Seize the Crown

by Gemma Perfect

  Maybe Everleigh will see it and realise something’s wrong.

  As he rides away from the river and takes me back to the castle I’m crying.

  What have I done now?

  22

  “I’M WORRIED ABOUT HER; she’s been gone ages.”

  “She’s probably just sulking,” Addyson says, going to Della’s side; she spends a lot of time by Della’s side and she’s blooming with the love and attention of a mother figure. It means Everleigh can be a sister again.

  “Do you think?” Everleigh is biting her lip. “We’ve only just got her back.”

  “She loves a sulk,” Addyson says.

  Ceryn shakes her head. “She’s a pest, but we’ll go and look for her. I’ll go and fetch the boys and see you in a bit.”

  “Don’t be too cross with her.”

  “I won’t.” Ceryn grins at Everleigh but she’s got a nasty glint in her eye; she’s gone before Everleigh can say any more and Everleigh sinks into the chair, groaning.

  “She’s sure to be fine.” Della rubs Everleigh’s arm and then pours her a drink.

  “I’ve got a bad feeling. I told her to be careful.” Everleigh cries and Della moves to her side, pats her shoulder. Everleigh looks up at her. “Why can’t everything be simple? And everyone be safe?”

  “Ah lovely. It doesn’t seem like it, but if life were simple it would be boring. Trouble and strife are what make us stronger. Lanorie will be just fine, probably got caught up in her freedom, or fell asleep with nothing to worry about any more.”

  “I hope so.”

  “I’m sure so.”

  WILL IS PULLED FROM the floor, where he was showing off a head stand, and dragged to the great hall, by two guards and Wolf, grinning, but silent. Will knows this isn’t a good sign. Millard is obviously cross again – maybe ready to question him about where Everleigh is again. Well, Millard can ask, and he won’t say, same as last time.

  As they approach the doors, the guards let go of him, and allow him to straighten his clothes. “No funny business, fool,” Wolf says and the guards laugh.

  Will isn’t as foolish as everyone believes. He walks quietly to the dais and bows low to Millard, whose smile is icy.

  “Will. I have to apologise for what’s about to happen, but I need to find my sister and I-”

  “My King, I don’t know where she is.”

  “I believe you. I really do. But I know how much Everleigh loves you. You’ve been her friend all her life. If you’re in trouble, then she’ll come.”

  “But I’m not-” The truth dawns on Will simply because he isn’t a fool. “I am in trouble?”

  Millard smiles at him, nodding his head slowly, a strange glint in his eye.

  Will lowers his head; bows low. “My King. I have loved Everleigh all her life and you are right, if I am in trouble, she’ll come. I understand.”

  Ginata works hard at keeping her face a mask. She cannot allow Millard to see that her heart is breaking. Everleigh will come out of hiding to help Will and Millard will lock her up or kill her. But she cannot think of anything to say or do to alter what’s about to happen.

  “Let me go!” The voice is recognisable to both Will and Ginata who look towards the heavy doors of the great hall.

  Lanorie.

  Millard looks over at the furore and gets to his feet, a nervous look on his face. He sees three of his men holding on to a screaming, fighting, shouting woman and shakes his head for them to move away from the great hall and the crowds of people and out to the corridor again.

  They follow his silent orders and he nods and smiles at his fellow diners as he threads through the tables to see what’s going on. He nods for the men holding Will to come with him. Wolf and Ginata follow without being asked and Will tags along too.

  Millard’s face is etched in fury as he stares at his guards. “Why would you bring this screaming, shouting bint into the great hall? With all my subjects there? With every eye on me?”

  The men bow their heads and don’t even try to give excuses.

  “Who is she?”

  By now Lanorie has been stood back on her feet, a guard holding on to each elbow and one behind her. She’s no longer screaming or struggling; instead she is crying and wailing.

  Ginata stands next to Millard; she wants Lanorie to see her face when she finally stops performing; to see the silent warning she’s trying to give, if she ever stops performing.

