by Emma Merrell
Jude shook his head back in forth, not in the negative, he just couldn't believe what she had just told him. It was no wonder that she had seemed like the friendliest person in the palace, as she was the only one not in the system. Jude looked at Petunia in a whole new light. He had always thought she was kind and pretty, but a spy? That was kind of sexy.
"How?"
"I have told him a little bit about you as I keep him abreast of any significant happenings. I told him that you were reticent and angry, and he said that sounded perfect. I will need a couple of days, but I can return to you with supplies and help you escape. I'll draw you a map to the foothills where a member of the resistance will meet with you and take you the rest of the way."
"Why me?"
"Because if anyone has ever wanted to see the queen punished for the things that she does, I believe it is you. It is the best chance you have of freeing your sister as well. Also, I'm not entirely sure that Prince Norrick won't arrange for an accident to happen to you while you are in here."
"That's a scary thought. So that's why you've taken such an interest in me?"
"It is."
Jude was quite for a while, considering all that she had just told him, but there was only one decision to be made. If there was a chance that the rebels could topple the royal family and he could free Luce, there was nothing else to be done. This was the chance he had been waiting for. In the palace walls, there was nothing that he could do, especially not if he really were going to be digging latrines. She was giving him an opportunity on a silver platter and he was not stupid enough to turn it down.
"You've got another man for the cause."
Petunia's teeth flashed white in the dim light of the lantern. "I knew it. From the first moment I met you I knew that you were a fighter."
"Nobody messes with me and Luce."
"I should go, I've been here too long already. But you remember how to contact me right?"
"Think your name three times?"
"That's it. I will let my uncle know and we will begin the preparations."
She rose to her feet and Jude could see that she was getting ready to scale the rope. Before she left, he had one last thing to ask. "Will this get you in trouble? Or Luce?"
Petunia hesitated briefly. "I will be fine. I am trusted above all other place servants and the queen would never suspect me. Your sister...I hope that the queen does not take your escape out on her. I will do my best to watch over her though, and I promise that the queen would never do anything too drastic to any of the girls. They are too valuable."
"I guess there is no reward without a little bit of risk. I'll be waiting for you."
Chapter Ten
Luce
"So, do you have any idea what I should expect on this picnic?" Luce asked Catherine as the lounged in the bathing pool.
"Not from personal experience, but he's taken Marianne and I'm sure you can imagine how she gloated over that."
"Tell me."
Catherine rolled over to float on her belly and flicked her red curls over her shoulder. "She said that they rode horses out into the forest to a clearing, not too far but far enough to be private. He had a huge tent set up, and she said it was super luxurious, of course. They ate and drank, and the prince even had a musician serenade them."
"And?"
Catherine shrugged. "And then she told us that the rest of the night was private, and a good girl doesn't kiss and tell."
Luce gave a huge roll of her eyes. "If he is so romantic with her, and she is the only one that he sees-"
"Until now."
Luce allowed a small smile but continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Then why isn't she pregnant yet?"
Catherine bit her lip, and from the look on her face, Luce knew that she had a huge secret that was just dying to come out of her. Luce spoke in the lowest voice possible, "Spill. I can see that you're dying to."
"Well, I was in our room one night, pretending to be asleep so that they'd leave me alone. Diana and Marianne were whispering together, and I could just barely hear them. But I heard enough, and there was enough giggling, to know that they were talking about sex. Marianne admitted that the prince flat out refused to have sex with her, despite many offers on her part. She said that he allowed other things to happen between them, you know oral pleasure and the like, but no sex ever."
"Why? That's crazy. What's the point of having all of us if you're not going to...indulge?"
"I don't know. He's kind of odd all around though about us. It drives Marianne nuts that he won't give in to her."
"I bet. If she could just get that baby in her belly, she would be the queen of the castle."
"Maybe you'll get the baby instead, he's taken an interest in you. And then think of the leverage you would have to help your brother."
"Believe me. I don't think of much else."
And that was true. Throughout the rest of the morning, as she was being primped, he was never far from her mind. She was distracted throughout the whole makeup session and only clicked back in when she went to be dressed. The seamstress was there, of course, an overweight woman with a bawdy disposition that Luce rather liked. They had gotten to know each other more over the sewing of a new hairnet. And then also in the room was Marianne, and Luce immediately went on guard. She was up to something.
"Come, come. We don't have a second to spare if we want to fit you properly in riding attire."
Unabashed, Luce stripped off her simple robe and stepped onto the little stool where the girls were fit. A creamy, softly draped gown was held forward and Luce stepped in. The seamstress rapidly pinned her, and Marianne came forward with a needle and thread to begin making the needed alterations. It took everything that Luce had not to flinch away from that girl with a needle in her hands, but surprisingly she didn't attempt to prick her.
"I need you to work faster girl," the seamstress said, and then bent suddenly forward to look closer at Marianne's handiwork. "A running stitch, what are you thinking, ridiculous girl? This is supposed to have a tight backstitch to hold up under the pressures of riding. You'll have to take this all out and start over again."
