Mistake walked back to the bed and sat down. She gazed around the pleasantly appointed room and shook her head.
“You are right, MistyTrail,” she finally nodded. “We are never getting let out of here, but we are leaving anyway.”
“What do you mean?” asked MistyTrail.
“I mean that we have to start thinking about how to escape,” answered Mistake. “If they truly believe that we tried to kill the queen, they will execute us.”
“There will be more to escaping than just unlocking the door,” frowned MistyTrail. “We are deep inside this prison, and the prison is deep inside the city. How will we get out? Where will we go when we get out?”
“We will do whatever is required to escape,” declared Mistake. “I would rather die fighting for freedom than allow them to execute us.”
“Do you mean you would kill the guards?” asked MistyTrail.
“Only if we have no choice,” nodded Mistake, “but yes, that is exactly what I mean. We have to get out of here, and we have to do it quickly.”
“And then what?” MistyTrail frowned and sighed. “There is no place in Elvangar that we can hide that they will not find us. It is hopeless.”
“We will not stay in Elvangar,” declared Mistake. “We will use the ship that Eltor and Caldal hid. We will leave this place and never come back.”
“Leave Elvangar?” brightened MistyTrail. “You mean we can return to the Sakova or Angragar?”
“Not exactly,” replied Mistake. “We have another future ahead of us.”
“What are you talking about?” questioned MistyTrail.
“Do you remember when we dropped the carozit in front of the queen?” asked Mistake.
“Of course,” nodded MistyTrail. “It was not that long ago.”
“Why did you let go of the carozit?” asked Mistake.
“I don’t know,” puzzled MistyTrail. “I guess it was a reaction to the balls flying upward. Why do you ask?”
“That is exactly why I let go as well,” smiled Mistake. “At the moment the queen’s hand joined ours on the carozit, the balls flew apart from each other. We have another relative, MistyTrail. And that relative is far away from here. That is where we are going.”
“Another relative?” pondered MistyTrail. “I wonder where we will be going. Which direction do we go? We don’t really know where to go.”
“We will figure it out,” promised Mistake. “I found you, didn’t I?”
“That you did,” smiled MistyTrail. “Let’s figure a way out of this place. I counted the paces from our old cell. Shall I draw a map?”
* * *
Tamar checked for any followers before he moved to the base of his father’s tree. He hurriedly climbed the tree, ignoring the rope for the platform. He didn’t bother to knock, but rather opened the door and slid in. The others looked up questioningly as he entered.
“Mistake and MistyTrail have been moved to mage cells,” reported Tamar. “Evidently they are the ones that the rumors talk about.”
“They would never try to assassinate the queen,” objected Volox. “Especially with magic. I can’t believe they know that much magic.”
“Do not discount their magical abilities,” disagreed Garl. “Both girls have very strong capabilities. While I do not think they would have tried to kill the queen, I can envision a scenario where it looked like they did.”
“How?” asked Tamar. “What is this scenario that you talk about?”
“The girls know a compulsion spell that can only be used by Kierans,” explained Garl. “The problem with the spell is it cannot be used against another Kieran. It causes great pain when it is used that way. The queen is obviously from the Kieran line. If the girls tried to use the compulsion spell, it could have been disastrous.”
“Why would they use a compulsion spell on the queen?” asked Volox.
“That I cannot answer,” shrugged Garl, “but I can take a guess. As a mage tutor, I drive my students hard. I believe that it makes them excel, and history has proven me right. When a student is so driven, they tend to narrow the selection of spells that immediately come to mind in times of stress. The selection that is in the forefront of their minds are the last spells hammered into them because they have been practicing them so often. Sometimes the results can be humorous, such as casting a healing spell to ward off a robber. I fear that this time the results were not found to be humorous at all.”
“So there might be some truth to the accusations being lodged against Mistake and MistyTrail, even though they never intended to kill the queen?” summarized Volox.
“Yes,” nodded Garl. “The situation might be rectifiable, but I do not hold out much hope. There are evil forces at play in Elvangar. It is best if we can get the girls out of prison in any way that is possible.”
“I could bring the matter up before the Council of Elders,” offered Volox. “I doubt that anything bad would happen to the girls once their claim as the lost princesses is known to the people.”
“You do not understand,” sighed Garl. “The lives of Alahara and Alastasia are endangered. We must get them out of the prison, and we must do it now.”
Everyone stopped and stared at the old man from Etta. While the others had accepted his claim about the girls being the lost princesses, actually referring to them by name had a chilling effect. No longer was it Mistake and MistyTrail in trouble; now they were the princesses of Elvangar.
“What can we do?” asked Volox, his tone showing that he was committed to helping.
“We need to get Anija out of the city,” stated Tamar. “She must be taken someplace safe.”
“Why me?” asked Anija.
“Because you will be used against Tamar and me,” answered Volox. “Our son is correct. We will both be enemies of the state soon. You must be hidden. I think Eltor and Caldal should find a safe place for my wife. Tamar and I should not even know the location that she is taken to.”
“You speak wisely,” nodded Garl. “The lives of everyone in this room are about to change drastically. The boys and your wife should be spared from that anguish.”
“But we want to help Mistake and MistyTrail,” objected Caldal. “That is the reason that we have come to Morada.”
“Are you ready to forfeit your lives?” scowled Tamar. “That is what we are talking about here.”
The boys’ eyes grew large at Tamar’s mention of death.
“Tamar is correct,” Volox said softly. “I am not sure how much the three of us can do to save the princesses, but we are determined to try. That does not mean that you boys must die as well.”
“I will admit,” Eltor said nervously, “that I did not realize that you were talking about dying, but now that you have put it on the table, I still plan to help. I will not run away.”
“I agree,” Caldal said emphatically. “Our lives were already forfeit when Mistake and MistyTrail rescued us. I cannot walk away while their lives are endangered, even if it means my own death.”
“You tell them, boys,” smiled Anija. “We may not be warriors, magicians, or elders, but every elf has the right to be involved in this. I will not hide myself in some remote village while my government murders my son and my husband. I am not leaving.”
Volox and Tamar both opened their mouths to object, but Garl pushed his chair back and rose. Everyone looked at him expectantly.
“Anija is correct,” declared Garl. “Every elf is entitled to work for the well being of the royal family. Let us not waste time arguing over this. We need to determine what each of us has to offer and how best to utilize those skills. There is more at stake here than any of you realize.”
“What do you mean by that?” asked Volox. “Is there something that you are keeping from us?”
The old man looked around the room and made eye contact with each person in it. He nodded to himself as if he had answered some unasked question. He reached into his cloak and extracted the scroll he had copied from memory in the library. He placed it on the table and everyone leaned to read it while Volox unrolled it.
“Merciful Kaltara!” gasped Anija. “That is not possible. Not after all these years. It just can’t be.”