Chapter 45
"A nun, yet not a nun. A noble, yet not a noble," Queen Yseldra spoke, smirking. She stood below me, her arms folded in perfect poise. Though the sky was swathed in black, her golden eyes shimmered like twin lanterns held by some infernal beast. They caught me there. They devoured me.
I was atop the gallows, trembling upon a wooden box, with a rope about my neck. My shift clung to me, soaked through with sweat. My hands had grown cold, though it was not from the night. I stood before death, and yet I could not comprehend the reason.
Down below, the crowd roared like a beast with a thousand mouths. Faces twisted in delight, flames of torches swayed, and laughter rose like hymns from the pit. They rejoiced at the sight of me. They praised the gallows.
Queen Yseldra's smile grew. It was the grin of some ancient evil. With the faintest tilt of her hand, she condemned me.
The box was kicked from beneath me and my body fell. The rope snapped tight. A sickening crack followed, then silence, then agony. I could not breathe. The coarse and cruel noose bit deeply into my throat, grinding into my skin as I convulsed. My mouth opened for breath, but there was none to be found. I kicked and twisted, feet striking at air, at nothing, at everything. The world became a blur of noise and shadow.
My heart shattered, and into darkness I fell.
---
They say when a good person dies, they go to heaven, where angels with wings twice as large as their size fan behind the angels' backs greet you. The angels will fly you to the gates of your forever home, or to the circle of reincarnation. You get to pick your destination.
They say when a bad person dies, they go to hell, where raging demons devours your limps. Your flesh will regrow, then get devoured again for an eternity.
But this did not look like heaven, or hell. I was in my guest chamber at the palace.
It was a dream. Again. The night was still dark.
Two months have passed since the day Dr. Fexmere last examined me. In all, I have now been at the palace for five months. Spring has come to the earth, yet in my soul there is no budding joy.
I remain adrift in dreadful uncertainty. I cannot discern what designs Queen Yseldra has constructed, and the not knowing wears away at me like water upon stone. The duke's men still pursue me in silence, and I am stretched thin, held together only by prayer and breath.
Fevered dreams plague my rest, vivid and unkind. The gallows return to me always. Though I have since learned the dreadful rumor was false, it continues to haunt me as though it were not.
I rose from my bed and moved to the writing desk, drawing out the familiar pages. There were seven entries on this page. I took up the quill, dipped it in ink, and wrote the eighth.
'Today, a dove tapped its beak against my window. When I was a child, my father once tamed a dove that looked just like it. He gave it to me for my sixth birthday.'
I ended it with the date and year beneath, just as I had done with the other entries. My mother once told me that, upon waking from a nightmare, I should write something that made me smile during the day. She said I ought to remember only the good.
I read the entry just above it, dated three days prior.
'Today I saw Her Majesty from afar. She held a stack of papers and, as she walked, read over each before tossing them to the ground. A train of maids followed behind, collecting them. Despite my heartache, I smiled, for she once told me she had been a wild child, and the staff were always chasing after her. I know now that I still love her.'
A sob broke from me, and I brought my hand quickly to my mouth to muffle it. I remained there for some time.
When at last the weeping passed, I returned to bed in silence.
---
"Naevia," came a voice I knew, though my mind that was still entangled in sleep could not place it at first.
"Naevia."
Something shook me… no, someone.
"Naevia."
My back was eased upright by careful hands. A weary moan escaped me as the heaviness of slumber tried to claim me once more.
"Naevia."
Again the voice, tender and persistent. I forced my eyes open, though they resisted a bit. The chamber was dim.
"Nerissea?" I murmured at last. My thoughts were slow to gather.
She helped me rise to my feet. "Would you come with me?" she asked then, her fingers curling around my right hand. In her other hand, she held a small lantern, its flame flickering like a hush in the dark.
"Of course," I answered. I would go with her anywhere. She need not even ask.
She secured my cloak around me and led me quietly into the dim corridor, our steps softened by the flats upon our feet. We wandered the same corridors, ascended and descended the same stairwells. We passed through the same chambers again and again, as though caught in a loop. In doing so, we crossed paths with the same guards and servants who manned the palace through the night. At first, eyes turned toward us with mild suspicion, but after encountering us time and again, they seemed to dismiss our presence and quietly returned to their duties.
I could not comprehend her intent. What was she doing? Was it merely a midnight stroll she desired? My breath began to labor as we descended yet another flight of stairs.
At last, she turned a corner unfamiliar to me. The walls here were less adorned, the lanterns fewer, no staff or guards were seen. A faint chill touched my skin. We must have gone beneath the palace itself.
She opened a door of stone and led me inside. With a quiet click, she locked it behind us.
