by K. M. Shea
“Yes, thank you.” Rynn sat awkwardly on the edge of a cushioned chair.
The maid brought a tea tray over and began pouring as Lady Maela settled into an armchair. “What do you think of Farthendale thus far?”
Rynn opened her mouth to tell the lady exactly what she thought of her current situation, but no words leaked out. Bother—must be the maid. She doesn’t know so I can’t say anything. “It’s very beautiful,” Rynn said. It took everything she had to keep from leaping to her feet and prowling about the room. “And the royal family is very kind.”
“They are precious.” Lady Maela smiled, making her look grandmotherly.
Rynn blinked. Precious seems like a slightly condescending word considering how gracious and clever they are…
The maid finished serving the tea.
“That will be all, Elaine,” Lady Maela said to her maid—to Rynn’s great relief.
The maid bobbed a curtsy, then crept from the sitting room, leaving Rynn alone with the ambassador.
Rynn wasted not a moment. “You must help me reveal the truth.”
Lady Maela added a spoonful of sugar to her tea and elegantly stirred it. “And why would I do that?”
“Because this is foolish beyond all reason!” Rynn stood, unable to stay motionless. “Because Davina needs to marry Prince Geraint for the good of our kingdoms, and if our deception is uncovered it will do irreconcilable harm!”
“I agree,” Lady Maela said.
Rynn paused. “You do?”
“Yes. Princess Davina—at least whomever the royal family believes is Princess Davina—needs to marry Prince Geraint.”
The odd phrasing made Rynn shift uneasily. “Then you’ll speak for me?”
“No.” Lady Maela sipped her tea.
“But you just said—!” Rynn broke off her sentence and forced herself to relax her shoulders and sit down. Yelling at a noble lady isn’t likely to impress her. I need to be calm—though I would dearly love to chuck a teacup at the wall.
Lady Maela smiled and set her teacup down. “The question you need to ask, is why did I agree to help Davina.”
Rynn hesitated. “I rather assumed you thought Davina wouldn’t go through with her plan.”
“Not at all,” Lady Maela said. “It was I who recommended Captain Hulderic and his men and suggested to Davina that she compel you to take her place.”
Rynn’s jaw nearly unhinged. “But if you helped her…that’s practically treason.”
Lady Maela swatted her hand through the air. “Nonsense! Before I offered to help her, the fool girl nearly killed herself trying to climb from her tower bedroom.”
Rynn blinked. “What?” I did not think Davina had that much gumption.
“Queen Cassia covered it up. I only knew of it because I was with the queen when a guard came to tell her. But it became quite clear that Davina would take drastic measures to avoid her future, no matter how her mother ignored it. So I helped her.”
“But why?”
“Because I would much rather have a lady’s maid on the throne of Farthendale than a day dreaming girl who isn’t much use to anyone,” Lady Maela said.
Rynn pulled back at the statement, unsettled. It is true that Davina has driven me mad with her imaginings, but to say she is of no use?
“I can see you disapprove, but Queen Cassia agrees with me.” Lady Maela sipped her tea again. “Davina is the eldest daughter in the royal family. By all rights, she should rule, yes?”
Rynn nodded slowly.
“Unfortunately, she is irresponsible and immature. She would drive Astoria into the ground within months after being crowned. Marrying Davina to Prince Geraint is the only respectable way the queen was able to dump her off and remove her from the line of succession, freeing Prince Casimir or Prince Bernhard to inherit the throne. Of course, sending her to Farthendale was a double boon as it also gave her a chance to strengthen our uneasy relationship.”
Lady Maela set her teacup down with a quiet clack. “Queen Cassia, however, did not properly reckon with her daughter’s ways. Davina is determined to do what she wishes. She may no longer be in line for the crown of Astoria, but she could still ruin the kingdom by fouling up her marriage. Helping Davina plan so there at least was a substitute was the best outcome I could foresee.”
Rynn chewed on her lip as she thought.
