by Jody Hedlund
17
Mikkel
From the top of the winding mountain road that led to the royal palace, I gazed down onto Kensington, which spread out a league or more from the foothills into the fertile plains beyond. Like the area we’d traversed, it, too, showed signs of the rampaging and pillaging we’d witnessed in the countryside.
Even though the final two nights of traveling yielded no further encounters with rogue criminals, every step that drew us closer to the capital increased my eagerness to confront the queen. If she could so callously free her worst criminals in order to vilify Vilmar, she clearly cared nothing for her people.
My gut cinched again, as it had since I’d learned of his plight. I could only pray he was unharmed and had found a safe place away from the queen’s clutches.
I still didn’t understand why he’d decided to leave his Testing to fight Grendel. It was noble of him. Maybe he’d made plans like mine, hoping to return to his Testing, but circumstances hadn’t turned out the way he expected.
I shoved aside the unease such thoughts brought me. I was different than Vilmar. I operated with more logic and strategic planning. Like now. I wouldn’t fail in my mission.
With a glance toward the setting sun, I pushed away from the half stone wall that overlooked the city.
“What do you suggest next, Your Highness?” Gregor whispered, glancing up the last stretch of road to the gatehouse. Except for a few beggars along the way and some travelers descending from the palace, the cobbled road had been mostly deserted during our climb.
“I suggest we continue as planned.” I knew Gregor worried that people we met would shun him for his scars and his eye patch, but his face was hidden in his hood. And when we approached the guards on duty, I would do most of the talking. They likely wouldn’t even notice him. And if they decided not to allow him to enter, then I would have to proceed alone.
“Maybe we should wait for morn to approach the queen.”
I paused, taking in the gatehouse ahead with its imposing towers as well as the enormous castle beyond that was half-built into the cliff walls. Turrets rose high as if to compete with the mountain range upon which the fortress was built. The crenellations and merlons of the battlements were formed into diamonds, and the arrow slits in the towers were shaped like crosses.
In some ways, the royal residence set against the backdrop of the mountains reminded me of Bergenborg Castle, where my family had spent winters for as long as I could remember. But something about this city and Warwick set me on edge. No matter the similarities in geography between countries, the leadership made all the difference. And Queen Margery’s rule had created a realm where fear and hardship abounded rather than peace and prosperity.
Now that I’d witnessed Warwick’s fate under the queen, I prayed I would never forget to put the needs of my people above my own.
“Let us continue onward.” I lengthened my stride. “The sooner we conduct our business, the sooner we can leave.”
I feared the more time we lingered in Warwick, the greater the chances someone would recognize Pearl. Even more, I feared that if we waited until morn, Pearl would demand to join me inside the castle. As it was, after arguing, she’d glared at me but thankfully agreed to wait in the chamber we rented above an obscure tavern until our return. I couldn’t come back without Ruby and thus disappoint her. To ensure her cooperation, I’d enlisted the tavern owner to watch her door and stop her if she tried to leave.
All the while I’d walked through town and up the path to the castle, I’d had the strange feeling something wasn’t right, that Pearl had acquiesced too easily. It was just one more reason to finish our business with the queen hastily.
As we hiked the last distance to the gatehouse, the setting sun glinted off a thick double iron gate. Gregor stopped a distance away, but I approached and was surprised to find both gates already closed. I peered up into first one tower, then the other. I didn’t see anyone, but I had no doubt the guards on duty were well aware of my presence. “I would like to request admittance—”
An arrow sliced through the air, and I dodged out of the way as it hit the spot where I’d just stood. “Leave at once or the next arrow will find its mark.”
I had no choice but to back away, all the while keeping my attention on the arrow slits in the tower.
Gregor and I retreated down the mountain path, walking backward and never once taking our sight from the gatehouse until we rounded the corner and were no longer within shooting range.