"I'm so sorry, I didn't realize Ma'am."
But Luce had been watching Marianne's expression and she seemed like she wasn't sorry at all. The seamstress began working in tandem with Marianne, trying to get Luce finished on time. It was a long process, and Luce's legs always got restless about halfway through, but she tried to remain as still as possible. But the time the seamstress had finished Luce's right side, Marianne was only just finishing up with her sleeve.
"Damn it, girl, you are going to make her late for his highness. Faster."
Marianne's fingers began working at a much quicker pace, but she grew careless and the needle went straight through and stabbed Luce. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said with a mocking lilt to her voice.
It had been no accident Luce was sure. She watched as a little red bead soaked through the fabric where Marianne had gotten her. "Ma'am? There's some blood."
The seamstress gave a heavy sigh and moved to examine it. "Well, there's no time to change these out now. I'll just have to make an embellishment to put over it. You do have a knack for ruining every piece of clothing we put you in."
"Not every piece," Luce protested. "Only two so far. And I didn't ruin this one."
Marianne rose to her feet to begin work on her top and shot Luce a glare. "I said I was sorry. I guess I'm just not used to working on bodies like yours. I normally have so much more room in the fabric to work with."
The insult fell flat, Luce knew that was she had a fantastic body. "Just watch what you're doing, all right?"
Marianne finished the sleeve with no further slip-ups, and the seamstress had managed to create a flower out of fabric that was sewn on over the drop of blood. They threw some jewelry on her and Luce was ready to go. She slipped on a pair of shoes and ran for it, understanding that she was right on the edge of being late. She saw it a moment before
she hit it, but too late to stop her forward motion. It appeared that one of the lamps lining the courtyard was leaking oil all over the marble floors. There was a huge slick and before she knew it, her feet flew out from underneath her and she fell painfully to the ground. Her tail bone hit first, followed by her elbows and lastly, her head.
Luce had never seen stars before and had been sure that it was just a saying, up until that very moment. The pain was all-consuming, and her breath was stolen away completely. It took her a moment before she even managed to allow a wail of pain to escape. Tears were stinging her eyes and she was breathing too fast. Damn if it didn't hurt worse than anything else, she had ever felt.
There were footsteps and then people kneeling around her. She opened her eyes and saw the seamstress, Marianne, and some of the other girls gathered around. It took her muddled brain a split second to figure out what had happened from the smug expression on Marianne's face. This had been a setup. Marianne had let out the lamp oil, and then purposely made her late so that she would run right into it. The girl wasn't playing around.
"Luce? Are you all right?"
"I'm not sure, Ma'am. My head..."
She felt the seamstress’s hand go to the back of her head, and she almost fainted when they found the spot where she had hit it. "Yes, this is a nasty bump. Where else?"
"My tailbone and my elbows."
The seamstress tried to move her into sitting position, but the pain was immediate, and Luce laid back down gasping. "I can't."
"We need to fetch a healer."
Luce protested, "There's no time."
"There's no other way, girl. You cannot meet the prince in this condition." She turned away and addressed a couple of servant girls that were hovering on the fringes. "If the prince is at the gate, inform him that Luce has been injured and that you are summoning a healer. Give our deepest apologies for making him wait. If he is not yet there, one of you wait and the other fetch the healer. Go now."
Luce gave in to the plan and let herself sink into her pain. It was not good. Her elbows and tailbone were throbbing, and her head swam sickeningly every time that she moved it even a little. She wondered if she had broken anything, and she knew it was likely that she had a concussion. Marianne had really done her job.
She began dozing in and out, waiting for the healer to arrive. The urge to vomit was growing stronger with every second that passed. Her body began to shake, and she felt like the temperature had just dropped twenty degrees. The world swam when she opened her eyes. Luce was in very bad shape. It wouldn't have been crazy to think that maybe Marianne had been trying to do more than just delay her with that little trick.
There were new voices coming near, and one of them was distinctly male. Luce opened her eyes and fought against the blur. She could just make out Prince Jonathan before she had to shut her eyelids against the world.
"Your Highness-," a chorus of voices began.
"Enough, we don't have time to waste with that now. Everyone out, we need the room."
"What happened?" asked a feminine voice.
"She must have slipped. She hurt her head and her tailbone. Will she be okay?" Luce could hardly believe that those words had just left Marianne's mouth and in that tone of voice.
The healer didn't answer immediately but began moving her hands over the injured areas on Luce's body. "Her tailbone is fractured, her elbows are badly bruised, and she has a minor concussion. Now I need silence."
Luce hadn't been awake last time that this had been done to her, so it was all a new experience. Wherever the healer touched there was a sensation of warmth that melted the sharp edges of the pain away. Luce sighed involuntarily in relief. It was the most wonderful sensation. She felt like she was being encased in the fluffiest blanket imaginable. Her nausea fled, the sickening spin inside of her head stopped, and she found herself able to think clearly once again. She opened her eyes cautiously, just as the healer was pulling away. The whole process had taken maybe five minutes.
