It gently drifted away from the edge, making way for another boat.
“Well, that didn’t look so hard.” I turned to Pearl (or possibly Opal). “I can lift you in, if you like.” I didn’t wait for her to agree, since I wasn’t sure she would, but instead gripped her under both arms and swung her into the nearest boat. She squeaked but didn’t otherwise protest. I lifted her sister in to the next one, and then Sophie told me to hop into one myself.
I obeyed, managing the feat successfully, despite making my boat rock even more wildly than Celine’s had done. One by one, the rest of the girls clambered into a boat, only Hazel slipping and ending up with one wet slipper and a wet hem. I looked around the bottom of the boat but could see no sign of an oar. Apparently we weren’t to have any say in our destination.
As soon as all the coracles had been filled, they began to float across the lake away from the now-distant path. The boats spread out a little as they travelled, so that we would have had to raise our voices to be heard by our neighbors. Silence reigned except for the soft slap of water against the hulls.
It’s quite a relaxing mode of transport, if you take everything else away, projected Sophie.
That’s quite a big if.
“I can see the other side,” called Celine, whose boat was in front. I craned forward in an attempt to see and then straightened abruptly when the small boat began to rock again. But it wasn’t the shore that gripped my attention moments later.
Rising from the gloom ahead, a large castle came into view. By the time my coracle nudged against the land, most of the other princesses had already disembarked. I scrambled out, my attention still on the stone building a short distance ahead.
We all moved toward it together, led there by the path which continued on this side of the lake. Lilac and Millie walked with their heads together, conversing in whispers with their eyes glued on the castle.
When we stepped through the large, open doors. Lilac exclaimed, “It is! I knew it.”
We all turned to stare at her. “Look around.” She gestured around the entrance hall. “Does it look familiar?”
I frowned and looked around. She was right, it did look vaguely familiar.
“It’s the reverse of our castle. Just the same, except everything is on the opposite side, like a mirror image. I thought I recognized it on the outside, and now I’m sure.”
Since I had only managed the most hurried glimpse of the outside of the duchy’s palace and its entrance hall, I had to trust her judgment on the subject. But she must have been right since her younger sisters, Hazel and Marigold, both exclaimed in astonishment and agreed with her assessment.
“Well, since you know the building then, where do you think we should go?”
Lilac frowned and glanced at her cousin. Millie swept her eyes over the various exits from the entrance hall.
“The throne room, perhaps?”
Celine and I shared a glance. I shrugged.
“As good a guess as any,” she said. “Lead the way.”
Millie and Lilac strode ahead, the rest of us following behind, still tightly packed together as we had been on the path. The light seemed slightly better inside, although I still couldn’t see where it came from.
I recognized the throne room, although it looked different without a full crowd of people. The thrones occupied the same space, but the middle of the room had been filled with a long table of dark, polished oak. Six tall, cushioned chairs lined each side.
“Twelve again,” said Sophie. She walked over to one of the middle chairs, pulled it out and then sat down. The rest of us followed suit.
“Wasn’t there supposed to be some kind of contest?” Celine asked me under her breath as we made our way to the last two chairs. “This place just gets stranger by the second.”
The table had been set with twelve plates and twelve goblets, all of which appeared to be made from gold. I really hoped we weren’t expected to eat a meal down here. I suspected nerves would prevent quite a few of the contestants from keeping down any food. I was nearly five years older than the twins, and I still found this strange place unsettling. And that was assuming there wasn’t anything wrong with the food.
As the last chair scooted in to the table, I saw a folded piece of parchment resting on my golden plate.
“Where did that come from?” asked Hazel, staring at an identical parchment.
Marigold blinked down at the one on her own plate. “It just appeared.”
I ignored them, picking up the parchment and unfolding it.
Rules of the Princess Tourney
1. All contestants must present themselves every third night in the ballroom of the Marinese palace for the competition, which will culminate on the first day of summer.
2. Once returned through the trapdoor each night, the contestants may not speak of the events of the Tourney, even amongst themselves.
3. The Tourney shall be conducted in three stages.
The first stage shall involve a series of collaborative exercises. Points will be awarded to each contestant based on the value they provide to the exercise.
The second stage shall involve a series of individual challenges. Points will be awarded based on success in each challenge.
The final stage shall involve a group competition to be held on the final night of the Tourney.
Leaning over I checked the parchment held in Sophie’s hands. It looked identical.
“Collaborative exercise doesn’t sound so bad,” said Sophie. Looking around the table I saw relief on several faces.
“We still don’t know what skills we’re supposed to be demonstrating.” I read the words again. “What sort of ‘exercises’ and ‘challenges’ is it referring to? Are we going to be embroidering cushions, or shooting arrows?”
“I guess we’re about to find out.” She pointed to the middle of the table where another piece of parchment had appeared.
Leaning over, Celine grabbed it and read aloud. “In the highest keep of this castle, you will find twelve necklaces fit for a queen. Together you must ascend to this tower, and each princess must claim a necklace. Only then will the boats return you to the other side of the lake.”
