The Wildkin's Curse

by Kate Forsyth

  Zed’s father, Pedrin, shook both boys warmly by the hand, while Priscilla hung on Zed’s arm, asking a dozen questions at once. Tom-Tit-Tot rose on his paws and chittered at her, and she shrieked, ‘Oh, keep it away from me! Does it bite? Where did it come from? It smells awful!’

  One of the serving-women rose to her feet and gestured to all the others to rise also. They bobbed their heads respectfully and withdrew, walking backwards and bowing again twice before withdrawing. One pretty young woman, with a tumble of dark curls under her white cap, withdrew more slowly, eyeing the scene with avid curiosity, and had to be beckoned to hurry by the others.

  ‘But who is this?’ Lady Lisandre smiled at Liliana and drew her into the circle. ‘We have not met before, have we?’

  ‘You’ll never guess who it is!’ Zed crowed. ‘She’s Briony’s niece!’

  ‘No!’

  ‘Briony has a niece?’

  Liliana nodded and smiled, feeling shyer than she ever had in her life.

  ‘But he’s a boy,’ Priscilla protested. ‘Don’t you mean nephew?’

  ‘Are you really Briony’s niece?’ Lady Lisandre said. ‘I didn’t know she had a brother or sister.’

  ‘She only discovered me a year ago,’ Liliana said. ‘We both thought we were foundlings, with no family in the world.’

  ‘How wonderful for you both, to have found each other. And I’m so pleased you’ve come to visit us. Zed, where are your manners? Introduce us properly.’

  ‘Mama, Papa, it gives me great pleasure to present to you Lady Liliana Vendavala, niece of the Erlrune and granddaughter of Avannia, the former Erlqueen of the Stormlinn. Lili, this is my mother, Lady Lisandre, and my father, Pedrin, and this noisy shrieking thing is my sister, Priscilla.’

  ‘I’m very pleased to meet you,’ Liliana said. She winced inwardly at how awkward she sounded but lifted her chin proudly, determined not to show how overawed she was.

  ‘But why is she dressed as a boy?’ Priscilla persisted, talking over the top of all Zed’s parents’ exclamations and greetings.

  ‘She’s masquerading as my squire. You must call her Laurie.’

  ‘But why?’

  ‘Come, sit down, you must be chilled to the bone,’ Lisandre said, drawing Liliana to the other chair by the fire.

  Her husband Pedrin hastily caught up his lute and retired to stand before the flames, regarding Liliana with a twinkle in his eyes. ‘A girl masquerading as my son’s squire? What coil of trouble have you got yourselves into?’

  ‘It’s a long story,’ Zed began.

  Pedrin and Lisandre laughed. ‘It always is!’

  The laughter died from their eyes when they heard the task Zedrin and Merry had been set. Both understood all too well how dangerous a task it was, because the boys not only risked being exposed as rebels and traitors but put the whole family in danger too.

  ‘I suppose it had to come at some point,’ Lisandre said faintly. ‘I mean, we have done our best here in Estelliana and tried every way we could think of to change starkin rule without actually challenging the king.’

  ‘It seems fateful, somehow, that Briony should suggest such a task at the very time when Zed’s presence has been called for at court,’ Pedrin said slowly. ‘I wonder, did she know?’

  ‘There is little the Erlrune does not see in the Well of Fates,’ Lady Lisandre said.

  ‘What’s this about my presence being called for in court?’ Zed demanded. ‘We saw Zakary on the way in, and he said he’d come to give me some court polish. I’d really rather he didn’t.’

  ‘So would we all,’ Pedrin answered with a stifled laugh.

  ‘There have been developments at court,’ Lady Lisandre said. ‘I hardly know how to tell you this . . .’

  ‘The king has called for all the counts to present themselves at court,’ Priscilla said, clasping her hands together and casting her eyes heavenwards. ‘Rumour has it that whoever pleases him shall be offered the hand of his granddaughter in marriage. Isn’t it romantic?”

  ‘What?’ Zed and Liliana cried together.

  ‘But I understood the king’s granddaughter was kept captive, like one of his zoo of wildkin,’ Merry said, sitting down on one of the footstools and taking the black ferret into his lap. ‘I thought they reviled her for her wildkin blood.’

  ‘The last little heir to the throne has just died,’ Lady Lisandre said gently. ‘It is tragic for Princess Adora, she is only young herself and yet she has lost all of her children. Some kind of mysterious bleeding disease.’

