Sitnalta could not help herself. She started to giggle. “Aud, you always worry about me. I was fine. I was good. I found a lovely place in the forest. I found a home—and I did eat. I promise. I ate ever so much food. I made a friend . . .” Her voice trailed off, thinking about Najort.
Aud picked up on this change in her. “A friend? Who? What happened?” The familiar sensation of worry emerged.
“The troll.” The two women jumped. They had forgotten Gerald was in the room. He stood leaning against the wall, arms folded over his chest. Sitnalta eyed him suspiciously. Aud looked confused.
“Troll? What troll?” Aud asked him.
“How do you know about Najort?” Sitnalta demanded.
Gerald held up a hand. “Princess, believe me when I say I mean you no harm. I saw the guards lead the troll into the castle. I assume they took him to the dungeons. That is all I know. I swear it to you.”
He gave Sitnalta a critical gaze. “You say this troll is your—friend?”
Sitnalta nodded. “Yes. His name is Najort. He watched out for me while I was in the forest. He is the kindest soul I know. He would never hurt anybody. I care for him deeply. And now . . .” She looked down at her feet. “Now he is in all this trouble. All because of me.”
Gerald stepped forward. Tentatively, he placed a hand on Sitnalta’s shoulder. She stiffened under the touch. He withdrew.
“It is not your fault. I will help you, if you let me,” he offered.
A suspicious look appeared in Sitnalta’s eyes. “What do you want from me?” she asked him.
Aud gave Sitnalta a sharp look. “Trust him Sitnalta,” she said. “I do.”
Sitnalta looked at Aud as if she had just grown a second head. “Why would you trust him? This man is in cahoots with Supmylo!” she said, incredulously.
Gerald chuckled. “If I am in ‘cahoots’ with anybody, it is Aud. My offer to help you is sincere.”
Sitnalta still was not convinced. “But I saw your men searching for me in the forest. If you are on my side, why were you helping my father find me?”
“I was searching for you myself, to help keep you away from Supmylo. I figured if my men found you before his did . . .”
Sitnalta walked away and gazed out the window. “I never had anybody fight for me before. Why would you do this? I don’t understand.”
Gerald approached her and touched her shoulder once more. This time she did not flinch at the contact. “Because the way your father treats you is wrong. The way he treated your mother was wrong. I want to help you because you need someone on your side. You cannot do this alone.”
Sitnalta looked at Gerald. She could see in his eyes that he was sincere. She favoured him with a small smile. “You would help me because of that? Without asking anything in return?”
“I do want one thing from you,” Gerald said softly.
Sitnalta narrowed her eyes at him. “What?”
“You break off our engagement. You see—I am in love with another woman.”
Aud uttered a small exclamation. Sitnalta looked from the King to her governess and back again. Her smile became a grin.
“It’s a deal,” she said. “But you must also help me with one more thing.”
“Anything, my Princess.”
“We must get Najort out of the dungeon and set him free. I refuse to leave him there. Not after all he has done for me.”
Gerald gave the proposition a moment of consideration. He held out his hand. “It’s a deal.”
Sitnalta took his hand in hers. “Good. Now we need a plan.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The three conspirators spent the next hour in fervent discussion. They talked low, lest their voices carry out into the hall. They plotted. They argued. They discussed. All three were intelligent people, yet they realized that breaking a troll and a princess out of a well-guarded room, and dungeon cell, was indeed a big problem.
Suddenly, when Sitnalta and Gerald were staring bleary eyed at the window, Aud had it. She smiled at them as if a light had gone off in her head.
“I figured it out,” she declared. “I know how to do it.”
“Enlighten us then,” Gerald said. He gazed at her in total admiration. Sitnalta stifled a grin.
“We have been looking at this all wrong,” Aud told them. “We have been trying to figure out how to set them free one at a time—assuming one will help us with the other, when the time comes. What we need to do is plan two simultaneous breakouts. If they both escape at exactly the same time, the guards will be divided, and hopefully too confused to deal with the situation. Furthermore, Gerald, your men are still in the castle. Correct?”
