The Queen Maker

by Kristen Gupton

  Getting away from him to allow her time to think was the best option, and she decided to feign trust. Thana relaxed her posture and took one step forward. “What you have said is deeply troubling. I will need to think about what to do.”

  He gave a nod, smiling. “Yes, you have much to dwell on. These are serious matters. I have the ability to help you, however. The Church Knights will not act without giving me prior notice. When the time comes, I will help you escape. I won’t let them harm you. I can take you away from here at a moment’s notice, and I know of places to hide where they cannot find you. As I said, it is my duty to protect the daughter of my dearest friend. Be prepared for that moment, Thana. If something happens, we won’t have much time to act.”

  “Aye, understood, Farin,” she whispered back, forcing up a smile in return. “I will be ready should events turn. I am certain my father would be grateful for your concern.”

  “Be careful and discuss this with no one. If I were found out, I would be killed immediately, and there would be nobody left to help you.” A wicked glint flashed in his eyes as he started to turn away. “I won’t let any harm come to you, you are too precious.”

  Thana remained in place for several moments. She did her best to get her emotions under control, but it wasn’t easy. Her fight or flight instinct had been sparked, and she realized she needed council immediately on the matter.

  She abandoned the bucket of ashes where it sat on the table and moved to the door. Once certain Farin wasn’t in the corridor, she slipped out to find the only person left in the castle she trusted.

  ***

  Corina stood in her room, getting ready for bed. It wasn’t particularly late out, but her sleep the previous few nights had been lacking. Her worry over Keiran going off to battle had given her a mild case of insomnia. While she believed he was capable of taking care of himself, her maternal instincts over him overruled all else.

  When a quiet knock came to her door, she’d dismissed it as a trick of her mind until it happened again, a bit more frantic. She moved and opened the door, spotting Thana on the other side.

  “What is it, child?” she asked.

  The young woman stepped inside, clutching her hands together before her chest. “Corina, I think I’m in great danger.”

  The old woman quickly closed the door and locked it. “What do you mean?”

  “Farin just approached me a few minutes ago,” she replied, dropping her gaze to the floor. “He warned me the Church Knights are considering action against me.”

  Corina’s brow furrowed. “How would he know such a thing?”

  Thana took a deep breath and sighed. “He told me he was one of them, and he only alerted me because of his friendship with my father. He said he can get me out of the castle and somewhere safe.”

  “Oh dear God,” Corina’s eyes went wide in fear. If the Church Knights were on the girl’s trail and out to kill her then the castle was the most dangerous place for her to be. There was nowhere to hide within its walls.

  The idea of Farin Edmund being one of the Church Knights didn’t sit well, however. He wasn’t the sort to be tasked with such a thing nor were they ever supposed to reveal their identities. Still, if there remained even a chance he was speaking the truth, something had to be done. There was no way Corina would trust Farin himself with taking Thana out of the castle, but the girl did need to leave and find sanctuary.

  She placed her hands on Thana’s shoulders, feeling her tremble. Corina looked into her eyes and offered the only order she could come up with given the situation. “Thana, run. Leave this castle. Go anywhere, somewhere they won’t be able to find you. If they do, they will kill you. Don’t go to your mother, they will look for you there.”

  Thana gave a small nod, tears streaking her cheeks. Going to her mother was the last place she would have turned, given recent events. If she was going to run, it would be toward the only person she thought could protect her.

  “I know what to do,” Thana said, giving a small nod.

  Corina turned back toward the door, motioning for Thana to follow. “Go get your money and pack a few things. After, meet me down by the back entrance to the servants’ quarters. We have to get you out of here.”

  She gave a small nod and then exited the room when the door was pulled open. Her own room wasn’t very far away, and within a matter of minutes, she had a simple bag stuffed full of clothes. She hung the pouch containing her gold on the belt around her waist, and her tattered cloak was hastily tossed around her shoulders. There was little else she had to take of any particular use.

  She ran to meet Corina at the servants’ entrance, and they went together into the courtyard. The area was empty, the cold and darkness having driven most indoors for the night. Thana didn’t say anything as Corina guided her toward the stables.

  Corina had tears in her eyes, not wanting to send the girl out into unknown circumstances, but anything was better than letting the Church Knights get a hold of her.

  Once inside, the old woman turned to Thana. “I know you’ve ridden before. We need to get you on a horse if you’re to get anywhere in this cold.”

  Thana nodded, seeing there were still some horses in the building, though most had been removed with the war party. “Aye, it’s been a while since I have, but I can ride.”

  Corina moved off to pull a horse from one of the stalls. It had been ages since she’d last saddled and bridled a horse, but it was a task she was once well versed in.

  As she worked, she continued to talk. “It’s too cold for you to head off very far tonight. It would be better for you to move during the day. If the Church Knights think you are still here in the castle, at least until morning, it will be safe enough for you to stay overnight down in the town. You have the money to stay at one of the inns there for this evening, correct?”

  Thana nodded.

