Hidden Princess

by M. A. Roth

  I don’t know what to look for along the way. Right now I am covered in sweat and I look even more out of sorts than before. Fixing my hair as best I can, I slow my pace and take in my surroundings. There are several doors on either side of me so I start peeking in as I pass, making sure no one sees me. They are all storage rooms. I come to a stairway and climb. I end up on the main floor. I know because the floor is coated in rugs, paintings hang along the walls and the sconces are closer together. There are no servants around and the corridor is wide and quiet. I try to move as lightly as possible. I can hear voices coming from a room farther down, but they’re muffled through the heavy wooden door. I will my racing heart to slow as I press my ear against the door. The voices are still muffled but I think I hear maybe three people talking. All male.

  The surface under my ear disappears and I fall flat on my face onto a marble floor. My head takes the brunt of the fall. My vision blurs and sound seems to crackle in and out. I squeeze my eyes and open them trying to clear my vision as I look up at the two guards who stand over me. One grabs me and drags me off the floor as if I weigh nothing. Once I’m upright, I cringe at the pain in my head, but focus on his moving lips. “What were you doing, listening for information?”

  I shake my head as I swallow the bile that threatens to rise. He drags me deeper into the room. I dig my heels into the marble floor, but they just squeak the whole way until he throws me back onto the floor. My knees send pain shooting down my legs. That’s going to bruise.

  “It seems we have found a traitor, my lady.”

  I hadn’t heard a woman’s voice and when I look up and into the hard white face of the queen, my heart stills before galloping. She sits upon a large gold throne at the top of the room. She wears a blood-red dress that flows all over the marble floor. Her hair is pinned back severely, making her face look stretched.

  “Are you a traitor?” she asks, tilting her head to the side, she isn’t looking at me and the question isn’t threatening. It’s just a question. When I don’t answer immediately, a boot into my back has me sprawling across the floor again and I speak through my pain. “No, my lady.”

  “Of course not.” She glances at me and gives me a frightening grin and then flicks her hand towards me. My breath catches. It feels like something inside me is being touched. It’s the most unnatural feeling I’ve ever felt. I push it away with all my strength and will and it stops.

  The queens head snaps towards me and now she’s standing. Her pale blue eyes fixated on me, each step she walks towards me has dread dripping down my back. Her dress is like a pool of blood flowing after her. “What did you just do?” She seems horrified yet excited at the same time.

  “Nothing.” I lower my eyes to the floor swallowing down the fear that keeps rising up inside me. I shouldn’t have come alone. I had no hope of getting out of this and it’s confirmed when the queen slides a dagger out from her sleeve. My hand automatically goes to my boot, where my own dagger sits. Not that I’ll get away if I harm her.

  “Tell me now and I will not hurt you.” Her voice is like a thousand snakes squirming around me.

  “I did nothing.”

  She gives me a pleasurable look. “We will see.” She stretches out the knife towards my neck. “Are you sure?”

  I swallow; panic and fear start to rise. I really don’t know what happened. “I pushed you away.” I say quickly and she looks at me with a tilt of her head again, studying my features. “Do I know you?”

  I drop my head. “No, my lady,” I say.

  “Look at me while I speak to you.”

  I look at her ice-cold eyes and recognition flashes across her face. She strikes out with the dagger but freezes just as it is a hair’s breadth away from my neck. Sweat drips from my forehead onto my cheek. She pushes the dagger with all her force, but it won’t move. The dagger is ripped from her hand by a force I can’t see and slides across the floor. The silence in the room is filled with her laughter.

  “Sarajane, welcome,” she says with a psychotic smile on her face. “I should have known it was you.” Her face turns into a snarl and then she returns to her throne. “I have been waiting for you,” she says.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  SARAJANE

  My eyes dart to the guards who step closer to me. I return my focus to the queen.“Where is my sister?”