  ‘That is what comes of marrying your mother’s cousin,’ Pedrin said grimly.

  Liliana must have looked confused, because Merry leant forward and said, ‘Princess Adora is yet another of Zed’s cousins . . .’

  ‘Third cousin,’ Zed said. ‘Her grandmother was cousin to my grandfather. She married Prince Zander at the age of fifteen, even though he was her mother’s cousin.’

  ‘His previous wife had lost all her children too,’ Lisandre said, shaking her head in sorrow. ‘So sad.’

  ‘Indeed, you have to wonder if all the rumours of a curse are true,’ Pedrin said.

  Lisandre looked at him fondly. ‘It’s all just gossip, darling. Curses aren’t real. No, I think it must just be bad blood, come from too many cousins marrying each other.’

  ‘Well, whatever the causes, Princess Adora has lost six little ones now, in as many years, and the doctors have warned the king that it may be dangerous for her to attempt anymore,’ Pedrin said. ‘Prince Zander was apoplectic with rage, we heard . . .’

  ‘Zakary said he went quite purple and almost popped all his buttons,’ Priscilla giggled.

  ‘We think Prince Zander’s failure to produce an heir is the reason behind the king’s decision,’ Pedrin went on. ‘Zed, he has amended the law to permit inheritance by a daughter, or the offspring of a daughter, as long as there are no male heirs. Do you know how long we’ve been petitioning for this? It changes everything for you.’

  ‘No! Really? I never thought he would.’ Zed was genuinely astounded.

  ‘It means Ziggy can officially name you his heir now,’ Lady Lisandre said. ‘You know he’s not been well, and it’s been worrying him a lot.’

  ‘Did the king amend the law so his granddaughter can inherit the throne?’ Merry asked. ‘Even though she’s born of a wildkin mother?’

  ‘Or her sons, at least. Yes, we think so.’

  ‘But . . . Prince Zander was never married to Rozalina’s mother, was he?’ Merry asked.

  ‘Prince Zander has declared that he was properly married to Princess Shoshanna, under starkin rule. You know that the starkin have the rule of three when it comes to weddings—there must be consent, there must be a dowry as the sign of parental consent, and the marriage must be consummated. Well, according to Prince Zander there was all three.’

  ‘Princess Shoshanna never consented!’ Liliana cried. ‘He kept her as his concubine!’

  ‘Apparently she did. There are witnesses who swear that she whispered, “Yes, I must go with you,” and that she did not fight him. That is consent enough, according to the king’s councillors,’ Pedrin said.

  ‘What about the dowry? There was no dowry and no parental consent,’ Liliana argued.

  ‘The Spear of the Storm King,’ Merry said. ‘Didn’t Prince Zander take the spear?’

  ‘Yes,’ Liliana said. ‘But that wasn’t a dowry. That was theft!’

  ‘So the king must mean for Princess Rozalina to inherit,’ Zed said wonderingly. ‘If she has been declared legitimate, and the law of female inheritance changed . . . it seems impossible. She has been captive all her life, exhibited like an animal in a zoo. However did she persuade him?’

  ‘The king must badly want someone of his own blood to inherit,’ Lisandre said.

  ‘He will marry her to a man of his choice, who will then reign as king. Or at least that is what we suspect he intends,’ Pedrin answered.

  ‘How dare he!’ Liliana cried.
Her fists were clenched, her eyes stormy. She got up and paced the room. ‘Oh, it’s so wrong! She is Erlqueen of the Stormlinn, not some milch-cow that the king can put up for auction at market!’

  Pedrin exchanged a glance with his wife. ‘Do you not think it may be a way to bring peace to the realm?’ he asked. ‘King Zabrak is an old, frail man now, and his son, they say, is fat and sick from too much good living. If Princess Rozalina was to marry someone wise and good and strong . . .’

  ‘Like you, Zed!’ Priscilla cried.

  CHAPTER 12

  Swan Feathers

  ZED WAS FLABBERGASTED. ‘LIKE ME? WHATEVER CAN YOU MEAN?’

  ‘That’s why you’re going to court,’ she said. ‘To ask for Princess Rozalina’s hand.’

  ‘Me? You must be joking. I don’t want to marry anyone,’ Zed said.

  ‘We think that is why you have been summoned to court,’ Pedrin said. ‘So the king can inspect you as a potential suitor for his granddaughter.’