“Cheer up,” Lady Maela said. “Your situation has vastly improved. You will have luxury beyond your imagination, and you’ll certainly make a better queen than Davina.”
“I think you are selling her short,” Rynn said. “It’s true, she’s silly and self-centered, but you haven’t given her the chance to prove herself.”
Lady Maela frowned slightly, and Rynn shrugged. “It is a possibility, anyway,” she added lamely. I am not feeling particularly charitable to Davina at the moment. In fact, I would happily wish Falada upon her! But this portrait of her does seem overly harsh.
“Who are your parents, girl?” the noblewoman asked.
It took a moment for Rynn to calculate her reply. “John and Martha—they are merchants in Torina,” Rynn said, naming the capital of Astoria.
Lady Maela slowly nodded. “I see.” She peered at her teacup. “In any case, I can understand your anxiety, but allow me to assure you that I shall be your ally in this. No Astorians who visit the palace shall decry you.”
Rynn relaxed, but not because of Lady Maela’s vow of help—particularly given it was the wrong kind of help!
Rynn’s family was slightly odd—and not just because she was one of seven children. Her parents were originally poor woodcutters before her father saved an elderly woman and her granddaughter from a wolf. Somehow the Fairy Council had gotten word of her father’s good deed, and sent a fairy godfather to reward them.
The fairy godfather set them up in Torina as wealthy merchants. The way her parents told the story, they bemoaned this fate and often sighed over the abrupt change in their life even though they had more riches than they ever could have hoped to achieve, and a boisterous and prosperous family.
Rynn privately thought her parents were over-romanticizing their life as woodcutters, and it irked her that they seemed to cling to their old memories—for though they had no need to they kept poultry and cows at their city home.
Even so, she was always reluctant to share her family’s history. For the fairy godfather still occasionally mucked with their lives, and it wasn’t often that folk seemed to properly grasp the quixotic nature of magic.
In fact, in most cases it seemed to Rynn that those whom magic managed to work pleasantly for (namely her parents) didn’t accept it, and to those that magic seemed more of a curse (the royal Astorian family and their blind insistence that Falada was a magnificent blessing) were oblivious.
“You will accept your new role?” Lady Maela asked, jarring Rynn from her thoughts.
Rynn pressed her lips together.
“I will not help you reverse this, child,” Lady Maela said gently. “I think in time you will see why. Besides, you haven’t much of a choice. Davina is gone,” Lady Maela said.
Rynn opened her mouth, intending to tell the noblewoman that the princess was very likely in Cadburey, but the words died in her throat before she uttered more than a squeak. Perhaps I shouldn’t tell her. She is so set against Davina that she might approach her and drive the princess away. Convincing Davina to come forward very well might be my last chance to fix this.
“Thank you for your frankness, Lady Maela,” Rynn said, tactfully switching topics.
Lady Maela smiled. “Of course. If you ever need any advice in your new life, do not hesitate to seek me out.”
“You are very kind.” Rynn smiled as pleasantly as she could, though inwardly her heart beat with rebellion. Fine. Lady Maela may be a dead end, but there is hope. Davina’s difficulties may make her more willing to return! I must confirm the new goose girl is her.
Chapter 3
Unexpected Allies
&nbs
p; Another day passed before Rynn was able to steal her way down to the stables under the pretext of wanting to see Falada to hide her real mission: finding Davina. (It had taken her ten minutes to convince her maid it was not necessary to call for a guard escort. The last thing she needed was for Hulderic to catch wind of her activities!)
It took Rynn the better part of an hour before she found the stables, mostly because the building was so ornate and almost fortress-like, she walked past it twice without recognizing it. It wasn’t until a footman pointed at it that she discovered what it really was.
The ‘stable’ was three stories tall—the bottom comprised of the horse stalls with the top floor serving as hay/grain storage, and the middle floor housing an army of blacksmiths, saddlers, and an herbwoman who daily sprinkled the stalls with sweet smelling herbs. The stable even sported a wooden tower!