  She ignores my question. The guards around the room close in even further, but Bellona holds up her hand and they stop. “Life is full of hard decisions. Sometimes they are made for us.” She shrugs her shoulders slightly. If I’d blinked, I would have missed the motion. “And sometimes we must make them ourselves. Would you not agree, Sarajane?”

  I don’t know where she’s going with this so I just remain silent. She takes my silence as whatever answer she wanted.

  “My son was struck down too young.” Her eyes grow colder, which I didn’t think was possible. “A life, what is it worth?”

  I squirm under her stare but straighten my shoulders. “Bellona, your son tried to kill me,” I say in the strongest voice I can muster up.

  Her roar silences the room. “Enough. I will not listen to your lies.” She composes herself into a statue-like stance while wiping spit from her chin. “It does not matter. He is dead. I would kill you if I could, but I gave an oath not to harm you.”

  Relief fills me briefly.

  “So you are free to go.”

  My muscles tense. She will kill Jessica.

  Her lip rises ever so slightly and then falls back into its hard, straight line. Fear rushes through me. “Do you like games, Sarajane?”

  I answer with an abrupt no.

  The queen moves towards me. “Pity, because I have one for you, but you don’t have to play it.” She circles around me, making the tension in my body increase. My palms are slick with sweat. “In Saskia if we give our word we must stick to it. So I will tell you where your sister is if you tell me who killed my son.”

  I’m tracking her as she moves around me. It surprises me that she doesn’t know who killed her son. Did it really matter to me if she found out Morrick killed her son? Not really, as long as I got my sister back it didn’t matter.

  “You first,” I tell her and she stops walking, I swallow when she narrows her gaze on me. I was going first then.

  “You have my word that I will tell you who killed your son Clive.” Her nose flairs at my words and she nods her head. I slowly stand, not liking being at a disadvantage on my knees. She doesn’t stop me and the guards don’t come any closer.

  “Morrick killed Clive.”

  It’s a fleeting moment of surprise before she nods. “He took his own son’s life.” She whispers and within her small words I can hear her pain.

  “Im sorry,” I say and her head snaps up to mine. She isn’t looking at me with the same disdain as she did before.

  “Sorry for what Sarajane?”

  “Sorry for what Morrick and my mother have done to you.” In her eyes there is a flicker of something, I hope its humanity. I hope she can see that myself and my sister aren’t the bad ones in this. I don’t want anyone harmed but Jessica most certainly shouldn’t be.

  Her soft laughter surprises me. “Your illusions of what? A king leaving his queen for a secret lover are incorrect. I married out of duty, I gave Morrick his heir to the throne out of duty. He struck Clive down and I won’t be gifting him anymore heirs. I knew of Marta, I knew of Morrick’s silly notions of love, but that doesn’t make them innocent in this. Morrick has freely shown his love for Marta and disrespected the crown that was given to him.”

  The coldness seeps back into her eyes and she waves at me as if I am dismissed. She sits back on her throne before she looks at me.

  “In the forest of Eden, south of the Amour Caves, there is a small hut where two guards hold a young lady.”

  My heart rate quickens.

  “You have two days and then your time is up. The thread of life shall be cut.”

  I want to kill
her and my voice makes it clear how I feel. “If you harm my sister…”

  Bellona stares at me and her guards move closer. “What will you do, Sarajane? Your time has started; you have two days to rescue her, so I suggest you leave.”

  I don’t understand why she is giving me time. I tell my feet to move and they obey.

  “But you also have another choice.”

  I turn back to her. “It will take two days to leave Saskia and cross to the mortal world where your father John is being held by guards. So you choose who lives and who dies.”

  Angry tears blur my vision. “Why? They’ve done nothing wrong. I gave my word that I would tell you who killed Clive and I did.” My nails dig into my palms as I try to control my anger.

