by Rob Donovan
“Have you left my side at all?” The Queen asked.
“No, Fyfe said I was not to, although I did go for a pee about an hour ago,” Tatanya replied.
The Queen burst out laughing, which turned into a cough. It was good to see the woman laugh, having lingered at death’s door for days and it was a joy to hear her talk. Ellorary was convinced the Queen would survive as soon as he inspected the Queen’s wound but Tatanya had not been so sure. She had seen how grey the Queen had looked. Saisko always said that once people went grey their time was up and there was no saving them. The Queen had certainly been grey.
Ellorary though had not been too concerned. He told the Prince that the sword had missed all the vital organs whatever that meant. All Tatanya saw was the vast amount of blood which had spread over the front of the Queen’s dress. It made it look as if the dress was two colours: red at the front and green at the back.
“How long have I been asleep?” the Queen asked as Tatanya brought her a glass of water. She nodded her appreciation and took several small sips.
“More,” Tatanya said when the Queen passed her back the cup. The Queen rolled her eyes but gave a wry smile. Tatanya nodded, satisfied when the Queen drained half the glass. “About six hours.”
“Did anyone come?”
“The Prince popped in three times, Fyfe once, Ellorary once and Shana twice,” Tatyana said. She had been recording each visit knowing the Queen would ask the question.
“Did you tell my son not to stop by so much? I am fine and he has a Kingdom to rule.”
“No, I am just a maidservant. I do not tell the Prince what to do.”
“Don’t you?” The Queen said and raised her eyebrows as she smiled.
“Well, I did tell Ellorary off for not visiting more often.”
Again, the Queen chuckled. “That sounds about right. You mustn’t badger him. He knows what he is doing and I am healing nicely.”
To demonstrate, the Queen attempted to sit up but gasped with pain; her hands immediately clutching her belly. The dressing was showing spots of blood seeping through.
“You’ve tore your stitches,” Tatanya said. She had heard Ellorary say something similar only yesterday. “I will go and fetch Ellorary.”
“No,” The Queen said. “Please don’t, I want to just sit here for a moment. Will you help me sit up?”
Tatanya helped lift the Queen and plump the pillows behind her. The Queen winced as she pushed herself into a seated position and lost some of her colour.
“Shall I pour you some Felton tea?” Tatanya asked.
“No thank you. I will try to manage the pain myself. Can you pass the fruit though? I’m rather hungry.”
Tatanya felt her cheeks blush as she passed the fruit bowl. She should have realised the Queen would be starving. The bowl bulged with bananas, plums, apples and purple grapes. All were large and juicy looking with not a bruise or a sign of decay on any of them. Tatanya’s stomach rumbled, she had not eaten since last night and realised she would need something herself soon.
Tatanya looked around the room and wondered what to do next. She had already swept the floor twice and dusted the ornaments whilst the Queen slept - none of which needed doing in the first place. The room was immaculate; the Queen slept on a large four posted bed which was carved with the most intricate leaf patterns. Opposite her was a dressing table with a large ivory mirror. Tatanya had taken the liberty of sitting on the stool and pretending to be the Queen when she was sure Mirinda was fast asleep. The young girl had not dared to touch the Queen’s brush however; instead she used her fingers to rake through her hair. There were other toiletries on the dresser such as the Queen’s face paint and powder. Tatanya wondered how the Queen had managed to acquire so much stuff so quickly. She had only been back a week.
Tatanya spied one of the curtains had twisted in the morning breeze. Pleased to have something to occupy herself, she began to untwist the fabric.
“You don’t have to do that, it will only get twisted again,” the Queen said. Tatyana paused, looked at the curtain and continued to untwist it anyway. “Come and sit with me, I want to talk to you.”
Tatanya sighed. She liked the Queen but why did everyone want to talk to her? She had not forgotten her long talk with Fyfe, nor the Prince who had informed her that Fyfe had told him of their chat and then pretty much asked her to recite the story word for word. That had bothered Tatanya; Fyfe had never said it would be a secret chat but still she had not expected him to run and tell the Prince.
