No. Not leaving. Not really, not for good.
It was only stepping away for a moment, to make them all safe in preparation for the group’s eventual return.
On the North Bank, the wildflowers still glowed in a deep blue carpet. If such beauty could come out of total destruction—blooming as they had, overnight, after the flash flood that had torn the valley apart—then how much more could she, too, surmount the obstacles and go on?
Queen’s Basin would always be in Juniper’s heart. And she’d be back—they all would—and soon. She would make sure of it.
But now Torr was calling them.
• • •
Within the hour, the two teams—headed by Juniper (Goshawk) and Alta (Bobcat)—were saddled up and ready to go. They would each head out separately, since two smaller bands of kids would be less noticeable than one big one.
Team Goshawk would take the lead, as they had to travel all the way to the castle, and a hard ride it would be to make it by day’s end. Their first trek to the Basin had taken them much longer. But of course they’d had slow-moving carts and carriages with them then. Today they were fleet of foot and boundless of energy.
Today they had a mission.
“Not even my long hair to weigh me down,” declared Juniper, flouncing her new bob. She found that she quite liked the tickle of air on the back of her neck, how light her head felt without its bulky tresses. It was like putting down a burden she hadn’t known she was carrying, shucking off her royal mantle for a bit and being someone entirely new.
She seemed to be doing that quite a lot these days, come to think of it: finding new shades of herself that she hadn’t known existed. What else might be lying in store, she wondered, just waiting to be uncovered?
With a shiver of anticipation, she nudged her well-packed mount across the rocky floor of the Great Cave to where Alta stood tightening the strap on her last saddlebag. “Six days from today, don’t forget,” Juniper told her. “We’ll come and find you.”
Alta nodded. “By that time, we’ll be well meshed in with the teeming gaggle of Summerfesters, you have my word.”
From here, Goshawk would go straight into the castle: no delays, no waiting. Last night, they had launched the messenger (the king’s highly trained ghost bat, their letter carrier), asking Jess’s sister Eglantine to leave the back cellar door unlocked: This would be their way into the palace. Once inside, they would sneak and lurk about, gathering what information they could. Team Bobcat would wait an hour after Goshawk first left, putting distance between the two groups. Then Bobcat would set out for Longton on the first step of their own mission: procure costumes. They would make their way down to the castle grounds, joining the Summerfest throngs and able to move about in plain sight without suspicion. The two groups would then reunite and use the intelligence gathered to plan the final assault.
As plans went, it was rough as nettlekin. But it was a start. A plan in motion was a plan they could work with; it was just a matter of piecing together the puzzle as they went for the best fit.
“Journey well, then,” said Juniper, with a lump in her throat. The members of Team Bobcat stood by their horses, identical looks of anxious excitement on their faces.
“Good-bye, Alta, my summer big sister!” Tippy sobbed from her mount, a moist handkerchief in her hand. “Good-bye, all of you Bobcats. And good-bye most of all to our own QB. Who knows when ever we shall return?”
“Queen’s Basin isn’t going anywhere,” said Juniper. “And we may be back here sooner than we think. I know I plan to return just as soon as I’m able—and how could I travel anywhere without my lady’s maid on-the-go?”
Tippy hiccupped and nodded, then looked up with a smile on her tearstained face. “I just had to get all that out of me, Your Very Short-Haired Juniper. I reckon I feel good to go on now. QB will stay with me right here.” She thumped her chest.
“Me too, Tippy,” whispered Juniper. “Me too.”
Finally, all was done that needed doing and all was said that needed saying. Juniper and the rest of Team Goshawk waved good-bye to their friends, then they turned and set off down the cave corridor.
The next adventure had begun.
4
“IS IT TIME FOR EATS YET?” ASKED OONA, SOME hours later. They’d navigated the caves with little trouble and were now bushwhacking through the dense forest, heading toward the White Highway, which led south to the castle.
“It can’t be long till we reach the main road,” said Leena. “We’ve been slogging these trails for the nighthawk’s hours!”
They had been pushing hard, but their plan hinged on getting right inside the castle grounds. To have any chance at that, they had to arrive under cover of darkness—and while Eglantine’s door remained unlocked.
“We shan’t want to stop for a proper meal,” Juniper called to Oona. “We’ve got ever so much ground to cover to make the castle by nightfall. Let’s try and eat as we go. You’ve got your provisions sack, right? We’ll stop to stretch our legs once we get farther along, if there’s time.”
Oona frowned. As Juniper clicked to bring up her pace, she noticed Root sidling his mount near Oona and handing her a little woven bag, which the girl received with a soppy smile.
“I still question the safety of our gamboling so brazenly along the great highway,” Jess called from behind. Her words rang over the muffled hoofbeats in the forest glade. “Are there no back roads we might take? Surely that would reduce our visibility at little cost to speed.”
Juniper shook her head. “You and Alta both said the highway was packed with travelers, and should be still more so now, another day closer to Summerfest.”
“Packed is a good thing?” Leena asked from Juniper’s other side.
