“It’s small, but it’s clean,” Annie said, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“And there’s a good, sturdy lock,” said Liam.
“I don’t know what you two are thinking, but this just won’t do!” Gwendolyn exclaimed.
“Shh! The walls are probably thin,” Liam told her in a quiet voice. “We should keep our voices down if we don’t want everyone to hear us.”
“And we don’t want people to know who we are,” Annie added.
Gwendolyn looked confused. “Why not?”
Annie sighed. She knew her sister had never been out of the castle before, but even she had to know that the world was very different beyond the castle walls. “Because not everyone is nice out here,” she told Gwendolyn.
“That’s right,” said Liam. “There are a lot of good people in the world, but there are also a lot who would steal the shoes off your feet if given the chance.”
Gwendolyn looked even more confused.
“He means you can’t trust anyone you don’t know,” Annie told her. “Don’t tell them who we are, or where we’re going, or why. Understand?”
“I guess so,” said Gwendolyn. “But I still don’t think we should be sharing a room.”
“Why?” asked Annie. “Because we’re princesses, or because then I’d be close to you, or because Liam is a boy?”
Gwendolyn hesitated, making Annie wonder if her sister didn’t consider all of the reasons valid.
“I could sleep outside,” Liam offered, glancing at the door.
Annie shook her head. “Not in the rain. Gwennie and I can sleep on the bed and you can sleep on the floor.”
“But, Annie!” said Gwendolyn. “You know what being near you does to me. I can’t spend the whole night beside you!”
“Well, I’m not sleeping on the floor just so you can have a bed all to yourself!” Annie snapped. “If you want to sleep on the floor, be my guest!” She had spent her entire life trying to accommodate her sister, who wasn’t even supposed to be here!
Gwendolyn dropped her gaze to the floor and said in a near whisper, “I suppose it doesn’t matter. No one will see me in here, except you two.”
“And that reminds me,” said Annie, trying not to notice the look of desperation on her sister’s face. “Rose Red was right. You really can’t pass as a boy looking like that. We have to do something about your clothes.”
“I have an extra shirt she can wear tomorrow,” said Liam. “It’s baggier than the one she has on.” Setting his sack on the floor, he squatted down beside it and pulled out a clean, white shirt that would be huge on Gwendolyn.
The princess wrinkled her nose when he handed her the shirt. “I can’t wear this!” she said, trying to hand it back to him. “It smells like fish!”
“Oh, yes. I forgot,” said Liam, reaching into the bag again. “Here’s your dinner. We got enough for you and Beldegard.”
Gwendolyn dropped the shirt on the bed and sat as far from Annie as she could get. Annie half expected her to turn down the fish, knowing how picky her sister could be about the food she’d accept on her own silver plate at home, but she seemed so grateful when she took the greasy paper from Liam and opened it to see the succulent fish inside that Annie felt guilty for forgetting that her sister hadn’t eaten.
Using her long, slender fingers, Gwendolyn broke off a morsel of fish and placed it on her tongue. The look of bliss on her face was so profound that Annie had to smile. Her smile grew even broader when Liam pulled another paper packet from his bag and said, “You and I might as well eat this, Annie. We didn’t get to finish our stew and there’s no use saving Beldegard’s share. He’ll have to fend for himself tonight anyway.”
“I don’t even know if a bear would eat cooked fish,” Annie said. “And it might not be any good by tomorrow.”
Moments later, the only sound to be heard in the little room was the patter of rain on the window.
Annie woke, shaking, certain that something was in the room with her. She pinched her upper arm to make sure that she was awake. The tiny pain told her that she was, but even so, she could still hear a deep even breathing that meant she wasn’t really alone. And then Liam rolled over on the floor beside the bed and Annie remembered where she was and who was with her.
