Chapter Five Wilde
Three Days Later
The Kingdom of “Misfortune”
Arriving at the Castle
A sharp elbow in my side jostled me awake.
Off-balance, I fumbled in the air, reaching for something—the bed, the nightstand, anything to steady myself—but my hands closed on nothing.
I tumbled backwards out of the carriage amid shocked exclamations.
People dove out of the way to avoid becoming my sacrificial cushion.
Landing on the ground knocked the wind out of me, so for a moment I only stared at the blue sky and wheezed.
Someone’s head blocked the view and cast a shadow over me. “You alright there, Will?” John extended a hand to me and pulled me to my feet.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, rubbing my swollen eyes. “Didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“Happens to the best of us, but we’ve entered enemy territory, so look sharp.”
“Enemy territory?” I accepted the trunk he passed me before I registered the action. I’d gotten a little too comfortable in the role of attendant.
“We’re entering the domain of another staff. They’ll have their own rules, policies, and procedures, and they won’t hesitate to point out your mistakes. Sometimes I think the staff of other castles are more pompous than the nobs we serve.”
The ‘enemy’ staff helped us unload the carriage. Three attendants weren’t enough to carry the luggage of five people without making multiple trips, so I was grateful for the help. From John’s grumblings, he would have preferred to do three-times the work if it meant working alone.
The Bane Royal Family were staying in the same suite they had last time.
I’d only visited Treasure here once, to check on the progress of his mission.
Convincing the other champions to embark on a quest had been easy, but they couldn’t embark on any quest. Trey had to lead them to the Lord of Grimnight without anyone suspecting his motives.
Once I knew what roadblocks he’d faced, I’d left him to deal with the champions while I cleared a path for him.
As we carried Trey’s luggage into one of the rooms, I eyed the bed, imagining Trey sleeping in it. His rumpled red curls, long eyelashes casting shadows on his cheeks, the soft rise and fall of his naked chest.
Not a sight I’d witness again anytime soon. In the past week, our relationship hadn’t progressed past a handful of exchanges. He didn’t necessarily ignore the staff, but he kept a respectful distance. My hopes of using my position to foster a friendship between us dwindled every day.
“Well, that’s done,” John said, clapping his hands together to signal the end of the work.
“How about a meal? One good thing about being in enemy territory—the chef always wants to show off. They need to prove they’re the best cooks we’ll ever experience in our lives, and I am happy to encourage the competition. ”
“Later,” I said. “I’m still groggy, so I’d like to rest for a bit.”
“Understandable.” He grabbed my shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze. “Don’t worry, from here on out, we’re essentially on vacation. The other staff will see to the royals’ daily needs, and we can relax until we’re needed to pack everything up again.”
I nodded and we walked out of the room together.
Once I was shown the staff quarters, I knew it would be difficult to sneak back to my own bed.
Four people were assigned to each room, with no need for anyone to sleep in the stables.
I’d have three roommates who would expect me to stay through the night.
While I worried about what mischief the minions might cause in my absence, I was also relieved to finally get a good night’s sleep, with no emergencies or screaming interruptions.
The week’s work and stress weighed me down until I drooped toward the bed, already picturing myself wrapped in the cotton sheets.
A short nap couldn’t hurt … but while the other staff were socializing, this might be my only opportunity to spy on the royal champion’s meeting.
I waited until John left, then slipped back out the door. Assuming everything stayed the same, the champions would meet in Prince Fitzroy Unfortunate’s private residence. Though the winding halls of the castle were unfamiliar, they were easy to navigate, so I quickly found Fitz’s house.
And the guard standing outside.
“Private meeting,” the guard said, glaring down at me.
I now understood John’s ‘enemy territory’ comments. The guard’s hand rested on his sword pommel in a warning he probably wouldn’t give a coworker.
Perhaps I should have prepared a better excuse for my presence. A fake message from Kit or Trey’s fathers.
“Sorry,” I said, “I wanted a breath of fresh air.”
“Breathe somewhere else.”
