The Unfortunate Souls Collection

by Stacey Rourke

  “I was in the nursery of the princess?” Sterling scowled, visibly perplexed by such an accusation. A crowd had begun to form in the square, the sounds of their scuffle waking the sleeping court. A beat later Sterling’s eyes brightened. “Ah, yes! I was in the nursery of the princess!”

  “He admits it!”

  “To the stocks with him!”

  “The king will have his head!” The armor-clad soldiers shouted over each other.

  I took a step toward helping him, only to be hit by a powerful wave of vertigo. Hand gripping the door frame, I struggled to steady myself. My eyes. Something was wrong with my eyes. Blinking hard, I squinted to focus.

  “Alastor! There’s my friend Alastor!” Limp feet thumping up the stairs, Sterling was heaved onto the raised platform of the stocks. “Tell them! Tell them about my affliction!”

  Pushing off the door, I staggered out through the haze causing my temples to pound. “He … slends up paces,” was the best my thick tongue could slur.

  “Compelling counterpoint, by the drunk,” one of the soldiers sneered, shoving Sterling forward with more force than necessary.

  Blinking hard, I opened my eyes to a world of starbursts and strobing colors. Jaw swinging slack, I marveled at the flashes of pink and purple pulsating around Sterling in a hypnotic current. The soldiers manhandling him were haloed by a pulse of red flaring around them. Every person my stare swung to reflected another variation of a color.

  While I was momentarily frozen by this newfound rainbow, Sterling’s head was snapped forward by an elbow to the skull. “Gents, please! If you could just give me a moment, this can all be explained as the innocent act it was!”

  “You can tell us all about it, while you’re locked up and baking in the midday sun!” the husky guard with a red, wiry beard growled. Gritting his teeth, he attempted to shove Sterling into the binding contraption, only to have him wriggle from his grasp.

  “I would really prefer we talk beforehand.” Squeezing his eyes shut, Sterling vanished with an audible pop. While the guards holding him fumbled to regain their footing, he reappeared perched crosslegged atop of the stocks. “Am I back? Is all of me here?”

  “Commander, he has magic!” A young soldier with a rash of freckles yelped, reaching for his sword.

  “I do?” Sterling pulled back, arms pinwheeling to keep his balance. “How wonderful! What kind?”

  “Get down at once!” red-beard rumbled. Hand curling around one of the support posts, he scanned the contraption for his own way up.

  “Gladly, just as soon as you stop trying to stick my head in things,” Sterling bargained with an enthusiastic nod.

  Using one of the arm restraints as a foothold, Red-beard heaved himself up with a series of strained grunts. “No such agreement will be made. You will come down and face your sentencing like a man!”

  The instant his hand closed around Sterling’s ankle, the enigmatic imp disappeared yet again. This time he solidified on top of the castle wall. Patting himself down, he did a cursory scan to ensure all his parts made the journey with him. “Bugger, my pants are on backwards. Hope the bits underneath are still facing the proper way.”

  “Enough of these foolish games!” Jumping down from the stocks, the captain’s boots slammed against the wooden platform, kicking up a cloud of dust. “Archers, take aim! Come down, son, or we will shoot you down!”

  As the soldiers readied their weapons, the crimson light enveloping them throbbed with waves of inky black. My stomach knotted with the palpable malice of their intent, acidic rancor scorching up my throat.

  “Such a ruckus so early in the day,” a voice, which rang with familiarity, chortled from the castle’s grand door. “What seems to be the trouble?”

  Without hesitation, every soldier took a knee. Every head bowed. Except for mine, because I was busy watching the light track from my own hand. And Sterling’s, because he was introducing himself to a butterfly. Not a proud moment for either of us.

  “Your Majesty,” Red-beard spoke to the ground, “that loon atop the wall was found in the princess’ nursery this morning. We meant only to hold him until you could question him on his intentions, and rule accordingly.”

  “My intentions?” Sterling asked the butterfly, as if the insect was questioning his character. “She’s but a bairn. My lone intent was to protect her.”

  Folding his hands before his slight frame, the man I now realized to be the king tilted his head. Thick hair, streaked with grey, spilled over his shoulders. The shimmer buzzing around him, for my eyes only, glowed a vibrant amethyst. “Protect her from what?”

