Chapter Twenty-One: In Which Casper was Right
Kalys had never really fell threatened by another girl before. Certainly not for a boy. But here she stood in the hallway watching Rolf, Celie, and Pogue fists clenched and jaw set. She had never been in a jealous rage before, but she had no doubt this was it. Insecurity and pain welled up in her chest as she watched, making her desperately want to cry. Sure, she'd heard about Jane Marie, the girl Rolf often pined after, who also happened to be Pogue's sister; but she had never met her. It seemed good looks ran in the family. With petite shoulders Kalys her whole life had dreamed of, and a long, slender body, Kalys was about to lose it with jealousy. Rage boiled up into her as the girl's pretty fair cheeks lit up with a blush at one of Rolf's jokes. He said something else and she giggled. It was very high-pitched and Kalys thought it was hideous.
She sighed, taking a step forward as the girl giggled again, before pushing lightly of Rolf's chest, saying something over her shoulder as she left. Kalys composed herself; though she felt very ugly, she would at least attempt to be elegant with her behavior. At least until they got to their bedchambers where they could discuss privately. Feeling rather proud of her composed emotions, Kalys smiled.
"It would never work, Rolf," Pogue said teasingly, playfully shoving. "My sister is way too pretty for you."
Kalys cracked when Rolf smiled awkwardly. Fear, anger, and hurt welled up inside her. They had been in such a good groove; but then this had to ruin it. Was it all fake? Was everything he said to her a lie?
"It wouldn't work because Rolf has a wife on the verge of giving birth." Kalys could hear the coldness in her voice; she had never sounded more angry in her life. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she turned on one heel, heading away; hoping the Castle would give her some alcove to hide in and cry. She heard Rolf swear and his patter of footsteps. He put a hand on her wrist, but she yanked away from him.
"Kalys-" He started, ducking his head when she looked at him straight in the eye.
"I don't want to hear it," she snapped, her braids whipping as she turned the hall.
To her gratitude, she opened a door that she knew to be a closet, shutting it before Rolf could see her. She tried to keep her crying as quiet as possible as she slid to sit on the floor, face buried in her hands.
...
Queen Celina hadn't expected to find a sobbing pregnant girl in a broom closet on a mission for Bran, but here she was. Kalys looked up at her mournfully, before putting her face in her hands. Queen Celina wondered how she'd been there; her braids were mussed and her gown was crumpled.
"Oh, darling, what happened?" she asked, crouching to put both hands on her daughter-in-law's tear stained cheeks. Kalys tried to shrug, but ended up just bursting into tears again. "Come along, Kalys dear, you look like you need some tea."
She helped the girl up with some effort; a feat which Celina remembered not to be easy, and led her to her solar. She called a maid for some tea before sitting Kalys down in a chair after smoothing out the hair sticking to her face. Kalys sniffed gratefully, and then the queen poured him some tea. She laced her fingers around the steaming teacup, sighing.
"Now what happened?" The queen said, taking Kalys's hands in hers and looking into the tearful eyes.
Kalys flushed. "It's really nothing," she murmured. "I-I well, I saw Rolf with Pogue's sister, and though he was probably just being friendly. all I could think about was what Lilah told me about his past feelings, and then I let my emotions get away from me when Pogue started teasing him, and I-I just got so, oh, what's the correct word? Jealous will do, I suppose. Jealous of everything; her looks, her figure, the way she made Rolf blush."
Queen Celina nodded, taking a sip of her tea. Kalys looked like she was going to start crying again.
"It's alright, darling, get it all out," she encouraged. She knew exactly what she was doing; Kalys had never been very dramatic, at least in front of her, but pregnancy would do that to a woman. Queen Celina ha gone through it herself four times; not to mention she already had an overly dramatic daughter.
"It's just so awful," Kalys sobbed. "I'm so sick of being trapped in this body; I can barely move, my feet are always tired, I have gained extreme amounts of weight everywhere, and I have been so hyper-sensitive. I just want to run and hide forever."
Queen Celina knit her eyebrows together as Kalys cried. She had no idea how it must feel to be Kalys; having her people die off in a place where she had only been met with pain, learning to survive all on her own. Then moving to a magic Castle to train griffins and unicorns in a culture where she didn't know anything. Only to marry a prince and be pregnant by sixteen, with an evil wizard threatening her new home, husband, and unborn baby. It was heartbreaking, really. and Queen Celina felt awful about everything that had happened to her.
"I'm in love with Rolf," she confessed, rubbing her hands down her hair, and as tears rolled down her caramel cheeks. "And after today, I-I'm just so afraid I'm going to lose him too. Because I'm not good enough."
