The Empty Crown

by Georgina Makalani

  ‘Are we going the right way?’ he asked, his deep voice echoing down the tunnel.

  She nodded. ‘It is hard to tell down here with this hazy light, but yes.’

  ‘You have been this way before?’

  ‘Not all the way across, but I have been in these tunnels a few times. I have heard whispers of others crossing here. Smugglers and the like, probably.’

  ‘Smugglers?’ he asked, stopping.

  ‘Are you scared?’ She was unable to hide the smirk in her voice.

  ‘No, but you should be.’

  ‘I just survived the Walk,’ she said with a laugh that bounced from the tunnel walls. ‘I don’t think a smuggler could be nearly as scary.’

  ‘Have you lived in Sheer Rock your whole life?’

  She nodded.

  ‘Yet you are scared of heights. The whole world is up high. How many bridges did you have to cross a day?’

  ‘Three and back,’ she murmured. If she never had to cross another bridge, she would be happy. And she had no idea how this tunnel led them to the mainland from Sheer Rock without crossing a bridge.

  His hand was strong and heavy on her shoulder. She looked up into his intense gaze. ‘Why?’ he asked.

  She shrugged him off and kept walking. ‘Why is anyone scared of anything?’ she whispered.

  ‘Usually for good reason.’ His long strides quickly caught her up.

  ‘You talk a lot for a soldier,’ she grumbled.

  ‘How many soldiers do you know?’

  ‘Only those at the bridge, and maybe some in the castle. I don’t really talk to them. Talking to soldiers can get you into trouble.’

  ‘You seem to be able to get yourself into trouble well enough.’

  She stopped then and watched him walk ahead of her. He stopped, looking around and then back.

  ‘I don’t know why he wanted to push me off the Walk,’ she said.

  ‘Don’t you?’

  She stared at him a bit longer as she wondered why this man had risked so much to save her. He didn’t know her, he didn’t know her background and she certainly didn’t have any gifts someone might want to use. Maybe the old man had only come to find her because he knew she was the only one who knew what he was. But then she supposed everyone knew or knew of the mage. And she was sure the regent knew just what kind of man he was.

  ‘Whatever I might be, it doesn’t explain why you would abandon your position to save me,’ Ana said.

  ‘Maybe I was looking for an excuse.’

  ‘Or you thought I was…’ She wasn’t quite sure what he might think she was, and she was equally unsure of what she wanted him to think she was. He looked down then, and she noted the brighter light behind him. ‘Come on,’ she said, pushing around him and heading for the way out. Although what they did once they found it, she wasn’t sure. Would they continue to travel together?

  They continued in silence to find the tunnel ended in a rough opening into nothing, and Ana felt even more sick than she had on the Walk. The world dropped away from them, the orange afternoon light showing just how big a gap there was between them and the mainland. They looked across at the opposite cliff. She knew the water was below and, as the soldier leaned out, she grabbed at his cloak. Feeling the familiar panic rising in her throat, she sat down and pressed her back into the wall.

  ‘There is a bridge,’ he said.

  ‘I think I would rather die,’ she murmured.

  ‘You might. It is a rope bridge.’

  Ana tasted bile, and she swallowed. He squatted down before her, his hands on her knees.

  ‘I could carry you over,’ he said gently.

  ‘I don’t know if we can be seen from above,’ she said.

  He moved back to the edge and leaned out again, looking up. ‘I can’t even see the bridge. We are a long way down, but we may be in a different part of the island.’

  She nodded, willing the tears that threatened to stay away. She wondered how long until Tim realised she wasn’t coming back. She rubbed the back of her hand over her cheek.

  The soldier was leaning over her again. ‘We can wait until it is dark.’

  ‘They might realise where we have gone.’

  ‘How did you know of this place?’ he asked, his voice soft and coaxing.

  ‘My father mentioned it at some point. I came looking one day and…’

  He waited. When she didn’t continue, he squatted down again and nudged her with his elbow.

  ‘It doesn’t feel as high,’ she said.

