Jeremy spoke softly. “Of course not. I’d never do that.”
Katiyana looked embarrassed for a moment before lifting the bucket of water and taking it into the barn for the goats.
“I wish you would have come with me yesterday.”
Katiyana moved with purpose now, forking a measure of hay to give to the horse.
Jeremy took it from her. “Let me help.”
Katiyana watched him. “I’ve told you. He won’t let me go to the market.”
Jeremy threw the hay into the horse’s stall, then rested the pitchfork on the ground, leaning on it and looking at his friend. “How would he even know? You could just let him think you were out on one of your walks across the orchard.”
“I couldn’t deceive him.” She shook her head. “Really, Jeremy, I wish you’d stop asking.”
“All right,” he said. “I won’t ask you anymore, but if you ever change your mind, the offer is always good.” He set the pitchfork down and grabbed the picnic basket again. “I brought something for you.” He reached into the basket and pulled out a book with a brightly colored picture on the front
He held it out to her and she took it, running her fingertips across the cover.
“It’s a different kind of paper than they use for books now.” He opened it to show her. “And the binding’s old.” Jeremy tipped the book so she could see how the pages were glued to the cover.
“Did you get it at the market?” she asked solemnly.
“No, it’s something I’ve had for a while. I thought you would like it. I’ve read it enough to have it memorized.”
“Thank you,” she said, her eyes still focused on the image of the cover—sheep dotting a valley surrounded by rocky hills and lush green landscape. “It’s beautiful.”
“You’re welcome. We can start reading it on our picnic. I brought some bread too—”
“Oh, I almost forgot!” she blurted out. She turned and ran into the house. A wall of harsh words waited for her.
“What have you done?” Barney yelled just after she entered. “It smells horrible in here!”
“Sorry, Uncle Barney.” Katiyana grabbed the paddle and reached into the oven for a blackened loaf of bread.
“You never do anything right! Jeremy could run this kitchen better than you!” He looked disgraceful with his shirt buttoned wrong and his hair a mess. His belly had grown significantly over the years and protruded far over his belt
Jeremy came in through the kitchen door, watching warily.
“Please don’t yell at me, Uncle Barney. It was an accident.”
“And you left the kitchen window open all night! It’s freezing in here!” He stumbled closer to Katiyana. She cringed at his oncoming rage. I cringed as well, hating that someone so low dared to yell at the princess.
“Sir, don’t—” Jeremy began.
“Shut up, Jeremy Simkins! Keep your nose out of where it doesn’t belong!” He turned back to Katiyana. “You are worse than a Simkins! I hate that you ever came here!”
“Well, maybe I hate that I ever came here too,” Katiyana shot back. Rarely did she talk back to him, and never during an outburst. I was surprised, but perhaps she’d simply grown tired of it or realized that protecting herself was more important than respecting what Barney had become.
Without warning, Barney swung his fist in Katiyana’s direction, hitting her in the neck.
Jeremy acted immediately. He shoved Barney away from Katiyana, sending him backward against the kitchen wall. Then Jeremy reached for the princess. “Are you all right?”
She held her neck, her eyes wide, as if she felt more shock than pain.
It horrified me to watch it all. I wondered if the spell I’d muttered when she first came to Barney had ever taken life. Would the winter wind protect her? If so, where was that protection now?
Jeremy faced Barney. “How dare you hit her,” he fumed.
“Shut up, Jeremy Simkins. The girl is no business of yours.”
“Jeremy, please stop. Let’s go back outside,” Katiyana pleaded.
“No,” Jeremy said. “I’m not going to let him get away with what he did.”
“What are you going to do about it? And why do you care anyway?” Then it looked as if something dawned on Barney. “Wait a minute. You two haven’t been courting or anything, have you?”
“No, Uncle,” Katiyana answered emphatically.
“No, sir,” Jeremy said, but he stood down a bit after that. He crossed his arms and lowered his head.