“Yes, that is true.”
“Good. We can use them to further throw off Supmylo’s forces.”
“But what of the men guarding the dungeons? How do you expect to get the key to Najort’s cell?”
“You will get it, my King. You will be in charge of freeing the troll, while I take care of Sitnalta. I leave the ‘how’ in your capable hands. You are, of course, the master plotter, as you so love to tell me.” She smiled at him, all wide-eyed innocence.
Sitnalta had watched this entire exchange in fascination. She could see it quite plainly. King Gerald and Aud were perfect for each other. She was so happy for her governess. When this was over, she could see happy endings for these two people. She knew her fate lay in their hands, and she felt perfectly safe in that situation. She knew they would not let her down.
Sitnalta looked at Aud. “How are you going to let me out?”
“I haven’t quite figured that out, but getting you out of the room is the easy part. It’s getting you out of the castle that will be difficult. If you are seen, it’s the end for us both. It’s too bad you can’t go out the window again . . .”
Sitnalta pondered this a moment. “If being seen is all that’s worrying you, I just won’t be seen.”
Aud and Gerald stared at her.
“They’ll be looking for the Princess,” she explained. “I just won’t be the Princess, that’s all. Aud, if you can bring me one of your dresses and aprons, plus a bonnet, I can work out the rest. Trust me. I think I have the rest of the plan.”
Understanding dawned on Aud. She smiled. “All right. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t,” Sitnalta told her.
Gerald looked at the two women. “We have to do this soon. When do you feel is the right time?”
“Tonight,” Aud said with absolute certainty. “There is an execution being performed at sundown. We will begin before then. The guards will not be at their best, and Supmylo will be distracted. I know this is extremely short notice, but I feel there is no better time.”
Gerald nodded gravely. “Understood—I am most certainly up to the challenge. We should go and begin our preparations.” He turned and started walking to the door.
All through Aud’s speech, Sitnalta had become increasingly distracted. When Gerald declared their meeting over, she turned to him.
“Who is the unfortunate person being executed?” she asked him. Part of her didn’t want to know.
Gerald looked into her big eyes, his mouth pressed into a pale, thin line. “Ipsinki,” he told her. “The former captain of the guards.”
Sitnalta looked away. Her chest was tight with pain. “Is there nothing we can do to save him?” she choked out. “He was—he is my friend. He was always so kind to me.” She turned back to Gerald. “Why is my father doing this? What did he do to deserve this fate?”
Gerald turned away. With Sitnalta’s sensitive nature, he did not want to respond. He knew the answer would hurt her and right now, that was the last thing he wanted to do.
Sitnalta would not be dissuaded. “I see,” she said to him. “He is being punished for not finding me. This is my fault. My fault! Najort is locked up, Ipsinki is going to die, and all because I chose to run away.”
Sitnalta rose and walked over to her window. She leaned on the sill, looking ou
t at the view, her forehead resting on the sun-warmed glass. Aud watched her, lines of worry carved into her face. She went over to the Princess and placed her hands on her shoulders. She rested her head against Sitnalta’s, her presence reassuring the girl. Neither of them spoke. They remained that way for some time. Gerald watched, not rushing them. He understood how much Sitnalta needed the older woman right now. Finally, Sitnalta reached up and patted Aud’s hand affectionately. She pulled away and smiled.
“I’m all right now. Thank you. Go. We need to pull ourselves together if this is all going to work.”
Aud nodded. She and Gerald left the room, shutting the door behind them.
Sitnalta stood staring at the door. She hated waiting. She hated having nothing to do, leaving it all in the hands of others. Being idle, being patient, this was not for her—not at all. She paced. She felt as if she was wearing tracks in her floor with all the steps she was taking. But she had to let out her frustrations somehow. She stopped and regarded her reflection in the window.
“What am I going to do?” she asked herself. “How is Aud going to get me out of here? This is stupid! This plan will never work. Even if she gets past the guards posted outside my door, won’t they think something odd is going on when they see two people leaving? They’ll surely check the room and find me missing. Then what?”
