by Naomi Lane
NO! Please, Jenna.
But why? What aren’t you telling me?
Jenna sensed some thoughts from Peter’s mind. She saw glimpses of the older man that had given Jenna the weapons and then her uncle. I can’t explain it all now. The ambassador needs me again, but you have to promise.
Ok, no sword. I promise.
We’ll talk later.
Later then. She severed the link. It was just as well considering it was growing more difficult to maintain it with his mind that agitated.
Jenna was disturbed by her conversation for quite awhile afterward. For the first time, she seriously considered the possibility that her weapons had a link to her magic. She thought of the image of her uncle’s face that she had picked up from Peter’s mind. Her mother’s brother was also a mage, and she remembered her mother’s letter from so many weeks ago alluding to contacting him. Perhaps it was time to write to her mother again for some more answers. In the meantime, she would try to get more information out of Peter.
After making that promise to herself, she was able to go back to enjoying the end of the feast, and as the last course of the meal was served, she sensed growing excitement from around the table. Many of the Ladies would shortly be dancing at the ball, and she knew the excitement was heightened by the fact that the two elder princes would be dancing alongside them, if not with them. Jenna, however, was somewhat relieved not to have to worry about it all.
Once the meal was over, she went back to her dormitory along with some of the other Ladies. Princess Aylin caught up with her after she had reached the East Wing.
“Hello, Jenna,” she said. “I missed you at the high table.”
Jenna just shrugged. “Well, you’ve certainly gotten over your shyness with the Sevalian language.”
Aylin smiled. “The words come more easily now, but the conversation was not… very pleasant.”
This confused Jenna, but before she had the chance to inquire as to what happened at the high table, a voice from the next room interrupted their chat.
“Just leave me alone!” Jenna and Aylin were left to stare in shock as Crystelle stormed out into the hallway, tears on her cheeks. “What are you staring at?” Crystelle snarled, but didn’t wait for a response as she tore past them and down the grand staircase.
Suddenly someone else appeared out of the same room, an older woman with auburn hair. She looked ready to chase after Crystelle, but paused when she saw the Princess. “Your Highness!” She curtsied. “I apologize for my daughter.”
“It’s all right, Lady Merrin. I just hope Crystelle feels better soon.”
Lady Merrin merely nodded before pursuing her daughter at a quick pace.
“What was that about?” asked Jenna.
“I don’t know,” Aylin replied. “But I met Lady Merrin at the feast. She sat at the high table.”
“Was she part of the reason the conversation was unpleasant?”
“No. That was mainly from the other side of the table, between the ambassador and some others.”
“Oh, court business then?”
“Yes.”
They made it to their dormitory, where there was a brief flurry of activity as some of the Ladies had come up to make some final adjustments to their appearance before joining the formal ball. Aylin offered to help one of them, while Jenna put her feet up for awhile, still somewhat distracted by her brother’s thoughts. As the activity died down, Becca entered along with one of the Ladies in exile from Tenarra. They were the only other two considered too young to attend the ball besides Jenna and Aylin.
“Hello, Becca,” said Aylin.
Becca smiled. “We thought we might join you for awhile since we are the only ones unable to attend the ball.” She sat down near the Princess.
Aylin smiled back and asked Becca a question. “Do you know what’s bothering Crystelle? She seemed distressed earlier.”
“Oh.” Becca smiled. “Count Verlesti made her an offer of marriage.”
Aylin’s eyes widened. “But isn’t that a good thing?”
“Well…” Becca’s voice dropped. “For most, yes. Crystelle just thinks he’s beneath her.”
“But he’s a landed noble.” Jenna interjected, knowing Verlesti was the largest county in the eastern province of Zidaria.
Becca scowled at her a bit, but continued talking. “As a provincial Lord’s daughter she thinks she’s worth more, but her family disagrees since she’s their younger daughter and Crystelle’s sister already married Lord Andur.”