Times had changed. It was only a few months ago that Saisko had told her off for talking too much and now Tatanya did not want to talk to anyone! At least not about serious stuff.
“You can sit on the bed,” the Queen said as she saw Tatanya struggling to move a heavy wooden chair. Tatanya shrugged and hopped onto the bed next to the Queen, kicking off her shoes in the process. She then took one of the pillows and punched it into position before sitting back against it. When she was done she frowned at the incredulous look the Queen gave her.
“What?” Tatanya said.
“Nothing,” the Queen said smiling. She offered Tatanya the fruit bowl and told her to help herself. Tatanya gladly obliged taking two plums and a banana. This seemed to please the Queen and for a moment the two females sat in silence munching on their breakfast. Tatanya had grown accustomed to good food recently but this morning the fruit seemed to taste especially delicious. She was tempted to ask for an apple when the Queen spoke.
“Where is Atikass?”
Tatanya scowled. She knew the man was the Queen’s son but she had also seen the black eye the King sported and the bruising around his neck. Atikass had nearly killed the King and probably would have if the guards and Fyfe had not intervened.
“He is in the Pit my lady with Vashna.”
“The Pit? What in the Tri-moons is he doing down there? He is a Prince!”
“He tried to kill the King,” Tatanya blurted out.
“He was defending the Queen,” Mirinda said. It was not quite a shout but Tatanya clamped her mouth shut and knew to say no more. They sat in silence for a few minutes and then the Queen offered Tatanya the fruit bowl. The girl snatched an apple before she could say anything else to anger the Queen and force her to change her mind.
“It must be very hard for you,” Tatanya said. She had not liked how everyone spoke about the King since she had arrived with him at the White City but she could not imagine how difficult the Queen must be finding things. The Queen had returned to find a son she had not seen grow up ruling her Kingdom, a husband who she did not recognise and she had also brought with her a son everyone hated. How does one even begin to cope with that?
“I need you to do something for me,” the Queen said.
Tatanya said nothing and took another bite of her apple. She was already down to the core and now struggled to take a bite without eating the pips. A gust of wind blew through the room and twisted the curtain again. The dark blue fabric rolled like an ocean wave. Outside, the sound of soldier’s going through their morning drill drifted through the window. Tatanya thought she heard Fyfe barking orders but she couldn’t be sure.
“You want me to go down into the Pit, don’t you?” Tatanya said.
“Yes please, just to get a message to my son.”
Tatanya nodded. She had heard a lot about the Pit. It was supposed to be a place of nightmares where no one saw any light for years at a time. Tatanya was not exactly afraid of the darkness but she was not a lover of it either. She knew she would not like the oppressiveness of going underground and feeling the weight of the land above her head. Her mouth was too dry to answer the Queen and so she nodded. How could she refuse?
"How will I get in?"
The Queen smiled and winked.
***
Three days later Tatanya sat against a wall in the Pit. She had tucked her legs up to her chest and sobbed into her knees. A woman wailed from a cell nearby. It was not the standard sort of cry th
at you would expect from someone upset but more the beginnings of a wolf's howl which breaks into an out of tune note. In the darkness, it was terrifying. Tatanya had been in the Pit for at least twenty minutes and terror had engulfed her. The Queen had given her instructions how to enter the Pit through a trapdoor near one of the town houses. It had taken three days before Morag had permitted her some time off and Tatanya was eager to please the Queen. She had found the trapdoor easy enough but it was once she was inside the Pit things had gone wrong. The Queen could only guess which cell Atikass would most likely be kept in but her complicated directions had made little sense to Tatanya. She had said there would be left turns where there were none and stairs that did not exist.