Once we were safe, I stopped and frowned. “I should have surmised from the scarcity of people climbing the path that the gate wouldn’t be open.” I didn’t give Gregor the chance to say that he’d told me so. Instead, I approached a beggar resting with his back against the hillside. “What time does the gatehouse close every day?”
The beggar held out a sagging cap, peering straight ahead with empty eye sockets. He jangled the few coins already inside his cap, as though to suggest payment before he would divulge the information I wanted.
I nodded at Gregor, who took a farthing from his pocket and dropped it into the hat.
“Obliged,” said the man, revealing several missing front teeth.
“The gate?” I persisted.
“It be closing at Vespers every day.”
The cathedral bells had rung for the six o’clock hour of prayer as we’d set out from the tavern. Surely if this beggar knew the castle’s timetable, then Pearl was aware of it as well. She should have warned me we wouldn’t make it to the top in time to enter.
“When does the gate open on the morrow?”
The beggar pressed his lips together and shook his hat. Stifling a sigh of irritation, I motioned for Gregor. At the clank of another coin dropping into the hat, the beggar smiled, once again showing his broken and crooked teeth. “The gate opens at the ringing of Terce.”
I should have guessed as much. Though I was eager to negotiate for Ruby and start on my way back to the island to finish my Testing, what was one more night? Tomorrow would be here soon enough, and I would accomplish our mission then.
Meanwhile, I would have to find a way to placate Pearl. She would be sorely disappointed at not getting to see her sister tonight. But hopefully, she would understand we could do naught.
As we retraced our steps down the mountainside and through the city, darkness crept over the streets. Along with it came more of the thievery and thuggery we’d witnessed elsewhere. Gregor and I fended off two different attackers, hid on several occasions, and came to the aid of others even more oft.
It didn’t take long to realize that lawlessness reigned over the city the same way it did the countryside. No place in Warwick was safe, which was all the more reason to leave the country as soon as possible.
Why hadn’t Pearl told us about the castle gate closing time? The question nagged me. And by the time we reached the remote corner of the city where we’d taken our room, my pulse was racing with a strange rhythm of dread.
As I burst through the tavern door, the few patrons paused, weapons drawn, wariness upon their countenances. After reassurances from the proprietor that they had nothing to fear from Gregor and me, they sheathed their knives and returned to their meals.
The tavern owner assured me Pearl hadn’t left her room. Nevertheless, I took the stairs two at a time, gave a cursory knock to our chamber door, then threw it open wide. My heartbeat slowed to an agonizing crawl. She was nowhere in sight. “Pearl,” I hissed, praying she was merely hiding.
Silence met my request. I heard only the murmur of voices and clink of dishes from below along with a distant crash followed by shouting and cursing.
I crossed to the bed that was rumpled but otherwise undisturbed. I surveyed underneath to find dust mites and the dark glowing eyes of a mouse. As I straightened, frustration poured into my veins.
“She’s gone,” I whispered to Gregor who stood in the doorway.
Throwing off his hood, he scanned the room and then the short
hallway that led to several other chambers. “Do you think someone recognized and took her?”
The thread of anxiety in Gregor’s voice wove itself into my worry. “If she’d gone unwillingly, we would see signs of a scuffle.” As it was, everything was untouched and in the same order we’d found it when we first arrived. In fact, from the neatness of the chamber, she hadn’t stayed long.
I spun, stalked to the door, and pushed past him, hoping she’d simply stepped outside for a breath of air. But as I searched the premises and the surrounding alley and buildings, including the stable with our horses, I couldn’t find a trace of her, and no one I questioned had seen her. Since her horse was penned with the others and resting contentedly, she must still be in the city. And if she remained in the city, my gut told me she’d be in only one place. The royal castle.
But with the entrance on the mountaintop above the city, we would have seen her during our climb up and back. Unless she’d hidden until we’d descended and were on our way back to the tavern. Though the guards at the gatehouse had been unwilling to give us the slightest consideration, not even a moment to reveal my identity, they would recognize Pearl and allow her admittance.
