The Princess Fugitive

by Melanie Cellier

  And feelings aside, Rangmere was a very different kingdom from Arcadia. They expected their rulers to be strong. It would be hard enough convincing them she was a worthy successor to her brother without appearing like a love-struck princess mooning after her guard.

  She would need allies and that would be far more easily achieved if she remained single. Noble families with nothing to gain under Konrad would be more likely to support her if they thought there was a chance she would choose one of their sons to be her king. Even foreign alliances were a possibility. Both Northhelm and Lanover had younger princes around her own age.

  No, she didn’t have the luxury of allowing herself to feel anything but determination.

  The thoughts had passed through her mind in the space of only a few moments but something of her conclusion must have shown in her face because the fire was suddenly extinguished from Hans’ eyes. She saw the briefest glimpse of anguish hidden behind stoic acceptance before he returned his gaze to his plate and continued eating.

  She felt as if the breath had been knocked out of her and it took a full minute to regain her calm and pick up her own fork. Before she could take a bite, however, her attention was recalled to the conversation at the table.

  “What do you think, Ava?” asked Alyssa.

  “I’m sorry, what?” asked Ava, thrown off balance and scrambling to recall what they had been discussing.

  “We’re wondering how you’re planning to take your kingdom back from your brother,” supplied Sophie helpfully.

  “What?” asked Ava again, feeling even more bewildered. Had she seriously missed that particular topic of conversation? And was she really supposed to have this discussion with a child?

  Her eyes swung wildly towards Alyssa and the other girl grinned at her discomfort.

  “The twins turned twelve since you were last here,” she said. “They need to study their trade just like any other apprentice and this is an excellent learning opportunity.”

  Ava looked around the table at five pairs of expectant eyes. Even Hans had looked up at the question, his emotions safely tucked away again.

  “I…I don’t know,” she said at last, “I hadn’t really thought that far ahead.”

  “That’s understandable.” Max chortled. “You probably thought we were going to throw you in the dungeon. I have to admit, it was rather brave of you to show up here. I’m afraid the same plan isn’t going to work in Rangmere though. From the sound of things your brother will do worse than send you to the dungeon.” His voice had turned dark and his words offered an overwhelming reminder of the suicidal nature of her quest to defeat Konrad.

  “I don’t suppose you’re planning to lend me an army,” she said glumly.

  “No, I’m afraid not,” he said. “In fact, I don’t see how Arcadia can overtly support you at all. We’ve taken enough risk already by receiving your request for asylum. We’re still getting back on our feet after a rough few years and we can’t afford a war with Rangmere.”

  Ava nodded. It would have been her own response if she’d been in his place. But the stress of the day seemed to have drained all creative thought from her brain and she couldn’t think of a single suggestion to make. Before she could come up with some words to break the heavy silence, Alyssa broke it for her.

  “The library!”

  Now it was her turn to have five pairs of curious eyes trained on her.

  “We’ll find an answer in the library, I’m sure we will,” she said and Lily rolled her eyes.

  “Great,” said the young princess, “more books.”

  “You’d be surprised how many things you can learn from a book,” said Alyssa but Lily just sighed.

  “I really don’t think I would be,” she muttered to herself. “I think you might have ruined that surprise.”

  Ava couldn’t help smiling in sympathy with Lily. She had forgotten how much time Alyssa had spent hidden away in the library on her last visit. Ava would have had as little patience for it at twelve as the twins seemed to have.

  “In fact,” said Alyssa, briskly, “we should get started right away. The faster we find a solution, the faster we can get you safely on your way back to Rangmere.”

  With that she got up and sped out of the room, leaving Ava blinking at the closing door.

  “Safer for us, she means,” said Max wryly, casting a fond glance after his wife. “You two seem to have finished so you should go with her.” The last comment was directed at the twins.

  “Do we have to?” asked Lily with a groan.

  “Yes, you do,” Max said firmly and both girls got slowly out of their chairs with lots of scraping, banging and sighing.