With each step into the Pit Tatanya had become more frightened. She passed occupied cells where the prisoners stared at her with blank expressions - either they knew not to ask questions of those that entered or they simply no longer cared. It was the latter possibility which disturbed Tatanya the most.
A few of the prisoners did try to get her attention. Some beckoned her over or made lewd comments. As the Queen instructed, Tatanya ignored them all. One elderly man, his face lined with wrinkles and most of his teeth gone, had begged Tatanya to talk to him for a little while. He was desperate for company and longed to hear another voice and just to talk about something normal. Tatanya found this man the hardest to walk away from. His face fell when he realised she would not entertain his request and rather than get angry, he simply slumped to the floor and wept.
Now it was Tatanya who wept. She was lost and could not say for certain which direction she had come from. All the cells nearby were empty and the only thing she could hear was the wailing woman. Why had she agreed to the mission? It was not for her to do. The message the Queen wished to give her son was not even that important, "Stay calm, all will be well I promise." It was a stupid message. What else could Atikass do? He could hardly go anywhere. Escaping the Pit was nigh on possible and any fool knew Atikass would never leave his mother behind even if he could escape.
"Little girl, little girl, are you all alone?" the man’s voice was deep and taunting. She stopped sobbing instantly and held her breath. Her heart thudded against her chest. "You shouldn't have come down here all alone little girl. Not with me down here."
Tatanya stood and raised her torch. She peered down the passage behind her and the two that forked in front of her. She could not see anything. She was tempted to blow the flame out and hide. "Can't you see me little girl? You’re so pretty."
A sob escaped Tatanya and she bit down on the back of her fist as panic engulfed her. The flames from her torch danced across the walls as if they were attacking the darkness; probing the blackness and then jumping back. Tatanya was not sure how much comfort the torch brought. It lit up some of the corridors but made the shadows seem darker.
“You must have known you were stupid coming down here alone little girl. You only have yourself to blame,” the voice taunted.
Tatanya took a deep breath and when she exhaled, her breath shook into a sob. She had never felt so defenceless. Her instinct was to flee but she had no idea which direction to run in. For all she knew she could be running head first into the owner of the voice.
Saisko had always told her to confront that which made her afraid. The old woman had said to hold your chin up and shine a light in the face of what frightened you as everything shied away from bright light. Tatanya took another deep breath, forced her chin up and then lifted the torch.
“You don’t scare me,” she said to the empty corridor. “I know you can’t harm me. You are behind bars and I am free to walk around.”
The man did not respond and she thought she had succeeded in quietening him. She began to feel better, although she hated it when Saisko was right. The silence was comforting rather than disconcerting and she began to think clearly again. She did not remember coming across a fork in the corridor before, so therefore she must have come from the other direction. The Queen had also not mentioned any fork in her directions so Tatanya must have made a wrong turn along the way. Logically she needed to retrace her steps and find out where she had gone wrong. She would go all the way back to the start if needed.
Pleased at her common sense, Tatanya turned and began to walk back along the corridor.
“Are you sure you want to go back?” the voice said. Tatanya froze. Why did she think she had got rid of the voice? It seemed to come from all round her at once. “I will not let you get away this time.”
“I’m quite sure,” she said attempting to sound confident. A sinister chuckle emanated from the darkness. How did the man know she was a little girl? He must have seen her walk past him; which meant she had to go passed him again. Tatanya stamped her foot; she could have sworn all the cells she passed recently were empty.
She wanted to carry on but she was too scared. What if he reached out and grabbed her? She would not be able to defend herself against a grown man. What would he do to her?
“That’s right. Come back and see me.”
Tatanya knelt on the floor and closed her eyes. What could she do? If she carried on walking she was walking straight into danger. The man had virtually told her he was evil. What fool would go towards him? She could imagine news getting back to Taddysfield about her death. She imagined Chester in the barn shaking his head at the tragedy and muttering how Tatanya had got what she deserved, what was she thinking going down into the Pit and then walking past the man again after he had warned her not to.
