“My lady,” Liam said, getting to his feet and setting his hand on the back of her chair.
Annie stood, and together they walked from the hall while the princes watched them in silence.
“We’re supposed to meet Snow White and her father in the small dining hall to hear the guards’ reports,” Liam told Annie, hurrying her down the corridor.
Annie smiled up at Liam and squeezed his hand. “You really told Nasheen!”
“I try to be impartial when I meet people, but I don’t like that man,” said Liam. “He thinks too highly of himself and not enough of the people he should respect.”
“Maybe he’s a good person when he’s not competing for a princess’s hand,” Annie told him.
“Maybe he is,” said Liam. “But I doubt it!”
They entered the small dining hall to find it nearly full. The king and Snow White were there, as were the eight guards who had followed the princes throughout the day.
“I must say, the princes’ stories were very interesting,” declared King Archibald as he turned to Liam.
“If Your Majesty wouldn’t mind, could you tell us about the man Nasheen encountered?” asked Liam.
“I met Fitchfield once, but I’ve heard much about him. He’s a good, honest man, which is why I employ him as a tax collector. Fitchfield is not a bully. I know because I keep an eye out for that kind of thing. He is a large man, so Prince Nasheen was correct when he said that the man is twice his size. Unfortunately, that was the only true thing he said. I’ll have to send one of my men out to make sure Fitchfield is all right.”
“He is, Your Majesty,” said one of the guards. “I was the one who followed Prince Nasheen today, and I can tell you exactly what happened. Nasheen went into the city looking for a fight. He entered a tavern called the Rusty Sword and insulted two men, who left rather than fight him. The way he was dressed, it was obvious he was nobility, and nobody wants to brawl with them, pardon me for saying. Then he went down the street and found Master Fitchfield eating his midday meal at the tavern called the Golden Swan. He was talking to a merchant who had stopped by for a friendly chat. The two men obviously knew each other and were engaged in the kind of ribbing my mates and me give each other all the time. Nasheen purposely misunderstood and hauled Fitchfield out of his chair, drubbed him soundly, and threw him into the street. When the prince started bragging about what he had done, nobody would listen to him, seeing that they all like Fitchfield. The tavern keeper took Fitchfield into a back room to clean him up, but the prince was too busy talking about himself to notice. I checked on your tax collector before I left. The man is going to be fine.”
“Thank you for that,” said the king. “I’ll have the court physician look at him anyway. Now, what about Prince Digby? I haven’t heard of a fire in the city.”
“It wasn’t much of a fire,” said another guard. “Digby went into the Slippery Eel and knocked over a candle. The greasy tabletop caught on fire. When the barmaid started screaming, Digby threw her over his shoulder and ran out of the tavern. The owner of the Slippery Eel slapped the table with his apron until he put out the fire, but by then Digby was gone and didn’t pay his bill.”
“My, how a story can change,” said Snow White.
Captain Sterling nodded to the guard next to him, who cleared his throat and said, “I followed Prince Andreas, and Pelty there followed Prince Milo. They went for a ride in the woods and were taking potshots at squirrels when they came across a lightning-struck tree. They both started talking about dragons then. After that, they rode around some more until they found a small cave.”
“They went inside and were out of sight for about a minute, then they came back out talking about how the dragon must be hiding,” said the guard named Pelty. “After they rode off, I went in the cave. It was about ten feet deep without any openings in the back. There was no way a dragon would have used that cave.”
“Milo and Andreas must have good imaginations,” said Snow White. “What about Tandry?”
“Prince Tandry went hiking in the woods by himself and eventually did find a wild boar,” said the guard who had followed him. “However, he was not well prepared. When he actually stumbled on the boar, he ran at it with a spear. The boar turned on him, and Tandry dropped the spear so he could climb the nearest tree. He stayed in the tree until the boar wandered off, whereupon the prince returned to the city. On the way back, he stopped at a farm and bought a freshly slaughtered pig, which he brought to the castle.”
“So the pork we ate at supper tonight wasn’t wild at all,” said Liam.
“And Tandry lied,” Snow White said, scowling. “That wasn’t just an overactive imagination, like it was with Milo and Andreas.”
“At least we know that Cozwald and Emilio really did have a tournament,” said Annie.
“That’s true,” said Liam. “I caught a glimpse of them jousting in the fields outside the south wall. What can you tell us about that?” he asked the two guards who hadn’t spoken yet.
One of the men tried not to smile when he said, “Just that they competed all afternoon, and neither one is very good.”
“If they were that bad, I think they were brave for trying,” said Snow White.
“And now for Maitland,” said Annie. “I don’t know why he didn’t want to tell what really happened, because he was extraordinarily brave.”
“I couldn’t have opened the door to let Annie and the water out if Maitland hadn’t cut off one of the monster’s heads,” said Liam.
“A monster in my castle!” exclaimed the king.
“What monster?” said Snow White.
“How many heads did it have?” asked one of the guards.