  “Yes. I also gave my word that I would tell you where your sister is, and I did. Life is not fair. I realised that when you took my innocent son’s life. So I am being rather kind telling you in advance. You must show up to the forest or the mortal realm. No one else can stop this. The guards must see you.” This time when she rises she moves towards a side door and the guards follow close behind her. She glances at me over her shoulder with nothing human in her eyes.

  I stand frozen only for a second and then my limbs catch up with my brain and I run from the room. I retrace my steps as best as I can. I’m lucky this time as I make my way up the hall that I had originally been on. The door to the storage room is ajar and my heart pounds as I move to it and pull it open. Glancing inside I don’t see any sign of the man I had tied up. Going back out through the kitchen is my only option. Walking through the main doors would attract too much attention.

  I slip into the kitchen and move quickly. A few heads turn towards me, no one says a word and I find myself back outside in the alley. My heart pounds to each fast step I take as I walk up the side of the castle and don’t breathe until I’m mixed in with the crowd and making my way back up the hill towards the mountain.

  The further I go the quieter it gets and the louder my thoughts become. My stomach twists when I think of Jessica terrified. Is she crying wondering what’s happening? Was she hurt while being brought here? Did she go through the wall of fire? Does she know me and mum are here? I swallow and try to focus on my surroundings again. I make it to the outskirts and close to what looks like a graveyard I see someone. I freeze but the man just stands still, his hand on the reins of a large grey horse. I try not to stare as I pass him.

  “Sarajane,” he whispers.

  I stop walking my head snaps up.

  “I am Dominic, a friend of your mother. The horse has water and food in the side packs.” I didn’t know if he was lying or not, I know nothing of my mothers past. But the fact he was standing here waiting for me felt a little too much like a trap.

  “Corona, my wife, works in the castle and she overheard you and the queen.” He stretches out the reins towards me. I stare at it, but if I’m to get to Jessica, I won’t make it on no food. I take the reins from him slowly.

  “Tell Marta that we said hi.” Then he lowers his head. “And sorry.”

  I don’t ask why he is saying sorry. Instead I climb up on the horse, I’m still looking at Dominic with suspicion but there is no reason to doubt him. He sounds sincere and giving me a horse couldn’t be a trap unless the horse turns into a fire-breathing dragon or something. I turn the horse away from Saskia and towards the mountains.

  “Thank you, Dominic,” I say and he nods at me as I kick the horse and make my way towards the mountains. I stop before entering, retrieving my cloak that still lays under the rock and tying it around my neck. My body shakes with adrenaline. I have no idea how to get to Eden Forest, but I have to try. I take a steady breath and make my way through the passage in the mountain. I’m praying that I don’t meet the exiles and if I do, I hope Carew is with them and that he gives me safe passage again, ,but something is telling me that I never want to meet him again. I don’t think he will be as kind the second time.

  I’m not far in when I can hear the hooves of horses coming in my direction. I pull on the horse’s reins, directing him into an indent in the mountainside, hoping the shadows will give me enough cover. As the voices get closer, they become clearer. I can make out Neve’s and Kiar’s voices, something in me sighs. It isn’t their usual banter; if anything, they sound worried. I pull the reins gesturing for the horse to move out, I can’t do this alone and I would rather have them with me.

  Mirium, Morrick, Tristan, Liber, Neve and Kiar stare back at me. Big, relieved grins appear on Neve’s and Kiar’s faces. It’s nice to see they care, I can’t help but shift as Tristan rides up alongside my horse. He clenches his hands into fists as he moves the horse towards me, his eyes tell the truth. He’s livid. “You.” He clenches his jaw, unable to find any words that can match how he is feeling, but it doesn’t come close to how I’m feeling.

  “She has my sister, but you knew that Tristan,” I tell him, my own anger rising. I’m shaking my head as I speak, the horse shifts under me causing his horse to move but we both settle them again.

  “Then where is she?” Tristan questions, but his words are uncaring, his annoyance filling his words and I can’t look at him.

  I turn from him and face Morrick. “She has her in the forest of Eden, held by two guards. I have two days to rescue her.” I tell him, he is the one here with the power, the one who actually might be able to help me.

