Heir of Amber and Fire Read online

  I did as she instructed. Taryn bundled up the dress and shoes tighter and started across the grounds. I did my best to keep up with her pace, but with the laden pack on my back, and in such an awkward position, I found myself hunching over with an uneven stride.

  We kept to the shadows, moving as silently as we could. Well, Taryn moved silently. I was sure the entire palace guard could hear me stomping across the grass and gravel. But, even with my less-than-princess grace, we miraculously made it to the edge of the palace grounds. Beyond would be the path to town and freedom.

  Just when I thought we were free and clear, a voice to our right commanded, “Stop.”

  Chapter Five

  I FROZE, MY HEART POUNDING. This was it. We were caught. Taryn would be sacked, or worse, thrown into the dungeon. I would be returned to the palace, locked in my room until the wedding. I would be married to that hateful Prince Anders and —

  Taryn calmly turned to the guard who now blocked our way. “Evening, sir,” she said politely.

  “State your business,” the guard said.

  “We’re ladies-in-waiting to Princess Jennica,” Taryn said. “We’re going into town to bring this — ” she indicated the bundle in her arms “ — to the seamstress Kellen to be fixed.”

  “Now? At this time of night?” the guard eyed us suspiciously.

  Taryn sighed, putting just the right touch of long-suffering servant into her voice. “Unfortunately, yes. It’s her intended’s favorite dress, and he wants her to wear it again tomorrow night. So she told us to have it fixed immediately. But it’s beyond my simple skill, which is why I have to go into town and bother poor Kellen for her services. Kellen will grumble, but at least the king will pay double the usual amount for her trouble.”

  “Royalty!” the guard said, clicking his tongue in sympathy.

  “Don’t I know it!” Taryn agreed. She and the guard chuckled in mutual understanding.

  I didn’t know what I was more curious about — Taryn’s skill in charming the guard, or if all those in our employ gossiped about us in such unfavorable terms, and how often.

  “Go on, then,” the guard said, shooing us away. “Good luck with your errand.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Taryn said. We hurried away.

  When we were safely on the road to the town with no one around to hear us, I said, “Taryn, I am impressed! I had no idea you were so skilled at prevaricating.”

  “The best lies have a bit of truth in them,” she said with a shrug.

  “It does make me wonder... have you ever used that skill on me?”

  Taryn laughed. “I don’t think there’s a good way for me to answer that,” she chided me. “If I say no, you may still wonder if I’m telling the truth. If I say yes, then you’ll lose sleep worrying which of my words it was.”

  She was right, but it didn’t dampen my curiosity. “All right, then, if you won’t tell me that... do all servants gossip about the royal family the way you and the guard did just now?”

  Taryn didn’t answer right away. I suppose it was a naive question. Of course servants would gossip about us, just as we royals gossiped about the people in our lives. But I had never thought about it much. Our servants were people, of course, but... they were just servants. I never thought of them having lives and thoughts and feelings of their own.

  “Your Highness, it’s always been a pleasure to serve you,” Taryn finally answered. “And although I am your lady-in-waiting, I also consider you my friend, even though we’ve never addressed it directly. I would hope you consider me yours.”

  “Of course, Taryn! You’ve done more for me tonight than some of the nobles I’ve grown up with.”

  “Anything I’ve ever said about you to others has only been the highest praise. But, yes, people talk. And sometimes, it’s the invisible people who know the most.”

  I mulled over her words as we continued our walk to town.

  Chapter Six

  WE MADE IT TO THE TOWN without any other trouble. The house of Taryn’s older brother, Rufan, was mostly dark, with one lone candle shining in the window. When Taryn knocked quietly on the door, it opened immediately. We slipped inside and the door closed behind us. In the darkness, I heard a bar fall into place on the door, shutting us in completely.

  The candle from the window moved, appearing in the hand of a tall, muscular man. It illuminated Rufan’s drawn face. He put a finger to his lips and pointed upstairs, indicating we should all speak quietly.