“Atikass!” she shouted out. “You down here?”
“Yes, I am here. I am Kakness,” a shaky voice called out.
“No, it is I,” another one replied.
“I will be whoever you want me to be!” A woman called out and laughed.
“I ate Atikass for breakfast,” a gruff voice.
A host of voices answered her all claiming to be Atikass. All of them mocked her. Tatanya had no idea there were so many prisoners down there with her. She put the torch on the floor and covered her ears, willing the taunts to stop. Finally, they died down and she cautiously removed her hands from her ears.
“You’re one of us now little girl,” the original man called out. It seemed that when he spoke the others stayed silent for no one said anything more. "Welcome to the Pit."
Tatanya knew she could not stay on the floor forever but she could not bring herself to move. If she stayed there long enough surely the Queen would send someone to retrieve her? She had to. The Queen knew as well as Tatanya that she should not have sent her down into the Pit alone.
The man stopped talking and suddenly, a different sound filled the darkness. There came a dull clicking sound on the stone floor. Tatanya strained to see the source of the noise but saw nothing. The sound grew louder: Click, click, click. He had not spoken but Tatanya thought of the stranger. Was it him? Was he free? Suddenly something came scooting out of the darkness. It was not the man but a huge rodent. It scurried towards her all teeth and eyes. It was the size of a small puppy. Tatanya screamed but the rodent showed no fear and kept on coming. She screamed a second time when the rat reached her and began sniffing her. She felt the whiskers tickle her skin. She sobbed out a third scream but of course the rat did not move. It just became more curious. She felt its wet nose nuzzle her skin.
"Please go," she muttered between tears but the rat just carried on sniffing.
She flicked out with her hand, swiping it away. She gasped as she felt a short, sharp pain on the back of her hand. The rat had bitten her in retaliation. This time she lashed out with her foot. The rat squealed and retreated to the darkness. Tatanya shook her hand to control the pain before thrusting it under her armpit. She squeezed her lips together. When she finally looked at her hand using the torch light she saw it was bloody and the skin had peeled back making a small flap. She smoothed it down flat and swooned as the blood bubbled underneath.
"Scream again for me little girl. I love the sound of your scream," the stranger
's voice called hauntingly. "Are you screaming just for me? You are, aren't you? Can you come and scream in front of me?"
Tatanya put her hand in her mouth. She sucked on her blood on instinct like an animal licking its wounds. The blood tasted metallic. She trembled with fear. She should never have come down. She should never have come to the Pit. It was stupid. She crawled over to the wall on her hands and knees. The bite stung where dirt had got under the skin. She lay with her back to the wall and stared down the corridor looking in both directions for both the stranger and the returning rat.
"Shall I come to you then?" the stranger said.
Tatanya did not reply. She willed her eyes to penetrate the darkness and see into the shadows. Despite the taunts, there was no sign of the man who had teased her relentlessly for the past...how long had it been? Minutes? Hours? She closed her eyes and thought of her home. Saisko was a bossy cow but she knew the old woman had loved her. She had been the guardian her parents failed to be. Tatanya had been too eager to leave it all behind.
A hand clamped down on her shoulder and Tatanya screamed her loudest scream yet.
Chapter 12
The dying man slid off the end of Kisvar Zavos’ blade. Jensen turned away before the man hit the floor and began to wipe away the man’s blood from the steel on his padded leather vest. The smear joined the others which he had put there that morning. Three men lay dead on the sand and the man he had just dispatched would mark the fourth today. In total, he had killed over a dozen in the past few days.
The dying man lay twitching he was choking up blood and pleading to be put out of his misery. Jensen looked at the blade he had just wiped and sighed. He thrust the sword through the man’s throat silencing him forever. He barely flinched at the deaths now. What was the point? If he did he would only be subjected to more punishment. Goater would increase the dosage of whatever concoction he cooked up for Jensen.
