CHAPTER 7
Natalya followed Hunter through the crowded streets of the capitol city, Naoham, in awe of her surroundings. She had never seen so many people in one place before. She had thought that the festival at home brought in a lot of people, but it didn’t compare to how packed together they were here. The number that had come to the festival was probably present right this very moment, bustling around this one street corner.
Weylyn slunk about around her feet, obviously unhappy about being in such a crowded place, and Natalya was surprised he had followed them in. Usually, he left them for the forest whenever they reached a town.
She focused her attention on Hunter’s retreating back as she realized she’d unconsciously slowed in her appreciation of the spectacle. As they came around a bend, he suddenly halted and rapped on a door. Natalya’s gaze was drawn up towards the sign which read, ‘The Woodsman’s Children’. Odd. She thought Hunter had said his uncle was a merchant.
The door opened and several young children immediately surrounded them, asking questions. Weylyn was similarly surrounded, but unlike his tense demeanor towards the people on the streets, he seemed to be at ease with the kids descending on him. In fact, he seemed to relish their attention. Soon, he disappeared farther into the rooms with children climbing all over him.
When Hunter was finally able to get a word in edgewise to the ones that remained that he was Charles’ nephew, several of them went scurrying off to fetch him.
“Ho there, Hunter!” said a gruff-looking man, emerging from the center of the house and surrounded by yet more swarming children. “How went the sellin’?” He held out a hand to Hunter who took it and pulled the older man close for a one-armed hug.
“Your blades are extremely popular, Uncle. I don’t know how you got your hands on such fine merchandise.”
“I knows people,” Charles answered, putting a finger next to his nose and tapping it. “Besides, I gots to find some way to keep the money flowin’, there’s lotsa mouths to feed.”
“Who are all these children?” Natalya asked, looking around in dismay.
Charles laughed heartily. “These are my charges. Ever since I decided I was too old to go lolly-gagging ‘round the country-side anymore, I decided I needed me some company. There were far too many children left with no’on else after King Nathair’s draft for the war, so the Queen asked if I would trouble myself to oversee a children’s home. I got to name it myself,” he added proudly.
“The Queen asked you?” Natalya squeaked, remembering what Hunter had said about him being the Charles from the stories, and all the questions she had for him popped back into her head. Hunter interrupted her before she could voice any, however, and she gave him an annoyed look.
“We’ve heard that the King and Queen have fallen ill, is that true?”
“Aye,” Charles nodded, “somethings awry with them anywho, though I’m not exactly sure what it is.”
“So the Queen’s still not able to speak with her subjects?” Natalya asked dejectedly.
Charles gave her an appraising look. “Why do you need to do that?”
“One of the Knights took my sister and said it was because the Queen was collecting talents, but I have a feeling that there’s something wrong with her and no one else in any of the towns we’ve been in have heard about that particular new policy.”
“Neither have I,” Charles said, lifting a brow, “And that don’t sound much like Layna.” He chewed on his cheek in thought. “You should talk to Amelia,” he told her finally, nodding his head slightly.
“Who’s Amelia?”
“She’s technically the Head of the Household for the royals, but she acts as a personal advisor to Layna as well. She’s been a part of the royal staff fer ages and was close to Layna’s biological parents. You’ll get a real answer outta her, not like the propaganda that Lord Telvani is spreadin’. I never trusted ‘im.” He narrowed his eyes. “Somethin’ fishy going on if you ask me, but no one ever does.”
“How would I talk to Amelia?”
“Best way’d be to go in through the servant quarters. Since the King and Queen went ill, Telvani moved the staff to the old palace here in the city. I can get one of the children to bring you in, we’re always makin’ deliveries so it’ll be no problem. You goin’ with her?” he directed the last part towards Hunter.
He looked undecided for a moment, but finally answered affirmatively.
“Well, then. Let’s get our business conducted and I’ll getcha all set up. ‘Fraid you’ll have to take care o’ yerselfs for the evening as I have a prior engagement so it’ll be a good time to see her anyways. I’ll meet up with you on the morrow and we’ll do some proper catchin’-up.”
They brought the cart around to the back of the building and Natalya helped unload the wares, which was a much lighter load than she had seen displayed in Hardonia. Obviously he had been very successful. The two of them talked shop for a while and Natalya entertained herself by watching the passers-by. She tried to ask Charles questions several times, but every time she did so, Hunter would interrupt with something about the business before she had a chance to get it fully out.
When they had wrapped up their deal Natalya closed in, hoping to be able to hear some of the stories, but yet again Hunter cut her off. Before she knew it they were headed towards the palace following behind a young boy. As soon as they were on their way, she forgot about Charles with the prospect of going to the palace and speaking to someone who worked with the Queen and who might have some answers as to where Alina had been taken.