The rain had stopped and it was late enough that the tavern had grown quiet for the last few hours before dawn. Annie lay on her back, staring at the ceiling as she waited for her racing heart to calm to a steadier beat. When she was no longer afraid that something was going to jump at her from the dark, she sat up to peek over the pillow that Gwennie had put between them. She could just make out her sister’s shape under the blanket on the edge of the bed as far from Annie as she could manage. Before lying down again, she leaned over the other side of the bed and peered down at Liam, tangled in his blanket with his head pillowed on his arms.
Moving as quietly as she could so as not to wake Gwendolyn, Annie slipped from the bed, took the blanket she had brought with her from her knapsack, and used it to cover Liam. He seemed so sweet and vulnerable that she couldn’t resist bending down to kiss his cheek. The rain started again before she was back under the covers, the first taps on the glass sounding like insects trying to come in. By the time she closed her eyes, the rain’s steady drumming was enough to lull her back to sleep.
Annie woke the next morning to find someone she’d never seen before sleeping beside her. She knew right away that it was Gwendolyn, of course, and she knew she shouldn’t be surprised. After all, Annie’s lack of magic had had all night to undo the effects of Gwendolyn’s magical gifts. But her sister looked so different that Annie couldn’t stop staring.
Gwendolyn’s hair was no longer buttercup blond. It was brown now, and would have been the same shade as her own if Annie’s hadn’t been sun-bleached from being outside so much. Her nose could no longer be called perfect, and her skin was no longer flawless, with a mole on her neck and a few freckles on her nose. Gwendolyn looked a lot like Annie, only older. For the first time in her life, Annie felt a special kind of kinship to the girl so many people considered the most beautiful princess in all the kingdoms.
Annie glanced at the floor beside the bed, but Liam had already folded the blankets and left the room. “Wake up,” Annie said, turning back to Gwendolyn. “I’m going to get dressed and go find Liam.”
“Huh?” mumbled her sister. “What did you—ahh!” she shrieked, staring at a fistful of her own hair. “What happened to me?”
“Lower your voice!” said Annie. “You know perfectly well what happened to you.” A surge of the familiar resentment washed over her, dousing the warm feeling that had begun just moments before. “Don’t worry, I’ll leave and you’ll go back to looking like your gorgeous self in minutes.”
Although getting dressed meant nothing more than running her fingers through her hair, covering it with the cap again, and slipping her feet into her shoes, it seemed to take too long with Gwendolyn watching her. Annie was almost out the door when she noticed Liam’s shirt. Snatching it off the chair, she tossed it at her sister, saying, “You’re supposed to wear this today, remember?”
“Wait, Annie!” Gwendolyn said. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“For acting like you’re some kind of monster that I have to keep at bay. I know you never meant to make me look less beautiful, and I was always telling you to stay away, but if you had made my beauty fade it really wouldn’t have been your fault. Although actually it would have been, I mean, it was last night, but, well, you know what I mean, don’t you?”
“I suppose I do,” Annie said, surprised that her sister was even attempting to apologize. “And it’s all right. You were doing what you thought you had to do. Listen, I’ll meet you downstairs. Don’t take too long. We don’t know when that ferry will be leaving.”
Annie was halfway down the stairs when the door to the chamber flew open and Gwendolyn darted out, still stuffing her hair inside her cap. The sis
ters gave each other tentative smiles, then came down the stairs together. Reaching the hallway that led into the main room of the tavern, they found Liam talking to the owner.
Liam nodded when he saw them. “Good, I’m glad you’re up. The ferry is leaving in half an hour. Here, take these,” he said, opening a small brown sack. “I’ve been awake for hours. While you two slept I explored the village and found a bakery on Drury Lane that makes great muffins.”
Annie was reaching for the muffin when she noticed that the tavern owner was staring at Gwendolyn with his mouth hanging open. It was an expression Annie was used to seeing people wearing when she was around her sister; she just hadn’t expected to see it now. When she glanced at Gwennie, she saw that that wisp of hair that peeked out from under her cap was already blond, her nose was back to normal, and her skin was nearly flawless.
“Let’s eat these outside,” Annie said, taking Gwendolyn by the hand.
