The girl was throwing a terrible hissy fit. She stomped around the room, shouting how hateful the world was. A mighty heave sent the couch tumbling against the wall, shaking the pictures. Her boot lashed out angrily, striking the book shelf. It tottered slowly until the girl kicked it again. Then it crashed to the floor.
How was something like this fair? Wasn’t she a relatively good person? She didn’t cheat… much… and only beat up members of the Protectorate when they got on her nerves. Sure there were the occasional fights with her adopted mother but since Elspeth was always fussing about something, she shouldn’t be blamed for that. So why, in the name of all that was good and wonderful in the universe, should she be forced to endure such hardships?
The darkness slunk back, away from the demented monster it was forced to share this room with.
The castle seemed to be preparing for some sort of cataclysm. Raven and Bekah were crying, Elspeth was telling them to stop blubbering while Stephen busily made arrangements that involved a fifty gallon drum of water to be situated in the entrance hall. Daniel taught a refresher course in first aide to the castle employees and Sarah sat in a nearby chair watching the whole scene with great amusement.
She asked, when first stumbling upon the flurry of activity, if there were some sort of siege being planned. Duchess Chandlish casually dismissed her, saying that Rebekah was going on a business trip and would be gone for two weeks.
Raven and Bekah cried louder, hugging each other tightly.
“I’ll be left all alone with nobody to love me!” Raven wailed.
“Nobody loves you anyway. I mean nobody will take care of you!” Bekah sobbed.
Finally the castle and its occupants were as ready as they could be and Bekah left for the train station. Raven whined loudly and tried to follow but Elspeth ordered the guards to stop her. Sarah didn’t know what was funnier, the facial expressions of the men who looked like they desperately wanted to mutiny, or the fact there were twenty of them.
“You know the station master has forbidden anymore good-byes from taking place there.” Elspeth admonished Raven, who was pacing back and forth in front of the visibly shaken platoon.
“I don’t know why,” the irate redhead groused, “it was only one car.”
“And one building.” Stephen interjected.
Raven’s hand flittered in disdain. “It was a rickety old shack that probably fell over in the wind.”
Elspeth shook her head. “It was a brand new brick building. We’re still finding pieces of it three years later.”
“I can’t be blamed for shoddy workmanship, can I Lil’bit?” Raven stared forlornly out the window, making small waving motions with her hand. Sarah ignored them and went off in search of Felicity, the only one she figured to be reasonably normal.
At the end of the business day on Monday a week later, Liz appeared at the shop with an idea to cheer up Raven, who had been moping the whole time despite talking to Bekah at least once every waking hour. Beverly bowed her way out of the door, leaving the two sisters and Sarah.
“There’s a play tonight.” Liz said, “And it’s a comedy.”
Raven and Sarah looked at each other having worked very hard that day.
“Mandy and Brian are out of town so I have nobody to go with. Besides, it’ll be fun.” Liz added, and Sarah had to agree. A calm night out would be a perfect remedy for the heavy pall that hung over the shop.
Raven shook her head. “Sorry, but I’m too tired tonight. I inscribed five swords and two shields today.”
Sarah glanced at Raven. After studying her partner for a moment, she declared that she was tired as well.
Liz wouldn’t be discouraged that easily though. “Raven, Bekah’s been gone a week and you’ve done nothing but cry about it. Come have some fun tonight.”
Sarah almost accepted for them both but Raven made a show of stretching her back wearily. “Sorry, but some of us have to do physical labor. Tomorrow night we’ll go out, I promise. I’ll even pay for the tickets and dinner will be Sarah’s treat.”
Only after repeated assurances that there would be dinner and a show the next evening did Raven manage to usher Liz out of the shop. She closed the door to find Sarah standing with her arms folded.
“Why did you lie to her?” There was a hint of vexation in the blonde’s demeanor. “I know how much you miss Bekah but this is getting ridiculous.”
Raven leaned up against the wall, sighing gloomily. “Lil’bit, I need a favor. Something I never wanted to ask you.”
