The Guide

by Trudie Collins

  All of the other guards just knew that Tallon’s slave, who it was common knowledge was treated more like a wife than a slave, had to get safely out of the country without anyone else knowing. If any of them wondered why, they did not ask; they just got on with their jobs efficiently and without comment.

  One of Tallon’s friends lent them his personal carriage and the guards dressed in the Lord’s colours. To any passing eye, it would appear as though someone in the Lord’s family was taking a trip out of the capital. Tallon would not be able to go with them and he felt a little nervous trusting someone else with Selene’s safety.

  Their last night together, both Selene and Tallon were very quiet. They had retired to bed early as the carriage would be leaving before dawn, but neither were able to sleep. Selene lay with her head on Tallon’s chest, listening to his heart beat and praying she would get to hear it again.

  “I love you,” he whispered, gently kissing the top of her head. Her reaction was not what he expected. She pulled away from his arms then removed her night gown. Laying her naked body on top of him, she kissed him passionately. When she eventually pulled back, he took her head in his hands and looked her straight in the eyes.

  “Are you sure?”

  Her nod was all he needed. He quickly removed his clothes, throwing them unceremoniously onto the floor. They spent the next few hours exploring and enjoying each other’s bodies, starting off slow and gentle until passion took over. They got no sleep that night and both were exhausted by the time they had to get dressed.

  The carriage had arrived the night before and had already been loaded with most of the ladies’ things, as well as a hamper packed with enough food for the first few days of the journey. Dobbin had to remain in the stables. Selene did not want to leave him behind, but understood the necessity. Tallon placed a bag of gold in Selene’s hand, before kissing her goodbye then walking away. He could not bear to see the carriage depart, taking away someone who had become the most important thing in his life. He walked back to his room, barely able to control his emotions. Slamming the door shut, he threw himself onto his bed and let his tears flow.

  Meanwhile, Selene was doing the same in the carriage. Mia had seen how much they loved each other, so she offered no comforting words and did not try to cheer Selene up by reminding her that they were going home. Instead she just hugged her close and let her cry.

  The journey passed in a blur. They had to stop a few times on the way to replenish their supplies, but they met no trouble and made good time. Selene started to become ill, putting it down to being cooped up in the carriage so much. Toward the end of the journey, however, she felt her body changing in tiny, almost unnoticeable ways and realised she was suffering from morning sickness, though she told nobody except for Mia. At the border, the guards were handed a note, signed by the Prince, stating that those in the carriage were part of an envoy to discuss peace with Allias and the company was immediately allowed to pass. Once they got close to the capital, the carriage came to a halt and the ladies were asked to get out. The carriage and its guards could not risk going any further. Their lives would be in grave danger if they approached the city.

  They had stopped next to a farm and one of the guards found the farmer and his wife and explained the situation. He claimed that he and his men had rescued Selene and her maid and were returning her to her father. They had heard about the reward that was offered, but now that they were this close, they decided it was unsafe for them to go any further. The farmer agreed to take the Princess back to the palace, no doubt to claim the reward himself, and say nothing about the markings on the carriage or the guards’ uniforms. Nothing would be traced back to Tallon’s friend.

  Selene had stopped dying her hair on the journey and her eyes had returned to their normal colour, making her instantly recognisable to any who knew her. The palace guards waved the farmer and his wagon through without delay when they saw her and word of her return reached the palace ahead of them. As the wagon pulled up, Selene was shocked to see her father running out of the palace to greet her, tears in his eyes. She later found out that the rumours Tallon had heard were only partly true. He had been ill, but at no point was his life in danger and he had fully recovered. Selene and Mia were rushed into the palace and the farmer was provided with the reward money. As agreed, he made no mention of Selene’s arrival in the carriage or her escort.

  A healer was called for, immediately spotting Selene’s pregnancy and the remaining signs of Mia’s abuse, causing everyone to jump to the conclusion that Selene had also been raped, with the guilty party leaving his mark on her arm.

  ——————————-∞——————————-

  “And that,” said Selene, “is my story. No matter how many times I have tried to tell my family they are wrong about Tallon, they do not believe me, thinking I have been so badly abused that my mind has invented this fantasy to protect itself from the truth. I can now understand why Tallon was so convinced that we would never see each other again.”

  “Wow. That is some tale. Oh no, don’t get me wrong,” Sam quickly added, seeing disappointment spread across Selene’s face. “I believe you. I can’t imagine anyone being able to convince themselves they were in love with the sort of monster your father obviously thinks Tallon is, no matter what they have had to endure. So what happened to your maid? Didn’t she back up your story?”

  “No. She refused to even speak to anyone about her ordeal, understandably. It was too soon in her recovery for her to have to relive it. Now she is no longer in Vada.” A smile slowly spread across her face as she continued. “As soon as we returned, my younger brother, Everet, took charge of her, acting as nursemaid, servant and protector. They had fallen in love before we went away, but never told each other. They knew that nothing could come of it, with him being a Prince and her only a maid. The feelings instantly returned the minute their eyes met. Everet moved her into his spare room, though it was not long before she was sharing his bed. He never tried to touch her, not even to put his arms around her, until she let him know she was ready. My father gave Everet an estate on the other side of the country, where they are now living. They seem very happy together. They are surrounded by woods and very rarely have visitors. Although Mia is a lot better now, she still does not like to be around people. They announced their engagement just before you arrived here.” Then she sighed sadly. “At least she gets to have some happiness with the man she loves. Then again, after all she has been through, she deserves it.”