“Let go,” Gwendolyn said once they were walking down the street toward the ferry. “I need both hands to eat this.”
Annie shook her head. “I’m not letting go until we’re on that ferry, and maybe not even then.” She noticed with satisfaction that Gwendolyn was already looking a little less beautiful. “We’re going to have to think of something to disguise her,” she said to Liam. “The shirt helps, but it’s not enough. Maybe we could plaster her face with mud.”
“Don’t you dare!” exclaimed Gwendolyn.
“We could wrap her head in bandages,” Liam suggested.
“You will not!” Gwendolyn cried.
“Then I guess you’re just going to have to stick close to me until we get away from all these people,” Annie told her, gesturing to the small crowd already gathering by the ferry.
“And even that might not be enough,” Liam said under his breath as two young men turned and gave Gwendolyn appreciative looks. Setting his hand on his sword, he herded the sisters toward the other side of the dock where they waited, huddled together, while he went to speak to the ferryman.
“Have any dwarves ridden on your ferry lately?” Liam asked the man.
The old man took a licorice root out of his mouth long enough to say, “Maybe.”
“Two males? One was older than the other?”
“Maybe,” said the man.
“Would this help loosen your tongue?” Liam asked, showing the man a coin.
The man’s mouth widened into a grin. “That it would,” he said, snatching the coin from Liam’s hand. “Two dwarves rode my ferry less than a week ago. They argued the whole way across. Seems they hadn’t seen each other in a while. From the things they said to each other, I think they were brothers and the younger one was the black sheep of the family. He was surly and unfriendly. I was glad when he got off my boat. The older one was all right, though. I didn’t mind him.”
“Did they say where they were going?” asked Liam.
“Nope,” the old man said, tucking the coin in his leather pouch. “I didn’t ask them either. But they headed north when they reached the road.”
When the ferryman left to start loading horses and cargo, Liam found his way back to the girls.
“Did you learn anything about the dwarf?” asked Annie.
“Just that he’s unpleasant and isn’t getting along with his brother,” Liam replied. “They did go this way, though, so we’re headed the right way.”
After the storm of the night before, the trip across the river was rough, with whitecaps slapping the ferry so that water ran over the sides, drenching shoes and hems. People were too busy trying to calm their horses and keep their footing to pay much attention to each other, but Annie noticed that the young men looked in Gwennie’s direction the moment they set foot on dry land. She was glad she had kept hold of her sister’s elbow the entire trip when the young men turned away, no longer interested.
Before the other travelers had gathered their horses and started out, Gwendolyn was already studying the forest on either side of the road, looking for Beldegard, while Liam wandered off, his eyes on the ground. Annie was about to ask him what he was doing when he called her over and pointed at a small footprint with a leaf design in the center. “Now we know for sure that we’re following the right dwarf,” he told her.
The ferryman kept casting odd looks at Annie and her companions, so they finally walked down the road until they were out of sight of the river. They hadn’t gone far when they heard crashing in the forest and Beldegard bounded out, his mouth split in a huge grin.
“It’s about time!” he said, nudging Gwendolyn even as she bent down to kiss his furry head.
“I’m sorry it took us so long, dear one,” said Gwendolyn, “but we had to wait for the next ferry trip over.”
“Now what?” asked Liam. “You said we had to cross the river, and here we are.”
Beldegard began to walk with Gwendolyn by his side. “According to Rose Red, the dwarf claimed to be from the Dark Woods,” he said over his shoulder. “I know of no Dark Woods, but there is a Dark Forest in Dorinocco, and it looks like the dwarf is headed there.”
“And if we don’t find him in this Dark Forest?” Liam called as he waited for Annie to join him.
“Then we keep looking until we do find him,” the bear prince replied, then turned his head to talk to Gwendolyn.
Liam was scowling when Annie began to walk with him. “We should set a time limit on this expedition,” he said.
“Why don’t we give it a week?” asked Annie.
“I was thinking more like a few days,” said Liam, his mouth set in a grim line.