"You will still be sore, but there is nothing broken any longer and no more danger in your head."
Luce nodded at the healer to show that she understood. The woman stood on shaky feet and a guard helped her away. Her eyes met Jonathan's and he read her concern, "She will be alright, the healing just weakens her for a while. Let's get you somewhere comfortable, and quiet."
He turned to one of his guards. "Carry her to the jewel-box room."
The guard gave a nod and lifted Luce as if she weighed nothing. Over his shoulder, she saw Marianne, and she looked pissed. Her plan had backfired. Instead of making her late, and upsetting Jonathan, she had managed to give Luce all the prince's sympathy and attention. He was trailing behind his guard and Luce spotted Marianne trying to give the prince a good-bye wave. He either ignored her or didn't see her, as he just kept walking.
Luce began to feel a bit ridiculous being carried around, she felt a million times better than she had just minutes ago, and she figured that she could probably walk on her own. Still, it wouldn't hurt to garner some extra sympathy points with the prince. Besides, she was distracted because they had come to the second courtyard, the one reserved for the prince to entertain his concubines. She was carried past the grand entertaining room and the small dining area where she had eaten her first meal with the prince. They came to the last entryway in the courtyard, and it was one Luce had not seen yet.
She was carried into what seemed to be a sitting room of some kind, with velvet cushions strewn about and a firepit sitting in the middle of the floor. There was even a small dipping pool in one corner of the room. Luce was getting a distinctly sexy vibe from this place and she had a feeling that this set of rooms was supposed to be used for a certain purpose. A curtain in the back led into a bedroom and Luce's suspicion was confirmed. There was absolutely no way that this place wasn't built expressly for sex.
To start off, the bed was enormous and draped in more fabrics and pillows than Luce had ever seen. There were lanterns all about the room, with light flickering through the jewels that encrusted them. Soft looking rugs covered every inch of the floors.
She was set gently on the bed and the guard moved away to stand unobtrusively by the door. A couple of servants bustled through not a moment later and began to lay out a feast of things on a low table at the foot of the bed. They poured Luce what appeared to be a goblet of wine and then they seemed to vanish as well. When they were seemingly alone Jonathan, at last, came forward and took a seat in a chair that was by the bed. "I am sorry that you were injured."
"I'm all right, thanks to your healer. I wish they had those back in my village."
"They do not?"
"No. I mean we have healers, but they have no magic and the pain doesn't always go away when they fix what's wrong."
He nodded seriously. "I am sorry for your people."
Luce couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips. "I'm sorry to ruin your picnic. Gods, we just seem to keep throwing that word back and forth, don't we?"
"We do. Do not worry about the picnic, it was meant to make amends and now look at what has happened."
Luce raised her goblet and took a large gulp. The wine was delicious, especially as it was the first drink that she had consumed in a long while. She raised the glass to her lips a couple more times and the last edges of her headache slipped away. "Maybe we can reschedule."
"Of course. Are you hungry? Can I have a plate made up for you?"
As soon as he asked her, Luce realized that she was indeed starving and nodded. Once they started getting her ready there was no stopping to eat, and since that process took well over five hours, it had been a long time since her last meal. Jonathan raised his hand and a girl came forward and prepared an assortment of goodies for Luce. She placed them on the bed beside her and then refilled Luce's wine. It all felt so silly. Luce was perfectly able and willing, to get her own food and drink. And it was even easier for the prince, but the thought hadn't even crossed his mind.
"Do you ever find all of your servants unnecessary?" As soon as she said it, Luce was worried that maybe she shouldn't have. Way to be offensive.
Jonathan didn't seem to take offense, though. His light green eyes grew thoughtful and he answered, "I guess that I've never really thought about it before. I'm certainly capable of doing for myself, but there has never really been a need. I'm always surrounded by a small army of people whose sole purpose is to cater to me. Sometimes it would be nice to have more privacy, but then I would be depriving people of their jobs."
"That's a different way of looking at things. It would be pretty lame if your only job was to refill a person’s cup and they never let you do it."
"Yes. You know, no one ever asks me questions the way that you do Luce. I am sure that most are too frightened, but I want you to know that I appreciate it. Please do not ever fear to ask me anything."
Luce took that and ran with it. "Do you know anything about how my brother is doing?"
"I know that he is alive, they are still bringing him water. I don't much beyond that, but I think that he will make it through the two months all right. When people are brought out of the Pit there is always a healer present to help put them right."
The constant worry that she had for Jude didn't lessen at those words. She grew silent again and found herself pushing the food away after having had just a few bites. The wine, on the other hand, she raised to her lips. It wouldn't make a great impression on the prince if she got drunk, but a little buzzed probably wouldn't hurt anything. She felt like she deserved it. "This is a great wine."
"I can see that."
Luce blushed and set her glass on the tray. "If you have other things to do, I would understand."
"My day was set aside to spend with you. As I said, no one speaks with me the way that you do, and I enjoy it. It's rare for me to see any girl more than once you know, I'm sure that you have made Marianne quite jealous."