by Emma Merrell
Some signal unseen to Luce brought an end to their staring contest and Jonathan turned to Luce with regret written all over his face. "Come. I will return you to safety."
He offered his hand and as she took it, Luce realized that hers was shaking. In fact, there was a fine tremor running throughout her entire body. It wasn't surprising considering the shifting sands that she had just been on and she didn't bother trying to hide it from Jonathan. At this point, Luce was willing to use any advantage she had in currying favor with him. She knew now, for a fact, that the only way she and Jude ever had a chance of getting out of here alive was by her becoming Jonathan's number one girl. She hated the practicality of it, but it wasn't her fault that she had been brought here and forced into this situation. Now she was just going to have to make the best of it.
As soon as they were clear of Norrick, Luce asked the number one question that was burning a hole in her brain. "Is my brother going to be alright?"
Jonathan gave a shrug. "Alright is a relative term, but he will be alive. The pit is the worst place that exists for criminals in our kingdom, some have died there, but it was the only way that I could save your brother's life. You are lucky that Norrick relented even that much."
"Will he have to go to Prince Norrick again once he's released?"
"No. I'll make certain of it. Digging latrines is one of our least pleasant jobs but it will keep your brother as far removed from mine as is humanly possible."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
The prince gave a bitter smile. "I don't know what it is that you are thanking me for. Being sold to my mother and brought here against your will? Being harassed by my brother?"
Luce turned her head sharply. It was the closest anyone had come to an apology for her situation, and it was certainly more than she had ever expected from Jonathan. She wondered at this new and open side of him, and why he was showing it to her now. She bet that not many others had seen it and she pressed her advantage. "Why did you help us, Your Highness?"
He walked a bit before he gave an answer as if he needed a moment to consider it for himself. "This has been happening for a long time, my mother bringing me girls like you. It's not my choice, I refuse every one of that is brought to me, but still she won't stop. It is normally easy to stay distant, but never has a girl come with a loved one before. It makes a difference. I can see the pain and love in your eyes when you speak of him, and it makes me feel guilty. Saving him was probably more about assuaging my guilt than it was about him."
"Is it common for Prince Norrick to poach your girls?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but I believe so. We each have our own networks of servants and guards that keep our secrets. I'm sure that it is easy for him to sneak a girl out every now and again."
Luce was sure that the next question was going to cross the line, but she asked anyway. "Does it bother you?"
"Not particularly. I meet most of the girls only once and I have no attachments to any of them, save a handful."
That was a much colder response than Luce had expected. She had forgotten for a few moments exactly who he was. This was a prince, who had been raised from birth to treat servants, guards, and girls in a certain way. Of course, he didn't concern himself emotionally with any of them.
"Of course, Your Highness. That was a silly question."
Jonathan jerked her to a stop, and she realized with a shock that she had never let go of his hand. His jaw was set, but his luminous green eyes had softened. When he spoke, his voice was firm. "I am giving you the wrong impression. I do not mean to say that I am some uncaring monster. If I choose to remain unattached it is for their benefit far more than mine."
"I don't understand."
"I know, and hopefully you never will. I do not want you to think that I am callous, that I do not care if my brother violates them. Most who go to him are glad of it once they realize that they will never see me again, and I do not think that he treats any of them the way that he treated you. That was all for the benefit of your brother. Mine prefers to be cruel only when he has an audience."
"He was. I don't like to think about what would have happened if you hadn't come when you did."
"I'm sorry for him. That was unacceptable behavior." Jonathan paused, fighting with himself for a moment it seemed. "Before I arrived, he hadn't touched you in any way, had he?"
Luce shook her head. "No, but he looked, I'm sure you saw." The words were harder for her to get out that she thought they would be. Each one made her hot with shame, and then angry for having that feeling.
"I would not have chosen to see you that way." He reached out to touch her hair and Luce stood stock-still, afraid to move. "You've lost your hairpins."
Luce said nothing, and the prince seemed to give himself a shake. He tugged on her hand and they resumed walking, silent now until they reached the gates. Little Mother was waiting for her, and she curtseyed low to Jonathan as they approached.
"Rise."
"Your Highness, may I be of service?"
"Yes. If any guard or servant that doesn't belong to me comes for Luce, turn them away and send word to me immediately. She is to leave this gate only with myself or one of mine."
"Of course, Your Highness."
Satisfied, Jonathan turned to Luce. "You will accompany me next week on a picnic, it will be my way of making amends."
"Yes, Your Highness. It would be my honor."
Seeing that he was readying himself to leave, Luce dropped into a curtsey.
"Rise."
He had barely let her touch the ground before calling her up again, and Luce knew it was another subtle way of expressing his apologies. He inclined his head to her briefly and turned to walk away. She and Little Mother watched until he was gone and then Luce was bustled into the courtyard.
"Well, I don't know where you've been or what you were doing to get yourself looking like such a mess, but I guess it doesn't matter. You're a very lucky girl to get an invitation from his highness."
Luce struggled to keep pace with the old woman as she led her briskly to the wardrobe room. "Out of those clothes before you ruin them. I can see that you've lost your hairpins."
