The Stepsister Scheme (28 page)

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Authors: Jim C. Hines

BOOK: The Stepsister Scheme
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“I’m sorry.” Not knowing what else to do, Danielle reached out and squeezed Snow’s hand.
“I heard everything, though. She gave Roland a choice. Finish the job he’d been paid to do, or suffer the same fate. He tried to fight, but she was too strong. Finally, he took his knife and opened my coffin. He could have saved himself, but instead he chose to free me. By the time I recovered enough to fight my mother, she had already killed him.”
Snow pointed to the branches overhead. “This place reminds me of our cottage. Deep in the woods, away from the troubles of the world, safe from—”
“This is the fairy queen’s labyrinth,” Talia said. She pressed a muffin into Danielle’s hand. “Safe is hardly the word I’d use.”
“Don’t be such a wet blanket.” Snow swiped a muffin for herself, then tugged the waterskin from Talia’s shoulder. “The fairy queen almost never sends prisoners into the maze at night, and the creatures who patrol this place stay close to the castle. We’ll be fine.”
Danielle took a bite of her muffin. It was dry, and the small raisins inside were hard as wood. Goat cheese had been melted over the top. Plain, simple fare, as were the strips of dried lamb meat Talia handed out next. But her stomach seemed to prefer bland these days, and it was far better than the scraps she used to receive from her stepmother. The taste reminded her of simpler times, back when her father was still alive. Back before balls and princes and stepsisters who practiced black magic.
“The aviars are tied around the bend, munching the queen’s maze,” Talia said. “Hopefully, she won’t mind. We don’t know when the stepsisters will show up, so you should rest now, while you can.”
Snow handed her choker to Talia. “The mirror will flash when they approach.” A few crumbs slipped down her chin as she spoke. “Wake me, and I’ll be able to see exactly where they are.”
“If they don’t show up tonight, we’ll start searching the chasm for the Duchess in the morning,” said Talia. She drew her sword and brought Snow’s choker close, using the light to check the edge of the blade.
“What happens if my stepsisters have more of those darklings?” Danielle asked.
“Then we’ll probably die.” Talia flipped her sword to study the other edge. She ran a fingernail along the edge and clucked her tongue. Grabbing a small whetstone from her pocket, she sat down and began to sharpen the blade. “Get some sleep, Princess.”

 

