The carriage had rumbled a few more miles down the road when Liam rode up to the window. “Did I hear you right? Did you invite the fairies to the coronation?”
Annie nodded. “I think we’re going to have to invite the fairies to all our big events,” she told him. “It’s going to be the only way to stay on their good side.”
“Do you mean all the fairies from Treecrest and Dorinocco?” asked Liam.
“Every one!” Annie replied, laughing when she saw the look on his face.
They stopped to water the horses at a stream a few hours later. Clarence jumped out of the carriage as soon as a guard opened the door. He was inching away from the group when Annie noticed. “You might want to tell the guards to keep a better watch over your brother. He looks as if he’s going to try to sneak away.”
Liam glanced at Clarence and nodded. “Good idea,” he said. “I don’t want to have to scour the woods looking for him when time is so important. Guards! Two of you have to watch my brother every time he steps out of the carriage. He looks as if he’s about to go for a stroll.”
The guards all turned toward Clarence. Two of them took up posts on either side of him and hustled him back to the carriage. He was scowling when they forced him inside.
It was late afternoon when they stopped again. The guards were extra vigilant around Clarence, following him even when he went to use the bushes. This annoyed him so much that he stomped back, refusing the water that Annie offered to him. “What do they think I’m going to do, run off into the trees and meet up with my cronies who just happen to be waiting here in the middle of nowhere? Can’t a man have a little privacy?”
“People we trust get privacy,” Liam told him. “You don’t deserve our trust.”
They left the forest soon after that. A narrow bridge took them over the River Gargle and into the kingdom of Shimshee. Only a few miles from Kenless, one of the horses threw a shoe. They stopped in the closest town and were fortunate enough to find a blacksmith. “We might as well have supper while we’re here,” Liam told Annie through the window when he spotted an inn across the street.
“I hope they have something other than dried fish and sausage. There wasn’t enough sausage and the fish was oily. I could scarcely finish mine,” said Clarence.
Annie glanced at Millie and Audun. Clarence had taken part of their food and was complaining about it. They were probably hungrier than he was, but hadn’t said a word about it. The more she got to know Millie and Audun, the more she liked them.
The inn was nearly full when they entered, but the innkeeper seemed happy to move some tables and chairs around when he saw the guards’ livery. Millie and Audun were delighted with the fresh salmon served at the inn, and even Annie found it too tempting to turn down. They had almost finished their meal when a guard walked into the inn, looking for them. “The blacksmith replaced the shoe, Your Highness,” he told Liam. “We’re ready to go when you are.”
Everyone else stood up, but Clarence just helped himself to more bread. “You don’t want me to waste away, do you?” he asked when he saw everyone looking at him.
Liam sighed and stepped outside with the guard. When he came back in, Clarence was finally ready to go. They were walking out the door when Liam took Annie aside. “I told you that I sent some men ahead to Kenless to locate a ship. We’ll board as soon as we reach the city. It will be faster and we’re less likely to lose Clarence that way.”
“Good thinking,” said Annie. When he went off to tell the others, Annie noticed that Clarence was talking to a barmaid while his guards listened to Liam. He handed the young woman something, which she looked at and pocketed before hurrying away. Annie assumed that Clarence had ordered food for the road.
When they were finally climbing into the carriage again, Clarence held back. “What is your brother doing now?” Annie asked Liam.
“I don’t know!” Liam said, sounding irritated. “Guards, I think my brother needs to get in the carriage first.”
Clarence balked, but got in the carriage when the guards made him. After everyone else had piled in, they started to drive away. “Hey!” a man shouted.
Annie looked out the window when the carriage stopped. A hostler leading a horse ducked his head in respect before walking up to Liam just outside Annie’s window. “What should I do with the horse?” the man asked.
“What are you talking about?” asked Liam.
“The horse that man just bought,” the hostler said, holding up some coins. “He gave Betha money to buy a horse and bring it to him here. Doesn’t he want the horse?”
Liam laughed and shook his head. “Not anymore!”
The man looked confused. “Then what should I do with it?”
“Keep it!” said Liam, and waved for the carriage to go on.
Annie turned to look at Clarence. “You never give up, do you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. Settling back in his seat, he closed his eyes and pretended to go to sleep.
Annie sighed and shook her head. Traveling with Clarence made everything a challenge.
CHAPTER 6
Annie could smell the ocean before she could see it. A breeze carried the tang of the salt air over the hills that surrounded Kenless, making her sit up in her seat and peer out the window. Her anticipation grew as they drew closer, and it seemed to take forever for the carriage to go up and over the last hill.
It was dusk when they reached the wall surrounding Kenless. The men that Liam had sent ahead were waiting at the gate.
“We’ve booked a ship, Your Highness,” one of the men told Liam. “We can board the Sallie Mae at any time, but Prince Digby found out that you were coming to town and wants to see you and Princess Annie.”
Liam grimaced. “I was hoping to leave as soon as possible. Ah, well, it’s only common courtesy to see him when we’re in his city. Are those men here to escort us to the castle?”
