Chapter 26 Trains and Mountains. #2
The last time Selene and I had used the door, it was unlocked.
Selene had explained that some of the Royal Guard had been using it as an unofficial smoking area since she was a child, and if we were lucky, it would be unlocked.
She described it as a horrendous lapse in security that could easily have deadly consequences, if it weren’t for the fact that when it came to someone breaking into a castle, no one ever thought to check if the door was simply open; they always had to make breaking in more complicated and inevitably got caught.
My heart pounded almost painfully against my chest as I leaned my ear against the door and tried desperately to hear if anyone was in the hallway behind it.
If I attempted to open the door and it was open and someone was there, I would be caught.
If I tried and it was closed and someone was there, they would know someone was out here, and again, I was as good as caught.
I couldn’t hear anything, and I decided it was because the door and stone walls were so thick.
I took a deep, steadying breath and blew it out slowly before trying the door handle.
The sound of the latch clicking as it opened felt like a trumpet sounding my arrival.
I was so nervous. I opened the door slowly, unable to move quickly because I was shaking so much, and I wasn’t sure whether it was from the cold or my nerves.
I stepped in through the open door and exhaled quietly. There was no one there. I closed the door behind me and just stood there precariously for a few moments, remembering how to breathe again.
There was no way I could make it through the main castle and to Selene’s wing without being stopped and seen.
There was no way I was getting anywhere in the castle or the grounds without being seen, but there were places I could go where being seen in my current state wouldn’t mean getting stopped.
I’d look like a servant who had an unpleasant experience.
I might draw looks from some who were dealing with the castle at this time of night, but I didn’t exactly look like me.
I checked nervously that my hair was still hidden under my hat.
I thought that I probably looked like a boy, a skinny, not very strong boy, but with my hair hidden and the bulky winter clothes, and the New Foundation boots I still wore — they were surprisingly comfortable — I didn’t look like me, at least.
I decided to go to the servant quarters. Edward would be back at home, probably in his room or if not, I could wait there for him. He would be able to tell Selene I was back without anyone else being able to stop me from reaching her.
With a plan in my head, I began to walk away from the door.
I was terrified and hoped my pounding heart didn’t attract any unwanted attention.
The courtyard to the servant quarters was, as expected, not particularly busy so late at night, and the closer I got to the servant quarters without being stopped, the more confidence I gained and the faster I walked.
I noticed too late, as I approached the servants' quarters, that a Royal Guard stood at the door. No guard had ever been there before. He stood as I approached, and I had no choice but to keep walking; if I turned around, he’d probably set off some alarm.
“Hold up, boy,” he said, holding his arm out to stop me from entering.
“You know the script by now: name, room number, and why are you out this late? More importantly, why are you all wet and covered in… mud?” he asked, taking a torch from the chair behind him and shining it over me, clearly struggling to see me under the dim entrance light of the servants' quarters.
I squinted against the light of the torch and held my hand up, squinting my eyes, closing my yellow eye shut.
“I fell in the pond,” I said, in a way that I felt sounded convincingly embarrassed, probably helped along by the fact that I actually was.
“Name?” he asked.
“Uh, Edward,” I said, feeling off balance by how long I hesitated.
“Have you been drinking tonight?” he asked, and I heard the amusement in his voice.
“Not really,” I said and tried to sound like I was trying not to slur my words.
The guard laughed.
“What’s your room number?” he asked.
“Uh, up the stairs,” I said, pointing upward.
The guard picked up a clipboard I hadn’t seen behind him.
“I’ve got to get you to sign in, you need to put your room number, come on, kid, you know this, it’s been the script for the past two weeks,” he complained.
“Sorry,” I said. At that moment, a warm, solid head bumped hard against my leg and caused me to step forward. I looked down. “Loki!” I said happily and rubbed behind his ears. Loki turned to the guard and growled.
“That damn cat hates me. It knows I don’t stay here and keeps trying to intimidate me,” the guard said gruffly, all his attention on Loki.
“I’ll take him in with me,” I offered and reached for the door.
The guard reached to block my hand until Loki growled angrily, and he snatched his hand away and back to his side.
“Good idea. Get changed out of those wet clothes and have a glass of water before bed. You’ll regret it in the morning if you don’t,” he called behind me.
I waved back at the guard as Loki and I climbed the stairs towards Edward's room, the big cat choosing to continue somewhere else. I wondered why there was a guard stationed at the servants’ quarters and hoped that using Edward’s name wouldn’t cause any trouble for him later.
I knocked on the door that I knew was Edward’s, but there was no answer. I tried again, this time louder and heard a loud thump on the other side before it swung open, revealing Edward with a t-shirt on backwards and one leg in a pair of trousers.
