She stood up and stepped towards the opening.
“Marie.”
She stopped and looked down at Rafe. He didn’t need to say anything; she could read his emotions on his face.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll be careful.”
“Draw one of your knives, just in case.”
She nodded. Rafe had insisted that she start carrying two concealed knives, and for the first time she felt glad of their presence. The hilt was reassuringly solid in her hand.
Carefully, she crept down the passageway. Sure enough, it turned after only a handful of steps. Once again, the light levels dropped and the air quickly turned stale. Even so, she could see a long corridor before her, stretching into distant darkness.
“Hello?”
The voice sounded much clearer this time and she gasped.
“William?” She almost screamed his name. “William, where are you?”
There was an excruciatingly long pause.
“Marie?” He sounded incredulous. “Is this some sort of trick?”
She ran down the passageway towards his voice.
An arm suddenly appeared before her and she swung around to face it. Sure enough, despite the gloom, she could just make out her brother’s familiar features. His arm stretched out between two bars of a cell door that had somehow been secured in the stone opening of a small cave. He looked terrible, pale with large circles under his eyes. But he also looked unharmed.
She gripped his arm and cried tears of relief. “William, you’re here! You’re alive! Are you all right?”
He laughed a little shakily. “Come on, Mare, no tears. That’s not like you. I’m fine. The real question is what in the kingdoms are you doing here?”
She dried her cheeks and shook her head. “That’s much too long a story. How do I get you out?”
She looked around, hoping a key would miraculously appear.
It didn’t.
“Is that a knife you’ve got there?” William held out his hand. “Here, give it to me.”
She did, and he twisted both arms through the bars, gripping the large lock.
“Hopefully this should only take a minute… almost there…” A loud grating sound echoed against the stone. “Got it!” He sounded triumphant. “That has got to be the worst lock I’ve ever seen. I could have saved myself some very boring days if only they hadn’t taken my knives away before they put me in here.”
Marie stepped back, and he swung the door open, stepping out and putting both arms around her.
“Thanks, little sis,” he said. “Looks like I owe you one.”
His endearment reminded her of just how much he didn’t know. But it hardly seemed like the right moment to tell him everything. It would take too long.
She gasped at the thought of all the time that had already passed. “Rafe! Quick.”
William kept pace with her as she hurried back down the corridor. “What? Is he here too? You’re really going to have to tell me what’s going on.”
Marie shook her head. “There’s no time! You’ll see.” She raised her voice. “Rafe, Rafe, it’s William! I’ve found William.”
They raced into the cave, and William almost collided with her, his attention caught by Rafe’s kneeling figure.
“What in the…?” he trailed off, his eyes huge as he stared at the darkness that now coated Rafe’s shoulder and the top of his chest. It seemed to be flowing downwards rather than up his neck. Still, it was clearly only a matter of time.
“William, good to see you.” Rafe managed to sound remarkably like his usual self. “I’d explain the whole matter in detail, but I’m afraid I’m a little short on time at the moment.”
“Yes, yes, no time for explanations,” said Marie, plonking herself back down in front of the books. “For now, all you need to know is that we’re looking for a name. The name of a prince who was born over four centuries ago. He was the eldest son of the king of Northhelm at the time, but he lost the kingdom to his younger brother.”
“Um, as fascinating as that bit of history sounds,” said William, his horrified face still focussed on the ink dripping down Rafe’s body, “you might have noticed that our friend here seems to be in a spot of bother. Do you think we should maybe save the reading for later?”
“Of course I’ve noticed!” Marie sighed in exasperation. “I’ve told you, there’s no time to explain. We need the name to free Rafe from that trap. Oh, and also to stop a battle and save the kingdom.”
“Well, all right, then,” said William, tearing his eyes away from Rafe. “That makes perfect sense. How can I help?”
She ignored his witticism and picked up the first book from the stack. Reading the title, she discarded it and picked up the next one. “I have no idea, that’s the problem.” She dropped the second one as well and picked up a third. “I don’t even really know what I’m looking for.”
She had almost reached the bottom of the pile when she paused, her eyes caught by the slim volume of fairy tales in her hand.
What was it her godmother had said to her? About finding answers? I suggest that you start by thinking back on all the old tales.
She rocked back onto her heels as she thought it through. She and Rafe actually had a second advantage over her mother. R, in his eagerness to win her to his cause, had told Marie something of his history. Her mother had known nothing about him beyond his appearance and his bargain-making. Marie, as she had just told her brother, knew that he had been born, centuries ago, as the crown prince of Northhelm. She also knew that, when he lost the kingdom to his younger brother, a godmother had been involved.
“I don’t like to hurry you,” said Rafe, “but is there a reason that you’ve stopped?”
She looked up at him and saw that the ink now covered most of his chest.
“The old tales,” she said, holding up the book. “Perhaps there’s one that tells R’s original story. Perhaps it recorded his name.”