“It was a three-headed monster, Your Majesty,” said Captain Sterling. “It had been put there to guard the door to a room in the lower level of the south tower. We could hear water running behind the door. When we realized that Princess Annabelle and Horace were locked in the room, Maitland and I distracted the monster so that Prince Liam could get past. We both fought the monster, but Maitland was able to get close enough to cut off one of its heads. He is very good with a sword and a fearless fighter. If it’s a brave man you are looking for, Your Highness, he would be an excellent choice. He’s the kind of man I wouldn’t mind having by my side in any battle.”
“Oh my!” said Snow White. “I wish he had told me.”
“Perhaps he’s also a modest man?” Annie suggested.
“Thank you, Captain Sterling,” said King Archibald. “You have been of great service.”
“You’re most welcome, Your Majesty. We were honored to be of assistance,” replied the captain.
“We’re going to need you to follow the princes again tomorrow,” Annie told him.
The guards’ eyes lit up, and they looked at one another and smiled. As Captain Sterling and his men left the room, Liam leaned toward Annie and said, “Apparently they like spying on the princes better than standing around doing nothing.”
The king had already stood, and Liam got up to talk to him.
“Can you blame them when most of the princes are making fools of themselves?” Snow White said to Annie. “I’m glad you thought to send the guards to watch them, Annie, or I might never have learned the truth.”
“And Maitland …,” said Annie.
“I think I know why he didn’t want to talk about what he did,” said Snow White. “He told me that he thinks this is all a game and that I deserve better than this. He says that these princes can’t possibly know me well enough to love me the way he does. He doesn’t like competing with them, but he will because I said he must. He said that he would do his best, but that he wouldn’t want to sing his own praises, because it would make him feel like he was giving the game more value than it warrants.”
“I didn’t know he was so romantic,” said Annie.
“I didn’t, either,” said Snow White. “I think I misjudged him. When he was here before, he seemed so arrogant, and I was furi
ous when I heard what he’d said to his friends.”
“What did he say?” said Annie. “You never did tell me.”
Snow White pursed her lips, and her eyes flicked away, then back to Annie. Her voice was rough when she said, “He told them that marrying me was the solution to his problems. He said that he’d asked around, and not only was I the king’s only child, I was his only living relative. If Maitland married me, he’d get a beautiful wife and his own kingdom to rule. Beldegard could keep Montrose. Helmswood was just as good, and the king was so old and frail that he probably wouldn’t last long. I was furious when I heard him, and it’s taken me a long time to see that it wasn’t the real Maitland talking; it was a young man trying to impress his friends. Now I think the real Maitland is a very different person. I only wish I could look at him without remembering what he said.”
“Are you ready, ladies?” Liam asked from the doorway.
Annie looked up. The king had already gone, and Liam was obviously waiting for them. “Do you think you’ll make up your mind about Maitland soon?” she asked Snow White.
“I hope so,” said Snow White as she started toward the door.
After saying good night to Snow White, Liam escorted Annie to her chamber. “I have a question for you,” she said when they were alone in the corridor. “Why was Maitland with you when you saw Horace and me? Why wasn’t he out looking for some way to show his bravery?”
“Maitland told me that he had tried to think of the thing he feared the most so he could go face it in Snow White’s name. He said that the only thing he could come up with was that Snow White would turn him down after he told her how much he loved her. He’d already decided to go see her and propose again when we saw you and Horace.”
“I’m sorry he missed his chance to propose,” said Annie.
Liam smiled. “Oh, I don’t doubt that he’ll try again.”
Chapter 15
Annie woke the next morning to the sound of flapping wings. She sat up, startled, and looked toward the window. A crow had landed on the ledge and was peering into the room with its little button eyes, tilting its head from one side to the other. When she moved again, it saw her, squawked, and flew away.
It was only a little earlier than Annie normally got up, so she threw back the covers and crawled to the edge of the bed. She shivered when her feet touched the cold floor. Wrapping the robe around herself, she padded to the window and looked out. There were more crows today than there had been the day before. As Annie watched, a group rose from the top of one building and flew to another. She shivered again, but this time it wasn’t from the cold.
Annie wasn’t the only one who was early for breakfast that morning. Snow White and Maitland were standing by the table, talking, but when Annie entered the room, they stepped apart and took their regular seats. Liam and the other princes soon drifted in, and they all seemed to be in good spirits. Even Tandry, who normally seemed distracted, smiled when he saw Snow White.
As soon as the king took his seat, Snow White stood and announced, “We’re going to eat first today. I don’t want any of you running off before you’ve had a good, hearty breakfast.”
Servers began bringing in large bowls of blueberries and cut-up melon, oatcakes and honey, eggs fried in butter, and slices of spiced ham. The princes took great, heaping platefuls and ate without talking, draining their mugs of cider over and over again. When everyone had finished, Snow White stood.
“Today’s test is not a difficult one,” she told them. “All you have to do is show me that you are capable of compassion. I will hear your stories after supper this evening. I hope you all have a good day and find this test easy.”
“Compassion?” said Milo once Snow White and the king had left the room. “I don’t understand. What does she want us to do?”
“I believe the princess wants us to help someone in some way,” said Maitland.
