“May I have it back?”
Once again,Tío made the blade disappear into the handle.
“Let’s make a deal, Andrea,” he said. “You will forget you ever saw my knife, and I will not tell your father I found you in the Forbidden Lands.”
I considered his proposition for a moment. If Tío wanted me to forget the knife, I was sure it was worth knowing why. But if Father were to learn of my whereabouts, my plan would be doomed. “Deal,” I said, and raising my hand, I hit my palm against Tío’s. The pact was sealed.
Tío smiled. “And now, young lady,” he said, turning to go, “I would appreciate it if you were to escort me to your father’s castle. I’m afraid without your assistance I may fall down the cliffs or even worse, end up as food for the ferocious white wolves of the mountains.”
Go back to the castle? Not in a million years. “I’m afraid,Tío, I can’t go back with you now. I mean . . . I have to find Flecha.”
“Really?” Tío Ramiro frowned. “Is that why you came here?”
“Well, yes. Flecha ran away. I have been looking for her all over. Why don’t you go ahead? I will join you as soon as I find her.”
“Don’t you think,Andrea, that you have had enough adventures for one day? If I am not misreading the signs, you’ve barely missed falling down the cliffs. Don’t waste your energies making up a story. You’re coming back with me.”
“No I’m not.” I stamped my foot. “You cannot force me. And you promised not to tell Father you found me.”
“I didn’t promise not to tell your mother, did I?”
I sulked. “That is not fair. Besides, it’s true. I do need to find Flecha.”
“Fine. Go ahead then, while I get ready. But promise you’ll wait for me at the end of the ledge.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said and turned away.
“Andrea!”
I ignored his call, and as fast as the treacherous ground allowed, I rushed down the narrow rim I had walked with Flecha before. Soon I had reached the open plateau where we had joined the coast. My eyes swept eagerly over the barren landscape, looking for the golden shape of my mare. But Flecha was nowhere to be seen. Neither did she answer my repeated whistling and callings.
Systematically I searched the plain for hoofprints in wider and wider circles, but I couldn’t find any—which was not strange, as the terrain was mostly rock. Hoarse and exhausted, I sat by one of the boulders flanking the ledge. What was I to do now? I couldn’t escape on foot. Father’s men would have no trouble finding me, especially now that Tío would tell them where to look. I might as well go back on my own and wait for a better chance.
So when I heard my uncle’s steps coming down the path, I was still there, crouched under the boulder. I looked up at him as he approached, noticing he had changed into the long dark tunic he always wore in the castle. A leather bag I hadn’t seen before was strapped to his back. He didn’t seem surprised to see me.
“I have your dress here,” he said.
Tío waited as I put my dress back on. But I still kept his jacket.
“You’re going to need a new dress,” he said when I was done, his eyes on the tears running down my skirts. “This one looks quite useless as it is.” And then, as I nodded with embarrassment, he added, “Don’t worry,Andrea. I think it was about time anyway. You’ve had this one for ages.”
“You recognized my dress. That is how you knew it was me.”
Tío smiled. “Of course. What did you think? I’m not a wizard.”
Bending over, he offered me his hand. “Come on, now. We must get going. It would be better if we reach the castle before Don Andrés notices your absence.”
He started walking on a narrow path heading south along the coast. I hesitated. Now that the moment had come to give up my dream, I just could not move. Maybe if I waited, Flecha would come back. Maybe Tío was bluffing and would not tell Mother he had seen me. After all, he had always approved of my training. If only he would have been at the Games and talked to Father. Why hadn’t he? A flash of anger shot through my body. Jumping to my feet, I ran after Tío.
“Why didn’t you come this morning?” I yelled at his back.
Tío turned and stared at me for a moment, his forehead creased in thought. “The Games,” he said at last. “They were today, weren’t they?”
“Of course! And you . . . you forgot.”
Tío seemed genuinely upset. “I’m sorry,Andrea, but I couldn’t come. Your father ordered me to patrol the Forbidden Lands.”
He was lying. I knew he was lying. “But you promised. You promised to help me convince Father I could be a knight.”
“And I did, Andrea. I did ask him on my last visit. Your father refused. Nothing I might have said today would have changed his mind.”
I looked away. So it had all been decided in advance, and my winning at the Games had made no difference. Through my unshed tears, the pebbles glittered at my feet like jewels in the bright light of the two moons.
“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” Tío asked, his voice warm and inviting. I tried to answer, but my words came out broken, as if a heavy hand were squeezing my throat.
“I guess things didn’t go well for you at the Games,” Tío he added.
My head shot up. “They did! I won the golden arrow.”
“Congratulations, Andrea! I knew you could do it.”
“Yeah, sure. But it was useless. Father has ordered me to join Mother tomorrow.”
“Your father has ordered you to join your mother tomorrow? How cruel of him, indeed, my dear Andrea. Doesn’t he know you need a vacation?”
“A vacation?”
“Yes, Andrea. A vacation. A couple of weeks on your own to get used to the idea.”
I stared at him. What was he talking about?
Tío smiled. “I’ll tell you what. Let’s go back now, before your father gets angry with you for leaving. Tomorrow I’ll ask him for permission to keep you as my helper. This will give you time to think about it.”
Time to think of a better plan for leaving. I smiled back. “I guess I could do that.”
Tío’s eyes looked deeply into mine. He frowned. “But you must promise you will join your mother as soon as I leave.”
I sulked.
“Come on, Andrea. Promise or there is no deal, and you’ll have to join your mother tomorrow.”
“All right, I promise.”
Tío beamed at me and, with his arm behind my back, pushed me along.
“You know, Andrea, I don’t know why you dread being with your mother so much. If you are not meant to be a lady, eventually she will have to desist.”
“Do you really think Mother will give up?”
“Of course she will. Jen—I mean Doña Jimena is very strong-minded. She always has been. But not even she could make you into what you are not.”
I wanted to believe him so badly, I pushed my fears to the back of my mind and lost myself in his stories. Stories of another time and place, of when Tío and Mother were children, of the smart and strong-minded girl Tío claimed had been my mother.
“Do you know your mother was determined to be a physician before she married your father?” he asked me sometime later.
“A physician? How disgusting!”
“Disgusting? Oh, well, I suppose you can call it that. Or maybe I got the story a little confused. But I am sure she had great aspirations once, before she grew up. We all do, don’t we? Even princesses in torn dresses.”
“What about you,Tío?” I asked him to hide my embarrassment. “What did you wish for when you were a child?”
Just then the path veered left, and as we turned, my father’s castle came into view, glowing softly under the copper light of Lua. Over the keep, which was the tallest tower, the blue-and-white banner of Gothia, our kingdom, undulated in the evening breeze. The king was in the castle.