  He nodded in response, and she wondered how her life could have shifted so suddenly that she was here with this man.

  ‘I don’t know your name,’ she said, holding out her hand. ‘I’m Anaise; everyone calls me Ana.’

  ‘Drayton,’ he said, shaking her hand firmly. ‘My friends call me Dray.’

  ‘It is nice to meet you,’ she said politely. ‘Now, what exactly are we doing, where are we going to go and how long can I follow you before you dump me somewhere?’

  He sat back and looked her over. ‘I hadn’t planned on dumping you anywhere,’ he said, ‘but I haven’t really thought about this and where we can go.’

  ‘You said into the mountains.’

  ‘I know someone in the mountains who may be able to help.’

  ‘Someone you can leave me with,’ she said, climbing her feet and brushing her skirts down. ‘Maybe I should take my chances with the lord.’

  ‘I don’t think your aunt is very willing to give you any chances.’

  ‘Don’t call her that,’ she said, looking towards the opening. He was right; there was no other option but to follow him across the divide. She sucked in a deep breath and headed for the opening.

  Holding tight to the edge of the tunnel, the rough rock pressing into her hand, she leaned out and looked towards the water. Just below the level of the tunnel was a narrow bridge of wood and rope. She pulled herself back, looked at the soldier and then dropped to her knees. ‘I don’t think I can do it.’

  ‘You are scared every day, and yet you cross so many bridges.’

  ‘They are solid,’ she murmured. ‘And the bullying comments of the watch help distract me.’

  ‘Do you want me to bully you?’ She looked up at him, but he smiled. ‘Let’s just hope it holds our weight,’ he murmured, unclasping his dark cloak and stepping forward.

  He helped her to her feet, tied the cloak around her and pulled the hood up over her head. When she peered up at him, he grinned; she was almost lost in it. Then he turned his back and dropped to his knee.

  ‘Climb on,’ he said. When she hesitated, he added, ‘You can close your eyes. You will be protected from the wind, and I can get us across.’

  ‘You won’t drop me?’ She hated how scared she sounded.

  ‘I promise.’

  She pulled her skirts up about her knees and leaned against him. He was so solid, and the straps of his armour dug into her, but she wrapped her arms tight around his neck and her legs about his waist. He stood slowly, his rough hands on her legs as he shrugged her higher on his back. He muttered something and then leaned forward, the cloak falling about her and shielding them both.

  When he stepped up to the edge of the tunnel, she could see the bridge dip away before them.

  ‘I need to breathe,’ he whispered hoarsely, but her arms wouldn’t loosen around his neck. He waited, and she tried. She didn’t want to kill him on the way over. ‘Close your eyes,’ he said more clearly when she released the pressure from his throat.

  The structure moved beneath them. His hands must have been on the ropes, and she missed them against her skin. Ana tried not to tighten her grip around his throat, squeezing her eyes closed tighter instead. She was sure they rocked from side to side as he moved forward, and she waited for them to tip over the edge. But they didn’t, and after what felt like an age, the swaying stopped and they were on solid ground.

  ‘You can let go,’ he said, and she opened her eyes. There were in a small
cavern. As he squatted down, she released her hold on him and straightened out her skirts. She reached for the clasp of the cloak, but he put his hand on hers. ‘Keep it for now,’ he said. ‘It is colder in the mountains.’

  ‘I’m used to the sea wind,’ she said.

  He smiled and shook his head.

  She looked back out at the opposite cliff. She couldn’t make out the bridge or the opening they had come through. ‘Thank you,’ she said, not turning back. Then she was sitting on her seat in the dust and her heart felt like it was cracking and no matter what she did to try to calm herself, she shook all over.

  ‘A fire would help, but I fear we won’t be able to get one going for some time. It is the shock,’ he murmured, his hands on her shoulders, lifting her from the ground and directing her to the back of the cavern. It was much darker there, and she shook even more. What had she been thinking to run with this man?

