Beyond the Four Kingdoms Box Set 1

by Melanie Cellier

  Unfortunately it was hard to make any plans until we reached some sort of destination, however temporary. And as the hours passed, my tension and anxiety faded into boredom. Eventually I curled up on the seat and napped. If an opening for escape arrived, I didn’t want to be so tired I missed it.

  The quiet murmur of the sisters woke me just before the wheels hit cobblestones. I stretched and peered outside only to realize we were entering the inner courtyard of a small stone castle. I stared between the view and the two princesses.

  “We don’t know where we are,” said Emmeline. “Other than in the forest somewhere.”

  “I can’t believe you managed to sleep,” said Giselle.

  I shrugged. “I can sleep just about anywhere. It’s a handy skill. You should work on it.”

  My mouth twitched as both sisters stared at me blankly.

  “Or don’t.” I shrugged again.

  The light was failing, but I examined the courtyard in the twilight, helped by the odd flaming torch. “I’m surprised your father was never able to track the robbers down if they live in a castle.”

  I turned to the other girls, eyebrows raised, but neither said anything. Sighing, I turned back to analyze the scene outside. Many of the attackers milled around in the enclosed space, but I saw none of our own people. Dread filled me. I had assumed they were behind us, blocked by the attackers who had traveled in a ring around the carriage.

  What had happened to them? My maids had stayed behind with my other guards to travel to the palace with the baggage, but we had still had a sizable entourage of Eldonian guards and grooms, not to mention the coachmen.

  A tall, older man, his dark hair at odds with the pale coloring of most of the Eldonians, strode into the courtyard. His quick gaze took in the situation, an air of authority clinging to him as he approached a small group standing near the carriage.

  “Where is the prince? Did you put him in the carriage with the princesses?”

  The other men shifted uncomfortably, glancing at each other.

  “Well?”

  “He got away, I’m afraid, m’lord.”

  “What? How?” The man’s tone was hard, but his face held more calculation than anger. He certainly wasn’t the aggressive—or perhaps blustering—robber leader I had expected. And the other man had called him m’lord. I glanced again at the small castle on the other side of the courtyard.

  By the end of the men’s stumbled explanations, the newcomer looked thunderstruck. “And you still brought the princesses here?”

  The other men eyed each other warily, shrugging.

  “Just following the plan, m’lord.”

  The apparent lord massaged his temples and sighed. “I knew I should have gone myself. For all we know, the prince may have already tracked us to this place. And now it sounds like the godmothers may even be involved.”

  “The godmothers? Surely not! There hasn’t been one here for generations.” The protester looked bemused at the suggestion.

  “Perhaps a godmother object, then?” The man in charge shook his head. “You’ve heard the same reports I have. Things are changing in some of the other kingdoms. Newcomers have arrived. There’s really no telling what may happen.”

  “Well, that’s for sure,” muttered one of the other men under his breath.

  “Indeed.” The lord’s voice sounded icy. “And now there is nothing to be done but proceed.” He turned toward the carriage, and I hurriedly drew back, trying to look as calm and proper as the Eldonian princesses.

  The dark-haired man pulled open the door and surveyed the three of us before executing a stiff bow. “Your Highnesses. Welcome to my humble home. I apologize for the manner of your arrival.”

  Emmeline straightened. “We demand to be released at once.”

  For the first time I was glad to hear the ice in her voice. Unfortunately the man merely spread his arms wide.

  “Night is upon us, and Your Highnesses are alone without mounts. I could hardly turn you out at such a moment. It is still cold, though winter has officially passed.”

  “It’s always cold in Eldon, as far as I can tell,” I said, not bothering to mask the displeasure in my voice.

  He regarded me steadily. “Indeed. But it was not always so.”

  Something in his tone and his apparent reference to the increasing strangeness of his kingdom made me pause and assess him again. Nothing about this situation was playing out as I had imagined, and my desire to launch fire balls at everyone I could see was diminishing by the second. Curiosity was growing in its place. Did he know something of what was going on in Eldon?

  I shook out my skirts and slid along the bench seat toward the door. “Well, I for one will gladly accept your hospitality. I have had enough of this carriage to last a lifetime.”

  He stepped back, the smallest twitch creasing his mouth, and held out a hand to help me alight. Once my feet were on the ground, I turned back to my companions.

  “Well, ladies? A meal awaits us.” I spun back around and gave the man my haughtiest look. “At least so I assume. You did speak of welcome, did you not?”

  This time the twitch was more pronounced. He bowed again. “Indeed, Princess Celine. A warm meal awaits you. In your room.” He gestured, and a circle of guards formed around us. “Allow me to escort you there.”

  I raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Clearly we were to walk a fine line between prisoner and guest. For now, I would play along. A warm meal and comfortable room—if such they turned out to be—were better than I had expected to encounter at the end of this journey.

  But as we walked, I surreptitiously rubbed my palms against my thighs, willing the friction to ignite warmth of some kind. I might be playing along for now, but I would still have preferred to keep the option of fire balls open. Unfortunately, the movement did little to reduce the icy cold creeping through my limbs.