  She knows what this girl is like, how her mouth runs away with her, the problems she has already caused for Everleigh. She sneaks a glance at Will and can read on his face that he has the same fears. If Lanorie mentions that she has been in the tower, then they are both dead.

  “This is Everleigh’s handmaiden,” one of the guards speaks up, though his voice is trembling. “We thought you’d want to see her straight away.”

  “I would.” Millard’s face has changed again, his moods always changing, too fast to keep up with. “I just wish you hadn’t brought her into the great hall.”

  He steps towards her and Lanorie’s legs are shaking as he puts a finger under her chin and gently lifts her face to meet his.

  “What’s your name?” His voice is soft and deep, dangerous. “I do recognise you...”

  Lanorie looks at him, this handsome prince that she has been half in love with all her life and chokes out another sob. “Please don’t kill me. My prince. My King.”

  She bows her head low, tears dripping onto the stone floor and Ginata and Will exchange looks. Will has been in love with Lanorie as long as she has been in love with Millard, as long as they have both been in Everleigh’s life. But he’s watching her now, a look of abject fear on his face. Ginata is just about managing to mask her feelings in case Millard turns to her, but her insides are a mass of liquid snakes.

  What is this foolish girl about to say or do and what can she or Will do to salvage things?

  Millard touches Lanorie again; this time a palm against her wet cheek. She lifts her eyes up to meet his, keeping her head bowed low. She is trembling.

  “What’s your name?” His voice is lower, laced with danger and both Ginata and Will take a step closer to Lanorie. “Stand up properly. Look at me.”

  Lanorie does as she’s told, tears, snot and dribble trailing over her face and clothes. Despite having been in the tower, she made a choice to be there and was never in immediate danger. This is different; she knows this, she can feel the tension and the threat. She looks at Ginata who widens her eyes and slowly shakes her head.

  “My name is Lanorie.”

  “And you look after my sister?”

  Lanorie nods.

  “And you know where she is?”

  Lanorie nods and Ginata and Will both close their eyes. Neither one of them can step in here to stop her talking without implicating themselves. If they implicate themselves Millard will kill them and then they will be even less use to Everleigh than they already are.

  “And you’ll tell me?”

  Lanorie nods again, her eyes locked on Millard’s refusing to look at either Ginata or Will, knowing what she will see in their faces and wanting no part of it. She has been captured and now she has to do what she has to do.

  Ginata

  MY HEART HURTS. SHE is going to tell Millard where Everleigh is and then it will all be over. Our Queen will be dead and our King will rule without opposition and then what?

  If I had a weapon, I would kill her myself. And that is so unlike me that I understand why my heart hurts. I stay silent and I keep my face impassive but I am crying inside.

  Why wasn’t she safely inside with Everleigh? How have they managed to capture her and still not know where Everleigh is?

  I close my eyes and concentrate. Since Halfreda’s death my visions and inklings and feelings have been all over the place. I know no more than any other person around me and I don’t like that lack of intuition, that loss of insight. I feel empty except for the inner turmoil I have felt since the coronation, moving i
nto the dead King’s bedroom and living on a knife edge with the new King and I know that is why my natural gift is muted.

  Looking at Lanorie I try to see past the slightly too big clothes, the dull blonde hair, the plain but pleasant face. I try to see her heart, what she’s thinking.

  I know she loves Everleigh; there’s no doubt about that. And she’s loyal to her, despite her big mouth. She’s simple and yet brave. The way she switched places with Addyson was something none of us would have imagined of her.

  So, she has hidden depths...and yet the young boy she fell in love with just last week had her spilling her own secrets and other people’s. She cannot be trusted because she doesn’t see the big picture. She wants to be happy, now. She wants to be safe, now. She wants to be kissed now, or fed now, or whatever now. She’s like a puppy. She doesn’t understand that getting Everleigh to the throne isn’t as simple as wanting it or hoping for it; we all have to work together.

  And yet she’s done it once. She freed Addyson.

  But now she has the King’s guard’s hands on her, the King looking at her with soft but insane eyes. She blushes as she looks at him, through her tears.

