Casimir's Journey

by Lisa Manifold

“It is indeed my pleasure…Thea.” He smiled when he said her name, wanting her to hear the joy he took in it.

  She offered him a small smile in return, and he reminded himself it was going to take time for them to build something of their own.

  He kissed her hand, and then stood, still holding it. “I must go. I must prepare to meet with your father. I am going to ask to speak in front of the entire court. Will that be agreeable to you?”

  She nodded. While her face was still red, there was a happiness there that hadn’t been there before, and he knew he was responsible for that. It was a start, something they could grow on.

  “Then I take my leave. May I ask a favor, my lady?” His honorific had a caress to it, one that he couldn’t help.”

  “Of course.”

  “May I ask that you not tell your sisters? I wish to give specific details of what I have seen, what I have learned. It will bolster my statement if your sisters are surprised.”

  To his surprise, she laughed. “You are very much the tactician, aren’t you? I shall have to keep my wits about me, it seems.”

  He smiled.

  “I will be happy to keep my silence. But once you have openly proclaimed the end of the mystery, I make no such promises.”

  There was an odd fire in her eyes, but he let it go for the moment. “Very well, then. I shall see you later.” He bowed, and went back to his room.

  Once he closed the door behind him, he sagged against it. He felt he’d just won a very long, hot, and sweaty battle. In truth, he wasn’t sure what he’d won. A wife, yes, but would they be able to move beyond her past?

  It didn’t matter now. He’d committed himself, and a knight, a good man, did not renege on his word. Besides, he felt more connected to her than any of the other princesses.

  He pushed off the door just as Roysten came back in.

  “What are you doing?” Roysten asked. In their rooms, he’d continued to be as informal as they’d always been. Hadden preferred it that way. It allowed him some normalcy in a situation that was anything but.

  “I just spoke to my future bride,” he said solemnly, and then broke into a grin.

  “So she accepted? Well, perhaps she may be worthy of you,” Roysten replied.

  “She is very worthy. She conducted herself in a manner in which even you would be proud.”

  “How so?”

  Hadden shook his head. “It’s not my story to tell. Suffice to say, she is worthy. Perhaps you’ll both unbend one day to the point that it can be shared.”

  Roysten frowned. “That makes me concerned for you.”

  Hadden laughed. “Stop looking for reasons to dismiss her. Help me get ready. I need you to go to the king and ask him to allow me an audience in front of the entire court.”

  “Are you mad? You want to expose yourself in front of all of them? What if something goes wrong?”

  “Then there will be plenty of people to see it.” Hadden shrugged. “I do want this done in front of all. The more people who see what happens, the more the truth is spread. What are you worried about? I know where they go. I have proof of where they go. I can find the entrance to the underground. All will be well.”

  “I hope you’re right. It’ll go to pot quickly if you’re not.”

  Hadden clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re worse than Maddox, but on this one, I’ve got it together. It’s going to be fine. How’d you like to be valet to a prince?”

  Roysten rolled his eyes and went to the wardrobe to put out one of the nicer outfits the king had provided. He came back to Hadden, and helped him to dress, and then stared critically at him for a long while.

  “Enough!” Hadden moved away. “I’m not going to get better by you glaring at me! Please go and ask the king to call together the court, and then come back. I promise to stay put and not muss my hair!”

  Roysten didn’t say anything, just nodded and left the room. Hadden wondered if he’d been too harsh. Perhaps. He’d need to apologize to Roys when he returned. There was no sense in putting things off. He’d agreed to this meeting the night he’d arrived here and taken up the challenge.

  Roysten returned more quickly than he’d thought, and he spoke the moment the door was closed.

  “The king is a little surprised, to say the least, but says he’s happy to accede to your request.”

  “Why? Doesn’t he look happy?”

  Roys shook his head. “Not at all. He looks bothered and worried, but he said to be in the great hall in one hour and you shall have your audience. Now, what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to lay down for part of that hour. You’re going to get me up and make sure I’m still presentable, and then we’ll go down there together.”

