by Anna Sheehan
‘I didn’t tell you to help me,’ I growled.
‘I know.’ She didn’t smile, but there was a hidden lightness to her face. I swallowed, but I allowed her to bring me all the briars she could, until her strength failed, and her spell faded, leaving the thorns wild for her blood. It was twice as hard to spin them into submission after that. I made her sit by the door while I carried the spinning wheel from one corner of the room to the other, chasing the writhing briars. My own fingers were pricked and the sweat stood out on my brow. My already rumpled and ragged clothing gained more rips and tears as the winter thorns warred against my magic.
But what else could I do? I couldn’t just leave her to die. Any more than I could have cut off my own arm.
I couldn’t.
The sky was already paling when I finished. There were no more briars fighting in the room. Small piles of glittering thread were scattered like bird’s nests on the ground. Will was half asleep, her bloodied head resting on her scratched arm. The continued stillness of the spinning wheel seemed to rouse her and she opened her eyes. ‘You did it,’ she whispered.
‘Of course I did it,’ I snapped. I was trembling with exhaustion, and I was still hurt by her earlier snub. ‘And I expect payment.’
‘Go and collect it,’ she said quietly. ‘You’re welcome to it. And anything else you want from my rooms. I think there’s a white cloak that would look lovely on your sister.’
Well, that made me feel awful. I couldn’t decide what I was doing. Wasn’t I the evil Nameless demon who wanted everyone to feel pain? ‘You’ll be all right now?’ I asked. For some reason I didn’t want to leave her. ‘Is there anything else …’ I trailed off.
She shook her head tiredly. ‘No. There’s nothing else you can do for me. But thank you for asking.’
Stone crushed my heart again. ‘People like you have no business offering thanks to demons like me,’ I said, scornful.
‘I suppose not.’ She sat up fully and leaned against the wall. ‘I’m sorry I said that,’ she said. ‘Whatever else you are, you’re not a demon.’
‘It would be easier if I was,’ I admitted.
Only one torch had lasted this long, and its yellow light made her look as golden as the threads I had spun. Her tattered rags revealed rather more of her flesh than modesty dictated. She looked like some exotic statue of a fertility goddess. I couldn’t keep my gaze from trailing down her form. ‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Can I prevent you?’ I asked, dragging my eyes back to her face.
‘You can fail to answer.’
I waited, expecting her to either ask or let it go.
She asked. ‘Is it … very hard … being Nameless?’
I hadn’t expected that. Something twisted in me. ‘What makes you ask?’
‘To do something so awful …’ she whispered. ‘To hurt so many people so casually … something has to hurt terribly inside you.’
‘I didn’t ask for your pity, Highness!’ I snapped.
‘No. You simply cursed a kingdom to a never-ending Sleep.’
I looked to the wall.
‘Why did you do it? What had we ever done to you?’
I didn’t have an answer.
‘We hadn’t hurt you,’ Will went on. ‘We didn’t even know you existed.’
‘Exactly,’ I spat. ‘You didn’t know and you didn’t care.’
‘How would you know? You never petitioned us, never asked for sanctuary or leniency. Amaranth held a public court once a month for any who wanted to appeal to her judgement. We would receive dozens of letters appealing situations far less sympathetic than yours. Why would you only punish us, instead of ask for our help?’
I didn’t have an answer for that, either.
‘How does cursing my sister gain you anything?’
‘It doesn’t,’ I whispered, the words falling like feathers.
‘Then take it off,’ she said. ‘End the Sleep now, and I’ll see you’re acquitted of it. If everyone wakes up, Lesli will have no claim. Everything will be over.’
I finally looked at her. I didn’t want to look at her, the red and gold of blood and torchlight shining on her face. But she wouldn’t believe me if she couldn’t see my eyes. ‘I can’t. The spell was only meant to tangle into your fingers as you unwound it. It would have faded when the thread was removed. It might have danced about a bit, as coarse wool will, but it wouldn’t have done this. Instead it wove itself into Lavender’s blood, like the spell that cursed your mother. It wasn’t supposed to do that. I don’t know how to unravel it.’