  He is handsome. More than handsome. Tall, dark haired, dark eyed, gorgeous. Powerful. I can see why she thinks what she thinks. Although he is changeable and frightening, he is also powerful, good looking...he’s the King. The most important man in the Realm.

  I can see Will looking at Lanorie, his eyes pleading with the girl he loves to keep quiet. But like me, he cannot speak up. If either of us says anything, if she says too much, more than Everleigh’s head will roll. We will all be dead.

  “Where have you been, you and my sister?”

  His voice is so pleasant, this dangerous King, chatting happily with his sister’s handmaiden, lulling her into a false sense of security with every word. Like Will is, I know, I am silently pleading with her, to please keep our secrets.

  “We’ve been hiding.”

  She hasn’t mentioned the tower yet and I feel ridiculously grateful but hateful at the same time. She will have to give Everleigh up. Or die.

  What a choice.

  What would I do? I told Will I wouldn’t die for Everleigh. Does that still stand? I cannot think straight. With Lanorie in front of me, flanked by guards and looking pathetically sad, and Will, Millard, Wolf and I forming a semi-circle around her I feel like we are all too close to the truth coming out. One misstep, one word out of line and we could die.

  I don’t want to die, when I feel like the truth may come out I feel sick to my stomach. I do not want Millard to know I am false to him, for him to end my life. I like my life. I like my new home. I like the castle and my suite of rooms. I also like him liking me, and I can’t imagine why. The need to survive is strong and I know that if he likes me I am more likely to live than if he does not.

  But then I also like Everleigh. The prophecy says she must live and she must rule. Halfreda thought so, her teacher thought so. I won’t argue with that. I’ll do my best to get her on the throne but not at my own expense.

  And yet if Lanorie drops Everleigh in it now, which she has to, to save her own neck, what can I say or do?

  If I step in or speak up I will die.

  So, is that my answer, I’ll help her reach her throne, serve her brother in the meantime and do everything I can to secure my own life?

  I have become a selfish witch indeed, in a short space of time. I wonder what difference there would be to my thoughts if Halfreda was still alive. She was a better witch than me, a wiser woman than me, I know. Was she less selfish too? Probably. She never had a love of her own, a life of her own, she was here only to serve the King, as am I now, I suppose.

  Still trying to see Lanorie’s intention I focus on her face, her eyes, her tears, her heart. I feel despair and tension in the air, but I suppose that is coming from me, Will and Lanorie.

  There is glee and excitement. A building of anticipation; probably Millard and maybe Wolf.

  There is a mixture of revulsion and the rush of power that I guess maybe the guards are feeling. Power over someone is a heady thing, and yet when a young girl crumples against you, sobbing and wretched there must be a part of any good man, any good heart, that feels pity for her and despair of themselves.

  The mix of emotions is making me feel dizzy. Or is that the fear?

  “I’ll take you to her.” Lanorie’s voice is small but steady and I can see Will is ready to fall over. With all attention on Lanorie I move from Millard’s side to Will’s and I take his arm. He cannot show loyalty to Everleigh at this moment; now is not the time to admit fealty.

  Millard laughs and the sound curls my toes, just not in a good way. My head is spinning and spinning and spinning trying to think of anything to do or say that will help, buy us time, anything.

  “Can you trust her?” I ask, my voice surprisingly steady. “Where’s she been all this time? Where was she found? What if this is a trap or something?”

  “She was found by the river, my King,” one of the guards speaks up. “I recognised her straight away. I knew you were looking for her. Needed a bit of help bringing her in. She’s feisty.”

  Millard smiles at Lanorie. “Feisty...I like it. Take me now. Wolf, gather some more men, in case she won’t come quietly and we’ll see. Will Everleigh live or die? I’ll see what mood I’m in when we get there.”

  He has totally ignored my words, my questions and I sink into a gloom of upset and a bit of indignant fury. I thought I was supposed to be the wise woman here, isn’t he supposed to accept my counsel?

