by Jody Hedlund
“Then you married him against your will?”
How honest could I be with this young woman who was still a stranger even though she was my sister? “I attempted to get away from him, but as you can see, he’s a strong man . . .” I twisted my mug. “And persuasive.”
“He has persuaded you to love him?” Her question was quiet but hit me as if she’d shouted it.
My gaze shot to hers. “No, I loathe him.”
“Not according to the reports I received regarding your public wedding and the feast.”
“Reports cannot always tell the whole story.”
“Your kiss just now confirmed your affection.”
“Because he is persuasive.”
“Because he cares about you in return.”
“Not enough.”
“Why?” The glint in Adelaide’s eyes told me my answer was significant.
I picked up my cup and took a quick sip. How had she gotten to the real reason for my visit in so short a time and with so little effort?
She traced the rim of her mug again. “You are not here to negotiate peace, are you, Emmeline?”
I stiffened, expecting her guards to come in, grab me on either side, and drag me away. No matter how hard Rex fought, we were too close to the enemy camp and would quickly be outnumbered.
When the canvas door flapped open, I jumped from my bench, and it toppled backward into the grass. Rex’s name was on the tip of my tongue. But at the sight of the newcomer—a woman—I froze.
One look was all I needed to know she was Maribel, my twin. Although she had the same golden hair and blue eyes as Adelaide, the heart shape of her face, high cheekbones, rounded chin, and long neck were like mine.
As her gaze alighted upon me, she squealed with excitement, then closed the distance and threw her arms around me.
“Emmeline, oh, Emmeline,” she said with such joy, squeezing me until I couldn’t keep from hugging her in return. “I have lived for this day.” She sniffled as she held me tight.
A small ache formed in my chest. I’d never thought I’d needed my sisters, had always believed I fared well enough without them. But what if I’d missed out on something special I hadn’t known I’d needed?
Maribel pulled back but didn’t let go. Instead, she studied me and smiled again, even though tears now streamed down her cheeks. “You are just as beautiful as they say. Even more so.”
“Thank you.” I tried to make my voice work past the lump in my throat. “You’re both so lovely, I can’t compare.”
Maribel released a soft laugh full of delight. “Rumors say you are the ravishing, dark beauty who stole the prince’s heart.”
Ravishing? I smiled at the exaggeration.
Maribel laughed again and drew me into another hug. This time I went willingly and somehow felt as though a part of me had finally come home.
I lost track of time as we ate from the simple fare servants brought us. Maribel kept the conversation lighthearted and pleasant. And thankfully, Adelaide didn’t attempt to probe me further regarding the true nature of my visit.
Adelaide told about her childhood growing up with the Langleys, her husband’s family, and how she’d always secretly loved Christopher. She also spoke of her time evading King Ethelwulf’s men who’d come after her.
Maribel described her life at Highland Convent and how she’d considered becoming a nun until Sister Katherine’s visit had changed everything. Maribel relayed her and Edmund’s adventures as she’d fled from King Ethelwulf’s guards. And she told fondly of how she’d fallen in love with Edmund through it all.
Of course, they wanted to know about my life in Inglewood Forest. Maribel was particularly fascinated and asked all about living with my parents and Bede and what it was like knowing I was a princess all those years and having to keep the secret.
My mind flashed to the few occasions we’d had guests. One time Mother had covered me in blankets in the dormer room, where I’d huddled in fear for hours. During another incident, she’d made me hide in the forest in the dugout tree, a tight, dark spot. I’d been filled with such terror I’d lain paralyzed until she’d finally come after me.
After such experiences, my nightmares about the king’s soldiers in black chain mail had always been worse.
“Sometimes I wonder if I may have been better off not knowing,” I replied quietly, the morning sunshine streaming in through the opening at the top and warming the tent. “Maybe I’d be stronger and braver like the two of you.”
Maribel reached for my hand and squeezed it. “From the moment I learned you had been captured, I have thought you must be so brave to face the prince and King Ethelwulf with such dignity.”
“I have only done what I must to keep those I love safe.”
“Then God has gifted you with the highest form of courage,” Adelaide said, sliding her bench back into the shade, likely growing warm in the layers of her armor. Did I dare hope she’d shed it and provide me an opportunity to get what I’d come for?
“‘Highest form of courage’?” I released a shaky laugh. “I am much too afraid most of the time to lay claim to any courage.”
“Courage is not the absence of fear but the determination to persevere when circumstances are at their worst.”
I liked her definition, but I certainly didn’t feel gifted with courage.
“I also believe true courage puts the needs of others above one’s own.”
“I agree,” Maribel added. “I could not have made such a sacrifice to marry a stranger, especially one who looks as though he could tear apart a dozen wolves with his bare hands.”
“He has proven himself kind and even generous,” I said, defending him before I could catch myself.
“And yet he has asked you to do something you do not wish to do?” Adelaide’s question was gentle and yet direct.
From everything I’d witnessed about her in the short hour we’d conversed, I realized the rumors regarding her gift of wisdom were true. She was insightful beyond her years. And though I hadn’t seen Maribel in her role as a physician, her gift of healing was obvious as well. She’d healed the rifts of time and distance, bonding us quickly together.
