Take Back the Skies (22 page)

‘My husband resisted,' she bowed her head, ‘and … and they killed him.' Mary's face saddened as she spoke, and her son laid a comforting hand on her arm. Cat swallowed harshly; Christopher hadn't deserved that. He was a good man. ‘We've been here ever since, never allowed out. Guards come three times a day to give us meals. They keep us updated on the rubbish they're feeding the rest of the country through that,' she gestured to the newscast screen, ‘but they're quite happy to tell us how the war has ended, and that they have all our people fooled.' She scowled, hatred in her voice, and Cat thought that Mary was not a woman she'd like to cross any time soon.

‘Who's “they”?' Cat asked. ‘The government, I know, but who's in charge of this whole operation?'

A pained look crossed Mary's face, and she shook her head.

‘I don't know, Catherine. I'm sorry.'

‘Cat. Call me Cat. I … I don't use the name Catherine now,' she explained. ‘You must have some idea of who it might be?'

‘I can't say anything with certainty,' Mary said. ‘I don't really know what to believe any more.'

Cat sighed, glancing sideways at Fox, who shrugged as if to say ‘it's up to you'.

‘Fine,' she relented. ‘So you've been down here for the whole eight years?' she clarified, still remembering the day her mother had told her they were gone. Mary nodded, wrapping an arm around her son's shoulders.

‘Why haven't they killed you?' Fox asked abruptly. Cat shot him a scandalised look, but Mary didn't look offended. ‘It's an awful lot of effort, keeping you both alive down here.'

‘We might be useful in future,' Mary explained wryly. ‘So they're keeping us here just in case. If the country begin to lose faith, nothing will restore it more than “finding” their lost monarchs. I think the plan, should they ever need to enact it, is to tell everyone the Mericans have been holding us hostage, to spur them into taking revenge.' Cat was aghast. It had to be awful, knowing you were only alive to be pawns in the government's power play.

‘But they won't let you reclaim the throne even then,' Fox mused knowingly, and a small half-smile flitted across the monarch's lips.

‘Oh, of course not. They
allow
me to educate my son, but I'm forbidden on pain of punishment to teach him his heritage, and the role he would have taken had we not been kidnapped. Not that it stopped me,' she added flatly. ‘I always knew one day someone would find us. I never expected it to be you, though, Cat. What on Tellus are you even doing down here?'

‘It's a long story, but we're here to help,' Fox interrupted. ‘How do you know Cat? Or should I just take this as another one of your creepy “knowing everyone in government” things?' he asked Cat.

‘I … James and I grew up together, before they were taken. Ma'am was my mother's best friend,' she said. James looked so very different to the childhood friend she remembered; but she supposed she must look very different to him too.

Fox nodded, and James suddenly sat bolt upright.

‘Mother, it's nearly two,' he pointed out.

‘Quickly, you need to hide,' she urged, standing up. ‘The guards will be by with lunch soon. Is the door lock reset?'

Fox stood, eyeing her with a raised brow.

‘I don't leave any trace of my work, ma'am,' he said frankly, and she smiled.

‘I think I like you, young man,' she told him, her brown eyes sparkling. ‘Now, quickly, go and hide in James's room – we'll get you when it's safe again. And then I'll want an explanation.'

With no other choice, Cat and Fox allowed themselves to be ushered through a door off to the side, finding a bedroom that matched the decor of the living room. There weren't any personal possessions, though, making the room look cold and almost unused, if not for the unmade bed and clothes strewn over the chair and floor.

‘You'd better hide in the wardrobe, just to be safe. Sometimes they check the bedrooms,' James explained quietly, pulling open the wardrobe door.

Fox shrugged, climbing into the wardrobe without hesitation. After a brief pause Cat scrambled in beside him.

‘Stay in there and don't make a sound. I'll come for you when they've gone,' James promised, before shutting the door on them, sending them into darkness.

There was a brief moment of shuffling while they both attempted to get comfortable in the cramped space, before Fox sighed in annoyance and Cat found herself being pulled against his chest, his arm settled around her shoulders. She squeaked indignantly, and felt him shrug.

