The silence was broken by a teacher’s voice, sounding a little nervous, addressing the assembled children. “Good morning, students. As you can see, we have some visitors who would like to have a look at our school today. I’m told this won’t take long if we all do exactly as they say.”
A new voice spoke up. “Stand still where you are, all of you. Teachers, keep them in straight lines.”
Jaymin and Erik looked at each other in alarm. The voice had a Malornian accent and carried the ring of authority, power, and pride. An officer. What was a Malornian military officer doing in their school?
“This will only take a few minutes,” the voice continued. “Just stand still and look at the soldiers as they come by.”
Erik peered cautiously around the corner again; and Jaymin, unable to contain his curiosity, stepped closer and did the same.
Twenty or thirty uniformed Malornians stood around the edges of the schoolyard and in front of the large gate, which was shut for the first time Jaymin could remember. More soldiers were walking slowly back and forth along the rows of students, peering carefully at each one as they went by. The students looked nervous, but they weren’t being harmed, and Jaymin couldn’t understand what the Malornians were doing. Now and then one of them would pause in front of a child – always a boy, and always one with brown hair – and stare more closely into his face before continuing past. Several times he saw soldiers call each other over and stare at a boy together, conferring in low voices, before shaking their heads and walking on.
Erik backed away from the corner, pulling Jaymin with him, and retreated further behind the building. “We have to leave, now!” he hissed, glancing around rapidly.
Jaymin remembered Sir Edmend’s warning that the officers had been shown his portrait and were searching for him. He had often had the feeling that some of the soldiers around town might be keeping their eyes open for the missing prince, but now it seemed they were actively stepping up the search. Perhaps they had looked in all the obvious places, like among the nobility or in the well-to-do areas, and now they had decided to search among the poor.
They must have assumed that if he were in disguise, he would be attending school like everyone else. They have to be searching every school in Alasia, Jaymin thought, trying to make himself believe it. They couldn’t have come only to Hilltop School. They didn’t know he was here. How could they possibly?
“There,” Erik whispered, pointing to a tree close to the wall, one of its bare branches hanging over the other side. “Keep low.”
He bent over and scurried forward in a crouching run, with Jaymin just behind. They had to pass by the space between two buildings, and Jaymin kept his eyes straight ahead, not daring to glance over to check if anyone had seen them.
“What was that?” he heard the shrill voice of a six- or seven-year-old exclaim as they hurried past. He winced and kept going, hoping none of the soldiers had heard. Erik had reached the tree and made a leap for the lowest branch, catching it and swinging himself up in one fluid motion.
“What was what?” demanded a deep voice from around the corner.
“Quick, jump!” Erik hissed, clambering higher with a frantic glance in the direction of the voice. Jaymin jumped, grabbed the branch, and hoisted himself up, clinging to the trunk for support as his muddy shoes slipped on the damp wood.
“I know what it was,” an older boy called, and Jaymin’s heart sank as he recognized Worran’s smug voice. “There are two boys sneaking around back there. They attacked me at break time, and now they’re hiding so they won’t get in trouble.”
Muttering furiously under his breath, Erik eased out toward the limb that overhung the wall, jerking his head for Jaymin to go ahead of him. Jaymin clambered awkwardly around his friend and onto the horizontal branch, knowing it would be useless to try to get Erik to go first.
“Where? Back here?” came the officer’s voice, and they heard his footsteps thudding forward between the classrooms.
“Hurry!” Erik whispered urgently, pointing over the wall.
“Yes, back there behind the classrooms,” Worran replied, and they heard the triumph in his voice.
Jaymin crouched to jump, but paused for a split second, peering down. The ground outside the school’s wall sloped steeply, with houses and other buildings standing at the bottom of the hill, but as far as he could tell there was no one around. Then he caught a glimpse of red off to the left. A soldier was standing about fifty yards away, and now he saw another one in the distance on the right. They were guarding the school from the outside, Jaymin realized, so no one could go in or out during the search. There were probably soldiers spread out all the way around the school. But neither of these two was looking their way, and Jaymin calculated that if they were quiet, he and Erik just might be able to jump to the ground and run or slide down the open hillside and behind one of the houses before they were seen.