  “We thought you weren’t coming,” he told his sister. “When you didn’t make it in time for dinner, we assumed you were caught up at the palace and weren’t going to be able to visit tonight.”

  She reached up and gave him a quick hug. “I’m sorry,” she said. “We had some delays trying to leave the palace.”

  “We?”

  Taryn stepped to the side, revealing me behind her. Rufan gasped, then bowed low. Abashed, he said, “Forgive me, Your Highness, for not greeting you properly. Welcome to our humble home. We are honored by your presence. Let me wake up my wife, and we’ll prepare — ”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said, waving away his offer of hospitality. “These are strange circumstances.”

  “Circumstances, Your Highness?” Rufan looked from me to his sister uncertainly.

  “Rufan, I’m so sorry to put you in this position, but we need a place to stay for the night,” Taryn explained.

  “The palace is not sufficient?”

  “Let’s just say, the less questions you ask, the better it will be,” Taryn said.

  Rufan looked troubled, but nodded slowly. “I trust you, sister. Were you followed?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Good.” He gestured down the darkened hallway. “Come, then, and make yourself comfortable, Your Highness.”

  He held the candle higher and led us farther into the house, where he lit a small lamp and blew out the candle.

  As we followed, I commented to Taryn, “I daresay, once I left the palace, I’m no longer a princess.”

  “You’ll always be a princess,” Taryn said, warmly. “But in a sense, you’re right. It would be dangerous for you to be addressed or treated as such from here on out.”

  Yet another odd thing to get used to, but I would have to adapt. No time like the present.

  “Then I guess I’m just Jennica now,” I said, a bit sadly. “No more Your Highness or Princess.”

  “Begging your pardon, Your Highness,” Taryn said. “But you might want to use a different name. Your given name is too recognizable, and it would be sure to get back to King Hendon if you used it.”

  “Good point, Taryn.” I thought a minute. “What about Allayne? Since it’s one of my middle names, I’ll still answer to it.”

  Taryn nodded her approval. “It’s a little old-fashioned, but much more commonly used than Jennica is.”

  Rufan chimed in, “A baby girl born two weeks ago here in town was actually named Allayne. Her parents had always admired the stories.”

  “Perfect, then. Allayne it is.” I felt a twinge at having yet another part of my normal life stripped away. But at the same time, being able to choose my own name felt strangely exhilarating. Like Princess Jennica was one person, and Allayne was someone else. And Allayne could be anyone she wanted to be.

  Rufan’s small lamp spilled light across a wooden table in a modest kitchen, where the lone window had curtains drawn against the night. I was grateful for the imposed darkness of the kitchen; it would be harder to see any lights here in the back of the house.

  “Are you hungry, Prin... Allayne?” Rufan asked me.

  I hadn’t eaten much at dinner, which felt like a lifetime ago. I was also parched after the adrenaline-filled flight from the castle. I was suddenly acutely aware of just how empty my stomach was.

  “If it’s no trouble,” I told my host.

  “Not at all,” he said, carefully opening a cupboard. He reached in and grabbed something, quietly closed the cupboard,
and then placed the items on the table in front of me. A sliver of cheese and a slice of bread.

  “I’m sorry it’s not much,” Rufan said apologetically.

  I was already tearing into the cheese. “No, this is wonderful,” I said, trying not to talk with my mouth full.

  Rufan poured some water from a pitcher into two glasses and handed one each to Taryn and me. For a few moments the little kitchen was filled with a small pool of light and the sounds of two people drinking and munching.

  “How are Patrice and the girls?” Taryn asked Rufan after she had put her glass down.

  “They’re well,” Rufan said. “Now that the girls are both school-age and gone for most of the day, Patrice has a lot more energy. Until the girls come home, of course.”

  Taryn smiled at that. To me, she said, “My nieces are sweet, but a handful. The youngest just started school this year and loves it. Feels like she’s a big girl ‘just like her older sister.’ And the older one is level — what? Three? Four?”

  “Level Four,” Rufan confirmed.

