Demon put his head down and hauled along like a machine. When Rosie tried to balk he just dragged her behind him until she understood that she had no choice in the matter and walked on.
Suddenly dark figures appeared all around them, looming up through the snow. One reached out to Katrin, helping her along, lifting his fur hat long enough for her to see Kaymar’s blue eyes. Another, bigger than the others so she knew it was Ifor, put his arm around Eiren’s waist, helping Menders lift her and carry her along. The rest of the Men linked their arms and walked in front, blocking the snow and wind.
Soon they reached the stable, stumbling through the door into the warmth and wonderful smell of horses and hay.
Outside the storm was howling and tearing at the stable like a maddened animal. For the first time in her life, Katrin understood just why the Thrun called it ‘the White Beast.’
Menders, looking like a snow monster, removed Katrin’s hat and veil.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She nodded. Her throat was raw from screaming against the wind.
“Can you feel your hands and feet?” he asked.
“Yes – they hurt,” she rasped.
“Good,” he said and she knew he meant that they weren’t frozen.
Franz had pulled off Eiren’s snowy furs, hat and veil and she looked over at Katrin.
“That was a scrape,” she smiled, and Katrin had to laugh.
Klaas brought them warm cups of tea. Katrin drained hers in one gulp. She couldn’t believe how thirsty she was. Menders was helping Eiren out of her coat. Kaymar was doing the same for Katrin.
Hemmett popped up out of the hatch in the tack room, grinned and crossed his eyes at Katrin, then yelled down the hatch that they were there and all right. He came over to her.
“Sit down, Willow,” he ordered. He knelt at her feet, unlacing her boots and tugging them off her feet along with her stockings. He sighed in relief when he saw her feet were red.
“Big red feet,” he teased as Kaymar gently removed Katrin’s gloves and revealed that her hands were red too.
“We didn’t have time to freeze, we thrashing around so much,” Katrin shivered, reaching out for another mug of tea. “Eiren had to prod poor Rosie with her knife to make her go.”
She looked over at Eiren, who was gulping more hot tea. She was shivering. Franz had her boots and stockings off. Menders was warming her hands in his.
“Is she all right?” Katrin whispered to Kaymar, who was stripping off his own snowy coat.
“She’s not as young as you are, your circulation is better,” he murmured. “She’ll be fine, no real damage.”
“You wouldn’t believe how brave she is,” she told him. “She had to be scared to death, but you’d never know it. She just went on and on and acted like it was all just an adventure - but I know she was scared.”
“That’s what true courage is,” Kaymar smiled, giving her nose a tweak.
Later, when all the excitement had died down and Katrin was tired of lying in bed, she got up and padded through the suite. She wanted to see Eiren. Franz had found she had a broken rib and mild frostbite. She would be in bed for a while.
The door to Eiren’s room was slightly open, which meant it was all right to go in. Katrin hesitated when she heard Eiren speaking, sounding miserable.
“I’m so sorry that I didn’t just go to Papa’s,” she was saying. “I had no idea that storm would come up so quickly, but the cold should have warned me. I’m sorry I put her at such risk, my dear.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Menders answered her. “You did exactly what I would have done under the circumstances. I would have gone mad if you’d gone to your father’s, because there is no way to get word here. I’ve never seen weather change so fast. There was no way you could have predicted that blizzard. You did splendidly and you know you saved her life.”
“I poked poor Rosie with my knife!” Eiren said, her voice high and harsh. Katrin knew she was crying.
“You know your only hope was to have Rosie pull you along,” Menders said gently. “You did what you had to do. We try to give Katrin a normal life in an abnormal situation. That means that at times there are going to be risks, like when she fell in the river and Kaymar damaged his heart getting her out. The alternative is to mew her up in the house doing needlework. That would be the worst thing in the world for her. So once in a while we come a cropper. We’re through this one. Don’t cry any more, my love. All is well.”
Katrin couldn’t bear the idea that Eiren was upset and crying. She poked her head around the door.
“She went on even when she could hardly walk,” she stated fiercely, startling both of them. Menders was sitting on the side of the bed with his arms around Eiren, who was, indeed, in tears. “Sometimes I just wanted to lie down in the snow and give up, but I saw how she kept going even when she fell hard. Kaymar says that’s what courage really is.”
Eiren started to laugh and held out her arms to Katrin.
“Come here, darling,” she smiled. Katrin climbed up on the bed to her, hugging her carefully, not wanting to hurt her broken rib.
Eiren fell asleep very soon. Menders told Katrin she needed to go to bed as well. Before she did, he hugged her and then smiled down at her.
“Eiren was telling me about how you helped her and took the rope into the trees,” he said. “And I appreciated the way you wanted me to take care of her when we were out there. I’m proud of you, my Little Princess – proud of both my girls.”
(35)
The Queen of Mordania – and Another Princess
To Lord Stettan:
Sir,
You are commanded to present Princess Katrin Morghenna to Her Majesty, Queen Morghenna VIII at Court within one week of the date of this document. You are to transport her by whatever means necessary. Failure to present the Princess will result in the Queen’s most severe displeasure.
