“Don’t mind her,” Christopher said. “What’s going on here?”
The man wore a shock of dark brown hair snaking down to his shoulders, and his hands were callused and dirty. He eyed his fellow workers and scowled. “We still have work to do before sundown. So start swinging those sledges, you slackers, or your pockets will be a little lighter when it’s time to get paid.” As the hammering and moving of rock resumed, the man looked squarely at Christopher and Molly and scratched his head. “I’d say you weren’t from around these parts by the look of those clothes.”
“We’re visiting from a village far away,” Christopher replied. He never considered before how he and his sister probably stood out like sore thumbs while dressed in sneakers and blue jeans.
“Do you work for King Alexander?” Molly asked.
“His son hired us,” the man said, slightly amused to be questioned by a little girl. He scratched his head again and spat.
“That’s not very polite,” she admonished him with a frown.
“Sorry, miss.”
Christopher shook his head and smiled. “Don’t mind my sister, mister. She’s like that sometimes.”
Molly turned to her brother with folded arms, inhaling deeply. “Like what exactly?”
“Like that…” he sighed.
The man raised an eyebrow. “Is there something you two want, or can I get back to work?”
“Why’d Prince Jeremiah hire you?” Molly asked. “He didn’t mention it to us when we saw him yesterday.”
“Must’ve slipped his mind,” he said with a grunt. “Or maybe you missed one of the meetings with his advisors. You’ll never know what’s going on if you do that!” He burst out laughing as did of few of his workers.
“A bunch of comedians around here…” muttered Molly with an exaggerated sigh.
The man started to walk back toward his crew and then turned around. “Not meaning to be impolite, but things are kind of hectic here. We were told Prince Jeremiah wants this job done by sundown, so that’s what we have to do. What he needs a hole in his castle wall for–I don’t know. I don’t even care,” he said with a shrug. “But we’re getting paid three days’ wages for one day of work, and that’s good enough for me. So run along and find someone else to talk to who’s not so busy.”
The man returned to his workers and picked up a sledge hammer to assist. Molly wore a look of disgust on her face and stepped forward, but Christopher placed a hand on her shoulder and held her back before she could say anything more.
“Come on, Molly. Let’s get out of here. We’re just in the way.”
“But I want to find out what’s going on!” she said as Christopher led her along the castle wall away from the worksite.
“You just want to get your two cents in with that man.”
“Well, that too. He was kind of rude to me, don’t you think?”
Christopher glanced at her with a crooked smile. “And he probably thought we were a couple of nosy kids. I think he has better things to do than talk to us.”
“I suppose… But I’m still as curious as ever about what they’re up to.”
“So am I. Maybe Princess Rosalind knows. We’ll ask her when we get to the courtyard. And we better start heading over there right now.”
They walked along steep castle walls in warm sunshine as the moat gently lapped against the narrow shore. Molly felt as small as a mouse standing next to the imposing structure. As they rounded a corner toward the eastern side, the nearby woods came into view and both instantly recalled their short journey through the trees on their way to and from the castle four years ago. Christopher slapped his hand along the stone wall as they leisurely continued on, then suddenly stopped and pointed ahead.
“Look, Molly. There’s the door we entered to sneak inside.”
They ran up to the small iron door with a tiny barred window. Off to its left was a metal ring cemented into the castle wall, and tied to the ring, as if it belonged there like a sleeping dog in front of a fireplace, was the raft they had used to sail across the moat. The castle drawbridge was visible farther to the left as it extended across the water.
“It feels weird being here again,” he said.
“But not as scary this time. We were nearly caught as we broke into the castle,” Molly reminded her brother as he faced the door and placed one hand below the handle and the other on the stone next to it. He mumbled a few inaudible words. “What are you doing?”
“Breaking into the castle,” he joked. “Just like Artemas did–with magic!”
“Oh brother…”
Christopher tugged at the handle. “Bet you’d be surprised, though, if it–”
The door swung open and Molly’s eyes widened. Christopher gulped. A cold and gloomy darkness seeped out into the warm spring air.
