I nodded. “Yes, exactly. You might hurt someone’s feelings.”
She looked earnestly between Narelle and me. “So, then, I definitely shouldn’t mention—“
“Rapunzel!” I cut her off.
But I couldn’t help starting to giggle, and when I met her eyes, the knowing sparkle in them only made me laugh harder. Her willingness to laugh at her own ignorance often surprised me. It was one of the many things that made her so endearing.
Soon enough she was giggling with me. We fell about, clutching at each other, while Narelle haughtily ignored us, and Arthur glared daggers in our direction. He didn’t seem to appreciate receiving even more devotion from the poor girl.
The earl’s daughter gave her sole attention to the prince throughout the ride, able to keep her horse beside Aster since the guards were clearing the streets ahead of us. Rapunzel and I had accepted mounts for the ride to the gates, not wanting to hold the others up, but we had decided to return them with the guards once we exited the town. It seemed far too likely that if we took them, the horses would end up requisitioned by the bandits.
To my surprise, once we had dismounted and said our farewells, it was me Narelle drew aside, not Arthur. She swallowed, seeming to struggle with whatever she wanted to say. I remained silent, having no idea what she might want with me.
“You will find her, won’t you?” she asked at last.
I blinked at her. She could only be talking about Anneliese. “If I possibly can, I will. She’s my sister.”
She nodded quickly. “And…” She swallowed, looking down at the ground. “Will you tell her that I’m sorry we never came looking for her? That I’m sorry I thought she had run off without telling us?”
“Of course, I will,” I said, my voice softening.
“Good.” Narelle looked up and flipped her hair. “And you can also tell her that she’s quite the worst friend in all the kingdoms for lying to me like that. And not telling me who she really was. We’ll be going to visit court soon, and I would have been the envy of all the other girls with one of your family as a best friend.”
But her tone and gesture didn’t fool me now. I knew she truly cared for my sister, and none of the rest of it mattered in the face of that. “I’ll find her,” I promised again. “And we’ll invite you to come next time we visit one of our sisters, if you like.”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh, would you?”
I grinned. “We can go on a tour of all the kingdoms, if you like.” My sisters would love it, actually. They would each want the opportunity to scold Anneliese in person.
Narelle threw her arms around me, and I staggered at the unexpected gesture. When I extracted myself, Arthur was staring at me in astonishment, and Rapunzel had burst into fresh giggles. I shrugged at them both and hurried us all out of the town.
Chapter 12
It felt comforting and familiar to trudge along the road with Arthur and Rapunzel beside me. Even the worry for Anneliese, always present in the back of my mind, felt like an old friend at this point. My companions both seemed relieved to be free of the town, each for their own reasons, and for some time the mood was light.
“I need to apologize to you, Arthur,” I said at one point with mock gravity.
He looked up, his face alarmed, and I nearly ruined the moment by laughing.
“My sisters’ marriages into the royalty and nobility of so many kingdoms have raised high hopes in many female hearts. And I see now that you are the main victim.”
Arthur groaned. “So, you’re to blame! I should have known.”
“Well, I suppose our own Prince Casimir is getting old enough to start breaking hearts,” I said, ignoring him. “He must be, what, sixteen by now? And, he’ll be king one day, too! An even better prospect than you!”
“Well, in that case,” said Arthur, “you’d better turn around quick. Torina is in the other direction.”
“Or I could keep going south,” I pointed out. “Go down to Anura to visit my sister, Princess Elisette, and her brother-in-law Prince Dauntry. I met him at her wedding, and he was tall, blond, and extremely princely. In fact, now that I think about it, there are a few options around, so I withdraw my apology. You’re quite the least exciting of the bunch.”
“Why am I not comforted?” he asked dryly.
Rapunzel, who had been giggling along, looked suddenly thoughtful. “Is it always like that? Just because you’re a prince?”
“Just because I’m a prince?” Arthur drew himself up in outrage. “Have we been traveling together for so long for nothing? Haven’t you noticed that I’m uncommonly handsome and charming?”
Rapunzel dissolved into another fit of giggles, so he looked over at me.
“Aren’t I, Penny?” He gave me his most charming smile. “Come on, you can admit it.”
“I admit nothing,” I said. “You don’t survive among seven children by admitting anything.”
He laughed while I silently wished that I didn’t agree so completely with his statement. I would be altogether more comfortable if Prince Arthur of Farthendale were a great deal more ugly and a great deal less agreeable. He seemed to like me well enough, but then he seemed to like most people. And as Narelle had so amply demonstrated, he had the pick of any girl he wanted. Including the beautiful princess beside me.
“I’m a princess,” said Rapunzel abruptly. “At least, I’m pretty sure I am. That’s what Gothel always told me.”
We both looked at her blankly.
“Once we find Anneliese, then I’m going to find my family. And once I’ve found my family, is that the kind of attention I’m going to receive? Just because I’m a princess?”
My shoulders drooped, the mood changing instantly. “Well, first of all, it won’t just be because you’re a princess. It will also be because you’re kind and beautiful and fun. But, yes. I imagine you’ll receive a lot of attention.”
