by Anita Valle
“Joc!” Maelyn whispered. “I can’t believe it.”
“He’s the same.” Heidel grinned. “Same old Joc! And he asked about you - everyone.”
“Why didn’t he come to the castle?” Maelyn sounded hurt. “Doesn’t he want to see us?”
Heidel told of the danger Joc warned of, the strange need for secrecy, the deepening mystery of the servants’ disappearance, and the vengeful anger of Uncle Jarrod. Maelyn became more solemn with every sentence.
“I did wonder,” she murmured. “It surprised me when I heard nothing from him after the ruse.” Her eyes shifted with the rapid pace of her thoughts. “So he thinks I tried to kill him.”
“That’s bad, Mae,” said Heidel. “You must write to him. Immediately.”
Maelyn shook her head. “No - I have to go there. I have to explain it to him. He won’t like hearing how I tricked him. But it’s better than what he thinks now.”
“Uh.... No. You are not going to Grunwold,” said Heidel. “I don’t relish the idea of your head coming home in a sack.”
“I’ll take the knights of Lumen Fortress.”
“No you won’t. Because you’re not going.” Heidel grabbed a wheel of cheese off a nearby shelf and began to climb the stairs. Maelyn followed as Heidel pushed up the trapdoor and climbed out to the kitchen, sunny and warm. She had returned from Hexwick late that morning and had a simple midday meal underway.
Maelyn dropped the trapdoor in place. “Did Joc say-”
“Shh!” Heidel hissed over her shoulder. “We can’t say his name!” She unwrapped the cheese on her worktable and fumbled for a knife.
Maelyn nodded, dropping her voice. “Did he say where the other servants are living?”
Heidel sighed as she dug her knife into the cheese. “No. As I rode home this morning I thought of only a few thousand questions I should’ve asked him. I wasn’t prepared. My head couldn’t sort itself out.”
Maelyn didn’t answer. Her hands rested on the worktable as she stared ahead, absently. Her face was surprisingly untroubled. “I can handle an enemy,” she said softly. “Not easily, perhaps, but I can face it. What I couldn’t face was thinking the servants left because they despised us. Briette was right; something forced them.” She was actually pale with relief. “Thank you, Heidel. You did right in telling me.”
“Good. My trip to Hexwick wasn’t completely wasted.” Heidel dropped the cheese wedges onto a silver platter beside a mound of red grapes. “Nobody had Lumen fruit! Irch said the crop wasn’t hearty this year and he’d sold what he had. I tried a few other places but everyone directed me back to Irch. It was hopeless.”
“Irch?” said Maelyn.
“The owner of Thumbscrew Tavern.”
“You and Coralina were in a tavern?” Maelyn’s tone altered and Heidel sniffed a lecture. “Where’s Ivy?” she asked quickly. “I haven’t seen her since I came home.”
“Still sleeping, I think.” Maelyn pinched a grape off the platter. Heidel hated it when people picked as she prepared. “She was trouble last night.”
“What now?” Heidel slid the platter out of Maelyn’s reach.
“She insisted on checking our candles when we went to bed. Not just asking if they were out, but going into each bedchamber and pinching the wicks to be sure. Even King Erlamon’s.”
Heidel gasped. “She went in his chamber?”
“He didn’t seem to mind, fortunately. But he looked puzzled and began asking questions about what our candles were made from. It was embarrassing.”
Heidel shook her head. The fruit and cheese platter was ready, along with a heavy tray of ham and sausages, a bowl of greens drizzled with nuts and wine vinegar, and half a loaf of yesterday’s bread since Heidel had come home too late to bake it fresh. Maelyn helped carry the dishes to the dining hall and set them between the silver plates on the table.
“Can’t you fix something for her?” said Maelyn. “A medicine that would... subdue her fears?”
Heidel frowned, leaning between the chairs to straighten the cutlery. “I don’t know. An infusion of sage will calm the nerves but I don’t think that’s it with Ivy. The fear is in her mind.” She plunked into a chair, still exhausted by her adventure. “Ready.”
“I’ll ring the bell,” said Maelyn.
