A Touch of Poison

Chapter 12

That first night, at midnight, Gwen hadn't been able to drop anything but a hastily scrawled note out her window for Rhosyn.

"Well," Gwen murmured quietly to herself, looking over the collection of things spread over her bedsheet, "I'm certainly making up for it tonight."

It had been harder than she'd thought, preparing for a one-way journey like this one. The first time she'd tried, she had ended up with a veritable mountain of things she'd wanted to bring with her. She'd included everything from riding outfits she had yet to grow into, all the way to a small collection of ceramic dolls that had once belonged to her mother, or so she'd been told.

When she had looked at the first pile of stuff, she soon realized that bringing everything she wanted would not be practical at all. She'd have to leave a great deal of things behind, things that were precious to her. It had taken several long hours for her to completely understand and accept what that meant.

Now, her collection of items consisted of three changes of plain, sturdy clothing, a cloak, two standard-issue daggers she'd 'borrowed' from the guard barracks, a large travel satchel, a small flint box, two waterskins, two heavy blankets, and a small wooden chest containing every necklace, bracelet, or potentially valuable piece of jewelry she'd ever been given. When properly rolled up and packed, everything fit snugly inside the travel satchel, and the whole thing looked as though it'd fit through her bedroom window without issue.

Gwen looked around her bedroom at all the items that hadn't ended up on the blanket. She knew it would be difficult saying goodbye to the rest of her things, some of which she'd never even dreamed she'd be parting with.

And things were about to get even more difficult.

She drew a deep, relaxing breath, glancing at her bedroom door apprehensively.

Tonight, she had to see how hard it would be to steal the herbs from her father's desk, and that meant sneaking down to her father's study and rooting around for them. Of course, what made this difficult was the fact that she was expressly forbidden from entering Bryn's study, and had been for years.

If she got caught, she might not get into too much trouble. She wouldn't be taking anything tonight, just verifying that there was indeed a leather pouch with a red cord sitting in her father's study desk. However, if she was seen snooping around the king's study, it would definitely rouse suspicion and make things harder for her later on.

Gwen just had to confirm she'd have access to the pouch, so she'd know she could fetch it when the time was right. And, if all went well tonight, that time might be as soon as tomorrow evening.

It all depended on her being able to get down to the study, verify everything she needed to know, get back up to her room, write a quick note, and then toss her bag of stuff outside the window, all of which had to be done by midnight if she was going to catch Rhosyn in time.

Which meant she only had about an hour left.

Gwen sighed. She'd stalled long enough.

She gave her bedroom door another nervous glance, gathered up her courage, and took a deep breath. Then she pulled her door open and ventured through it.

There was scant light illuminating the stairway, but Gwen found the darkness a little comforting. She'd prefer not to be seen at all, of course, but she knew it would be unavoidable once she got to the bottom of the stairs and into the main hallway. The castle staff she encountered might not think twice about seeing her roaming the hallways at this comparatively late hour though, since most of them hadn't been working there for more than a couple of months anyways. Still, a stray piece of servant gossip making its way to Anifail might be enough to undo her whole plan, so the fewer people she ran in to, the better.