  The air temperature warmed somewhat when we entered a large antechamber through double wood doors. Neither the man in charge nor the guards slowed, hurrying us up a red carpeted staircase and down a stone corridor. I expected the three of us to be separated, but when the dark-haired man held open a wooden door, we were all ushered inside.

  Once we had filed in, the man smiled, directing his gaze at me. “I will leave guards out here in the corridor, should you require anything not already provided.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “And if I require a nighttime stroll?”

  “I would not recommend such an activity. Anyone unfamiliar with the castle might find it an unsafe place in the darkness.” The threat in his words was clear, but I could have sworn his eyes were laughing at me.

  “Your concern for our safety is truly touching,” I said, my words as dry as I could make them.

  “You honor me.” His smile broadened before he shut the door in my face.

  “Well, then.” I turned to assess the situation. “This could be worse.” Four beds lined the room, the sheets and covers of fine material, if a little worn. And a small round table in the center of the room held the promised food. My stomach rumbled at the sight of the steaming soup and soft bread rolls. We had been offered nothing while we traveled, and I immediately decided that any further explorations could wait until I had eaten.

  When I sat, the other girls followed my lead.

  Giselle watched me as I buttered my roll, making no move to eat herself. Did she suspect it was poisoned?

  I answered her unspoken question. “I don’t think they would poison us. If they wanted us dead they’ve had plenty of opportunity already. Plus, we’ll have to eat eventually, anyway. Personally, I’m going to keep up my strength. And I’d recommend you eat, too. But suit yourself.”

  Both Emmeline and Giselle regarded me so blankly I must have misread their hesitation. And on second thought, they didn’t seem to have the initiative to consider the possibility of poison. But my words goaded them into action anyway, as if they had been waiting for the prompt.

  All further talk ceased as we
quickly emptied the trays provided. The food was basic, but well flavored. And, more importantly, it was still hot. Between it and the fires burning on both sides of the room, I actually began to thaw out.

  “Well,” I said at last, stretching back in my chair, “now that I’m warm and full, I’m ready to start plotting our escape.”

  Chapter 3

  “Escape?” Giselle actually sounded surprised. “Surely we should wait for Oliver.”

  I attempted a diplomatic answer. “Waiting for rescue is certainly one option.” I paused and then couldn’t resist adding, “Are you sure Oliver is coming, though?”

  “Certainly he will come for us,” said Emmeline, “we’re his sisters.”

  “Touching,” I muttered under my breath without any real heat, “it’s good to know I count for something.” More loudly, I said, “But will he know where we are?”

  Giselle frowned. “I suppose it depends on whether he decided to track our carriage or return immediately to the capital for reinforcements.”

  I waited for her to continue, but she lapsed back into silence.

  “Well,” I said, eventually, “I, for one, have no intention of sitting around and hoping for the best.”

  “But what exactly do you intend to do?” asked Emmeline. “You heard what Lord Treestone said. It sounds to me like you’re going to get yourself killed. And that doesn’t sound particularly helpful.”

  I ignored this sad mistrust in my abilities, my attention caught on something else. “Lord Treestone? Don’t tell me you two know our captor!”

  “But, of course,” said Giselle. “We know all the nobles of Eldon. He’s a minor lord with a small estate in the southwestern forests.”

  “I thought you said they were robbers!”

  Giselle shrugged. “I didn’t know they were answering to him until he appeared. Even nobles can turn to thievery, I suppose.”

  I rubbed my head, deciding now was not the right moment to address their strange detachment. But how could they not be more incensed to be kidnapped by one of their own nobles? And how had they not thought it worth mentioning?

  I shook off the thought and explored our surroundings. Other than the beds and some empty chests and drawers, the room was bare. No surprises there. The windows were tall and narrow—too narrow for any of us to fit through—and there was only one door.

  Ignoring Giselle’s murmured warning, I opened it and stepped out into the corridor. Two guards immediately moved threateningly toward me. I stopped them with a haughty look.

  “We have completed our meal. Please send someone to clear the trays.” I retreated back into the room without waiting for a reply.

  So just walking out of the castle definitely wasn’t going to be an option. Just as this Lord Treestone had intimated. I had been in more dangerous situations in my life, but I had to admit, I couldn’t readily see a way out of this one. And the manner of Lord Treestone had raised enough questions in my mind that I wasn’t sure I wanted to run straight for the capital, anyway. Not without some further investigation.

  But the guards prevented any immediate explorations, and the thought of just climbing obediently into bed chafed too much to be considered. Especially since I was hardly sleepy after my long nap in the carriage.

  “Maybe one of you two could have a medical emergency?” I mused aloud. “I could send one of the guards for a doctor and, in the chaos, I might get a chance to slip away.”

  But one glance at the faces of the Eldonian princesses made me abandon the plan. Neither of them had the dramatic streak necessary to pull off such a deception.

  I sighed. It looked like direct was the only way to go. I strode back toward the door and then paused.

  “I’m going to see what I can find out. Would either of you like to come?”

  Emmeline and Giselle exchanged looks, but neither of them spoke.