Luce felt like she was being chastised and she bristled, hadn't she been through enough today? She held her tongue as she changed into a simpler dress and shoes, hoping to be done with Little Mother as soon as possible. She caught a glimpse of herself in the polished brass mirror and was shocked at how she looked. Eyeliner was smudged over her cheeks where she had wiped away her tears and her nose and lips were bright red and swollen from crying. How she had managed to get a date with the prince when she looked like that Luce would never know.
"Am I dismissed, Little Mother?"
"Yes. Rest, eat lunch, and then return here to help sew a new hairnet to replace the one that you lost."
Unfair, but Luce simply bowed out and sought the sanctuary of her room. Which, as it turned out, was no sanctuary at all. Marianne pounced on her as soon as she walked through the doorway. "Where have you been all morning?"
As unpleasant as her day had been, Luce couldn't resist rubbing it in Marianne's face. She didn't need to know how terrible things had been. "With their Highnesses, Prince Norrick and Prince Jonathan."
Marianne's blue-gray eyes widened momentarily in shock before she narrowed them in anger. "Prince Norrick?"
"Yes, he was very curious about me. I've heard that it's not uncommon for him to summon the girls. Have you never been called to him?"
"Of course, I have."
"Oh, well then. I guess you know what I've been doing all morning."
It was a huge blow and Luce knew it. She had hit Marianne right where she lived. It appeared that Marianne was working over both princes and wanted to be the only one with that distinction. Luce took a savage pleasure in taking down her target. These catty girl games may have been stupid, but Luce was good at playing them.
"Anyway, I'm exhausted now. Little Mother told me to rest up so that I hav
e steady sewing fingers."
"We aren't practicing our sewing today. It's music and dance lessons after lunch."
"Oh, I know, but I left my hairnet in Norrick's chambers and she's making me replace it with a new one."
Marianne's pale skin was slowly bleeding to scarlet as Luce got the better of her. If only she knew how badly Luce was spinning what had occurred.
Diana piped in from her bed, where she was lounging. "You said that you saw Jonathan too?"
"Yes, his Highness caught me with his brother and walked me back here. I think he may have been a little jealous."
Marianne gave a derisive snicker. "Jealous over you? I doubt it."
"If he wasn't jealous than I wonder why he invited me to a picnic with him next week?"
Marianne curled her lip and dropped all pretense. "You really want to do this thing don't you?"
"Do your worst, bitch."
"Believe me, I will. You don't know what you've just started, but you'll find out soon. Diana?"
Marianne tried staring Luce down while she waited for her friend, but Luce didn't back down. The two shoved past her as they left the room and Luce allowed herself a smile. She had won that round.
"Luce? That was amazing! I've never seen anyone do that to her. Is all of what you said true?"
Luce was startled by Catherine's voice. She hadn't noticed her sitting in the corner the entire time. Damn that girl was good at not being seen. "It was mostly true."
"Are you really seeing Prince Jonathan soon?"
"Yes."
Luce made for her bed as she talked. She really was exhausted after all that she had been through that day. Catherine brought her up short though. "Don't. They rubbed hyacinth bulbs all over your bed, it'll give you a bad rash if you touch it."
Luce sighed, frustrated but not entirely shocked. "Can I lay in your bed? I am dying for a nap."
"Yeah, it's all yours. I was getting ready to go for an early lunch anyway. You promise to tell me everything later?"
"Sure."
Once Catherine was gone, she collapsed gratefully. The tears came easily, now that she had a chance to break down. She had come extraordinarily close to losing Jude today and it had terrified her. He was all that she had left in the world and she knew that she wouldn't be able to stand the loss of another family member. She prayed that he would make it out of the pit alright, and she wondered if maybe she could talk Petunia into helping him out somehow. She would do, had to do, whatever it took to make sure he was alright. If it meant playing the game than she would play it better than she ever had. Just so long as she didn't lose him.
Luce fell into a fitful rest, haunted by dreams of her parents and Jude's grave beside them.
Chapter Nine
Jude
The Pit. It was worse than Jude had imagined. He had no idea how long he had been down here, but he would have guessed maybe three days. The passage of time was impossible to gauge. It was always pitch black and he found himself sleeping a lot. The pit was, indeed, a pit. He had gotten a look before they threw him down, it was dug about ten feet into the earth, and was maybe six feet by six feet. The top had been covered with a heavy wooden plank that Jude couldn't have moved even if he had tried. There was just enough room for him to stretch out fully, but the ground was lumpy and cold. It seeped out all the warmth from his body as he slept, and he would often wake up shivering.
A couple of times a small flap had been opened in the wood above and a bucket of water lowered down. They had not yet brought him any food and Jude were growing very weak. He had dug a couple of holes in a corner to use as toilets to be sanitary, but the smell from them sickened him. His own body was even giving off a ripe aroma that only added to the mix. But worse than any of those things, was the loneliness.
He had tried to keep himself busy with mental exercises at first, but he had long since given up. Now his mind wandered where it pleased and that wasn't always a pleasant thing. There was lots of guilt rising to the surface. Guilt over his stupidity in launching himself at Norrick, over not being the one that had found mom and dad, over not being able to be mom and dad. His one job in the universe was to protect his baby sister, his parents had told him so when he was a little boy and he was failing dismally. He found himself praying to them for protection.