  As he posed the question, a petite beauty edged up behind him. Her lips were the brilliant red of a freshly bloomed rose. Hair polished ebony. Skin the soft pallet of fresh fallen snow. However, none of those elements could touch the enchanting white light resonating out of this captivating creature. In her arms, she cradled a cherub-faced baby cooing and squirming in a yellow nightgown with red and blue piping.

  “Liam, you need to stop this,” the woman I guessed to be his queen demanded, shifting the baby from one hip to the other.

  Sterling danced a precarious circle on the ledge, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “The queen! Ever so late! Yet, she’s here. Her watch must be set two days behind.” Jerking at his own rambling, the point of his chin twitched to the side. “But, there are no watches here, are there? It would be so nice if something made sense for a change.”

  King Liam tensed at the disconcerting news it fell to him to deliver. “I can’t, dear heart. It seems the guards found this man in Princess Snow’s nursery this morning.”

  Finally finding my voice, I dragged my leaden feet forward. “I can vouch for him. He’s a bit … eccentric, but he wouldn’t harm anyone.” The words soured on my tongue, sorely lacking the flavor of truth. I barely knew the man. What he was doing in that child’s room, I dreaded to think. But if I didn’t speak in his favor, who would?

  “I know, I was there,” the queen nonchalantly admitted, as if plucking the doubt from my mind and crushing it between her bejeweled fingers.

  The clustered audience sucked in a shocked gasp at the drama unfolding.

  Their king, on the other hand, was far from amused. Chest swelling, he spun on his queen, frantic gaze inspecting every inch of her. “Evelyn! Why is this the first I’m hearing of this? Are you okay?”

  “We are both fine,” she clarified, clucking at the grinning infant. “I fell asleep on the lounge in her room, and woke to a lovely song our new friend was crooning to little Snow. He didn’t touch her. Didn’t reach for her. Just peered down, and sang a sweet tune. Truth be told, I thought it was a dream, until the guards burst in. A fact we both need to consider, Liam, is that he had time and opportunity to hurt us if that was his intent. Fortunately, he did not. I’m of the mind to accept that blessing and hear him out. Or, at the very least, find out how he got so deep into the castle without alerting our slew of soldiers.”

  The guards and spectators fell silent, waiting with breathless anticipation for the king’s reaction.

  Brow knit in a deep V of concern, King Liam warned, “If anything had happened to either of you …”

  Placing her palm over his heart, Queen Evelyn murmured in a soothing caress, “Love, it didn’t.”

  “Neither lass was ever in any danger!” Sterling crowed. One step forward and he tumbled off the wall’s edge. Screeching as he fell, he landed in a low crouch that surprised even him. He bounced to his feet, pouncing on his point before it evaded him. “That’s why I was there. To protect the baby. Cures … cures are hard to find. A pill here. A vial there. Eat me. Drink me. There’s no way to know. No way to be certain. Prevention is key, and good advice indeed.”

  “Florencio,” lip curling in distain, King Liam called to Red-beard, “have you any idea what this interloper is trying to say?”

  “Not in the least, Majesty.” A roll of his shoulders caused Florencio’s armor to shift and clap. “I thin
k he’s quite mad.”

  Exchanging brooding glares, the energy surrounding the king and his men hissed and crackled. Their alarm festered into fingers of red and orange that clawed around them in vicious warning.

  Shifting her hold on the baby, Queen Evelyn ignored her husband’s glower and delivered the princess into his arms. “Keep the swords sheathed, lads. Let’s pretend to be civilized and try diplomacy over bloodshed.” Heels clicking over the cobblestone portico, she lifted the hem of her gown and descended the stairs. “What is your name, friend?”

  Eyes wide and manic, Sterling blinked his astonishment that someone actually wanted to listen to him. “Sterling, ma’am.”

  Closing the distance between them, she greeted him with a warm smile. “It’s a pleasure to put a name to that lovely serenade, Sterling. Could you tell me what it was you felt you needed to protect the princess from?”