Will’s head sank onto her hand. ‘I wish you’d just told me,’ she said. ‘In the forest, when I went to find you.’ She stared through the empty space before her. ‘I feel such a fool.’ She turned her gaze back to me, and her eyes shone. ‘I want to hate you.’
‘I thought you did,’ I said. ‘Nameless demon. Remember?’
‘And a liar, as well,’ she pointed out. ‘I thought faeries couldn’t lie.’
‘The Nameless have to learn,’ I muttered.
‘Part of me does hate you,’ Willow said to me then. ‘It isn’t so much what you are. It isn’t even what you’ve done – mistake or no. But you lied to me.’
‘I can’t lie very well,’ I said honestly.
‘But you never told me the whole truth, either,’ she said. ‘That bothered me.’ She looked down at her fine rags. ‘Particularly after …, that. Under the tree.’
‘I only wanted you to trust me,’ I said. ‘It meant nothing.’ The lie hurt, but I said it anyway.
‘I know that,’ she said, closing her eyes. ‘That’s why it hurt.’
I couldn’t help but ask. ‘Did it mean something to you?’
‘I already told you I was using you,’ she said. She stared into my eyes. ‘We’re the same, you and I. Both of us discontent with our lot. Both of us starving for one thing or another. That’s what it meant.’ She looked away again, down at the knots of gilded thread. ‘And that was the lie.’
I couldn’t stay any longer. This was going to eat me alive. ‘You live your life, Princess,’ I said. ‘Live it well.’ I climbed up on the windowsill to leave.
‘Live well, my Nameless friend,’ she called after me.
I nearly turned around. That she should still call me her friend, after everything, was almost more than I could bear. But I left without another word.
Chapter 18
Will
‘Well, well, well,’ King Lesli said, surveying the scene. About the room the nests of gold glittered in the morning sun. ‘I expected to hear of your death or your failure, but it seems here that you’ve succeeded in your task.’
‘Yes,’ Will snapped. Her scratches stung and her muscles ached from sitting on the cold stone, and she felt half frozen. ‘Have I established my innocence, yet?’
‘We shall see,’ Lesli said. He smiled at her in a way she seriously didn’t like. ‘I suppose we must tend to our princess. Guards, take her somewhere where she can be bathed, and give her something … decent to wear.’
Will looked down at herself and blushed. Her garments were tattered beyond recognition, showing a brazen amount of flesh. She grabbed at her chest to cover herself. King Lesli laughed.
As he had men collect the fruits of the night’s labours Will was led, without ceremony, to a guest bath chamber. She was not even permitted a robe or cloak to cover her indecency. The bath was filled by more guards, and she was not to be permitted privacy.
She wrestled with her position for a moment, and finally decided she didn’t care enough. Without asking permission she rigged up a screen using the edge of a mirror, a vanity stool, and a bath sheet. She stripped off what was left of her clothing behind that and sank into the tub.
It was bliss. The hot water stung at her scratches for a moment, and then smoothed the worst of the aches away, while her muscles unknotted slowly. Had Reynard ever been permitted the luxury of a hot bath? she wondered. How would he tend to his scratches?
The heat slowly eased its way from the bath to her face, and hot water slowly leaked from her eyes. Why had he helped her? She couldn’t understand what his motives were. She wished her hatred of him was clear as the water, but it was murky, tinged with gratitude and blood. She shook her head to banish the tears.
When she got out of her bath she found a fine velvet dress laid out for her. The guards still hovered over her like a flock of vultures, but she threw the dress over her head and dressed beneath it as though it were a tent. She was relieved that they didn’t try to touch her, or even leer at her awkwardly undressed state, but they clearly had their orders. She supposed some of them might have even remembered she was the princess.
She did not ask them what their orders were, and they did not volunteer the information. She decided to pretend they weren’t there, so she did what she wished. She crawled onto the guest bed and curled up to try and catch some true sleep. Sleep was slow in coming. Every movement and hiccup of the guards caused her to jolt back awake, wary of attack. Finally the two sat down and began to play at cards, and she relaxed. She wished they had brought her to her own rooms, or any of her mother’s, as there were secret panels that led to the royal passages, but Lesli probably knew such things existed and was keeping her far from any room with such an escape route.