Heidel yawned as she waited for her sisters – and Eravis - to arrive. On a whim, she moved to a corner chair near his place at the foot of the table. Her sisters would think it strange but that didn’t matter. She had so much to tell him.
Chapter 28
After the meal, King Erlamon and the princesses piled into the carriages for another day at the festival. Heidel promised to join them later. “I’ve got to solve my Lumen fruit problem,” she told them.
Eravis decided Heidel would need help with this and stayed behind too.
After waving farewell, they crossed the grassy clearing that fronted the castle and delved into Lumen Forest. The mammoth trees, twenty times the width of a man, covered Castle Hill like an army of giants. They grew so tall that their leaves seemed to tickle the clouds, and made one dizzy to gaze at their heights.
Which is what Heidel and Eravis were doing, standing at a tree, staring up the gray-brown trunk.
“I can’t even see the fruit.” Eravis squinted.
“It’s there,” Heidel grumbled. The ground was littered with the squashed skins of fallen fruit. Dropping from such a height, they always burst on hitting the ground.
Eravis slid a hand over the smooth bark and whistled. “Feels like marble.”
“And not a branch to grab for three hundred feet.” Heidel shook her head. “I once tried to stick iron pegs in the tree, to climb on. I even had” – Heidel smiled – “Joc come out with a hammer to drive them in. The bark chipped. A little. But that was it.”
Eravis continued to gaze upward, arms folded over his chest. He shifted to view a different angle, moving a few steps closer to Heidel, then a few steps away. Heidel watched him.
She was having a new problem. She’d noticed it the day before, but today it was worse. She was suddenly aware whenever Eravis was close to her. When he entered a room it was all she could think of – that he was there. At the midday meal he sat two feet away from her. Close. Afterwards he helped her gather up the dishes and walked beside her to the kitchen. Closer. She couldn’t shake the awareness. Now here it was again as he paced around the tree, her body delivering messages of close, closer, further, close again. It was annoying... almost.
“We make a ladder,” said Eravis. “A very, very long ladder.”
“Too much wood,” said Heidel.
Eravis snapped his fingers. “A rope ladder!”
Heidel laughed. “But how do we hang it? Ropes have been tried. I’ve seen men use a crossbow to try and shoot the rope up there. The arrow can’t puncture the bark. Most of the time it falls without even reaching the top.”
“Holy Hair.” Eravis shook his head.
“I know. It’s so frustrating!” Heidel waved at the leafy canopies, glittering with white bits of sunlight. “Hundreds of Lumen fruit up there! It’s horrible when something you want so badly is just beyond your reach.”
“I know the feeling,” said Eravis, looking at Heidel.
“Pfft! I bet.” Heidel smirked. “Doesn’t a prince get everything he wants?”
“I certainly hope so.”
“Any more brilliant ideas?”
“I haven’t heard you suggest any.”
Heidel dropped her arms to her sides. “I don’t know. What about a net?”
“A net?”
“Like a fishing net. I’ve got one. Joc once took me to Lumen Lake and showed me how to fish for myself. I never do, of course. But if we stretched the net between a few trees, maybe it would catch the fruit as it fell.”
“Hmm! Worth a try, I guess.”
Heidel hurried back to the castle and dug the net out of a corner of the kitchen. When she returned to the forest, Eravis had driven several stic
ks into the ground. They hooked the net over the sticks, spreading it between a trio of Lumen trees. The sticks held the net about three feet off the ground.
“Now we wait,” said Heidel. She found another tree, a dozen yards back, that commanded a view of the net. Kicking off her shoes, she sank to the base of tree. Eravis wiped his brow and sat down beside her.
Close.
Heidel rested against the rock-hard trunk, flipping her braid to one shoulder. She could hear sparrows twittering high above and smell the mossy warmth of the earth beneath her. She looked at her bare feet, crossed, beside Eravis’ feet, booted. If she tilted her foot just a little, her toes would touch his boot.
Splat!
Heidel gasped. “Was that...?”
“Over there.” Eravis pointed off to the right where a fresh Lumen fruit had splattered on the dirt. “Not even close.”