“You’re fired, Jeremy Simkins. Don’t come back, and don’t ever come near the girl again.”
Jeremy looked back up at his employer. “But it’s right in the middle of harvest.”
“The girl’s seventeen now. She can manage everything on her own. We don’t need you anymore.”
“But, Uncle, you won’t even let me go to the market,” Katiyana protested
“The horse can lead me well enough,” Barney said. He let out a burp, making him look more ridiculous and less credible than ever. “I’m sure the horse is smarter than a Simkins anyway.”
“But, sir,” Jeremy began.
“Get out!” Barney sneered.
Jeremy looked at Katiyana. Neither one of them seemed to know what to say or do. So Jeremy left.
Barney turned away from the princess and felt his way along the wall back to the rocking chair, slanted and stumbling the whole time. Katiyana watched him. Then she took the book Jeremy had given her up to her room and placed it under her pillow.
Katiyana finished the day’s work alone, collecting barrel after barrel of apples and loading them into the cart. But without Jeremy, it would be at least another day before the cart filled, and Barney took that delay out on the princess of Mayhem with spiteful words and an angry fist.
Farewell
Nothing could have prepared me for this misfortune that befell our lovely princess. Not only had fate deprived her of a loving mother and father, but now her only family betrayed her, and her only friend had walked away.
To my surprise, however, Jeremy returned the next day. Relief swelled in my breast at seeing him, thinking he would cheer the princess. But there was also apprehension, since Barney had so clearly expressed his wishes that Jeremy stay away. Early in the morning, Katiyana saw him coming through the orchard toward the barn. She ducked inside and began giving the animals their breakfast.
Jeremy appeared at the doorway just after she had thrown hay into the horse’s stall. He watched her carefully, his eyes following her every delicate move.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
Katiyana dug the metal scoop into the chicken feed again and again, giving the chickens more to peck at than they could eat in a chicken’s lifetime.
Jeremy reached out for her hand. “Come on, Kat. What are you doing? Barney will be furious if the feed is wasted.”
But the princess of Mayhem continued on, throwing chicken feed all over the ground. The boy grabbed hold of her chin and forced her to look at him. Only then did he see what I had been exposed to the night before: her perfect face covered in splotchy black and blue.
“What happened?”
Silence.
“Kat, why didn’t you hide from him? It’s not like he can see you.”
“That’s easy for you to say, isn’t it?” She returned to the chicken feed, this time scraping the excess off the ground and putting it back in the feed sack.
“Help me understand then. Why didn’t you hide from him?” Jeremy bent down and helped the princess clear the feed. Greedy chickens tried to peck them away.
“It just took me by surprise,” she defended. “I had no time to even consider what to do.” She shook her head and dumped the last scoop of feed back into the sack. “He’s all I have.”
“I came back to see if he
had cooled off and changed his mind, but from the looks of it . . .” He nodded toward Katiyana’s face. Jeremy hung his head for a moment. “Kat, I don’t know what to do.”
“What do you mean? Shouldn’t you find another job? Barney’s not going to let you in the house again. It doesn’t seem that complicated to me.”
In earnest he grabbed hold of one of her arms. “He doesn’t have to know. I’ll come during the day and help you work. He can take the apples to market if he wants, but he doesn’t have to know I’m even here. I can’t lose this job, Kat. I can’t lose—”
Katiyana studied his eager eyes. “He’s blind, Jeremy. He’s not stupid. Besides, how will you earn money for your family if you work here without pay? I certainly couldn’t pay you. What about your younger brothers and sisters?”
Jeremy pulled his arms away from her. “So you want me to go?”
Katiyana gave a nod, her face tight.
Jeremy stared at her for several more seconds, twisting the rim of his worn hat in his hands and thinking, as if formulating a plan. Then he walked out of the barn.
Once alone, Katiyana let out a long breath, sending a small white cloud of warmth into the cold air before heading back to the house.
