CHAPTER 12
Katy
T
he trees finally thinned, giving Katy glimpses of a tall stone wall.
Relieved that she’d found it, she leaned against a tree to rest her weary eleven-year-old body.
After a moment, she made a feeble attempt to restore some order to her hair and dress before carefully exploring around the edge of the trees, searching for a way in.
Sadly, the king’s fear that someone would sneak into Reineggburg with a spindle meant the trees had been cleared near the wall. Not that Katy was much good at climbing trees. And even if she had experience scaling castle walls, they were depressingly smooth.
She was beginning to despair when she spotted a side gate with a familiar figure standing outside it. Slipping out from behind her tree, she put a bright smile on her face and sauntered up to the young guard.
“Kat?” he said, startled. “What are you doing out here?”
She smiled up at her cousin with her best pleading eyes. “Would you do me a big favor, Otto?”
“You’re a mess,” he bluntly said, his eyes drifting over her person. “Your father—”
“My father is irrelevant,” Katy snapped. She took a deep breath before continuing. “He’s busy today, like usual, and I gave myself the day off from the mill.”
Otto frowned at her. “So you decided to traipse through the woods alone?”
This wasn’t going as smoothly as she had hoped. “Otto, please, I just want to slip into the castle grounds for a little bit.”
“Kat, I can’t—”
“Please?” she begged. “No one will ever know I was there. I promise.”
He scowled at her. “And what exactly do you plan to do? Everyone is at the princess’s birthday party.”
Katy bit her lip as she dropped her eyes. “I know.”
“You…know?” He looked bewildered. “How could you…?”
She almost told him, but she would seal her fate on the wrong side of the wall if he knew her source.
“Please?”
He sighed and rubbed his temples with one hand. Keeping quiet was difficult, but she gave him peace to wrestle between his duty and giving his little cousin what she wanted.
“You promise no one will see you?” he finally said.
“No one,” she agreed earnestly.
“Because no one will believe you’re meant to be there. Not looking like that.”
Katy rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the compliment.”
“I mean it, Katrin,” he said firmly. “No one can know.”
Sighing, she replied, “I know, Otto. I’ll be careful.”
Otto continued to eye her for another minute. Finally, he relented. “All right, but you have to be back before my shift ends.”
She launched forward and hugged him around his chainmail-coated waist. “Thank you, Otto!”
“My replacement will arrive at two hours past dusk. Since you have to walk home, I suggest leaving sooner,” he continued sternly. “I’m expected at the barracks afterward, so I can’t walk you back to Flussendorf. And you shouldn’t attempt the trip in the dark.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she said brightly.
“I know I’m going to regret this,” he muttered under his breath. Leaning through the gate, he quickly checked that no one was around, then motioned her through.
“Remember, Kat,” he whispered as she slipped past him. “You can’t be seen.”
~
Katy had never been to Reineggburg before. The forest continued on the other side of Otto’s gate, which made it difficult to find landmarks but easier for her to hide. She hadn’t seen any guards or servants yet, but she kept her eyes open as she wandered.
Suddenly, she caught a voice on the breeze.
It cut through the chirps and twitters of the birds flitting about the branches overhead.
Following it, she reminded herself to move slowly and pay attention to her surroundings.
The voice grew louder as she drew closer, and the smooth baritone pulled at her heart as much as the melody it carried.
Finally, she reached a thick hedge. She carefully pulled a few branches to the side and peered through.
In the light of the sinking sun, she saw a familiar figure.
A small group of people was gathered nearby, some clearly guests, others that looked like musicians and entertainers.
A few servants circulated with trays of drinks and finger foods.
But the singer stood apart, his eyes alight and his arms gesturing as he brought the words to life.
Katy knew there must be better voices than his.
One of her friends had told her stories of the trained singers at the theater in Himmelsburg; an adult with years of training would surely sing more beautifully than a thirteen-year-old boy whose voice still cracked when he grew excited.
But at that moment, Prince Axel’s song was the most amazing thing she had ever heard.
And it was obvious that he loved to sing.
As he continued, Katy felt her long trek catching up to her. Her legs were tired, so she lowered herself to the ground and leaned against the prickly hedge. She couldn’t see him anymore, but she could still hear, and that was the best part.
Her eyes grew heavy. She knew she should get up. She should return to the gate and slip out before Otto’s shift ended, like she had promised.
But she needed to rest before walking all the way home. Just for a few moments…a few more moments listening to the prince sing…
~
She woke with a jolt when a hand settled on her shoulder. Scrambling back, she searched for an excuse to explain her presence, but then her eyes landed on the person who had woken her.
Prince Axel.
“Katy, what are you doing here?” he whispered.
His brows lowered as his eyes traced the same things her cousin had: the small rips and snags in her dress, the sweat-matted and half-fallen-out mess of her braid, the mud on her boots from splashing through a tributary of the Felsig. “How are you here?”
“I-I’m sorry,” Katy stammered. “I just—”
How did she explain her desire to see the wonder of a royal party? Worse, her wish to see him again?
“Are you angry at me?” she asked in a small voice.
The light was dim, but she could just see his crooked grin as he settled next to her. “Maybe I should be. After all, I’m fairly certain you shouldn’t be here. Umm…are you all right?” he asked, scanning her appearance again.
“Yes,” she said, dropping her eyes to one of the more obvious tears on her raised knees. “I simply wasn’t as prepared for the trip as I thought I was.”