  “I’ll go and consult with some of my advisors,” Max said when the girls had disappeared. “One of them may have a suggestion on how to handle the situation.”

  “Don’t worry,” he added when Hans threw him a piercing look. “I’ll keep the circle of information small. I’d rather as little of this as possible gets back to your brother.”

  Ava could see from his eyes that despite his many light-hearted contributions to the conversation, he was wearing his responsibilities heavily. She felt doubly glad that he had decided to accept her request for asylum.

  “I’ll have a guard show you to some guest rooms,” he said. “You might as well get some rest until Ariana comes.”

  His words shocked Ava. She had completely forgotten that she was still in danger of being arrested and dragged before the council. Great, she thought, there goes any chance of rest.

  Chapter 17

  As it turned out, Ava was only left to pace her luxurious guest suite for an hour before a footman appeared to inform her that she had visitors. Hans had refused to rest, instead standing guard outside her door, so the servant led them both down the wide corridor.

  Ava was almost trembling with fearful anticipation by the time he stopped at the same receiving room where she had confronted Max and Alyssa. She wasn’t sure if she was more afraid for her own fate or for the news she was about to receive about the welfare of her two friends. Nothing had tormented her since leaving the merchant caravan like the look on Sarah’s face when Ava had thrust her out to confront the Rangmeran guards.

  In this second area at least, her suspense was short lived. When the footman announced her and she entered the room, her eyes scanned the occupants and she almost collapsed with the relief of seeing both Sarah and Evelyn, present and unharmed. The feeling quickly gave way to shame and embarrassment, however. She hadn’t expected to have to confront the two people she had most wronged.

  Evelyn was looking at her with the cold anger Ava expected. Sarah, however, was staring at her in wide-eyed astonishment. Ava quickly latched her eyes onto Ariana who looked more intrigued than angry. The caravan leader was flanked by her second-in-command; a man Ava had never actually met.

  “Well,” said Ariana slowly, once the door had closed behind Ava and Hans. “I can’t say I expected to see you two again. You’re looking a bit different now, of course, but I can see why you looked so familiar to me when you joined the caravan.”

  So it had been Ava herself that Ariana had been thinking of when she had looked at ‘Anna’. It was strange standing in front of the woman now and wondering which history to bring up first – her history with Anna or with Princess Ava.

  “Thank you,” she found herself saying, her mouth making the decision for her. “Hans tells me that you delivered Hanna safely to Northhelm. You never came back to the palace after that so I never had the chance to thank you.”

  “Hanna?” asked Hans, stepping forward from his usual position by the door. “That was you?”

  Ariana seemed a little bemused at the direction the conversation had taken but she nodded in response to Hans’ question.

  “It was a pleasure to travel with her, she’s a quick-witted and kindly girl,” she said. “I still stop by to see her when I find myself in the vicinity of the Northgate palace kitchens. And she always has a tasty treat to
reward me for my effort,” she added with a reminiscent smile.

  “But what is she to you?” she asked Hans curiously and then realisation brightened her face. “Never tell me you’re that Hans!”

  “I am,” said Hans with a smile. “And my family cannot thank you enough for what you did for my sister.”

  “Your sister?” asked Sarah. “I remember Hanna, we were great friends.” She smiled at the memory before her shoulders slumped. “For a few weeks anyway, as always happens.” Ava could imagine how lonely the life of a travelling merchant must be, always moving on to new people and places. It made Sarah’s readiness to welcome a new friend that much more admirable and Ava’s own betrayal of the friendship that much more unforgiveable.

  “So you’re a princess now?” Evelyn’s harsh voice suggested that she found Ava just as culpable as Ava herself did. “And one we all thought was dead.”

  “It certainly explains a few things that were opaque before,” said Ariana, directing a quelling look at the guardswoman. “Princess Alyssa’s message only said that she had found our missing travel companions. But there are a few more questions I’d like cleared up.”

  Evelyn looked mutinous but Ariana held her gaze with steely strength.

