back to us, "Looks like we're going to have a nice bonfire."

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As they sat back to back, Lanie asked, "So, did you lie about everything?"

Claire tried to look at her but she couldn't turn far enough.

"What do you mean, 'about everything'?" Claire asked.

"Well," the princess explained, "You said that we were friends, but I'm pretty sure friends don't care what's wrong with you, they're just your friends. Now that you know, you won't even talk to me. You lied, we aren't friends."

Claire tried to argue, but Lanie continued, "That stuff that you said about the...Bible. Was that just a lie too?"

Claire shook her head.

"No, that was all true." Claire replied.

"Can you say it all again?" Lanie asked.

Claire took a deep breath.
"Well, all of us are separated from God by our sins, and that means we're all going to hell. We can't stop sinning, it's our nature to sin."

"But, even in our sin, God loved us."

"And he made a way for us to be freed from our sin." Claire paused.
"What?" Lanie pressed.

"He sent his son, Jesus, to live a perfect life here on earth, and to die, innocent, to pay for our sins. But to be covered by Jesus blood, he has to be your master from here on out." Claire finished.

"Claire. I want him to be my Savior...my master."
So Claire helped Lanie pray.
"Alright. Now, Claire, your hands are untied." Lanie whispered in Claire's ear, "You need to get out of here fast."

When Claire checked, her hands were indeed untied, but she couldn't just leave the princess.
"No. I-I can't go without you." Claire argued.

Lanie slipped Curtis out from under her skirt and pressed him into Claire's hand.
"I know where I'm going now...thanks to you, Claire." Lanie said softly, "Take Curtis, and go see your sisters. The Time Machine should be close now. Good luck."

Before Claire could think about it, she grabbed Curtis, jumped up, and ran for the trees.
But she knew she couldn't leave Lanie alone.... A plan was already in the making.

The End of Part 5