“How’d you do that?” Molly asked in awe.
“Artemas taught me some magic,” he replied matter-of-factly, but saw that Molly didn’t believe him for an instant. “I guess the door must have been left unlocked since we last used it.”
“For four years?” Molly shook her head. “I find that hard to believe especially since the raft is back where it belongs.”
“I can’t explain it,” Christopher said, arching his brow. “Let’s go inside and check things out. We’ll reach the front courtyard faster this way.”
“Okay,” she agreed as they entered.
The tiny room was cool and dimly lit, but gone were the musty smells and tangle of cobwebs. Christopher eyed the short staircase leading up to the ground level.
“Someone finally cleaned this place up,” he said.
“Maybe that person left the door unlocked,” Molly suggested as she walked around in the shadows. “I suppose that–” She stopped in mid-sentence when her foot accidentally kicked a small wooden crate set against the back wall. “Wonder why this is here,” she said, kneeling down to examine it.
“What’d you find?” he asked, squatting next to her.
“A wooden box with some things in it.”
“Like a rat’s nest maybe?”
“Chris, don’t be disgusting!” Molly cringed and slid the crate over to her brother. “I don’t want to stick my hand inside now. You take a look.”
Christopher clucked a few times. “Chicken?”
“Chris!”
“All right. I’ll do it.”
He reached inside the crate and pulled out the first of several objects. In streaks of daylight they saw it was a leather water flask filled to capacity. There was also a crusty loaf of bread wrapped in a piece of cloth, a few apples, three small lengths of rope and a strip of heavy cloth. They wondered why these objects had been collected, but what seemed more mysterious was why they were lying in a wooden crate in this particular room.
“The apples smell good,” Molly said, recalling the sack of apples and bread that Mr. Smithers procured when they had escaped.
“Well, they certainly aren’t leftovers he left behind.” Christopher scratched his head. “This makes two puzzles we’ve stumbled upon–a hole in the castle wall and a box of food and rope in our old hiding place. Interesting.”
“I’m intrigued,” Molly said, “but let’s not jump to conclusions. There could be a reasonable explanation.”
“Which is…?”
Molly clicked her tongue and contorted her face. “I’m not sure yet. But a few questions to the princess should solve everything.”
“Let’s hope,” Christopher said as he returned the objects to the crate. “And let’s go. We’re nearly late.”
They hurried up the staircase into the darkness of the top passage and opened the door at the end that led inside the castle. They entered a large chamber branching out into three passageways, one to the left, one to the right and one straight ahead. They stood in the very spot where their rescue party had separated to begin the search for Princess Rosalind. Molly noticed how pleasant the area looked. Several torches softly crackled as they warmed the air, and col
orful tapestries and bunches of fresh and fragrant pine branches adorned the walls.
“No troll or goblin guards to worry about this time,” she said.
“No, but here comes Prince Jeremiah,” whispered Christopher when he noticed the man walking briskly toward them down the left passageway. “His attitude lately has been very troll-like. Hopefully a good night’s sleep has calmed him down. Let me do the talking, Molly.”
“Be my guest,” she said, a hint of anxiety in her voice.
“Well, I hope you both enjoyed your stay in my father’s castle.” Prince Jeremiah’s voice boomed cheerfully as he stopped to greet his guests. He carried a small present with him wrapped in a piece of dark blue cloth and tied securely with gold ribbon. “I’m sorry we could not spend more time together, but my busy schedule didn’t allow it.”
“Perhaps another time,” Molly said, taken aback by his pleasant behavior. “I hope you got enough sleep. Princess Rosalind said you were working late into the night.”
“In fact, I did not get much sleep at all. But I feel refreshed nonetheless and I’m ready to tackle another day. It must be the spring air!”
“That’s a good attitude to have,” remarked Christopher, equally amazed with the change in the prince’s demeanor. He wondered if this was the same man who had seemed as cold as an icicle during their drive to Solárin.