She looked around the table. “Well, that sounds unexpectedly easy. What are we being tested on? The elegance of our necks?”
She had no sooner finished speaking, than a large piece of stone broke from the ceiling and smashed onto the middle of the table.
Chapter 7
Shards ricocheted in all directions as Pearl, Opal and Hazel screamed. A second piece of roofing smashed behind my chair.
“Under the table!” I yelled, and a mad scramble ensued.
Within seconds we were all huddled beneath the solid wood. Several more crashes sounded in quick succession, including another one that landed on the table, shaking the wooden frame.
“We need to get out of here,” gasped Millie. “The whole castle is collapsing. Do you think we can make it if we run for the door?”
I met Sophie’s eyes and knew she was thinking the same thing I was. We knew each other so well that we often didn’t need to project our thoughts at all.
“I don’t think we can do that,” I said, speaking loudly enough for all eleven girls to hear. “The parchment said the boats wouldn’t take us back until we’re wearing those necklaces.”
“But that was before the castle started falling apart,” said Lilac. “Surely…” Her voice trailed away.
“Exactly,” I said grimly. “Do any of us really think it was coincidence that the first stone fell just after Celine had read out our task?”
“This is our task.” Celine nodded her agreement.
“Could we leave the younger ones here and make a dash for the tower without them?” asked Sophie. “We could bring their necklaces back down for them.”
I bit my lip, considering it. “Have you still got the parchment, Celine?”
Some rustling and a quiet ouch sounded as Celine crawled toward me through the
crowd of arms and legs under the table. “Here it is.”
I read the words again. “It says, together you must ascend to this tower, and each princess must claim a necklace. It sounds like we all need to go. And even if it would let a few of us collect all the necklaces…”
“We have to think of our families.” Sophie sounded tired and worn, so I sent her a small burst of mental warmth, and she gave me a faint smile. She looked around at all the other girls, focusing on the smaller ones. “I know it’s scary, but we each have to at least try. That’s the way the magic works, right? We each have to do our best.”
Pearl and Opal shared a look, and then both nodded. I wanted to hug them for leading the way. No one else protested after that.
“Hazel, Marigold and I know this palace inside out,” said Lilac. “We can lead the way to the tallest tower.”
“We don’t know what state the rest of the building is going to be in.” My mind raced through all the potential dangers. “And there are a lot of us. I think we should split up and go in smaller groups. We may end up needing to use different routes.”
I could see in Sophie’s face that she didn’t like the idea of splitting up, but she didn’t say anything. “Millie, why don’t you go with Lilac.”
Millie nodded. “I know the Marinese palace pretty well, too. We can take the twins.”
“Sophie, you go with Hazel.”
“We’ll go with them,” said Emmeline decisively. Her input surprised me. I had almost forgotten her presence.
“All right, then. That leaves Blanche, Celine and me to go with Marigold.” I smiled at the younger girl.
Marigold looked proud and terrified at the same time, and I felt a rush of anger at a system that tormented young girls.
The largest crash we’d heard yet sounded directly above our heads, and the wood of the table creaked ominously. “I think that’s a sign it’s time for us to get moving.”
“We’ll go first.” Millie gestured for Pearl and Opal to join her at the end of the table.
“Wait!” said Sophie. “I’ve been watching the falling stone. It seems to come down in a pattern. First on the left, then on the right, then in the middle.”
Thank goodness Sophie was just a little more thoughtful, and a little less reckless, than me. I hadn’t thought of watching for patterns in the stone.
“Thanks,” said Millie, too focused on the room in front of her to turn back toward us. She waited for the next crash and noted its position. “That way,” she yelled pointing to the left, and the four of them dashed out toward the doorway.
Hazel, Sophie, Emmeline and Giselle crawled forward to take their places at the end of the table. A moment later they had disappeared as well.
I crawled forward and saw them racing away, their heads down, and their hands clasped over their necks. They moved in a sort of rhythm, moving from side to side in response to the crashes, following the directions Sophie had given to avoid the falling stone. Piles of rubble had accumulated all over the floor, so they often had to swing wide around the obstructions.
Marigold crouched beside me. “They sort of look like they’re dancing,” she whispered.
I smiled down at her. “Exactly! That’s the way to think of it. We’re just going to dance our way across to the other side of the room. Now, let’s go!”
I dashed forward, mimicking the protective pose the others had adopted. A piece of stone smashed to the floor in front of me, and I flinched away, leading the others to the right as the next piece fell far to the left.
I skipped around a large pile of rubble that looked like it contained several falls’ worth of debris, veering back toward the left. I glanced under my lifted arm, checking the other three still followed me.
I reached out to Sophie, needing to know she was safe. Did you all make it out?
The entrance hall isn’t as bad. I got the impression she was puffing, although a projection never actually sounded out of breath. Just…messy.
I forced my mind back to the throne room as I swung to the right again. We would see the entrance hall for ourselves soon enough.