“How long do you think it will be before one falls into the net?” Heidel asked.
“Could be a while.” Eravis, slumped against the tree, looked as if he didn’t mind the wait. Heidel’s gaze lingered on the fine cut of his profile, the broad strokes of his dark brows, the winter gray eyes fringed in black lashes, the relaxed pose that still possessed an air of refinement. He was certainly a handsome man. It wouldn’t be long before another woman-
Splat!
Heidel flinched, alarmed at where her thoughts had strayed. “Where was that?”
“Further out. Beyond the net.” Eravis laughed and looked at her. “Aren’t you watching?”
“I... yes.” Heidel felt a blush warm her cheeks and stared straight at the net, hoping Eravis wouldn’t notice.
Perhaps he did because his attitude changed. He shifted to face her, curling his legs beneath him. His bent knee touched the side of her skirt. Heidel, staring fixedly at the net, could feel his eyes on her face.
“Your hair is so pretty,” he murmured in a tone she’d never heard him use. Her heart quivered with something like fear and her cheeks blazed hotter. “Thank you,” she mumbled, unable to look at him.
“May I touch it?” he asked with the same whispery softness. Heidel, unable to form a coherent sentence, pushed herself a little straighter and simply nodded.
Carefully, Eravis curled his hand around the braid on her shoulder. His fingers slid downward, gliding over the ripples. When he reached the cord that bound the end of her braid, he hesitated, then gently tugged it off.
“So pretty,” he whispered, now weaving upward, unraveling the braided strands. Chills rippled from the back of Heidel’s neck as his fingers swam in her hair. She closed her eyes, trying to remember how to breath. She couldn’t think or try to understand what was happening. The world, other people, didn’t exist; just she and Eravis, lost in this moment. The only thought she managed to form was that in some new and breathtaking way, Eravis was conquering her again.
Her red hair lay in loose waves, cascading over one shoulder. Eravis tucked the soft tresses behind her ear and said, “Look at me.”
Heidel looked. His gray eyes poured into hers, ardent and yearning. Never had she seen a man gaze at her that way. Then his eyes dropped, just slightly, and Heidel realized he was looking at her lips. She knew what would happen next... and even more shocking, she knew she wouldn’t mind.
Splat!
Heidel and Eravis jumped, suddenly sprayed by a shower of something soft and wet. “What?” Heidel cried. Both she and Eravis were sprinkled with tiny pieces of a squishy red pulp. She picked a bit off her skirt. “Is this Lumen fruit?”
Eravis turned to their forgotten net. “Oh! It didn’t work. See the red stain on the netting? The fruit got sliced passing through it and sprayed all over us.”
Heidel and Eravis looked at each other, then burst with hearty laughter. It felt good, snapping the tension.
“Oh well.” Heidel, still giggling, stood up and brushed the fruit bits off her arms and skirt, though it left little red stains. “I guess we’d better go to the festival. We can’t get any fruit here.”
Eravis nodded, shaking the pulp off his tunic and smiling. “Pity though. We came so close.”
Chapter 29
Briette had rented a booth for the first day only, and so was free to spend the second day of Fenwick’s Feast with Heidel. Together with Eravis, they scoured the town for Lumen fruit. But every vendor they visited had none left to offer.
It was Briette’s idea to question the vendors on where they’d obtained their fruit in the first place. Most refused to say. But they chanced upon a young girl, no more than fifteen, who was watching the booth for her father. Clearly dazzled by Eravis, she answered his questions readily, blushing at his brilliant smile. Her father often found the fruit at Lumen Lake, she said. On windy days the falling fruit was blown into the water and drifted on the surface. Whereupon, Heidel, Briette, and Eravis retrieved their carriage and drove to Lumen Lake. An hour later they returned, disappointed.
“We haven’t had a windy day in weeks,” Heidel grumbled as they headed for the square, less crowded than the day before. “It’s been too hot and dry.”
“Cheer up! There’s still time!” Eravis patted her shoulder, in remarkably good spirits. Heidel flinched away from him. Her weakness in the forest was beginning to bother her. What had she almost done? Was this just another one of his games, to see how many ways he could beat her? Well it wouldn’t happen again. She was stronger than that.
