Chapter 17
Lance
I fastened the last of the buttons on my tunic and stood back to better inspect myself in the mirror. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. I ruffled my dark hair a little and gave my reflection a satisfied nod.
My stomach let out a low growl and I left my room eager to reach the dining hall. I hoped they were serving a decent breakfast. For some reason, I was craving eggs.
The palace servants bowed as I passed them before going back to their duties. I flashed a grin at one of the maids, whose face immediately went red before she whispered something to the maid next to her.
By the time I reached the ground floor of the palace, I’d increased my pace. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this hungry, and an enticing aroma drifted from the kitchens.
With anticipation at the prospect of breakfast, I opened the dining- room doors only to find that I was not the only one who’d had the idea to take my breakfast in here.
Gwen looked up from the book in her hands. “Good morning.” Her tone wasn’t cheerful but at least I’d managed to actually get a greeting from her.
“Morning,” I replied, strolling over to a chair on the opposite side of the table and taking a seat. Apart from a tea set, some milk and some sugar, the table was still empty.
“Aren’t you having breakfast?”
She nodded, eyes going back to her book. “In a minute. I’m having my tea first.”
“All right, then.” I reached for the teapot and a nearby cup and saucer.
“I didn’t know you drank anything other than wine.”
“No?” I looked at her, but Gwen continued to read.
“I enjoy my tea in the morning as much as anyone. Most people prefer something like a black tea, but I find that I actually enjoy a good camomile.” I was lying, of course.
Though I’d heard these names many times before, I rarely drank tea, especially with the knowledge of what kind of tea it was.
It all pretty much tasted the same to me.
Gwen could tell I wasn’t being serious, and she finally lowered her book. “I’ll wager my entire inheritance that you’re lying and that you haven’t had a cup of tea in years.”
In all truth, she was too clever for her own good, but it made any conversation with her wonderfully entertaining.
“That’s an awfully big wager.” I took a sip of the tea. It definitely could use some more milk. Or perhaps something stronger. “Thankfully I don’t need your money, Lady Gwen.”
A servant entered the dining room and reached for the teapot. “Can I refill this for you, Your Highness?”
“Please, and would you also bring me some breakfast?”
“Of course, Your Highness. What would you like?”
I glanced at Gwen and back to the servant. “I’ll have whatever she’s having.”
“Very good, Your Highness.” He gave a short bow before leaving the room with the teapot.
“What are you reading?” I gestured to the book in her hands.
“A book,” she replied, with a hint of both boredom and sarcasm, her eyes shooting left and right across the page.
“Not that I don’t enjoy this little dance of banter between us, Lady Gwen.” I took another sip of the tea and forced my face not to grimace. “But I’m afraid I must ask the reason for your hostility towards me.”
She stared up at me from under her brow, her expression unimpressed.
“You know the longer you play this game of pretending to hate me, the more I’m going to try and make you like me,” I continued when she didn’t say anything. Gwen still didn’t respond but I watched her swallow hard.
I was reaching for the flask in the pocket of my tunic when the servant entered carrying two plates, both with a silver cover.
Deciding against pulling out my flask, I waited in anticipation for the servant to remove the cover, only to find two steaming scones on the plate, some butter and jam on the side. No eggs.
“This is what you ordered for breakfast?”
Gwen shrugged casually but I could see her trying to suppress a slight grin.
“Too much like cake for you, is it?”
“Not at all.” I grimaced.
I used my knife to cut the warm scone in half and started spreading some butter on it, all the while thinking how stupid scones were and how much I’d rather have a proper breakfast. Or at least some bacon, maybe. But my pride prevented me from calling back the servant.
“So do your plans entail staying inside and reading all day?” I couldn’t blame her — the weather was miserable. There were constant bursts of rain, and if it wasn’t raining, the wind blew something fierce.
“I wanted to go for a walk when the rain stopped, but you know.” She gestured to the walking stick leaning on the chair next to her.
“Well, when you’re feeling up to it, you should go and visit Windchaser. I’m sure he misses you.” This piqued her interest, but she kept her expression nonchalant.
“He told you this himself, did he?”
“Of course.” I took a big bite from the scone, my mouth filled with the buttery taste. “He’s quite a talkative little foal.”
“Hmph.” She snorted at my response, putting her book down to start eating her breakfast.
“How long did the physician say you had to use the walking stick?”
“A few more weeks, though I don’t know how much longer I can take it,” Gwen complained, taking a teaspoon and scooping up a big dollop of cream. I watched her mouth as she licked it off the spoon, my own food temporarily forgotten.
“Does your ankle still hurt?” I quickly cleared my throat.
“A little. I don’t think I should have walked on it after I got hurt.”
“Probably not, no. Which is why I insisted you see a physician.”