All this flashed through his mind in less than a second. But in the same instant, he realized this would never work. Even if the officer coming up behind them didn’t see them before they jumped, he would be sure to notice the swaying motion of the branch as they leaped off. He would shout the alarm, the two soldiers outside would turn to look, and Jaymin and Erik would be spotted before they could even begin running down the hill. Even if they made it to the bottom without being caught, the soldiers would certainly guess why they had been escaping from school today of all days. They would be waiting here the next morning, or come to drag them out of class tomorrow. Hilltop School would never be safe for Jaymin and Erik again.
It seemed there was no easy way out of this one. If they just had a few more seconds, they could climb higher in the tree and hope the officer wouldn’t notice them up among the branches, but there was no time for that. Any second now he would round the building and see them there, perched helplessly on the limb like flightless birds. He would recognize Jaymin, and then –
Unexpectedly, Erik reached out and gave him a hard shove. Jaymin lost his grip and fell sideways off the bough, down to the hard ground on the other side of the wall. At the same instant, Erik jumped – but in the other direction, back into the school.
Jaymin froze in horror, lying half curled up at the base of the wall where he had landed. What did his friend think he was doing? At least the two soldiers hadn’t seen Jaymin fall, and if he didn’t move, perhaps they wouldn’t notice him for a while. But what about Erik? Now there was no way he could get out without being seen.
Sure enough, from the other side of the wall Jaymin heard the officer’s deep voice exclaiming, “What are you doing there, boy? Get over here!”
“I-I wasn’t doing anything!” Erik protested in a frightened voice. “I just wanted to climb a tree but then I fell. P-p-please don’t hurt me!”
Jaymin found a place where some crumbling mortar had fallen out by the corner of a chipped brick, and put his eye to the hole. He was just in time to see the officer – a captain, judging by the green stripes at the ends of his sleeves – grab Erik roughly by the arm. “Why aren’t you in line with the others? Trying to run away, are you, boy?”
“N-no! No, I wasn’t! P-p-please let me go!” Erik struggled a little, and the officer gripped him more tightly, swinging back his other fist to box his ears. Erik shrieked in pain as the man began dragging him back toward the main schoolyard.
Now Jaymin realized what his friend was doing. It was what Erik had spent most of his life training for: protecting the Prince of Alasia by whatever means necessary. In this case, distracting the officer; buying time so Jaymin could escape … without him. Sacrificing himself for him.
“No,” Jaymin whispered, incredulous. Erik was going to let himself be dragged away and killed to protect him! This couldn’t be happening. He knew he had to get away – that he would be seen at any moment if he stayed here, and then Erik’s sacrifice would be for nothing – but how could he just leave Erik to be killed?
He’s not going to be killed, the rational
side of Jaymin’s mind protested. Why would he be? The Malornians had no idea who Erik was. It was Jaymin they were looking for. They would take Erik back to line up with his class, probably make a few threats about what would happen to anyone else who didn’t cooperate; the teachers might lecture him, the soldiers would finish looking at the students, and then the Malornians would leave Hilltop and this would all be over. Erik would be stuck in class for the rest of the day, and then after school he would come to find Jaymin and they would both be safe.
Unless, unless, the other side of Jaymin’s mind said grimly. Unless they decide to make an example of him and show the other students what happens to anyone who tries to escape. Unless one of those soldiers recognizes him from by the pond and wants revenge. Unless they somehow figure out who he really is.
