Masters of the Game (Sutherland Book 4)

XXVI | Belles and Soldiers

Esther stared at the child in silence. She had Albert's eyes and hair. There was more of Leila that reminded Esther of her brother, pride and stubbornness among them. They may be siblings, but she did not practically grow up together with Albert. As the crown prince, he was raised differently. And as a woman, she was mostly separated from his trainings, including Emory's. It was only when they were older and had little more freedom that they reunited as brothers and sister who wanted fun with people their age. But even when they did, Albert was always busy. More particularly when he took over as High Priestess. He also hid many secrets. Apparently, this child was one of them.

"You were born here?" she asked Leila.

Leila shook her head. "I was saved from a sinking ship," she said, blue eyes studying her carefully. She tilted her head to the left. "Do you know Arielle hates you?"

Esther smiled. "Of course, she does. The feeling is mutual."

Leila turned away, walked to the window, and looked down. "I think she intends to kill us."

The hairs on her arms stood. To hear a child as young as Leila talk about murder was surreal. When she was her age, Esther thought naught of anything but dreams of being free so she could escape her guards and party with Caroline and their friends.

"Not if we let her."

The child turned to her, face unreadable, sending another chill up Esther's spine. She could not be afraid of this child! She was small and powerless, believing a false power that was stripped from her. Like everyone else in Belcourt, Leila believed a lie. She must think she was amidst a war between her and a traitor and conqueror and she was supposed to be its princess savior, or the princess the people would fight for. "Are you thinking that we should work together?"

Esther shrugged. Leila walked to one corner of the room where her doll house stood.

"If we work together and succeed, you will only do the same as Arielle. You will lock me here because I'm your brother's bastard. Just like your mother did to Arielle because she's your father's bastard."

"Or we can negotiate. You can think about it for a day or two," she said with a smile, finally moving to kneel before the doll house. They stared at the little rooms inside. "They never open the door fully, do they?"

"No," Leila replied. "The only time they did was when they took you in." Esther knew that. For one week, the Soldiers only opened the smaller door at the foot of the main door to deliver them food. The buckets for their bath were also delivered in the same manner. Their wastes were deposited in a bucket and placed at the same door to be collected when their food arrived.

She reached out to drag a miniature bed to the door. "If they can't open the smaller door, it will force them to open the larger door."

Leila looked over her shoulder at their beds, then at her. "You are crazy. They'll kill us."

"You're right," she said, feigning ignorance. She returned the miniature bed against the wall. Looking at their actual door and the smaller door at the bottom, Esther murmured, "It's too big for me."

Leila's eyes followed hers. And as she hoped, the child understood what she meant. "You're suggesting I squeeze myself through that door." When Esther only remained mysteriously quiet, Leila frowned. "It's impossible. It locks from the outside."

Esther's eyes inspected the larger door. And then she smiled. "You're right," she said. Smiling, a genuine idea coming to her. "Locks are complications, aren't they? But if we can't make them work, we can work around them." She stood and walked over to the wall beside the door. "Or we can walk through them."