Like poison, Sarah felt the chill creep into her blood until her entire body trembled. She knew what the favor Raven meant and knew she couldn’t do it. Bekah showed her how to press the runes in order to create the magical barrier that kept Malleus contained but still. Sarah was terrified, both that she would mess up and that she would succeed. What if she missed a rune and Malleus got out? What if she hit an extra rune and Raven was trapped in there forever?
“I can’t.” There was no chance Sarah was going to do this by herself.
Raven shook her head. “It has to be you, Lil’bit. There’s nobody else.”
Reluctantly, ignoring her every instinct to flee, Sarah trudged behind Raven up the steps to the roof.
Just as Bryson was landing in the clearing that hid Raven’s prison, Elspeth smiled into the large Congreve crystal on her desk. Mandy’s face peered out at her mother.
“What is it, honey?” The Duchess was happy to hear from Amanda. She didn’t play favorites but Mandy was the baby of the family and everyone doted on her.
“Mom,” Mandy’s voice betrayed her nervousness, “remember how I was supposed to tell you if Raven ever acted unusual?”
Elspeth leaned forward in her chair, “More so than normal, yes?”
The image of Mandy fidgeted. “Liz just called and said Raven was too tired to go watch a play tonight. The one she’s been dying to see.”
The Duchess locked her fingers together and studied Mandy’s face. Raven turning down entertainment was peculiar. “And what of her business partner?”
The girl in the crystal shook her head. “Liz said that Sarah was tired too. Both of them are going to sleep.” Mandy must have seen something in her mother’s eye because she felt worried. “Mom, what’s going on?”
“Nothing, dear. You and Brian enjoy your evening. I’ll see you when you get home.”
After Mandy’s image faded from view, Elspeth looked at Stephen. “Find out if Raven is at her shop, please.”
Stephen bowed and left.
The following Saturday morning was cold and blustery. Fog obscured the windows as Sarah bustled around the shop, straightening a sword here, adjusting the tilt of a shield there. She wasn’t normally a fussy person but she was filled with nervous energy. Liz invited her to visit a local spa followed by an afternoon of shopping. She was raring to go since she had never visited a spa before, mostly because she had been incredibly poor. After opening up the shop she had been kept busy setting it up and filling orders.
Now things were different. Beverly was turning out to be a fantastic worker easily capable of managing the shop and Sarah had more money in her bank account than she knew what to do with. The business was bringing in a ton of new customers all the time and most of them walked out with a purchase. Back in Vestavia she would never have dreamed something like this could happen. Sarah turned slowly around, looking at her store.
Bright lights, fed by a battery that Raven kept fully charged, shone down on their wares. Gleaming swords, intricately crafted by her own hand at her own smithy, hung on walls in rows behind locked glass cases. The cases all had a rune inscribed, making them shatter proof. Against another wall, polished shields winked at her. And then there was the jewelry, an idea Raven insisted on after seeing how much Kelly loved her present. In the counter, behind more unbreakable glass, were necklaces and earrings for sale, even though this was supposed to be a weapons store. Raven suggested, correctly it turned out, that men would buy
them for their wives. Now there were women coming into the store almost as often as men. Jewelry was still just a small part of their stock, but the prices they charged made the effort worth it.
A sharp knock interrupted Sarah’s pleasant thoughts. She opened the door, delighted to see Liz. The two had become best friends over the past few months but Sarah still felt a little guilty. She recently discovered, thanks to Raven and Bekah deciding it would be fun to watch a fight they weren’t involved in, that Liz and Daniel had dated off and on throughout college. Liz spoiled that particular entertainment by laughing and saying Daniel was free to date whoever he wanted to, and she particularly approved of Sarah. Still, Sarah made it a point not to mention Daniel to Liz or vice versa.
“Okay, Beverly, you’re in charge of the shop. Just close like normal.” Sarah instructed.
Beverly smiled from behind the counter. “Leave everything to me, Ms. Petty. You and Lady Felicity have a wonderful day.”