“What’s that you’re carrying?” Molly asked.
Prince Jeremiah looked around to make sure nobody else was nearby, then lowered his voice. “Oh, this is a–wedding present. For Princess Rosalind. I was just on my way to hide it.”
“Can I ask what it is?” Molly asked excitedly.
“You can ask, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you. A secret,” he whispered with a raised eyebrow.
“Then can you tell us why those workmen are making a hole in the side of your castle?” Christopher asked. “Molly and I were just down there.”
“My, but you two do get around this place,” he said, stroking his chin and glancing at the ceiling. “Well, I wanted to keep that a secret too, but I suppose I can tell you. It’s for another wedding present.”
“A hole in the wall is a present?” Molly asked with a baffled look.
“No, no, no, my dear young girl. I hired those men to make a large opening in the wall so I could hide a second wedding gift for Rosalind in the storage area.” Prince Jeremiah smiled awkwardly as he nodded his head. “It is an extremely large present that I don’t want her to be aware of until we are married.”
“Two secret presents?” Christopher said.
“Is there any better kind? Of course Rosalind is aware of the construction work, so I told her that that portion of the wall had been damaged by a severe winter frost and was being repaired. She’ll be so surprised when she learns the truth.” Footsteps echoed along the same corridor that Jeremiah had used. “Oh, here she comes now,” he softly said, handing the present to Christopher. “Do me a favor and hide this, will you?”
“Sure,” Christopher said, stuffing it up the back of his shirt. “I’ll stick it in one of the cabinets in the map room. I know where that is.”
“Excellent choice,” he said as Princess Rosalind approached the trio.
“And what secret talks are going on here?” she said with an easy smile. She had met earlier with Jeremiah while the children had been exploring and was delighted to find he had returned to his old cheerful self.
“Just saying our goodbyes,” Jeremiah said. “I do hope these delightful guests can make another visit in the future.”
“I hope so too,” Rosalind replied. “But now they must be off to the courtyard. We are almost ready to depart. We have a long trip ahead.”
“Molly, you go with Princess Rosalind and I’ll meet up with you in a minute,” Christopher said. “I, uh, left something just down the hall.” He pointed over his shoulder as he walked backward along the opposite corridor so that the princess wouldn’t see the bulge under the back of his shirt.”
“All right, but hurry along,” Rosalind said as she and Molly departed.
“Yeah. Don’t be a slowpoke, Chris,” Molly added.
Christopher turned and raced down the corridor toward the map room as Prince Jeremiah followed Rosalind and Molly to the front courtyard. The prince glanced back and watched Christopher disappear around a corner, smiling like a serpent.
“Be nice,” Prince Jeremiah thought as Molly and Rosalind talked about wedding dresses and flowers. “Be happy! Be pleasant! Be nice! Then everyone will go out of their way to help me. Happy! Pleasant! Nice!” The prince laughed to himself and sneered as Molly and Rosalind chattered on. “This will be so easy. Soooooo easy. Solárin will collapse like a hill of sand upon the seashore,” he thought with glee. “And soon!”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Departures
King Alexander lay awake in bed as the late morning sun eased into afternoon. He stared at the rafters, his eyes darting back and forth as his thoughts drifted through time. He had instructed Mr. Tupper to leave a window open so he could breathe the fresh spring air and listen to the birds in the meadows below. The King turned his head and gazed westward when the sky temporarily darkened. A large cloud passed over the sun somewhere above the castle.
He inhaled deeply, detecting a bittersweet scent hanging in the air. The rich aromas of tilled garden soil, cut hay and cold creek water washing over mossy rocks made his hair stand on end. King Alexander blinked erratically and clasped his hands, then glanced at his crown upon the night table and the sword lying on the foot of the bed. The breeze carried electricity, a bracing sharpness which made him certain that a storm was brewing. Quick moving. Massive. Furious. He could feel it in the very marrow of his bones. A storm was definitely on its way.