The prince shook his head as he leaned back against the hedge. Instead of saying anything else, he simply stared out into the trees. Shouldn’t he be at the party?
Uncertain of her position, she was preparing to make her excuses and run back to the gate when he suddenly turned to her. “So, what do you think of my sister’s prison?”
“Her…prison?” Katy echoed, meeting his eyes in surprise.
He shrugged, his lips slightly curved but his brown eyes staring beyond her. “We all have them. Yours is the mill, mine is my position, my sister’s is the castle that our father hopes will keep her safe.”
Katy opened her mouth, then closed it again. This pensive attitude was a far cry from the light-hearted prince she knew from the mill. “Is everything all right, Your Highness?” she asked hesitantly.
At first, she thought he might not answer. He stared at his interlaced fingers resting across his knees. His lips were nowhere near a smile, and his eyes lacked all sparkle.
Finally, he leaned his head back, looking up toward the sky, even though it was hidden by the trees.
“Today is my sister’s tenth birthday,” he said in a somber tone.
Katy nodded in acknowledgment. “In exactly six years, if not sooner, she’s going to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into an enchanted sleep from which she may never awake. ”
“But I thought—isn’t that why spinning wheels are forbidden in Flussendorf?” Katy asked. “So it won’t happen?”
Prince Axel shook his head slowly. “It’s just prolonging the inevitable. The magic-user who amended the curse said it can’t be stopped.”
“I’m sorry,” Katy said quietly.
Still gazing into the treetops, he continued as if he hadn’t heard her. “With every one of her birthdays, I feel the noose draw tighter around my neck. Every birthday, I feel my impossible dream slipping farther through my fingers.”
“Your dream?” she asked curiously.
He shook his head against the hedge, making it rustle. “It doesn’t matter.”
She frowned at him. “Of course it does. What you want matters.”
“Not when you’re the sole heir to a crown,” he replied dully.
“But you’re not—”
He rolled his head to meet her eyes. “I will be in six years.”
Katy had no answer for that.
“Don’t misunderstand,” he continued. “Even if I had a dozen siblings who could replace me, I’d miss my sister when she’s gone. But since I don’t…”
He lapsed back into silence. Katy wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what. Who would have guessed that Prince Axel could be so…so vulnerable?
Sighing, he said, “I’m not giving up. I’m not normally this hopeless, but it just hit me tonight after... That’s why I had to wander away for a little while.” He looked over at her again, his eyes closer to normal. Lifting one corner of his mouth, he said, “Sorry for dumping on you.”
“No, don’t worry about it,” Katy quickly replied. “I don’t mind.”
“I suppose I should return,” he said in a woeful voice. There was a bit of twinkle in his eyes this time, though. “Otherwise, someone might come looking for me. And if they look for me, they might find me.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
Katy froze. That would be disastrous. “What time is it?” she asked anxiously.
“About an hour past dusk. Why?”
“I need to go, too,” she replied, scrambling to her feet. “Otto is going to kill me,” she muttered.
He arched an eyebrow. “What was that?”
“Nothing.”
He grinned at her as he pushed himself to a standing position. “Don’t worry, Katy, I won’t tell anyone. Whoever helped you won’t get into trouble.”
“Thank you,” she said fervently.
She’d only taken a few steps when he called after her. “Hey, Katy?”
She turned back. “Yes?”
“Promise you won’t forget me?” he asked earnestly.
“What?”
Prince Axel’s eyes had resumed their melancholic appearance. “I was only three at the time, so I don’t remember much about the casting, but I hear the servants talk sometimes. When Helena’s curse falls, everyone will avoid the place where she’s sleeping. So I probably won’t come here after that.”
Katy’s heart fell. The prince’s monthly visits were a bright spot in her life. “But…surely you could…I-I mean…”
He shook his head. “The magic of the curse will mess with our memories. I don’t know if I’ll remember ever being here, let alone that I had a friend.” Her heart fluttered. His friend? “So promise you’ll remember me. Even if I can’t remember you.”
Katy felt tears burning in the corners of her eyes as she watched the sorrow on his face. Surely one miller’s daughter couldn’t mean that much to him? “How could I ever forget you?” she replied, her voice barely a whisper past the lump in her throat. “Not even magic could do that.”
“Thank you, Katy,” he said softly.
Then he turned and walked away down the hedge. Katy watched his back for a few moments longer, then headed to the gate where her cousin awaited her.
Magic could do many things. But nothing could erase Prince Axel from her memory.
~
Katy shot upright. Panting, she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and gripping the sides of her head with her hands. It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be!
“It was him all along,” she murmured. Her fingers dug into her hair as she tried not to panic. “No wonder he seemed so familiar. But how could I have forgotten?”
Rolling onto his side, Axel patted a hand toward her. “Katy? Is everything all right?” he asked sleepily.
“You were the young noble,” she managed, fighting down the frantic feelings. “My friend who suddenly stopped coming to Flussendorf.”
“I believe we have established that I’m not a noble.” The hint of a grin colored his voice, but her breathing sped up as the full weight of realization settled on her.
“I can’t believe we didn’t see it before. Flussendorf is the village you couldn’t remember. Reineggburg is the castle where Helena lived. It was you this whole time!”
The last shred of hope that her rash bargain had been about someone else blew away. She had known the prince when she was eleven years old. Not just known but been friends with. Good friends.
The red-haired stranger had been telling the truth.