Her reflection just stared at her, as if it was asking her exactly what would happen.
“I’ll tell you what,” she continued. “We are in big trouble. They’ll sound the alarm, and the whole castle will be after us. That’s what. What we need is to make them think I’m still in here. But how?”
Sitnalta resumed her pacing, deep in thought. Then it hit her. She walked over to her closet and pulled out a large armful of clothing. She picked out a nightdress, and began stuffing it full of other items. Gowns, stockings, and dresses were all put to good use. When she was satisfied with the shape of her creation, she placed it under the covers in her bed, arranging them so that it looked as if someone were sleeping quite comfortably. She examined it carefully.
“No good,” she said aloud. “It looks as if I am headless.”
She returned to her closet and found some stockings. She stuffed them all into one making sure it was as round as possible. She placed it at the head of the “body,” covered it with the blankets, and looked at the whole thing once more. She screwed up her face, again dissatisfied with the effect.
“It still doesn’t look like me,” she complained. “This wouldn’t fool a blind man.”
She looked at her reflection in the glass again.
“What’s missing?” she asked, shaking her head.
She watched her hair swaying back and forth in front of her eyes. Irritated, she pushed it aside; a couple of strands twisting in her fingers. An idea began to form in her mind. She turned and ran to her bureau, pulled open a drawer, and began pawing through it hastily. Her hand closed around a pair of scissors. She pulled it out, the blades glinted in the sunlight begging to be put to use.
Sitnalta returned to the window. She stared at her reflection, her mouth set in a grim line. Her hair had always been her pride and joy, a symbol of her connection to her mother, and to her mother’s royal bloodline. In spite of all her complaining whenever Aud forced her to comb and style it, she truly loved her hair, and all it symbolized. But, if cutting it could get her and Najort out of this mess in one piece—she didn’t hesitate. She grabbed a handful of hair, squared her shoulders, opened the blades, and began to cut, ignoring the pain in her heart as each strand fell to the floor.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sundown would soon be upon the castle. Aud knew she had to work fast. She collected the bundle of clothes Sitnalta had requested and set out for the kitchens. She walked quickly yet quietly, hoping to stay out of the notice of the many guards patrolling the halls. Supmylo had cut no corners in ensuring the Princess would not escape again. She hoped she did not look too guilty as she walked through the castle. She tried to keep her expression as innocent as possible.
Finally, Aud reached her destination. She pushed open the door, welcomed by the smell of spices, and a blast of heat from the wood stoves that hit her full on in the face. She paused a moment, then entered, and walked up to a portly man in a white apron. She put on her most charming smile, and tapped him boldly on the shoulder.
“Franco,” she greeted him. “How are you faring tonight?”
Franco turned to her, his face red from the heat. “I am not faring well at all. I have been slaving all day preparing the best food I can, and yet Supmylo tells me now that he wants none of it! None! Of all the nerve! I would leave here in a moment, if I thought that life out there would be any better. But I know that monster of a king would see to it I never work again. So, I tell you, what can I do? Not only this, I have practically no staff left. He takes all my sous-chefs, dishwashers, peelers, all gone. Why? Because he thinks these culinary artistes are better off soldiers. This is outrageous!”
Aud waited patiently for Franco to finish, and then she put on a sympathetic look. “I understand, Franco. Believe me I do. I came here to ask you for a favour. As one under-appreciated employee to another, will you help me?”
Franco squinted at Aud in suspicion. “What do you want?” he asked her.
Aud smiled at him again. “I hope you have not gotten rid of the food you prepared for Supmylo,” she said to him.
“I have not. Why?”
“Well, the King of Sarrin, King Gerald, was just speaking with me moments ago. He mentioned that he was famished. I told him to stay where he was. I would go get him a meal fit for a man of his station. I told him, our chef Franco is a master. He can make you the most wonderful meal. Well, His Highness was impressed by that, and he said that if the meal was as good as I promised, he might just try to steal our chef away from Supmylo with a wonderfully generous offer of his own.” Aud batted her eyes at Franco, hoping wildly that she had not overdone her performance.
