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Banners shall unfurl

And in this crown let Glass Town be

The lowliest of pearls!

Soult let all the puppets drop at once He fell back onto his high cushion, exhausted All the shouting and fighting and accusing only grew louder Douro kicked at the wooden soldiers like a child caught stealing Bit by bit, he dragged them all toward the poor poet, as beside himself with fear and pride

“He betrayed us!” Soult shrieked as Adrian’s long fingers reached up for his throat “His grandfather betrayed us then and he’s betrayed us now! He’s sold us out to Gondal for a crown!”

The green poet’s eyes ild and panicked In thatand ruining himself anyway, Charlotte could not help but think how like Bran he looked She whirled round to face Sergeant Major Rogue Jane had fainted again, and this ti her hair and calling her name

“Help him!” Charlotte cried

But the wooden soldier only looked down at her sadly out of his one good eye Douro had nearly reached the puppet theater, which see Soult the Rhymer thren puppet after puppet onto his head “There is a plan! It’s all to do with acalled a bat-tree!”

“Brunty!” Charlotte yelped

Young Soult kept hollering “I know everything! I’ve seen letters and such! Douro’s not alone! He’s got friends!”

“Well,” sighed Sergeant Major Rogue “I wouldn’t say friends Collaborators, at a stretch”

Charlotte blinked She opened her ain, then turned her head to one side Zenobia’s fiery eyes began to drip white flaed and winked at them

“Oh dearahem Good show, I suppose Both him and me Tip the lad for me, won’t you, Zenobia? He’s earned it And do tell old Bravey I’ue, you knohat else can you ever hope to be? Erm Rather Well That’s ht hand turned, got his foot up on the pedestal of one of Dr Horisly statues, and in half a blink was up, over the holly hedge wall, and running at a dead sprint across the dark, open fields beyond the estate A black diaround where he’d kicked it loose

“Never get involved with a hed “They’re always too loyal to somebody else to ever be loyal to you I expect he’s already married to sone?”

“Weher foot experie it in Ginevra’s gown