“You are so strong,” she said softly.
“I am strong.”
“And so wise.”
“Yes,” he mumbled sleepily.
“You will be a great King,” she lied.
“I...already...am,” he said, then began snoring.
Brianna started shaking all over and the urge to burst into tears was overwhelming. She realized then that she’d been afraid, and her pent-up emotions were suddenly released. She dropped down to the floor, cradled her knees to her chest, and cried. It felt good to release the tension she felt, to be honest with herself and feel all the things that she had for so long bottled up and denied. Then, once the tears and emotion had spent themselves, she stood. Her legs felt shaky at first, but her strength and resolve were returning.
She went to the small basin and washed her face. Her eyes were puffy and red, but that couldn’t be helped now, as long as it didn’t interfere with her escape attempt. There was a small bell that had been set out to summon servants who were waiting to care for Simmeron’s every need. She was afraid at first that ringing the bell might wake the Prince but she didn’t know what else to do. She gave the bell a small shake and it rang clear and pure.
The Prince didn’t stir, but the door opened and Wilamet appeared. She nodded and approached the table where Brianna and Simmeron had been served their supper. She bent low and pulled a small bundle from under the table. She handed it to Brianna and mouthed the words, hide this, without making a sound. Brianna took the bundle and turned to face the room. She realized for the first time that the blind singer was still in the room. His presence had been forgotten, and if Wilamet had said anything, Brianna was certain the man would have reported it. She needed to be careful, she realized, and that thought brought the reality of her dangerous position even closer to her.
She spoke to Wilamet as she bent over to slide the bundle under the bed.
“I’m afraid the Prince had too much wine this evening,” she said out loud.
“Yes, my lady, I’ll make sure everything is taken care of,” Wilamet said.
The servants began gathering plates and cups, then hurried from the room. Brianna went to the door, which was still open, and saw that Branock was sitting on the far side of the main room her bedchamber was attached to. He was drinking wine and reading by candlelight, his eyes flicking up to meet hers, before dropping back to the book he was reading.
“My lady,” the singer said without turning around. “Would you like me to continue playing?”
“No,” Brianna said. “That’s enough for this evening, thank you. You did a lovely job.”
“You are too kind, my lady,” he said, but he did not move.
At first Brianna wondered why he simply sat on his stool now that she had dismissed him, but then she realized that he was waiting for someone to lead him from the room. Brianna dropped into a chair. Her curiosity about the bundle she had hidden under the bed was hard to master, but she knew she couldn’t look into it until the servants were all gone. She also had no idea if Branock was somehow keeping a watch on her. She would need to be careful.
Servants arrived and efficiently removed the table, chairs, dishes, and most of the flower petals that had been scattered around the room. Brianna felt bad just sitting and watching, so she helped pick up the flower petals. A man came and escorted the blind singer from the room. Four men of the Royal Guard came in with a stretcher made from two long ash poles with a sturdy fabric sewn around them. They rolled Simmeron onto the stretcher and then carried him out of the room.
When Brianna looked up, as the servants left, she found Branock standing in her doorway. His face was impassive and she wondered what he was thinking. She hoped he could not see the anxiety that she felt must surely be plain on her own features.
“I had to have him removed,” Branock explained. “It wouldn’t do to have rumors flying around the city about the two of you. Although, I would get used to coddling the soft witted Prince. You may have to become his bride once Zollin joins us.”
“Never,” Brianna said defiantly. She hadn’t meant to say or do anything that might show how determined she was to escape, but the thought of being forced to marry the spoiled Prince had simply been too repugnant.
“You should never say never, my dear.”
“I’ll die first,” she threatened.
“What a shame, but then there are plenty of other pretty girls to entertain the Prince, and Zollin, for that matter.”
He spun away, the door slammed shut, and Brianna felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. She had never thought of Zollin with another girl, not since the inn keeper’s daughter in Brighton’s Gate had fawned over him so blatantly. Even then she had not taken it seriously. She had been jealous, but not worried. Now, the realization that some other woman might take her place was painful to think about. She wanted Zollin to be happy—she had just never considered that he might be happy with someone else.
She went to the door and listened. There was no sound in the outer room. Still, she waited. After a while it seemed silly to be so cautious. She went to the bed and retrieved the bundle. It was mostly clothes. There were wool pants and a matching shirt, a thick cloak, and, of course, the rope. There was also a small pouch of coins, mostly coppers, but there were a few silver coins as well. Folded up neatly in the middle of the bundle was a note. Brianna unfolded and read it.
Wait until well past midnight, then climb out of the window. Make sure there are no candles burning in your room, so you won’t be seen. Make your way to the side door of the castle gate, the guard there will let you through. I’ll be waiting for you.