  Morrick tuts. “Her stupid games.” He lets out a heavy breath. “Fine. Liber, escort Sarajane back to Aquaterra.” Morrick cuts off my protests. “We will get her.”

  As if he cares, but I rein in my anger. There was no point telling him what I thought. Right now Jessica was all that mattered.

  “You can’t. I have to show my face to the guards or they kill her.”

  Morrick looks to Mirium for inspiration.

  “I do not know the outcome, but I feel the truth in her words.” Mirium’s soft-spoken words have me looking away from him. I liked Mirium. I was even fond of him, and he knew and didn’t say a thing.

  Morrick’s face darkens. “It is too dangerous.”

  “She’s my sister; I will save her. I’m not asking for your permission, Morrick,” They will have to tie me up before I walk away from this.

  Neve and Kiar look alarmed at my tone toward their king. I know I’ve maybe gone too far, so I soften my voice and grit my teeth. “I need your help, please.” Please doesn’t sound very convincing and when Morrick doesn’t reply, I look at Tristan now, hoping he will do this one thing for me.

  Tristan is observing me, his jaw still tightly clenched. “And if we do not help, Sarajane, will you come back to Aquaterra with us?” he asks the stupid question.

  “No, I will get her myself.”

  He looks back at Morrick and then returns his hard gaze to me. “I thought as much. Okay, we will help.”

  Relief courses through my body. I knew I couldn’t do this alone, but Tristan isn’t finished. “If you disobey me again, I promise you will regret it. Understand?”

  I still have to tell them about John. I can’t save both. My voice sounds drained when I speak. “She has my father too.” I direct this to Morrick, praying to God my words hurt him. “He is being held in the mortal world, so I have to choose between my sister and my father.”

  Morrick stares at me with icy eyes, picking up on the emphasis I put on the word father, but it isn’t a lie. He reared me as his own, loved me. He was everything a father should be.

  Mirium has a faraway look on his face and then he snaps out of it. “Morrick, you must go with Sarajane and help her sister. I will go to the mortal world for her father.” He hesitates on the last word.

  “Mirium, it is only my face that can save him.”

  Mirium moves to the opposite side of me, his grey eyes full of wisdom and kindness. “Do you trust me?”

  I haven’t known Mirium long, but I do trust him. “Yes.”

  He smiles gently. “I will go to the mortal world and do my best to save h
im.”

  I just nod. It seems impossible if I’m not with him, but I focus my mind on Jessica. Before leaving, Mirium turns to Tristan, “Aim high.”

  Tristan nods as if he understands what Mirium means. Maybe he does. Liber leaves with Mirium and the rest of us take off with Tristan leading in silence.

  After an hour’s riding, Tristan speaks.

  “What is the exact location?”

  I meet Tristan’s unattached gaze. “South of the Amour Caves. There’s a hut in Eden Forest.”

  Tristan gives me a curt nod and we start moving again.

  “Will it take two days to reach Eden Forest?” I ask Neve as he rides just a little up ahead of me.

  “A day, but it is a forest and we are looking for a hut so that will take time.”

  “Not if we split up,” I say.

  Tristan stops abruptly and turns his horse to face me. “For once, do as you are told. No one is splitting up.”

  My cheeks light up with rage. How dare he!

  “I am future king and you will obey me, Sarajane Anderson.” He whips the horse back around and continues riding, his back stiff with anger. We follow. I am breathing heavy with my own anger. Neve chuckles beside me. It is quiet enough so that only I can hear.

  “What’s so funny?” I don’t like being laughed at.

  He clears his throat. “Nothing is funny.”

  He moves a little ahead, out of my line of vision. I could bet my life a grin is still plastered on his skinny face.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  SARAJANE

  After a few hours of travelling, I start to feel exhausted. It has been a day and a half since I’ve slept or eaten and it’s catching up on me.