  “There’s more going on here than just your concerns, Evelyn,” the older woman said. “I’ll get the answers I need for council before we consider justice for our caravan. But don’t worry, I wouldn’t have brought you along if I didn’t mean for you to have your chance.”

  Ava felt both glad and sorry for the reprieve. She could feel Evelyn’s glare like a weight but she hoped that the other girl might be softened by Ava’s story and apology. She desperately wanted to make things right with both of her old friends.

  Telling her story was easier the second time. The words, and the apologies, came more naturally than they had previously. When she recounted the state of affairs in Rangmere for most of her childhood and youth, Ariana nodded her agreement.

  “True enough,” she said. “It’s the reason you didn’t see hide nor hair of me after I took Hanna in. I didn’t like the direction things were taking in Rangmere and figured there was plenty of gold to be made in the other kingdoms for a while. Some of the other merchants convinced me to go back but given how the trip turned out, I would have been better off listening to my instincts.”

  Sarah, who seemed to have recovered from the shock of discovering that her friend was a golden-haired princess, listened with rapt attention. Her exclamation of disgust when Ava revealed her brother’s role in the assassinations was the loudest and her expression seemed to be moving towards pity. When Ava reached the fight at the border, however, her face tightened again.

  “I’m so sorry, Sarah,” said Ava, directing her comments at the other girl. “I know there’s no excuse for it really. I should never have endangered you like that and I’ve been tormenting myself with it ever since. The truth is that when I was your friend, I was only acting a part. When I behaved with cold strategy to save myself – regardless of the cost to you – that was the real me. The person my father trained me to be. But it’s not the person I want to be and it’s not the person I am now. I’ve truly changed. And if you’re willing to listen, I’ll tell you how.”

  She held her breath waiting for the response. Ariana remained quiet also, seeming to think this decision was Sarah’s alone. The merchant girl sat for nearly a minute, assessing Ava with her eyes. While she waited, Ava fought to keep her eyes on Sarah. She was acutely conscious that she had glossed over this part of the story when she had told it to the Arcadian royals so Hans had never actually heard what she’d done to Sarah during the attack. She felt almost as nervous about his response as she did about Sarah’s.

  “I appreciate your honesty,” Sarah said at last. “I would like to hear the rest of your story.”

  Evelyn gave a small sound of disgust but Ava breathed a sigh of relief. Risking a quick glance at Hans, she saw that he was giving Evelyn a cold stare. She could only assume from this behaviour that he remained on her side. A small part of her dared to hope that he would have the same non-reaction to hearing about what she had done to his sister. She didn’t really believe it though.

  As she told the rest of her tale, she kept waiting for someone to exclaim in disbelief. No one did, however. When she reached the end and cautiously expressed her astonishment, Ariana just shrugged.

  “We travelling merchants have long allied ourselves with the godmothers,” she said. “We often serve the High King in our travels. If he’s the one who says your brother is guilty then I don’t doubt it. He’s uncannily aware of everything that goes on in his domain. And somehow I’m not surprised he thinks you might be the one to fix things. You always did have a fire in you; I saw it when you were a child. I figured maybe your father had snuffed it out but I’m happy to be proved wrong. I’ll take your tidings to the travelling merchants and they’ll be sure to enforce a merchant’s ban on Rangmere now.”

  Ava was glad for the news. It was another tool in her arsenal and would be likely to sway a few more of the Rangmeran nobles to her side. A merchant’s ban was a serious business and would cripple Rangmere’s economy.

  “Don’t tell me you’re all going to forgive her, just like that!” Evelyn crossed her arms and challenged the other merchants with her stare. “Sarah could have been killed!”

  “Princess Ava’s behaviour towards Sarah was certainly inexcusable,” Ariana said calmly, “but she has apologised for it and it is for Sarah alone to determine how she wishes to respond. As far as the caravan is concerned, I am convinced that Her Highness had no idea that she was endangering us when she joined our ranks. Her disguise was unfortunate but understandable in the circumstances.”