Unless she knew another entrance to the fortress . . .
As we returned to the tavern, both dread and apprehension twisted together in a tight plait that fastened around my neck like a noose. I sank to a bench at the table across from Gregor and buried my face in my hands.
She’d left for the palace to redeem Ruby without me. I had no doubt she’d done it to protect me, hadn’t wanted to put me at risk. But now she’d put her own life in jeopardy, and I couldn’t bear the thought.
At the thud of mugs on the table, I raised my head long enough to thank the proprietor as well as take a long drink. Though my pulse pounded with the need to go after Pearl, I couldn’t devise a plan. My usual quick thinking and decisiveness had deserted me in my greatest hour of need, and all I could think about was how hopeless and helpless I was to stop her.
Whether she’d gotten into the castle through the main gatehouse or a hidden passageway, I was locked out for the night with no way of getting inside. I would have to wait until morn to request an audience with the queen.
Now all I could envision was Pearl creeping closer to the trap the queen had laid out for her. For surely that’s what this was. The queen was taking advantage of the sisterly bond, a bond that would drive Pearl to go to any lengths to save Ruby.
Though Pearl might have the advantage of stealth and was proficient with her weapons, the queen would keep Ruby under heavy guard. Every entrance and exit would be carefully monitored. If Pearl managed to make it all the way to Ruby, it would be only because the queen allowed it.
Once the queen had Pearl, would she try to kill her?
Every muscle in my body protested the prospect of losing her. The thought should have surprised me. After all, breaking with tradition and returning to Scania with a wife would cause a disturbance amongst the Lagting.
Yet, even with the heavy censure awaiting me, my heart ached at the prospect of not being together with Pearl. I couldn’t deny the powerful connection I had with her or the attraction that had grown with each passing day. Aside from how much I desired her, I’d also never had so deep a friendship with anyone, man or woman. And I couldn’t abide the thought of losing so close a friend. In fact, the possibility of life without Pearl filled me with such melancholy I wanted to weep.
I pushed aside my mug, lowered my head, and prayed. At the moment, prayer was the only weapon I had.
Chapter
18
Pearl
The passageway was steeper than I remembered. And longer.
I’d been but a wee child the last time I used the tunnel with my father, and my memories were tempered by time. Moreover, unlike the tension of the present, our exploring had been carefree as we pretended we were escaping from the castle far above while it was under attack from a dangerous enemy. I’d raced up and down the winding trails while my father chased after, the low ceilings and narrow walls impeding his movement as they were now doing to mine.
In hindsight, I couldn’t help but wonder if my father’s motivation for taking me to the passageway had been much deeper than mere child’s play. Had he been preparing me for a real siege? Or had he worried I’d have a need to escape the queen one day?
Regardless, I was grateful I could get into the castle without having to go through the main gatehouse. While I might have been able to use my veil to disguise myself for a short time, eventually someone would have recognized me and alerted the queen to my presence.
Now I hoped I could enter and exit undetected during the dark of night with fewer servants and soldiers to evade.
I’d expected a guard at the entrance in the underground burial chambers of the cathedral, but no one had been there, not even the nuns who lived in the abbey above the vault. It hadn’t taken overlong to pick the locks securing the hidden door. But I accomplished the feat with one of my hairpins, grateful for the many ways Irontooth had prepared me for this return.
I paused and held out my torch, straining to see ahead. My neck and shoulders ached from stooping for so long. But after an hour of climbing, I could finally see the end.
Releasing a taut breath, I allowed myself the first respite since I’d snuck out the upstairs window of the tavern after darkness had fallen. No doubt Mikkel was furious with me for leaving. And no doubt he’d guessed I was setting off on a rescue of Ruby without him. I hated the prospect that he was angry and perhaps disappointed in me.
Nevertheless, I preferred to keep him alive and experience his wrath rather than to risk him falling into the queen’s hands. That meant I had to return to the tavern with Ruby by first light before he and Gregor left for the castle once more.