CHAPTER 10
P
ERHAPS IT WAS the magic of Fairytown that twisted Danielle’s dreams into nightmares. Or it could have been the child in her womb, or the fear and anxiety of the past few days.
In her dreams, Danielle found herself on her cot back in the attic of her old house. Her stepsisters laughed and danced around her as the shadowy form of their darkling wrapped knotted, soiled rags around Danielle’s limbs, binding her in place.
When he finished, the darkling scrambled onto her belly, which had swollen like the hills outside of town. Producing a silver shovel, the darkling rammed the blade into her stomach and turned up a spade full of muffin, which he tossed aside. Charlotte and Stacia scrambled to gobble up the discarded raisins. Danielle tried to scream, but the darkling placed a slimy hand over her mouth. Her lips and tongue turned dry, aging and shriveling like the raisins on the floor.
The darkling returned to her stomach, digging out more and more muffin until he stood shoulder-deep in Danielle’s belly.
He clawed his way back out and disappeared into the darkness. Stacia and Charlotte walked around to either side of Danielle. Charlotte produced a handful of seeds, which she tossed into the hole in Danielle’s stomach. Soon an enormous cornstalk began to grow, breaking through the low roof to let the moonlight in. More darklings climbed down the cornstalk, disappearing into Danielle’s stomach as she squirmed and tried to scream, but all that emerged was a weak gasp.
A cold hand clamped down on her mouth. “I’d prefer we not announce ourselves to all of Fairytown, if it’s all the same to you,” Talia said.
Danielle wrenched free and scooted away until her back hit the branches. She touched her mouth, then her stomach. Her clothes were once again damp with sweat, but she was unharmed.
“You were dreaming,” Talia said, her voice an odd mix of annoyance and envy. She wore Snow’s choker, and the lone, glowing mirror gave her face a nightmarish quality.
Danielle looked over at Snow. Whatever noise Danielle might have made, Snow had slept right through it. She lay curled into a ball, her blanket clutched tightly around her.
Through the branches overhead, the sky remained dark. Danielle stifled a yawn. “How long was I asleep?”
“Several hours. Not long enough. You need your rest, Princess.”
The thought of returning to that dream made her shudder. “What have you been doing while we slept?”
“I finished feeding the aviars, then brushed them down. All the while trying not to inhale.” She wrinkled her nose. “Quink wasn’t kidding about Wind-breaker, there.”
Danielle managed a weak smile.
“I also cleaned up the mess you two left.” Talia pointed to their clothes, which hung drying from the branches a little way down the tunnel.
“I’m sorry. I should have—”
“You’re not a slave anymore, remember?” Talia snapped. “Stop acting like one.” She picked up Danielle’s sword and handed it to her. “Come with me.”
Danielle managed a small smile. “If you’re trying to convince me I’m no longer a slave, shouldn’t you stop ordering me around?”
“You’re obviously too shaken to sleep.” Talia smiled. “I can remedy that. Besides, it will be good to get your blood moving so that your body won’t be as stiff.”
Danielle gasped when she tried to stand. She used her sword like a cane, hobbling after Talia until she reached a place where the passage split in two directions. To her right, she could see the three aviars. They slept standing up, bodies pressed together so their wings blanketed one another.
“This way,” Talia said, leading her down the left passage. “Sit down and spread your legs apart.”
Danielle raised an eyebrow, imagining what Snow would say if she were here. But she did as she was told, clenching her teeth at the strain on her thighs.
“Good. Lean to one side. You need to loosen the muscles, or you’ll be completely useless in the morning.”
Talia worked Danielle through a series of exercises, demonstrating each one with an ease that made Danielle want to punch her. Which might have been the idea.
When they were finished, Talia bounced to her feet, drew her sword, and turned to face Danielle. Her free hand tapped the glowing mirror. “This is your target. I want to see what you can do.”
“I can barely walk, let alone stab you.”
“Oh, you’re not going to stab me.” Talia’s grin widened. “But I want you to try anyway.”
Slowly, Danielle pulled her sword from its scabbard. “What about the noise?”
“Snow can sleep through anything.” Talia folded her left hand behind her back. Her sword angled up across her body. “Bend your knees, then lunge.”
Danielle set the sheath on the ground and tried to match Talia’s stance. The effort sent new pain tearing through her thighs, but she clenched her teeth and forced her legs to bend. She lowered the tip of her sword until it was level with the mirror, then took a broad step forward.
The pain in her thighs made her yelp, but she managed to shove her sword forward the way Talia had demonstrated.
She expected Talia to step back or beat her blade aside. Instead, Talia stepped forward, twisting easily out of the way. Her fingers clamped around Danielle’s wrist. At the same time, Talia brought the tip of her own weapon up beneath Danielle’s chin, so that Danielle’s eyes crossed trying to focus.
