“But...”
“Remember when we went on that date? The worst date in the world?”
“I loved every second of it,” I replied. Of course, I remembered it. The thought of that night had kept me going for months after Cynder left.
“I know you did because that’s who you are. You don’t need fancy things despite being brought up in a palace. You are happy with whatever you have, no matter how little.”
“I’m happy with you. I don’t care where I am.”
“No, but you should care. You deserve much more than I can give you.”
“In case it’s escaped your notice, none of us have anything at the moment. I’m wearing a maid’s uniform. I don’t own anything. Everything that belonged to me went up in that explosion. You are the only thing I have, and you are the only thing I need. Why can’t you get that into your thick head?”
“I can’t give you anything, Charm. I’m not a prince or a duke. I’m just me.”
“Look at the last prince I dated. He ended up trying to kill me. Why are you comparing yourself to people like Luca?”
He lowered his head. My heart went out to him. The happy-go-lucky Cynder I knew was absent. He didn’t think he was good enough.
“Look at me,” I said forcefully. He turned to face me. In the absence of light, I could only just make out his features.
“I neither want nor deserve anything but you. You are all I want, all I’ve ever wanted. If you don’t want me, you should leave this room, but if you do want me, show me.”
I saw a hint of indecision on his face. Was I going to lose him now? I could feel my heart hammering beneath the cotton uniform.
He brought his hand to my face and looked right at me. I could see into his very soul through his eyes. When he moved forward to kiss me, I let him. Instead of the frenzy of passion I was expecting, we took it slowly. Each touch and kiss was savored, each moment remembered, and when it was over, we fell asleep curled up in each other on the tiny bed.
Media
The next morning, we were woken by Copper who unlocked the door from the outside.
Despite our situation, I woke with a grin on my face. The memories of last night would be etched in my mind forever. I think Copper saw the flush on my face and was embarrassed.
He placed some clothes he’d brought with him and some sandwiches for the day on the bed by our feet.
“My officers will be here at any moment,” he said “I don’t have to remind you that you’ll need to be quiet all day. I’ll get on with that thing we talked about yesterday and report back when everyone leaves after work.”
I was just about to thank him when I heard the sound of approaching voices. Copper closed the door quickly, and I heard the key turning in the lock.
I handed one of the sandwiches to Cynder along with the clean clothes. He stripped quickly and used the bathroom to clean himself and dress.
“What are we going to do?” I whispered as he emerged from the bathroom.
Cynder answered me with the same quiet voice I’d used. I had to move close to him just to hear what he was saying.
“Actually, I’ve been thinking about your plan from last night.”
“The stupid plan?” I quipped. It was amazing how little I cared about anything anymore. I was on too much of a high from the night before.
He smiled. “I wasn’t the one to say it was stupid. That was you, remember? Anyway, I think it might work if...”
“If?”
“If we do it ourselves. We set up our own press and make a newsletter. That way the only people in danger of being caught are us. Ok, we won’t be able to unmask you as such, and it won’t have the impact of you being on TV, but we can counteract the lies Luca has been telling people until we find a safe TV station.”
I pulled a face. “It would take us a year to deliver a newsletter to everyone in Silverwood. Besides, how are we going to fit a printing press in here?”
“Not just us,” explained Cynder, “the Magi—all of us. If we can get a message down to the holiday cottages where they are all staying, we can get the word out. We’ll have to be extremely careful.”
I could think of a multitude of problems with this. While it was a good idea in theory, I couldn’t see how it would possibly work.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to get out of town without being seen, let alone manage to get all the way to the south of the country. Luca’s men are everywhere. I saw a map on his wall. We’ll have no chance.”
“We don’t actually need to get there ourselves. We just need a way to communicate with them. We could send them what it is we want to print, and they could figure a way to print it. Of course, they’d have to go out and distribute the newsletter which will be tricky, but I know many of them will put their lives on the line for the freedom of the kingdom.”
“How are we going to get information to them? We are currently locked in a cupboard hundreds of miles away, and although we have phones here, they don’t. We can’t even leave this room let alone travel through the kingdom.”
“That, I don’t know,” conceded Cynder.
I thought for a few minutes before a brainwave hit.
“I’ve got it!” I scrabbled around in my pockets before finding the talk stone Seraphia had given me at Luca’s mansion.
“You have a talk stone?” Cynder asked, his expression turning to one of excitement. “Who has the other?”
“Seraphia!” I whispered. “She knows the truth. She’s on our side.”
“Seraphia as in Princess Seraphia? Luca’s sister-in–law, Seraphia?”
“Yes!” I replied jumping up. “I spoke to her at Luca’s house. She helped me escape. I bet she can help us. Luca doesn’t like her, but he won’t stop her coming in and out of the kingdom. He’s trying to keep appearances up. She could get a message to the magi. I bet she could help finding us a printing press too.”
We couldn’t do anything without a pen, so we had to wait until everyone left the office and Copper opened the door later that day.