If my sisters both had such powerful gifts, had God given me one too? Was it the courage of which Adelaide spoke?
I’d never believed I had courage since I’d grown up anxious and fearful. But what if my courage ran deeper than my circumstances? What if I had always been stronger than I’d believed?
“What has the prince asked you to do?” Maribel queried innocently, clearly not realizing my ulterior motives for the visit the same way Adelaide had.
“While he may be kind and generous, he is still his father’s son.” I kept my voice low. Rex was somewhere outside the tent, and I didn’t know what—if anything—he could hear of our conversation. “His loyalty to the king takes precedence over me.”
Adelaide glanced to the tent door and lowered her voice too. “The prince has shown his devotion to you by risking his life to come so near our camp with you. Alas, he would have been wiser to send his trusted men rather than expose himself to capture.”
“He’s a skilled warrior—”
“He loves you and has no wish to lose you.”
Except for an infusion of warmth into my chest, I could find no ready response to Adelaide’s declaration.
“He might remain loyal to his father,” she continued, “but I see in him worthy qualities that may yet redeem him.”
“He does have many worthy qualities,” I concurred.
Maribel squeezed my hand again, this time admiring my ruby wedding ring. “He must, if he has gained your affection.”
Adelaide shifted on her bench, her body tense. “Tell us why you are really here, Emmeline.”
“She’s here to meet us,” Maribel started, but a sharp look from Adelaide silenced her.
If I told them the truth, maybe they’d be able to help me find a solution to my problems. What other choice did I have? Esp
ecially since I had no way of getting the ancient key from beneath Adelaide’s armor.
“King Ethelwulf sent you to retrieve the final key,” Adelaide stated without taking her gaze from my face.
I knew I should keep my expression impassive, but I was too impressed with her keenness to mask my surprise.
Apparently, my reaction was answer enough, for she shifted back on her bench, letting her body relax.
“I understand if you hate me now.” I pulled my hand away from Maribel’s and tucked it into my lap. “I deserve it. But I vow it was not my will or desire to deceive you or steal the key.”
Adelaide watched me, her eyes clear as though she’d yet to condemn me.
“Although Rex allowed my parents to go free,” I said, “King Ethelwulf sent his men out to seek and capture them.”
“If only our scout had roused sooner,” Maribel said compassionately, “perhaps Edmund and his men could have intercepted your parents first.”
My mind returned to the first night of my capture and the battered man tied to the tree. My betrayer. Though I wanted to be angry at him, I couldn’t fault him for capitulating under torture.
“The scout was unconscious and barely alive when Edmund’s men discovered him,” Maribel continued. “They had to leave him behind in the care of a woodcutter. Edmund said they didn’t know for sure if the prince had you, but with his hasty departure, they suspected as much and began their chase after him with little thought to what had become of your parents, believing them dead.”
I nodded in understanding. My parents weren’t their concern, not when so much else had been at stake—and still was.
“I am sorry, Emmeline,” Maribel whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “I wish now Edmund and his men had tried to find your home and your parents before leaving the forest.”
“They did what they thought was best,” I replied, feeling no ill will toward the rebels or my sisters. How could I, when I’d plotted deception against them?
“I am not surprised the king would aspire to have Lance and Felicia,” Adelaide added.
“Now they languish in the dungeons where the king has ordered them to be tortured and killed. If I bring him the key, he will spare one of them.”
“Oh, Emmeline,” Maribel murmured with such depth of emotion I couldn’t hold back my tears. They spilled over and began to run down my cheeks, even though I swiped at them.
“My parents were good to me and made so many sacrifices. I cannot bear to think of their suffering.”
“We cannot bear it, either!” Maribel said, tears wetting her cheeks too.
Adelaide pressed a finger against her lips as her attention shifted to the tent walls and door.
Maribel dropped to a whisper. “They saved us all those years ago. We must do something now to save them, Adelaide.”
For several long moments, Adelaide sat in contemplation, so that the outside sounds penetrated the thin canvas and brought the distant grinding of iron against whetstones, the clanking of swords from soldiers still at drill, and the deep voices of men in conversation.
“His desperation for the key and the treasure means only one thing,” Adelaide finally spoke. “He is looking for a way to pay mercenaries to come to his aid.”
“I wish I knew,” I said. “But I admit I haven’t pried for information the way I could have.”
Adelaide stared at the tent wall as if staring into the future. “If the king finds the treasure, he will have riches to hire half the continent to fight on his behalf.”
“But no one knows for certain if the treasure still remains,” Maribel said.
“It does,” I remarked.
At my quick affirmation, they both turned wide eyes upon me.
“I’ve read enough of the ancient history texts to know that King Solomon’s ancient treasure has most certainly been preserved. In fact, from the various records I’ve come across, different powerful kings have added wealth so that the treasure far exceeds what it was in King Solomon’s day.”