“It is indeed. Think about it: Every able-bodied Torrean is heading for the palace right now—or will be soon—in order to be there for Summerfest. What better cover could we have than to lose ourselves in the unwashed throngs? We won’t stand out one bit, for who would notice a rough thread in a rougher rug?”
“Ruffians we have aplenty,” said Erick, from up ahead. He was riding Gentle Giant, a huge silver thoroughbred who pretty much guided himself. That was a good thing, as it left Erick free to do what he did best: read. He was leafing steadily through the map book splayed across his lap, looking up just in time to swat a sweetgum branch out of the way before it lashed him across the face. Soon, just Gentle Giant’s swishing tail could be seen, disappearing into a patch of bright daylight.
Juniper picked up her pace to join him, with the others close on her heels.
Without bulky wheels to slow them down, they’d cut clear through the dense forest, coming out at a different spot from where they’d gone in. Rather than riding the rutted Monsian Highway—a shivery proposition at any time, and the more so during this time of invasion—they now emerged at the very mouth of the White Highway. This great wide way would take them right down to Torrence town.
The Highway stretched below them, jammed and bustling with travelers: richly dressed nobles riding fine mounts; brightly painted carts advertising all sorts of wares; wagons packed with large families, round-bellied pups running along behind. All were part of the teeming masses making their way toward Summerfest.
“Well.” Jess sniffed loudly. “The rabble certainly has grown since this time yesterday. I daresay your plan of blending in should work.”
“Won’t it, though?” Juniper said with a grin. “Even better than I’d expected. What say you, Tipster?”
Tippy squinted down at the bustling road, then back at Juniper. She grinned roguishly. “I say that your makeover wins the prize for top costume after all.”
Leena and Erick laughed out loud, and even Jess allowed a smile.
“I shall take that as high praise from such an admirer of my Princess Juniper look as yourself,” said Juniper gravely. “Shall
we sally forth to the throngs, then?” She nudged her mare’s flank—she was on the plump, spirited Sonsy—and girl and horse set off at a clatter down the rocky embankment toward the road. The other horses followed, single file.
Team Goshawk was soon absorbed into the roiling crowds making their way to Torr Castle.
• • •
After that, the journey got a lot more monotonous. The moving traffic separated itself into a fast column and a slow, but even the quick movers weren’t nearly as peppy as Juniper would have liked. The packed crowds oozed along the road like treacle, until Juniper wanted to scream in frustration. To make things worse, she had to keep the hood of her white cloak pulled well over her face, for fear some sharp-eyed traveler might see through her disguise.
To pass the time as they plodded along, Juniper watched the scenery. Alta and Jess had reported no destruction in the cities of Sari and Longton, nor any Monsian presence whatsoever. Likewise there was no visible damage to the farmhouses, barns, or other buildings they passed on their way south. But the land was another story. What used to be thick, heavy fields of grain and corn, bursting with life and color, were now charred black wastelands.
“They set fire to the whole lot of them,” Root muttered.
“I don’t understand why anyone would do something like this,” whimpered Oona.
“I’m not sure that violence needs a point,” Juniper replied. “Sometimes it’s just muscle flexing. A reminder to the weaker party of who’s in charge.” It was scary to think there was that kind of evil out there. And not only that, but this was the force they were trying to take down! Did their motley crew of kids really think they could liberate an entire country?
But no sooner had that thought buzzed into her head than Juniper squashed it flat. She was ruler of Queen’s Basin, crown princess of Torr, and fierce girl on horseback. And this was the motley crew that was going to save King Regis and restore him to the throne of Torr if it was the last thing they did.
That was simply all there was to it.
Finally, finally, after the moon had risen overhead and the stars peered bright eyes down at them, the weary travelers crossed the Tricorn Bridge and approached the spires of Torr Castle. An unfamiliar banner snapped in the breeze, visible by the moon’s dim light: the cur of Monsia. (It was actually a scarlet wolf, but Juniper refused to associate that barbaric nation with such a noble creature. They were dogs, nothing more.)
The crowds gradually thinned as the night wore on. With the festival still a week away, many of the travelers were stopping over in nearby cities, or resting at other points along the way. But others were already setting up camp in the giant field north of the castle—informally known as the Bazaar, though it lay empty most of the year—staking out land, setting up tents, erecting quick ramshackle buildings for their services or wares in the festivities to come. Despite the late hour, an energetic buzz filled the air. Torches and lanterns bobbed across the darkened field.
Moving steadily on from the late-night bustle of the Bazaar, the seven members of Team Goshawk were as quiet as the night around them. Even the clip-clop of the horses’ hooves rang subdued on the packed ground.
“Let’s hope that sister of yours delivers,” said Leena with a yawn. “If she hasn’t left that entryway unlocked, we’ll be camping rough tonight.”
“Egg always delivers,” said Jess tightly. “If we can get inside the palace, she’ll have done the rest. Count on it.”
“This way,” said Juniper. “The back supply route’s rarely used, and the small gate it leads to is never guarded.”
They took the deserted ring road around the castle, every step pulling them deeper into the hungry dark of night.
Ahead of them, the rusty jaws of Torr Castle loomed.