Sarah waved and tried to leave but a loud crash from the apartment upstairs, followed by a series of emphatic threats to a certain fuzzy critter, stopped her. “Please go see whatever that was and make sure Raven cleans it by the time I get home.” Already Sarah could feel the muscles tightening in her shoulders. Thank goodness she was getting a massage today.
Figuring the insurance company would pay for the bulk of the damages, Sarah left the shop and climbed into a waiting car.
A key turned inside the crevice, carefully hidden deep within the castles interior. Slowly cracks appeared and a door slid open. Stephen followed Elspeth into the small, windowless area. The only other occupant was a man bound tightly to a chair sitting in the middle of the room. Impassively they watched as the man twisted his wrists, testing their bindings. Finding them secure he slouched back into the chair and sneered. He was captured while trying to sabotage Elspeth’s car earlier that morning, a plan that would’ve succeeded if not for the sharp-eyed head of castle security.
“Where did you get this?” Stephen demanded, shoving a work order that had been sealed with the mark of the White Rose into the man’s face.
The small man chuckled rudely and spat at Elspeth’s feet. “That’s pretty clear, ain’t it? I got it from someone in this castle.”
Stephen reached back to punch him but Elspeth grabbed his arm. “We don’t torture prisoners. You know that.”
Stephen scowled but lowered his fist.
The Duchess spoke to the prisoner. “Who exactly gave this sealed work order to you, Kevin?”
Kevin cackled, “I’m not telling you, but I’ll give you a hint if you grant me mercy.”
Stephen started say no but Elspeth agreed. “Tell me the hint.”
The captive man leered up, the light of madness brightening his eyes. “Are you sure you can trust everyone in your family, Duchess?”
Stephen was unsure how to say that the man wasn’t lying. He cast a reading spell on Kevin and now knew for certain someone in their family was a traitor.
Elspeth felt her jaw clench. If she had been lied to, Stephen would have told her. Though it didn’t come as much of a shock it still hurt that one of her family could betray them. “Give me a name, Kevin, and I’ll release you to your Protectorate superiors.”
“I’m not Protectorate you stupid tramp. I’ve gone freelance and was trying to build a rep.” The man spit again, this time hitting Elspeth in the face.
Slowly the Duchess wiped the saliva off her face and flicked it onto the floor. Kevin glared mockingly, almost daring her to do something.
Without changing expressions Elspeth turned on her heel. “Kill him.”
“Br…“ Kevin started to speak, but Stephen couldn’t stop his sword in time from slicing through the man’s jugular. The rest of the name died in Kevin’s throat as crimson drops sprayed across the bleached white tiles. But Elspeth and Stephen had heard enough. The traitor was Branwyen.
By the time she got home, Sarah felt nearly dead on her feet. The driver dutifully helped her get the bags and boxes in and she accepted his offer to carry them upstairs. The smithy looked just like she had left it which meant that, thankfully, there was nothing that needed immediate repairing. She wanted a night to herself, to catch up on some reading and just relax after a very fun day.
The burly man sat the packages down in front of the door and turned to leave. Sarah pressed five gullions into his hand, knowing it wasn’t expected but always felt she should tip. With a grateful bow, Joseph pocketed the money and left.
Wary of misaimed magic, Sarah turned the knob, walked inside and gasped. She hadn’t expected this at all. Raven stood in the center of the living room, grinning from ear to ear. Okay that part she expected because Raven was almost always smiling, but the cleanliness of the house came as a total shock.
“What did you do?” Sarah questioned dubiously. Usually a day without supervision meant Raven had burned, broken, tinkered with or somehow destroyed something.
The redhead gave a thumbs-up sign. “Just cleaned the apartment.”
Sarah wasn’t buying it. Raven never cleaned anything without literally being forced to. “Why?”
“Because today is your day to relax. After we get everything in, I want to see what you bought.”
Confused, she moved robotically to the side as Raven grabbed an armful of bags. Raven never, as long as Sarah had known her, cared about clothes any more than she did about cleaning. Sarah wasn’t real sure what happened to her roommate but refused to ask stupid questions. Their insurance premiums were fully paid, she made constant sure of that.