  I hold on to Will even tighter, for myself now as much as him.

  “What can we do?” My voice is less than a whisper and his reply is the same. “I have no idea.”

  We are watching Lanorie and she meets our eyes and gives us the tiniest of nods. If we hadn’t been desperately searching her face for an answer as to why she’s doing this would we even have seen it?

  A nod. What does it mean?

  I’m sorry.

  I have no choice.

  We may never know.

  As Millard pulls Wolf along the corridor and calls for his hounds and his horses, we stand together, not invited to the party.

  Not wanting to go, either.

  23

  CERYN PULLS HER HORSE up at the river. There’s no sign of Lanorie and though she might be hiding, Ceryn doubts it. She has a feeling that Lanorie would want everyone to see her and whatever misery she imagines she’s feeling. She might have wandered off; she seems a bit mindless to Ceryn.

  Finn and Weaver are rushing around, looking in ridiculous places no one would ever hide, under a tiny hedge row, behind a particularly large rock. Ceryn shakes her head, stifling her laughter.

  She walks around, eyes scanning the ground, the trees, the whole area. What happened and where is she?

  “No sign here,” Finn calls out, head tucked behind a bush.

  “Or here,” Weaver says, backing out from a thatch of trees.

  Ceryn laughs. “She’s not playing hide and seek, boys. I think something happened.”

  Weaver comes to her side. She has a good instinct for things like this and he knows it. “Trouble?”

  Ceryn nods.

  “Here.” Finn is holding up a single shoe.

  Ceryn takes it off him. “Was she captured? Did she kick this off?”

  “Let’s take it back to Everleigh. She’ll know if it’s hers.”

  “It has to be hers. Why did she go out wandering; stupid girl.”

  “It’s not her fault.”

  “That she got captured? Of course it’s her fault. Going off in a huff. Come on, let’s head back.”

  The three of them run back to the cottages, Finn bringing up the rear, Ceryn and Weaver evenly paced; all of them filled with a new sense of urgency.

  Ceryn pushes through the cottage door. “We can’t find her, but we found a shoe.” She holds it up for Everleigh to see, who promptly lets out a cry.

&
nbsp; “So, it’s hers?”

  Everleigh nods.

  “Damn her!” Ceryn kicks the chair and gets a shocked look from Della. “Sorry.”

  “What’s happened to her?”

  “We think she might have been captured by one of your brother’s men. I can’t see who else would carry her off on a horse, well we presume a horse. There’s no sign of a struggle, just the shoe.”

  “So, she kicked it off so we’d see it?”

  “I think so. Listen, you lot stay here, Weaver and I will go out on our horses. We can travel a bit further afield, see if there’s any sign of her. We’re quick and no one from the castle will recognise us if they do see us.”

  “What will Millard do if he’s got her?” This from Addyson, her little face white and eyes filled with unshed tears.

  Everleigh hugs her. “I’ve no idea.”

  Ceryn clears her throat. “Will she give you up? If it’s him that’s got her. Will she give you up?”

  Addyson shrugs but Everleigh shakes her head. “I know she wouldn’t.”

  “Let’s go. Let’s see what we can see. If there’s anything we can do.”

  Ceryn turns back to face them all. “Stay out of sight. Is there anywhere you could hide, in case?”

  Della shakes her head. “Both cottages are tiny. There’s nowhere to hide. You don’t think-”

  “I don’t know her like Everleigh does. But she’s only young. And she’ll be frightened. If she has been captured and she tells Millard everything, then he’ll come here looking for you. Just close the door and Finn, keep a look out.”

  Finn nods and puts a hand on Everleigh’s shoulder.

  Ceryn and Weaver leave them behind, jumping up on their horses, who were enjoying their grassy dinner outside the cottages. “What do you think?” Weaver’s voice is quiet as always, measured.

  “If she’s been captured, I reckon she’ll squeal like a pig.”

  “Really?”

  “She’ll be petrified.”

  “Have we missed something? Is she lost or...I don’t know, fallen in the river.”