5
“I THOUGHT YOU SAID THE GATE WASN’T guarded!” Jess hissed in Juniper’s ear.
It was only barest luck that had warned them in time—a barking cough, the creak of a hinge, a dull glint off the pommel of a sword—showing that the small gate up ahead was indeed under watch. To Juniper’s eye, the guard seemed more than half asleep, but whatever his condition, just his being there barred their way in.
“New rulers bring new rules,” said Juniper grimly. “I should have thought of that.”
“Indeed,” said Jess.
They’d pulled up behind a copse of trees around the bend from the gate. Based on the sentry’s position, he hadn’t noticed their approach, for the small relief that was. The first thing they’d done was dismount and secure their horses. Jess freed Fleeter from his nest and draped him around her neck like a cowl, then proceeded to stuff various items from her saddlebags into the pockets of her cloak. They had all packed light, but aside from a few small essentials, everything had to be left behind. (Hopefully they could come back for them eventually.) Now they needed a plan that would get them through this gate, and they needed it fast.
“Aren’t there any other ways in?” asked Root.
“Not practically speaking,” said Juniper. “Jess told Eglantine to unlock the door to the deep cellars, and this is the gate nearest that entry point. Going in elsewhere and tramping through acres of grounds will get us caught in no time.”
“The other gates are surely even better guarded, in any case,” said Erick. “It’s hard to believe they even thought this one worth defending.”
As gates went, it was a sorry specimen: barely bigger than a common doorway, the bars chewed with rust and swarmed by bluevines. In truth, Juniper had always had a soft spot for this gate, which was near the stables. On many a horse-riding lesson, she would canter past it just for the joy of looking and longing. It had always brought to mind a magical gateway to another world, a stepping-stone to mystery. Of course, before she’d always been on the inside, looking out.
How strange were the twisting turns of life!
“What we need,” said Leena, yanking Juniper back into the moment, “is a distraction.”
As they watched, the guard sighed heavily. He scuffed the ground with his boot, turned away from them, and sat down against the inside rail of the gate.
Juniper caught Root’s eye. “I wonder. Do you suppose you might give this man a little midnight excitement?”
Root broke into a slow smile. “I reckon I could play the disoriented traveler.”
“Excellent.” It meant a change in plans for Root, as he’d be unable to follow them into the castle. But with his noble bearing, Juniper knew, he could well deflect any nosy questions and make his way to safety. “Lead him away from the gate as far as you can without looking suspicious. We’ll make our move as soon as he’s out of earshot.”
“I believe I shall sing,” said Root, and cleared his throat.
Oona’s eyebrows had shot up in alarm at Juniper’s words and now she moved closer to Root, but Leena yanked her arm. “He’ll be fine.”
“That I will,” Root said, catching Oona’s eye. Then to Juniper, “And I’ll see to the horses as well, once you’re safely through. I’ll look for word from you however you’re able to get it to me.”
“Worst case, find the Bobcats—they should be joining the Bazaar before long.”
Root nodded. “Now. Give me five minutes’ head start, then get ready to dash.” With that, he threw a leg over his mount and clicked low. His horse shot forward into the night.
• • •
The next few minutes passed in heart-wrenching flashes of action: Root cantering a wobbly path along the ring road toward the gate. Root swaying side to side in his saddle, launching into a loud, bawdy song that rang in all its tuneless glory up toward the dark sky. A grunt and a scuffle as the guard leaped to his feet. The earsplitting grind of a rusted gate, popping out on its hinges. Then the stampede of footsteps as the guard ran for a confrontation.
“Well done, Root!” said Juniper admiringly. She lifted a hand, and the six of the
m ghosted out from the trees and dashed toward the castle.
Down the road, Root raised the volume on his chantey. The guard was shouting now, and Juniper hoped Root wouldn’t take the ruse too far and risk getting caught.
Flattening herself against the castle walls, she moved swiftly until she reached the bluevine-choked entryway. Coming up next to her, Tippy put a hand on the gate. “No!” said Juniper. “Don’t move it a whisker—you heard that creak it made before? It’ll bring our guard back in no time.”
“I bet this gate hasn’t been opened in years,” said Jess, one hand cradled protectively around Fleeter, who still hung across her shoulders. “That guard did us a favor. We couldn’t have gotten in without making a right racket.”
As they moved through the gate, Juniper had to stop for a moment and blink away the film that gathered over her eyes. The gate was magical, after all.
It had led her home.
• • •
Based on the unexpected discovery of the guard at the gate, Juniper had no idea what other changes they might find inside the castle. A quick glance, though, showed no soldiers anywhere in sight. There were sure to be sentries on patrol or duty guards stationed up in the turrets; they would have to move carefully. But just this moment, inside the ancient stone walls of Torr Castle, the night was quiet as a cave.
A distant burst of laughter sounded outside, along with a man’s gruff shout. But the sound carried more annoyance and frustration than anything else. The hoofbeats started up after a loud “Go on, then!” and Juniper knew Root was going to be all right.
Princess Juniper of Torr Page 3