  Then he was gone, and she was standing alone in the dark. ‘Drayton?’ she called.

  ‘Looking for a way out,’ he said, his voice distant.

  ‘You won’t leave me here, will you?’ she asked.

  ‘I have just risked not only my life but my career for you, little maid. I’m certainly not going to leave you behind now.’

  ‘Little maid?’ she asked, the strength coming back. ‘Do you know who I am?’

  ‘No,’ he whispered, too close. She jumped. ‘But you are important enough that the regent’s own mage would have you killed.’

  ‘He knew the boy,’ she stammered.

  ‘What boy?’ Drayton asked. ‘What did you see?’

  ‘He took the crown from the boy king and gave it to someone else. Maybe the regent,’ she told him without hesitation.

  ‘I thought the boy didn’t want to be King.’

  ‘He looked so sad. I think he wanted help.’

  ‘He trusted the wrong man,’ Drayton said, further away again.

  ‘Dray,’ she called. ‘Please don’t leave me.’

  ‘I have promised I won’t. Or do you not like the dark either?’

  ‘I’m not a child,’ she snapped. ‘I just feel a bit wobbly after the crossing and everything else that has happened today.’

  A strong arm closed around her shoulders and she leaned into him, thankful he was there. She couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened if another soldier had accompanied the mage. A mage was a powerful thing, she thought, seeing him watching her on the Walk as though she were there again. He might be able to find them. ‘We need to keep moving,’ she said.

  ‘We will. Catch your breath and we can find a way out. If the tunnel led to here, it must continue.’

  ‘I can’t.’

  ‘You are going to be a difficult travel companion,’ he muttered, rubbing her arm. Then she was standing alone again in the dark.

  ‘You have no idea,’ she said, walking back into the cavern, her arms outstretched. It was much darker than the other side, and she wondered if she was going to be able to find her way out of this. Then the rough wall beneath her palms changed to smooth, and she stopped. She was sure she could feel cool air. ‘Drayton, I think I found it.’

  ‘Maybe you are gifted,’ he said, and then his hand was on her shoulder. ‘Lead the way, little gifted maid.’

  ‘You could call me Ana. Although if we come across anyone, they are going to wonder at a soldier with a maid.’

  ‘I will claim you are my sister,’ he said, his hand closing around her arm as she felt her way along the stone.

  ‘It is so dark,’ she murmured.

  ‘Then let’s hope there is no one hiding along the tunnel.’

  She stopped, and he bumped into her.

  ‘Do you know if anyone still uses these tunnels?’ he asked. ‘Have you seen anyone in the ones on Sheer Rock?’

  ‘No,’ she murmured. But then she spent most of her days in the castle. She was rarely down here now, and it was when there were generally more people around. ‘My father mentioned their use, but he always talked about it as though it was long ago.’

  ‘Then let’s hope he didn’t lie to you,’ he said, giving her a gentle nudge forward.

  Ana stepped forward, but the idea niggled at the back of her mind. There was so much her father hadn’t told her, and she didn’t know if that was because she had been a child or if he might never have told her the truth of who she was.

  Chapter 5

  A distant light flickered in the darkness. Dray stopped and murmured his disappointment that he had given the girl his cloak. The light indicated people, and the reflection on his armour would give them away for sure.

  ‘What do we do?’ Ana asked in a hushed voice.

  ‘Keep going,’ he whispered, determined that they couldn’t go back.

  She nodded and moved forward, a little slower than before, her hand still on the smooth stone wall. He wondered where they might be. There might have been other tunnels, and perhaps they had taken one that led away from where they needed to go. Or one that led them into more trouble.

  At the sound of voices, Ana stopped. ‘There,’ she whispered. She stepped out into the middle of the narrow tunnel and then disappeared.

  Dray’s heart dropped. He took a tentative step forward before a hand closed around his arm, and he jumped.

  ‘In here,’ she whispered.

  There was a small alcove off the tunnel where she had slipped inside. Covered in the cloak, she was invisible in the dark space. He moved in around behind her, hoping she could shield his armour, and waited. The voices grew closer and the light brighter.