  “So do you,” Sam retorted. “What would happen if you and Tallon met up again?” Selene, of course, knew nothing about Tor’s mission. Somehow, nobody had let it slip in front of her.

  “My father would kill him on sight. Nothing I can do or say will make him believe that I was not raped. He even considered making me drink an abortion potion, but thankfully the healer told him there was too great a risk of it leaving me barren for it to be worth the risk.”

  “There must be something I can do to help.” Sam hated seeing her friend so distraught. “Can’t we get in contact with the Lord who helped you get here?”

  Selene sadly shook her head. “Even if he could be persuaded to tell father all he knew, my father would not believe a word he said. He thinks that all Kinfenians are evil, murdering, lying bastards. Even the women. He has been taught a corrupt history and it will take more than just words to make him realise it.”

  “Surely Rupert can do something to persuade him.”

  “Rupert,” Selene exclaimed incredulously. “He is even worse than my father. If he ever found out that one of the stable lads was from Kinfen and that he had told me all about his native country, he would have the poor boy whipped, or worse. Why do you think I never told anyone where I got the idea to cross the border? The lad still works here; you have probably spoken to him. No, seeking assistance from Rupert is definitely out of the question.”

  “But he seems so nice and understanding and he absolutely adores yo
u.”

  “Understanding! Rupert? Are you sure we are talking about the same person? He has been brought up to be the next King. He has been told, since birth, that he has the right to demand respect from everyone; that he is never wrong. Trust me on this. You try to tell him you saw someone from Kinfen doing a good deed and he will send for a wizard, positive you must be under some spell. Please do not misunderstand me. My family are not bad people, it is just that the prejudice is so ingrained in them they cannot see it for what it is. I was no different before I visited Kinfen and actually met some of the people.”

  Seeing that Selene was getting agitated, Sam decided to drop the matter. She could always speak to Rupert about Tallon next time they were alone; maybe at the picnic the next day. Selene obviously knew him a lot better than she herself did, but Selene had been away for over a year and had hardly spoken to her brother since her return. People can change a lot over that length of time. Selene had, so maybe her brother had too.

  Sam looked out of the window, trying to think of a topic that might cheer the Princess up. The rain had almost stopped, the wind was reduced to a slight breeze, and the sun was trying to force its way through the clouds. She smiled slightly. Taking Selene’s hand in hers, she said, “I am very glad we got this opportunity to talk, and that you trust me enough to tell me the truth, but it looks like the storm is breaking. Do you think you will be well enough to join me in the garden again tomorrow?”

  Selene nodded enthusiastically. One day cooped up in her room was almost more than she could stand; she could not imagine having to stay there for another one. Telling her to get some rest, Sam let herself out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her, and went in search of Rupert.

  Chapter 14

  Tor pulled to a halt, motioning with his arm that everyone else should do the same. It was a cloudy night, making it difficult to see, but they all knew they were getting near the outskirts of the city, so were watching closely for the signal. Hawk, who had been flying above them, landed just in front of Tor. The horses had grown accustomed to Hawk suddenly appearing silently next to them and no longer reacted.

  “Bedden is just ahead. I took a quick look over the city and there seems to be just the usual guards you would expect in any capital city. The gates are currently closed and will probably not be opened again until morning. On top of that you have to get through three check points before you even get to the palace gates. This is not going to be easy.”

  “Easier than you think.” Tor took out one of the maps that Allias had given them. It was too dark to see it clearly, so he instructed Seth to light a small fire. Dal jumped down from his horse, telling it to stay. It rolled its eyes at him, letting him know that it was an intelligent animal that did not need such obvious instructions. It then proceeded to wander away, just to irritate the young man. He swore quietly as he chased after it and, to get his revenge, he put a rope around its neck and tethered it to the wagon.

  Seth gathered nearby sticks, dug a pit, then instructed Dal to light the fire. He had been taught the previous morning and was eager to show what he had learnt. He had spent as much time with Seth as possible during the journey and was becoming quite adept at some of the survival skills he was learning.

  They all gathered around the fire, both to see the map better and to help hide the fire from prying eyes. It was a map of Bedden, showing all of the sewers. It was old, so the accuracy was in doubt, but Tor hoped it would be good enough for their purpose. Pointing with a stick, he indicated how a sewer went from beneath the palace, under all defensive walls and checkpoints and ended up in a river just south of their current position.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” Modo grumbled. “You expect us to walk through crap to get to this guy, then somehow drag him back the same way?”

  “It is not as bad as it sounds. According to the book that was stored with this map, the sewers were built with paths for maintenance workers. We should be able to walk to the palace without even getting our feet wet.”