  Roysten didn’t look happy. “Are you sure you have the answer? I don’t want to see you on the scaffold.”

  “Trust me. I do.” It unnerved Hadden to think about it. There was time for all that later.

  The question was, who had done this? Who had put this much effort into cursing these princesses and snatching those twelve men away? Building the castle? Managing boats and the lake? The questions swirled in his head, creating a bigger and bigger hole of ‘why?’ He hoped that Thea would be able to shed some light on that. He’d gotten hints from eavesdropping during his forays to the underground forest, but he’d not been able to hear as much as he would have liked.

  That she knew of the curse, and knew why it had been cast—he felt certain. He only hoped she’d feel freer to speak of it once it was lifted.

  He went to the bed, taking off his surcoat. He was tired, and a bit of a rest would be a nice thing…

  …the next thing he felt was Roysten shaking his shoulder. “Hadden! Hadden! It’s time to get up. We must be ready to go shortly. The princesses have already left, so I am guessing the king is calling the court together.”

  Hadden rubbed his eyes. He didn’t feel he’d even slept, barely closed his eyes. Then he sat up, tired feeling forgotten. This was it. He was about to go and make his future.

  He shoved down the feelings of fear, of hoping this was not just a hoax, and that he would be on the scaffold tomorrow. Grizelle had been right. This was a curse that had to be broken, and come what may, he was the one who had to break it.

  “All right, I’m up,” he said, taking up his surcoat. “Ready me, my faithful esquire.”

  This caused Roysten to crack a smile. He didn’t speak until he said, “You’re ready, Sir Hadden. I am most proud of you today. As would Lord Maddox be.”

  Hadden smiled. “It’s too bad he’s not here.”

  “Do you have the tokens?”

  Hadden stepped over to the chest at the foot of the bed. “I do” He took up a packet he’d wrapped up himself. It contained the three tree branches and the cup from the ball. “Let’s go.”

  They went to the door, and stepped out of the room.

  Chapter Fifteen

  They passed a number of nobles as they made their way to the great hall. No one spoke, although Hadden could feel the whispers follow him. He didn’t say anything, or acknowledge them in any way. He knew that people in this court were upset and off balance. Some were hoping to benefit from that, but most were unhappy this dark time had come to their kingdom. He’d end all that today, he hoped.

  Once the curse was gone, the air of death and failure and an overwhelming defeat would leave Gallivas.

  They reached the doors of the great hall. He opened his mouth to speak but the herald opened the door, and banged his staff to garner attention.

  “Sir Hadden of Erimoor, to see the king!”

  This time, as Hadden and Roysten walked up the hall towards where the king sat—on a throne, rather than at a table, with the queen beside him and his daughters all around him—he didn’t have the nerves and the anxiety he’d had the first time he’d traversed this path.

  He knew what he was about, and he knew that he was about to change his destiny. He’d done what he’d come here to do.

&nbs
p; The only concern was what would the rest of the princesses do when the curse became common knowledge? He was counting on their reactions to verify the truth of his tale. Not that he thought there would be lot of naysayers, but he wanted to silence them as effectively as possible.

  A face caught his eye. Maddox! Lord Maddox was here! He must have ridden like the devil to be here this morning. He would have had to have left two days ago. The king! The king must have asked him to attend!

  He smiled gratefully at the man. Maddox smiled back, but Hadden could see the worry written all over Maddox’s face. He thinks I’ve failed, he realized. He thinks he’s here to comfort me before I die. He tried to give Maddox a smile that said all is well, but he could tell the man was preoccupied.

  “Did you see?” Roysten whispered behind him.

  Hadden gave a little jerk of his head, willing Roysten to be quiet.

  It worked, because Roysten didn’t say anything else.

  He looked past Maddox, and saw an old woman moving through the crowd. It was all he could do not to swivel to see her better. She looked like the old woman Grizelle. He shook his head a little because, of course, she could not be here.

