A few days later there was a knock on my door. It was late afternoon. The sun was visible through my window. In a few hours it would be sinking into the forest.
I opened the door to reveal Marek. "Do you want to take a walk?" He asked.
"I'll get my boots," I said. I may have hated the shoes Maurice made me wear with dresses, but Brinian had found me a nice pair of boots that I loved. They were comfortable to wear and didn't give me blisters. And they made me taller, a valuable thing when one was so short.
I followed the prince. His pace was quick, impatient. When we reached the front doors of the palace, Marek began to walk behind the stables. I followed him, waiting for the prince to talk.
When I could take the silence no longer, I said, "Why don't we walk on top of the walls?" I gestured to the protective wall on my left. The wall surrounded the palace, guards barracks, stables, outdoor training courts and more. The only way in or out was through the Gold Gate.
"Because we aren't staying here," Marek said.
I frowned. "You know that I'm not allowed to leave the premises, right?"
Marek stopped and looked at me. "And since when have you followed the rules?" He resumed his determined pace.
I shrugged, "True," and followed after the black haired boy.
Even though Marek didn't wear a crown like his sister's always did, he was recognized. Even when we walked behind the palace, people bowed when he walked by. Marek was clearly in a mood, but he still acknowledged everyone with a friendly smile or nod. From the stiff angle of his neck, I could tell it was forced, but I didn't think anyone else could.
The prince led that way between some back buildings and then into a storage room. Barrels full of an unknown substance were stacked two high throughout the entire room. Curious, I followed Marek to the back. I helped him push two barrels out of the way to reveal a trapdoor in the floor.
Marek yanked on the iron ring fixed onto one side and the old boards creaked. A large opening was revealed. "How'd you find this?" I asked Marek. He didn't strike me as the type to go poking around storage rooms, but then again, I didn't know him as a young boy. He could have been a troublemaker.
"Mother showed me," He said. Marek sat down and slipped into the floor. There must have been a ladder, because he didn't fall. Once the opening had been cleared, I followed the prince underneath, glad that I had been wearing breeches and a tunic. A square of light from the storage room was the only thing I could see. Marek then yanked the trap door shut and it was black as night.
My muscles were tense and I was ready to react if anything came at me out of the dark. I stumbled around trying to find a wall. I bumped into wood, a door possibly?
I almost yelped when I felt something grab my arm, but it was only Marek. Moments later, there was the sound of flint striking steel and fire blazed up. Marek held a torch soaked with pitch. There was a pile of more torches on the floor near the ladder.
The tunnel was made of stone, similar to that which the walls around the palace were built of. Looking around, the tunnel continued before us for as far as we could see before the darkness took over. Behind me was a wooden door.
"This way," Marek said, pointing down the tunnel.
"What's over there?" I asked, nodding at the door.
"I don't know. The door's stuck. I think it's locked from the other side. And it's rotten and heavy. I've never gotten it open."
I followed him down the tunnel. "Your mother showed you this? Does she want you to sneak out?"
"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.
Marek followed me closely, so when I bumped into a pretty drunk man, Marek ran into my back. With a bunch of sorry's and a glare from me, I made it around the man and over to the counter. Setting the silver crescent I had stolen from the drunk man's pocket on the counter, I ordered Marek and I each a flagon of mead. I pocketed my change from the barmaid and then carried both steins over to an empty table. I kicked out a chair. I sat and pushed a drink over to Marek. "Drink up."
Marek took a long swig and almost spit it all over me. "What is this?" He exclaimed. I guessed that the kid had only ever had wine.
"Good stuff." I replied. He took another sip, a smaller one.
"It's...interesting," he said.
I leaned back, resting my booted feet on a spare chair, and waited for the prince to settle in a little more. There were wooden mermaids in each corner of the room, the yellow paint fading off of their hair and on their lips the red paint had almost all cracked off. Then I asked, "So, why did we have to get out of the castle?"
"I had a bad day," Marek said. I took another sip of mead. "I see what you're doing." Marek scowled. I pretended to be very interested in my drink. "I'm a squire, right." He said. "And so in the morning's I train with the other squires. For the past few weeks we have been doing small skirmishes. So this morning, my group was trying to figure out a plan of attack." He sighed and looked at me regretfully. "I knew that we should go around the stables but I didn't speak up. Instead we tried to ambush the other squires and got beat." He fell silent. "I-I just...why can't I speak up? I was right, after all! I'm supposed to be the king and I can't tell a few squires that their plan is wrong?!" He looked at me apologetically. "Sorry, I know that you are going to be queen. It's just habit."
"Apology accepted," I said.
"I suppose it's a good thing that I'm not going to be king anymore. I'm not a leader. Father has been trying to teach me, but I can't do it." He gulped down the last of his drink. I signaled the barmaid for another. She brought it quickly and Marek immediately started on it. "He and mother do it so effortlessly, though. Why couldn't I get that?"
I scratched my cheek. "Some people are born leaders and sometimes you have to make yourself into one. You're smart and dedicated. You'll figure it out," I said.
"I don't have to now," Marek said. "Thank the goddess for that! I would have run this country into the ground." He added as an afterthought, "Now I'll just have to make a strategic marriage." I rolled my eyes.
"Hey," said a voice behind me. I spun, a hand resting over the knife in my belt. It was only Axius, the guard who had fought a group of men with me last time I was in the city.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, taking my feet off the chair. Axius sat. His curly black hair was tied at the nape of his neck but several strands had escaped and were sticking to his neck. It was the beginning of fall but it was still humid.
"You and the prince were missing. The captain wanted to keep it quiet and sent us out into the city to search for you guys."
"You found us," I said.
"I remembered that you said this was your favorite tavern." Axius waved at the barmaid, getting his own drink brought over. The girl set his mead down and lingered, smiling. Axius raised his eyebrows at me once she'd finally left. I raised one back.
"Even then," Marek muttered. "I probably wouldn't even be able to tell my wife what to do."
I laughed. "Marek, you don't tell women what to do."
"Not the good ones," Marek said.
Axius caught my eye and I shook my head. The prince was melancholy and had probably had too much mead on an empty stomach.
I herded both boys out of the tavern and into the night. Unlike with the girls, I wasn't worried about muggers. I had two big, strong men with me to dissuade that kind of thing.
We made it back to the castle after a long while. The boys wanted to stop in another tavern, which I only allowed once I had gotten Marek some food. We had all enjoyed another mug of mead, but Marek especially liked the drink.
Axius and Marek weren't in a hurry to get back. They spent much of the walk debating the merits of women. I occupied my time by rolling my eyes and dolling out friendly punches when the boys said something stupid.
When we passed through the Gold Gate, I spotted Brinian standing by the gate guards. His arms were crossed and he raised an eyebrow when he saw me.
"We're back. Safe and sound. Are you going to yell at me?"
The captain gave me an exasperated look, but then he saw Marek. "Is he...?"
I looked at the prince, who had an arm drapped over Axius's shoulder. It was comical because Axius was so much taller than the boy. Marek slurred something to Axius that I couldn't understand, but the guard replied. They had bonded over the prince's first experience drinking mead.
"Yes," I said.
Brinian rubbed his forehead. Finally he relented. "Guess we better get him to bed before the queen sees."