Princess Elodi's Arc

Chapter 5 of 55

Elodi reached the forge with the castle asleep around her. Cold coals filled the pit. Tools hung on the wall in a neat row. She found the hammer she needed and lifted it, heavy in her two hands. Opal chirped on her shoulder. Elodi turned toward the door, her bag on her back, the letter tucked in her belt. A lamp swung into the doorway. A watchman stood there, broad and slow, his eyes still thick with sleep. Then they sharpened. He looked at the princess in her cloak, the bag, the hammer. "Princess?" He stepped back. "Stay here." He turned and ran up the passage, shouting for the Queen. Elodi's chest went tight. She had only seconds. She spotted a vent low in the stone wall, a narrow iron grate near the floor. She dropped to her knees and pried it loose. She pushed the hammer through first. It clanged somewhere in the dark. Her satchel followed, then the letter, shoved deep past the grate. She fit the grate back into place and stood, brushing dust from her cloak. She made her face calm. She could not fight the watchman or her mother. She could only lie. A night stroll, she told herself. She had come down for air. Nothing more. Footsteps filled the passage. Her mother came first, gold gown loose, dark hair falling from its high bun, no crown on her head. Two guards followed with lamps. The Queen's eyes found her daughter and did not soften. "You are out of your rooms," the Queen said. "In the middle of the night. Near the forge." "I could not sleep," Elodi said. "I wanted air. I walked, and I came here. That is all." The Queen looked at the cloak. She looked at the boots laced tight. She said nothing for a long moment. Then she stepped close and took Elodi's face in her hands. "Your father walked out one night too," she said, her voice low. "He did not come back. I will not lose you the same way." "Mother, I only wanted air." "Then you will have it from your window." The Queen let go. She turned to the guards. "Take her to her rooms. A guard at her door from now on. Every night." A hand closed on Elodi's arm. She did not pull away. She let them lead her up the passage, Opal pressed to her neck. She glanced back once at the vent in the wall. The hammer waited there. The satchel and the letter waited there, hidden in the dark. Her door shut behind her. A bolt slid home outside it. Boots settled in the hall. She was locked in now, watched all night. But her tools were still down there, safe past the grate. When she found a way to reach them, the tunnel would still be waiting.