“If I’m pregnant, it’s by the right man,” I said, grinning briefly behind the muzzle.
She laughed. “Well, well. Is he gonna come looking for you?”
“I hope.”
The wolfkin girl sighed. “We never see men in here, except the ones who make deliveries. Some of them are right handsome. What I’d give…”
“Wolvenfolk have a…mating season, don’t they?” I asked, curious. I’d never met any of the wolvenfolk before; they were not especially welcome in the elven cities.
“Aye, we do, and when it comes on me I’m about ready to jump the fence.” Then she added, “I need to get the fuck out of here.”
I wasn’t used to women speaking like sailors, but I thought the wolfkin girl was certainly intriguing female company. “Can you ever leave? I mean, slavery isn’t legal here in Wyndyr, is it?”
“How do I know what’s legal? I lived in the northern woods, free as they come. They brought me here and ever since, I’ve seen nothing but this shithole. But no one cares about legal when it comes to girls who are best shoved out of sight. Come on—” She finished tucking in the blanket. “Now we wash up. It’s your last chance to use the privy for a while.”
We went down stairs to a washroom, which was clean but very old and worn-down, with a row of washstands and a few buckets of clean water. Privies were off through another door. The other girls washed their faces but I couldn’t even really do that, with the muzzle covering half my face. I waited in the hall to see if anyone would set me free, but that didn’t come until we shuffled into a dining hall. Mrs. Rennick was standing by the door, and she pulled me aside, holding up the key.
“Be a good girl,” she said. “Today is your first test. Eat politely without gossiping and work hard, and maybe you won’t have to wear it for long.”
She unlocked the muzzle from my jaw. I flexed my cramped muscles. My skin was sweaty underneath. I battled off another brief wave of sorrow, and joined my room mates at the table. No one talked much, except in furtive whispers. Conversation was quickly squelched by the tall guard-women patrolling the length of the tables. Most of the women were elves after all, and even now they retained some elegance, but they looked withered. A few were pregnant, like the wolfkin girl described. It was like being in prison, I imagined. I had always thought work houses were places that women came willingly when they had nothing else. Why would we need to be guarded?
They are prisoners, aren’t they? All of them…
This was so much worse even than being “Cinderella”.
“I always heard goblins are good at getting out of scrapes,” the wolf girl said.
“I don’t know.”
“You have that look in your eyes. I knew another girl like you, and she made it out.”
“How?”
“If I knew, you think I’d be here?” After a moment, she added, “My father’s family lives in a little town up north. If I could get out of here, I’d go find him. If you ever manage to get out of here, I’d be grateful to you forever if you got a letter to the town of Pennarick, in Mardoon, and told them Fersa is alive.”
“You mean, your father doesn’t even know you’re here?”
“No. I tried to pay a man to get a message to him, but I can’t read nor write myself, and I don’t have much to offer as a bribe. No luck.”
“If I get out of here,” I said, “I’ll make sure you get to him.” No sooner had I picked up my spoon to try and eat a little of the brown soup placed before me than there was a commotion outside. I heard deep male voices. Mrs. Rennick pointed one of the female guards to me. “Put her out of sight somewhere. I’ll talk to them.”
I stood up, clutching my bowl, as two women holding clubs approached me. “Come with me and you won’t be hurt,” one said.
“Ithrin!” I screamed.
I can’t say I didn’t expect the blow across my face. The pain was brutal after I’d already been struck last night, blows on top of bruises. A few of the girls winced, but no one reacted beyond that. I heard the voices outside grow closer. The guards grabbed my arms and hustled me toward a side door. I was still clutching my breakfast. They dragged me down a hall, hastily shoved me into a stairwell, and shut the door behind me.
It seemed like I was at the bottom of a tower. I could see sunlight above my head.
