The Wild Swans (27 page)

Steffen relaxed. “Of
that we are well aware.”

“As such
, Arcainia has not prospered under Clotilde’s rule. Her presence is evil, and the land is rejecting her. There was a famine this year—almost all crops were lost to blight or fungus. A storm hit Carabas harbor and nearly destroyed it. Without Prince Rune’s frequent patrols, more magical creatures with ill-intensions entered the country. Several villages were destroyed by those creatures. The army is underfunded and will not be able to survive much longer without proper finances, and as Clotilde lacks access to the majority of the country’s funds, she has raised taxes to support her spending.”

“How high are the taxes?” Elise asked
, her eyes narrowed.

“Too high. After the massive crop failure
, many of your subjects are unable to pay the tax. Normally, they would leave and become refugees, but your subjects trust you, and they’re waiting for your return,” Angelique said. “But Clotilde does not let them go unpunished.”

Elise stared at her welt
-covered hands. Clotilde was going to ruin the country and beat all of their subjects into submission. Arcainia was suffering.

“
We
will have to do something,” Mikk said. “Not Elise.”

“It’s about time we take some of the burden
,” Nick said.

Gerhart stood to snag a marmalade tart. “I try to look useless
, but I don’t relish the idea of Elise being the only one in our family responsible for our country’s freedom,” he said.

“We can do nothing more today. That much is clear,” Steffen said, rubbing his eyes.

“Daylight is all
but gone. If we set out for Arcainia, we would not get very far,” Rune agreed.

“We may spend the even
ing here,” Angelique said.

“Your friend will not mind?” Elise asked.

“Stil? No. Even if he comes home, I doubt he will notice our presence, although I must apologize, for he does not have enough rooms for us all,” Angelique said.

“No matter
, we men will sleep here. There are plenty of cushions, and we’re used to spending our nights in much more uncomfortable places these days,” Steffen said, the corners of his mouth turning wryly.

“Do
es he have a room for Elise and Brida?” Rune asked.

“
Yes,” Angelique said.

After another hour or two of discussion
, Angelique showed Elise and Brida to a guest room—which was just as lavish as the bathroom.

Elise relished the feel
ing of soft, clean sheets and a feather-stuffed mattress, but her mind would not settle even after Brida blew out the last candle.

Elise couldn’t stop think
ing about Arcainia.

When Angelique first said Elise could defeat Clotilde
, Elise wanted to cry. Hadn’t she done enough? She almost died freeing her brothers, and more was required of her? But even as she wallowed in her misery, the faces of her friends and servants back home played a continuous loop in her mind.

There
was sweet Gretta from the Treasury Department; she always made sure Elise had tea to serve any visitors; Flora, the pastry chef—she slipped Elise extra treats whenever it had been a rough work day; and Otto, King Henrik’s valet who thought to routinely send Elise a stomach tonic when she first joined the royal family and, unused to the sheer amount and richness of food, made herself sick with her greed on a daily basis. Even those Elise didn’t personally know she remembered—the guards on their patrols who took the time to bow
and
smile, the hotheaded bunch of secretaries from the Commerce Department who ate like a flock of seagulls, even the kind-hearted stable hands of the royal stable that knew of her fear of horses and worked with her to disguise it.

The Treasury D
epartment employees alone were enough to make Elise reconsider, but the longer Elise remembered who was back in Arcainia, the more convinced she was that she had to do something. What forced her to make up her mind was the memory of her father, King Henrik.

He
was a great man, always warm and friendly. Even though the Royal brothers sometimes took pains to remind Elise she was a fosterling, King Henrik never withheld affection or love from her. He showered gifts and attention on her like she was one of his own children.

Elise couldn’t abandon him to Clotilde’s clutches.

Chapter 13

In the late hours of the night, Elise slid out of her warm bed. She shivered in the cool air and felt her way around the room. She found the slippers Angelique had given her and slipped them on. She eased the door open and was halfway through it when Brida spoke.

“You’re leav
ing.”

It
wasn’t a question.

“
It is unlikely my brothers will allow me to try to take Clotilde on,” Elise said.

“I agree.”

“But if there’s a chance I can free Arcainia, I must try, even if it is risky and foolish.”

“I agree
,” Brida repeated, lighting a candle before she tossed blankets off her body. Like Elise, Brida went to bed fully clothed. However, she went a step further and still had her weapons strapped to her. “Which is why I will accompany you.”

Elise stared at the captain. “You knew I
was going to leave tonight?”