Emilio nodded. “I think she means that we should do good deeds.”
“That’s easy enough,” said Cozwald. “I do those all the time.”
“Then I’ll meet you back here this afternoon, cousin,” said Emilio, “after we’ve done our good deeds for the day.”
“What do you plan to do today?” Annie asked Liam as the others left the room.
“I’m going to spend the day searching for the witches.” He slipped the last oatcake in his pocket, saying, “Dog would like this.”
“There’s something I should have told you before this, but I thought you would tell me not to do it,” said Annie. “It’s just that I was sure it was such a good idea and was bound to work. It didn’t, though, and, well, I think I should tell you about it anyway.… Remember how I went up to all the young women at the ball when I was looking for the girl that the fairy Moonbeam was helping? I’ve tried to do the same thing here to find the witches. I’ve gone up to all the noblewomen as well as the women who work here. Not one of them is a witch.”
“I know,” said Liam. “Horace told me all about it.”
“He did!” Annie exclaimed. “When did he do that?”
“The first day. He had volunteered to follow you to make sure you were safe, so when you and Snow White started approaching the ladies of the court, he told me what you were doing.”
“He’s very good at staying out of sight,” said Annie. “I had no idea he was there. How is he doing now? He didn’t look at all well after we got out of that horrible room with all the water.”
“He’ll be fine. Sterling is making him rest.” Liam grinned at Annie. “You know, you made it much easier on the old fellow when you asked for his help. When you met with the women in that office, I had two men stationed outside the door in case you actually found Queen Marissa. I thought it was more likely that the witches were posing as serving girls, or maids, or even cooks in the kitchen, than women of nobility, and I didn’t want you at the witch’s mercy if you did find one.”
“I never knew,” said Annie, feeling a little foolish. For someone who was trying to find someone who didn’t want to be found, she hadn’t been very observant. “Why are you looking for the witches yourself today? If I couldn’t find them, what makes you think that you can?”
“Because I’m not going to look for women who are living openly in the castle,” Liam said. “I’m going to look for witches hiding in dark corners somewhere out of the way, just as we hunted for the evil fairy before your sister’s sixteenth birthday.”
“Ah!” said Annie. “Do you need my help?”
“Probably, but I have a few things to do first. I’m taking Dog and some guards. We’ll come get you when we’re ready.”
Annie watched as Liam headed for the great hall. His answer had surprised her; she hadn’t expected him to say that she could join him. It had taken a while, but she’d finally realized that he became angry with her because he feared for her safety. Apparently, he was less afraid of facing a horrible monster than he was of seeing something bad happen to her. If he was going to let her join him in his search for the witch, he must have something in mind that he hadn’t told her about.
Annie turned toward the kitchen. She was still determined to talk to the fur-wearing scullery maid, and the kitchen was the only place where she thought she might find her.
The kitchen was a large room with fireplaces and a huge wood-burning oven set into the wall at one end. Located partway below ground level, it was a nest of activity with all the cooks and their helpers scurrying around. While some cleaned up from breakfast, others were already preparing the next meal, washing vegetables, cutting up haunches of meat, and taking round loaves of bread out of the oven.
Annie stood for a moment, looking for the fur-wearing girl. When a cook noticed Annie, she stopped giving orders to her helpers and curtsied. In an instant, everyone else was curtsying as well.
“Your Highness,” said the cook. “How may we help you?”
“I’m looking for one of your scullery maids. The one who wears furs,” said Annie.
The cook looked around until someone piped up, “She left just a minute ago to fetch more eggs for the cake.”
“She’s gone outside,” said the cook.
“Thank you,” Annie replied, and started toward the door.
Everyone watched in silence as Annie walked the length of the kitchen. She was closing the door behind her when she heard someone say, “Now, what do you suppose a princess wants with the likes of Hey You?”
Annie stood just inside the door, not sure if she really wanted to step outside. Liam had been adamant that she stay indoors, and she did think that the crows were waiting for their chance to come after her. She was holding the door open a crack when she saw a figure moving between the outbuildings. Certain that she might not have another opportunity to talk to the girl, she pushed the door back and hurried across the open space. When she saw the girl enter a long, low building filled with clucking, rustling chickens, Annie followed her inside. She was about to call out when a rooster burst from a group of hens and rushed toward her.
“Grab the broom!” shouted the scullery maid. “Whack him with it if he gets close!”
Annie looked around. Spotting an old broom leaning against the wall, she grabbed it and held it with both hands. When the rooster launched himself from the dirt floor with his spurred legs aimed at her, she swatted the broom at him, knocking him to the side.
“Good one!” shouted the scullery maid as the rooster landed on the ground with a squawk. “I couldn’t have done better myself! Hold on to that for now. He may come back.”
Annie and the bird watched each other warily as he righted himself. Chickens pecked and scratched at the ground, crowding around her feet.
“Did you come here for a reason or just to see the birds?” asked the scullery maid.
“I came to see you, actually,” said Annie.
Now it was the girl’s turn to look wary. She held her basket in front of herself in a protective gesture and said, “Why? What do you want?”