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I had to find a way to escape.
Chapter 27
King Roderick sent me a pale linen dress that probably belonged to Margaret. He also sent in three husky washerwomen to cut my ropes and make sure I didn’t escape while I dressed.
I changed quickly, wishing I had shoes. Tristan had my other slipper. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to leave the remaining glass slipper on the floor where it lay. I put it in my pocket. After that I walked to the ballroom, flanked on both sides by guards.
With every step I took I tried to think of ways to escape. It was too dangerous here in the heart of the castle. I’d never be able to make it outside without the guards cutting me down, but once inside the ballroom there was that terrace—the one with the balcony. If I could climb down the vines, perhaps I could lose them in the dark.
Of course, getting over the castle walls would present another problem and I didn’t really have an answer for that.
A guard opened the door and I saw dozens of men standing in a line against the wall. They still wore their finery—silk and velvet tunics, splashes of color against 404/431
the gray stone walls, but they no longer seemed festive.
Their swords had been taken from them and they stared at me silently. King Roderick paced back and forth in front of the men with his sword drawn. Prince Edmond and Prince Hugh were also there, swords hanging at their sides, as though they would contend with anyone who crossed the king. While they spoke to each other, Hugh glanced over at me with a cold stare. I supposed that Edmond had told him what I’d done.
Princess Margaret stood near them, her arms folded tightly across her chest. Two crimson patches of color flushed on her cheeks when she saw me. I wondered if the king had told her of my accusations.
The king saw me and motioned me over. “Here they are. Take a look. Which one is he?”
“I need to ask each of them a question,” I said. “It will take a few minutes.” Instead of giving the king time to protest, I walked to the first man at the end of the line.
He didn’t have the height to be the Black Knight, but still I said, “Answer me yes or no. Are you the Black Knight?”
His voice was clipped with indignation. “No.” I moved to the next man. “Are you the Black Knight?” He shook his head. “Of course not.” 405/431
The king came up behind me, hands on his hips. “This is how you’re going to identify him? You expect one of them to tell you yes?”
“One of them will tell me the truth. Be patient.” The king turned away from me, cursing, but he didn’t stop me. I went down the line asking the same question.
Each time the answer was no.
I listened to them, but half my mind was still trying to piece together what I knew. If Princess Margaret was in love with the Black Knight, they could have run off together long before now . . . so maybe it was Simon she loved. Back when I first met her, she had been waiting for someone who hadn’t come, and Simon wouldn’t have been able to meet her after he was turned into a goat.
Margaret wouldn’t have been able to marry Simon without her father’s permission, so perhaps the two of them had devised a plan with the Black Knight. Maybe Simon was supposed to defeat the Black Knight to win Margaret’s hand. But why hadn’t they done it before now? Why wait? There was still something about the Black Knight I was missing.
I came to the last man in the line. “Are you the Black Knight?”
He shook his head. “I’m certainly not.” The king strode up to my side, his lips set in an angry grimace. “And what was the point of that exercise 406/431
besides wasting my time? You don’t know whom he is at all, do you?”
But I did. It had all just clicked into place. I understood what it was the Black Knight wanted.
“I haven’t spoken to everyone in the room,” I told the king and walked slowly toward Prince Edmond and Prince Hugh. Part of me was sorry to reveal him, but he’d ordered Tristan’s death. I couldn’t forgive him for that.
I stopped in front of Prince Hugh. “Are you the Black Knight?”
He folded his arms and scoffed at me. “You think you can insult me by asking such a question?” The king came toward me, and I could tell he was in agreement with Prince Hugh. The king grabbed my arm and dragged me several feet away from his son, but I didn’t stop talking. I had to say it all now. “You wanted to be heir to the throne so you invented the Black Knight and had the wizard’s apprentice make an invincibility spell for you. In return you told him he and Margaret could marry when you came to power. After the Black Knight killed Prince Edmond, he would disappear. Or better yet, you’d have Simon dress in the armor and you’d vanquish him yourself. The people would love you for it.”
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The king stopped dragging me across the floor. He turned back to Prince Hugh, his eyes considering his son again.
I said, “He is the Black Knight.” Margaret stepped toward me, but her eyes turned to her father. “Are you going to let her live after speaking such treason? She kissed the Black Knight. She can’t be trusted; she’s in love with the enemy.” I turned to Margaret. “And you’re in love with a goat.
That’s why Simon hasn’t come to see you. The wizard found out he’d stolen potions and turned him into a goat.”
Margaret flinched as though I’d hit her. The color poured out of her face and she held her hand to her lips.
“No,” she said.
The king watched her and then his eyes narrowed in on Hugh. “Is all of this true?” Hugh shook his head and he tried to smile. “Lady Savannah is a liar.”
The king loosened his grip on my arm, and I took advantage of his uncertainty and stepped away from him.
“Sometimes I am a liar, I admit it. I used to have an enchantment that, whenever I lied, a reptile would grow on my tongue. It happened more often than I liked. But then, luckily, I took switching potion and when I kissed the Black Knight, I switched enchantments with him.
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Now instead of invincibility, if he lies a reptile will come out of his mouth. So I’ll ask you again: are you the Black Knight?”
Hugh took several quick breaths. His eyes locked on mine. “I don’t need to answer your charges.” Edmond drew his sword. “Yes, you do.” Hugh looked between his brother and his father, and he shook his head. “You don’t believe her, do you? Who is she? What are her credentials, that you should believe her?”
I took another step away from the king and toward the window. “Why shouldn’t they believe me? I can’t tell a lie in the presence of the Black Knight or my tongue will burn out of my mouth.”
King Roderick gripped his sword harder. He slowly raised it. “Answer the question.” Hugh held up the palm of his hand, pleading, but his other hand was near the hilt of his own sword. “She is trying to trick you!”
Which proved to be a lie. Hugh grimaced, then coughed, and a long gray snake slithered out of his mouth and dropped to the floor. The room was silent for the length of a gasp.
Then Edmond lunged toward his brother with a yell.
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Hugh sidestepped him and drew his own sword.
“Whether I have the invincibility charm or not, I can still beat both of you with a sword. Stay back.” I didn’t know how long the three of them would stay occupied or who would win. At that moment I didn’t even care. I ran to the terrace and climbed over the balcony.
The vine cracked when I stepped on it, and for a moment I thought it would give way and I’d fall to my death. I clung to the branches, waiting, but it held firm.
I figured I wouldn’t give it a chance to change its mind and moved my feet downward along the vine until I found another foothold. Little branches and twisted knots cut into my feet and hands, making me move even faster.
I had to get down. I had to get down. I had to get—I saw a light down in the courtyard, not far away from where I would land. And not a torchlight—it was the un-mistakable beam of a flashlight. “Tristan!” I called, probably too loudly since I didn’t want to let any of the guards know where I was.