When they reached the quarters that their guide informed them was Amelia’s, they knocked on the door gently. A woman’s voice called out from within that she would be just a moment and, as promised, moments later the door opened.
Amelia was a kind-looking old woman with beautiful silver hair adorned with white streaks and a permanent smile upon her face. She greeted the young boy warmly before turning her attention to the two of them. The woman had perfect manners.
“Now, to what do I owe the pleasure?” she asked, ushering them inside and onto a plush couch there.
Before either of them could answer, there was a commotion outside the room and Amelia looked up in alarm. “Quickly,” she said, standing and motioning for them to do the same, “Hide back here and don’t make a noise.” She held open a curtain next to the window which revealed a secret area beyond. They hurriedly obliged, though confused, and stood silently in the dark. A cacophony of clattering metal against metal drew closer.
The door banged open and many metal-clad feet clanged into the room.
“Lord Telvani,” Amelia stated calmly.
“Amelia, you are under arrest for treason.”
Natalya bit back a gasp.
“What act have I committed that has been treason, my lord?”
“I received news today that you snuck past the guards and went into the King and Queen’s chamber with intent to harm them.”
Natalya pulled on the back of Hunter’s shirt, and she vaguely saw the outline of his head shaking warningly at her. She itched to do something, but his body was between her and the opening, and she didn’t know what she could do anyway.
“I would do no such thing and you know it!” she protested and started to say more, but her voice was suddenly muffled as she was dragged away.
They waited until the last sounds of the procession were far down the hallways before emerging from the secret place. The young boy looked up at them with wide eyes.
“We should get out of here,” he whispered. He led the way quickly out the back and as soon as they got back to Charles’ place he disappeared among the multitude of children.
“What was that?” Natalya exclaimed to Hunter.
“I don’t know,” Hunter replied, looking pensive.
“You don’t think she really tried to hurt them do you?”
“No…” Hunter answered after a moment, “I think
that there is something going on here.”
“What?”
“I don’t know that either. Let’s unpack and think about it for a while, maybe when Charles gets back he’ll have some advice.”
They made themselves at home in the guest quarters they had each been shown to earlier. Once they were settled in, Natalya joined Hunter in his room.
She plopped herself down onto his bed and kicked her feet up behind her, resting her chin on her hands. “How am I going to find my sister now?” she pouted.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said slowly, “that we really should still talk to her while we can.”
“Who, my sister? If I knew where she was to talk to her, I wouldn’t be looking for her.”
“No,” Hunter paused to give her an annoyed look, “Amelia.”
“Amelia? What do you mean while we can? She’s been arrested!”
“Details,” Hunter grinned at her and got to his feet, heading towards the door. “Come on.”
She followed him compliantly, wondering what on earth he was up to, into the busy street. “Where are we going?”
“They won’t have had time to transport her anywhere this afternoon, so there’s only one prison in the city she could be in.”
“So, what?” she asked, “We’re just going to waltz into prison to see her?”
“Getting in to the prison won’t be the hard part,” Hunter commented as he blatantly snatched a necklace off a vendor’s cart as they passed. It was in full view of a guardsman who assumed a look of affronted astonishment. Natalya’s eyes widened in surprise as Hunter grabbed her hand and started running, with the guard shouting for them to stop and closing in at an alarming rate.
“Oof!” exclaimed Natalya as the man’s much large bulk crashed into her and her lungs compressed painfully as he used his mass to detain her. Hunter slowed his own gait, as though reluctant to leave her, and another guard leapt out of nowhere to take him down.
The whole upheaval lasted under a minute and Natalya had a moment’s appreciation for the efficiency of the guards. Unfortunately, they were efficiently putting her into jail. She gave Hunter a withering look, but he just grinned wolfishly back at her.
They marched the two of them through the streets towards the palace and Natalya caught sight of many a nasty look thrown her way. As they reached the tower that served as the entrance to the prison, it took several minutes to catalogue them into the system of criminals and they were led down into the cells below while they were processed. They were paraded through the massive cellar of miscreants, several of whom hooted and hollered at her as they passed. Natalya was surprised to note that none looked malnourished or mistreated, however.
When the guard had left them unceremoniously in the cell to their own devices, she turned to Hunter. “I hope you have a plan.”
“Always,” he answered, and pulled a metal strip out of his shoe. Though they had been searched on their arrival, seeing as how they were only being detained for an attempted petty theft, they hadn’t been especially thorough. As he gently placed it into the lock, wiggling it around carefully, he continued, “If Amelia knows something that Telvani doesn’t want people finding out about, she won’t be in a cell next to anyone else. Most likely he’s thrown her into one of the cells deepest in that are reserved for people who are never expected to leave. They throw them down into a pit and lower food and water down to them.”