Franco gazed at Aud in wonder, and was hooked. “I will give you a most spectacular meal for this man. Most wonderful! I will make it perfect! You can count on Franco.”
Ten minutes later, Aud was wheeling a tray on wheels through the halls in the direction of Sitnalta’s bedroom. Franco had even insisted that he cover it with a starched white linen tablecloth. He claimed it would help with the presentation. Aud was fine with that. It suited her purposes just fine. She strode confidently down the corridors, shoulders back, head held high. She was a woman on a mission.
Aud arrived at the door to Sitnalta’s chamber. It was guarded by two of the burliest men Aud had ever seen. They stood with somber expressions on their faces, looking as if they would really rather be somewhere else—anywhere else. They saw Aud approaching and regarded her with mild annoyance, as she wheeled her tray over and stopped directly in front of them.
“No one is allowed to enter here,” they told her in unison.
“Yes, but I was here earlier. You let me in. Remember?” She looked at them, an expression of sweetness stretched across her face.
The guards searched their brains for a previous mental image of the woman now standing in front of them. After a few seconds, they found it. “You were with the King of Sarrin before,” they said in unison. “That was different.”
Aud seriously wondered if they shared a brain. “I’m here now at the request of both King Supmylo and King Gerald. They asked me to bring the Princess some dinner. It would not do if she starved prior to her impending marriage to the King of Sarrin.” She looked them in the eyes, daring them not to let her in.
The guardsmen stood a moment, giving the situation their full consideration. Aud nervously chewed on her bottom lip. What if they did not let her in? Then what would she do? After a moment, they stepped aside. Aud allowed herself a small sigh of relief.
“You may enter,” they told her. The one on the right fished a key out of his tunic pocket and inserted it into the lock in the door. “You have a f
ew minutes in there. A few minutes only.”
They pulled open the door and Aud walked in, wheeling the tray in front of her. She turned to the guards and motioned them to shut the door behind her. They looked at each other, shrugged, and pushed the door closed. Aud looked around and saw Sitnalta sitting on her bed. She gasped out loud.
Sitnalta’s head was crowned with a short scruffy cut of hair. The sides barely reached her ears, the front ended in spiked bangs. What was left of the back was not even close to reaching the top of her neck. It was uneven all over. Bits of it stuck out at crazy angles. It gave the Princess an aura of fey wildness. Her eyes looked even wider, her mouth bigger. At Aud’s reaction to her new look, Sitnalta favoured her with her widest grin. It literally stretched from ear to ear. She began giggling, as Aud approached the bed hesitantly.
“What did you do?” Aud asked incredulously.
Sitnalta reached up and touched her hair. “Do you like it?”
Aud gaped at her, mouth open trout like. “I—why did you do this?”
Sitnalta gestured to her creation on the bed. Her blue hair crowned the figure in long ropes. The effect was astonishingly life like.
“But . . .” Aud began.
“We could not let them discover I was gone, could we?” Sitnalta asked.
“No,” Aud answered. She touched Sitnalta’s newly shorn locks. “Your hair was so beautiful. So much, like your mother’s. I loved it so . . .”
Sitnalta shrugged, trying not to show how upset she was. “It’s hair. It will grow back. Don’t worry so, Aud. Please.”
Aud managed a watery smile. “I won’t worry.”
“Good,” Sitnalta said. “Did you bring what I asked?”
Aud regained her composure, and set her mind to the task at hand. “I most certainly did,” she told the Princess. She reached behind the tablecloth under the tray and pulled out a small sack. She placed the sack on the bed, and Sitnalta promptly began rummaging through its contents. She pulled out a pair of sensible brown boots, a matching brown dress similar to those worn by all castle servants, and a white apron and bonnet. She eyed all of this with a satisfied air, and then turned back to Aud.
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