“I’m here to bring a message to a Mr. Edwin Macario. It’s of the utmost importance.”
The left hand guard smirked. I’d seen him before. His job had been to keep me and my family safe but now his job was to keep me out. “You can leave the message with us and we will make sure His Excellency gets it.”
His Excellency? My stomach heaved and I closed my mouth to keep from spitting. What kind of garbage was that? He’d never hold the throne if I could help it.
“That won’t be necessary.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the crumpled letter with the royal red seal still intact. “It’s from the prince and he insists that I’m to deliver his message in person.”
The guard leaned forward and examined the seal. The family crest sat emblazoned crisp and clean in the red wax. He nodded to his partner. The second guard frowned but stepped back, giving me room to pass.
“Thank you, gentlemen.” I grit my teeth and pushed through the gates. One checkpoint cleared.
I gripped the letter tighter in my hand. Each step toward the grand entrance doors took more strength than I had to give. The walls of the castle loomed ahead. The same stone I’d always known, but with a different feeling now. Like a prison rising up where my home used to be. Snipers lurked on the turrets waiting to take out anyone who might threaten Edwin and his regime. Guards circled the normally unguarded gardens. A fortress that I was about to walk right into.
“What is your business here?” A castle door guard stepped in front of me and I jumped back a step, still wrapped up in my own head.
“I have a message for Edwin Macario. I was told by Prince Fallon to hand-deliver it.”
“Prince Fallon?”
I nodded and held up the letter. He snatched it from my grip and looked it over just as the gate guard had done. The other guard glanced over his partner’s shoulder and inspected the seal as well. His stare drifted past the page and pierced through my chest, examining me with even more scrutiny. I cast my eyes away, studying the vines that crept up the stone walls and avoided eye contact. Something in my left periphery moved. I blinked. The guards kept up their inspection. Another movement. My stare followed the motion to the tallest tower. The normally empty tower. It served as a hold for long-term or political prisoners, one’s not quite guilty enough for the dungeon. Except, it hadn’t been used as long as I’d been alive. At least I didn’t think so.
Another movement in the tower window, then it swung open and a figure leaned out the frame, gazing all the way down to the ground. The stranger shook their head. Too far to jump. No escape, exactly as it was designed. Except, this wasn’t the typical prisoner. A girl. Dark hair piled high on her head and a tough know-it-all stance that stung sharp even over the distance between us. The face I’d searched for, standing in my own house. My stomach hollowed.
Veda.
“Is something wrong with you?” the guard said.
“What?” I gripped my forehead and dragged my eyes back to the guard. “No. I’m fine. Just a little tired, I’ve been traveling all night to bring this message.”
I glanced back. The tower window shut again and Veda disappeared. Or had I only imagined her there?
“Well, the prince isn’t welcome here anymore. He’s smart to send a messenger but I suggest getting in and getting out. Those who lurk around the castle end up in the dungeon or worse.” He slid his thumb across the flesh of his throat.
“Understood.” I nodded and ducked inside the castle as the double doors rumbled open then took a hard left and hid beside the grand foyer staircase. I pressed my body against the wall and listened to the rhythm of my heart pounding hard in my chest.
The whole plan looped over in my mind. Get the letter to Edwin and ensure he read it. Edwin would leave thinking I, the prince, would give him the throne in exchange for my father’s safety. Wait in disguise for him to leave, then appear as Griswold and start locking things down while I signaled for my mother and Alizeh. Simple, and so far working flawlessly. First time’s a charm.
But even though my head knew the steps to take, my feet itched to take the stairs to the tower and see Veda. To find out the truth of why she’d been hiding. To see if she’d actually betrayed me. I glanced around the edge of the staircase at the servants running to and fro through the halls. It wouldn’t hurt to just check on her. I’d probably imagined it from the stress and blinding sun anyway.
I stuffed the letter in my pocket and shook out my remaining nerves, then raced up the stairs— away from the throne room and towards the one person who might be able to hurt me more than Edwin ever could.
Creeping through the corridors worked much better with a new face. No one bothered to look at me and simply let me walk by without a second glance. I ascended the final staircase to the tower and peeked around the corner. Not two, but four guards flanked the entrance to the tower room, each of them with bored stares on their faces and postures tight as wound clocks.
This didn’t make any sense. Why would guards be watching over Veda? I understood if she wanted privacy, but armed guards usually meant a captive, not a guest. Plus, if she were under lockdown, four guards must mean she put up quite the fight. A jolt of pride flushed my skin as I remembered the mighty roar that came from her mouse-like body. A force unlike any other. It must definitely be Veda in there.
Extra guards also meant that the level of difficulty to enter the tower room increased substantially if it hadn’t become completely impossible. I leaned against the staircase wall and rested my head against the cool stone, searching for inspiration. If she was a prisoner only a few people would be allowed to come and go, but what if I could be one of those people? After a few minutes, I raced back down the stairs and weaved through the castle again to the kitchen.
Steam and the delicious sweet smell of baking bread wafted out as I whipped open the kitchen door. My stomach growled and I clutched my abdomen as it drew the attention and suspicious glares of the other servants in the room.