“I suspected
,” Brida said, shouldering the supply bag she had brought into the bedroom. “Let’s go.”

Elise and Brida tiptoed through the strange house
, blowing out the candle when they found the salon. Coals still glowed in the fireplace, giving them just enough light to see by as they slinked through the treacherous maze of male bodies.

Elise’s brothers
were strewn through the room, and their outstretched limbs made it difficult to wade around them and get to the door. Elise almost fell once to avoid stepping on Mikk’s arm when he moved it unexpectedly, but Brida caught her and set her upright before they sprang the last few steps to the door.

They exited the salon
, or tent as it was, and almost rammed into Angelique.

“Princess Elise
, Captain Meier. How surprising,” she said, her face illuminated by the glittering sky.

“Good even
ing, Lady Enchantress. What brings you outside at this hour?” Elise asked, stalling so she could come up with a legitimate reason for their presence.

Angelique indicated to the sky. “
I was checking on my mount. I rode him longer than usual, and I wasn’t sure what condition he would be in.”

“Oh
,” Elise said, wondering why the beautiful enchantress pointed to the sky.

Angelique studied Elise and Brida
, but refrained from imposing a similar question on them. All the same, Elise blurted out, “Do you really believe I can take on Clotilde?”

Angelique nodded. “I do.”

“What do I need to do?”

“Your
bare touch should be enough. It seems that you do not toggle your powers on and off, but you constantly use them. As a result, you do not need to worry about activating anything on your end. Clotilde keeps her tools for her dark magic on her at all times. If your magic is strong enough, your touch will cancel her magic, as well as the artifacts’ magic. It will be her end,” Angelique said.

“If my magic is strong enough?” Elise asked.

Angelique nodded again. “I have no way of measuring your magic, so I cannot tell you if your powers are enough to smother everything. The way you attack her would make a difference, I suppose. Skin to skin contact would provide the best channel for your magic to reach her. The more contact, the better.”

“I see
,” Elise said.

Brida slid her pack off her shoulders
as she approached her tethered mare. “Your powers were enough to keep you from being cursed, Fürstin. I am certain you are strong enough to defeat that witch.”

“Thank you
, Brida. I wish I had your confidence,” Elise said. “We are leaving tonight, before my brothers wake. They will never let me face Clotilde, and I feel that I must try.”

Angelique smoothed the skirt of her iridescent dress. “I think you underestimate your powers of persuasion over your brothers
, Princess. If you tell them you feel strongly on the matter, I suspect they will bow to your wishes.”

Elise felt her heart squeeze in her chest
, as if a hand were crushing it. “Perhaps,” she agreed, thinking of the sleeping princes with their soft snores and strewn limbs. “But, but,” she struggled for a moment to school herself. “I cannot risk them again. I almost lost them, and I could not live with myself if Clotilde cursed them a second time,” she said, her voice nothing but a whisper.

There
was a long space of silence.

“I understand
,” Angelique said.

“You do?” Elise perked up.

Angelique’s smile was painful. “More than I wish I did. You must leave now if you are to have a chance of confronting Clotilde without your brothers. When they wake, I will hold them off as long as possible, but they know you. The instant they realize you have left, they will set out after you.”

“Then we’ll
have to make the best use of our head start,” Brida said, handing Elise the reigns of Brida’s tacked up mare.

Elise blinked
; she hadn’t noticed when Brida started saddling the horse.

“You will need to go slow
ly. It is dangerous to ride in the dark. It is your good fortune that tonight is a full moon,” Angelique said, looking to the sky.

“We are a stone’s throw from Loire. Arcainia isn’t far beyond
that. What time we gain by leaving tonight should be enough to keep us ahead,” Brida said as she saddled Falk’s horse.

“One can hope
,” Angelique said. “If you excuse me, I will take my leave of you here. If your brothers ask, I can truthfully say I did not see you leave. I wish you a safe journey and great luck in your venture.”

“Thank you for everyth
ing, Lady Enchantress,” Elise said.

“I am glad I can be of assistance
,” Angelique said before she disappeared into the tent/parlor.

“I like her
,” Elise announced, handing Brida’s mare off to the captain before she took the reins of Falk’s fidgety horse. (Elise almost wished Brida had chosen another horse, for he was big and flighty as well as fast, but she supposed she may as well end her journey on the same horse it started on.)

“She is a good sort of enchantress
,” Brida said, swinging up into the saddle.

Elise mounted Falk’s horse and followed Brida when the confident soldier set out at a walk. “Thank you
, Brida.”