I burst through the doorway, head still down. But when no further falling stone appeared ahead of us, I slowed and let the others catch up. I had expected to see at least one of the other groups at this point, but there was no sign of anyone. Probably because the large space was now filled with huge piles of gravel. The mounds rose and fell across every part of available floor space, obscuring my view.
“What in the kingdoms…?” muttered Celine.
I ignored her. “Which way?” I asked Marigold.
She bit her lip. “Lilac and Hazel will have taken the main stairs, I’m sure. But I think we’ll go faster up the servants’ stairs.”
I had no choice but to trust her. “Well you’re our leader, not them. So lead away.”
She nodded, a look of determination on her face, and scrambled up the pile of gravel to our left. We all followed. After less than a minute, I understood why Sophie had sounded tired. Scrambling uphill through gravel was exhausting work.
We’re going a back way, I told Sophie.
Good idea. She sounded shaken. Because the main staircase just collapsed behind us.
I gasped aloud, and Celine looked over at me questioningly. I shook my head and pressed forward. I could only hope this second staircase wouldn’t collapse behind us, too, or we’d all be trapped on the upper levels.
All of our lovely dresses were covered in gravel dust by the time we reached an unadorned side door. Marigold pushed it gingerly open before I could stop her, but no fresh danger rushed through.
“Oh, good, it’s clear,” she said, reaching her foot toward the first step.
“Wait,” I said, remembering Sophie’s words. “Test each step before you put your full weight on it. That goes for all of us.”
“I can go first,” said Celine, stepping forward.
Marigold shook her head, “No, I can do it.” She bit her lip before carefully testing the first one.
Slowly we made our way up the stairs without mishap. My pulse continued to race, however, and I couldn’t let myself relax. We climbed up four flights before Marigold led the way out another door and into a long, narrow corridor.
“It’s that door at the end.” She pointed toward it. “One last flight of stairs and that’s the top keep.”
“Nearly there then,” I said, forcing a smile. “Well done.” I examined the corridor carefully but couldn’t see any threats. “Let’s move quickly.”
We all took off racing down the corridor only to come to a sudden halt when something whizzed past our heads.
“What was that?” asked Blanche in a breathy voice.
“More stone. Get down on the ground.” Celine dropped flat as she called the instruction, and we all mimicked her.
Looking up, I saw another small piece of masonry go flying past. The pieces seemed to be launching themselves from the walls and flying almost horizontally across the corridor before colliding with the opposite wall. They all seemed to be above waist height, though.
“We’ll have to crawl,” I said, pushing myself up onto my hands and knees. Slowly we advanced along the floor, hampered by our long skirts.
I found myself crawling beside Princess Blanche. I thought she came from Eliam, but I didn’t dare project to Sophie to check. She might need her concentration right now. I glanced sideways at the other girl.
If I had thought her nickname of Snow fit before, it was nothing to how she looked now. I had never seen someone so pale.
“My father made me promise that I would come back to him.” She spoke softly, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment.
I reached out and briefly patted one of her hands. “Of course you will. This is all just a contest, remember? I’m sure we can’t actually be hurt.” Was I trying to convince her or myself? “No one is going to die. Look—” I paused. “I think the stones have stopped.”
I had no sooner said the final word, than a loud
rumble shook the corridor, and a cloud of dust erupted around us. A scream pierced the air, laden with pain.
Chapter 8
I leaped to my feet and ran forward blindly. Not far down the corridor, I almost tripped over Marigold and Celine. A large section of corridor wall had collapsed, pinning Celine’s right foot and lower leg.
She was sitting up, but only with Marigold’s support, and she leaned heavily against the younger girl. She had stopped screaming, but her breath came in sharp pants, and her eyes remained tightly shut.
“Quick!” I said to Blanche, who had followed me more slowly. “Help me get her free.”
Together we pushed and pulled, dragging the pieces of stone away from Celine’s leg. As soon as her foot came free, she pushed herself backwards, away from the remaining pile of rubble, gasping loudly as her leg dragged against the floor.
I knelt beside her and touched her ankle lightly. She groaned. I looked up, and this time she met my eyes. She knew of my interest in healing and was mutely asking for my opinion on the injury.
“I’m sorry, Celine. I think it’s broken.” So much for my theory about none of us being hurt. I felt my heartbeat race faster, something I wouldn’t have thought possible. What if the wall had collapsed onto her head?
There were twelve of us in this palace, and it could still happen. I looked at the other two girls who both watched Celine with horror. “I don’t suppose either of you know anything about setting broken bones.”
They both shook their heads silently. I hadn’t expected anything else. Our doctors in Arcadia had never appreciated having a child or a princess underfoot, and I could only imagine the medical staff here felt the same way. I had only spent so many hours in our infirmary because my brother and sister-in-law had friends amongst the doctors and nurses. Friends who let me help when I could safely do so. But even with my experience, I still didn’t trust myself to try to set an ankle on my own.
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