I started rushing up the steps, hoping I could spot Ithrin or his men. I reached the top of the tower, which was open to the air. It was cold up here. A good dozen crows were perched around a railing, cawing at me irritably. I still didn’t have shoes, so I picked my way carefully to the edge. From here, I could see the whole harbor in the distance. This tower must have been built for keeping watch of what ships came and went. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see any horses or men. If that was—as I hoped—Ithrin’s search party, I was on the wrong side of the building to spot them.
A crow hopped toward me, looking at my bread.
I held it out to him. “Here,” I said. “Would you like some?” When the crow hesitated, I tore off a piece and put it on the railing.
The crows weren’t very nervous around me. I treated them just as I would have spoken to my little friends back home. I tore my bread into enough pieces that every crow could have one. “Share them, though,” I said.
One of the crows squawked at me and hopped, like it was excited. It actually made me laugh. “Are you hungry?” I asked. “Or just greedy? Well, I don’t mind. You’re good company.”
The crow fluttered onto my arm and studied me.
“Oh—hello,” I said. “You’re a handsome fellow. Or miss. I really don’t know how to tell…”
The crow cawed like it was speaking to me. I wasn’t used to talking to animals that seemed so interactive. Crows were smarter than mice.
Suddenly they all flew off. I turned to the stairwell. Someone must be coming.
No…the stairs were still empty.
“Why did you leave?” I called, unexpectedly bereft. “I’m sorry—did I do something wrong?”
I waited a moment. They had eaten all the bread. Maybe they didn’t care about anything else.
But then, they all came back, in a flurry of black wings, making quite a bit of noise. Two of them were carrying dark objects in their beaks. I recognized them right away, and my heart skipped a beat.
“My horns…” I held out my hands. The crows put my poor severed horns into my palms. Mrs. Rennick must have left her window open. At least they weren’t paperweights anymore. “How did you know?”
One crow pointed his beak at the top of my head like he was saying, Obviously, I noticed they were missing.
I put them in my pocket. “I am so grateful to you, I—I hope you know how much.”
Another crow, who had given me a horn, looked at my soup and then at me.
“Did you want this too?” At this point, I would have given them what little I could. They might be the key to escape.
The crow squawked. I could swear he was telling me I should eat something. So I did.
“You’re lovely,” I said. “I wish I knew how to thank you.” I paused. I had grown accustomed to asking favors of the spiders and mice, but I had also saved them from destruction many times. “I hate to ask a favor of someone I’ve just met, but I wonder if you would help me escape?”
The crows shifted closer, ruffling their wings. They seemed eager.
I heard the door open downstairs. The crows made little muttering squawks.
“You don’t like them either, do you?” I whispered.
“Goblin? Come down here!” a woman called.
The crows flew off the tower and landed a short distance away. They were watching me. I felt like they were waiting for further instruction.
The last thing I wanted to do was go back down those stairs, but for now, there seemed no other option.
Mrs. Rennick was waiting. “They’re gone,” she said. “They were looking for you. But they won’t find you. They will never find you. You will never marry the prince
. Do you understand that?”
“No. He will find me.”
Her hand flashed out at me without hesitation. “Finished your soup? Very good. It’s the muzzle again for you.”
The muzzle smelled a little sour from my sweat, and I tried to twist away, knowing it was useless. Once again, the leather was tightened around my jaw, pressing painfully against my bruises with every movement. They led me back into the dining hall where the girls were heading, presumably, to work.
“Follow along,” Mrs. Rennick said. “We’ll see how quickly you can work.”
We went into a large, very cold room with tall windows providing illumination. Nevertheless, the stone ceilings and floors seemed to swallow all the light. Huge bolts of cloth leaned against the wall. The wolfkin girl showed me what to do. I learned that the work house made sails for the ships, as well as flags. This was not just the business of making white squares. Many of the merchants had a color scheme or a pattern sewn onto their sails, which had to be carefully cut out and sewn on, the needles pushed through thick fabric. The girls were working on blue and white striped sails for a royal ship.
I wondered if Prince Ithrin knew who was making sails for his family.