The wind picked up as the carriages were about to depart, blowing across the drawbridge and swirling about the courtyard like wild horses. Molly threw on a purple windbreaker and zipped it up to her neck to ward off the chill. Dark clouds gathered in the southwestern sky above the mountain tops and sailed ominously over the plains. Distant rumbles of thunder echoed across the Pinecrest Valley. Prince Jeremiah, who stood by to see off Princess Rosalind and the others, was hurriedly approached by a castle advisor who whispered urgent words into his ear and departed. The prince shook his head as he walked over to Princess Rosalind. She was checking with her aides to make sure everything was packed for the return trip.
“It appears a horrific storm is developing on the plains,” Jeremiah said. “If you leave now, you’ll be riding directly into it in the next few hours.”
“Then we have no choice,” Rosalind said. “Our return to Endora must be delayed.”
“I’m afraid so,” he replied, trying to sound concerned. But inside he churned with bitterness, knowing that he’d have to tiptoe around Rosalind and the children while trying to implement his plans with Morgus Vandar.
“For how long?” Christopher asked, leaning out the carriage door.
“No reason you can’t leave first thing tomorrow morning,” the prince said. “By the time the storm passes over, it will be too late in the day to depart.”
“Well, that’s great news!” Molly said as she scrambled around Christopher and hopped out of the carriage. “That gives us another day to hang out here.”
“Apparently so,” Princess Rosalind agreed, noting the excitement in Molly’s voice. “Won’t it be wonderful to have them stay for another night, Jeremiah?”
“It will be a joy words cannot express,” he uttered before directing some of his men to unload the carriages and return the horses to the stables.
Rosalind took hold of Molly’s hand and signaled for Christopher to follow. “Let us hurry up to the aviary and send a message to my father and your parents to inform them of our delay. A carrier pigeon should be able to reach the first outpost before the storm hits,” she guessed. “The soldiers manning that station can send it on to Endora when the weather subsides.”
“How bad a storm wil
l it be?” asked Molly as they hastened across the courtyard.
“Some of the first storms of spring can be very violent,” she said. “At night, the constant lightning flashes can make it look like daytime.”
“I’d love to see a wild light show!” Christopher said enthusiastically. “Sure beats watching all the dumb stuff on television.”
“Then keep your eyes open, Christopher,” the princess said uneasily as she led them inside. “You’ll most likely get that chance.”
They all did.
By early afternoon the sky darkened as a fleet of black clouds sailed overhead like ships of war, so low that one might think you could almost touch them. The drawbridge was raised and the mains gates were closed and securely locked. Gusts of wind bent trees and slapped the castle walls, and the temperatures dipped to chilly depths, reminding everyone of the winter just passed. A torrent of hail pelted villages throughout the kingdom, leaving roads and fields temporarily splashed in white. Lightning bolts slashed the skies and thunder erupted in deafening claps as rain fell in soaking gray sheets, raising the rivers, streams and castle moat to overflowing.
The storm raged on for nearly two hours and everyone in the castle took refuge in several of the common rooms or attended to other duties as required. Christopher and Molly sat at a small table near a fire, lunching on a bowl of soup and bread. Booms of thunder penetrated the thick stone walls and echoed in their ears. Molly shuddered at the first few claps, never fully getting used to their earsplitting intensity. Christopher teased her for being afraid, then daringly swung open one of the windows and gazed out into the valley. But the ferocious dance of forked lightning as it sizzled through the clouds made him scramble back to his seat as he decided to sit out the light show. He and Molly simply glanced at each other as they finished their soup.
In another part of the castle, Princess Rosalind and Prince Jeremiah dined alone, with few words exchanged between them. As the storm raged, the princess watched her fiancé as he stared at his food, barely eating. She felt he was sliding back into his moody behavior after the short cheerful interval this morning. Rosalind again tried to convince herself that his callus manners were the result of the pressures he currently faced–his father’s ill health, his impending ascension to the throne and the upcoming wedding. Her relationship with the prince over the last two days felt as turbulent as the raging storm.
The Endora Trilogy (The Complete Series) Page 25