Chapter 46
A month has passed since, and now it is late spring. With each passing day, the nightmares would not cease.
Indeed, they grew crueler.
I have tried earnestly to nourish myself. But despite my efforts, I have grown so dreadfully thin. My cheeks are hollowed, my frame weakened. I scarcely recognize the girl I see in the mirror.
Then there is sleep. At times, I would sleep even through meals, roused only when a maid gently shook me. In earlier days, a light tap upon the shoulder sufficed, but now such gentleness had no effect.
The day of the festival had at last arrived. Nerissea entered my chamber before I had even stirred. I was still deep in slumber when I felt her presence.
"Wake up," she whispered, giving my hallowed cheeks the faintest pats.
Her movements were urgent, but my thoughts remained tangled in sleep.
"You must go now," she said, swiftly fastening a black cloak about my shoulders with haste. "Do you recall the way to the secret passage?"
I gave a faint nod, still blinking against the heaviness in my eyes.
"The way to the storage chamber is clear. You must move among the staff unnoticed, then slip away to the passage. Blend in. Keep your hood drawn, but not so much as that would look suspicious. Do not draw attention."
At last, I managed to open my eyes fully and meet her gaze.
"Naevia," she said more gently now, her voice softening, "Go find Sister Alethea at the festival."
I nodded as I rubbed my eyes. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around me.
"Go now," she whispered, and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
"I must take my leave," she said, guiding me toward the chamber door and placing a small lantern into my hands.
"Do not light it until you are safely within the storage chamber," she instructed. "What you need to ignite is tucked within your cloak pocket."
She knelt, slipping soft flats upon my feet, then rose and led me into the corridor.
"Go, Naevia."
She lingered, gazing at me. Then she turned and vanished down the opposite hall with swift steps.
I began to walk, though my body still swayed beneath the weight of sleep. I forced myself upright. As I neared a gathering of staff, I lowered my head slightly and joined their midst. Then, with a silent turn, I veered off the main path toward the hidden chamber.
"The day has at last arrived. You have done well, Your Majesty," came an unfamiliar voice of a man just beyond the door beside me.
I froze where I stood. My heart lurched violently.
Magister Malvior's voice followed. "Pardon me, but might I inquire how you intend to persuade Lady Naevia to drink it?"
A long silence.
"Have several prepared by evening," came Her Majesty's voice. "In case the first few find their end upon the floor."
I slipped into the adjacent room and concealed myself within the shadows. My hands clutched the lantern to my chest as though it might protect me.
Only when their voices had faded down the corridor did I emerge. But I did not make for the secret passage. I needed to know what cruel scheme they had set in motion. I stepped into the chamber they had just departed, and a sharp and bitter scent struck my senses.
Upon the center table stood a glass bottle, its contents a red so deep it looked like blood freshly spilled. The scent was unmistakable. I had smelled it once before in that alchemy shop with Sister Alethea.
Poison.
My knees gave way and I stumbled back a few paces, breath caught and heart galloping.
Queen Yseldra meant to end my life.
A sound at the door broke my thought. The handle was turning.
Someone was coming.
My already wild heart pounded faster. I scanned the room in desperation, but it was bare and cruel in its simplicity. No curtains, no furniture, no cloth to conceal me. Only a narrow window far above reach, and the table.
My hands dampened with sweat. There was nowhere to go.
In haste, I pressed myself against the wall beside the door, praying the one who entered would open it wide enough to shield me from view.
The latch clicked. I clamped my palms over my mouth to stifle any breath or cry.
"Almost forgot this," came the voice of Magister Malvior.
A brief pause, then the door clicked shut. The bottle was gone, but the stench lingered still. I stayed a moment more then eased the door open and peered into the corridor. I looked to the left, then to the right.
Empty.
I slipped into the hall and hurried forth toward my destination.
I reached the end of the hidden passage, found the jagged crack in the wall, and pressed my finger to the hidden button. The stone before me vanished. On the other side was the modest training ground, it was vacant just as Nerissea had said.