When he did, I hurriedly told him the plan. He handed me a pen which I used to write a note on the talk stone along with the address of the holiday cottages.
I watched as the words sunk into the stone. Seconds later there was a reply.
I’ll see what I can do. S
We all cheered. For the first time since all this madness started, I finally felt as though we were actually doing something productive rather than just running.
“Look out, Luca. We are coming to get you!”
Our excitement turned to despair as we waited for news. A week later, we still hadn’t heard back from Seraphia.
Jason brought us the national newspapers to keep us abreast of the propaganda that Luca was spewing. As expected, all the newspapers were filled with news about how wonderful Luca was and how he’d make a great king. It made for sickening reading. From the perspective of the papers, it seemed that the whole of Silverwood was rooting for him. How could it be so when I’d seen for myself how miserable everyone was? Jason assured me that the majority of the people were against Luca, but were too scared to say anything. Silverwood was under the grip of tyranny, and no one had the guts to speak up. Those that tried disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Jason painted a depressing picture. People were losing their livelihoods because of all the travel restrictions. Shops were closing down, and people were starving.
“On the plus side, the people are beginning to realize how hard it’s been for the Magi all these years now they are getting a taste of it themselves. It seems the people’s opinion of the Magi is changing for the better.”
It was that thought that kept me going through that week while we waited for news from Seraphia.
Finally, on the eighth day, it came. I’d been checking the talk stone almost constantly, desperate to hear from her.
Ready to go. Send news. S
I grabbed a pen and quickly replied.
Writing article n
ow. Have you managed to set up a press?
Seconds later, Seraphia’s words appeared on the talk stone.
Press ready. Distribution ready. Headquarters at my house. S
“Headquarters at her house?” repeated Cynder who’d been reading over my shoulder. “What does she mean by that? They are doing this from the palace in Thalia?”
“No. She told me we could use her parent’s house in Thalia the last time we spoke. It’s just across the border from Silverwood. I guess some of them managed to get across without getting caught.”
Cynder considered this. “If they got across the border once, it was a fluke. How are they going to distribute our newsletter to the people of Silverwood if they are in Thalia?”
“Seraphia must have gotten across to tell them the plan. They must have gotten across with her somehow. As Luca’s sister-in-law, they are probably letting her go through without doing much checking. We need to write an article quickly.”
Using the notepad, I drafted a quick article. Part of me wanted to expose Luca’s lies and tell the world that I was still alive, but that was bound to have Luca sending all his men out to find out who was printing it. Instead, I told a story of resistance, about how the Magi were still fighting alongside non-Magi and that they were ready to come out into the open to make Silverwood a better place. I hoped that if enough people were turning against Luca’s regime, they might pay attention to the newsletter.
“What do you think?” I said, showing the article to Cynder.
“I’m not sure,” he replied after scanning it. “It doesn’t say anything about you. I thought that was why we were doing this? To let the people know you are still here?”
I reread the short article. It wasn’t good enough. I needed to make more of an impact. I tapped the pen against my cheek while I thought of what to write. I wasn’t ready to expose myself yet. Not in a newsletter anyway. It was too easy for Luca to say it was lies. The right time would present itself, but until then, keeping safe was the best option for everyone. Instead, I dropped the bombshell that no one knew about—the intended marriage between Luca and Drusilla Bloom.
“What?” asked Cynder, his eyes wide as he reread my words.
What with everything going on, I’d completely forgotten to tell him.
“I saw the invitation to the wedding in Luca’s office. It’s set for one day before the coronation.”
“He’s marrying my sister?” he sputtered.
“Step-sister,” I corrected him.” Are you really surprised? You know they were helping each other try to bring you down last year. If you think about it, it’s perfect. She’s desperate for the fame and fortune, he needs a pliable wife to be his queen.”
Cynder screwed up his face. “I’m not sure who I feel sorry for the most. Him for marrying her, her for marrying him or for the rest of us to be subjected to the pair of them. Yuck!”
“They certainly deserve each other,” I laughed.
I copied down the article carefully onto the talk stone, watching the ink disappear into the stone.
I ended it with a question about Elise. Is Elise ok?
Seraphia responded almost immediately
Elise still ill. Left her in Silverwood in the care of your mother and a couple of other ladies. S.
So Elise was still sick. At least they’d not tried taking her over the border. The long journey would probably kill her.
I’d only just finished with the talk stone when the door opened. It was eight pm which was the usual time for Copper to bring us dinner. Right on cue, the door opened, and Copper came in carrying a tray with two plates full of food.
“I have news!” he said, handing the first plate to me. The second was then handed to Cynder.
“We do too. What’s yours?”
Copper placed the tray down and pulled a chair in from the operations room outside.
“You know I’ve been looking for press agencies for you? Well, a friend of a friend of a friend has agreed to film you. He knows someone who is exceptionally technologically gifted and can get you onto TV. You’ll have to keep moving around to not get caught, but he says he’ll be able to promise you five minutes of airtime a week.”