Jenna thought Becca’s explanation made sense, but wondered if anyone would be able to please a girl as arrogant as Crystelle. Their conversation was cut short in any case, as Lady Merrin entered, looking quite flustered before addressing the dormitory proctor. “Excuse me, but I require some assistance in locating my daughter.”
The proctor looked a little startled at the request. “Of course, My Lady.” She then turned to address the four girls sitting nearby. “You four are to remain here until I return. I’m sure it won’t be long.” And with that, they were suddenly alone.
“Well, well,” said Becca, as she licked her lips and then smiled. “Come on.”
“What?” said Aylin.
“I know a way we can go down and see what’s happening at the ball, but we should hurry.”
Jenna bit her lip, and Aylin seemed anxious too. Talia, the Tenarran Lady, however, instantly rose to her feet ready to go.
“I don’t know, Becca,” said Aylin. “We could get in trouble.”
“No we won’t. I went with Aurelia at the last ball. Ladies do it all the time.”
Aylin pursed her lips, but nodded. She then looked at Jenna. “You have to come too.”
Becca rolled her eyes, and Jenna’s stomach lurched, but she reluctantly rose to join the others. Becca instructed them to wear something comfortable, so they all put on plain dresses and soft slippers. Although Jenna’s stomach continued to turn in somersaults, she couldn’t deny she was somewhat curious, but she sincerely hoped she wouldn’t get in trouble.
The girls slipped out down the hall back toward the central courtyard, but instead of going down the grand staircase, Becca led them straight to the Royal Suite. Jenna was a bit startled to go through there, but Becca insisted, saying all the royals were at the ball anyway. They ducked into a room that appeared to be a library, and Jenna grew even more confused at where Becca was leading them. Jenna’s fear turned to shock as Becca confidently strode to one of the bookshelves, where a small statue sat. She grabbed it, and Jenna sensed a magical click as one of the shelves swung open to reveal a dark passageway beyond.
Becca’s hand blazed into mage light, and she beckoned to the others to follow. After entering the secret corridor, the group turned to the right and then down a spiral stair. Jenna grew somewhat disoriented in the darkness, but the girls safely made it to a walkway that ran along the outer wall of the central courtyard. As they stepped around a corner, she could see some light from a grate near the floor and also through some chinks in the masonry around it.
“Down there is where we can peer in, but you must be really quiet,” said Becca. The girls slowly made their way to the spot and crouched down. Jenna staked out one of the small viewing holes and was amazed to see a line of dancers in the courtyard.
“Look! There’s Prince Eamon!” said Aylin.
Jenna squinted and was able to make out the Prince among the dancers. Jenna half-expected to see Aurelia on his arm, but was pleased to see Constance instead. Jenna couldn’t fail to see her smile even at this distance.
“Lucky Constance,” whispered Becca.
The girls continued to watch the dancing until they were distracted by some noblemen approaching the wall where the girls were hiding. “Uh oh.” said Aylin.
“…besides fighting the republic could be costly. If they brought down Tenarra and its Towers they could do the same to us.”
“That’s Sir Gerard,” said Jenna, startled to hear the man sounding that
angry.
“That is exactly why we should strike now before they attack first.”
“That’s Uncle, I mean Lord Merrin,” said Becca, sounding equally surprised.
“And to what end? The Tenarran royal line is gone,” Gerard continued.
“It’s not about conquest; sometimes the best defense is a good offense. We can’t have these northern rebels on our border. They obviously stand against hereditary rule and thus stand against us.”
“No, they don’t. By the gods, My Lord, I was there. They caught me in their territory. I was there illegally, and they could have kept me hostage and demanded concessions for my return, but instead they released me with an apology. Hardly warlike behavior.”
Merrin’s tone turned more sinister. “Yes. Your release was quite convenient, wasn’t it?”
“Just what the hell are you implying?”
“Gentlemen!” The Ladies gasped as the King spoke. “Please keep your voices down. Enough politics. This is Midwinter, a time of celebration. I will not have you throwing insults in my house.”