“Oh, you would just love to hear me say you were right.”
I opened my mouth to respond that I wouldn’t mind just that when the dining-room door opened, and Cai walked in.
His eyes landed on the two of us sitting across from each other.
“Having breakfast together?” If looks could kill, then I would have died. I wondered if Elara had told him about our conversation.
“Not on purpose,” Gwen replied quickly. “Would you like to join us?”
“No thank you. I’m looking for Elara. Have you seen her?” He looked tired, like he hadn’t been sleeping, and his expression suggested he wasn’t looking for her so that they could share a cup of tea.
“I’m afraid not,” I said before Gwen could respond. “Everything all right?”
The King of Norrandale continued to glare at me. “Everything’s fine,” he said through clenched teeth. “I just need to talk to her.”
“Well, I’ll let the queen know, should I run into her.”
“At least join me for a cup of tea,” Gwen pleaded, patting the table next to her.
Cai hesitated and I cleared my throat, wiping my mouth with a napkin. “I should get going anyway.” The chair scraped over the floor as I got up from my seat.
“Lady Gwen.” I bowed, then walked past Cai and out of the room.
* * *
It was the afternoon, as I lounged about in one of the parlours, when my sister walked in, a look of pure determination on her face.
“There you are,” she said with a hint of annoyance.
“You were looking for me?” I didn’t move from my comfortable position on one of the settees, one leg hanging off and touching the ground.
“Yes, I need you to show me something.” She closed the door behind her, properly taking in me and the room. “What are you even doing in here?”
“Nothing actually,” I admitted. “In fact, I’m rather bored.”
Elara had a few rolled-up papers in her hands. She walked over to the settee and shoved my other leg off carelessly. “Come on, move over.”
I let out a slight groan, sitting up. “Cai was looking for you earlier, by the way. I told him I’d pass on the message.”
She didn’t say anything, but her face told me enough.
“Did something happen between you two?” I asked as she unrolled the papers and placed them on the wooden table in front of us.
“No, everything’s fine.”
“You know, you used to be a better liar before you became queen.”
I glanced at the many papers. They were all maps of Everness.
“I used to be a lot of things before I became queen,” she mumbled, straightening out the last one. “Now, I need you to show me where the key is.”
I looked at the table full of maps and then back to her. “Why?”
“Don’t be stupid — so that we can go and get it.”
“Who is ‘we’? I’m definitely not going in there.” I valued my life a little too much for that.
“We, me, it doesn’t matter. Just tell me where it is.”
“Where did you even get all this?” I started looking through the maps.
“In the library. They’re older, so I figured they’d probably be more useful.”
Most of the maps were too big, showing the entire kingdom and not the finer details that we needed. I shuffled through them until I found one that was more centred around the Evernean Forest.
“All right, see this creek here?” I pointed to a small line on the map.
“Yes.”
“You want to follow it straight into the mist. That’s where it gets tricky, because the creek ends and finding landmarks from there is damn near impossible.”
“Great,” she said sarcastically.
“It’ll probably be quite a walk but eventually you want to reach a pool of water. Now, if you’re coming from Levernia, you’re likely to be on this side of the water.” I showed her. “But the willow tree you’re looking for is on the other side of the pool.”
“How big is this pool of water?”
I stated the obvious: “I don’t know. I’ve never seen it.”
“Okay fine, there’s a pool and a tree and then what?”
“Well, like I told you, the key is supposed to be inside the tree, according to what Mother said.”
We both stared at the map intently. “Any chance she might have just been making it up?”
“She wasn’t really the kind of person to make up stories. If anything, at the very least, she believed them herself.”
“How do you know? You were a child.”
“I heard her and Father argue over it often. He told her to stop filling my head with fairy tales and she told him they weren’t fairy tales.” I’d never told anyone that before. Never had a reason to.
“Mmmhh,” Elara said, somewhat absentmindedly. “I guess I have no choice but to believe her, then.” She picked up the map. “So, what, you stick your hand into the tree and if it deems you worthy it will relinquish the key?”
“Something like that. Who are you going to send?”
“No one.” She didn’t meet my eyes.
“At the risk of sounding like a concerned older brother, do you really think that’s a good idea?”
“I don’t think I have a choice. We need that diary.” Elara carefully rolled up the map. “Whatever you do, don’t tell Cai about this.”
“Are you keeping things from your fiancé now? What’s going on with you two?”
“Nothing.” She stood up. “He’s just being a little paranoid is all.” That I could believe.
“Thanks for the help.” She headed for the door, and I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
“What?”
“At one point you wanted to kill me and now you’re actually saying thank you. Look how far we’ve come.”
“Don’t get cocky. I could always send you back to prison.”
“I don’t think so,” I said, waving my hand. “It would be too boring in this place without my company.”