The chamber was small, scarcely larger than the one I once shared with Sister Alethea at the temple. Crates lined the walls, stacked in uneven towers. Dust coated every surface, and cobwebs clung to the corners.
"Come," she whispered, moving behind a stack of crates and I followed.
"Do you see this?" she asked, pointing to a jagged fissure in the wall. It did not appear man-made, but rather as though something long ago had struck it, leaving behind a crack the breadth of one's eye.
"There is a button inside. Slip in your finger and press upward."
I reached my finger into the crevice and felt along the broken stone until I found a smooth little nub, and pressed it.
There came a soft click.
At once, a magical circle began to bloom upon the wall, glowing faintly. It began no larger than a coin, but spread slowly outward, etching a perfect ring in the stone. I should have grown accustomed to magic by now, but it continues to astound me. I watched as the center of the circle faded into shadow. It became a doorway. Beyond it, there was nothing but darkness.
A hidden passage.
Nerissea extended her hand and I placed my mine in hers. Together, we stepped through the enchanted threshold.
The moment we crossed, I looked back, only to find the wall reforming, the gap vanishing.
"Do not be afraid," Nerissea murmured softly. "There is a mechanism here, a hidden button that opens the way. Come."
Her fingers remained entwined with mine, and I clung to her grasp as we ventured deeper into the passage.
The silence was profound. Only the sounds of our footsteps echoed in that narrow corridor, mingled with the subtle rustling of our cloaks and the occasional gentle hiss from the flame within the lantern. Its light danced across the stone walls, casting long shadows that swayed like spirits walking beside us.
"This passage is known only to the royal members of House Valebrinth," she said at last. "It is an escape route, crafted to lead safely beyond the palace grounds."
I turned to look at her, startled.
"I came to know of it quite by accident. The princess in her youth was careless. She once mentioned it to me in passing. I remembered, and I explored. I daresay she has long since forgotten ever saying such a thing."
She had not brought me here for idle wonder. I felt it now. Something was stirring.
We reached a stairway, and she led me up.
"Entry is only possible through the hidden door in the storage chamber or from the exit beyond the palace," she said. "There is another button hidden at that end also."
The flame within the lantern began to dim, the shadows creeping in. Nerissea paused and placed it upon the ground. She pulled out a small flask from her cloak and poured oil into the lantern's base. The flame revived at once, casting golden light upon her face. Her hand found mine again, and we resumed forward.
"On the day of the Spring Festival," she said, "I want you to use this passage to leave the palace. Go to the festival. Tell no one. Especially not Queen Yseldra."
Leave?
My mind stilled for a moment, and then began to spin. The duke's men were still seeking me. Had she forgotten? Not just leave, but escape. And not through the gates but through a hidden passage, as though the danger lay not without, but within.
And the festival? Why there, of all places?
Could it be?
She must know. She must suspect something. Perhaps not the whole of it, but enough. Enough to fear what Her Majesty intends. Was she… helping me?
My heart swelled with fierce warmth, yet at the same time it grew heavy with dread. For if she truly was aiding me, she was placing herself in danger. And yet I could not stop the bloom of affection within me. How strange, that sorrow and joy could coexist so vividly.
"Nerissea…" I breathed, tightening my grip on her hand. Emotion stirred so strongly within me that I could not trust my voice. I pressed my lips together, hoping to keep the sob that threatened at bay.
She continued. "The exit leads directly to a small training ground for royal soldiers. They are stationed there, day and night. The royal family refers to it as a training camp, but its true purpose is to guard the passage's end. The guards themselves do not know what they protect. There is only one day in the year when the grounds are abandoned. The Spring Festival. On that day, every guard there is reassigned to maintain order among the crowds. It is the only moment the path shall be unguarded. You must use that chance. Cloak yourself well. Do not allow any servant of the royal household to glimpse your face. Upon your exit, turn right and follow the road. It shall take you to the main path."
"Nerissea… what if they punish you?"
"They shall not, if you do not speak of it."
I halted and wrapped my arms around her slender frame, pressing my cheek to her shoulder.
"Thank you," I murmured. "Thank you most kindly."
We remained thus for a moment longer, unmoving, two souls holding each other in the dark. Then she gently slipped her hand into mine again, and we resumed our quiet journey forward.
After ascending several flights of narrow stairs, we reached the end. There was no door, no marking, nothing but stone before us.
"Here," she said, guiding my gaze to a familiar crack in the wall, not unlike the one before. "Inside, on the top, there is a button. Once pressed, the wall shall vanish. This is where you will leave."
"Nerissea… will I see you again after I leave?"
She raised her free hand and cupped the side of my face. We simply stood in silence. Somehow, I knew the answer in my heart.