“I’m not on until tomorrow morning,” he said as he opened the door, before he looked at me and his eyes widened in astonishment.
I pushed us back into his room, scared that he was about to announce me to anyone who was listening, which might have been the guard downstairs.
I placed my finger to my lips in the universal sign to be quiet.
“Is it really you?” he whispered and finished pulling on his trousers to rub at his eyes. “Percy?” he asked.
I removed my hat and let my hair fall down past my shoulders.
“It’s me,” I said.
“What are you doing here, and what happened to you?” he asked, looking me up and down in distaste at my appearance.
“A two-day journey on foot across House Maria, two days by train and a trek through the Dark Mountains,” I answered.
He nodded as if that made sense.
“Does the Princess know you’re back?” he asked.
“No, that’s why I’m here. I made a deal with Arvid to get me out of House Halvorsen. He warned me to be careful who I trust, and with everything I’ve learned, no one can be trusted. I had to sneak it —”
“How did you manage to sneak into the castle grounds?” he asked a little too loudly.
“Shh — we’ve got to be quiet. I need you to tell Selene that I’m here. No one will be suspicious of you; you can speak with her alone. She’ll know what to do. I don’t want anyone I don’t know and trust knowing that I’m back before Selene does.”
“Sorry. Yeah,” he said, and looked around his room before grabbing his coat from the back of his desk chair. “Yeah, I’ll go right now,” he said.
I grabbed his arm.
“Won’t it look suspicious if you go now? There’s a guard downstairs.”
“Oh, yeah. Wait. How did you get past him?” he asked.
“I said I was Edward and lived up the stairs. I’m not sure he believed me until Loki turned up and basically escorted me into the building,” I told him.
“Loki?” he asked.
I nodded.
He laughed.
“That big furball has been bullying every guard they send,” he said and began putting his coat back on.
“It won’t be suspicious. The kitchens have been busy all day and night. The amount of food being prepared and eaten each day in the castle is more than I can even comprehend. I’ve been on constant kitchen shifts, probably because my gran knows she can get away with working me like a dog,” he said.
“But you won’t be going to the kitchen,” I said nervously.
“It’s my excuse if I’m questioned. Don’t worry.
I probably won’t even be stopped, and once I’m near the Princess’s wing, I just say that I am reporting to the Princess, and no one will question me further or try to stop me.
If they do, I make a scene, the Princess’s personal guard comes running, and one way or another, I inform her of your return,” he explained.
“How are you so confident?” I asked.
“Because I’m certainly going to be head servant when the Princess becomes the Queen,” he told me excitedly. “She’s going to love me for being the one to bring her the news that you’re back.”
I just stared at Edward for a moment.
“Seriously?” I asked and couldn’t help laughing.
That was what he was thinking about in the moment, someday being a head servant?
“Edward,” I said and took hold of his shoulders, “I need you to fully understand how dangerous this is. Please tell me you understand me when I say that if anyone finds out that I’m here, and you know, before you tell Selene, something really bad — maybe even like dead-bad — could happen to you, or me or both of us. You understand?” I asked.
He placed his hands on my shoulders in return and looked me in the eyes.
“I fully understand the risk involved. There is a guard stationed twenty-four hours per day, every day, outside of the servants' quarters for a reason. I know there is danger. But you can trust me, you can trust Borealis. Stay here.” He walked over to his chest of drawers, pulled out a towel, and threw it at me. “Get cleaned up as much as you can. You can take whatever you want to wear from the drawers. I’ll be back soon. Don’t answer the door to anyone.
You can lock it behind me; it’s just a turn lock. ”
“Okay,” I said, calming down.
“Oh, and I’m sorry if I didn’t say already or make it clear, but I’m happy you’re home and alive,” he told me.
“Thanks,” I said as I began to wipe drying cold mud from my face, and Edward quietly left.
I changed into a pair of black trousers that I had to roll up at the cuffs, pulled on a Borealis blue jumper that I was surprised to find Edward had multiples of, and took off my old socks and put on two clean, dry pairs.
I sat on Edward’s bed, waiting anxiously for his return and enjoying the warmth returning to my toes and fingers. I tried to imagine the route he might take and how long it would take to walk, to envisage the moment he would return, until I awoke to the sound of the bedroom door unlocking.
I sat up fast and looked to the grey light outside. Hours had to have passed since Edward left. I was angry with myself for falling asleep so unexpectedly. I stood up and turned around to greet Edward or maybe even Selene.
The smile I had tentatively formed fell into surprise when I was greeted by King Nyx.
“Welcome back,” he said.