Barney greeted her at the door and wasted no time ordering the poor girl around. “Get to work. There will be no rest for you now, doing double. I hope you’re satisfied. You and your lover.”
Katiyana glared at him.
How tragic! Barney had held onto specks of decency for all those years. Always before, he had apologized after yelling at her, occasionally expressed his love, and even let out a sincere compliment from time to time. But the ale got the better of him, so now only the worst remained.
“He’s not my lover,” she said coldly. “And he’s not coming back.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear it.” He turned away and sat at the table. “Cook me some eggs.”
She glared a little longer, but eventually succumbed to his order, cracking two eggs and opening them over a pot of simmering water.
Such tense emotions filled that little house all day. Katiyana scowled as she scrubbed more vigorously than usual, swept more forcefully, and occasionally let go of a silent, streaky tear. Every time Barney came into a room, Katiyana quickly left, unless he required her to make a meal, start a fire, or go over the record books with him. What pain it caused me to watch her, what sorrow. I felt such a responsibility for her, being the only person besides Barney that knew of her circumstances and station in life. And yet, I could do nothing. Nothing. An intense knot formed in my stomach that day as I worried about her. What would come of her now? What could she possibly do?
When Katiyana finished her work that day and Barney lay snoozing on his bed—meaning the apples would wait still another day to go to the market—the princess sneaked out to watch the sunset. Creeping away from the house, she crossed the portion of the orchard that led to a bluff. Rocks jutted out, forming a natural staircase. She climbed to the top and sat on a patch of dried grass, wrapping her tattered shawl tightly around her shoulders. Bubbling storm clouds sped in, creating a masterpiece of pinks, oranges, and blues, the only color she had access to in her bleak world. The colors soon faded, giving way to the gray of a tempest and the shivery damp of rain. Yet she remained, seemingly unaware of everything but the thoughts in her head. What could she have been thinking? In that moment I wished the mirror’s powers extended to mind reading. Would she leave her home? Where would she go? Would she stay and face the possibility of more abuse? I couldn’t bear it! My heartbeat quickened as I frantically worried over the girl, and hated that I could do nothing to help her.
Suddenly, as if coming out of a trance, Katiyana became aware of the raindrops pouncing on her and the ground all around her. She stood and began to make her way back down the bluff, but in the swelling darkness she struggled to keep her balance on the path. In a matter of moments, the wind intensified and the rain turned to hail. Katiyana pulled her shawl up and wrapped it around her head for cover. Just as she reached the bottom of the bluff, she rounded a tree—and ran straight into Jeremy Simkins.
Katiyana fell back in surprise, grasping at the gnarled shrubbery to keep from tumbling to the ground. She did not look happy to see him. “Jeremy Simkins, what are you doing here?” The tree jutted out from the rocks and formed a rainbow over their heads, giving them some shelter from the rain.
He watched her shocked, rain-streaked face for a moment. “Kat, I . . . I don’t know how to say this.”
“Then don’t. Jeremy, you can’t keep coming around—”
“I love you,” he blurted.
Katiyana stopped. Her lips froze; her eyes froze; I wondered if her heart stopped beating.
“I love you,” Jeremy repeated softly.
I did not envy Jeremy in that moment: handing Katiyana his heart on a platter when she didn’t seem interested.
“You love me?” she finally asked. “How can you love me?”
His smitten smile could have answered for him, but he spoke just the same. “How can I not?”
Now, I usually didn’t keep track of time. There was really no point given where I was. But that moment seemed to stretch on for hours, neither breathing a single word, getting soaked to the bone in all that rain.
Finally, Jeremy spoke again. “Kat, I’m sure this isn’t going to make any sense, but . . .” He reached out for her stiff, wet hands, looking at them affectionately. “I have to leave. There are some things I need to take care of.”
“What things?” Confusion appeared in her blue eyes, asking for an explanation. She tilted her head in an attempt to get him to look at her, but he would not.