When Liam indicated a group of men in the livery of Shimshee’s royal family, the guard replied, “They’re waiting for you, but not to take you to the castle. Prince Digby is in the Rusty Nail. It’s that tavern on the corner.”
“It looks fairly disreputable,” said Liam. “I’m not sure I want to take Princess Annie there.”
“That’s the thing, Your Highness,” said the guard. “Prince Digby insisted that Annie has to come see him, too.”
“I’ll go if it will get us to the ship faster,” Annie told Liam.
“Are you on good terms with this Digby?” asked Audun. “Could this be some sort of trap?”
“I wouldn’t call our relationship good,” said Annie. “We never did like each other and we still don’t. I suppose it didn’t help that he used to be engaged to my sister, but I brought another prince named Beldegard to see her and he turned out to be her true love. And then I helped my friend Snow White find her true love, and that wasn’t Digby, either.”
“Do you think he might mean you harm?” Millie asked.
Annie shrugged. “I doubt it, although I suppose it’s possible.”
“Then we’re going, too,” Millie told her.
When Liam nodded, the carriage rolled through the gates and stopped in front of the tavern. Annie got out with Millie and Audun close behind. Clarence scrambled out after them and was the first to enter the tavern.
“Help me!” he cried when he saw Digby seated at a table. “I’m being abducted!”
“Be quiet, Clarence,” said Liam. “No one is abducting you. I’m banishing you. There’s a big difference. Guard, please escort my brother back to the carriage. You may gag him if you have to, but keep him quiet.”
When a guard laid his hand on Clarence’s shoulder, the prince shrugged him off and stepped aside, tripping over the leg of a chair so he landed at the innkeeper’s feet. The innkeeper gave him a hand up. Annie could have sworn she saw a look pass between them, and thought they held on to each other just a little too long. Annie was about to say something, but then Clare
nce turned and let the guards hustle him to the carriage without complaint.
“Liam! Annie! I was surprised to hear that you were back from your grand tour so soon,” Digby said, raising a tankard to them. “Is married life really that bad?”
“It looks as if he’s been drinking for a while,” Liam whispered to Annie.
Annie nodded and took Liam’s hand. “Married life is lovely,” she told Digby.
Prince Digby raised the tankard to his lips and chugged the contents. Slamming it on the table, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and said, “Good to hear it! That’s why I wanted to see you. Marriage! I want a wife and I want you to help me.”
“I don’t understand,” said Annie. “What do you expect me to do?”
“Find me the love of my life!” said Digby as a barmaid filled his tankard again. “My father ordered me to get married and settle down, but so far no woman will have me.”
“I don’t know how I’d—” Annie began.
“You helped Gwendolyn and Snow White. It’s time you did the same for me!” Digby said. He leaned toward the table as he reached for his tankard. Instead of picking it up, however, he laid his arm on the sticky tabletop, and then laid his head on his arm. A moment later, he began to snore.
“That was faster than I was afraid it might be,” Liam said, ushering his wife and friends out of the tavern.
“I’ve never seen a prince act that way before,” Millie said as she took her seat in the carriage. “Do princes in this part of the world do that kind of thing often?”
“Only Digby, as far as I know,” said Annie.
“What do you mean by ‘this part of the world’?” asked Clarence.
“Why aren’t you gagged?” Audun asked him.
“Because I promised to keep my mouth shut, and a guard kept a dagger at my throat until you came out, that’s why,” said Clarence. “Now you answer my question. What do you mean by ‘this part of the world’? Where are you from exactly?”
“A kingdom called Greater Greensward,” Millie said as the carriage started to move. “It’s so far away that I’m sure you’ve never heard of it.”
“Huh,” Clarence said as he leaned back in his seat. “I bet you just made that name up!”
The sun started to set as they passed through the warren of narrow streets on their way to the docks. It was nearly dark when they left the carriage and climbed up the ramp to the deck of the Sallie Mae. The first thing Annie noticed was the scent of freshly cut wood, turpentine, and tar. When she tilted her head back to look up, she thought that the masts seemed to disappear into the night sky, and that the furled sails were so white, they almost seemed to glow. Although it was too dark for her to see much else, she guessed that the ship was fairly new; she couldn’t wait to get a better look at it in the morning.
While Liam and Clarence talked to the captain, Annie, Millie, and Audun followed a young sailor to their cabins. He opened a door for Millie and Audun first, ushering them into a snug cabin with a bunk bed.
“Good night,” Millie said, yawning. “I’m going straight to bed. I’m so tired, I can barely keep my eyes open.”
“But you slept all day in the carriage,” said her husband.
“I know, and it was exhausting!” Millie said with a laugh. “Any idea when we’ll set sail?”
“The captain said we’d go at first light,” Annie told her. “Have you ever been on a ship before?”
Millie shook her head. “Never! I’m so excited!” she said, and yawned again.
“Good night!” Annie told her friends, and turned to follow the sailor.
Her cabin was just a few more doors down a short corridor. The sailor opened the door and stepped aside to let her go in first. Two of Liam’s guards followed her into the cabin, bringing the baggage that she and Liam had packed. It was a large cabin with a big bed on one side and a desk on the other. Annie hadn’t expected it to be so nice, but then she heard the sailor tell the guards, “The captain’s never given up his cabin for anyone before, but then, this is the first time we’ve had royalty on board.”