  Wetting his lips, his head twitched side to side, rifling through the chaos in his mind for the needed information. “Sickness comes for sweet Snow. Brought by one you’re yet to know. Take from no strangers any offered loot. Threat comes in the form of … No, that can’t be right.” Sterling chewed on the inside of his cheek, second-guessing the path this line of thought had led him down. Looking to the queen, his stare pleaded for understanding. “Fruit? Threat comes in the form of fruit?”

  Glassy silence followed, only to be shattered by sharp peals of laughter. The square came alive with guffaws at Sterling’s expense. Each thrown-back head and pointed finger shrank him further in on himself.

  Queen Evelyn maintained a maternal compassion. Stepping closer, she gave his arm a comforting squeeze. “Where did you get this information from? Maybe if we look there we can solve this mystery together?”

  Face crumbling, Sterling blinked back a wash of tears. “I’ve spilled the tea and now I’m not invited to the party.” Grey waves of crestfallen frustration oozed from him, spawned by his inability to find the right words.

  Answering his silent scream for help, I cleared my throat to speak over the titters of laughter. “As the queen attested to, this man is no threat. If you release him into my care, we will take our leave.”

  The laughter died on King Liam’s lips, his eyes narrowing with recognition. “If it isn’t the hero from yesterday’s ruckus in the courtyard.” Energy melding to a deep plum, the king passed the princess to Florencio and trotted down the stairs. “Tell me, lad, this traveling companion of yours, do you see good in him?”

  Feeling the heat of Sterling’s stare boring into the side of my face, I lifted my chin to the king. “He may seem a bit eccentric, but he’s hurt no one.”

  Inching closer, the king’s shoulders lifted to his ears in a dismissive shrug. “I don’t believe that’s what I asked. Look at him. Can you see his goodness?”

  I dragged my tongue over my teeth, white-washing my face of growing unease. “I saw as you did, my Lord. That his misguided efforts were meant to help. After all, isn’t that the closest to insight any of us can achieve?”

  Folding his hands as if in prayer, the king pressed his knuckles to his bearded chin. “In ancient scribes there are mentions of oracles who can see the truth within another. Perhaps you possess such a nature?”

  “Liam, what do such inane ponderings matter? No harm has been done. Let’s let them go, and return to our breakfast. Linger much longer, and your favorite cheese biscuits will be cold.” Princess Snow began to fuss, prompting Queen Evelyn to wave Florencio over with her. Honoring her command, he handed over the royal treasure awkwardly nestled in his chainmail clad arms.

  “In good time, dearest!” Liam waggled one finger over his head. “I indulged your inquiry. Humor mine for a moment, won’t you? I long to learn more about the noble man who makes a habit of swooping in to save others. Tell me, hero, do you know this Sterling? Is he friend, or family to you?”

  “This reality is frightening.” Edging up beside me, Sterling pinched the fabric of my sleeve between his fingers and gave it a tug. “My only weapon is my imagination, and I fear that blade is dull.”

  “Neither, Your Highness. We met briefly before,” I confirmed. “Even fought alongside each other as brothers in war. I hate to disappoint you, but I’m just a simple-minded fool who chooses to see the good in people.”

  “Someone armed that aberration?” Florencio snorted.

  Maintaining an eerie calm, King Liam’s tone dropped to a measured purr. “I wonder if what you refer to as simple, is untested talents? Perhaps a trial of sorts is in order?”

  Queen Evelyn rested the baby on her cocked hip, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing. “Liam—love of my life, wise and noble king of Caselotti—what the blazes are you doing?”

  “All in good fun, my Queen. I’m sure our new friend wouldn’t mind a demonstration. Let’s start with,” the king’s breath caught, a devilish glint crinkling the corners of his eyes, “my wife. Use this clairvoyance of yours. Read our beloved queen, and tell me what you see.”

  Squaring her shoulders, Evelyn’s jaw tensed. “Liam, whatever you’re playing at, stop at once.”

  Before my gaze swung her way, I made up my mind not to acknowledge the newfound lights I could sense. Not when Sterling’s display of magical talents had been met with hostile alarm. Then, I looked at the striking queen. Really looked at her. That haloing glow, mesmerizing with its twinkling purity, faded around the edges. Rippling out, her wholesome white faded into murky wafts. Each wave hinted at an essence soon to be snuffed out.