I shrugged. “It smells amazing in here. Keep up the good work. Long live His Excellency.”
The head chef looked up from her pot-stirring at the stove and shook her head with annoyance. I grabbed an apron by the door and slipped it over my clothes, then strutted further into the room like I belonged there or at least like I had some idea what I was looking for. A few servants cast lingering stares, but after a few seconds resumed their tasks, chopping and prepping, without any more concern for me.
I stole a tray off one of the far counters then loaded a plate with bread and blackberry jam in the center. Pretty bare for a meal but for a true prisoner it would be a feast. I nodded and smiled as I made my way back through the prep area and slid back out the door. I glanced up and down the hall before shoving a small loaf end in my mouth and groaning. So good. The way it almost melted against my tongue. I wouldn’t last too long out in the wilderness if two days without proper cooking already distracted me this badly. I needed to end this quick.
Up the stairs again, my breath coming hard and fast as I hurried along until I reached the top of the tower again. I straightened my apron and turned the corner. All four guards jerked to attention.
"I have food for the tower prisoner." I crossed my leg in front of the other and made a slight bow, my head dropping but my eyes still focused on the guards’ reactions.
They remained rigid, not one hint of smile or frown, as their stares darted between each other. My hands started to tremble and the dishes rattled. I gripped the tray tighter to the tray. The closest guard lifted the small bread plate and peered underneath then let it drop back down.
"Very well," he said then twirled his finger in the air.
The remaining guards parted like repelling magnets as one graciously held open the door for me. I nodded as I entered then the door slammed closed in its frame nearly clipping the back of my leg.
"I told them I wasn't hungry." Veda sat at the edge of a wide upholstered armchair, staring out the window without bothering to look up or
acknowledge my entrance.
I rested the tray on the dresser. "Then I'll just leave it here for you for later. Do you mind if I ask why a young lady like yourself would be locked up here? You don't look like much harm."
She bolted to her feet, the insinuation fueling the fire that burned in her soul, unable to simply stand by and take abuse. The exact emotion I'd banked on.
"I'll have you know that I can be a lot more intimidating than I look. Besides, I'm not locked up here for what I've done, it's what I might do that scares your master."
"And what exactly is that?"
She shook her head. "It makes no difference, you would never see things the way I do, at least not while my father is in control."
Or under your father’s control. Did she know about the spell Edwin had the castle under?
I sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed my hands in front of me. "You would be surprised at what I believe. What I think."
"Aren't you a bit brash for a castle servant?"
"Well, aren't you a bit brash for a castle prisoner?"
She smiled. The rally of wills amusing her. Bringing out the spark in her emerald eyes.
"Let's just say that the royal family is in danger and I wanted to warn them."
"Yes." I stood and stepped toward her. She retracted in tandem. "I can see how your father might be upset about that. But since when does your allegiance stand with Prince Fallon and his family? Shouldn’t you be loyal to your own blood?"
“Blood doesn’t mean I need to side with his dangerous plans. We are still family even if we disagree, but what he’s doing is wrong. ” She sighed and flopped back down in the chair, her arms resting over the sides. "Besides, I know the prince, or at least I thought I knew him. He has his flaws, but his will is with his people and he should be the one sitting on the throne. He can be misguided sometimes but his heart is good."
My stomach clenched. "And your heart, miss? To me, it sounds like it might still be with the prince, wherever he is."
Veda’s face flushed and she looked away, studying the intricate mosaics around the fireplace. "Thank you for the meal, but you should probably leave before I get you into trouble too."
“Very well, miss.” I made a dramatic turn and headed for the door, still keeping watch over her. That instant reaction. That blush. It wasn’t much, but maybe it was enough.
I closed my eyes. My skin tingled. A surge of power, then it stopped. I opened my eyes and glanced at my reflection in the Baroque mirror on the wall. My own face stared back. My real face. My true self.
"Veda, I've been looking all over for you."
She turned her head toward my voice. Her normally loud mouth dropped open in silence as her stare scanned me over in recognition. "Fallon? Is it really you?"
I held my breath then let it out in a gasp to create the illusion that I’d just run in the door. "Yeah, it really is.”
She leaped from the chair and rushed toward me but stopped short as her widespread arms fell to her waist. "How did you get up here?"
"Help from a certain servant and a little bit of magic.” I flashed a proper smile, full of teeth and charm. “Your father isn’t the only one who can make the impossible happen.”
“Great.” She nodded, but the movement reeked of sorrow instead of surprise. “But I could actually do with less magic in my life.”
"I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t find you anywhere. I figured you just didn't want to see me. Or that…"
The disappointment spread from her eyes as her shoulders slumped and she dropped her head to her chest. "I betrayed you to my father."
I didn't answer. I didn't need to. She knew my words before I needed to say them, but from her mouth, they sounded more eloquent and damning. She breathed deep, a heaviness building in the rise and fall of her chest before she dared to look up again.
“But I didn’t. I wouldn’t do that.”
Her glassy stare punched straight into my gut and I struggled to stand. Less than inches between our toes on the floor but miles between my heart and hers.