It was past midday when the door opened. Will had been sleeping lightly, and woke instantly. ‘Leave us,’ said the voice of King Lesli. She sat up in bed, her heart beating wildly. ‘So,’ he said. He sat down on the bed beside her, far too close for comfort.
‘Get away from me, sir,’ she said.
‘You’re in no position to give orders, Highness,’ he said, and he snatched the comforter down. He seemed disappointed that she was dressed in velvet and not in a silk nightgown.
Will rolled off the bed and picked up a metal figurine on the bedside table. ‘Don’t come near me,’ she growled.
‘Guards!’ Lesli called. The door opened and two men with crossbows at the ready entered silently. Lesli looked at her pointedly. She set the figurine down. ‘Much better. You can leave us,’ he said to the men, and they nodded, closing the door behind them. ‘Don’t try that again,’ he said. ‘It really would be a pity to have to kill you. You’re far too valuable to me.’
‘I don’t belong to you,’ Will snapped.
‘Oh, I think you do,’ Lesli said. ‘This kingdom belongs to me, this palace belongs to me, and you, my dear, are my own personal property.’
‘I am not.’
Lesli sighed. ‘I forgot how troublesome the young can be. Do you expect me to announce, “are too!” in a fractious voice? You should know better than that.’
‘I’ve played your little game, passed your little test. I’m innocent. Set me free now.’
‘I told you that you would only be proclaimed “innocent” if you were to die.’
Horror clutched her chest, but she ignored it. ‘Well, I haven’t died, and I’ve done all you asked. What do you want of me?’
Lesli smiled an oily little smile. ‘You’re far too bright for your own good, little Princess. You see, you were right when you commented on my policies. Hiedelen’s economy has been steadily declining for the last fifty years.’
‘Oh. Ever since you got your hands on the kingdom?’
Lesli’s eyes narrowed. ‘I’ll thank you to keep your mouth shut.’
‘Don’t bet on it.’
Lesli squared his shoulders. ‘I’ll teach you the kind of manners we expect in Hiedelen.’
‘Is that where you’re sending me next? There’re no thorns there, Lesli. No gold for your coffers.’
‘On the contrary, Princess, I intend to keep you right here, spinning thorns. For me.’
‘It’ll never work. You’ll never be allowed to keep the only Lyndaran heir a prisoner in her own castle, your lackey. The people would never accept it.’
‘You’re right. They wouldn’t. I couldn’t possibly keep you as my prisoner indefinitely. I have another proposition in mind.’
Something in his tone unnerved her, and the word worried her still more. ‘What kind of proposition?’
‘An alliance, my dear lady.’
‘With your country? I’m well past trusting any treaty with you, and I think Narvi’s a little beyond acquiescing to a marriage.’
‘For the moment, yes. Possibly even forever. A shame I’ll have to keep the new bride under lock and key, to prevent her from doing some other terrible thing. But the people will understand the need to control you.’
‘You’ve no more sons left to marry,’ Will growled. ‘Unless you know how to wake Narvi or bring Dani back from the dead.’
‘I wouldn’t risk my grandson on a witch like you. Far too delicate, even if he was not indisposed. No. I intend to marry you myself.’
Will was appalled. He couldn’t be serious. ‘I think not.’
‘You don’t seem to understand. I’m not leaving you with a choice.’ He turned around. ‘Bring him in!’
The door opened and in walked two guards carrying a figure in chains. Will thought at first he was threatening her, saying this is what I’ll do to you. She wasn’t intimidated. Then she saw that the threat was not toward her own person. ‘I’m sure you recognize this.’
She did. It was Prince Ferdinand.