‘It's more comfortable than having your elbow in my ribs,' he muttered under his breath.

Cat could hear his heartbeat through the thick wool of his jacket.

‘Do you trust them?' he asked softly.

‘Yes,' she breathed in reply. ‘Like I said, Mary was my mother's best friend. James and I had lessons together and played together all the time as wee'uns. She always hated my father, and if the government killed Christopher … she won't let the matter lie. We can trust them.'

Cat felt Fox relax somewhat, though he gave her an odd look when she referred to the queen by her first name. Cat knew no different; it was what she'd always called her. Mary had practically been family.

There was a long silence before Fox spoke again.

‘You know, you seem to have an incredible penchant for hiding in people's wardrobes,' he told her, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

The next sound out of his mouth was a soft
oof
as her elbow impacted with his stomach. Hard.

Cat blinked in shock at the sudden influx of light, and it took her eyes a moment to adjust and recognise James staring at them, an odd look on his face.

‘You look awfully cosy in there,' he remarked, making Cat
realise Fox's arm was still around her, and she was practically snuggling into his chest. She stood quickly, and almost fell out of the wardrobe in her haste to get out of the embrace. Fox exited far more gracefully, eyeing James warily.

‘The guards are gone, then?' he asked.

‘They are,' the blond boy confirmed. ‘They left lunch, which Mother says you're welcome to share with us.'

He led them back into the living room. Mary was on the sofa and a tray of food rested on the coffee table. It wasn't much – bread, vegetables and chicken – but they shared what they had, anyway. ‘Thank you,' Fox said sincerely, surprising Cat. ‘For hiding us. You could have easily given us away.'

‘I'm not stupid, lad,' Mary retorted, raising an eyebrow at him. ‘If we've any hope of escaping, we'll need to stay on your good side. Besides,' her expression softened, and she glanced at Cat, ‘if you're anything like your mother, I know you will do the right thing. I trust you.' Cat nodded, feeling oddly humbled by the woman's words, and hoped she could live up to the expectation. ‘So how did you find us?' Mary asked curiously. ‘I can't imagine you just happened to stumble across us. What were you doing here in the first place?'

‘Well, that's a bit of a long story, actually,' Cat told her. ‘It started when I ran away after Father told me of his plans to betroth me to Thomas Gale's son, Marcus.' Mary's eyes widened.

‘Thomas Gale? Cat, dear, I don't blame you for running. I can only imagine what any offspring of his might be like. But how did that lead to you meeting … Fox, was it?' she checked, and Fox nodded, not offering his full name.

‘I stowed away on a skyship, where he lives. In his wardrobe, in fact,' Cat said with a faint blush. ‘I was pretending to be a boy – hence the haircut – and the crew allowed me to stay.'

Cat and Fox explained the events that had led them to find the room at the bottom of the compound, sharing their suspicions and uncertainties about what was going on in the city and with the children, and how they were there to find evidence enough to expose the government for what it really was. Mary and James were horrified when they heard that the children were being taken, though didn't know what was being done to them. They hadn't left their rooms since they'd arrived, and the guards didn't talk much.

‘You're welcome to sleep here as long as you're around,' Mary offered. ‘I'm afraid it'll have to be the floor, but the guards only come in at mealtimes, so you'll be perfectly safe overnight. I just ask that when you do leave, you take us with you.'

‘Certainly,' Fox agreed, earning wide smiles from James and Mary. Cat smiled too; having Fox on the same page was always helpful. Besides, they could hardly leave them down there, with what they had planned for the building. ‘Now,' said Fox, ‘I'm assuming they've allowed you a washroom down here? Would you mind if I used it? There's no point in us heading back out there – not until they go on a skeleton guard for the night shift.'

‘Of course,' said James, jumping to his feet.

Cat settled back down beside Mary as James led Fox through to the bathroom, and Mary smiled at her.