Morghenna VIII, Queen of Mordania
Menders showed no emotion as he read the Royal Command. He nodded to the courier who had brought it on this beautiful late spring day, directing the man to the kitchen for food and drink. Once left in solitude, he eased the door of his office shut and proceeded, silently, deliberately, to tear the letter into small strips.
There was no getting around it this time. The wording of the document let him know that it was suspected that he made it impossible to take Katrin to Court in defiance of previous commands.
He couldn’t have the excuse of the train not getting through, as it was springtime – and the letter stipulated that he should use any means of transport necessary to get Katrin there. He had only a week. No mention was made of the Royal Train, so his options were extremely limited.
He went to Franz’s office. Franz looked up in surprise as Menders announced the latest summons.
“Hmm,” Franz mused. “We’ve used the excuse of sickness twice and you tore up the train tracks once. Making another excuse could end up being worse than taking her to Court would be. If I say she’s ill again, they’ll start thinking that she’s weak and demand to know why she isn’t being toughened.”
“I know,” Menders responded quietly, sitting in the armchair opposite Franz. He had managed to subvert a summons to Court when Katrin was ten, claiming that she was ill and that the winter weather would worsen her condition.
“Tell me,” he said after a moment, “what would you say Katrin’s intellectual age is at the moment?”
“Thirteen or fourteen,” Franz answered immediately. “In some ways, even older.”
“How do I prepare her for this?” Menders asked. He was startled to hear that his voice sounded very small.
Franz sat back in his chair and thought for a moment.
“You’ll need to talk to her, and tell her the damn truth,” he said finally. “You know best how to approach her without frightening her. Don’t let her get some romantic notion that she’s going to see her mother because of some spasm of maternal sentiment
. Don’t give her the idea that this is a pleasure trip. The Queen has probably gotten a craw full of Aidelia again and is wondering how the spare is coming along.”
Menders nodded. After a moment, Franz spoke again.
“Tell her that her mother is a drunkard, her sister is mad. Tell her that you keep her away from them for good reason, and that she has a fine life here among people who love and value her. She’s not a fool – she’s figured a lot out for herself.”
Menders nodded again. After a moment, he stood slowly and turned toward the office door.
“You do realize that I might be a dead man,” he said softly, not looking at Franz. “Once the Queen sees her, she’ll know I have not followed her commands regarding Katrin.”
“Yes, my friend, I do,” Franz replied. His voice was grave and dull.
***
Kaymar hurried from the stable to the house and went to Menders’ office immediately.
“I know I didn’t beat the letter here,” he said breathlessly, “but I know the circumstances behind it. Aidelia went after another governess and this time she killed the poor woman – more by accident in a tantrum than by design. She knocked her down the stairs. The Queen was shocked sober and actually spoke to a couple of doctors. Apparently they have suggested she take a look at Katrin.”
Menders motioned for Kaymar to sit down.
“That means she’ll have a vested interest in Katrin being kept safe,” he mused.
“Yes and after what she sees with Aidelia all the time, Katrin is going to be very attractive. If you play your cards right, you should be secure,” Kaymar said encouragingly.
Menders drew a deep breath, and wondered just what the right cards might be.
“All right,” he said, beginning to feel more sure of himself than he had since the Queen’s letter arrived. “We need to form a plan for taking her there. I’d rather take her on the boat. That way we don’t have to wait for and depend on the train. Too many places a train can be stopped.”
“I thought you weren’t allowed to take Katrin on the boat,” Kaymar remarked.
“The Queen’s own words are ‘any available means.’ So it’s the boat. The trip will be shorter, completely in our control and we’ll be able to leave as soon as we’re able without waiting on the train. If things get out of hand I want to be away from there as fast as possible.”
“Makes sense. The boat is fit and ready to go,” Kaymar told him. “I gave orders to have it completely refueled and checked over when I left the pier.”
The small steam cabin cruiser that Kaymar used to travel between The Shadows and Erdahn quickly and secretly was deep hulled, very seaworthy and Ifor declared it capable of a good turn of speed. It was also part of a larger plan – to get Katrin out of Mordania entirely if it became necessary.
Menders had considered of doing just that when the Queen’s command came. But if he did, Katrin would spend the rest of her life being hunted by the Queen’s agents, or by one faction or another seeking to use her as a puppet or to kill her. Menders would have an official death sentence hanging over his head, a bounty making his demise even more desirable. If he could preserve Katrin’s way of life by taking her to Court and somehow working the Queen around, he would do so before subjecting her to life in exile.
“The sooner you go, the better,” Kaymar told him. “When I left she was still off the drink, but she’ll go back to it sooner or later. At this point it’s more than a craving. It’s a way of life, and she can’t stop for any length of time. You’d be better off seeing her when she’s sober. When sober she’s truly not a terrible person, Menders.”
Menders blatantly refrained from comment and Kaymar couldn’t help grinning.
“Yes, I know it’s hard to believe,” he added. Menders shook his head.