Losing Erik, Jaymin thought despairingly, would be the last tragedy that could possibly happen to him. His parents were dead, along with his aunt and uncle and cousins; his kingdom was being destroyed; he couldn’t go home; he was hungry and cold and dressed in filthy rags; and the only other thing that could possibly make his life worse could be just about to happen. Even being killed himself almost didn’t seem as bad as being stuck in this new existence without Erik.
Jaymin realized his hands were shaking. He leaned back against the wall and licked his dry lips, trying to slow his breathing and his heart, neither of which had any good reason to be going this fast. What was he thinking? Erik would be fine. Surely not even Malornian soldiers would kill a child in cold blood in front of hundreds of other children. They had to realize that if word of such a thing got out, every Alasian in the kingdom would be up in arms against them. And besides, Erik could get out of anything. He would find a way to escape. He always did. In the meantime, he had made a way for Jaymin to escape, and if Jaymin didn’t, it would all be for nothing.
Get a hold of yourself, Jaymin told himself sternly. Don’t be a fool. You have nothing to panic about. This is Erik’s job, and he knows how to do it. Just get away from here and find somewhere to wait for him.
He looked around. The soldier to the left had his back to him and was leaning against the wall gazing idly down at the town. The one to the right seemed to be polishing his sword on the sleeve of his coat. They had probably done this twenty times before at twenty different schools and were bored of the routine.
It’s not good enough just to get away, Jaymin reminded himself, gauging the distance he would have to cross before he would be out of sight. I can’t let either of them see me. He decided that it would be safest to stay close to the ground. This part of the hill was steep enough that he could almost lie on his back and slide down, and if he was slow and quiet, the soldiers might not notice.
It turned out to be harder than he had thought. Sharp rocks dug into his elbows and backside as he began to carefully scoot downhill. He could feel the back of his clothes getting muddier and muddier, and his cloak kept getting pulled off of his shoulders as it snagged on rocks. Finally, exasperated, he took it off entirely and bundled it under his arm.
He was about three quarters of the way to the bottom, still trying to stay as low and move as quietly as he could, when his foot slipped in a patch of loose stones, dislodging them and sending them rattling down the hill. There was a sudden yell from behind him and to the right.
“Hey! Who’s that? Hey, you!”
He turned and looked back up the slope. The soldier who had been polishing his sword was now brandishing it, staring at him.
“It’s some kid trying to escape from the school,” shouted the other soldier. “Stop him!”
Jaymin gave up his efforts at stealth. Leaping to his feet, he began to sprint down the slope, still clutching his cloak with one hand, his other arm extended to keep his balance as he ran. Out of the corners of his eyes, he could see both soldiers starting down the hill after him.
It was strange not having Erik there to take charge. Jaymin reached the bottom in just a few seconds and raced around the first house he saw. He found himself on a quiet residential street with no one about. What should he do now? Where should he go?
Somewhere crowded or with lots of places to hide, he decided. That was what Erik would say. Perhaps the marketplace again. He ran across the road and around a house on the other side just as the two soldiers burst out onto the street where he had been. “I’ll look left, you go right,” he heard one of them call, and their footsteps pounded off in opposite directions.
Are they really gone? Jaymin thought in surprise. He peered around the corner in time to see the soldiers disappearing down either side of the street. Just in case, he ducked low and dashed across the road toward another row of houses behind this one, and then he rounded a corner and hurried around another row behind that. There were no more soldiers in sight, and it looked as though he wouldn’t even need to hide in the market. That was almost too easy, he thought, and in spite of everything he felt a little surge of pride. I managed it without help from Erik or anyone else!
Stepping into a dim alley to put his cloak back on and consider his next move, Jaymin reminded himself grimly that it wouldn’t be easy after this. He could never go back to Hilltop School. What would he and Erik do all day from now on? They couldn’t just sit around Ana’s house. Apart from there being nothing to do there, she would get suspicious and demand to know why they didn’t go to school. And they couldn’t just spend their days walking around Drall, as they had done before school started up. Anyone who saw them out of school would be suspicious, especially the Malornians. He supposed they could always go out to the pond every morning and hide in the trees all day, but they would run the risk of being seen every time they left town. The best option would be to go and stay with General Dirken and the soldiers in the Southern Woods, but Jaymin didn’t know the way, and it wouldn’t be safe to try to travel there without Sir Edmend’s help anyway.