Chapter 7
Annie plucked a chunk of cheese off the tip of Liam’s knife. They had been walking all morning and had stopped to share the food that he had bought in the village. Beldegard had already wandered off to forage on his own. “I’ve been thinking,” Annie told her companions. “We really need to find the dwarf and change Beldegard back as soon as we can, and not just so we can go home. Now that word has gotten out that the curse can no longer hurt Gwennie, all sorts of crazies are going to show up at the castle wanting to marry her. With an entire kingdom at stake, they won’t care if she’s found her true love as long as she isn’t actually married.”
“Crazies?” asked Liam.
Annie nodded. “Like that boy and his cat that were on their way to the castle to win her hand.”
“What boy?” Gwendolyn asked, a piece of bread halfway to her mouth.
“We met him when we went into the tavern to find Rose Red,” said Liam. “He had a talking cat with him who claimed the boy was a wealthy noble named the Marquis of Carabas, but the boy’s shoes were worn and he had the calluses of a farmer. It was obvious they were going to try to pull some sort of scam. They couldn’t even tell me where Carabas was located.”
“And this boy wanted to marry me?” asked Gwendolyn.
“That’s what he told us,” said Annie. “And you know he’s bound to be just one of many.”
Gwendolyn shrugged. “They’ll leave me alone once they hear about Beldegard.”
“Not necessarily,” said Annie. “Beldegard is still a bear and you aren’t married to him yet. People won’t believe you’re taken until he’s turned back into a man and you two are officially wed.”
“Then I guess I’m glad I came with you,” Gwendolyn said, giving her sister her brightest smile. “If I were at home now, I’d have to fend them off by myself.”
“Shh!” said Liam. “I hear someone coming this way.”
Annie turned to Liam, but he shook his head and put his finger to his lips. A moment later she heard a clear sweet voice whistling. And then a figure in a red cape appeared among the trees. Although a hood was covering the person’s face, Annie could tell from her long skirts that it was a girl.
“She’s getting close,” Annie whispered. “Maybe we should make some noise so we don’t startle her.” Liam stood up and pretend-coughed. “Or we could do that,” Annie murmured as the hood veered so that it was
coming straight toward them.
The girl had almost reached them when she pushed the hood back from her face. She couldn’t have been more then ten or eleven years old, with dark brown hair and a sunny smile. “Hello,” she said, setting her basket on the ground so she could curtsy.
Gwendolyn glanced at the girl and nodded.
“Good day,” said Annie. “We’re looking for the Dark Forest. Do you know if we’re getting close?”
“Oh, yes! It’s not far now. I’m going that way to visit my granny. My mother sends her food and gossip from the village and I get to share both with Granny. I visit her every week, although I went just yesterday and she was sick, so I’m going back today with more food. I’m happy to do it because it gets me out of the house for a day and I don’t have to take care of my younger brothers and sisters. I have seven brothers and three sisters and I’m the oldest of the girls.”
“We should get going,” said Liam.
The girl clapped her hands and grinned. “If you’re going to the Dark Forest, too, we should go together! I never have company on my walks.”
When Liam grumbled and started walking, the girl skipped ahead to join him. “My name is Gloria, but most people call me Little Red Riding Hood. My granny made this cape for me because she said I should wear something red when I’m in the forest. There are lots of hunters and not all of them are as careful as they should be, but they won’t shoot me when they see my red cape.”
“I see,” Liam said, and Annie had to grin.
“Why are you smiling?” demanded Gwendolyn, falling into step beside Annie. “Beldegard probably won’t join us as long as that girl is here. He’s gotten very sensitive about people’s reactions to him ever since those men chased him off. Why are we going with the girl anyway? Beldegard knows how to find the Dark Forest. We really don’t need her help.”
“I know,” said Annie. “But there’s no real harm if we’re going in the same direction. I’m sure Beldegard will be able to find us. So tell me, what do you think of Gloria’s cape? I noticed that we couldn’t see her face very well when she had her hood up.”