The Silver Crown

32.

"Our mother," He said. Right. I scolded myself for my slip up. "And it was sort of an accident."

"How does one accidentally show someone a secret tunnel out of the palace?" I asked. "I assume we are passing under the wall."

"Mother caught me following her one day. I was young and I did it a lot. I tracked her through the palace seeing how long it would take her to notice me. One day I followed her all the way out here. She saw me before we reached the storage shed. Mother told me I could come along if I was good. And then she showed me this."

"How did she know?"

"She told me it was an escape tunnel. Told me that only she and father knew. There are tunnels everywhere underneath the castle. A hundred years ago many of them were converted into the sewer system, but many also collapsed and this one was forgotten. Apparently her father had dug it out when he was a boy. I was supposed to learn of it when I became king, but she thought I could handle seeing it now as long as I promised not to tell anyone," Marek said.

"Clearly you're trustworthy," I said dryly.

"Now that you're to be queen, you'll have learned about it eventually," Marek said with a grin.

We emerged from the tunnel into a small cave. Marek had to shove his shoulder into the door at the end of the tunnel to get it open. Once the door was open, Marek snuffed out the torch in the sand of the tunnel. We walked out into the forest.

"I like to come out here sometimes," Marek said. "It's hard being around people all the time. Let's walk."

"I've not spent much time in the forest," I said, keeping up with Marek. There wasn't a trail.

"Really?"

"I've spent my whole life in the city," I explained, peering up into the trees. Something was making a weird sound. "Except for the five months I spent in Eldon. Then my master died and I escaped. I came right back to Kings City."

Marek told me about his hunting adventures in the forest with his father, his face lighting up.

We neared the edge of the forest. For a good distance the forest grew right up to the city wall. Kings City only had a wall around it on this side of the river. Once the river was crossed, the slums just spilled out in a haphazard mess and there weren't any walls to protect those tenants.

I suggested that we go into the city for a while. Marek made a face at me. "I don't want to be recognized."

"Don't flatter yourself, prince. Most people don't know your face." He shook his head at me. "This way," I directed.

I approached the wall. It was unpatrolled and less well preserved as the castle wall. There were plenty of ways through it and I happened to know many of those hidden holes.

After a few hundred yards, I found what I was looking for. I got down on my knees and crawled through the small hole. I could feel the spider webs sticking to my face and my hair. I coughed at the dusty air and then I was through. Marek followed me a few moments later sputtering. "I hate spiders," he admitted, frantically brushing webs off of his clothes and hair. I flicked a spider off his shoulder before he could see it.

We had emerged in the wealthy district. Well-off merchants and guild leaders lived in these houses. Marek followed me, eyes flitting everywhere as he took in this part of the city. I guided us to the Kings Road and past Ava Square. We crossed the Diamond Bridge before Marek asked me where we were going. "To get a drink," I replied.

I didn't think that Marek was impressed by the Mermaid's Tavern, but it was my favorite. It was an odd name considering that Kings City was a good distance from the sea. I pulled the door open and walked it. The sun was just setting so plenty of people were already in the tavern.