Rynn squinted in the fierce sunlight and shook her head. “Farthendale must really treasure their horses.” She reluctantly approached the building, finally hearing the sounds of horses nickering and calling to one another.
When she ventured through the doors, a stable hand almost collapsed at her feet.
“Thank goodness you’ve come, Princess!” He rubbed a bruise on his bare forearm and shivered.
“Um,” Rynn eloquently said.
“Your horse has been…missing you,” he continued.
“I doubt that,” she muttered
“Come, I will show you to him and get him saddled.” The stable hand marched down the aisle with great resolution.
“Er, I actually only wanted to take a peek at him to make sure he’s fine.” Rynn followed in the stable hand’s wake, trying to figure out how to regain control of the situation. “Maybe exchange a few words of pleasantries—or curses on his end.”
“He needs to be exercised,” the stable hand said firmly.
Oh, bells of hades, NO. I only came here to throw Hulderic off track if he asked where I went this morning. I need to find out where the geese are. I am not riding that nightmare! “You could just set him loose,” Rynn suggested.
The stable hand bulged his eyes and shook his head. “Can’t risk it, Princess. Who knows what evil the beast will do if freed!”
“You have a point,” Rynn admitted.
The stable hand stopped in front of a fine stall that smelled of pine and had a horse carved into the door. A glittering snow-white butt was visible just behind the door.
“Hello, Falada,” Rynn said.
Falada turned slightly so he could sneer at her, then kicked out with a hind foot and smacked the wooden door with a loud crack.
“I’ll go fetch your saddle,” the stable hand said.
“Wait,” Rynn called, but he ran off before she could protest further.
“What do you want?” Falada asked.
Rynn sighed and pushed a lock of her amber hair out of her face. “The stable hand thinks you need to be ridden.”
Falada snorted.
“That’s what I said,” Rynn agreed.
Falada snagged a chunk of hay and chewed it, narrowing his eyes—which were as black as his soul. “Why are you here?”
“I said the stable hand—”
“Would not have presumed to summon a princess over a bothersome horse.”
Rynn paused, then shrugged. What harm is there in telling him the truth? “I want to find out where the geese are being kept.”
“So you came to the stables?”
“I’m trying to avoid drawing attention to myself.”
Falada selected another mouthful of hay. “You don’t wish for the wolf masquerading as a soldier to find out?”
Rynn nodded reluctantly. He is unfortunately observant. I hope he doesn’t decide to tell Hulderic out of sheer spite.
“Very well.” Falada’s voice was gravelly and rough. “The geese are taken into a meadow during the day. Find out where it is, then agree to ride me. I will take you there.”
Rynn tilted her chin up and narrowed her eyes. “Why should I trust you? I know what you’re capable of.”
“Because if I have to spend another moment next to a good-natured mushroom, I will go mad,” Falada said flatly.
Rynn peered up and down the aisle, wondering what he meant. When the fairy horse nodded to the stalls on either side of him, Rynn peered into them. Though much of the stable was devoted to very fine horses, the stalls immediately surrounding Falada all housed short, fat ponies that ranged in colors from gray to an earthy brown.
If Falada had been anyone else, Rynn would have laughed at the description, but she didn’t dare anger the horse.
“Alright,” she agreed, just as the stable hand returned, carrying a gold leafed bridle and saddle.
The stable hand paused with his hand on the door latch to Falada’s stall and shivered.
Taking pity on the man—and perhaps feeling dangerously daring after her talk with Falada—Rynn cleared her throat. “You’ll let this nice stable hand get you saddled without harming him. Won’t you, Falada?”
Falada bared his teeth at her, then gave the stable hand a withering glare. “Fine.”
The stable hand almost fainted with relief, but he scrambled into the stall and hurriedly saddled Falada. He was so pre-occupied, he didn’t seem to notice Rynn’s discreet questions as she slowly wheedled the location of the goose meadow from him.
Only a few short minutes later, Rynn found herself unceremoniously thrown into Falada’s saddle and set free just outside the barn.
“You heard his directions?” Rynn asked.