There was just no good way to work things out now, Jaymin thought, frustrated. He could have kicked himself for his clumsiness back on the hillside.
Well, there was no point in stewing over what couldn’t be changed. If – when – Erik came back that afternoon, they would talk about it and make a new plan. In the meantime, he had better spend the rest of the day in Ana’s house where no one else would see him. Boring though it would be, at least he would be safe there. But what would he tell her? That he had left school early because he felt sick, perhaps. Scowling inwardly at the thought of yet another lie, he gave a few practice coughs and started in the direction of her neighborhood.
By now, sneaking through the streets and hurrying from one hiding place to the next had become almost normal, but nothing felt really normal without Erik. This was the first time he had ever been completely alone outside the palace grounds, Jaymin thought as he made his way through the town, but there was no sense of freedom or excitement about it. Just a cold hard knot of worry in the pit of his stomach. Worry about Erik; worry about getting caught; worry about what they would do now.
Ana’s street was deserted. Smoke rose from a few chimneys here and there, but not from hers, Jaymin saw with dismay as he approached. He tried the door, but it was locked. No one answered his knock.
Now what? He sat down on the doorstep with a sigh. Ana was probably at the market selling those woolly hats and scarves that he wished he could wear. She wouldn’t be back until she ran out of things to sell or the market closed at dusk, whichever came first. But it wasn’t even noon yet. He couldn’t just sit here until then waiting for someone to see him.
I’ll have to go out to the pond and wait there, Jaymin decided, rising to his feet again. Erik will probably look for me there first, anyway.
On his way back through town he saw four separate platoons of soldiers. Was it his imagination, or were they more alert than usual? Two or three times he had to duck into doorways or dodge around corners when he thought they might have caught sight of him. He was thankful that there were no soldiers around at the edge of town as he hurried across the o
pen space beyond the last of the houses.
The next few hours were the longest of Jaymin’s life. He wandered idly among the trees, did chin-ups from a branch, skipped stones across the pond, sat pensively on a log, and tried unsuccessfully to plan his and Erik’s next move. His stomach growled as lunch time approached, and he thought longingly of the meal that Erik would soon be eating at school – if he had survived, that is. But Jaymin pushed this thought away firmly.
The afternoon wore on, and it grew harder not to give in to anxiety. Though he had no way of knowing exactly how long he had been out there, Jaymin finally decided that school must be over by now. Where was Erik? Again and again he pushed his thoughts away, turning to physical exercise to distract himself. But again and again his fears returned, growing harder to dispel each time.
Jaymin was throwing rocks at a distant branch, working on improving his aim, when a voice right by his ear made him jump in alarm.
“I see you made it too,” Erik murmured, and Jaymin whirled around in startled relief, dropping his handful of rocks.
“Erik!” Jaymin seized him by the shoulders, delighted to see him again. “You’re finally here!”
Erik jerked away from his grasp. “Ow! Let go.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. Just don’t touch my shoulders or back, all right?”
Jaymin stared at him. “What happened? Are you all right?”
Erik nodded dismissively, leading the way further into the trees, even though there was no one around to hear them. “I’m fine, and I’m glad to see you are too. I suppose we’re both a little the worse for wear, though.” He glanced at the now dried mud caking Jaymin’s back. “You aren’t hurt, are you?”
“No, but I’ve got bad news. We can’t go back to Hilltop, Erik. The soldiers saw me leaving.”
Erik nodded. He didn’t seem surprised. “We can’t go back anyway. They’re suspicious of me now.”
Prince of Alasia (Annals of Alasia Book 1) Page 11