“But how will I know who really values me for me?”
I glanced over at Arthur helplessly. I was entirely unqualified to advise anyone on the trials of too much attention and favor. The prince had dropped his joking expression, matching Rapunzel’s earnestness.
“As Penny said, there are a hundred reasons for someone to love you, Rapunzel, you don’t need to worry about that.”
I bit my lip and looked away. I refused to be the bitter girl who resented her friends’ happiness. Except, no one but Anneliese had ever said something like that to me, and I couldn’t deny that it hurt.
“And as for finding the right person to love back,” he continued. “That’s easy enough. Look for someone uninterested in wealth and position. Someone who doesn’t try to use your rank to their own advantage. Look for someone who wants to spend time with you, away from everything else. The kind of person who will be a true partner and help you in life, no matter what troubles you encounter.”
He shrugged. “It’s hard to describe, but you’ll understand.” His eyes slid away from her. “But I think I should mention that it’s possible your family will expect you to make a marriage of alliance. My older brother did, with the Astorian princess. And then it is all about your rank, but at least that’s true for both of you. A successful marriage can be forged on that. I’ve seen it myself.”
“Thank you,” said Rapunzel quietly, her eyes fixed on him. “For being honest with me.”
His easy smile returned. “That at least is simple. I’ll always be honest with you, Rapunzel.”
But as he said it, his eyes flicked over to me before sliding away as they had done a moment earlier with the princess. His look unsettled me, although I couldn’t say why, and I pulled out the map again, busying myself by trying to find our progress on it.
To my surprise, we had come further than I had thought and were already within the range the head guard had marked as searched. I held it out to the others.
“Any thoughts on where we should start?”
“I was thinking we should go to Concord itself,” said Arthur. “I kno
w they aren’t there anymore, but we might pick up some clues. Maybe get a sense of the kind of people they are, and where they might have chosen to go.”
I nodded agreement since I had no alternative ideas. I kept thinking that a whole team of local guards had been unable to find these people. We had nothing more than determination on our side. What made me think we’d be able to succeed where they had all failed?
Concord turned out to be another two hours’ walk, and when we reached it, I wished we hadn’t come. I had never seen such a sad place. In the time the residents had been gone, the plants had encroached on the streets, huge weeds growing up between the houses and spilling over into the paths and walkways. An occasional squeaking shutter flapping in the breeze made an eerie background music as we walked through the deserted town.
Dust and dirt covered everything, and the roofs of a couple of the houses had collapsed. The whole thing felt abandoned in a way I somehow hadn’t expected. I kept thinking about the steward’s words. I felt as if I could sense the devastated dreams as clearly as I could see the dilapidated houses. There was nothing here but grief and pain. I couldn’t imagine Anneliese—always so full of life—in such a place.
Rapunzel shivered as we walked quickly down the main street. “I don’t like it here.”
I cleared my throat. “Neither do I. Let’s get out of here as quickly as we can. What are we supposed to be looking for?”
We both looked at Arthur who seemed unusually subdued now that we had arrived. He shrugged and grimaced. “I don’t know exactly. A clue, I suppose. Do you think the people who lived here would have run to caves? Or forest? Or hills?”
He looked around as if hoping to find a mural of their preferred landscape on a wall somewhere. I sighed. The whole enterprise felt hopeless, but I couldn’t afford to give up hope.
“Let’s split up,” I said. “None of us want to be here longer than we have to.”
Rapunzel looked reluctant, so Arthur offered for her to stay with him. He shrugged apologetically at me, but I waved them away. I couldn’t blame her, even if I had too much pride to cling to the others myself.
I wove my way through the homes, taking note of any details that seemed either repetitive or out of place. The houses were all made of a light gray stone, removed from the mine, I assumed. The thought of caves had taken root in my mind, as I imagined the people who had once lived here. They had been miners, after all. Surely caves would feel something like a second home.
My thoughts kept turning to the abandoned mine itself, except that the head guard had specifically told us they had searched it multiple times. Was it possible there were any natural cave systems in the area? Perhaps ones unknown to anyone but locals from Concord?
I peered into one building that looked different from the rest and saw low benches in several rows. I bit my lip. A small school. Somehow that didn’t fit with the image I had built of these people. What had happened to all their children when they had fled? What sort of life were they living now? A deep sadness settled over me.
Perhaps I had been too distracted by the thought of all the poor little children sitting in rows to hear someone approaching behind me. Or perhaps they had made no noise. Either way, I had no warning when rough hands jerked me off my feet, a palm slamming over my mouth before I could even think of screaming.
I kicked and thrashed, but a second man appeared in front of me, and they soon had me tied up and gagged. I glared at them, but they ignored me completely, other than to throw me in the back of a small, hand-drawn wagon.
They seemed to know I was not alone, talking in whispers and throwing frequent glances around. As we started to move out of the village, I wiggled my feet together, slowly working off one of my boots. It finally popped off as we passed the last of the houses, and I tipped it out of the small wagon with my now stocking-clad foot.