  “Good.” Corina tied a bag to one side of the saddle that she had stuffed with food and a knife from the kitchen. “Come tomorrow, you will have to move. Perhaps not even far, just to another town along the main road. Wherever you go, lay low, and find a messenger to send word to me here of your whereabouts. That way, when Keiran returns, I can let him know where you are.”

  She listened to Corina’s words, but there was no way she was going to just hide out and wait for Keiran. Her determined nature pushed her to take a more proactive role. Besides, Keiran needed to know what was going on with the Church Knights before he got back as they were capable of causing him trouble, too.

  When the horse was ready, Thana moved to tie her bag of clothes to the back of the saddle. She pulled herself up onto the animal awkwardly, not having been on a horse in years. Thana felt nervous about riding again, but she knew she had to get over it. Corina was right, and she wouldn’t get far with snow on the ground otherwise.

  Corina looked up at her, trying to think of anything else helpful to offer. She wanted to go with Thana and look after her, but she knew it would only slow things down. Besides, if the Church Knights went looking for Thana, she would be easier to find with a traveling companion. Thana was intelligent, and if she avoided trouble, she would be able to survive on her own until Keiran returned to do something.

  “The guards won’t give you any trouble leaving. They never care who goes out of the castle, only who comes in,” Corina said.

  Thana looked down at her, wearing a blank expression to hide her fear. “The main road through town, it becomes the old trading road north and south of the valley, does it not?”

  Corina gave a nod. “Aye, it does. Go north tomorrow, Thana. There are many towns in that direction, and there will be somewhere you can hide. Don’t go south, and don’t try to find Keiran. Going toward the conflict would be a grave mistake.”

  She forced up a smile, trying to arrange her grip on the reins comfortably. “Don’t worry, Corina. I will be just fine.”

  Chapter 4

  Thana woke up shivering, despite the blanket wrapped over her cloak and d
ress. She was in a small room she’d rented for the night above one of the taverns in town. It was common for drinking establishments to have such rooms for their patrons to sleep off too much drink.

  With the horizon faintly glowing outside, she rose from the crude straw bed and dropped the moth-eaten blanket to the floor. Thana moved to the dust-encrusted window of the room and looked down at the street below. A few more inches of snow had collected overnight, erasing the tracks she’d made the night before.

  She feared it wouldn’t take long for Farin or the Church Knights to find out she’d left the castle. How intense the search for her would be, she didn’t know. Perhaps they would simply be satisfied with her apparent flight and not bother to pursue her further.

  It didn’t seem likely the situation would be that easily diffused, however. No, in the pit of her stomach was a nagging ache, telling her she would be sought out. The chase was on, or would be shortly, and a faint smile came to her lips. There was almost something enjoyable in this new excitement as the fear of the unknown began to be replaced by her simple determination to survive.

  She retrieved her belongings and hurried down to the stable across the street to retrieve the horse she’d taken. Before the sun climbed over the mountains surrounding the town, Thana was gone.

  Thana felt contact with anyone other than Keiran himself would do no more than result in her eventual discovery. Though she knew she couldn’t follow him all the way to the south and into war, Thana supposed just being closer was her best bet.

  They would undoubtedly set up camp a good way back from the actual conflict, and if she could get there, it would ensure her food and shelter. She could offer her work in the camp, cooking and tending to the men, freeing them to do more of what was required. No one there would dare try to harm her with Keiran around, or so she hoped.

  Thana decided to stick to her own plan, and she took the road out of town. She went south and made her way up into the mountains beyond the castle and town of Tordan Lea.

  Even with the small accumulation of snow on the ground, the fact a thousand men had passed recently was readily evident. It wouldn’t be any great feat to keep the trail and follow them to their destination as long as no significant snow ended up falling. Thana had no real concept of how far they were headed, or how long it would take them to get there. She simply believed careful observation and blind faith would get her to Keiran again.

  ***

  It was relatively late in the morning when Farin bothered to get out of his bed in the guards’ barracks. In fact, he was the last man left sleeping by the time he dragged his heavy body up and out. He slogged lazily down the corridors of the castle, doing a half-hearted version of his morning rounds. His only real goal was to find Thana and see what she was up to.

  He gave some thought to when he should tell her it was time to leave and resolved he’d get to it that evening. Letting her work through another day with the anxiety of being plotted against by the Church Knights would help to wear her down. By his third round through her usual early morning work sites, he was growing more than a little concerned she’d yet to show up. Maybe she’d been too worried to leave her room that morning.

  Farin casually strolled through the servants’ wing until he came to a stop before her door. He assured himself no one else was around to see before he reached out and tried the handle, finding it unlocked. With a weak shove, the door drifted open, but Thana wasn’t inside.

  He stepped in and looked around. Though Thana didn’t own much, it was still obvious things were in disarray. Clothes had been strewn onto the floor, hastily pulled out of drawers. It didn’t take long for the old sentry to grow furious, realizing she’d fled the castle. Farin gave a sharp curse to himself before hurrying out of the room.