I didn’t dare make much conversation, because I saw the guards beat five girls with a cane for talking during the next few hours and I didn’t think I could take much more.
Still, I could tell a lot about a person from expression, movement, and occasional words exchanged. The wolfkin girl, Fersa, was quick. Her eyes missed nothing, and I had the sense she was barely restraining herself at all times. She muttered curses a lot, and pricked herself with the needle. A blonde elven girl across from me was patient and seemed frail and tired. She coughed frequently. The human girl beside her with the blonde braids had a bit of spunk left in her and kept mouthing out a silent song.
I’m glad I came here, I thought. My motives had shifted a lot over the past few days. At first, I just wanted to flee. Then I wanted to make my stepfamily jealous. Then, I wanted Prince Ithrin.
But this was the first time I wanted to be the princess. I wanted to have power so I could do something about places like this. The thought spurred me onward, despite my fear, my aches and pains.
Late in the afternoon, we were allowed to go outside to get some fresh air and stretch. By that time, I had been working on the sails for hours.
The women immediately dispersed around the barren lawn. Rain had made patches of it muddy, while the cold was starting to kill the grass and turn it the brown of autumn. The crows were perched on the lone tree. They watched me.
I went over to Fersa. “If I could get your cuffs and collar off, and you could change, would you attempt escape?”
“Mrs. Rennick keeps the keys in her office,” she said. “The door is always locked solid.”
“But the window is open,” I said.
“Can you climb towers, goblin girl?”
“Not personally, but I have help.”
I looked at the crows. My stepmother said magic was about intention. I briefly shut my eyes and prayed with all my might that they would do as I willed them.
“Fly to Mrs. Rennick’s office and look for keys. It would surely be a small key, to fit in those tiny locks,” I said.
They all took flight.
Fersa’s eyes bugged. “How did you get bloody crows to follow your commands? You’re a mage?”
“Not really. But I have that one trick. How about it? Are you in?”
“If we can get through that gate… Yeah, I’m in!”
I surveyed the situation. Everyone was very spread out right now. The stocky female guards were standing around the building, watching. One male guard watched the gate. If the crows found the key, we would need to move fast. We would need to act as if we had planned this, although we hadn’t.
“They’d better hurry,” Fersa said. “They only let us out here for fifteen minutes.” She nudged her head toward the building. One of the guards had her eye on us. “We should stop talking,” she said.
She turned a few cartwheels, which I had not seen anyone do since my father took me to the carnival as a child. It was a wonderfully nonchalant gesture. Most of the other girls were strolling slowly around the grounds or touching their toes. I was in enough pain that I just leaned against the tree while my stomach knotted with tension. Moments ticked by. I watched the sky.
Just as I saw the crows flying back toward me, Mrs. Rennick stepped out and clapped her hands. “Time’s up, girls.”
The crows flew toward me and one of them dropped a ring of keys in my hand. Fersa rushed toward me. “Yes! That’s the one,” she said, picking out a tiny silver one. “I think.” Then, “Nevermind, just put them in your pocket. We don’t have time today.”
“What do you have there?” Mrs. Rennick called from a distance.
“We do have time,” I ground out, my jaw battling against the muzzle. “We have to! She’s going to take them and do gods-know-what to us.” I put the key to the small lock on her cuffs.
“Stop that,” Mrs. Rennick said. She started striding toward us, waving at her guards. I freed Fersa of one of her cuffs.
“Hurry,” she snapped. “Oh, hurry…”
The crows wheeled toward Mrs. Rennick and her women, diving at their faces. I heard a chorus of screams as I popped off the next cuff. Now I just had to free her of the collar. The male guard at the gate started heading our way, drawing his sword.
It was really now or never, at this point, but we still needed the key to the gate.
Mrs. Rennick swatted her club at the crows attacking her, shrieking curses. I tried not to pay too much attention, but I heard the club make contact with something. A crow fell to the ground, landing limp, feet curled to the sky.
