Chapter 46
Castle at Henge
Prince Blackwell had gone ahead with his plan to use the imprisoned Gypsy, Shandor, as entertainer for his chosen guests. He had been impressed with the prisoner's musical ability, as had his guests, on two previous occasions. Invitations to this evening's dinner were accepted with eager anticipation.
As dinner's main course came to a close, Prince Blackwell signaled to the guard, Keys, to bring up the fiddle player from the dungeon.
Shandor's nerves were on edge as he waited in his dungeon cell, fiddle in hand, to be taken up the stairs to entertain the royal family and their guests. If all went as planned, this would be the night he escaped.
This was the third time Prince Blackwell had requested his music. The first two times he had remained passive, seemingly resigned to his fate as a prisoner. He must take care to appear the same this time. He only wished that in addition to escaping he could wreck some vengeance on Serafina. But that would have to wait. Tonight the taste of freedom would suffice.
He stood when Keys came to lead him up the stairs and out of the dungeon.
"Been practicing?" Keys asked as he unlocked the chain and swung the door open. The door creaked loudly as it moved.
Shandor nodded as he walked in front of the guard and waited while the door was pushed back in place.
"She's got the twins down tonight to hear you. Says they like the music."
Shandor breathed a little easier when he heard that. It was vital to his plans that the twins be out of the nursery. Now if only Esmeralda's courage did not falter. He felt sure he could count on Juanita to do her part.
Shandor walked into the large dining area. The royal family was there along with some of the generals and their families. It looked as though they were finishing their dinner with sweet treats. They sipped tea and nibbled at little cakes. Serafina held Shalin in her lap and Prince Blackwell held Esme in his. The twins followed Shandor with their eyes. They did indeed seem happy and excited to see him.
Keys left Shandor at the end of the large dining table and went to stand against a wall. Shandor put his fiddle to his shoulder and pulled his bow across the strings in a long mournful note. Then he picked up the tempo and saw smiles from his audience.
The twins began to bounce on their parents laps. At the end of his first tune he heard cries of 'more, more'. His second tune was a slow ballad full of pain and longing. He knew his chance would come during his third song.
"Play a happy one," someone called out at the end of his second piece.
Shandor began a fast paced rhythm that soon had everyone tapping their feet. No one heard the door of the nursery open on the floor above and no one saw Esmeralda disappear down the corridor after opening the door.
A moment later a black nose sniffed at the open crack in the door. Ebony resented being locked in the nursery, away from her charges—the twins. She picked up their scent in the corridor and followed it to the head of the staircase.
Ebony lifted her head and inhaled the many scents from below. As soon as she detected the scent of her beloved twins, she raced down the stairs to join them.
The fast moving black blur drew the attention of several guests. As the picture of what they were seeing registered in their brains, shouting began, followed swiftly by running in all directions. Shandor stopped playing and began to run himself. As he ran he felt his bow being pulled from his hands, even though no one was there to pull it from him. He did not stop to wonder about it.
The bow flew across the room toward the twins. Serafina snatched it from the air and looked sternly at Shalin as the tiny girl reached for the bow. Shandor joined a group of people seeking safety in the kitchen. He ran with them through the kitchen then veered off at an alcove that led to the laundry room. There at the door from the laundry room stood Juanita with an infantry soldier's uniform in her hands.
Shandor grabbed the jacket and pants, putting the jacket on as he flew through a second door that led out of the castle. Once outside he heard Juanita lock the door behind him and he stopped long enough to jump into the pants of the uniform.
Inside the dining room, Ebony came to a halt at the foot of Prince Blackwell's chair and put out her pink tongue to lick Esme's tiny foot.
Serafina sighed, put the bow on the table and, taking Esme from a startled Prince Blackwell, she started up the stairs with both little girls. Ebony trotted placidly alongside her.
"Tell our guests I will lock Ebony back in the nursery. They may come back and finish their tea if they wish."
Prince Blackwell frowned at the retreating black cat and began gathering his guests from the various places they had run to hide.
When everyone had reassembled at the table, Keys raced into the room, frantic and pale with fear. "I can not find the fiddle player. He has escaped."
"Find him and bring him back," Prince Blackwell ordered. "Do not kill him."
The generals excused themselves to lead the search and their families quickly made their apologies and left for their homes.
Prince Blackwell composed himself as he climbed the stairs to the nursery.
By the time he reached the nursery his temper had been replaced by a resigned sort of amusement.
He opened the door to find Serafina speaking sternly to the tiny girls.
"I suspect your are both responsible, but you most of all," she said, looking sternly at Shalin.
"It's not their fault the cat adores them." Prince Blackwell smiled at Serafina. "How do you suppose she got out?"
Serafina looked at Esme suspiciously.
"I don't know."
Prince Blackwell rocked back on his heels.
"We may have lost our fiddle player."
"What?" Serafina asked.
"The guard lost track of him. The soldiers are searching the castle and the grounds now. I asked them not to kill him."
"Hmm" Serafina frowned.
"Do you think he planned the escape?" Prince Blackwell asked.
Serafina looked again at her twins with narrowed eyes. "I'm not sure yet, but I will find out."
Prince Blackwell chuckled softly. "It did make for an interesting evening. I believe the generals who ran from the cat are in for a good deal of razzing."
At the castle gate, Shandor was joined by several soldiers. It was very dark and he could not make out their features.
Shandor cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted out to them. "He's likely gone south if he got over the wall, but I'll check to the north just in case." He then proceeded to make his way north alone. He had his fiddle hidden inside his uniform jacket. He would have to find a new bow, but he could make one himself if he had to.
Shandor kept going north for several hours, then turned east, toward the glacier. He was so happy to be out of the dungeon, the cold didn't bother him. He dug a hole in the dirt and covered himself in leaves before he dared to sleep.
Princess Electra Book 3 Gypsy Music Page 46