Rafe looked thoughtful. “It’s worth a try. Look for a tale you’re not familiar with.”
Marie nodded and opened the volume, scanning its contents. Most of the tales listed inside were old ones she remembered hearing as a child. Several were new to her, however. She opened to the first of these.
After only a few paragraphs, it became obvious the story centred around a peasant boy and some magic beans. She turned to the next one and read the name aloud.
“Puss in Boots.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of that one,” said William. “No princes in it, though, it’s about a cat.”
Marie looked at Rafe. Half of his body appeared black. She turned to the next tale. Quickly skimming it, she shook her head.
“I like this one,” she said. “It’s about a girl who becomes a soldier and saves her entire empire. No sign of R, though.”
She flipped forward to the next one.
“Bluebeard,” read William, over her shoulder. “I haven’t heard of that one. R doesn’t have a beard though, blue or otherwise.”
“I know that one,” said Rafe. “It was always my least favourite as a child. I can easily imagine R as Bluebeard, he has the right level of creepiness.” He shivered. “But Bluebeard isn’t a prince, plus he dies at the end.”
Marie nodded and turned to the last unfamiliar story in the book. She held her breath as she read it.
“I think… I think this might be it,” she said, looking up at William for confirmation.
He nodded slowly, reaching the end of the story himself. “I think you might be right. It fits. Three princes set out to retrieve the water of life from the High King in order to save their dying father. The older two are tested by the godmothers and found unworthy. Only the youngest succeeds, and he is named heir in consequence.”
“The water of life sounds like one of those enchanted objects,” said Marie. “It might have been what started R on his obsession with them.”
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense,” said Rafe. “What’s his name?”
>
Marie looked over at him and hesitated. What if it wasn’t the right story? She had reached the end of the book, and the ink had covered all of Rafe’s body except for his left shoulder. If the name was wrong, they were out of time. As long as she didn’t actually say the name, there was still hope.
William obviously didn’t share her reluctance.
“Rumpelstiltskin,” he said.
A sound almost like a sigh filled the cave, and the darkness sloughed off Rafe, dripping onto the floor, where it pooled in a small depression in the ground.
Marie stared down at it. It looked like ordinary ink. She looked up at Rafe. No sign of black remained anywhere on his skin or clothes.
Slowly he pushed himself up to his feet, his usual broad grin returned to his face.
“Well done, Marie,” he said.
She leapt to her own feet, but her leg had gone to sleep from resting on the hard ground. She stumbled, tripping into his arms. He caught her and held her close.
Meeting his eyes, she felt as if her face might break apart under the pressure of her own smile.
“Ahem.” A pointed throat clearing made them fall apart.
William watched them with raised brows. “It seems I missed a lot while I was keeping that cell back there entertained.”
Marie blushed, and Rafe looked uncomfortable.
William looked between them. “Never mind,” he said, shaking his head. “Now is hardly the time. Didn’t someone say something about having a battle to stop?”
Chapter 28
“At least we know the name works,” said Rafe. “I guess now we just run around, yelling it at all the rebels.” He led the way back towards R’s sleeping cavern.
“You know, you’re going to have to explain things to me at some point,” said William, following behind them. “Because you’re really not making any sense.”
Marie laughed, almost light-headed in her relief.
“Maybe you can start by telling me who this Rumpelstiltskin fellow is?” He hadn’t finished speaking when a loud rumbling shook the passageway.
Rafe, who was still in the lead, shouted a warning and pushed them both back. The stone began to shake, and Marie fell to the ground.
Rafe threw himself protectively over her, and for a long minute her whole world was consumed by shaking and the grumbling of breaking rock.
Finally, the ground settled and only dust continued to fall around them. Slowly, Rafe pushed himself up and helped her to her feet.
“That is going to be a problem,” he said.
She followed his gaze in the now-darkened corridor. The entryway back into R’s cave had disappeared. Facing them was a solid wall of rocks.
“Strange timing for a cave-in,” said William grimly.
“I don’t think it was a coincidence,” said Rafe.
“Me neither,” said Marie. “I thought from the beginning that these caves couldn’t be entirely natural. Looks like you said R’s name at just the wrong moment, William. We must have been passing some crucial part of the enchantment he used to make them.”
“Did I mention already that you’re really going to have to tell me what’s going on?”
“First we decide what to do next,” said Rafe. “I don’t see us digging through that stone anytime soon.”
“We’ll have to go the other way then,” said Marie. “And hope there’s another way out.” Her happiness from only minutes before now seemed impossibly far away. “The passage continued after William’s cell. Hopefully it leads somewhere.”
“All right then,” agreed Rafe. “We can talk as we go.”
Making their way carefully back through the darkened corridor, they passed through the cave, giving the chest and the puddle of ink a wide berth, and continued on down the passageway. The further they went, the darker it became and the more slowly they had to go. Every now and then, the walls around them would shake slightly and a new rain of dust sprinkled over them.
Marie shuddered each time it happened, but there were no more cave-ins.