There was no signature on the note, but Brianna guessed it was from Wilamet. The money had probably been gathered from several sources, but it amounted to a major sacrifice by the servants who were helping her. She made up her mind not to let them down.
It took a while to work herself free of the gown she was wearing. She hung it neatly on the wardrobe, then pulled on the new clothes. She tucked the cloak, rope, and small purse of coins under the covers, then climbed into bed. She had no intention of sleeping, but she needed to wait a few hours before trying to make her escape.
As she lay there, in the dark, she wondered where Zollin was and what he was doing.
Chapter 35
Zollin was at that very moment standing on a hilltop looking at the sprawl of Orrock. The city was enclosed with a high wall, and the castle rose up from the center of the city. Around the wall were more houses and shops. It was as if the city began at the castle and then spread out in an unorganized mass.
“Wow,” said Mansel, who was standing beside Zollin.
“Yeah, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“They say there are cities in the south that are even bigger.”
“It’s hard to imagine,” Zollin said. “Why would people want to live like this?”
“I don’t know, it might be alright. Lots of women in a city this big,” Mansel said, smiling.
“That’s beside the point. It looks like some of those homes are nothing more than mud huts.”
“Well, the poor have to live somewhere,” Mansel said. “What do we do now?”
“We need to find an inn,” Zollin said.
“If the wizard wanted you to follow him, wouldn’t the inns be guarded?”
“Maybe,” Zollin said. He hadn’t really thought of that. “Perhaps it would be better to make camp here, and then ride into the city separately tomorrow. Find out as much as we can, then meet back here.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me.”
“I’ll take first watch,” Zollin said.
They moved back down the hill and hobbled the horses. They built a small fire, and Mansel was soon snoring away. Zollin moved outside the circle of light cast by the fire and made his way, on foot, back up the hill so that he could see the city. There were still lights burning in windows, but very little movement. The river beyond the city was like a black ribbon that
lay across the land as far as Zollin could see. Not that he could see much by starlight. There was no moon that night, and the darkness felt oppressive. Zollin wondered what Brianna was doing at that moment. He felt anxious to free her and afraid of what he might find. He was not so naive as to think she might not be abused by her captor. Brianna was beautiful, her dark hair and brown eyes were captivating, and just the memory of her long, willowy body stirred Zollin’s blood.
“Soon,” he whispered in the darkness. “I’ll be there to get you soon,” he promised her.
* * *
Brianna was still awake three hours later when she judged that it was late enough to make her escape. She rose silently from the bed and went to the door to listen for movement or voices. There was nothing to be heard. She had no idea what Branock was doing, but she couldn’t worry about him now. She tucked the small pouch of coins into the top of her woolen pants. The garment was tightened around her narrow hips by a leather thong that was threaded through small holes around the waistline. She made sure the pants were secure, then pulled the cloak over her head. It had a hood, but she left it back for the climb down the castle. She tied the rope to the foot of the heavy bed. She gave it a strong tug, but the bed didn’t budge. She doubted that her weight would be enough to move the massive piece of furniture.
Next, she opened the window and peered down. There was no light below her, and no movement could be detected. She was nervous, her heart beating loudly in her ears. She would have to climb down blind, but it couldn’t be helped. She flung the end of the rope out the window and waited for someone to raise the alarm, but nothing happened. It was now or never, she knew that, but fear still held her back for a long moment.
She had never considered that she might be afraid of heights, but then, she’d never been in a building this tall before, either, much less considered crawling out the window. Then she thought of Simmeron, with his leering gaze at her chest and groping, clumsy hands. Death was better, she reminded herself, and then she threw one leg over the windowsill. She didn’t have a lot of time to waste, and she wasn’t sure how long the climb down would take her. She took several deep breaths and then put her hands on the rope that was inside the room. She needed to get her other leg up and out, then somehow turn so that she was facing the castle. It was not a natural thing to do, but after sitting on the windowsill for a moment, she used one hand to lift herself slightly up and turned so that she was lying across the window with her feet hanging out over midair.
She shimmied backwards, her feet slowly getting closer to the wall and her hands in a death grip on the rope. It wasn’t thick and she felt weak grasping it, but she knew she had to keep going. If she went back inside now, she would never have the courage to climb back out of the window. She kept moving until only her arms were holding her to the window, her hands still on the rope and her upper arms hooked over the sill. Her feet could touch the wall and she scrambled on the rough, stone surface. Her shoes were too smooth on the bottom and she slipped, almost giving herself a heart attack. She kicked off her shoes and found that her bare feet had much more traction on the wall. She slowly let her shoulders move back until she was holding onto the windowsill with one hand while the other slid over the sill and clutched the rope just beyond it. Then, in a monumental act of will, she took her hand off the windowsill and grabbed the rope. There was a tense moment as her body rocked from side to side, then she had her balance again. She started her decent. It was nerve wracking, but not as difficult as she had feared at first. Her muscles trembled under the strain, but she was moving slowly and steadily down the side of the castle wall. She could feel the rope rubbing her hands raw, but the pain was a small price to pay for her freedom.
