Chapter Four
Ella spun in surprise, guilt coursing through her.
A guard was there in the shadows. He was dressed in a dark tunic with dark leggings. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword. He was in his mid-twenties with short blond hair. His gaze seemed hollow. Shuttered.
Her voice caught in her throat. She backed up a step. “I’m so sorry. I just wanted to see the gardens –”
His shoulders eased. “It’s all right. The palace grounds are open to all. I just wasn’t expecting to find anybody here.” He nudged his head toward the balcony windows. “Shouldn’t you be up there, making yourself seen?”
She burst out laughing. “Making myself seen? The last thing I want to do is be seen tonight! I came here for the gardens.”
He seemed surprised. His gaze flickered to the windows and back to her. “You aren’t here for the party?”
She shook her head. “No. I just wanted to see the gardens and then head home again.”
He opened his mouth and then closed it again. He shrugged. “All right. Well, here they are.”
She turned again to the gardens.
They were stunning in the snow. She’d only seen them in summertime, and in autumn foliage, but they took on a fresh beauty in the winter. She found her feet guiding her to the bridge. She walked up to stand on its curve, looking out to the delicate icing of the scene below. She wondered where the swans were. Perhaps they had a wooden home built for them in the nook of the castle somewhere.
A voice came at her shoulder. “For what do you seek?”
She blushed. “The … ummm … swans. Do they live nearby when it’s cold out?”
He glanced at her in surprise, and then nodded. He pointed. “There is a shelter built for them under those eaves. They will come back out in the spring, when the ice melts.”
She smiled. “That’s good. I am glad they are safe.”
His voice grew quiet. “I had forgotten how peaceful it was here.”
She looked over at that. “This is not your usual post?”
He drew back into the shadows. “I have been away on the front for many years. I have only recently returned.”
She nodded. “I imagine you traveled with the prince, then. I heard he fought on the Bramburg line. It could not have been easy.”
His eyes flickered over. “Most women would have said it was noble and valiant to fight in the war.”
She held in a snort. “Most women sit by a window all day stitching roses and gossiping of dresses. They have no idea what it means to kill.”
His gaze grew disbelieving. “And you do?”
“Not a human,” she conceded, “but I bring home the family meals. To kill any creature uncleanly … the animal suffers horribly. I invested my life into learning how to shoot well. If the family was to eat, I would do it without causing any unnecessary suffering. And especially the deer -”
His voice was low in its echo. “Deer.”
She flushed, suddenly realizing she was talking with a royal guard. “No, that is, we mostly eat rabbit and badger. I only meant –”
He blinked in surprise, and then his shoulders eased. “Of course, of course. I would not judge you. Not tonight.”
She breathed in relief.
His gaze drifted out toward the woods.
The guard murmured, “I always thought it was greedy of … the royal family … to claim all deer their own. After all, many families along the forest struggle with hunger in the deep winter. I would never complain for you to have your fair share.”
Pride prickled within Ella’s heart, and she found herself saying, “Many might face hunger, but not ours. I would never allow it. My aim is true.”
His gaze twinkled. “Oh, indeed? Might I have a demonstration?”
He waved a hand toward the right.
Ella followed his gaze.
A small wooden structure was tucked in against trees. Beneath the elegantly curled roof was a sturdy rack, where bows and arrows lay in a neat line.
Ella’s heart thundered with nervous curiosity. Half of her argued to head back home right now. She had seen her garden. But the other half was drawn in by what she saw laid out before her. Surely they were the finest bows and arrows one could imagine.
Just to touch one …
She glanced nervously at the guard. “Are you sure?”
He nodded, a smile playing on his lips.
That was all she needed.
She went down the bows until she found one just the right height and thickness. She expertly tucked her foot in against one end and strung it up. Then she slung a quiver of arrows over her shoulder. Luckily she had made her dress with tight-fitting arms – there was no loose fabric there to interfere with her draw.
She positioned herself before one of the targets. It was about forty feet down the alley.
The guard smiled indulgently. “You can move closer if you wish.”
Ella chuckled, her nervousness falling away. “If I weren’t able to hit a deer precisely from this distance, we’d have starved half the winters. And I would not ever allow myself to leave an animal injured. I have vowed to kill with the first blow.”
She drew out the arrow and carefully laid it into position.
She drew back …
The arrow whistled as it flew through the air. It landed dead center of the bullseye.
The guard laughed in delight. “I can see you’re as good as your world! Would that we had your skill on the front.”
His gaze shadowed, and he looked down.
Ella could feel his emotion. She stepped forward. “I’m sorry that it was bad for you. But it’s necessary, right? If we did not hold the Bramburgs off, they would sweep in and destroy us all.”
His gaze was dark. “That is what is said. And yet, sometimes, it feels as if they are merely holding us in place. As if the desire is to fuel the creation of yet more suits of armor. Of even more arrows and swords. For the lines never change. The battlefield grows ever darker in blood.”
A snippet of remembered conversation came to Ella. “My father once said that the Queen’s brother runs the armory. And that his house grows ever more prosperous with every passing year.”
The guard glanced over with sharp interest. “Who told you that?”
Ella blanched, remembering again who she was talking with. “Nobody,” she stuttered. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. I should be heading home.”
He put up his hands, his voice easing off. “Please, don’t. It is nice talking with you. You are more … real … than the women inside.”
A true smile came to her lips. “If they are anything like my stepsisters, I can only imagine. If Birgit and Petra were required to take on one-tenth of my duties, they would barely understand where to begin.”
Her gaze grew serious. “Just as, I imagine, few within understand the sacrifices you make in order to keep them safe from harm.”
His head nodded.
His eyes glowed with heartfelt appreciation.
He stepped forward to take her hand –
Time stood still. The world was frosted, chilled, and edged in deep silence.
Silence?
Ella spun to the castle in confusion, her eyes moving to the tall windows of the ballroom. What had happened to the drummers?
Her mouth fell open in shock.
The guard’s gaze followed hers. His hand fell to the hilt of his sword; a muffled curse shot from his lips.
The brightly colored women – and the elegantly tuniced men at their sides – were pressed up against the walls. In the center of the ballroom were men in armor and swords, with their weapons raised high.
The castle was under attack.
Cinderella - A Retelling with Strength and Courage Page 7