  “Why do I hear a ‘but’ coming?”

  “However,” Tor continued, “storm water also runs into the sewer. When there is heavy rainfall, the paths inside can get covered over.”

  “Wonderful. If it is a fine day we will be walking on old crap, if it is raining we will be wading through new crap. And do not even think about the smell. Anything else you would like to add before you explain your plan for actually getting the Prince?”

  “There is just one thing I should point out. The sewers are rather small so most of us will have to bend over most of the time. Ban will have to stay behind. He can guard both the wagon and River.” Before she had time to protest, Tor held up his hand, silencing her. “Before you even begin to tell me you are going with us, let me point out that we are heading into the devil’s lair, figuratively speaking. We either successfully complete our mission or we die. You may be prepared to risk your life, but I am not. You stay behind. End of story.”

  Tor then turned to Hawk. “Sorry Hawk, but there is no way of telling when we will return. We may find ourselves running from the sewers, pursued by guards, in the middle of the day. You, too, will have to stay behind.” Hawk merely nodded. Tor was talking sense so there was no point in arguing with him.

  “Do not even think about it,” Ria said as Tor turned toward her. The words he was about to say died in his mouth. This was one argument he knew he would lose. She would be going with him whether he liked it or not.

  “So how do you plan to get the Prince out of there?”

  Tor smiled slightly. “I was hoping that something would have occurred to me by now. Anyone any suggestions?” They all looked at him in horror. Until that moment every one of them was convinced that Tor had already decided on a plan B in case plan A failed. Not even having a plan A was a real problem.

  “So let me get this straight,” Dal ventured. “We travel the sewers until we assume we are under the palace. Then we hope that there is an entrance into some part of the palace with nobody in it. We somehow make our way through the palace, without being seen, to the Prince’s room. The door, of course, will be unlocked and he will be inside, asleep, without any guards. We wake him up and convince him to drink Ellen’s potion. We then carry him back through the palace, again without being seen, through the sewers and back here. It will still be night so we can put him straight into Hawk’s coffin and put a few hours travelling behind us before anyone realises the Prince is even missing. Did I miss anything?”

  “No, that is about it.”

  “Good. Anyone see any part of the plan that could possibly go wrong? Anyone?”

  Tor decided it was better to ignore the sarcasm, though he was sorely tempted to slap the boy round the head. Unfortunately, he had only said what everyone was thinking. “The good news is that we should at least be able to move freely through the palace. While Seth was unloading the turnips that we sold, I nipped into a store and purchased garments for us, the kind the slaves usually wear.”

  “Do the palace slaves wear anything that identifies them as being owned by royalty?” River asked, quietly.

  “Good question. Does everyone remember seeing the scar on Princess Selene’s arm? It was a brand. The royal family of Kinfen always brand their property, whether animal or human. We cannot fake that, so we must keep our arms covered at all times. Also, remember to keep your head down if you see anyone. Assume every person you meet has the right to order you around and we should be alright.”

  Nobody had any bright ideas about how to get the Prince out, so they decided to see if the first part of their plan worked, hoping a solution would present itself when the time came. This did not instil anyone with much confidence, but they had little choice.

  Those who would be entering the palace quickly changed into the plain woollen clothes that Tor had purchased, grumbling slightly about how badly they fitted and how much they irritated the skin. Tor ignored their complaints, pointing out that ill-fitting clothes just made them look more
like slaves. Grimmel was a problem, however. No dwarf garments had been available, so he had to wear a cloak over his normal clothes, keeping it pulled tight about him to hide what he wore underneath. It dragged slightly so he opted to carry it until they were in the palace.

  Hiding the wagon behind some large rocks and bushes, a little way from the road, they left Ban and Hawk on guard, with River curled up underneath, trying to get some sleep. As well as the sewer map, they had obtained a sketch of the palace layout from one of Allias’s trustworthy sources, which clearly showed Tallon’s quarters. Taking these two documents with them, the rest headed off toward the river. It was only small, but the sound of flowing water could be easily made out in the quiet night. Grimmel was dispatched and quickly found the sewer entrance, though Modo claimed he would have been able to find it himself without much difficulty, just by its smell.

  They lit torches and entered, covering their faces with scarves and handkerchiefs. River had had the forethought to create a paste from some crushed flowers she had picked on the journey, but rubbing a little under their noses did little to hide the horrendous stink emitting from the water flowing through the sewer. At least the information about the path had been correct. Though it was currently dry, it was far from clean.

  It did not take long for their shoes to be caked in what they hoped was mud, but deep down they knew it wasn’t. At one point Patrick raised his foot and examined his shoe in the torchlight. “Ellen is going to kill me,” he muttered, before putting his foot down again and catching up with the others.

  At uneven intervals, they found ladders leading upward. At each one they stopped and Modo was sent up to take a look. At the top of each was a removable grate, which Modo could easily fit his fingers through, using his multiple eyes to look around without having to lift it up. He also had the added bonus of being able to keep them closed in the sewers so they were not affected by the torchlight, giving him good night vision.