by J. D. Rogers
"Max still has those ships the high sage gave him, pretending to be Landish pirates. And he still intends to use them as a pretense to remove the high sage from power."
"Sending you to Vassa won't change his plans. We'll deal with him if and when the time comes."
"Not if, Counselor. When."
"Fine. We will deal with Maximillian Bedard when the time comes. One of the advantages of having a seer at our disposal is he can't make a move without our knowing about it."
I chased Jarvo to the harem's lone exit. There were two more guards stationed just outside the door. Male guards. The male guards didn't block my path but my two female guards did.
I didn't bother to ask Jarvo if he warned Edgerton about Max's plan to attack the Star of the Sea. Edgerton wouldn't return to Vassa without me. He would remain in Istansada City, until he found a way to get me out of here. Not that I intended to sit around and wait to be rescued.
I figured my best chance of getting out of here would be to talk to the high sage, convince him to free me. I was still trying to figure out how to do that when one of the high sage's wives, or perhaps I should say, other wives, blocked my path.
She would've been my height, if I hadn't been wearing heels. She had long black hair that was curlier than mine, an olive complexion, small breasts, wide hips, and a small flat nose. Two large gold hoops dangled from her ears. She was wearing white silk balloon pants, a silk vest, purple in color, and silk slippers, also purple. She surprised me by speaking the Common Tongue. "You must be the princess I've heard about."
"I was told none of the high sage's wives spoke the Common Tongue. And what exactly have you heard?"
"Just that there was a princess visiting. One that comes from an exotic land far away. From what I just heard, I'm guessing you didn't join the harem willingly."
"That's an understatement."
"If you tell me why Jarvo is keeping you here, I'll tell you why I can speak the Common Tongue. And why I've kept it a secret from Jarvo and the high sage."
"The high sage likes me and listens to what I say. Not surprisingly, Jarvo thinks I can help him mold the high sage into a great ruler. Now, how did a poor country girl from some backwater village in Landish learn to speak the Common Tongue? And why have you kept it a secret from Jarvo and the high sage?"
"I could tell you that I learned it here in the palace, by listening to Counselor Jarvo and others, but that'd be a lie." She looked around the room. "What do you say we take a walk in the garden. There are fewer ears there."
Like the other rooms in the palace, the courtyard containing the garden was round. There were no other entrances, which meant it was used exclusively by the harem. That made it easy for my two guards, who waited for us at the garden's lone doorway. Overhead, the sky was clear and the sun was high in the sky. That meant I had slept through the night and most of the morning.
Small palm trees and carefully trimmed rosebushes filled the courtyard. A pink marble fountain sat in the middle of the courtyard. Water bubbled from a small bowl at the top, down to a medium sized bowl, and then to a large bowl at the bottom of the fountain. A pink marble path spiraled around the fountain. The sweet scent of roses filled the air, combining with the warm sun and the bubbling water to create an idyllic atmosphere.
"My name is Shumaredena Kestan, but everybody calls me Shu. I'm the seventh wife of the high sage."
"Lila Marie Haran," I said. "It would appear that I'm lucky number thirteen."
"What if I told you I wasn't from here?"
"By here you mean . . . ."
"Landish."
"You look like you're from here."
Shu smiled. "Looks can be deceiving."
She looked like she was from Landish, but she wasn't. She pretended not to speak the Common Tongue, when she did. In my book, that could only mean one thing. She was a spy. Edgerton did say the courts in this part of the world were littered with spies.
"You're a spy. "
"Do not use that word around here." Shu stopped and looked around, checking to see if anyone was eavesdropping. As far as I could see, the closest people were my two guards. We had left them sitting on benches in the garden's lone doorway.
"Where do you come from?"
"I come from Holt."
Shu slipped her arm through mine and we resumed our walk. Okay, she resumed her walk. I resumed my teetering, jiggling, and jingling. So much for my vow to walk as little as possible in this getup.
Holt was one of the Finger States. Landish was on its eastern border, so it was possible that some of the people that lived on the Landish border bore a resemblance to the people of Landish, short and slim, with black hair, black eyes, and an olive complexion.
"Holt is an ally of Vassa."
Shu's dark eyebrows arched in surprise. "You're from Vassa?"
"I was headed to Vassa with Chancellor Edgerton when Jarvo tossed me into the harem."
"And you'd like to get out of here and continue your journey."
"Yes, but I need help."
Shu stopped walking and faced me. "If I help you, what's in it for me?"
"What do you want?"
"I want to advance my career."
"What sort of career advancements are you looking for?"
"One day, I hope to work for a king or queen."
"As an . . . . "
"Adviser."
"You're not working for the King of Holt?"
"I work for the Duke of Genese. He's the King of Holt's younger brother. His holdings border Landish. I used to live in his castle, where my father is one of his advisers. They trained me to be a spy, then slipped me across the border when Jarvo was looking for girls to add to the high sage's harem. Jarvo noticed me and recruited me into the harem."
"How do you get information back to the duke?"
"I have contacts here in the city. When I have something to tell them, I meet with them."
"You can leave the palace whenever you want?"