“For what
, Fürstin?”

“For travel
ing with me, for risking your life for me.”

“You are a
person worth risking my life for, Fürstin.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

With Brida lead
ing the way, they made excellent time. They crossed the distance to Arcainia much more quickly and efficiently. A journey that had taken Elise a week (towing swans and mostly walking) took but a few days.

When they reached
the Arcainian border, it was early morning, and the sky was still pink with dawn.

“We’ll avoid towns as much as possible
, but we’re out of food, and the horses could use some grain. We stop at Trakau for those things. I will make our purchases, but I dare not leave you in the forest. You’ll need to come with me, but do not speak a word and keep your hood up,” Brida said.

“Is it so bad if we are recognized?”

“I don’t expect trouble from the people, but they will be able to tell your brothers what direction we set out in,” Brida said.

“Isn’t it fair
ly obvious we will make for Castle Brandis?”

“Yes
, but if we’re not careful, they will intercept us on the way there. I imagine we were able to keep our lead as your brothers do not know Loire, but now that we are back on Arcainian soil, Prince Rune will be able to lead your brothers on paths that are not common knowledge and are much quicker to transverse,” Brida said, rolling up a map.

“I do not think we
, as siblings, give Rune’s intelligence enough credit,” Elise said. “He is the sneakiest of all the princes.”

“Perhaps. Hood up
,” Brida said before she rode off.

Trakau
was only a few minutes away. Elise stood with the horses while Brida bargained for grain and foodstuff. Elise could see the foul effects of Clotilde’s rule in Trakau, just as Angelique said.

The people
were thinner. Arcainia was famous for their chubby, red-cheeked subjects, but everyone living in Trakau looked gaunt, their eyes glassy like marbles. The available market goods were few and expensive. Normally the place should have been overflowing with corn, squashes, and gourds at this time of the year.

Elise near
ly jumped out of her dress when a peasant woman touched her elbow, pulling her from her stormy thoughts. “Princess Elise?”

Still used to hold
ing her tongue, Elise stared at the woman and backed up into Brida’s mare.

“It is you
,” the woman said. She spoke in a hushed tone, but it was as if a wind carried her guarded words to every person in the village.

The
little business being conducted in the market fell silent. The washerwomen stopped washing clothes to stare, and a farmer with a load of wilted hay even pulled his large draft horse to a stop in the middle of the road.

Everyone stared at Elise.

Brida is going to be fuming
.

“Can I help you?” Elise asked.

The woman reached out and took Elise’s right hand, lifting it up for inspection.

Although Elise’s bath
had remarkably improved her hands, the outdoor travel and time away from Falk’s various concoctions undid all that good work. Her hand was still spotted with oozing welts, and her fingers were painfully curled from the mad rush of knitting to finish the last of the capes. Her hands were ugly.

Tears formed in the peasant woman’s eyes
, and she turned around to look at her friends and neighbors.

All at once everyone began mov
ing again.

One man fixed a feedbag filled with sweet grain on Brida and Falk’s horses. A peasant woman wrapped a cloth around a block of cheese and packed it in
Elise’s saddlebag while the village farrier picked out the horses’ hooves.

Elise watched all of this happen
as the woman held her hand. “Pardon me, we couldn’t possibly—I do not know how much money we have on us…
Brida
!”

Brida
was at Elise’s side in a moment. “While we thank you for your service, I regret to inform you all that we cannot possibly pay for this,” Brida said as a child filled their water skins from the village well and replaced them on the horses.

“We require no payment
,” the farrier said, using a handkerchief to dab at the sweat on his red face.

“
But,” Elise started.

“It is our pleasure
, Princess,” the woman who held Elise’s hand captive said. She bowed over Elise’s hand and released her.

“
But,” Elise repeated.

“Our hearts go with you
,” the man with the feedbags said after he unclipped the bags from the horses.

Elise mulish
ly tucked her head, but stopped when Brida placed a hand on Elise’s elbow. “Leave it be, Fürstin. We must be thankful and keep moving.”

Elise reluctant
ly turned to her subjects. “Thank you. I can’t imagine what this will cost you, but thank you.”

Brida and Elise mounted up and set off
, waving farewell. When they just left the village, a youth on a swift horse galloped past them.

“Hm
,” Brida said, studying the horse and rider as they disappeared.

“What?” Elise asked
, her shoulders stiff with strain as she clung to the saddle.

“We may soon
have company.”

“Unwanted company?”

“No, I don’t think so.”