Minutes after the sailor and the guards left, Liam stepped into the cabin. He looked around, saying, “It will do. I wanted to tell you that our guards won’t be traveling with us. The captain says that there isn’t room on the ship, so they’ll wait for our return here in Kenless.”
Annie shrugged. “We’ve traveled without guards before. Is everything settled with the captain? Did Clarence tell him where to go?”
“They were looking at charts when I left them. I think that—”
There was a knock on the door and a tentative voice called, “Your Highness?”
“Yes, what is it?” Liam called back.
“Pardon me, Your Highness,” the sailor replied. “Captain Riley respectfully requests your presence on deck.”
Liam sighed. “This is turning into a very long day. I’ll be right back, my darling,” he said, and gave Annie a quick kiss.
He was heading toward the door when she announced, “I’m going with you,” and hurried after him.
Annie and Liam found the captain on deck, arguing with Clarence. “Prince Clarence isn’t cooperating,” the captain said when he saw them. “You said that he would tell me where we’re going, but he refuses to tell me much of anything. We can’t leave port until I know which heading to take.”
“I told you to head west,” Clarence declared. “I’ll tell you when to change course. I’m going to bed. I’ll see you all in the morning. Not too early, though. I need my rest.”
The captain shook his head as Clarence started for the stairs. “I’ve never taken my ship anywhere that I couldn’t find on a chart before we set sail. The prince mentioned a place called Skull Cove, but I can’t find it on any of my charts or maps. Are you sure this place exists?”
“I sincerely hope so,” said Annie. “The lives of my father and my uncle depend on it.”
When Annie woke, she realized that the movement of the ship was different than it had been the night before. It wasn’t just rolling with the waves now; it was actually moving forward. Seeing that Liam had already left the cabin, she washed and got dressed, then hurried after him. She found him standing with Audun by the railing, watching the passing coastline as they headed southwest across the sea.
“Oh, good, you’re up!” Liam said when he saw her. “I tried not to disturb you when I saw you sleeping so peacefully.”
Annie smiled and kissed him. “That was the first good night’s rest I’ve gotten since we brought Rupert back from the fortress. Thank you for letting me sleep. How is Millie this morning?” she asked Audun.
“Not so good,” Audun told her. “Even before we left port, the rocking of the ship was already upsetting her stomach. I don’t think she got any sleep last night.”
“Perhaps I should go see her,” said Annie.
Audun shook his head. “The last thing she wants right now is company. She kicked me out of the cabin at dawn, telling me that if she was going to be miserable, she wanted to do it alone.”
“All right,” said Annie. “If you’re sure that’s what she wants.”
Liam pointed at the shoreline they were passing. “Look, Annie, those are the hills of Corealis. We should be passing Wryden soon.”
“We move much faster by sea than we ever have by horseback,” Annie remarked.
“Or by carriage,” Clarence said as he joined them. “We’re also going faster than usual because we have the wind behind us. I wasn’t expecting that.”
Annie thought he looked worried, as if there was something wrong with going fast.
The captain was walking toward them, also wearing a worried look. “Prince Clarence, may I ask when I can expect more directions?”
“I can’t give you any until I see certain landmarks,” Clarence told him. “But I can say that it won’t be today.”
Liam’s hand was resting on the railing. Annie placed her hand on top of his and moved closer to his side. The
fresh salt air and the way the ship was racing through the waves were exhilarating. Glancing up at the billowing sails, she suddenly understood why some people loved sailing. This was so much better than traveling by carriage! Part of her was in a hurry to reach Skull Cove and return to her father and uncle with medicine, but another part of her wished that this day and this trip would never end.
They sailed that whole day and well into the next with the wind behind them and the sun shining overhead. Millie stayed in her cabin, but the others spent most of their time on deck. When Annie spotted a group of large fishlike creatures with long, rounded snouts and friendly eyes, a passing sailor told her that they were called porpoises and were friends to sailors everywhere. Annie watched them jump out of the water as if they were playing and was disappointed when they moved on.
Although the captain asked Clarence about directions throughout the day, it wasn’t until they spotted an island in the distance that Clarence really began to look around. The island didn’t appear to be that far off, but Annie thought it seemed to take forever to reach it. As they drew closer, they were able to make out more of its features. Sheer cliffs that denied access to passing ships were the home of countless squawking, swooping birds. In the center of the island, a large rocky outcropping jutted up from a forest of scrubby trees.
Clarence became more animated now, gazing off across the ocean as if he expected to see something other than rolling waves. When he had turned completely around, apparently without seeing whatever it was he’d been hoping to find, he finally went to see Captain Riley.
“Turn south now,” he told the captain, then went back to gazing into the distance.
The captain turned the ship south, rounding the island. They sailed in that direction for a few hours while Clarence became increasingly agitated. When he finally told the captain to head east, Liam went to talk to his brother.
“I thought you said you knew where you were going,” said Liam.
“I do!” Clarence declared. “I’m looking for landmarks. You’ll just have to trust me.”