“Ellerete, Miss,” she answered, still too guilty to even look me in the eyes.
I assumed she was the only one who knew anything, given the stern appearance of the other two. They were too motherly. Surely the princess would confide in the youngest one, one closer to her own age, before she would the others. “I’d like to converse with Ellerete,” I said aloud, and when nobody made a move for the door, added, “singularly.”
The other two women filtered out of the room, but when Silas remained near the door, I raised my eyebrows expectantly and nodded for him to leave too. It wasn’t just that I thought Ellerete might be more talkative if nobody else was present, but I wasn’t sure what to make of Silas right now. I trusted him with my life, but as a knight for the king, he was bound by different loyalties than myself.
“King Hazlitt has charged me with finding the princess,” I told the girl when we were alone. I’d never questioned anyone before. This was new territory.
“Yes, Miss,” she said.
“I suppose she’s out there now, in the cold.” I made a deliberate glance toward the chamber’s closed window, and Ellerete looked too. “I wonder why she left,” I mused, even though Silas had nearly told me not to wonder aloud. This was how I thought to earn the lady’s trust.
The young woman didn’t say anything until I looked at her, searching for a response. “As do I, Miss.”
“Please,” I practically begged, “don’t call me Miss.” King’s errand or not, I was merely a peasant. If anything, we were only equals now because I was under royal employ. Otherwise I might be calling her Miss. I sat down at the fire, near enough to the girl that she’d be more likely to confide in me if she could whisper. When I did, I noticed for the first time that her eyes kept darting to Albus, who was on the opposite side of her, watching me protectively. “Does he frighten you?” I asked, but before she could answer, I pointed to a far corner of the room. “Albus, go lie down.”
She relaxed a little once the dog was farther away, but she still appeared tense. It only confirmed that she knew something, as she had to be as frightened of the king as I was. It was smart to be afraid.
“Ellerete,” I asked, not bothering to give her a chance to deny some sort of knowledge, “did she tell you where she was going?” I did add, “No one but myself will hear if you were involved, you have my word.”
She finally looked up into my eyes, staring for nearly a minute like she was trying to decide whether or not I could be trusted. “Ellie, if you please,” she said eventually, and I smiled gratefully at the discarding of formalities. “She was in a panic,” she confessed. “All she’d say was that she’d heard something she shouldn’t have, and I was better off not knowing.” I hummed, and Ellie continued. “She said her life was in danger should she stay.” At that, tears sprang to her eyes, and I could tell she wholeheartedly believed the princess was in danger.
In earnest, I leaned forward. “Where was she headed?”
Ellie used the opportunity to take my hands up with her own. “You have to help her.”
I pulled away, worried that the wall’s eyes were watching. Listening. They’d hear if we got too loud. “I’ve got to bring her back.”
Maybe Ellie knew about the walls too, because she scooted closer, whispering with the same frantic energy. “Not if it means her life. Please, Miss, promise to hear her out.”
“If I can find her,” I murmured in response. “Where was she headed?”
“You’ll promise?” she asked. “Swear an oath? And I’ll tell you?” I was under employ of the king. That was as good as an oath, and here Ellie wanted me to swear another, perhaps conflicting one. I should never have come, but there was a stirring of excitement inside me. I nodded, and she said, “South.”
The stirring was gone. I stood, more than disturbed by what I thought she was implying. “South?” I repeated in a huff. “Toward the Ronan Empire?” What have I gotten myself into? “Why?”
“I don’t know,” Ellie said, trying to pull me back down. “You promised,” she reminded.
I resumed my seat, leaning forward to put my elbows on my knees, and I buried my face in my hands. Eventually, I sighed and lifted my chin. “Why do you think the princess will trust me with details when I find her? I’ve been hired to bring her back. I work for her father.”
Ellie’s face assumed an expression of deep thought. We both sat there for a couple of minutes in silence, the only sound the still-whistling wind and the crackling of the large fire before us. “I know!” she exclaimed, shooting up. “I’ll write a contract, with my own name in it too.” She paced to the large desk at one end of the room. “And when you find her, you present her with your written promise to hear her account.”
I strode over, watching from behind Ellie’s shoulder as she scribbled out the contract with a quill. The letters didn’t present themselves to me; I couldn’t read. But I refrained from making it known, that way Ellie wouldn’t get any ideas to put anything else in. When she was done, she signed her own name on the bottom, and passed me the quill to do the same. I didn’t even know how to sign my name.
Returning the quill to the inkwell, I pulled my dagger from its sheath. “A blood oath,” I told Ellie, and pricked my thumb against the pointed tip. “With the gods as my witnesses.” I pressed my bloodied finger against the page, successfully signing away my fate. My life or my honor, if the princess were truly in danger, from here on out, one was at stake.
“She bribed a stable boy to have her horse ready,” Ellie informed me while we waited for the ink and blood to dry. “And I don’t think she’d have left without her falcon.”
“Falcon?” I asked, watching her fold up the contract. I knew the royals occasionally hunted with falcons, but I wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or distraught that the princess wasn’t as helpless as I’d believed her to be.
“A peregrine,” Ellie confirmed, melting red wax to seal the note and then pressing the princess’s emblem to it. “Princess Avarona called her Maddox. She loved that bird even more than the hunt.” She put the contract into my hand, but refused to let either go. “Don’t let anyone but the princess open it.”
I nodded my assurance. “Thank you, Ellie.” When she let go of my hand, I shoved the note into a pocket of my vest, and then turned for the door, grabbing my coat to pull it on as I paced out. “Albus.” The dog followed, and when I reached Silas, I asked, “Will you take me back to the stables?”
“Did you find anything out?” he questioned, immediately beginning to lead me.
“She took her horse,” I answered, unwilling to disclose anything that might reach the king’s ears. “Albus will need its scent as well.”
Silas didn’t say anything else until we reached the stables, as he seemed to be able to tell I was keeping things from him. It appeared, however, he knew it was with the best intentions. He showed me to where the princess’s horse was kept so Albus could get its scent, and then to Brande. Before I mounted, he put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a fond squeeze.
“Be safe,” he said, and then pressed a pouch into my palm. The coins in it were heavy, and they rattled together when I shook the bag. “An advance, for any trouble on the road.” But before he let it go, he warned, “Without the princess, the king will consider it a debt.”
I could tell that he was somewhat uncomfortable with the situation he’d put me in, and he wasn’t the only one. I couldn’t say ‘thanks,’ nor could I assure him that I’d return safely. I settled for, “Goodbye, Silas,” and to let him know I wouldn’t hold it against him, I swatted his face. He smiled and retreated a few steps while I mounted. “Albus, track,” I instructed. The dog took off on the trail, and I followed without looking back.