‘I am so very glad to see you, Cat,' she said softly. ‘I always wondered what had become of you – I worried that Nathaniel would corrupt you. However, I can see there's more of your mother in you.' She smiled briefly, covering Cat's hand with her own. ‘Yet the fact that you're here shows you are, in only the best ways, your father's daughter.'

Cat scowled. There was nothing she hated more than being compared to her father. People had been telling her since she was young that she had her father's spirit. As far as she was concerned, it wasn't a compliment.

‘And now I must know, though after hearing you speak about your father's plans I think I can assume the answer. How is Elizabeth?' she asked as James returned. Cat's smile faltered.

‘She … she's not well, she never has been. She told me the illness started before she got pregnant, so you must have known …' She trailed off, and Mary nodded with a frown. ‘She tries her best, but … she's been very ill for a long time, bedridden most days. The doctors say there's nothing they can do for her.'

Mary looked saddened by the news, and Cat wished she hadn't been the one to break it to her.

‘Would you … tell me about her? She didn't tell me much about what her life was like … before me. She would always get too tired to finish her stories. She told me about you, but she never said much about how you met.'

‘Of course. What would you like to know?' Mary queried.

‘Anything,' Cat pleaded.

Mary laughed lightly, curling her legs up beneath her.

‘Well, Elizabeth and I grew up together. Her father was my father's chief adviser, and we were companions. We shared the same governess, attended the same parties, we did everything together. Your mother was my very best friend, and I have never known a kinder person in my entire life.

‘As we grew older, I was allowed my choice of the young men of aristocracy, and started being courted by my Christopher. But Elizabeth's father insisted she married Nathaniel. The only reason Nathaniel agreed was because it would give him even more money and status. He loathed her, and the feeling was mutual, as I'm sure you're aware. Then Elizabeth and I got pregnant rather close together, and we used to sit for hours and plan our children's futures.'

Cat knew where this was going, and eyed James warily; he was listening almost as intently as she was.

‘Mother told me that part,' she interrupted, not sure she wanted Mary mentioning the planned betrothal. At that moment, Fox entered.

‘What have I missed?' he asked, padding silently across the dark grey carpet as he took the space beside Cat.

‘I was just telling Cat about her mother when we were young,' Mary explained, smiling. ‘Anyway, as I was saying, we used to sit and plan our futures, and, of course, the futures of our children.' She laughed, shaking her head ruefully, not noticing Cat's desperate expression. ‘As soon as you were both born, we couldn't help but imagine you growing older and falling in love, and being betrothed. The contract had been drawn up and everything.'

The young prince stared at Cat. Obviously he hadn't been told about it.

‘We would have been betrothed?' he asked his mother. ‘Cat and I? Had we not been kidnapped?'

Mary's giggle was almost girlish.

‘Well, we were young, but that's what we had hoped. I doubt even Nathaniel would have objected to his daughter marrying a prince. After all, you were such good friends as young children, it only seemed natural for you to stay close.'

Cat wanted to bang her head repeatedly against the coffee table, and she didn't need to look sideways to know Fox was scowling. Now James was looking at her like she was his one true love. It astonished her how different he was to the rosy-cheeked, cheerful little boy she'd been friends with. With a pale, angular face and his blond hair cropped close to his head, he was clearly becoming a man, and yet compared to Fox he still seemed a child.

When the guards arrived with dinner, Cat didn't dare speak to Fox in the wardrobe, and Fox didn't wrap his arm around her like last time. Cat felt the loss more than she would have liked to admit.

Once they'd rejoined the others, Fox's gaze flicked to the clock on the shelf every five minutes or so. When it chimed eleven, he got to his feet abruptly.

‘It's probably safe for us to have a wander, Cat,' he announced, going to put his boots on. Cat nodded without argument, grabbing her own boots.

‘You're going outside?' James asked, and Fox nodded shortly.

It was very clear that Fox was going off James; whether it was because of the boy's personality or the way he looked at Cat, she wasn't sure.

‘Can I come with you?' he asked.

‘Absolutely not,' Cat and Fox responded in unison. James looked surprised at Cat's refusal and pouted.

‘Why not?' he pressed.