“Great,” put in Cynder, placing his hand on my arm. “We can do both. You being on TV will take the heat off the others.”
“How soon can you set it up?” I asked Copper.
“I’ll see if I can get him to come this week.”
Charm Chronicle
We’d just woken up the next day when the door opened.
“I don’t know how they manage it, but there are a lot of rumors circulating around the capital at the moment.” Jason Copper came into the room with a huge grin on his face and a crumpled piece of purple paper in his hands.
I looked up from a copy of one of yesterday’s newspapers I was leafing through.
My heart raced as I took in the look on his face. Something good had happened.
I put the newspaper back on the bed.
“What is it?”
Cynder emerged from the bathroom. “What is what?”
“This!” he said, handing me the piece of paper. I stretched it out flat and began to read. It was the article I’d written for Seraphia. Someone had taken my article and filled it out, making it sound so much better than anything I could have written. The essence of my words was the same, but this sounded like a real newspaper report. At the top of the page in bold type were the words CHARM CHRONICLE. It looked like the front page of any other newspaper in town. The only differences being that it was only one page long and was printed on bright purple paper.
I carried on reading to the very bottom. Just before a note saying to look out for the next issue was a hint that I was still alive. It wasn’t a statement of fact. It was too vague for that, but it was enough to give people hope. To keep them clinging onto something. I liked it.
“Where did you get this?” I asked.
Copper beamed. “That’s just it. They are everywhere. The city is deluged with them. No one knows where they came from, but I’m telling you now, everyone has read them.”
I shared Copper’s enthusiasm. “Luca is going to blow a gasket when he finds out.”
“He already knows. I had a messenger arrive at my own house this morning with an extremely irate letter from Luca demanding to know where they’d all come from. He’s coming in to the station this morning, so I’ll let you know what he says.”
He gave me a wink and closed and locked the door behind him.
Cynder jumped up on the bed.
“This is fantastic!”
I agreed, but part of me worried about the people delivering the newsletter. Whoever it was had gotten away with it once, but I couldn’t see how they would do it again. Luca would be livid. He’d have all his men looking for the culprit.
I sent a quick note to Seraphia on the talk stone, congratulating her and the others and telling them to be careful next time.
The morning went the same way it always did with the noise of the phones and the people beginning work at eight. Cynder and I had to be quiet. I stood by the door, trying to hear what was happening on the other side. It didn’t take long before I heard the booming voice of Luca, cutting across the operations room.
His voice was muffled because of the thickness of the door, but I could hear he was angry.
He was currently screaming at Copper. I’d never once seen him lose it so badly before. The newsletter had made him angry. I grinned as he continued to shout at Copper who was having none of it.
“I’m not sure what exactly you expect me to do about it,” Copper said keeping his composure. I had to hand it to him. He was cool under pressure because Luca was ladling it on thick.
“I expect you to get this filth off the streets and imprison anyone you see with a copy.”
“I saw hundreds of copies of this on my way to work this morning. If I imprisoned everyone I saw with a copy, I’d have to take in half the city. We only have twenty cells he
re as you know. I’d have to ask for a much, much higher budget for prisoners if you want me to take in half the town.”
I heard a thump. Hopefully, it was just Luca slamming his fist down on Copper’s desk rather than his face.
“Get the people responsible for this rag then.”
“I’m not sure I can. As far as I’m aware, printing a newsletter isn’t illegal.”
“It is now! Get all your men on it. Find out where it came from, and stop it from happening again!”
“I’ll do what I can,” replied Copper sweetly.
“What’s happening?” Cynder whispered.
“You should come listen to this,” I replied, equally quietly “Luca has completely lost it over the newsletter.”
I heard a crash behind me. Turning my head sharply away from the door I saw that one of the boxes of files had fallen to the floor. Cynder had accidentally knocked them over.
“What was that?” balled Luca from the other side of the door. I could already hear his footsteps coming towards us.
Cynder was already picking up our clothes and all evidence we’d been sleeping there. I grabbed a couple of plates and followed him into the bathroom, locking the door behind us.
“This isn’t going to work,” Cynder puffed. He’s going to know someone’s in here if we lock the door from the inside!”
He was right. How could I have been so stupid? Already I could hear Copper fiddling around with the lock to the main door. In less than a minute, Luca would have what he wanted.
Cynder tapped me on the shoulder. I looked around and saw what he was pointing at. A small window. I quickly unlocked the bathroom door and opened the small window. It was just big enough for the pair of us to climb out. Below us was a sheer drop, but a small ledge on the outside allowed us to scale along the wall and then pull ourselves up above the window.
Seconds later I heard Copper.
“See. It’s just a box that’s fallen on the floor.”
“Who knocked it over though?” asked Luca. I could hear him coming closer to the window. I held my breath as he stuck his head out and looked around.
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