  “Oh, that’s lovely,” I said politely. “I look forward to meeting them.”

  Rufan and Taryn exchanged a look with each other. “Not to be rude, Your... Miss... Allayne. It’s probably best if you don’t. My girls are very excitable. If they met someone new, they’d be liable to gossip about it with their friends.”

  Instantly, I understood his hesitation. I was increasingly becoming aware of the danger I was in. As Taryn had mentioned, people — no matter their age or station — liked to talk. I would have to take extra care not to give myself away by accident, or my true identity would easily get back to King Hendon.

  Rufan looked apprehensive. Lack of titles or not, I was still the princess and could enforce my will upon him.

  “I understand,” I told him. He visibly relaxed.

  “My wife takes the girls to school early in the morning,” he said. “After they leave, then it would be safe for you to leave your room.”

  “Look on the bright side, Allayne,” Taryn said, winking at me as she emphasized my new name. “At least we get to sleep in tomorrow.”

  Chapter Seven

  EVEN WITHOUT RUFAN’S warning to avoid running into his family, I was exhausted enough from the flight from the castle that I slept in quite easily the next day. When I opened my eyes, Taryn was already up and moving about.

  “My sister-in-law and nieces have already left,” she told me. “I’ll head downstairs to find Rufan. Join us when you’ve gotten dressed.”

  “Dressed?” I repeated in dismay.

  Taryn pointed at the bag. “There’s an extra change of clothes in there, if you like, or you can just wear what you wore yesterday.”

  Those clothes were piled in a heap on a side table.

  “But Taryn, I...” It seemed embarrassing to say that at nineteen, I required aid to dress myself. But it was the unfortunate truth.

  She smiled at me sympathetically. “I know, Princess.” She picked up my dress from the table and turned it front and back, showing off the simple pullover design. “When I packed your bag I took that into account. I actually gave you some of my clothes. It will be easier for you to put them on, and they won’t attract as much attention as yours would have.”

  I laughed. It was my first real laugh in what felt like forever, and it felt good. “Taryn, I can’t wear your clothes! I’m the wrong size!” Taryn was several inches taller than me.

  She laughed with me. “You already did,” she said, indicating last night’s outfit. “Just belt up the dress if it’s too long. When you have some extra time, you can hem up the dresses properly. I’ve included some needles and thread in the pack for you.”

  “Sew?” I said it with such incredulity it caused Taryn to laugh again, this time a bit sympathetically.

  “I’m afraid so,” Taryn said. “At least all those embroidery projects will finally come in handy.”

  I made a face, even while laughing with her. Needlepoint was one of my least favorite activities, as several sad tapestries in the palace could attest. At least all of my fruitless hours would now serve some practical purpose.

  Taryn went downstairs, leaving me with the task of getting ready. I pulled the blue dress over my head and belted it up. Instead of fashionably hanging over the belt like it had last night, I somehow got the fabric tangled in the belt and created a pillowy second stomach for myself. Dreadful. My hair was even worse. Rummaging through the pack, I found the comb Taryn had mentioned and ran it through my tangled hair. I attempted to braid it, but that was dreadful too. I settled for pulling it up in a ribbon and added to my mental list: Learn to hem a dress. Learn to braid my hair. Learn to belt my dress properly.

  Stuffing the comb back in the bag, I grabbed it and tidied the room as best I could. Since I didn’t normally — make that, ever — tidy my room back home, I sort of arranged the pillows and pulled the blankets over the bed and hoped that looked good enough. I wanted to be a good guest and was very conscious of my failings.

  I found Rufan and Taryn in the kitchen, looking over a map. There was a cheerful fire burning in the hearth, and in the middle of it was —

  “My red dress! My shoes!” I cried, dropping the pack on the floor and rushing over to the fire. I reached out, as if to grab my clothing back from the fire, and then pulled back. My dress and shoes were beyond saving.

  “It would be better if I didn’t bring them back to the palace,” Taryn said. Getting a good look at me, she smiled and shook her head. Standing, she came over to me where I was still staring in shock at my burning finery in Rufan’s hearth.