I cast the lantern into a nearby bush and followed her instructions with my hood drawn tight, until at last the main road appeared before me. Only once I had placed a fair distance between myself and the palace did I dare to breathe in earnest.
My steps carried me toward the place where Sister Alethea and I had agreed to reunite, should we ever find ourselves separated amidst the crowd. Nerissea and she must have planned my escape. I had been too drowsy earlier to understand Nerissea's words when she urged me to seek out Sister Alethea. But now it was clear. My heart ached. It was no longer just Nerissea entangled in the weight of my troubles. Sister Alethea was drawn into it as well.
The streets were packed. Nobles mingled freely with commoners; some led their slaves on silken leashes as though parading fine horses. Music drifted from every corner, sweet and wild in turns. Vendors lined the road with wares of every imaginable sort from simple confections, rich platters fit for a feast, glistening fruits, delicate ribbons to the sale of horses and carriages.
When the post office upon Hollow Hill Street at last came into view, my steps quickened. I was so near now, yet still so very far.
As I drew closer, my vision blurred with tears for I heard a voice and phrase I knew all too well cry out, "Chicken is expensive! Chicken is expensive!"
"Chicken is expensive!" She called out, sharper this time.
"Then cease buying chicken!" a passerby called back in exasperation.
"Chicken is expensive!" she retorted without pause.
I pressed forward, weaving through the throng, each step carrying me nearer to her voice.
"Chicken is expensive!"
Nearer still.
"Chicken is expen-"
She stopped. Her eyes met mine, and in an instant they glistened as though they could no longer contain the sudden swell of feeling. Her face altered into one of raw anguish.
I felt the same expression bloom upon my own.
"Why have you not answered my letters?" I asked.
Her lips quivered. "Your letters never reached me."
My eyes widened, the truth striking me with a force that hollowed my breath.
Sister Alethea, too, had concealed herself beneath her hood. She took hold of my hand and began to move at an urgent pace until we reached a modest tavern. It was brimming with laughter and noise. She pulled my hood further over my face and strode to the counter.
"One room, please," she said plainly to the ruddy-cheeked woman of middle age behind it.
The woman let out a teasing laugh. "Oh, sweetheart, already seeking privacy? The festival does bring out all manner of appetites, I suppose." With a chuckle, she reached beneath the counter, fetched a brass key, and slid it forward. "Up the stairs to the left. Room twelve. Five silvers, love."
Sister Alethea paid then took my arm and guided me through the crowd once more, up the stairs, and into the quiet of the chamber. She moved swiftly to the windows and pulled the blinds closed, darkening the room. She returned to me, lowering her hood. For the first time she was not dressed in her sacred habit. Her blue hair was bound into a low ponytail.
"My dearest," she whispered, her voice breaking with grief as she took my face into her hands, "you are so terribly thin. What cruelty the queen has shown you."
At her words, a tide of feeling surged within me. "Alethea..."
"Oh, Naevia… the palace maids and the royal ministers have been spreading unholy rumors about you across the kingdom. I had so dearly hoped they were untrue…"
My steps faltered. My mind reeled.
No. This cannot be. Queen Yseldra had assured me that whatever occurred within the palace walls would remain confined therein.
"Naevia, we must flee the kingdom," Sister Alethea whispered. "I have hired men to smuggle us away. They shall bring supplies to this very tavern. Once their crate is emptied, we are to climb inside, and they shall carry us to their cart."
She looked upon me then, directly. Her eyes trembled faintly.
"Naevia… there is proof. Your parents poisoned the late king and queen. The new queen and her court now seek vengeance."
A memory surfaced.
'I expect nothing less than perfection.'
I had believed Queen Yseldra spoke only of household duties at that time.
My knees lost their strength, and I sank to the floor. Sister Alethea fell with me, arms swiftly embracing, her body softening my descent so that I did not strike the ground in pain.
I understood now. It was never a matter of lust. The queen wished the world to see what manner of woman I was. That was why she commanded all to call me "Lady" and not "Sister". A Sister fallen to disgrace was shameful indeed, yet Lady Naevia of House Ashcroft debased before all was far more… ruinous.