She came to another window and managed to angle herself to the side of it. Then there was a long stretch of wall and all around her was blackness. She couldn’t see the surface of the wall, or the rope, and certainly not the ground, but she kept moving. Eventually her foot touched a flat surface below her. In the dark, she was too scared to believe that she had actually made it to the ground. She explored with one foot and then two. Finally, she lowered herself enough that she was standing and could relax her arms and back. The muscles burned and her legs were shaking. Her hands felt like they were made of stone, but she didn’t try to let go of the rope. First she used her feet to explore the ground in the darkness. She felt the tangled end of the rope and her shoes. She sat down and slipped them back on her feet. When she stood up, she felt better, but was still afraid to let go of the rope. She stayed close to the castle wall, with one hand on the rope and one stretched in front of her. When she got to the round, corner tower of the castle, she let go of the rope. Then she carefully made her way around the tower. She could see light in the distance now, and she realized that she must have come down on the back side of the castle. She remembered that from her room she could see the river, so it all made sense to her now. She had descended between the castle and the tall castle wall, which explained the oppressive darkness. Now she moved more quickly. She was still in the dark, but just seeing the evidence of light ahead gave her courage, as well as an overwhelming desire to move toward the light.
She peeked around the corner of the next tower with a little more caution. The expanse of the castle courtyard lay before her. She could see the massive gate, which was now closed and barred. The smaller side door was also closed, but there was a guard in front of it. He was scanning the courtyard, and Brianna wasn’t sure if he was looking for her or simply just staying alert. She knew that if the guard didn’t help her, there was no way she could escape, and Branock’s threat of throwing her into the dungeon echoed in her mind. She felt fear, like a giant fist squeezing her chest. She was trembling all over when she stepped out of the shadows and into the dim light that was cast by a row of torches set in polished, bronze sconces along the front of the castle and on either side of the main gate.
She tried to walk with confidence, as if being out of the castle in the middle of the night was absolutely normal. The guard caught sight of her and waved her over. He was looking to see if anyone else was around as she approached.
“You Brianna?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“I ought to knock you silly and let the wizard have you, for hitting Edina the way you did,” he growled at here. “She’s a good woman.”
“Yes, she is, and I’m very sorry I did that. I was desperate.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t say I blame you for that. I don’t even want to think about what a wizard does to a fine young lady like yourself. Wilamet’s waiting, but anything happens to her, I’m coming after you and I don’t care who’s got you. I’ll find you and I’ll kill you, got it?”
“Yes,” Brianna whispered.
“Here,” he handed Brianna a thick leather strap that had something heavy inside at one end. “You know how to use that?”
“No,” she said.
“It’s called a black jack and you’re going to hit me on the back of the head with it. It’ll knock me out without making much noise.”
He bent over and laid his pike down on the ground. Then he turned to one side and gritted his teeth.
“As soon as you’re done, get out of here and leave the door open,” he said.
Brianna took a deep breath and then swung the black jack hard. The guard dropped like a stone, and Brianna didn’t bother to inspect her handiwork. Instead, she unlatched the gate door and hurried through it. Wilamet was waiting in the shadows. She took Brianna by the hand and hurried with her through side streets and into a small shop that was built against the castle wall. Inside the shop, a large man with a huge stomach and a drooping mustache was waiting. He had a single candle lit, and when Wilamet opened the door without knocking, he stood up. The big man led them to a room in the rear of the shop and then pulled back a thick rug that was on the floor, revealing a hidden door in the floor’s wooden planking. Without ever saying a word, the man opened the door and Wilamet hurried down the stone
steps underneath.
Brianna followed her and the man closed the door, blocking off all the light so that it was as dark as a tomb and just as musty. Brianna could smell earth and dust. She guessed the hidden room wasn’t used often.
“This way,” Wilamet whispered.
Brianna felt the servant take her hand and lead her through the darkness. They came to a stop as Wilamet felt on the wall for the latch to another room. Brianna felt a puff of air as the door swung open and then they were moving again, this time in a different direction. They heard scrabbling noises that Brianna was sure were nothing more than vermin scouring the dark passage for food, but her blood ran cold just the same. Finally, a light became visible ahead. As they moved toward it, Brianna began to see the dark silhouette of her companion.
Five Kingdoms: Books 01, 02 & 03 Page 67