  Two men continued past them with torches, murmuring amongst themselves, and didn’t appear to have seen them. The light flickered and then faded to nearly nothing.

  Dray pushed Ana behind him and leaned out. The light and voices had disappeared, but he had no idea where to. He could only hope they made it out before the men returned, as he wouldn’t be able to explain their presence in the tunnel.

  He led her out the way the men had come from. Although the light was poor, he could feel the incline of the path. They were headed up, and that could only be a good thing. They continued to walk for well over an hour, and Ana had started to lag behind him when he saw light ahead. Thankfully they hadn’t come across anyone else.

  ‘We are nearly there,’ he said.

  ‘And where is there?’ she asked, too far away. He stopped. ‘My feet hurt,’ she said. Although there was something to her voice. Not a whine at her predicament, but something he couldn’t place.

  He reluctantly returned to find her hidden in the cloak. ‘What is it?’ he asked.

  Ana shook her head, the hood moving about her. He wanted to laugh. She seemed quite determined.

  ‘Ana,’ he said softly. As he took another step towards her, she stepped back. ‘They might return. We need to get out of this tunnel.’

  ‘Do you know what my mother did?’ she asked in a quiet voice.

  ‘What?’

  ‘The lord said that my mother wasn’t worth talking about. What did she do? And did they push her off the Walk too?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and trying to guide her towards the light.

  She pulled against him. ‘If I leave, I may never find out.’

  ‘You have left,’ he said, his voice firm. ‘And you may still be able to learn who she was and what happened. There would be records in the capital and…’

  ‘The capital?’ she interrupted. ‘Are we going to the capital?’

  He opened his mouth and then closed it. Dray had no idea at all where he was going or what he was going to do with this scrap of a girl before him. All he knew was that he couldn’t leave her, and he couldn’t allow the mage to find her.

  ‘Can we start here?’

  ‘Start what?’ she asked, her bright eyes looking at him from beneath the hood.

  ‘Trying to find out what is going on.’

  ‘I thought you knew what they wanted. You were with the
m. You travelled with that smelly mage.’

  ‘Smelly?’ he asked, unable to hide the laughter from his voice. ‘What did he smell of?’

  Ana shook her head, and he tried to read her bright eyes in the dim light of the tunnel. ‘What did he smell of?’ he asked more clearly.

  ‘I don’t know,’ she said too loudly, and he pressed his hand to her mouth.

  ‘Someone might hear you,’ he murmured, looking back down the tunnel for any sign of a light.

  She wriggled out of his hold and kicked him sharply in the shin.

  ‘Hey,’ he cried as she took off ahead of him. What has gotten into her?

  He raced after her and found her just outside the tunnel standing by a large rock, looking over the looming mountains and the thick tree line. He glanced about. They were too exposed, he thought as he blinked into the light. He had no idea who might be following or where they might appear from. He took her arm and dragged her across the rocky ground and into the trees.

  ‘What are you doing?’ he asked, the exasperation thick in his tone.

  She straightened up, pulled her shoulders back and then deflated.

  ‘Well?’ he asked again.

  ‘I need to know,’ she said.

  ‘What do you need to know?’

  ‘She is my aunt,’ she said, her eyes wide. ‘My whole life she has treated me as though I am… a maid,’ she blurted.

  He raised his eyebrows at her.

  ‘Well, I’m not,’ she snapped. Her hands found her hips, and he was tempted to take a step back despite her almost comical look in his oversized cloak. His shin still stung from her sharp boot.

  ‘What are you then?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m… I’m not,’ she said quietly.

  ‘You aren’t now, whatever you might have wanted. We are fugitives,’ he muttered, looking around the trees that appeared to move in closer as though listening to them.

  She looked up, taking in their height. ‘We don’t have trees like this,’ she said. Then she sighed and pulled his cloak tighter about her.

  ‘We’ll need a fire,’ he said, ‘but not here.’