  As he moved through the castle, he eyed the other servants carefully. Farin hoped someone would give a hint where the girl had run to. Not knowing Thana very well himself, he wasn’t sure where she would have gone. He knew that tensions between the girl and her mother had been running high, but that was where his understanding ended.

  Corina came around a corner, nearly running into the sentry. She looked up at him for a moment, trying to cover any unusual reaction upon seeing him.

  She pulled the laundry basket in her arms a little closer to her chest. “Farin, doing your morning rounds, are you?”

  He quickly examined her, narrowing his eyes. If anyone knew where Thana had gone, he supposed this woman was as likely to know as anyone else. “Aye, someone has to. Are things all right with you and your staff?”

  “Oh, as far as I know,” she lied, hands tightening around the basket handles.

  Her heart started to race as she feared what Farin might be capable of doing. His claim about being a Church Knight still seemed suspect to her. Until she had a way of knowing whether or not it was true, the fear would be there. She could tell he was upset already, and she figured it meant he knew Thana was missing.

  Farin was observant enough to see there was something uncomfortable in Corina’s body language. He’d never been terribly astute at reading others, but in this case it wasn’t difficult.

  He debated on asking her outright, but the old woman was extremely close to the king, and it would immediately make him suspect. In fact, if Thana had told her about what he’d said the night before, Keiran would come after him the moment he returned.

  Suddenly, the serious nature of what he’d gotten himself into struck home. He needed to get out of the castle to find Thana as it was most likely she’d fled outside anyway.

  Corina watched as he stood there, struggling with something. She pushed aside some of her fear and leaned a little closer toward him. “Is something the matter, Farin? You seem a bit out of sorts.”

  The sentry huffed and shook his head, opting out of any further involvement with Corina. “No, not at all. Carry on about your business.”

  The old woman turned to watch him retreat after he brushed past her. All she could do was hope that Thana had already gotten a good distance away. She wished she’d gone with the girl, but it would have made her travels more difficult.

  Corina knew the best she could do was to keep things at the castle running smoothly. She needed to watch her back to ensure she’d live to see Keiran’s return. Someone had to be around to tell him what had happened and where to find Thana.

  ***

  Farin hurried back to the guards’ barracks that had been his home for decades. Much like Thana the night before, he found himself hastily packing up his belongings to flee. He’d been so caught up in his lust for the girl that his outright fear of Keiran had been suppressed.

  Now, he realized he not only had to find Thana in order to keep her, but he also needed to escape the king’s wrath. Part of him gave passing thought to killing Corina as she was definitely a loose end. He’d never killed anyone before, however, and if he murdered the old woman but failed to find Thana, it could make his situation worse.

  Within an hour, he was on his horse, heading away from the castle. It didn’t trouble him too much to leave, it’s not as though he’d been particularly fond of his job. He’d been thinking about retiring for a time, anyway. Besides, if he managed to get a hold of Thana, he would have much better things to do with her than work.

  By late morning, he was at the farmhouse Sorna lived in. He watched for some time but hadn’t seen any evidence of her daughter being on the premises.

  Sorna, returning from the main house spotted him and walked over. “To what do I owe the honor, Farin?”

  He grunted and slid down from the saddle, hitting the ground with a stagger backward, his gut throwing him out of balance. Turning to face the woman, he frowned. “I’m assuming you’ve not seen your daughter?”

  “I’ve not been back to the castle, so I would say not,” she replied, taking a few steps closer. Sorna was confused at his statement until her mind caught traction. Her eyes went wide, the color draining from her face. “Please tell me you don’t mean t
o say she has run away!”

  Farin huffed and shook his head, scowling. “Unfortunately, that’s exactly what I suspect. I looked all over the place for her this morning, to no avail.”

  “That stupid girl! What could she possibly be thinking?” Sorna asked, clenching her fists at her sides. “There’s not a chance the damned king took her along with the war party, is there?”

  “No, she was still there after they’d left.” Farin crossed his arms over his chest. “You don’t think she would have run away to try and join up with them, do you? I know she’s fascinated with the king.”

  She locked gazes with him. “Oh, Farin, I guarantee you that is exactly where the impudent brat went. What good she thinks being in a camp of nothing but men will get her, I don’t know. His influence on her has made the girl utterly incapable of rational thought. We must get her before she catches up to them!”

  The thought of traveling with someone as abrasive as Sorna was unappealing. “I will catch her, and then we can move forward with our plan. It will be quicker for me to travel alone. I know the ways of the military, and it won’t be too difficult for me to track them down and find her. I need you to stay here in the odd chance she does show up.”

  Something passed behind Sorna’s eyes, and her expression grew dark, her voice lowering. “Farin, understand me when I say you need to get that girl before she goes anywhere near the Sadoris. Otherwise, I’m afraid something horrible will happen to her.”

  He gave a slow nod, being struck by the sudden intensity in the woman’s expression and tone. “I will leave right away. I doubt she could have gotten terribly far. Most likely, she’ll get a short way down the road and realize what a damned foolish thing she is doing.”

  Sorna gave a curt nod before looking toward the south. “Fine then, go. Needless to say, if you don’t find her, the deal will be off.”