by Jody Hedlund
How could a treasure—that may or may not exist—be better than a gem mine already producing jewels? Or how was Mercia better, since it was smaller?
I suspected Mother’s hurt stemmed more from feeling unloved than from an inferior inheritance. And at times, I also suspected feeling rejected by her family had caused her to close herself off to her children. Perhaps she unconsciously believed if she didn’t love anyone, then she wouldn’t be hurt again.
Whatever the case, I’d stopped having any sympathy for her the day she’d tried to have me killed. The last vestiges of respect and love had vanished. Henceforth, I didn’t care what became of her, only that I could free Ruby from her control.
As I crept across the antechamber toward the door, the floor squeaked. I halted and waited, listening for the approach of footsteps from the noble knights, squires, and pages resting amongst the rushes of the great hall.
After a moment of silence, I expelled a breath and continued. Thankfully, the door didn’t squeal on its hinges as I opened it. I stayed low and slipped along the perimeter of the room with my back pressed against the cold wall. The hearth fire glowed low, adding enough light that I could make my way without bumping into anyone or anything.
When I was close to the bottom of the double marble stairway that led to the second floor, a nearby dog lifted its head and looked in my direction. When it stood and released a low huff, I froze.
One of the pages murmured something to the dog before he rolled over and went back to sleep.
I remained motionless, waiting for someone else to sit up and spot me. But only the dog lumbered over, its snout in the air. It gave another soft bark, then wagged its tail. Did it recognize me? Or at the very least remember my scent?
It sniffed my legs before it plopped down, peering up at me with its ears cocked. I held out my hand and let it sniff me more closely.
“Stay,” I whispered as I started up the stairs.
It watched with curious eyes each step I took up the broad stairway, but it made no more noise or effort to follow me. When I reached the landing, I ducked behind the balcony where my mother presided over the Choosing Ball each Midsummer’s Eve.
Though I’d never attended the event, I oft peeked from the hallway, glimpsing the fairest maidens in the land dancing in their emerald gowns. The music had been festive, the clothing beautiful, and the decorations lavish. Though the queen required everyone to smile and be happy, nothing was ever able to mask the fear in each of the faces. I’d sensed that fear as palpably as if it had been a living force hovering above the gathering.
Now, as I slipped into the passageway, my thoughts turned to Mikkel’s brother Vilmar. If he was anything like Mikkel, then he was a good and brave man, and I hoped one day I’d have the chance to thank him for capturing Grendel.
I still didn’t understand why my mother hadn’t been more pleased by Vilmar’s defeat of the monster. Mikkel’s suspicions from the previous night had stayed with me. And the more I thought about them, the more I agreed. The queen had been using Grendel for her own purposes, something to do with her alchemy. Since it was the most important thing to her, everything always had to do with her alchemy. Always.
Sconces glimmered at intervals down the long hallway. Though I didn’t see any guards on duty, I stayed along the edge until I reached a doorway leading to the servants’ corridors.
Most of the castle staff would be asleep, but I remained alert as I raced through the narrow halls and reached the tower housing Ruby’s chambers. Once there, I peeked in the direction of her door. It was guarded. The queen was attempting to prevent Ruby from escaping—or perhaps had anticipated a rescue effort.
I’d suspected that would be the case. With haste, I unrolled the habit I’d pilfered from the abbey and donned it over my garments. While the gray undyed wool was scratchy and stifling and several sizes too big, it would have to do.
I hesitated but a moment before I removed the veil that had been my shield for many months. I couldn’t keep it over my face if I hoped to pass as a nun. Instead, I wound the nun’s wimple around my head and neck, leaving only my face showing as was the custom. I hoped the guards would believe I was a nun arriving to pray with Ruby.
As I backtracked through the servants’ corridors and entered the main hallway, I bowed my head to hide my face and slowed to a placid pace to mimic the silent tread of the nuns. My pulse sped with each step, so that by the time I stood in front of the two guards on either side of Ruby’s door, I was sure they could hear my thudding heart.
I bowed my head even farther and tucked my hands within the folds of the wide sleeves. “I have come to offer prayers at the request of her Royal Highness.”
“We’ve no knowledge of such a request,” said a stocky, giant guard, his voice charged with mistrust.
“She asked for a visit this eve, but the sisters were all detained until now.” I held my breath and hoped Ruby was still in the custom of seeking solace from the nuns.
The guards were silent.
Had they recognized my voice? Or had they glimpsed my profile? “You would not deny the princess the only thing she requests, would you?”
The giant guard shifted, his leather boots creaking. “She is already slumbering.”
“The child is never too tired for prayer.” Though I tried to remain calm, my muscles tightened anyway.
Ruby was angelic, and I was counting on her having won the guards over with her sweet nature so they would do anything for her, even defy the queen.
“Mayhap a short prayer time?” The other guard directed the question to his companion.
“Very well.” The giant opened the door and stepped aside. “But be quick.”
I glided forward, trying not to seem too eager even as my body hummed with anticipation.
The chamber was dark, the hearth fire banked for the night. But the light from the open doorway aided me as I wove around the maidservants abed on their pallets. The rush mats were still soft, and the herbs within were crushed underfoot so the scents of rosemary and lavender hung in the air.