“Try to relax,” Talia said. She released Danielle and lowered her sword. “You’re tensing before you attack, and you draw your arm back before you lunge. You might as well scream, ‘Here I come!’”
Danielle tried again, a smaller lunge that didn’t tear her legs as badly. This time Talia danced aside and used the flat of her blade to tap Danielle’s elbow.
“You served food for your stepmother and stepsisters, right?” Talia asked.
“Since I was old enough to carry a platter,” Danielle said.
“Ever spill anything?”
For a moment, she could hear her stepmother’s furious screams, calling her a worthless, clumsy, ugly mess of a girl, while her stepsisters laughed from the doorway. “Not if I could help it.”
“Good.” Talia stepped back. “This is the same thing. Keep your upper body straight and still. Turn sideways, so you present less of a target. Use your hips and legs to move. Try to stay with me. And
relax
!”
“Relax, she says,” Danielle muttered. Moving with slow, easy steps, Danielle did her best to keep up with Talia. Talia retreated faster, and Danielle matched her pace. The tip of her sword barely wavered.
“Better,” Talia said again. “Now fall.”
“What?”
“You’re carrying the wine, and you start to stumble. Leap forward to recover your balance. And
don’t spill that wine.
”
Danielle did her best to obey. She allowed her body to overbalance, then danced ahead, keeping her body straight as she thrust her sword toward Talia.
Talia’s sword snapped against Danielle’s hard enough to knock it from her hand. Flushing, Danielle knelt to retrieve her sword.
“Not bad,” Talia said. “Move like you did just then, shoulders loose and level, and your opponent will have a harder time knowing what’s coming next. You’re not chopping wood here. Brute force can be effective, but it’s clumsy and wasteful. That sword is keen as a razor. With practice, the lightest kiss of steel can be deadlier than brute, sweeping blows. Now let’s see if you can parry.”
Danielle braced herself. Talia’s lunge was deceptively slow. Danielle swung her sword sideways, knocking Talia’s blade aside.
“Right,” said Talia. “Let me show you what would happen in a real fight.”
Talia attacked again, as slowly and gracefully as before. Danielle tried to parry, and Talia’s blade dipped beneath her own, twisted, and smacked Danielle lightly on the knuckles.
“Of course, a real enemy would have sliced off your hand,” Talia said. “Block the upper part of my blade with the lower part of yours, and don’t swing so wildly. You look like a child playing stickball, Princess. You only have to move my sword far enough to the side that I can’t hit you.”
Danielle’s fist tightened around the hilt of her sword. What did Talia expect? Danielle had never even touched a sword until her mother gifted her with this one, and it wasn’t like she had fairy magic to guide her hand. She tried to block another attack and missed, taking a slap on the elbow that nearly made her drop her sword.
“You’re tensing up again,” Talia said. She pointed her blade toward Danielle’s fist. “Your knuckles are white, Princess.”
“Maybe that’s because you keep hitting me.”
“Better me than one of your stepsisters,” said Talia. “A tight grip costs you speed and control both.” She swung her sword overhead, bringing it down slowly toward Danielle’s throat.
Danielle raised her sword to block, but caught Talia’s attack too high on her blade. Talia pressed down, twisting both weapons around and wrenching Danielle’s sword from her hand. The glass rang against the base of a tree.
“Pick it up and try again,” Talia said.
Danielle straightened. She was beginning to understand why Snow had given up on weapons training with Talia. That imperious tone made Danielle’s teeth grate. It was like being back home with her stepsisters. Danielle was just about to follow Snow’s lead and tell Talia what she could do with her own sword when she noticed something strange.
Talia was smiling. It wasn’t a huge grin. She didn’t even look particularly happy. But the tension around her eyes had softened. As she stood there, absently twirling her sword through the air, she seemed
content
.
Slowly, Danielle retrieved her sword and did her best to match Talia’s stance. She was rewarded with another brief smile.
“Normally we’d go through all twelve of the basic offensive and defensive moves, but given your condition, I think we’ll take it easy and stick with the four primary strikes and parries.” Talia flexed her arms, then sank into a guard position. “Once we’re through, I guarantee you’ll sleep the rest of the night.”
 
When Snow shook her awake the next morning, Danielle’s arms and shoulders were so stiff she could barely move them. Her legs were even worse. She sat down and tried to stretch out the muscles the way Talia had shown her. The exercises hurt, but they did seem to help her move.
Snow laughed. “I see Talia was working with you last night. Here, try to relax.”
Danielle groaned. “Do you know how many times I heard that?”
Snow scooted around behind Danielle and began to knead her neck and shoulders.
Danielle closed her eyes again, then gasped as Snow began to work on a knot at the base of her neck.

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