While I’d always known the books hidden in our cottage had been rare, it hadn’t been until I’d ventured into the Delsworth scriptorium that I truly grasped their worth. From browsing the titles filling the scriptorium, I’d realized there were no other books anywhere about the labyrinth, that perhaps someone long ago had made a point of pulling all traces of the labyrinth and its clues from the shelves. That meant I’d accumulated a wealth of information regarding the labyrinth that no one else had. Did that also mean I bore an even greater responsibility to my family and to Mercia than I’d realized?
“During the reign of King William, the great-great-grandfather of Alfred the Peacemaker,” I continued with what I’d learned, “the kingdom was threatened by invasion. King William secretly finished carving out the ruins of a labyrinth left from ancient times. He moved the treasure into the labyrinth and made sure it was full of deadly traps as well as beasts to act as guardians.”
Maribel nodded. “Edmund and I faced a few traps and a terrible beast while we were in the Labyrinth of Death. It was horrific and deadly during the long hours we were within its confines.”
As she shared her experience down in the depths of the labyrinth, I listened with fascination and plied her with questions. I was particularly interested in her encounter with the dragon-like creature and in knowing she’d helped to heal it. I was also impressed she and Edmund had managed to navigate the outer rim and find another entrance with only their third of the map.
“Although I wanted to explore further in,” Maribel finished, “Edmund said we must not attempt it without a complete map.”
“Even with a complete map,” I replied, “the treasure was—and still is—nearly impossible to claim.”
Adelaide pushed her bench away from the table. “Then you do not believe the king will be able to retrieve it even with the third and final key?”
“Without the right knowledge and guidance, any attempt would be foolhardy.”
“If he is desperate, he will surely try.”
“Then he will send his men to certain death.”
Adelaide was quiet again, perhaps deep in thought or prayer—or both. “When Sister Katherine came to visit Maribel and me, she told us both about an old prophecy that foretells a young ruler filled with wisdom who will use the ancient treasure to help drive evil from the land and usher in a time of peace like never before seen or ever seen again.”
“Yes,” I answered. “I’ve read the prophecy in the Book of Dierum. But how can you know for certain if you are that young ruler?”
Adelaide shrugged. “Sister Katherine believed I was and insisted the three of us be reunited so we can use the keys to unlock a treasure that will help restore the land.”
“I would like nothing more than a time of peace and restoration rather than continued war and discord. In fact, I’d hoped in part that my marriage to Prince Ethelrex would bring about peace.”
“Perhaps it still shall,” Adelaide said but her tone was too vague to assure me.
“Then you are of the same mind as Sister Katherine, that unlocking the treasure is necessary for peace?”
“I do not have all the answers to the riddle yet. But I am coming to believe perhaps real treasure lies not in the wealth deep in the labyrinth, but in the gifts God has bestowed upon us—gifts we can use for the greater good of the kingdom and the people.”
Everything Adelaide said resonated within me. Even so, I was caught in the middle of the battle over the throne. While I admired Adelaide and wished I could join her, I couldn’t abandon my parents and their plight. And I wasn’t sure I could yet abandon Rex either.
Adelaide stood and stretched. “Both of you must help me shed my armor.”
Maribel hastened to obey, but I held back.
“Come now, Emmeline.” Adelaide beckoned. “Do not be shy now. I am giving you the chance to take what you came for.”
My mouth dropped open, and I could only stare at my sister.
Maribel
smiled at me even as she worked to unlace the pauldron upon Adelaide’s shoulder.
I still couldn’t move.
“You will tell the prince you did what you came to do,” Adelaide said. “In so doing, you will save one of your parents. It is the least we can do for them.”
Relief and gratitude swelled within my chest. I tried to stand to thank Adelaide, but instead I fell to my knees, buried my face in my hands, and wept.
Chapter
16
Rex
The Earl of Langley was a cunning man and kept me occupied with conversation and food during the entire visit so that I had no choice but to sit with him at the table his men brought into the clearing.
The spot was far enough from the queen’s tent to allow the women privacy. But it was also close enough I could hear Emmeline shout if she was in any distress. Even so, I didn’t let down my guard. I knew that in coming with Emmeline rather than allowing my guards to escort her, I was in imminent danger. What would the king say when he learned I’d put myself in such a position? Would he care?
Of course, he’d care, I told myself. If the enemy decided to hold me for ransom, he’d do everything he could to save me. Wouldn’t he?
When the tent flap opened and Emmeline finally ducked through, I expelled my first full breath since she’d disappeared inside.
The earl’s eyes were upon me. “I did not expect to like you.”
“There is no reason you should.” I assessed Emmeline, making sure she was unharmed. Other than the flush of her cheeks and the redness around her eyes, not a detail had changed.
She scanned the open area until she found me. Although she didn’t meet my eyes, the slight release of tension from her shoulders told me she’d been worried about me. It also reaffirmed what her kiss had shown—that perhaps she would be quicker to forgive than I deserved.
I stood. “I am your enemy, Lord Langley. If we meet on the battlefield, I shall kill you.”
“And I, you.”
I had no doubt he’d be a formidable foe. His reputation in Norland fighting for King Draybane preceded him. Nevertheless, I was more skilled than he and would vanquish him eventually.