“We’ll visit the nobility next,” said Eravis. “Ask if they have any Lumen fruit in storage. But first – let’s eat something. They have whole roasted pigs out by the game fields, I saw them yesterday and they looked marvelous. We would get some pork? Watch a few games?”
“I can’t. I have to find Lumen fruit!” Heidel snapped. She had crossed paths with other bakers and their frustrated faces spoke volumes. Cake contest? More like Find-the-Fruit contest!
“You need a break.” Briette laid a hand on Heidel’s shoulder. “Eravis, why don’t you go to the fields ahead of us? There’s something I want to show Heidel.”
“Fine! More pig for me.” Eravis grinned as he swaggered across the square. “Don’t be long!”
Briette smiled and tugged Heidel’s arm. “I discovered something, before you and Eravis arrived today. I think you’ll find it amusing.”
She led Heidel back to the street where Ivy’s booth had been. In its place a tent now stood, round and pointed, draped in purple cloth. The cloth sparkled with silver embroidery, depicting moons and stars. Heidel frowned, feeling as if she’d seen this tent before.
“Go in,” said Briette.
“In there?” Heidel pointed. “It looks like a fortune teller’s tent.”
“It is. I went earlier.”
“You. Visited a fortune teller.” Heidel could not have been more shocked if her sensible sister had suddenly turned cartwheels in the street. Briette grinned. “I know. Maelyn convinced me and so-”
“Maelyn!” Now Heidel was thunderstruck. Maelyn didn’t approve of fortune tellers!
“Just go in,” said Briette.
“It’s not the wench from Hexwick, is it?” said Heidel.
“Who?” said Briette.
“Long hair? Dark and wild?”
“Why yes!”
“Thanks - I met her. Didn’t like her.”
Briette pressed a hand against Heidel’s lower back. “Humor me.”
Heidel groaned. If Briette insisted, there had to be a reason. A dark slit in the fabric marked the entrance to the tent. With a backward glare at her sister, Heidel lifted the flap and stepped inside.
Darkness. Other than sunlight filtering through the cloth, there was no illumination. Heidel, acclimated to the blazing afternoon, could barely see a thing.
“Sit, Princess Heidel,” said a husky voice that had to be Zarana. Heidel discerned a chair by her leg and sat. She could just make out a white lace cloth covering a small table and behind it a feminine figure draped in a silver veil.
Heidel stared at the shadowy
woman, waiting for her eyes to clear. “All right. How much does this cost?”
“Three goldens for three fortunes.”
Ridiculous. If it wasn’t for Briette, Heidel would’ve laughed and walked out. “Here.” She tossed the coins on the table where they plunked heavily. Zarana placed a finger on the first coin and slid it toward herself.
“First fortune. You seek to conquer the Red Fever plague. The answer is within your grasp. But you must keep your eyes open.”
Heidel snorted. “Can’t your ‘powers’ reveal what the cure actually is?”
“It is something you must find for yourself.”
“Oh. Silly me.” Heidel could now see the wavy hair spilling out of the silver veil. Zarana sat with her head bowed – listening to the ‘spirits’, Heidel supposed.
The finger slid away another coin. “Second fortune. You keep a muffin in your bedside table in case you are hungry at night. You must be cautious or this will call unwelcome critters.”
Heidel sat up straighter. How could she know that? Had Briette told her? Heidel knew the muffin was a problem because she’d already noticed a few... critters.
Still.... “That’s not much of a fortune,” said Heidel. She was getting annoyed with Briette. The tent was stuffy and Heidel sweat easily.
“Something more interesting?” said Zarana.
“If you can manage that.”
“Very well.” Zarana took the last coin. “Third fortune. You are in love with Prince Eravis.”
Chapter 30
Heidel froze. She wanted to say something sarcastic but her voice dried up in her throat.
“N-no,” she choked out.
“You know it to be true. The hate that you harbor is nothing but a strong love in disguise.”
“Stop it.”