  ‘There are so few of the Ziv left,’ Lady Lisandre said sadly. ‘So few had children who survived. I think of Princess Druzilla, who lost nine babies, and Princess Adora who has lost six, and then poor Ziggy. All his children died before they reached the age of ten, and then his wife died too. He says he cannot bear to marry again.’

  ‘Which is why Zed is his heir,’ Priscilla said happily.

  ‘So this new law, it means Zed is now in line for the throne?’ Merry said, grinning at his friend who was looking dismayed.

  ‘Yes, after Prince Zander, Ziggy is the next in line, and then Zed, and then, unfortunately, Zakary. All three of you are descended from the female line. So you see, King Zabrak has to change the laws else there’d be no-one left to legally claim the throne,’ Pedrin said. ‘You know we have always wondered . . .’

  ‘Yes, yes, I know. The prophecy.’ Zed shifted his shoulders uncomfortably.

  ‘The king-breaker, the king-maker,’ Lady Lisandre quoted. ‘Maybe it means that, one day, your son . . .’

  ‘Or maybe even you yourself,’ Pedrin said.

  ‘Particularly if you marry the king’s granddaughter,’ Priscilla put in, bright-eyed. ‘Imagine! I’d be Princess Priscilla!’

  ‘I’m afraid not, darling,’ Lisandre said. ‘Only direct descendants of the present king can claim that title. Unless you marry a prince, of course, and the only prince is already married.’

  ‘You want me to marry this girl?’ Zed was astounded. ‘You want me to try and become king? You hate court! You call it a nest of vipers.’

  ‘Well, it is a nest of vipers,’ Pedrin said. ‘Don’t misunderstand us, my boy. We would never force you to marry anyone you didn’t want to. Besides, we do not know why the king has summoned you to court. It’s all rumour and speculation. All we know is that he has amended the law, and suddenly you are only a few steps away from the throne.’

  ‘What about your other cousin?’ Liliana asked. ‘The girl whose babies all died. Isn’t she an heir now too?’

  ‘The new law permits women to inherit only if there is no male heir,’ Pedrin explained. ‘So Princess Adora can only inherit if all the male heirs and her stepdaughter die first. Oh, and her mother, of course.’

  ‘How barbaric,’ Liliana said icily.

  Lady Lisandre smiled rather wearily. ‘It is strange that Briony should send you to the capital city just when all this is happening, Zed, darling,’ she said. ‘The Erlrune always sees further than we can. I cannot help but wonder if that is how you are meant to rescue this wildkin princess, by simply marrying her.’

  Liliana thought of the ragged cloak of feathers, rolled and concealed at the bottom of her satchel, and the two feathers already plucked. ‘I doubt it could be so easy,’ she said drily. Lady Lisandre looked at her in surprise, but nodded her agreement.

  ‘Besides, I’m sure Princess Rozalina would rather marry you than Zakary,’ Priscilla said. ‘Anyone would!’

  Zed grinned, and said, ‘Thanks, I think.’

  A gong sounded in the distance. Lady Lisandre flew up out of her chair. ‘We’ve been so busy catching up I haven’t done a thing about making sure there’s dinner for you, or a bed, or a nice hot bath. You can’t come to dinner like that! Do you want to go and have a quick wash and tidy-up and then have dinner, or will I ask the cook to hold dinner back so you can have a proper bath?’

  ‘Dinner!’ Zed and Merry said simultaneously.

  ‘You will have to fly,’ Lady Lisandre cried. ‘Priscilla, will you look after Lady Liliana for me?’

  ‘Laurie!’ the three said at once.

  ‘Very well, Laurie. But I can’t very well let her bathe with you boys, can I? Priscilla, call Annie and get her to organise a room, and some hot water, and some fresh clothes, and then ask her to bring Liliana . . . I mean, Laurie . . . down to the supper room. We’ll eat in half an hour. Any longer and the cook will have hysterics.’

  As Liliana left the warm, golden-lit room, she noticed that the door was standing slightly ajar. It made her feel uneasy, but Priscilla did not seem to notice, chatting away merrily about the proposed trip to court and whether her father would permit her to go too.

  ‘For I am fifteen already, which is when most girls are presented at court,’ she said. ‘Annie! Annie!’

  The pretty maidservant with the dark curls came forward from an alcove where she had been waiting. ‘Yes, my lady?’