I braced a hand against the cold stone wall and glanced back down the winding tunnel, now dark and silent. My torchlight illuminated spiderwebs, rat droppings, and crumbling stone. The passageway hadn’t been used in years, perhaps not since my father’s and my escapades. Did the queen even remember it was here? If she did, I hoped she didn’t know Father had revealed it to me and consequently have guards posted at the top.
With my back hunched, I scrambled up the last incline. As I rounded a final bend, I ducked under more dusty spiderwebs. The passageway widened and ended at several steps leading to a hatch in the stone ceiling. Though the wooden slats appeared easy to lift, it was locked from the other side and led directly to another hatch concealed under a carpet in the antechamber off the great hall. At the late hour, I prayed no one was in the small room my mother used to meet privately with advisors.
For long seconds, I listened for voices or sounds from above. Even though silence greeted me, it was still possible for guards to be lying in wait. I wouldn’t know for certain until I pushed up the rug.
Unwilling to let uncertainty stop me, I thrust my knife into the hatch and chipped away at the old wood until my fingers were blistered and arms were trembling from weariness. After making a hole large enough to squeeze my hand through, I fumbled for the lock and blindly worked at picking it.
The process was slow, and with each failed attempt, I grew more flustered. Would I need to return to the tavern and admit my failure? Perhaps I’d have no choice but to follow Mikkel’s plan. Certainly it had some merit.
And yet, I couldn’t shake the fear that the queen would hold Mikkel hostage to draw in Vilmar, the same way she was holding Ruby in order to gain me. I couldn’t chance letting her have another person I loved.
My fingers came to a halt against the rusted lock. Did I love Mikkel?
I shook my head. No, I couldn’t love him. I cared about him and had developed a bond with him. But I surely hadn’t fallen in love. I needed him. That’s all. Ruby and I needed his aid in reaching the safety of a new life in Scania. Once there, I’d do what I’d planned all along—give him an annulment. Wouldn’t I?
“Focus,” I whispered, as I pressed th
e hairpin against the inner lock mechanism once more. I slowed my motion, probed harder, and felt the slight click that meant I’d jarred it loose.
I wasted no further time. I pried the lock away, slid the hatch aside, and then pressed on the second hatch just inches above the first. It didn’t budge, and I prayed no one had moved a piece of furniture onto it. If so, I wouldn’t have a chance of entering this way.
I heaved again, and this time the wooden slats lifted slightly. Praise be. Nothing too heavy sat on the hatch. Though my arms burned with the pressure of the exertion, I managed to slide the hatch away little by little until I’d made an opening big enough for my body. Extinguishing the torch and leaving it behind, I crawled up and underneath the rug until I bumped into the legs of a chair. I halted, not wanting to tip anything and cause a clatter.
I shifted my direction and exited from underneath the carpet in a different location. Quickly and quietly, I placed the hatch back over the opening and then situated the rug. If anyone came into the room before I made my escape with Ruby, at least they wouldn’t be any wiser for my intrusion.
Though I was nowhere near Ruby yet, I felt as though I’d accomplished the hardest part of my mission by getting inside undetected. I had many more obstacles to overcome, but the rest of the distance to the east tower and Ruby’s chambers was familiar. I’d already plotted my route and would stick to unlit servants’ corridors as I made my way there.
As I took a deep breath, I could almost smell the waft of my mother’s rich perfume and picture her face—flawless and beautiful and regal. And yet so cold and uncaring.
What had happened to cause her to lose her love for her family? Had she lost it when she’d had the falling out with her father and sister? She rarely talked about her family, particularly her twin sister, Leandra. I’d never known my aunt, since she’d died giving birth to her only child, my cousin Aurora.
However, I’d gleaned enough to know my mother felt as though their father, King Alfred, had always favored Leandra. She claimed he’d given Leandra the better inheritance by bestowing upon her the kingdom of Mercia as well as an ancient set of three keys that unlocked a fabled treasure.
