15. Chapter 15 #3
“It is a sentient being, Milady.” The knight exhales a deep breath.
With a hesitant hand, he reaches out for the doorknob, only to sigh in relief upon discovering that it's made of silver steel and not an angry snake. “A labyrinth, if you will,” he adds. “The doors here are like gears in a machine. They shift every evening, powered by some kind of dark, malevolent force that even the queen herself has lost control of. It’s not wise to traverse the hallways alone, Milady.”
“The queen has lost control over the castle?” I rasp out.
The knight glances around to ensure no one is eavesdropping. Then he whispers, “I hear her voice sometimes, in the wee hours of the morning, screeching on about how it’s shifted again. I reckon that the castle is no longer following her orders, but that’s the only information I have.”
“I don’t understand.” I shake my head. “If the castle’s layout changes so often, and not even the queen can control it, then how does one possibly know how to get from point A to point B?”
The knight stands up straighter as he seems to contemplate this.
“The ones who don’t know the way often find themselves lost, wandering the corridors until their skeletal remains are found decorated in cobwebs.
” He pauses to pull open the weighted door with a grunt.
“And those who do know the way are cursed to wander these halls for an eternity.” He gives me a weak smile, his eyes devoid of hope.
“Luckily, the queen has been gracious enough to provide each of the servants with a magical blueprint of the castle for safekeeping.” He taps at his temple with a gloved finger, as if to indicate that the very blueprint of the castle has been imprinted directly into his mind.
“Whenever the castle shifts, the blueprint shifts as well. This ensures that none of the servants lose their way or become cobwebbed skeletons like the other unfortunate souls who have frequented this place. Like you, Milady. Stay close.”
A sickening, menthol-like feeling creeps into my lungs. “Did she… replace your memories in exchange for this blueprint?” I wonder aloud.
The knight’s brows fold inward.
That’s it, I decide. When I get out of here, I’m bringing him with me.
The Conservatory is as silent as snow. A faint pink morning glow emits from the domed ceiling, trickling over critters snoozing in canopies, and around plants that drip with an afterglow of condensation.
The statue is gone. Every last piece of it has been swept up by a flurry of hands, leaving behind no trace of its existence.
“Are you okay, Milady?” the knight asks from the doorway behind me.
“I like you very much, Mister Knight,” I say, “but if you call me Milady again, I will slap you upside the head. And as far as whether or not I’m okay,” I whisper, seeming to forget that I have legs, “I’m fine.
” I proceed to fold myself onto the ground like a pretzel in the exact place that the statue once stood.
What did the bastard do with it?
“You don’t look okay, Milady,” says the knight.
“Would you like for me to escort you back to your room?” After I don’t answer, he rushes to my side and places a cool hand on my forehead.
I peer up at him and resist the urge to cry.
“I’d like to leave this place,” I say, my lower lip wobbling.
“I don’t want to marry the God of Dreams… but I also don’t want to die.”
The knight’s expression softens. “You and I both, Milady.”
“You don’t want to get married either?” I ask him.
“It’s not that,” he says, sighing with contempt as he takes a seat beside me.
“If I’m being entirely honest, I’m a piece of this castle as much as a pawn is a piece of a chessboard.
The marriage law doesn’t apply to me, because I’m not allowed to fall in love.
As much as I wish I knew what love felt like, Milady, I can’t draw up a single memory of my lifetime before. ”
My eyes wetten around the edges. “You need a name,” I say.
“I’m not allowed a name, Milady. I have not yet earned a title so bold from the queen.”
“I will call you Sir Valiant,” I determine. “You are an honorable man, and you deserve an honorable title. It will be our little secret.”
Sir Valiant stands and holds out his hand, a small smile sweeping across his lips. “I shall accept your proposal with dignity. Now, please allow me to help you find your friends.”
“Once we find my friends, you’ll leave with us?” I ask, peering up at him, my voice soft yet determined. “We’ll find our way to a nearby city and then…” And then what? The queen will hunt us down to the ends of the realm until she finds us.
Sir Valiant heaves me onto my feet. “Regretfully, Milady, there is no way out. I’ve been searching for an exit since the day the queen so graciously gave the blueprint to me.
It seems that this fortress is a dungeon, one glamoured in pretty things to make us forget.
Not even you can leave, I’m afraid. I’m sorry. ”
It takes everything within me not to fall to my knees again. “Bring me to the others. I have to warn them.”
“As you wish, Milady.”
As promised, I smack him upside the head.
Gently.