“Lovely,” Natalya commented, watching with interest as he cocked his head to the side and listened to the tumblers of the locking mechanism. “Can a lot of people do that?” she asked, wondering just how secure the place actually was.
“Not many.” He concentrated on the lock for a moment. “Once we get out of here we’re going to have to make sure that no one notices us wandering around. Unfortunately, other than the guards there’s not supposed to be anyone walking around free down here, so we’ll really just have to blend in with the background. The other prisoners will likely be our biggest threat. Especially with them reacting to you the way that they did. Maybe you could go rub some dirt all over your face and mess up your hair a bit?” he said hopefully.
Natalya dreaded rubbing dirt from the inside of a prison cell on her skin, but she did see the reasoning for it. Leaving him to his lock-picking, she forced herself not to think about all the people who had probably bled or urinated, or…stop that! She scraped up a handful from near the corner adjacent to the outside of the cell that looked to be the most fresh and held her nose as she smeared it onto her face. She used a lace from the wrist of her tunic to tie her hair into a pony-tail, tucking it into the collar of her shirt. She added some straw stuffed into her shirt for good measure.
Hunter glanced back at her and did a double-take. “Nice work,” he applauded her.
Natalya was glad she couldn’t see herself in a mirror.
The lock finally clicked, and Hunter slowly swung the door open, stopping as it began to creak. Looking down the hallway, he motioned her out with him. They marched down the passageway with purpose, hoping that the other prisoners would glance up only long enough to see two men who were supposed to be there and not wonder why they weren’t wearing uniforms.
Luck was with them and they crept through the passages to the bowels of the dungeon where the very worst criminals were kept. Here, there was more evidence of suffering, despite the lack of torture or abuse there was still bound to be disease and the effects of lack of sunlight in such a place.
Moaning could be heard in one of the cells and Natalya hated to look, but morbid curiosity drew her gaze into the dark depths of the small room.
“What are you looking at,” rasped a man’s voice before lapsing into a shuddering cough.
“Nothing, I…”
“Just thought you’d stand there and gawk at the prisoners did you? Think you’re better than me just because I was thrown into jail for no good reason, do you?”
“No, I don’t think that, mister...”
“That’s Lord Carlon to you, peasant!”
“Come on,” Hunter urged her, “before his shouting draws attention.” They hurried along farther into the dankness until they came across a room with a slit in the floor, hardly big enough for a person and covered by a grate. They edged their way to it, and peered down in.
“Hello?” Natalya called softly, barely believing that a person could survive such a horrifying environment. There was no answer and Natalya was convinced that they must not have the right cell, either that or the woman was unconscious. “Hello?” she called a little louder, just to be sure.
“Is someone there?” a woman’s voice called, vaguely familiar.
“Yes!” Natalya exclaimed a trifle louder than she had meant to and immediately lowered her voice at Hunter’s reproachful look. “Amelia?”
“Yes,” the answer came hesitantly, untrusting.
“We’re friends,” Hunter assured her, but the woman did not reply. “We’re the ones who had come to see you earlier today.”
Silence.
“We think Telvani’s done something with the King and Queen which is allowing him to do all sorts of horrible things,” Natalya said desperately. She needed this woman to have answers. After all this time searching for her sister to no avail, and to track the answer down into the center of the prison only to be turned away…“They took my sister,” she said, her voice breaking with sadness, “they said it was because the Queen wanted to collect all of the talents near her for the protection of the country, that it was an honor and we should gladly let them tear our family apart.” She spat the last part out bitterly and fell silent, afraid she would break into tears if she said more.
A water drop reached its breaking point above them and fell, making a tiny splashing sound somewhere far below. Natalya sighed and turned away.
“He calls them the Faithful,” the voice said, full of resentment. “They are under no authority of the Queen. In fact, I haven’t even b
een able to see the King or Queen for weeks now. Lord Telvani claims that they’ve been ill and that it’s something contagious that makes it unsafe for any but his mages to see them. But that’s not what’s happening. He’s done something to them. I snuck in and found them, lying in their bed, cold as ice and barely alive. They are under some sort of spell, or they’ve been drugged, or something, I don’t know. I planned to confront Telvani about it publically once I knew more about it, but he must have somehow found out and concocted the story about my trying to hurt them in order to cover up what is really going on.”
“Do you know how he did this to them? Or how to help them? What about the people who were taken, where can we find them?”