  Evelyn turned her angry gaze on Sarah, silently communicating her preference for revenge and justice over forgiveness. Sarah looked back at her cousin but her face was already twisting apologetically.

  “I’m sorry, Eve,” she said, “I know you’re only being defensive on my behalf but I’m tired of being angry.” She swung back around to face Ava. “And I’ve never had a princess for a friend before.” Her voice had returned to its usual levels of enthusiasm.

  Ava found herself grinning back.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve had any friends at all. But I’d be glad to have one now.” She held out her hand and shook Sarah’s with mock solemnity.

  “Hello,” she said. “My name is Ava and I’m the Princess of Rangmere, it’s very nice to meet you.”

  “Hello, Ava.” Sarah tilted her head inquisitively, waiting to see if she would get a response to dropping the princess’ title. When no one protested, she continued. “It’s nice to meet you too. You look remarkably similar to an old friend of mine. Her name was Anna, so I hope you don’t mind if I sometimes slip up and call you by her name.”

  Ava was relieved to see the mischief back in Sarah’s face. Before she could get too elated, however, she caught Evelyn’s eye and remembered that only one of the girls had forgiven her.

  “So what’s your plan?” asked Ariana, extinguishing any lingering cheer from Ava.

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I haven’t got that far yet.”

  Before she could elaborate, the door of the room swung open and a tall, slim man walked in. He looked a little surprised to see them all and halted on the threshold.

  “Oh, hello,” he said mildly. “I got a note asking me to come here…” he trailed off in confusion when everyone looked back at him blankly. “I’m certain it said the south reception room,” he muttered to himself, consulting a balled up piece of paper in his hand.

  While he was still talking to himself, another figure strolled up to the doorway and gave him a gentle shove into the room. With the doorway clear, Ava could see that it was Max who was following him into the room.

  “So you’ve been summoned, too, have you Aldric?” asked Max, cheerfully clapping the other man on the shoulder. “And no sign of my lovely wife, I see. T
ypical!” He grinned around at them all.

  “Oh, you got a note, too, did you, Your Highness?” asked Aldric, appearing relieved to see a familiar face. “I wasn’t expecting to see so many people.”

  “Well, we all know Alyssa doesn’t do things by halves.” Max disclaimed responsibility with an easy shrug. “I’m sure she’ll be along with an explanation any minute. This is Ariana from Caravan Hargrove and,” he squinted at the other merchants, “her retinue.”

  “Oh, I see,” said Aldric politely as if this made the matter perfectly clear. “The princess I recognise, of course.” He gave a polite bow in Ava’s direction. “And the estimable Hans.”

  Ava was impressed. Lots of people at the palace would have seen and remembered her from her previous visit but it was unusual for someone to remember the name of her guard. And she didn’t recognise the man at all. She nodded at him politely and bent an enquiring eye on Max.

  “Oh, sorry,” he said. “Everyone, this is Aldric. He’s a diplomatic attaché to the Northhelmian ambassador.”

  Before Ariana could introduce the other merchants, the door, which had been closed behind the prince by a footman, was thrust open in a violent manner. Alyssa rushed into the room with Lily and Sophie hard on her heels. All three appeared to have been running through the palace corridors. Ava couldn’t imagine doing such a thing in Rangmere and wondered if Arcadian princesses had always behaved so informally or if it was the woodcutter influence.

  “I found it!” Alyssa collapsed onto a lounge. Looking around, she smiled. “Oh good, you’re all here. I told the messengers they had to hurry but I still thought I might beat you.”

  “That was quick,” said Max, admiringly.

  “It’s the fastest I’ve ever found something,” said Alyssa with a glow of pride. “I’m definitely starting to get the hang of where everything is in the library.”

  “She went right to it,” said Sophie. Both twins were grinning with excitement and Ava couldn’t help but wonder how much of their good cheer was due to the unexpectedly early reprieve from the library.