I bowed in understanding and backed away from the guard. Somewhere around here, there had to be an unguarded door or window I could spy through. Once I’d lost the guard’s attention, I circled the perimeter.
There wasn’t much perimeter to search. The house was a single story and smaller than the guest suites, which had three bedrooms. I struggled to imagine this little house having more than one. I imagined a bare bones kitchen, a washroom, and a leisure area.
The front door was the only real entrance, so it was the only one with a guard. The other three walls had windows blocked by curtains. I wouldn’t be able to see much, but I could try to listen.
Invisibility was not a skill I’d ever learned, mostly because it was not one my master knew.
Some magic could be learned from books, others could only be passed down from master to apprentice.
Of course, there was always the option to invent the spell yourself, but true invisibility was never something I craved. I wanted to be seen.
Instead, my master had taught me to bend the shadows.
He used it most often to obscure his face and add to his menacing aesthetic as the Lord of Grimnight.
It had the dual effect of blurring details and unnerving the audience into looking away on their own.
In their primal hearts, people were afraid of the dark and the unknown threats lurking inside.
The far window was my best option. It would put some distance between the guard and me, and the angle of the sun cast deeper shadows in that area.
I stuck my hand into those shadows and coaxed them up my sleeve.
They crawled up the pale uniform, darkening everything they touched.
It wouldn’t be complete darkness—anyone looking out one of the adjacent castle windows could still see a person—but it would hide my identity.
None of the potential onlookers would immediately recognize Will Ain, a common attendant.
Once the shadows covered me from head to toe, I inched toward the window, pressing my ear to the glass to hear the conversation.
“Mumble mumble.”
“Mumble mumble mumble.”
“Counterpoint—mumble.”
Well, that’s useless.
Either someone had enchanted the glass to ward off eavesdroppers, or something else blocked the noise.
I pursed my lips as I examined the window, considering my options.
Moving the curtains aside would show me the room’s interior and anything blocking the window.
From the outside, the opening of the curtains was barely delineated by a thin line of light near the top.
I pointed two fingers at it and twitched them to the right.
The curtain flung itself to the side with unwarranted enthusiasm.
“Ghost!”
I dove to the ground, keeping close to the wall so the champions couldn’t see me. I could hear them inside now, scrambling toward the disturbed window.
“Why would there be a ghost?” Fitz asked. Several thumps followed his question.
In the background, Angelica hissed, “Fitz, do you need to stack your books everywhere? This is a fire hazard!”
Is that what was blocking the noise? Stacks of books?
Delilah didn’t care about the fire hazard, too concerned with the ‘ghost’ she’d seen. “Because we were talking about curses! They heard us and don’t want us to succeed.”
“Shouldn’t a ghost be happy about us breaking a curse?” Trey drawled.
“Not if they’re the ones responsible!”
The window ledge blocked my view of the champions as well as it blocked their view of me.
As they argued over ghosts, my racing heart settled.
If they were talking about breaking a curse, then they must have chosen the quest. It sounded like they were in the middle of choosing which one.
Without the Good Wizard or anyone else hurrying them along, it could take them days to decide.
I relaxed, leaning my head against the wall, and waited for their interest in the ghost to dissipate.
Eventually, I heard the rustle of the curtain being pulled back into place, and muffled footsteps walking away.
I waited a few more minutes, then slunk out of the shadows and into the nearest castle entrance.
In a few days, the champions should announce which quest they’d chosen, and I’d find some way to join them.
I’d barely sat down on my bed in the shared staff rooms before Connor excitedly poked his head through the door and exclaimed, “The Royals are making an announcement!”
I blinked at him, certain I’d misheard. The royal champions had barely began discussing the quest, they shouldn’t be ready to announce anything yet. Maybe it was a different announcement? It had to be, if they were involving the staff. “And we’re invited?”
“What? No, of course not,” he snorted and rolled his eyes. “But I was fucking this Calamity maid in a hidey hole and—”
I winced.
“What? Nothing wrong with a little anonymous fun,” he said with a grin. “Anyway, we could hear the royals gathering in the next room. Perfect spot to spy on ‘em and get a little news ahead of everyone else, right?”