  His attention returned to where the king and queen sat. He stopped when the herald did.

  “Sir Hadden of Erimoor to see you, Your Majesty,” the herald said, bowing.

  “Thank you,” said the king, and the herald backed away.

  Once there was nobody between him and the king, Hadden sank into a deep bow.

  “Rise, Sir Hadden.” The king’s voice was grim. “Pray, are you here to report on your observations over the past three nights?”

  Hadden could see pain on the king’s face. The queen didn’t have her normal serene demeanor. She, too, looked upset. He glanced to the princesses around them. They were visibly upset, and he could tell a number had been crying.

  It was depressing to see how many assumed he’d fail. Then his gaze met Thea’s, and the corners of his lips quirked up. She saw it, and although her somber expression didn’t change, he could see her eyes warm.

  It heartened and emboldened him to see such. He was not Casimir, but perhaps he’d be able to make himself something else to her.

  “I do indeed, Your Majesty. May I speak freely, Sire?”

  The king looked momentarily surprised but recovered quickly. “You may.”

  “When I arrived, I spoke with one of your daughters, and asked her if there was any way for her or her sisters to end this. In speaking with her, although she didn’t say anything definitive, I felt it clear there was a curse upon your daughters, Sire.”

  He paused to let people mull that over. The king frowned.

  “A curse? But who would curse my daughters? And why?”

  “That, I cannot tell you, Your Majesty. I can only tell what has happened to them and, more to the point of your challenge, to their dancing slippers.”

  “Continue.” The king waved a hand.

  “The first night that the challenge began, I stayed awake. It was not easy. There was a charm upon the place. My man fell asleep, and I was unable to rouse him. I had an overwhelming urge to sleep as well, but I stayed awake. Then I heard movement, the tread of many feet. I crept from my chamber, and made my way towards the chambers of the princesses.”

  The king’s face reddened, and Hadden could see that he was angry—he’d explicitly told Hadden to keep away from their chambers.

  “What of the guards outside your door? And the door to the princesses’ sleeping chambers?”

  “They were asleep as my man was. I shook many, but none stirred. They slept as though dead.”

  The king waved a hand again, but Hadden could tell he was not satisfied.

  “As I entered their sleeping chamber, I saw only a few of the ladies, maybe four? And they were disappearing quickly. They were going down a flight of stairs set into the floor of their chamber under one of the beds.”

  “There are no stairs in their sleeping chamber!” The king roared.

  Hadden held up his hands. “Your Majesty, please! No harm was done to your daughters by my hand or actions! Please let me finish! I know this is not easy to hear, but Sire, look to your daughters!”

  The princesses were frozen in shock. Their faces showed fear, and a few were actually crying now.

  “Daughters, does this man speak true?”

  The entire court held its collective breath. As when he’d first arrived, Hadden could feel the people in the hall waiting to hear the answer.

  Thea’s voice rang out. “He does indeed, Father. I beg your indulgence, sir, and ask that you allow Sir Hadden to continue. Once he is finished, I believe all can be explained.”

  There was a loud crash among the tables behind him, and Hadden whirled, his hand on his sword. When he looked out over the hall, he saw no one moving, nothing that would indicate someone had tripped, or fallen from their seat.

  Odd.

  He turned back to the king. “May I continue, Your Majesty?”

  The king nodded. His face was not quite as red, but he didn’t look calm.

  “Keep an eye out,” he muttered to Roysten, who gave the barest of nods.

  “I hurried towards where they stood, and as the last princess disappeared down the stairway, I ran behind her.”

  “How were you able to do this unseen?” The king interjected.

  “I shall explain that as well. May I ask, Sire, if the princesses have seen me at all in the evenings when they went down the stairway I have described?”

  The king turned to them. “Well? Have you?”

  None spoke, although most shook their heads. The king turned back, and nodded to Hadden.