Kaymar habitually defended the Queen against Menders’ fierce disapproval. Menders was boggled by that. Kaymar was a man of exquisite taste and immaculate habits. The idea that he could tolerate and even seemed fond of their unwashed, reeking royal cousin was more than Menders could comprehend.
“I want you and Ifor to come with us. I need you with us at the Palace. You know the terrain there,” Menders said after some thought. “The fewer of us that go, the better, and the easier to move quickly if need be. No matter what happens, do not leave Katrin alone for a moment.”
Kaymar began to speak, but Menders motioned for him to wait.
“Kaymar – if something should happen to me, you are to take Katrin. Don’t come back here. Send word to Franz and go to my house in Surelia with her. Keep her safe until Franz gets there.”
“If it comes to that, I will stay with her the rest of my life,” Kaymar said quietly. “Ifor as well. Where I go, he goes.”
Menders rose and put a hand on his cousin’s shoulder.
“Get something to eat and have a rest. I think we should leave tonight, after dark,” he said, his voice tight with tension.
“Shall do,” Kaymar replied. “Cuz – I know this seems very serious, but I truly believe after the Queen sees Katrin that we’ll all return here and take up where we left off.”
“I hope you’re right. What bothers me more than anything… what if the Queen decides that Katrin must stay at Court?”
Kaymar blinked. He clearly hadn’t considered the option. “She hasn’t told me… there’s been no indication that she...”
Menders stared at him. Kaymar suddenly became distant, his eyes focused as if he was looking at something far away. Suddenly he snapped back and smiled with his lips but not his eyes.
“Well, you’ll just have to talk her around that point,” he said firmly. “Use your natural persuasive talent, cousin of mine. It works like a charm.” He left the room abruptly.
***
Eiren was in her room, trying to go over school papers. She knew about the Royal Command and had been quiet and tense since it arrived.
She looked up at Menders when he walked in, her face quivering, barely controlling tears.
“Yes, I have to go tonight,” he whispered, going to her, holding her against him. “Kaymar has given me good reason to expect that all will be well – but my darling, if it isn’t, if for any reason I don’t come back, you know that I’ve provided for you. You are safe from them because your association with me doesn’t matter to them. So you are free to stay here and continue with what you do now, or to go to Surelia with Franz to live with Katrin there. I am sure that Katrin is not in danger, no matter what becomes of me.”
“Don’t talk of such things. You know I’ll go with her,” Eiren choked. “But you must come back.”
“I will do everything I can,” he promised. Kneeling, he kissed her sweet face and tried to wipe away her tears, but they flowed down faster than he could staunch them.
***
Menders went to find Katrin.
She was sitting up on a limb of one of the lanar trees in the orchard, reading a book. There were numerous chocolate wrappers littering the grass beneath the tree. Menders couldn’t help smiling. Katrin had a powerful sweet tooth, and loved to read – interests that often coincided.
With a couple of steps, he was up in the tree with her. He straddled an adjacent limb while she smiled at him.
At eleven, she looked more like a thirteen year old, with long legs and truly beautiful hair that reached almost to her ankles. She was very tall for her age, almost as tall as Menders. There was no sign of her body blooming as of yet, but it was graceful and strong thanks to years of work and play around The Shadows. Her overall mien was of a much beloved girl who was comfortable in her skin.
“I need to talk to you, Little Princess,” Menders said, taking the book from her and putting it in his pocket. She so loved books that she tended to keep peeping into them if he didn’t do this, not out of rudeness but from sheer curiosity.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, instantly alert, her eyes scanning his face rapidly.
“Yes, my dear. Nothing you’ve done. I’ve received
a command from your mother, the Queen, to take you to Court in Erdahn as soon as possible.”
He was gratified that she only seemed surprised. He had deliberately avoided making her mother a bogey in her life. He’d responded truthfully and simply to the questions Katrin had asked, giving her no more information than she needed. So now she wasn’t fearful, only curious.
“Why is this?” Katrin asked.
“I’m not entirely sure,” he replied. “There has been some trouble with your sister, Princess Aidelia and it’s very likely your mother wishes to see how you’ve progressed. It’s likely your sister will not be fit to inherit the Throne.”
Katrin frowned.
“Why? What has she done?’ she asked.
This I won’t tell her, Menders thought forcefully.
“They say she’s mad.” Katrin spoke firmly.
“They?” Menders asked, his eyebrows shooting up. “Who is ‘they’?” For a fleeting moment he wondered what Kaymar might have been telling her.
“People.”
“Which people?”
“I hear people talk, Menders, all the time. They say Aidelia is mad. Is she?”
Menders considered his response, hearing Franz’s words echo in his head.
“Katrin, it’s time I told you things about your family that I have kept from you. You were too young to know about this before and I preferred not to burden you with it. Now my hand has been forced. You need to know before we go to Erdahn.
“Your mother, the Queen, drinks to excess all the time. When people do that, they develop a dependency on drink that is almost impossible to break. Your mother has this problem and the amount that she drinks impairs her judgment. It has adversely affected her reign.
Weaving Man: Book One of The Prophecy Series Page 43