Jeremy looked her in the eye, his brow determined. “I can’t tell you everything right now. I have to find a way to earn more money soon or I’ll be—” He stumbled for words, looking away from her again. What on earth was Jeremy Simkins hiding? “It could be dangerous for me.” He met her gaze once more. “But I can’t leave you here with your uncle, either. You are too important to me. I have to know that you are safe from him.”
“I can’t go with you! I can’t leave him!” Katiyana said in a panic, shaking her head and trying to pull her hands away from him.
Jeremy tightened his grip, holding fast to her long fingers as he continued to gaze into her worried eyes. He spoke soothingly, except for a tiny fraction of insistence. “No, you can’t go with me. That’s not what I meant.” He closed his eyes as if searching for the right words. “I know this must be so hard to understand.” Opening his eyes once more, he spoke with the greatest intensity I’d ever heard from him. “But, Kat, you must leave your uncle.”
“You expect me just to give up everything because you say so?”
Jeremy released her hands and threw his arms up in exasperation. “Give up everything? Kat, what do you have here?” He ran his fingers through his hair as he spun around full circle, a look of frustration on his face, and then paused, taking a moment to fill his lungs with fresh air. He took several breaths and placed his hands on his hips, proceeding with newfound composure. “Kat, there is so much more to life than what you have here. I can show you that.”
Katiyana bowed her head. “I can’t. He won’t tell me why, but he says I’m never to leave the orchard.”
Jeremy leaned toward her and argued his point with zeal. “He won’t let you because he wants to control you. He doesn’t want to share you. Can’t you see that? As long as you stay here, he’ll have his food cooked and his apples picked.”
Katiyana spoke with equal enthusiasm, leaning further toward her friend. “It’s more than that—it has to be. He won’t even let me go to the market, and he never has, even before he went blind and started drinking. He says it’s dangerous.”
Jeremy nodded, again finding his naturally unruffled temperament. “I’ve been to the market,” he said. “Sure, there’s dan
ger, but I’ve never seen anyone with the bruises you’ve got on your face.”
Self-conscious, Katiyana put a hand to her purple cheek.
“It’s dangerous here. Barney doesn’t want what’s best for you.”
“And you do?” she asked.
Jeremy answered in perfect mildness. “Yes.” The tenderness in his eyes touched me. What gratitude filled my heart in that moment, for I’d never seen a truer friend. “I have something for you.” Jeremy reached inside the sack strapped around his shoulder. “I wish I had more,” he said, holding out a package wrapped in butcher paper.
Katiyana’s look softened as she reached forward and gently rested her fingers on the package before pulling it toward her. “A present?” Katiyana stared at it with wistful eyes. She studied the neat wrappings and shoestring ribbon as she cradled the cherished bundle. “I haven’t had a present since I was a little girl. Barney used to give one to me every year on the same day. He called it my birthday but said he didn’t know what my real birthday was.” Tears welled up in her eyes, slow and steady, the way a pail of fresh cow milk fills to the top. Perhaps, like me, she remembered how he had once been. Memories of him, good ones, swarmed in my mind like the distant buzz of noise when you are mostly asleep. And it hurt me to watch her, to see her pain. “He used to call me his little kitten. I don’t know what happened, why he stopped loving me.” She looked to Jeremy. “I don’t know if I can leave him.”
Jeremy readjusted the sack hanging from his shoulder. “Open it.”
Katiyana pulled at one end of the shoestring and tore the paper away, revealing a wooden box carved with clouds and stars. Carefully, shielding the box with her body from the rain trickling through the branches above them, she lifted off the lid. A heavy pouch lay inside.
“It’s my earnings, minus what I had to give to my family. There’s six years worth. It’s yours now.”
“I don’t understand.” She shook her head.
“I don’t want you to go back to your uncle. I love you. And I want to take care of you.”
“Jeremy, what are you talking about? I know we’ve been friends, good friends even, but I don’t . . .”
Snow Whyte and the Queen of Mayhem Page 4