His fine black clothes were stained with grey dirt, and many places were darker with his blood. His fair hair was tangled and matted with substances Will didn’t want to identify, and an ugly purple bruise marred his handsome face. He cradled one arm in his other hand as if it was broken. Will scrambled to her feet. ‘What have you done to him?’ She ran to him and fell to her knees, trying to see if she could help him. He lifted his head weakly to look at her, and then let it fall again. Whatever they had been doing to him, there was more damage than Will could see.
‘Only letting you know what the consequences of your stubbornness would be. This entire palace is filled with helpless victims. This one was not helpless. He was caught trying to sneak you out of your imprisonment last night. He had his horse, hound and hawk ready to spirit you away. Falcon makes a surprisingly rare casserole, if you ask me, and my dogs love horsemeat.’
Will glared at him. ‘You killed them?’
‘Better them than the prince,’ Lesli replied. ‘You have one more chance. Tonight I’m going to set you in the East Ballroom.’
Will stared at him in shock. ‘That’s a solid wall of thorns!’ Not to mention it was also four times as large as the room she had been bound in the night before.
‘It is,’ Lesli said. ‘If you can’t handle it, just say so.’
‘I can’t handle it.’
‘Very well. Guards? Shoot him.’
‘What?’ Will stepped in front of him. ‘No!’
‘Are you willing to spend the night in the ballroom?’
‘You know I can’t spin that much in one night!’ she cried, desperate. She didn’t even know if Reynard would come back, and it was all he could do to spin as much as he had.
‘I suggest you try.’ Lesli leaned toward her and stared into her eyes. ‘Now, this is what is going to happen, Princess. Tonight you are going into the East Ballroom. You are going to spin me enough gold to finance my armies for the next year. Once you have done that, I will announce to the people that you are indeed innocent of your family’s blood. You and I will marry, and this kingdom, and all of its assets and treasures, will be mine, including you and your surprising little talent. You will be treated as the queen you are. I’ll even let you keep this broken jack as an amusement.’ He smiled unpleasantly. ‘Do you think I haven’t seen how your eyes follow him? He’s yours. All you have to do is spin for me, for at least a few hours every day.’
‘And what about the Sleep?’ she asked. ‘It isn’t going to break. It could take you next, or me, or half the kingdom.’
Lesli shrugged. ‘I’m not worried. If it becomes too much trouble we shall simply execute all who are infected. As for myself … I know I can wit
hstand it. I can even keep you safe, I’m sure. Safe enough to keep you by my side, spinning as a good wife should.’ He reached out and touched her face. ‘I could even come to be fond of you. Perhaps I’d have to crush that overactive throat of yours first, if you never learn to keep your mouth shut. I’d much rather you simply learned to behave yourself.’
Will yanked her head away and spat at him. Lesli’s eyes burned for a moment before he composed himself. He calmly wiped his face. ‘On the other hand, I can leave you tied up among the thorns until every drop of your blood has been drained away. I can have this pet of yours torn limb from limb before your eyes, and then start hacking pieces off your mother and your father and your beautiful sister. I’m sure we could find some other uses for her, as well. An entire parade of the king’s guard, performing a little show for your benefit. I might even make a first appearance.’
‘You dare!’
‘You accept, then?’
Will hesitated. This was giving him legitimacy over the kingdom. This was selling her life. It was fruitless anyway, because once the king found out she could not spin the thorns into gold he would have her head. But then King Lesli made a gesture with his finger and Ferdinand groaned behind her. His broken arm had just been wrenched. ‘All right!’ she cried. ‘I accept, I accept!’
Lesli smiled. ‘Well chosen, Princess. I’ll let you get back to your rest. I’m sure you’ll need it for this night’s work.’
Chapter 19
* * *
The previous night’s work lingered. My icy shoulder pulsed with pain, coursing through me, bleeding over into my scratches. Every muscle ached with fatigue and residues of spent magic. I was so exhausted I couldn’t fathom journeying back to my burrow. Instead I slept in Will’s royal passages, curled up behind the baking oven by the kitchens, in a narrow dark corner which was both warmer and more spacious than my burrow, if less cushioned. I woke to the sounds of a row in the kitchen as a half dozen cooks cried out in protest.