“I apologize if I gave offense, Your Majesty,” said Lord Merrin.
Sir Gerard just nodded his head.
“Good,” the King continued. “Now shake hands before parting ways. I don’t want to see any lingering animosity tonight.”
There was a moment of silence, but Jenna could see her family’s friend proffer his hand for Lord Merrin, who clasped it, and then moved in closer. He then spoke words to Gerard, but in such a low voice he thought only the knight could hear.
“King to the rescue? Perhaps you really are his magistrice.”
Jenna hadn’t even realized what was happening before she saw Gerard’s fist connect with Lord Merrin’s jaw. The man stumbled backward and into the wall where the girls were watching, which caused the group to recoil.
“Um, Becca, maybe we should leave,” said Aylin. While the brawl continued, Becca nodded, and they headed back down the passageway. Except they hadn’t gone far when the girls heard someone crying, but not inside the courtyard, from within the passage. Becca followed the sound and discovered none other than Crystelle, sitting in a corner in tears. She stopped sobbing as she looked up at the group of Ladies.
“Crystelle?” said Becca. “What are you doing here?” Becca knelt beside her cousin in concern.
“Don’t touch me!” Crystelle lashed out and then stared straight at Jenna. “What is she doing here? You actually showed her the passages, Becca?”
“Uh…” Becca just stuttered.
Crystelle’s nostrils flared, and she turned back toward Jenna while rising to her feet. “How dare you trespass here! Get out!”
Jenna gulped and began to back away. Aylin expressed some dismay that she was heading off alone, but Jenna said not to worry, knowing she just didn’t have the energy to fight Crystelle after everything that had happened that night.
She strode confidently down the dark corridors at first, but began to get a little wary as the light diminished. She realized, belatedly, how much Becca’s mage light helped in navigating through the darkness and cursed Lord Harcourt for never teaching her how to make one. Keeping one hand along the wall, she attempted to find her way back to the Royal Suite, but when she thought she reached the point where the spiral staircase should have been, it wasn’t there. Instead, she had reached a dead end. Then she had a slight moment of panic. Thinking of Aylin’s words, she attempted to retrace her steps back to where the other Ladies had gathered around Crystelle, but there was no sign of them.
She took a couple of breaths, trying to stay calm, knowing if she got too hopelessly lost, she could use her magic to call for help, but she didn’t feel that desperate yet. She made one more attempt to find the spiral staircase, but was unsuccessful. Instead she saw a different stairway with some light at the top of it illuminating a door, but it was locked. Thinking of Becca using magic to open the passageway in the library, she used her own power to attempt to link to the knob. A click sounded, and she opened the door.
The room she entered was dark, but by the décor, she guessed she was somewhere in the West Wing. She exited the room carefully, peering out into the hallway, hoping to make her way back to the dormitory. Sadly, she was unable to make any progress because she began to hear footsteps in the hall coming toward the room.
On instinct she fled back inside and moved away from the door toward the wall she had entered through. When the footsteps stopped outside the room, she panicked and fled back into the passage. Once on the other side of the passage door, she kept her ear to the wall, figuring if she could wait out whoever was inside, she could attempt to go back through. Except if the occupant planned to be there awhile, she might have to give up and call for help. She prayed she was not already missed back in the East Wing.
She began to hear voices, but they were slightly muffled so she couldn’t make it all out. “All right, we are alone.”
“…sure this is safe?”
Jenna was somewhat surprised. Her instincts told her this was a conversation no one else was meant to hear. She continued to listen, intrigued.
“Yes.” The speaker sounded angry. Jenna thought she recognized his voice, but couldn’t place it.
“My… I’ll need ten thousand—”
“Ten thousand? I have already provided the agreed upon initial sum.”
“Apologies, but my… so requires more.”