  “They were unable to see me, and I was taking care to be as silent as possible. As we went down the stairs, the opening above closed over me, and the stairway became very dark. I stopped, but once my eyes adjusted, I could see that there were small lamps along the stone wall. The lack of light did not slow down the princesses, and they hurried from the stairwell.

  “As I followed, I realized we were coming to a well-lit area. Once out of the stairwell, I had to cover my mouth to keep from gasping. We were in a wood, Your Majesty, but such a wood has never been seen! The trees, the plants, the leaves—all were made of silver, and glittered in the light.”

  “Sir Hadden, I didn’t wish to hear drunken—”

  Hadden pulled the silver twig from the bundle he’d put into his pouch. “Here is your proof, Sire.” He stepped forward, holding the twig out to the king.

  The king stared at him, and the herald ran out from the side of the room to take the twig and bring it to the king. The king turned it over and about, inspecting it.

  “It is metal, and seems to be silver. What happened next, Sir Hadden?”

  “This wondrous forest did not appear to be something new to the princesses. They hurried through the woods, and as we went on, I noticed the foliage was changing. Now, instead of silver, the woods were made of gold.” Without being asked, he pulled out the gold twig.

  The herald took it from him and handed it to the king who looked at it briefly before looking back at Hadden.

  “As they continued, the forest changed yet again. The branches were silver again, but a different sort of silver, with a more determined sparkle. When I broke off a branch, it made a loud crack, louder than the first two—”

  “That was you?” Cried Viviana.

  She was hushed by her sisters. The king looked at her, as did the queen. Viviana didn’t speak again, and both returned their attention to Hadden.

  “This part of the wood was made entirely of platinum with diamond drops.” There was a quiet gasp from the people behind him. He took out the last sparkling twig, and gave it to the herald. Once the herald had given it to the king, Aland turned it over in his hands. Hadden hesitated, because he didn’t want to interrupt, or upset the king further.

  “Then what?” The king’s voice was low.

  “The woods ended abruptly, and I c
ould see that we were on a shore. In front of me stretched a lake, and beyond the lake, there was a castle, all lit up as though for a party.”

  The king handed the last twig to the queen, and put his hands on the arms of his throne. “Do you mean to tell me that there is a lake and a castle,” his voice registered his extreme disbelief, “Underneath my own?”

  When Hadden nodded, Aland turned to the princesses. Those he looked at nodded, still looking frightened. Hadden couldn’t decipher that. What was there to be scared of at this point? He was shedding light on the mystery—what if they had done this for sport? Could they have done it all for their own entertainment and now they were fearful of being exposed?

  The horrible thought washed over him, making his hand clammy and sweat bead down the small of his back. He was done for, if so. He didn’t know how, but he would be done for.

  No. It couldn’t be. Not the way Thea had reacted. She’d been upset, and shocked and—guilty? No. It couldn’t be, he told himself.

  He’d find out soon enough. “There is indeed, Your Majesty. I fear there is more afoot than a soldier such as myself is capable of discovering.”

  The king was silent. He tapped on his chin with one finger, and then suddenly looked up. “Continue, Sir Hadden. I shall not interrupt again. We must get to the end of this tale.”

  “All the princesses were waiting, Your Majesty. It wasn’t long before I saw what, or rather who, they were waiting for. Twelve small boats rowed to the shore. In each boat was a young man, and the princesses joined them and were rowed across the lake to the castle. I was able to hide in a boat each night that I followed them. They went across, and spent the night dancing in the castle on the far shore. By the time they returned to their room, their shoes were in tatters.” He stopped.

  The king looked furious. “My daughters have done this all this time and—”

  Hadden couldn’t help it. He interrupted, causing gasps throughout the hall. “Your Majesty, if I may finish?”

  The king inhaled sharply. Hadden heard Roysten mutter something behind him, but he couldn’t make out exactly what it was.

  “You may.” The king’s voice was tight.