  ‘We need a room prepared for Li . . . I mean, Laurie, my brother’s new squire,’ Priscilla said airily. ‘Best give him a room near Merry’s. He’ll need a jug of hot water and some soap. Best get him some clean shirts too, they’ve been living rough in the forest for a few weeks, and phew, can’t we tell!’

  ‘Very well, my lady,’ Annie said, bobbing a curtsey. She led Liliana down the hall and up a narrow spiral staircase. ‘This is the servants’ staircase,’ she said, eyeing Liliana in open curiosity. ‘You must use this and not the main staircase, that is for the family’s use only. So you are a friend of the family, are you? How do they know you? Where are you from?’

  ‘I am from Sennaval,’ Liliana answered cautiously. ‘My aunt knew Lady Lisandre when she was a girl.’

  ‘Sennaval!’ Annie gave a theatrical shudder. ‘I do not know how you could bear to live there, so close to the Perilous Forest. They say the wildkin creep out at night and strangle children as they lie sleeping in their beds. It makes my blood run cold!’

  ‘Nonsense!’ Liliana said sharply. ‘The wildkin don’t strangle babies. Why would they want to? It’s a lie.’

  Annie looked at her speculatively. ‘They say that some of the folk at Sennaval have wildkin blood themselves, living as close to the forest as they do. I always thought it had to be a rumour, for who’d want to lie with a wildkin monster?’

  Liliana felt her temper rise. She took a deep breath and said shortly, ‘There are all kinds in Sennaval, just as there are anywhere else. Is this my room? I’d be grateful for that hot water as soon as possible. I don’t want to be late for dinner.’

  ‘Hoity-toity,’ Annie said with a toss of her ringlets. ‘I’m Lady Priscilla’s lady-in-waiting, not some scullery maid. You’ll get your hot water when I get round to passing along the message downstairs, and not before, Master Snooty.’

  She opened a door into a small, plain room, and then flounced away down the hall, leaving Liliana to enter the chilly room alone and sit on the bed, her head bent, her eyes stinging with sudden tears of homesickness.

  Liliana did not sleep well that night. She was all stirred up with emotions she did not understand. After dinner, Merry and Pedrin had played their lutes together, and the music they created had been the most ravishing thing she had ever heard. It had made her feel like weeping, something Liliana hated to do. It made her feel soft and vulnerable and filled with longing, when she needed to be strong and ruthless. She lay in her soft bed, feeling a weight of stone upon her, and a dangerous ache in her heart. She chanted softly to herself, ‘A spear of thunder, to smite the thron
e of stars asunder. A spear of thunder . . .’

  It did not help her sleep.

  Liliana must have drifted off eventually because she woke much later, sweating and trembling, sure she had heard some dreadful sound. She lay silently, every nerve strained, listening.

  It was just light enough for her to see the heavy swag of velvet that hung above her, and the grey square of the window. She heard a soft pad of footsteps outside her door. The footsteps paused. Liliana groped under her pillow for her dagger.

  ‘Lili?’ Merry whispered. ‘Are you awake?’

  She hesitated for a moment, then got up and went to open the door, very aware of her nakedness under her chemise.

  Merry leant against the wall on the other side, looking haggard and dishevelled. The ferret clung to his shoulder, eyes wide and frightened. ‘I have had the most terrible dream,’ he whispered. ‘I think we should go now and seize that swan feather.’

  Liliana nodded and pulled her breeches and boots on under her chemise. She caught up her cloak and wrapped it about her, then grabbed her bow and quiver and the satchel with its precious cargo of cloak and feathers. She refused to leave it out of her sight, particularly in this starkin castle.

  The two friends raced up the back stairs to the floor where the ziv Estaria family slept, and woke Zed as quietly as they could. As they hurried down the shadowy corridor, Liliana heard a door open and shut softly as someone came out of a room. It was Wilhelm, the soldier who had been on duty at the gate the night before. His fair hair was tousled, and he was buttoning up his shirt, his padded jacket hanging over his arm.

  ‘Wilhelm!’ Zed cried. ‘What on earth are you doing on this floor?’

  Wilhelm jumped visibly and turned, his face reddening. ‘My lord! I . . . I’m sorry. I didn’t expect . . .’

  ‘That was my sister’s suite of rooms!’ Zed strode forward and seized the soldier by the arm. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘I’m betrothed to her maid, Annie,’ Wilhelm replied in a low, sullen voice. ‘We’ll be married as soon as we can save enough—which won’t be any time soon on my wages.’