"I'm not a captive, Lila. I joined the harem willingly."
"And you can come and go willingly?"
"Of course."
"My guards have orders not to let me out of the harem," I said. "As long as they're watching me, I'm not going anywhere."
Shu dismissed my guards with a wave of her hand. "Those two are idiots. Getting away from them will be easier than you think."
"Does Jarvo know that?"
"Jarvo doesn't know half of what goes on around here. He thinks his snitches tell him everything, but they don't. They're as stupid as your guards."
"What about the high sage? Does he know what goes on around here?"
Shu dismissed the high sage with the same wave of her hand that she dismissed the guards. "The high sage is just a boy. He knows only what Jarvo wants him to know."
"Which is even less than Jarvo knows."
Shu nodded. "If I help you get out of here, can you help my career?"
"You know the Queen of Vassa has no heir."
"Everyone knows that. What of it?"
"Chancellor Edgerton was taking me to meet her. He believes she'll make me her heir."
"Because you're a princess?"
"I'm the fourth daughter of Bella Justine Haran, the twelfth Queen of Adah."
"I've never heard of Adah."
"It lies on the other side of the Great Desert."
"You come from the other side of the world?"
"I come from the other side of the world."
"That explains why Jarvo wants to keep you here. We have few princesses in this part of the world, and none with a knowledge of the other side of the continent. Even if you weren't young and beautiful, you'd be an extremely valuable commodity."
"If you help me get out of here, Queen Catlett will be indebted to you."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because she spent a lot of gold to bring me to this part of the world."
"If I help you escape, Jarvo will send men after us. If they catch us, they won't
hurt you, but they'll kill me."
"You don't have to come with me. Just get me out of the palace."
"Jarvo's snitch could rat on me. If I help you, I'll have no choice but to go with you."
"There's a ship waiting for me down at the docks. It belongs to the Queen of Vassa. Once we reach it, we'll be safe. Jarvo's men risk starting a war if they try and board it."
"You guarantee the ship will be there?"
"Chancellor Edgerton would never leave Istansada City without me."
"I'll need help getting you out of here. I'll also need some bribe money."
"The ship waiting for me is called the Star of the Sea. It's a black caravel with gold trim and flies the royal flag of Vassa. Tell Chancellor Edgerton that you can help me escape, but that you'll need some bribe money. He'll give you whatever you need."
"I'll go there tomorrow. See if what you say is true."
"When do you think I can get out of here?"
"When I've finished making all the necessary arrangements."
"Until then?"
"Until then play the part of a good harem wife, so they don't make it harder for me to get you out of here."
Before I got too hopeful, I raised an obvious question. "How do I know you're not one of Jarvo's snitches, keeping an eye on me to make sure I don't try and escape?"
"How do I know you're a real princess? Maybe the rumors I heard were fake. Maybe Jarvo put you here to root out spies like myself."
"I guess we'll just have to trust each other," I said.
"I guess we will," Shu said.
Chapter 18
The evening of my third day in the harem, Shu took me into her bedroom, and after a brief argument with my guards, shut the door between us. She turned to me and explained what they had been talking about. "They insisted I leave the door open, so they could keep an eye on you. I reminded them that this was the only way in and out of the room and that you deserved a little privacy."
Her room was similar to mine. It was a round room with a round bed and a dozen full length mirrors on the wall. The only difference was the doorway contained a heavy wooden door. When I asked her how we were going to get away from my guards, she smiled. "You'll see."
She dug a brown leather knapsack, a couple of silk cloaks, and an extra set of clothes out of a wicker trunk that sat at the foot of her bed. I removed my solid gold getup, as well as the makeup, and slipped into the clothes, a pair of white silk pants, a red silk vest, and a pair of red silk slippers. I tied a red silk cloak over my shoulders and pulled the cowl over my head. Shu slung the knapsack over her shoulder then donned a turquoise cloak that matched the turquoise and black outfit that she was wearing.
I expected her to head for the door, but she didn't. She just turned and stared at the wall. The next thing I knew, a hidden door opened between two of the mirrors. Standing on the other side of the door, in a hidden passageway, was a female guard. She wore black silk pants, a red silk vest, and red silk slippers. She was short and stocky, like my guards, and had a scimitar hanging from her left hip. She motioned for us to come into the passageway, which we did. Once we were inside, she shut the door behind us.
"The high sage that built this palace wanted a way to sneak around without being seen," Shu said. "His architect suggested round rooms because they leave a lot of wasted space between them. Every room has a hidden door leading to this wasted space. Most of those doors can be opened from both sides, but those leading into the harem can only be opened from one side. That's why I needed someone to help us."
I noticed that the mirrors in the harem were all two way mirrors, allowing the high sage that built the palace, or anyone else for that matter, to spy on his wives without being seen. I couldn't help but wonder if the current high sage took advantage of the mirrors. Probably not. Although something told me that Jarvo and the high sage's other advisers did.