  She deftly adjusted my outfit so I looked more presentable. “Hopefully that guard won’t remember us, but if he does, seeing me bring your dress back will just trigger his memory. And we don’t want to do that.”

  Seeing the flames lick at the remnants of my beautiful dress really reminded me that I was leaving my old life behind. I saw the sense in what Taryn was saying, but it still made me sad.

  “Prin... I mean, Allayne,” Rufan said gently. “Why don’t you eat breakfast and then take a look at this map with us? I think it will help you in your travels.”

  Numbly, I padded over to the table and sat down, putting the fire with my former dress at my back. Rufan put a plate of food in front of me as Taryn took her place at the table again. I grabbed the bread and a liberal amount of butter, until I caught Taryn’s look of horror. Embarrassed, I tried to subtly scrape some of the butter off my knife so I was taking a smaller amount. Rufan was honoring me by putting butter on the table. I had forgotten that things like butter, which would have been considered a commonplace staple at the palace, would be expensive for non-nobility.

  My gaffe went unnoticed by Rufan, who was studying the map intently.

  “My sister has told me a bit about your search,” he said. “Here is the kingdom of Calia.” He pointed out our country in the northern part of the map. “Dragons typically live in the south, unless they’re ice dragons, but those are rare.”

  “My mother told me to go south to find a dragon named Joichan,” I said. “But that’s rather vague, and a lot of ground to cover. She suggested I find Kye of Orchwell.”

  “That makes sense,” Rufan said. “Orchwell is known as the Land of Seekers.”

  “Seekers?”

  “Yes. Everyone in Orchwell, from the poorest beggar on the street to the nobles in their fancy houses, possesses an innate ability to find things. They specialize, of course; and sometimes what an Orchwellian is able to find is dictated by bloodline. For example, one of the oldest families in Orchwell is famous for its ability to find missing relatives. It’s not always things or people either; sometimes they can detect the slightest flavor in a glass of wine, the imperfection in a weaving, or the faintest note in a piece of music. It all depends on their distinct talent.”

  “They must be very expensive to hire, if they’re so specially inclined,” I said dubiously.

  “They can be,” Rufa
n said. “Seekers usually get paid a small fee up front, with the rest of their payment given after the job is complete. If the queen recommended this Kye person, then perhaps they’d be willing to help you regardless of payment.”

  “And perhaps knowing that a queen is paying them at the end, they’d be willing to forgo the initial advance fee.” I could only hope.

  As I munched on the rest of my breakfast, Rufan showed me the road I should take to get to Orchwell and pointed out a few places I would find an inn or farmstead along the way. He estimated that it would probably take me about two days, possibly three, to get to Orchwell traveling on foot.

  Now that my course was settled, I turned to Taryn. “What are you going to do back at the palace?” I asked. “How are you going to explain my absence?”

  Taryn said cheerfully, “Since we have a month before your wedding, it might be prudent if the princess was busy preparing for it, don’t you think?”

  I caught her meaning. Wedding tradition for Calian nobles dictated that the bride prepare for the wedding thirty days before the event. Only a close female family member, or in my case as an only child of royalty, my lady-in-waiting, could attend the bride during her preparation month. I sometimes found noble traditions stuffy and pointless, but I blessed this unforeseen advantage.

  “I’d be happy to spend my bridal month in solitude,” I smiled. “But that doesn’t give me much time to find the dragon. And what will you and Mother do when the wedding day arrives and I’m not there?”

  “I’ll discuss it with Queen Melandria. I’m sure she has a plan in mind.” Although Taryn spoke confidently, I could see the worry in her eyes.

  I would have happily stayed in Rufan’s kitchen, clinging to the last remnants of familiarity. But I was also acutely aware of the day passing by, and of the danger I was sending Taryn back into.

  I pushed back from the table and stood. “I suppose I should get going, then.”

  Taryn and Rufan both stood along with me.