“I don’t…” Amelia paused. A pregnant silence filled the air and Natalya could fairly hear the wheels spinning in her head. “But I know someone who might be able to help. Go to Katrina at the old Alamanni house. She is friends with the Queen and now runs a network of informants for her. She’s the one that helped me find out about the Faithful. If anyone can find out what’s going on, it’s her. And tell her that I sent you. Here.” Something flew up through the grates in the hole and Hunter’s hand darted out to grab it. He opened it to reveal an insignia ring in his palm. “This way she’ll know it’s true. And tell her what’s become of me. I don’t want her thinking I’m simply avoiding her.” She laughed ruefully and Natalya felt a stab of guilt for being unable to get her out.
Something clattered in the outer hallway, and Hunter jumped to his feet. “We have to go,” he hissed.
Amelia stayed silent. Natalya uncurled herself from the awkward position she had been in to try and see down into the hole, and stood next to Hunter. He looked around and put a finger to his lips, then motioned with his index and middle for them to move out to the left. They raced silently back through the halls and towards the exit, when Hunter suddenly put a restraining arm on her and beckoned her sideways.
Natalya glanced to where he was indicating, and then looked back at him incredulously. He wanted her to go back into the prison cell they had just broken out of? He widened his eyes with a look of ‘come on then’ and she followed him in, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Why are we back in here?” she whispered to him.
“It’s much harder to break out of prison entirely than to break out of one section and go to another. It’ll be better just to wait for them to release us.”
“How do you know they’re going to?”
He just smiled.
Moments later the guard arrived back at the cell and jammed the key into the lock, swearing softly to himself as it stuck for a moment before clicking open. “Out you go,” he ordered them. He did a double-take at Natalya’s dirt-caked face and raised a brow, but refrained from commenting. He marched down the hallway and they obediently followed him into the guardroom.
The vendor from which the necklace had been stolen sat at the table there, face red with anger. The moment they stepped into the room, Hunter assumed a pathetic voice, whining, “I am sooooo sorry that I took the necklace, sir. You see, she dared me that I wouldn’t do it and I let my pride get the better of me,” he blubbered, “I was going to return it later and pay you for it, I swear! I just didn’t want to look bad in front of a girl.” He sent a fearful look over his shoulder at the prison beyond. “But after even that short time in there,” he jerked his head towards the jail, “I will never, ever do something so stupid again.”
Natalya watched in amazement as the vendor’s face slowly returned to a more normal color. He glanced over at her, and she immediately closed her mouth which had dropped open, and nodded soberly.
Hunter gushed, “It is so amazing of you to meet with us here before dragging us off to court,” he turned to the guard who had relieved them of their belongings when they had arrived. “May I see my coin pouch to give this kind gentleman money for the necklace?”
The guard grunted and, at his superior officer’s nod, handed Hunter his pouch. It looked suspiciously lighter than it had when they arrived. Hunter took it gratefully, pretending not to notice the missing coins. He rummaged around and withdrew a handful, dumping it on the table before the vendor with shaking hands. He was quite an actor. The pile of money was a good three times as much as the necklace was worth and the merchant eyed the money greedily.
“Is this enough to make you forgive me?” Hunter pleaded with him. The gleam in the man’s eye and the slight smile playing on his lips revealed that he was more than pleased with the outcome of this unfortunate situation, but he was holding out for more. Hunter pretended to be frantic, as though afraid that he wouldn’t accept it and they would be charged, and he flung a few more coins on the table.
They spun around on their rims in front of the man, and then finally dropped down onto the table. “Well,” drawled the vendor, reaching his meaty hand up to sweep the coins into his own purse, “I suppose I could forgive you this once since you seem so repentant and all, but don’t let me catch you near my cart again, you hear?”
Hunter nodded enthusiastically as though the lesson he had learned today had really hit home, and the vendor smiled, satisfied. “Let them go,” he waved a hand at them dismissively, “hopefully it’ll teach him to know better than to let a woman get him into trouble.”
The guards shrugged and escorted all three back onto the street. The vendor spoke to Hunter with a stern tone of one scolding a child and the pompous attitude of superiority. Hunter nodded and listened attentively, as though lapping up the man’s words. When they were out of hearing of the guards and the merchant had bustled off back to his stall, Natalya turned to Hunter.
“How did you know they would release us?”
“I’m not saying I’ve had experience with your justice system before,” Hunter replied, and took a deep breath before spitting out, “but I’ve had experience with your justice system before. In cases like this they always allow the two parties to mediate to see if they can’t come to an understanding themselves so that the Justice of the Peace doesn’t have to bother themselves with it. And, money speaks louder than words. That vendor just made out with far more than he ever would have gotten selling the necklace. Plus, the hubbub probably attracted more customers just to find out the gossip of what was going on.”
“Hmph,” was Natalya’s only reply. She looked around the foreign streets, not even sure that she would have any idea how to get back to Charles’ anymore. “So any idea where this Alamanni house is?”
“Nope, I’m afraid that’s a question I do not have an answer to.”