"I didn't know everything. I knew my father had issues with the Aldrics, but I assumed those problems were ancient history. He's not really a bad man, Fallon. I brought you to him to help. To try to make things right, for both of you."
Her arms quivered as the shame bled through her guilty gaze. I should have been furious. I should have turned and stormed back out, taking Edwin down and relishing in the pain it would cause. But my vengeance didn't matter. Watching her hurt broke pieces inside my soul I never knew existed. Never felt before. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her to my chest. She melted into my arms as if it were her place. That she belonged there.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Her words muffled against my skin. “I left because I was upset, but then my father said you’d gone missing and thought I’d helped you hide so he tossed me in here. I tried to warn you, but I haven’t been able to escape.”
I rested my chin upon her head and inhaled this smell of her. Wildflowers in the wind, free and uncompromised. "I believe you. And I’m so sorry for everything that happened.”
She wiped her eyes with her fist and pulled back. “What?”
“I should’ve kissed you. I wanted to kiss you. So many times, but I…”
That was the moment. The one to tell her exactly how I felt, but all my emotions swam through my bloodstream instead of formulating into words. Slippery fish who refused to be caught.
She slipped her index finger over my lips as she held my gaze with her soft eyes. “Let’s get out of here first.”
A loud thundering clap pounded behind us. I whirled around and stood in front of Veda, shielding her from the door.
"Very sweet, Your Majesty," Edwin said, my father's golden crown nestled in his dark hair. "But I suggest you stay far away from my daughter."
Veda maneuvered around me, slick and quick like a fox. "You don't decide my life."
"That's where you're wrong. As King of Aboria, I decide everyone's lives. And right now, I think the treasonous prince should die."
Veda gripped my bicep and we slunk back further into the room, but there was no escape. The tower had one way in and one way out unless you were stupid enough to jump from the window to your death.
"Guards," Edwin yelled.
Two of them appeared in the doorway, swords drawn as they raced toward us. Each one grabbed a wrist and twisted them together behind my back.
"No," Veda screamed and raced at her father, pummeling him with her fists.
"Save your energy, dear. I'll deal with you later." He swatted her aside like a gnat then paraded out of the tower. The guards nudged me forward, one kicking behind my thigh to get my defiant legs moving.
I glanced over my shoulder as Veda’s tears tumbled down her red cheeks. “I’m sorry.”
The guards pushed harder on my back and pain shot through my spine as they led me out into the hall. The tower doors slammed shut behind us. I cringed. I’d blown my chance.
They pushed me down the stairs and through the rest of the hallways. The servants stopped their tasks and stared as the guards marched me through my own home like a felon. I fixed my eyes on the crown atop Edwin’s head as he bobbed along in front of us. I pictured ripping it from his skull and using it as a noose. Watching his last breath wane as a stillness fell over his treacherous body. A heinous act the kingdom would be better for. That might be worth dirtying my hands to carry out.
“Let me go,” a voice shouted as we descended the grand staircase into the foyer.
“Mom,” I yelled as I squirmed in my captor’s grip.
She fought harder to free herself. “Fallon!”
The guard behind her pulled his blade and held it near her throat until she stopped moving. Instead, she rose up on her toes and stared him down with all the tenacity she had left.
“Don’t ever pull a sword unless you have the guts to use it,” she spat.
I lunged after Edwin, the skin on my
wrist burning against the guard’s hold. “What have you done to my mother?”
"We caught her lurking around just outside the castle grounds. You don't think we didn't have people watching for that massive bird, did you?" He lowered his forehead and let out a jovial laugh that echoed through the halls and bounced back even more evil then how it left. "I'm still not sure how you managed to get into the castle, but I will figure it out. Not like it will matter much where you're going."
The guards pushed me along and down the hallway as my mother fought against her own guards just in front. These fools would be executed for treating their queen in such a rough way. But as they shoved her down the hall, I tried to remember that Edwin was the villain here, not the guards. Instead, I bit my cheek and tasted blood, craving someone else’s.
We filed down the narrow stone steps under the castle. No light penetrated the walls. The dank musty smell seeped into my clothes. We rarely used the dungeon, or at least I didn't think we did. My father's rule had been a peaceful one and real criminals were not kept here. That also meant, that no one would be able to hear us scream.
The steps beneath my feet disappeared into the inky black with no lanterns to light our way. The guards shuffled us deeper, as if from memory, between hallways until the high-pitched screech of long forgotten hinges echoed through the cavern.
"In you go," one of the guards said as they pushed my mother forward and she yelped in the dark.
My guards chucked me forward and released my hands. I skipped forward as my balance wavered and my toe smashed against the stone floor. An empty weightless bubble rose in my stomach as my body fell forward. The door slammed shut behind me as the lock clinked shut. I reached into the dark to cushion my fall. My head bobbed. Too close. The smack of my skull against stone pierced my eardrums. Sounds muffled and disappeared. My thoughts drifted away. Lost in the ether.
Then just dark.
Nothing.
Sleep.
3
12th June
Fallon: Son of Beauty and the Beast (Kingdom of Fairytales Boxset Book 6) Page 27