As I approached the bed, I sensed the guard watching my every movement. I wished I could command him to close the door so I might speak with Ruby privately. But I would have to make the most of the opportunity and hope Ruby cooperated.
Ruby’s bed curtains were half-closed, revealing her body underneath the coverlet, a girl on the cusp of womanhood. Upon reaching the bed frame, I kept my head bowed, knelt beside her, and gently laid my hand upon her.
She awoke with a gasp, tensing beneath my touch. Though I refrained from looking at her face, I could feel her relax as she took me in.
“Sister Clare, you have come for prayer?” she asked through a yawn.
I nodded.
She kicked off her coverlet and scooted off the bed. A second later she knelt beside me, folding her hands on the edge of the bed and bowing her head.
I waited several heartbeats. If I startled her with my identity, she’d react too enthusiastically and draw undue attention from the guards. “Our Father,” I whispered, leaning closer so my words would carry to her ears and to no one else in the room. I placed my hand over hers and prayed she wouldn’t react.
When she remained motionless, I continued. “We thank you for your bountiful protection and that you find ways to reunite sisters.”
She stiffened at my strange prayer, but I squeezed her hand, hoping she would understand my urge for caution.
“We beseech you to aid Ruby in being calm so the guards do not discover the true identity of the one kneeling beside her.”
Ruby grasped me in return so tightly I was left with no doubt she understood who I was. “Father,” she whispered almost inaudibly. “Thank you for preserving my dear sister’s life. And now I pray she will leave before it is too late.” Ruby squeezed my hand again and then pushed it away, as if sending me the message to go.
Apparently at some point during the past year, Ruby had figured out I wasn’t dead. Did she know t
he queen had tried to murder me? Even if she didn’t, she was well aware the queen had evil intentions for me now.
I kept my head low and my tone reverent, but I had to speak directly lest the guards interrupt. “I shall not leave this time unless I have you by my side.”
“You must go before she realizes you are here.” Ruby’s voice turned urgent . . . and too loud.
I brushed my shoulder into hers and reached for her hand again. “We shall go together. I have found a place where we shall be safe—”
“You cannot be here.” She lowered her whisper and cast a glance toward the door. “She is using me to draw you here.”
I wanted to stand up and drag her from the room, but I forced myself to remain in a prayerful posture. “I saw her edict, and I knew her threat against you was intended to bring me back.”
“Then you know you are in grave danger.”
“So are you.”
She started to shake her head, but I cut off the motion by pressing her hand.
Ruby paused, bowed her head again, and pretended to pray. “I am too young yet to provide a heart for her alchemy. But you are not.”
Too young to provide a heart for her alchemy? What was Ruby talking about?
Though I’d never seen the alchemy ingredient list for transforming the white stone, I’d heard of its existence, an ancient sheet tucked away in a compartment in the golden box containing the precious white stone. The language on the sheet was cryptic, and no one had ever been able to decipher it.
Of course, the priests had been trying for years to understand the meaning, and the queen had attempted many experiments. As far as I knew, they’d failed, including the trials using various hearts, mostly of strange, exotic, and dangerous animals.
“Last summer after the Choosing Ball,” Ruby continued, her voice barely a whisper, “I overheard Lord Haleigh speaking with the queen about her alchemy.”
I pictured the nobleman who had been one of my mother’s closest advisors over the years. Father had liked the nobleman and considered him one of the best and wisest of counselors. Lord Haleigh had been a very wealthy man, and he’d had a daughter, a young maiden by the name of Lady Gabriella. At the time I ran away, I’d heard rumors of her unrivaled beauty. Had Lord Haleigh been worried that when Gabriella came of age she might be chosen for the yearly sacrifice to Grendel?
“Lord Haleigh confronted the queen about the death of the fairest maiden.” Ruby pressed closer, whispering in my ear. “I heard him say he stumbled upon the priests in the chapel who were removing the heart from the fairest maiden. He accused the queen of using the hearts of the sacrificed maidens every year in her alchemy and said ’tis why the gems in the mountains grow year after year.”
If the white stone needed a heart, then it stood to reason that making beautiful gems would require the most beautiful person’s heart. Was that why the Choosing Ball singled out the fairest women between eighteen and twenty years? So the queen could gain such a heart for her alchemy?
A sinking weight pressed against my chest. After living on the Great Isle for only a few months, Mikkel had correctly assumed the queen had need of Grendel for her alchemy. How had I not known after all these years? How could I have remained so ignorant?
I wanted to bury my head in frustration and fury.
“Lord Haleigh pleaded with Mother to cease the practice, and if she refused, he threatened to tell the people the truth.”
“So she killed him?”
“Yes, how did you know?”
I’d guessed, and it saddened me that my suspicion was right, that I knew our mother well enough to accuse her of murder. Of course she’d want to eliminate anyone who might be a threat to her. “Does Mother know you heard her conversation?”
Ruby hesitated.
The weight inside grew heavier, almost painfully so.