He was in such rough shape, that by the next time the flap in the wood opened, he didn't even bother getting up for his water bucket. But then his eyed widened in the dim light coming from the opening because it wasn't a water bucket, but a bundle of bags. What in the world? He crawled forward and untied them with shaky hands, grateful that the ties hadn't been bound too securely. As soon as they were loosed the rope was pulled back up, but the flap didn't shut. Instead, there were a tremendous amount of scuffling noises and then a giant iron spike was hammered into the wood above his head. His eyes widened in utter shock at what came down next. It was Petunia, descending the rope with a little lantern hanging from her arm. That was it, he must have gone crazy.
"No, Jude, not crazy," she whispered, settling to her feet and releasing the rope. "Sorry, I don't mean to overhear, but you are projecting quite clearly."
"What are you doing here?" Jude was appalled at the sound of his own voice. It was rough and broken, barely a wheeze.
Petunia spoke as she set down the lantern and rummaged in the bags, "Let's get you fixed up before we get to any of that." She found what she was looking for and came forward with a water skin in her hands.
Jude unplugged it and immediately began downing the contents. It took him a couple of moments to realize that it wasn't just plain water. "What's in here?"
"Some medicinal herbs, they will help to make you strong and healthy again. I also have some food if you think that you are ready to eat something."
Jude nodded eagerly, and she handed him a bag of dried meat strips. "You should go slowly with those."
They were silent for a while as he drank and carefully nibbled on a few cuts of meat. He felt the strength returning to his body little by little, and the fogginess that had pervaded through his mind was lifting. Thank the Gods for this girl and whatever reason she had for helping him like this.
"I have a few other things for you. A blanket, fresh clothes, a dagger, flint, and more food and water."
Jude practically groaned when he heard her say blanket. "Thank you."
"Of course."
"So why are you here? Why risk coming to me like this?"
"It is not a huge risk, no one comes out here to watch over the pit. They only ride out to bring you water every other day."
She was probably right about that. It had been a solid fifteen-minute ride out to the middle of nowhere where the pit had been dug. "You're sure?"
"Oh, yes. You are lucky they remember that you are here at all. People have died out here, completely forgotten until it was time to bring out the next victim. Of course, you are more special than most."
"That’s me, super freaking special."
Petunia gave him a ghost of a smile. "As for why I am here, that might take a while to explain. Do you know the legend of our kingdom? Beyond the fact that we are cursed to be barren?"
Jude shook his head, there hadn't really been an opportunity for storytelling in the time that he had been there.
"Well, a few decades ago there was a sorceress queen named Leona and she was married to her true love, King Carnley. They ruled together happily and successfully for a handful of years, but in all that time she bore the king no babes. The king grew frustrated with her and began having an affair with her younger sister, Anne."
"As in your current Queen Anne?"
"One and the same. She had such powerful sway over him that she convinced him to divorce Leona claiming she had borne him no heirs. He married Anne once the divorce was final and she fell pregnant almost immediately. Leona fled the kingdom, completely heartbroken and humiliated. No one heard from her for a very long time, in which the queen gave birth to a son and became pregnant with anot
her."
"Norrick and Jonathan."
Petunia nodded. "It seemed like everything was going perfectly, until one day Leona came back with vengeance in her heart. She murdered King Carnley at dinner and cursed the entire kingdom to be barren. Once again, she vanished into the night. The curse was effective, covering everyone in the kingdom, save one. The unborn prince, the one person not actually living in the world when it was cast. Years went by and no babies were born. The kingdom began languishing and the people grew restive, but Queen Anne had a plan."
"The girls?"
"Yes. There had not been a girl’s court in existence for over a hundred years, but the queen decided it was time for that to change and she began stealing and buying girls from lands near and far. Of course, only the most beautiful ones were chosen to try and tempt the prince. He disagreed with what she was doing, but in the end, he fell in love with a girl named Laura. They conceived, but she and the baby died in childbirth, and the curse lived on. After losing them, Prince Jonathan was hesitant to get another girl pregnant, he believed that the curse would kill any baby that he tried to bring into the world. The queen isn't giving up, of course, but he hasn't wavered either."
"I appreciate the history lesson Petunia, but what does any of this have to do with you being here?"
"It all has to do with Leona. After she got revenge, she found a new home with the people who dwell in the mountain ranges. They are fierce and independent, abhorring all sorcery and hating Queen Anne and everything that she stands for. Leona told them her story but swore to them that she would never use sorcery again. And then she swore them to secrecy about her very existence. The queen has no idea where her sister is, or how close she is to striking another blow. Over the years she convinced them to form a rebel army. To prepare for a day that they would march on the palace and overthrow the queen. They believe that with Queen Anne dead and magic banished from the kingdom, that the babies will come again. Their daughters will be safe.
"My uncle is part of this rebellion, the leader of the mountain tribes. And I am his spy here in the palace walls. I came here tonight to offer you a place with them."