It wasn’t much of a message to Arthur and Rapunzel, but it was the best I could do. Perhaps they would realize there had been a struggle of sorts. And at least they would know which direction we had gone.
As the abandoned village receded behind us, my initial surge of terror subsided, and I began to take in details of my captors. At first, I thought them unkempt and dirty, my mind racing to the robbers we had fought on the road to Marblehill.
But the longer I lay in the wagon, surreptitiously watching them, the more differences I saw. Their clothes were patched and many times mended, in places too tight and in others loose, but care had obviously been taken in the effort to keep them serviceable. And the patches I had first taken for black dirt, appeared to be old stains.
Johnny’s description of the man talking to Anneliese came instantly to mind. He could have easily been referencing either of these two. I began to suspect that the black was stains from the mine. The kind that no amount of washing could remove.
And when I looked more closely, their expressions lacked the hard edges and greedy gleam of the robbers. In fact, the longer I watched them, the harder it was to think of them as bandits at all. And yet, such they obviously were. And they had kidnapped me, as well. And most likely my sister before me.
An unexpected excitement filled me. Did they still have Anneliese back at their camp, wherever it was? Was I about to be reunited with my twin at last? How surprised she would be to see me.
I almost chuckled despite my perilous situation. She would more likely be annoyed with me. I could almost hear her voice in my head. How are you supposed to save me, Penny, when you’ve gone and gotten captured yourself?
But when I thought of Arthur and Rapunzel, any humor leaked away. They would be beside themselves with worry. I wished I had some way to send them another message.
I remembered I had a second boot and began to work it off as well. When we veered off the path to enter a small copse of trees, I pushed it out of the wagon. Now I had to wait and hope that my companions found it.
Once under the cover of the trees, my captors seemed to relax. They continued to ignore me, but they started talking to each other.
“Didn’t ever expect to see her back around here,” said one of them.
The other grunted. “Well, she wasn’t alone, don’t be forgetting that. And who knows what she may have told the earl and his guards in the months she’s been gone.”
“They didn’t have any guards with them,” said the first one.
My heart contracted. They didn’t have Anneliese. In fact, it almost sounded as if she had escaped. The relief warred with sadness that I wasn’t about to see her. New loneliness washed over me.
I reminded myself that Anneliese had apparently managed to escape—and I had people looking for me, as she had not.
“Do you think the offer’s gone down after all this time?” asked the skeptical one.
“I heard it had gone up,” said the first, more positive one.
What offer? I lay silently, not wanting to remind them of my presence in case they stopped talking. The wheels jolted over a bump, and I bit my tongue on a yelp as I bounced on the wooden base of the little wagon.
“Nothing ever goes up, you should know better than that. I don’t even know how we’re going to contact her.”
“Maybe she’ll just know,” suggested the other. “She’s a fairy, after all. And they have magic.”
“Thank you for that,” said the pessimistic one with heavy sarcasm. “I might not have remembered if you hadn’t pointed it out.”
“Relax, Murray, I’m just saying.”
“Well, forgive me for not getting excited at the idea that crazy old woman might be watching us all the time,” said Murray. “I want to offload this stupid princess as quickly as we can and be done with the whole thing. After the trouble she caused last time, I wouldn’t have even grabbed her if the fairy wasn’t offering so much gold. But the women are complaining again about the children’s clothes wearing out and about needing flour.”
“It’s a lucky thing we happened to stop past the village on our way back,” the positive one poin
ted out. “We might have missed her altogether.”
“Lucky or unlucky. I’m holding my judgment.” The dark tone made me wonder what havoc Anneliese had wreaked last time.
I cheered her in my mind, but his earlier words kept echoing through my thoughts. He had spoken of children and clothes and flour. Not riches or glory or drink. The earl’s steward had said that the robberies came in waves, and he hadn’t spoken of violent attacks. Perhaps these people were only stealing what they desperately needed. They had chosen the wrong way to make a life for themselves, but I couldn’t help feeling some sympathy for them. Did they truly prefer this life of crime, or was that just the steward’s prejudice? Surely the earl could do something to help them.
The thoughts occupied me until we hit another bump, and I began to silently grumble in my mind. Sympathy or not, I needed to find a way to escape. And I needed to do it soon before Arthur and Rapunzel came to find me, and we all ended up in trouble.
Chapter 13
Shortly after their conversation ended, I heard a hubbub of voices in the distance. Moments later, the wheels moved onto a smoother, packed surface and then came to a stop. Voices called out a greeting which quickly changed to curiosity, and heads began to appear in the air above me.
There were soon so many of them, I had no idea how they all managed to crowd into such a small space. I looked from one to another trying to read all the different emotions. I saw curiosity, interest, and excitement, along with a few wary looks of caution. In no one’s eyes did I read an intent to harm me, and some more of my fear subsided.
The two men who had brought me here pushed the others aside and hauled me upright. To my surprise they undid my bindings and removed my gag.
A small boy pushed his way through the crowd and gaped at me. “What happened to your eyes?” he asked loudly, and a murmur ran through the group as everyone pressed forward again, peering at me.
I thought quickly. Could I turn this to my advantage?
An Inconvenient Princess Page 10