“I did not mean to reveal myself.” Ruby’s whisper came out in a rush. “But once I heard of her secret ingredient, I believed that was why she killed you, so she could have your heart. I was upset, and the words just came out.”
My every thought came to a standstill. All along I’d lamented my mother’s attempt to kill me, had wanted to understand what had driven her to do something so despicable. Was this, then, the answer? Had she wanted my heart for her alchemy?
If she needed my heart, why hadn’t she waited to take it after the sacrifice to Grendel? Why elaborately plot my murder when she could have obtained what she’d wanted the way she had from maidens for years?
I shook off the questions. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on them. What I did understand was that the queen hadn’t gotten the heart of the fairest maiden this year as a result of Vilmar’s valor, and now she needed mine more than ever. I also understood why she sought Vilmar. He had learned the secret ingredient of her alchemy, and now she needed to silence him. Just as she needed to silence Ruby.
“You must leave with me. The queen will surely kill you for knowing her secrets.”
“She has not done so yet.”
“If she captures me, she will no longer have any use for you.”
“All the more reason for you to be gone and never return.”
“I shall not leave without you.”
“Please, Pearl. She might keep me as her prisoner, but she will not kill me, not as long as you remain alive.”
“Father showed me a secret exit from the castle, one built for use during sieges. That is how I entered, and that is how we shall escape tonight.”
Ruby shot a glance toward the soldiers still standing on either side of the open door. “I am not allowed to leave my chambers. Only on rare occasions, and then only under heavy guard.”
We had to depart. I’d made it this far, and I couldn’t be thwarted. But what kind of excuse could we give the guards? With as much as they seemed to like Ruby, surely they would look the other way if we told them the truth about the danger Ruby was in if she remained anywhere near the queen.
On the other hand, if they allowed Ruby to sneak out of her chambers, the queen would put them to death for negligence. I couldn’t abide causing two deaths, not even to save Ruby.
“We have to think of something,” I whispered.
“The only way we can survive is for you to stay far away from Mother.”
My thoughts continued to swirl, moving faster and growing more desperate, and I lifted a prayer heavenward, one for wisdom and courage.
Ruby reached for my hand, her fingers trembling. I couldn’t imagine the heartache and fear she’d lived with over the past year.
There had to be a way to get her away from the guards tonight. Now. Before it grew too late. But what? Could I switch places with her and send her out of the castle in the nun’s clothing? We could convince the guards to close the door for a few moments, claiming the need to use the chamber pot, and then exchange garments.
I bit back a sigh. Our bodies were too different. Ruby was stouter like our father, and the guards would recognize that the nun leaving the castle was shorter than the one who’d entered.
At a sudden commotion in the doorway, I stood, determined to grab Ruby and run. But torchlight streamed into Ruby’s chamber along with several armed guards.
Ruby rose, and I pushed her behind me with one hand while the other fumbled for the knife hidden in my boot. Before I could slip it free, a woman appeared in the doorway. A beautiful woman with long dark hair, perfect creamy skin, and emerald-green eyes.
Her gaze swept over me, and her lips lifted into a hint of a smile—one that contained no warmth. “Welcome home, Daughter.”
Chapter
19
Pearl
“If you spare Ruby and send her away, I shall do whatever you wish.”
The queen released a haughty laugh. “You shall do whatever I wish regardless of Ruby.”
My knife in hand, I stood taller, braced my feet apart, and lifted my chin. I counted three guards in the room and three more in the hallway, not including the two at the door. I
was sorely outnumbered.
Even so, I had to find a way to free Ruby.
The guards held their torches high, illuminating Ruby’s few maidservants, who had now arisen from their pallets. They huddled together, their faces reflecting fear. Clearly I could expect no aid from them.
How had the queen discovered my presence? I’d been so quiet and careful. Had one of the knights in the great hall seen me after all and alerted the queen? Though frustration pooled in my chest, I didn’t dwell on it. I needed to keep my mind clear and alert so I could devise a new plan. I met the queen’s gaze directly, hoping to convey an assurance I didn’t feel. “You must allow Ruby to leave. Otherwise, what will the people say when they learn you have murdered both your daughters?”
“They will rejoice to be rid of the threat of treason.”
“They will know that one so young as Ruby cannot be involved in treason. And they will despise you for taking her life.”
For an instant, uncertainty flickered in the queen’s eyes.
“Mother, please.” Ruby stepped out from behind me before I could stop her. I attempted to maneuver her back, but she planted her feet and would not be moved. “Please, can we not live together in love and harmony? Is that not more important than wealth and prosperity?”
The queen didn’t bother looking at Ruby, almost as if Ruby didn’t exist. Instead, she narrowed her eyes upon me. Was she contemplating my warning?
“Send Ruby far away.” I had to take advantage of her indecision. “To Scania. I have made friends with Prince Mikkel and will ask him to take Ruby there and assure that she never returns to Warwick.”
“So all the princes of Scania have come to the Great Isle for their Testing.” The queen watched my face, gauging my reaction.
I kept my expression stoic. I couldn’t allow the queen to know just how much I cared about Mikkel. “Send Ruby to Scania with Prince Mikkel. In doing so, you will gain the empathy of the people, and at the same time, you need never worry about her again.”