We followed the guard down a dark dusty passageway full of curving walls. Once we moved away from the harem and its two way mirrors, the only light in the passageway came from the torch in the guard's hand. Occasionally, I could hear the scurrying of tiny feet, which I took to be rats. I had no idea where we were heading, had no idea if the guard knew where she was going. I was just happy that Shu had been telling the truth about helping me.
Eventually, we came to a flat wall, which I took to be one of the building's outer walls. The guard handed the torch to Shu, then ran her hands across the wall, looking for what I hoped was the latch to another hidden door. It took her a minute, but she finally found the latch. Unfortunately, she couldn't get the heavy stone door to budge.
"Maybe if I help her," I said.
I put my hands next to the guard's hands and helped her push. The door still wouldn't budge.
"You guys need my help?" Shu asked.
"I think so," I said.
Shu found a wall holder and placed the torch in it. She moved next to me and helped us push. Finally, grudgingly, the hidden door began to move, stone grinding against stone. We didn't get the door open very wide, but then we didn't need it open very wide. We were all small and slim and able to slip through the foot wide crack that we had made in the wall.
We found ourselves outside the palace, on the left hand side as you approached the building. The guard said something to Shu in Old Landish, then slipped back inside.
"She wants us to close the door behind her."
I wasn't sure we'd be able to get it closed with only two of us pushing, but we did. It closed easier than it opened, as if the hinges were some kind of springs that wanted to bounce back.
"We've still got to get past the guards at the front gate," I said.
"Not a problem," Shu said, as we circled around the building. "The guards at the gate don't worry about who leaves the palace. Their job is to keep undesirables out."
"Won't the guard that helped us get in trouble?"
"She's not one of the harem guards. She guards the shimmy dancer's quarters. She won't even be questioned about our disappearance."
"What's a shimmy dancer?"
"They're the girls that wear that outfit they dressed you in."
"What about the two guards that were watching me? How much trouble will they be in?"
"If you're that concerned, we can always turn around."
I wasn't that concerned, so we kept moving. The closer we got to the main gate, the more nervous I got, thinking we'd be stopped and questioned. Much to my relief, the guards paid no attention to us or to anyone else leaving the palace. They only stopped those trying to enter. Even so, I held my breath until we were through the gates and halfway down the hill.
Shu knew her way around better than I did, so I let her lead the way to the docks. I kept expecting the palace guards to come riding up behind us and haul us back, but they never did.
Eventually, we reached the docks and I saw the Star of the Sea's black hull, lit by torches that lined the dock. There were two sailors stationed at the bottom of the gangplank. As soon as they saw us approach, their hands slipped to their cutlasses.
I pulled the cowl off my head, so they could see my face. "Do you remember me?"
"Yes, Your Highness," the sailor closest to me said. "But I thought you were a prisoner in the high sage's palace."
"I was." I nodded at Shu, who lowered her cowl. "This is Shumaredena Kestan. I believe you've already met her."
The sailor nodded and stepped aside. "Chancellor Edgerton has been as angry as a hornet since he returned from the palace without you. He even threatened to declare war on the high sage."
"Considering the size of Vassa's army, I don't think that's advisable."
The sailor smiled, "I reckon it ain't, Your Highness."
"Do you know if the chancellor is still up?"
"I suspect he's passed out by now. When the chancellor gets upset, he drinks. And he's been mighty upset the past few days."
"How about Captain Hubbard?"
"Captain Hubbard should still be up."
&n
bsp; "Is he sober?"
"Captain Hubbard is always sober when he's on his ship. He only drinks when he's on land."
"Is he in his cabin?"
"I suspect so, Your Highness."
We headed up the gangplank and made our way to Captain Hubbard's cabin. I barely had time to knock twice before he told us to enter.
"This better be important," Captain Hubbard growled.
He was sitting behind a desk at the end of the cabin. A wall of windows built into the ship's stern was behind him. A lone oil lamp lit his desk and he appeared to be studying a map. I couldn't help but wonder if it was a map of the high sage's palace.
"If you're busy, I can come back some other time."
At the sound of my voice, Captain Hubbard looked up. "Well, I'll be dammed. She actually pulled it off."
He pushed himself to his feet and strode across the room. He grabbed me in a bear hug and picked me off my feet. "Never thought I'd see you again."
"You and me both."
Captain Hubbard grabbed Shu and hugged her. "When you showed up saying you could help the princess escape, but that you needed some gold, I wasn't sure if you were telling the truth or just looking to make an easy score."
I assumed Captain Hubbard's unbridled enthusiasm had less to do with seeing me and more to do with the fact that now that I was back, Chancellor Edgerton would stop drinking and threatening to declare war on the high sage.
"I take it Chancellor Edgerton has made the last few days rather unbearable."
Captain Hubbard laughed. "You can say that again. First he demanded to see you. When Jarvo refused to let him see you, he came back here and got drunk. Then he threatened to declare war on the high sage. When I reminded him that only the queen could declare war, he got drunker and decided that he would challenge Jarvo to a duel. After two days of drinking, he finally passed out."
"We have a problem," I said.
Captain Hubbard nodded. "You're thinking Jarvo will send some men to fetch you back, fetch both of you back. Not to worry, I'll order my crew to set sail immediately."