  “Very well, then. If I manage to escape, I’ll send someone back to rescue you.”

  “I’m really not sure…”

  I didn’t wait to hear the end of Giselle’s sentence, pushing the door open and striding confidently out of the room. I could have sworn one of the guards sighed at the sight of me, and I had to suppress a smile.

  “I wish to see Lord Treestone.”

  The guards exchanged a concerned look. I put my hands on my hips.

  “Well? I assume you can’t leave your post, so call for someone to escort me to him.”

  Still nothing.

  I gave them my best royal look. “I’m not accustomed to being kept waiting.”

  After another silent exchange, one of the guards shrugged and called down the corridor. A young boy appeared and was charged with fetching more guards.

  The three of us waited in silence for their arrival which took less time than I would have liked. Reinforcements were apparently to be found in close proximity to our room.

  The two new guards looked somewhat skeptical when told they needed to take me to Lord Treestone’s study, but neither actually protested. I had intended to take the opportunity to learn something of the layout of the castle, but it turned out to be so simple that study was hardly needed.

  The small building had two floors, each boasting rows of rooms off a single corridor. Presumably a larger receiving, and possibly dining, hall could be found off the front antechamber. Not many people moved about, but there was enough activity to suggest that the rooms were being used for the purposes I would have supposed given the basic layout. It was certainly nothing like the sprawling single-story palace I had grown up in.

  We arrived at a closed wooden door, and one of the guards knocked, disappearing inside for a quiet conversation with the occupant. When he returned, I was gestured into a spacious study decorated in dark wood with black metal accents.

  The man from earlier—Lord Treestone, apparently—sat behind a large, neat desk. If he was surprised to see me, he didn’t show it.

  “Princess Celine. This is an unexpected visit.”

  He didn’t offer me a seat, but I took one anyway. Like everything in the room I had left, the padding on the chair was slightly worn but comfortable. I looked around, noting the rows of books and ledgers, and the general lack of adornment. When my attention returned to the noble in front of me, I found him watching me with a look of interest.

  I folded my hands in my lap and waited for him to speak. One of my older sisters had led a network of spies for years, and I had picked up a few tips from her. I would take any opportunity I could to keep this man on edge.

  “What can I do for you, Princess Celine?” he said at last.

  “Besides the obvious, I suppose you mean?”

  A small smile twitched one side of his face. “Certainly let us leave aside anything obvious.”

  “Very well. I should like to know what has happened to my people. We had rather an entourage, as you must know, and two of the guards were in fact Lanoverian and not Eldonian.”

  “You show great concern for them.”

  My gaze turned icy. “I have great concern for all my people. As every royal—and noble—is obligated to do. If you have harmed them, you will find yourself with a stronger enemy than your own monarch.” I looked around the room again, still amazed he had brought us to his own home. “Since clearly you have no fear of him.”

  The man seemed to deflate slightly, running a hand lightly across his face. “Fear…no, indeed. We seem all too short of fear these days.”

  My eyes narrowed. He sounded disappointed and defeated. Not at all like someone taking advantage of a weak ruler.

  Looking back at me, the noble sighed. “I have no wish to find myself or my kingdom at odds with yours. Your people—along with the Eldonians—were left bound but otherwise unharmed. We didn’t want them following us, but we have no quarrel with them.”

  “In that case, you can only hope someone came along quickly enough to prevent them freezing to death.”

  He shrugged. “It’s a well-traveled road.”

  His un
concern rankled, but relief still filled me. The knowledge that we had not left a pile of dead bodies behind us lifted a cloud from my mind. Assuming he told the truth—and I could think of no reason for him to lie about it—he had once again confounded the expectations I had built of our abductors—the alleged robbers. I decided to change tack, leaning forward slightly and fixing him with an encouraging look.

  “I cannot speak for the others, but I, at least, am uninvolved in whatever is happening here in your kingdom. Tell me what it is we should all be afraid of. And what you seek to gain with our abduction. Let us work together. If you mean me no harm, there is no reason for us to be enemies.”

  He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “You’re not what I expected, Your Highness.”

  “Neither are you.”

  Something shadowed his eyes for a moment, and he looked away. I was used to being overlooked and underestimated, but something told me he wasn’t as familiar with the role of robber and kidnapper.

  “I must think on this situation,” he said when he looked back at me. “We will speak more in the morning.” Raising his voice, he called for the door to be opened again, and the two guards from earlier reappeared.

  As they led me back the way we had come, I looked around for some means of escape, but nothing presented itself. The few people who had still roamed the halls earlier all seemed gone, and only our footfalls could be heard. I saw only one face—a young girl who watched us and who I was sure I saw in two different places during our walk—but she made no response to my smile on either occasion.

  All too soon we arrived back at my assigned room. It seemed patience would be required, after all. I sighed. Patience had never been one of my strengths.

  The next day, despite his words, Lord Treestone failed to send for me. Meals were delivered to our room, but my requests to be taken to see the noble were denied. Emmeline and Giselle’s calm only further exacerbated me, their stillness driving me to ceaseless pacing.