Jenna heard the other voice sigh in exasperation. “I can get four, no more until after…”
Jenna continued to hear them haggle, but she couldn’t really tell over what. Although her heart was pounding, she had the wherewithal to use her magic to a small degree to sense the emotions from the speakers. The first speaker’s anger over the need to provide more of something tended to swamp everything. She supposed it was an argument over money, but there was something else there, another kind of anger, and it seemed more sinister. This conversation disturbed Jenna more and more.
“Look, that’s four now, another two after… The total will be ten.”
“But it pushes the date out until…”
The first speaker sighed. “It is acceptable, now please…”
“Very well… forgive me for my appearance, but I thought I might enjoy… hospitality is legendary.”
“…not for much longer.”
That last statement startled Jenna. The emotions changed from anger to a rather macabre glee. It repulsed her so much that she found herself moving away from the door even though she suspected she would soon be able to open it again undisturbed.
Unfortunately, she miscalculated the distance she had moved backward in the narrow corridor and began losing her balance at the top of the stairs. She reached out her arms wildly to attempt to steady herself, but the rock steps were slippery enough she began to fall down. She let her body go limp to minimize any damage, but couldn’t avoid hitting her head as she landed at the bottom. As she tried to lift herself back up with her arm, her hand ended up pushing down on a panel in the floor, and she didn’t notice until too late that it had activated some kind of switch that caused the patch of floor she was sitting on to rotate into another room. Dismayed, Jenna could only rub her head and close her eyes as she turned, silently praying it would be fine. When she opened her eyes, she stared straight at the tip of a sword aimed directly at her throat.
Chapter 19
Jenna’s eyes followed the blade starting from the tip up to the hilt and then along the arm of her assailant until she found herself staring into a pair of bright green eyes that could only belong to the Crown Prince. She gulped.
“Miss Mallory?” The incredulity in the Prince’s voice was so strong that Jenna found herself at a complete loss for words. Prince Dominic withdrew his blade from her neck, but continued to stare down at her. “How in Heaven’s name did you end up here?”
“I… uh.” Jenna tried to think of what to say. She sat up properly and continued to rub the back of her head. “I apologize, Your Highness.
I know I shouldn’t be here. I got lost in the passages.” Her head didn’t hurt too badly, but her fingers felt damp, and when she looked at them she saw blood.
“You’re bleeding.” Prince Dominic’s voice softened slightly after discovering she was hurt.
“Oh, uh, I fell down a flight of stairs on the other side of the wall. Unfortunately, I managed to hit my head on the way down.”
“Here.” He proffered his arm, and Jenna grabbed hold of it to pull herself off the floor. She finally looked around the room long enough to discover she was in some kind of office or meeting room. The Prince strode over to the far wall and picked up a cloth napkin and a decanter of clear liquid. “Have a seat if you want.” Jenna sat on a wooden chair nearby, which was a good thing because she wasn’t sure if she had the strength to stand for long. Her hands and feet felt half numb.
Jenna watched as the Prince poured some of the clear liquid on the napkin. For the first time she fully admired his appearance. If she weren’t so dazed, she would have thought the Prince quite striking wearing the royal colors of green and white. He walked back over and handed her the napkin. “Put this on the wound.” Jenna took the napkin and put it on the back of her head. She winced. “It may sting a little, but the alcohol should disinfect the cut. Head wounds tend to bleed badly, but if you keep putting pressure on it, it should stop soon.”
Jenna just nodded slightly and practically whispered as she said, “Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Now,” said the Prince, as he rested his hip against the table nearby, “are you actually going to explain why…” His words trailed off as he became distracted by voices outside. As the door to the room began to open, Dominic groaned and rubbed his temple. Jenna’s embarrassment only increased as she watched Prince Eamon enter the room with Sir Raymond close behind.
Eamon spoke. “Dominic! Good—” His words died in his throat when he saw Jenna still sitting in the chair. His expression quickly changed from shock to laughter. Sir Raymond just looked surprised. “Well, well, Brother. We all began to wonder after you scampered away from the ball and all the adoring women. I didn’t realize you just liked them young.”