As they walked, she filled William in on what had happened in his absence, keeping it as brief as possible. Her voice trembled slightly when she told him the truth about her birth, and Rafe reached out and took her hand. She squeezed it, grateful for his presence and acceptance.
“Well, I guess that makes a strange sort of sense,” said William.
“Sense?” Definitely not the reaction Marie had been expecting.
“You always used to complain when you were younger that you didn’t look like a princess. Now you know why.” He shrugged.
“Really? That’s your only response to discovering I’m not really your sister?” Marie couldn’t believe it.
William shook his head at her. “It’s not an accident of birth that made you my sister. You’re my sister because you took the blame for that pie we stole from the cook when you were three.” Even in the dim light, Marie could see his cheeky grin.
“So you do remember! You really are shameless, you know.” After a brief pause, she added, “But I knew there was a reason you’re my favourite brother.”
He laughed. “And your least favourite, don’t forget.” They shared a smile as they both recalled the frequent joke from their childhood.
“What happened to you?” asked Marie. “How did you get captured?”
William grimaced. “I decided to follow Rafe so I could have a look at the rebel camp for myself.” He gave Rafe an apologetic look. “I was pretty sure you could be trusted, but I figured it would be better to be sure.”
Rafe shrugged. “No offense taken. In fact, that was my guess as to what had happened. But why didn’t you return to Northgate?”
“Because as soon as I got near the camp, someone, or something, hit me on the back of the head. I woke up in that cave back there.” He gestured back towards the cell, which they had already passed. “I don’t know how they found me, but somehow this R fellow knew I was there. He seemed disappointed that I wasn’t ready to drop everything and join his little rebellion. Unfortunately, in my initial disorientation and anger, I made my position quite clear. It was only later that I thought of the much better plan of playing along. And by then, he wouldn’t believe me.
“I’d pretty much given up hope when I heard Marie here shriek. That rebel, Peter, is contemptible and that R is an odd one, but I can’t see either of them shrieking. I wasn’t sure whether to respond at first. I thought it might be a trap. But eventually I figured since I was already locked away in a cell, I didn’t have much to lose. That’s when I called out to you.”
“I can’t believe you were locked up so close to me all those weeks!” said Marie. “I should have come looking for you.”
“I don’t see how you could possibly have known,” said William. “But… wait. What do you mean you’ve been here for weeks? What exactly happened after Mother told you the truth?”
“I’m afraid I didn’t take it very well,” said Marie and proceeded to tell him the rest of the story.
She admitted, shame-facedly, that she had been tempted by R but left out the part about falling for Rafe. Although given their embrace in the cave earlier, and that she hadn’t let go of his hand, it probably didn’t need much explanation on her part.
There was a long moment of silence when she finished that was filled by another ominous bout of shaking.
“So, assuming the roof doesn’t collapse on our heads, and we actually find our way out of here, all we have to do is break the enchantment with R’s name and the rebels should all wake up and surrender,” said William. “Then we can sort things out with the guard. Seems simple enough.”
“Yes, simple enough,” agreed Marie, “assuming they haven’t all been killed while we’re bumbling around in here.”
“And even if they haven’t,” added Rafe, “we’ll almost certainly be walking out into the middle of a battle, so we should probably try to avoid being accidentally killed ourselves.”
Another grim silence reigned.
>
“Well, you lot are a bunch of laughs,” said William.
For a moment, Marie felt annoyed, but then she recognised the expression on his face. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation – he was just trying to keep up her spirits. He’d done it often enough back at the palace.
She gave him a grateful smile. And then the whole world exploded.
She shook her head groggily and took stock of her body. She was lying on the stone floor of the corridor, but she couldn’t feel any injuries. All of her limbs still seemed to be working. She looked around.
The path behind her was once again blocked by stone and, far worse, this time she could see no sign of either of the other two. She pushed herself quickly to her feet, almost losing her balance from the fear that flooded her senses.
“Rafe? William?” She listened intently but heard nothing. “RAFE? WILLIAM?”
“Marie? Are you all right?” Rafe’s voice was faint but just discernible, coming from behind the wall of rock. Marie almost sunk back down to the ground in her relief.
“Is William with you?” she called.
“Yes, I’m here.”
A second rush of relief quickly faded. They were both trapped.
She examined the broken stone closely but, if anything, it looked thicker than the first cave-in. She suspected it would take days for the three of them to move enough of the rocks to create an opening.
Reluctantly, she concluded that she had no other option but to abandon them.
“I’m going to have to leave you both there,” she called. Silence greeted her statement so she kept talking. “But don’t worry. Once I’ve freed the rebels and sorted things out with the guard, I’ll bring a bunch of them back to dig you out.”
“Marie, no! You can’t go alone, it’s too dangerous. You’ll be walking into the middle of a battle.” All trace of joviality had disappeared from her brother’s voice.
The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin (The Four Kingdoms Book 3) Page 19