  Stunned by the revelation, the words tumbled from my lips before I could think to filter them. “She’s sick.”

  While those two words earned a gasp from the onlookers, a victorious smirk tugged at the corner of the king’s mouth.

  The world slowed to a crawl, a dull roar screaming in my ears. “You knew,” I rasped to the scheming king. “You were the one hidden in the shadows of the square last night, watching the priestess conjure her spell.”

  Evelyn’s flawless forehead puckered. “Liam, what is he talking about?”

  Thumbing my nose at royal etiquette, I stepped chest to chest with the king. Triggered by my advance, his men drew their swords. “You’ll be on your back before they take one step,” I growled. “What the hell did you do to me, and why?”

  “Sheath your swords,” Liam ordered his men, his cadence oddly serene and accepting. When Florencio hesitated, the king tore his stare from mine to address his man. “Clear the square, at once.”

  “Yes, Your Highness.” A nod to his fellow soldiers, and Florencio hopped to his task of waving spectators back to their homes.

  “I will be up to feed her shortly,” Queen Evelyn murmured to the handmaid who scurried over to collect the princess.

  Lips pressed in a thin line, Liam waited for the footfalls to pad off in various directions before answering to my demands. “My wife … is dying,” he admitted, voice cracking with emotion. “We have revealed to the kingdom that she’s ill, but have kept the true nature of her condition quiet.”

  “At my request,” Evelyn added, taking her husband’s arm.

  Linking the fingers of his free hand with hers, Liam dotted a tender kiss between her knuckles. “There’s legend of a mirror,” he continued. “A timeless artifact that possesses all truth. Any question will be answered, as long as posed by one noble of heart, and blessed with the gift of sight. I opened the doors to the kingdom, and planted a few disorderly characters in hopes a champion would be uncovered. And you were. Through magical influence it was possible to add the second needed attribute.” Pivoting on the ball of his foot, the king beseeched his queen. “Evelyn, don’t you see? This could be the key to restoring your health!”

  “You cursed an unsuspecting stranger?” Eyes bulging, Evelyn blinked in disbelief.

  “I would do this and worse to keep you safe,” Liam explained, desperation snaking through his bold statement. “His quest will be a simple one! He merely needs to recover the artifact, and bring it back that we may re
trieve our answers!”

  “And if I were to say no?” I asked, drumming my fingers over the hilt of my dagger.

  As the queen jabbed her hands on her hips, her brow hitched in anticipation of his response.

  Tongue dragging over his lower lip, King Liam uttered the potential consequences as if they pained him. “Of course, you will be free to go if you so choose. Your friend, however, did trespass in the castle. I’m afraid he will have to stay and answer for his crimes.”

  She shook her head, the exertion from the conflict draining her complexion waxen. “Liam, I am horrified, and beyond disappointed in you.”

  Catching her hands in his, Liam ducked his head to draw her reluctant regard back to his face. “I acted in desperation! I won’t deny that. But I did so because I can’t fathom living in a world without you in it. No lives have been harmed or risked. Yet, a treasured one could be saved if it works. I can’t, and won’t, be sorry for that.”

  Pulling her hands away, Evelyn’s chin trembled. “You are so wrong about that, my love. One is at risk. Yours. As the kind and gentle man who stole my heart.”

  Their touching moment registered as little more than background noise to the deafening buzz reverberating in my mind. With detached numbness, I let my stare sweep over the kingdom. The castle loomed before me, a towering jewel of regal pageantry. On the remaining three sides, shops and humble homes nestled against the rock wall.

  “So far from home,” I mused to myself more than the squabbling royals. “Yet, so much is still the same. Both are ruled by those charged with making lofty decisions that dictate the lives of others. I wouldn’t be here now if a young king didn’t feel pressured to protect his precious throne.”

  “How horrible,” Evelyn fretted, her hand fluttering to the jewels strung round her neck.

  “I’m not in search of pity. I simply need you to understand that I recognize the desire to protect the people you hold dear, at all cost. I will honor the king’s request to find this mirror for two reasons. First, if it was my love, Vanessa, I wouldn’t stop until I found a way to save her, same as you. Secondly,” throwing my arms out wide, I huffed a humorless laugh, “I understand my position here, and that I have no real choice in this matter.”