“No, no!” I cried. My spiders and mice had been willing to die for me, if it came to that, but…that was different. I had fed them, I saved them from my stepfamily. I felt we had an understanding that their lives were already perilous and I would give them many rewards for their kindness to me. I worried that my magic might have commanded the crows and pushed them into danger.
But I couldn’t think of that now. I bit my lip, feeling pain, but pushing myself onward. I unlocked Fersa’s collar.
She immediately started changing, her hands reducing to paws, arms shifting to legs, black-gray fur sprouting everywhere. It was a fluid motion and as soon as her four feet hit the ground, she rushed the guard.
I followed just behind her. The crows followed me, sweeping toward the guard, their harsh cries filling the air. He tried to swing at them and Fersa leapt up and bit his sword arm. She grabbed it between her jaws, shaking him.
“I’ll unlock it, I’ll unlock it!” he cried, holding his other arm up to fend off the crows who tried to peck at his face. “I just work here!”
Fersa dropped back, growling, her teeth red with his blood.
Mrs. Rennick was running toward us. “You think you can just run out of here? Run home to your prince? You don’t belong in this city.”
“Who are you to tell the prince what to do?” I cried.
The guard was fumbling with the keys, blood trickling from his wounded hand. Fersa was staying close to him. The crows’ wings beat back toward Mrs. Rennick, but she was swinging her club at them again.
“No, no, crows!” I cried. “Stay away from her!”
I took one of my horns from my pocket and launched at her, clutching it so the point jutted out of my fist, beating her arm with it. When she swung the club toward me instead, I punched her face. The horn gashed her cheek. She swung wildly, as I darted back. In this moment, she had done me a favor—I couldn’t do nearly as much damage with my horns attached to my head.
The gate creaked open behind me, keys jangling.
I ran out, with Fersa just ahead. She easily outpaced me, but then stopped and looked at me, and at her back.
I jumped onto her back, wrapped my arms around her fur, and held on tight as she started running.
Chapter Nineteen
Ellara
I had only been in that terrible place for less than a day. That quick escape should have seemed a triumph.
But what a mark it had left on me. I was bruised and battered, my horns taken from me. I hated that when the prince saw me now, he would not see the girl he had danced with, but the pathetic state I was in.
It was hard to shake the feeling that my stepmother had won, in the end. That I would always be broken, because of her. And if she had managed to escape…
Fersa dashed into an alley and changed back, now naked and a bit dirty. The crows had followed us, settling around on old boxes and crates stacked in the narrow lane.
Fersa was breathing hard. “Thank you, goblin,” she said. “Not a day’s gone by that I haven’t dreamed of getting out of there. But what now? If the elves see a wolfkin running down the street, they might beat me. I’m only safe in my human form but I don’t have any clothes. And you—I suppose you’re going to try and see the prince, but you look like hell.”
I tugged at the muzzle. “I need to get this off.”
She came over to me and investigated it. “I might be able to chew it off, but…I don’t know. We really need some shears…”
“Never mind. I don’t have time. Wait here. I can get to the prince. When this is all over, I’ll see that you are rewarded and can return home.”
She shivered. “I’m changing back to wolf form. I’ll stay here as long as I can. You’d better come back, goblin girl. I can’t leave this place naked and I can’t leave it furred.”
“I swear,” I assured her.
But it must be admitted, I was not in a good position. It was chilly outside, and all I had was a tattered dress. My bruised face must be a horror. I had no shoes. And of course, I was wearing a bloody muzzle and a flock of crows was following me around.
I knew I wasn’t that far from home, but it would be a wonder if I got home without being burned at the stake first, I thought wryly.
The harbor was behind me, the palace on the north side of the city. Even though I was never allowed to leave the house these days, I knew these landmarks. I simply needed to head toward the palace.
The Goblin Cinderella (Fairy Tale Heat Book 5) Page 10