Falada flicked his white tail and pawed at the dirt. “Yes.”
“Great. There’s just one problem: I don’t know how to leave Cadburey except to go through the front entrance, which seems like a spectacular waste of time.
Falada started walking. “There are several entrances around the palace so the servants can take the livestock—and horses—out to graze.”
“You’ve seen them?”
“They sent me out to pasture with the mushrooms.”
Rynn cleared her throat. Don’t laugh. Don’t! He won’t take it well. “I see.”
Falada sidled around the stables. Wherever he went, a pathway among the people opened up like magic.
“It’s been less than a week, and already your reputation proceeds you,” Rynn muttered.
Falada snorted. “I’d be upset if it didn’t.”
Rynn grinned wryly, and gave Falada more slack in the reins as he stalked towards a large wooden door built into the wall that surrounded the castle.
Two soldiers scrambled to open it, and within moments Rynn and Falada were free of the palace.
Cadburey was situated on top of a hill, so Falada had to pick his way down it. But the areas behind the palace opened up into lush, green meadows that had been cleared for livestock. Mountains loomed on the skyline in the distance, and beyond the meadows was a sea of trees.
Creamy brown cows mooed as they grazed at the bottom of the hill, and the goats created a song that chimed in the background as they jumped around the hill, making the bells on their collars jingle.
Falada ignored these animals and turned to continue around the backside of the palace. “Hold on,” he said tersely.
Rynn clung to the saddle as Falada rocked into a smooth, but fast, ground covering canter.
The fairy horse tossed his head, but—true to his word—refrained from any movements that would dislodge Rynn from his back.
Her hair sweeping behind her and the mountains stretching before her, Rynn almost enjoyed the ride. (Or she would have, if she still hadn’t thought Falada would attempt to unexpectedly dump her.)
They followed the slope of the hill for several minutes before Rynn spotted the white dots that marked the geese. Two people—a lad and a young lady with the same sunshine blonde hair as Davina—were perched on boulders positioned by a small river.
It’s her—it must be! Rynn grinned as Falada bore down on the pair, slowing to a walk when they were
a stone’s throw from them.
Rynn’s heart sang when she saw that the new goose girl was indeed Davina. The princess waved to Rynn, but did not leave her boulder as she combed out her long hair. “Hello, Princess Davina!” the real Davina called.
Rynn narrowed her eyes at the princess, then glanced at her companion. The goose boy was about ten-years-old and wore a green beret that was at least two sizes too big for his head as it almost drooped over his eyes. He squinted at her, looking from Davina to Rynn.
Falada tossed his head again when Rynn slipped off the saddle and landed on the ground. Falada was taller than most horses, so the landing jarred her bones.
Rynn hurriedly backed away from him to get out of biting range. “I need to talk to…her. If you run loose will you promise not to trample the geese?”
Falada shifted his gaze to Davina. For a moment Rynn hoped he would say something, but he only blew out of his nostrils with enough force to make Davina flinch before he turned his butt to her. “Call when you are ready to leave.” He trotted off, the stirrups of the saddle slapping his sides and the reins dangling over his neck.
Rynn hurried up to Davina, her mouth opening and closing as the stupid oath kept her from uttering Davina’s name. If I can’t say her name, what am I supposed to call her?
Davina must have guessed for she pushed the luxurious curtain of her hair over her shoulders and opened her arms wide. “Yes, Princess, it is I. Vina!”
Rynn paused mid-step and stared at the princess. She can’t be serious. Is she really that dim-witted? Judging by the way Davina smiled proudly at her new alias, she was. No matter, that might help me reveal the truth!
“Vina, I am so glad to see you are safe.” Rynn took Davina’s hand and squeezed it.
“Indeed, I am doing quite well, if I say so myself! Please allow me to introduce you to my associate.” Davina elegantly flicked her long fingers in the goose boy’s direction. “This is Little Conrad, my fellow goose keeper.”
Rynn blinked. Conrad? Must be a common name. Rynn smiled at the boy. “Hello, Conrad.”