After modeling most of the new clothes, Sarah fell exhausted into bed; she didn’t even have enough energy to pick up a book. Before she turned out the light though, she looked at the photo of a man smiling through a thick, bushy beard.
“I guess I finally made it, huh Dad?” She asked the picture, caressing it gently. She knew he would be proud of everything she had accomplished.
The next morning, Sarah’s life changed. She and Raven were lazing around, enjoying a Sunday afternoon with no plans, when a knock came from the door.
“I’ll get it.” Raven complained, seeing that Sarah was currently pinned down by Snuffles, who was snoring gently on her chest.
She opened the door and looked down at Captain Longman, the head of Valentria’s guards. He stood four inches shorter than Raven but carried himself like a much larger man and was the target of many of her and Sis’s pranks.
“Lady Chandlish, Ms. Petty.” Longman bowed deeply, “I am sorry to interrupt you this afternoon but Her Grace demands your presence at the castle.”
“Oh yeah? Not going.” Raven attempted to close the door but the man barred it with his foot.
“Apologies, milady, but Her Grace insist. It is a matter of utmost urgency.”
Sarah got up hastily, Snuffles falling ungainly to the floor with a startled cry. Ignoring him for a second, she walked to the door.
“What is it?” She asked Longman.
The man bowed stiffly again. “I have no clue, madam. I am simply here to escort the two of you safely to the castle.”
With no further argument, Raven and Sarah pulled on their coats and followed him down to the waiting car.
During the drive, Sarah and Raven discussed what it could possibly be.
“No idea, Lil’bit.” Raven answered, careful to avoid looking at Sarah by watching the homes grow more distantly spaced as they left the out skirts of Valentria. “Maybe Sis got home early and they’re planning a surprise.”
Sarah doubted that was the case. Raven and Bekah’s reunions were a cause for panic, not jubilation. There was no way Elspeth would bring more potential lawsuits into the blast radius.
They pulled into a small alcove Sarah hadn’t noticed before. The car door was opened by another guard but this one had friends. At least twenty and they were all wearing swords.
‘Whatever it is, at least we’ll be safe’, Sarah reassured herself before one of them locked handcuffs around he
r wrist.
CHAPTER 21: TRAITORS
“Please remove your weapon and put these on, Lady Branwyen. Her Grace is insistent.” The man held out heavy iron cuffs.
Raven arched an eyebrow at the rune covered shackles meant to prohibit the use of magic. If Elspeth was demanding she wear them, it meant that things were working out like she and Sis expected and she felt a twinge of excitement. For the past couple of years they knew someone was passing information to the Protectorate and that she would be a prime suspect. Her sisters would be safe because there was no way anybody could think Elspeth’s real daughters capable of treachery.
Sarah was another matter entirely. Clucking cheerfully to herself, Raven allowed the manacles to bind her hands. She had been afraid that everything would go exactly according to plan and that would’ve been boring. Now she needed to think of a way to keep Sarah safe while escaping the castle so things were gonna get interesting.
As they followed the guard through the castle’s cavernous halls, Raven whispered to Sarah to just stay quiet and let her do all the talking. Sarah was too staggered to argue. She knew, since it was apparent to everyone who saw them together, that Raven and her step-mother kept each other at an arms length. Even when they spoke, which rarely happened, the conversations were short and to the point. More like general and soldier than mother and daughter, but Sarah never expected this.
The guard paused in front of the Judgment Chamber door and knocked once, the hollow sound rolling through the hallway. Sarah trembled as the reverberation died away. A voice from within told them to enter and the guard held open the door. Sarah’s breath was taken away.
Before meeting them, she expected the Chandlish family to be strange and aloof. While Sarah still considered Raven to be completely bizarre, the rest of the family seemed just like everyone else, except for having a lot of money. Standing in the entrance to the Chamber, Sarah realized just how high the barrier between commoner and nobility was.
WINDOWS: A BROKEN FAIRY TALE Page 21