Queen Celina moved her chair so she could sit next to Kalys and hold her. The poor orphaned girl welcomed the contact, leaning into Queen Celina's bosom, still crying. The queen stroked her head, making sympathetic noises. She felt her own tears start to fell as Kalys shook and she soothed.
"There, there, dearest, everything will be alright," she whispered, and Kalys suddenly shot up.
"What if it's not? What if Casper takes my baby and Rolf hates me forever and the Castle dies?"
She sounded a lot like Delilah, though with considerably bigger problems. Queen Celina gave on last stroke to her hair. "Don't despair, love. You will only make things worse for yourself. Trust the Castle; it's the only thing we can do."
Kalys sniffed, but composed herself. She straightened her shoulders and wiped her tears. "You're right; if the Ship brought us back to through the well, then it can certainly power through an old evil wizard."
Queen Celina tapped her daughter-in-law's chin. "That's the spirit! Now I do think you need a warm bath and a good dinner. I'll send up a tray for you. Would you like me to talk to Rolf?"
Kalys shook her head. "I'll do it. Though I will go up to my rooms."
Queen Celina smiled. She gave Kalys a motherly kiss on the cheek. "I am so proud to have a strong daughter such as you, even if it is only through marriage."
And there wasn't a truer statement.
...
Rolf couldn't speak at dinner. His hands were clammy, and his throat was dry no matter how much water he drank. Pogue and Celie were silent, his mother was silent, so that left Bran and King Glower to do all the talking (Lilah and Lulath had left for their exotic honeymoon in Bendswe). Queen Celina had informed everyone that Kalys had gone to bed early, and the statement went straight to Rolf's gut. Guilt was gnawing at him; the kind of guilt when you realize that something is entirely your fault, and you don't have any hope to be forgiven.
He dropped his soup spoon on the table quietly; eyes focused on the wall in front of him. He was trying to come up with an apology. He knew Kalys did not want eloquence, simply an honest confession. Or perhaps an honest divorce. He took a another drink of water. He'd avoided their bedchamber after initially looking for her there, but she had probably wanted time alone. She usually did when she was upset. Though he knew to be back by the night. He would probably go up after dinner was over.
Bran cleared his throat. "We've found some excellent answers in our research; they have proven thus far to be the answer to Casper's demise."
King Glower was nodding, but Rolf was still too out of it to truly process what Bran was saying. His hands were perfectly still on the table as his mind clogged with words he could tell to his poor wife who he'd terrorized today. It was an awful feeling, one that he didn't even try to push away.
"Just go, Rolf," Queen Celina whispered from next to him. "Go apologize."
So he nodded, got up from his chair and left. His hands were shaking as he heard his mother murmur something to his father before pushing open the door. He swallowed turning a corridor. His heart raced with each stair he was climbing, and he hoped to the gods she wouldn't want to divorce him after this. Too soon, he was by his own door, hand hovering over it. Should he knock? It was his door, but it was also Kalys's? It was locked, and he fished for the key in his pocket. Slowly he pressed it in, hearing the latch click. He took a breath and stepped in.
He saw Kalys immediately with a gag in her mouth tied to a chair. Her eyes were wide and she was shaking her head. Rolf's hand went for the nonexistent sword at his belt, but it was to no use, obviously. She kept trying to move her head in a gesturing way as Rolf took three steps forward, fear racing in his heart as he reached to untie her. His hands struggled and his mind couldn't think. His other problems faded away as he desperately ripped the gag from her mouth. She coughed trying to say something. He heard the water closet door creak and he fell to his knees, hands diving under his bed.
"Kalys, spear or sword?" he whispered quietly, feeling the leather handle.
"Spear," she answered in a soft voice, not even moving her lips.
He yanked out both weapons from where he had compiled them after the assassin had attacked his room; something that had been of his father's suggestion and his mother's ignorance. He plucked the sword up, swiftly cutting through the ties in the chair. And none to sooner. As Kalys grabbed the spear shaft very naturally a hooded man burst out from his dressing room. He held only a dagger, though he had another companion join him from the dressing room in seconds.
He couldn't focus on what Kalys was doing; though when he glanced back she was holding herself pretty well with the man with the dagger. He was impressed. His own sword clashed against another hooded man, and Rolf soon realized he was much at a skill disadvantage. He tried to hold on as long as he could, but he knew he would probably be dead in blocked again, but his hands were still shaking, and it was very weak compared to the blow. As he raised his sword again, sharp pains burst through his right arm from what he assumed was the wound on his shoulder. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out, but gods of Sleyne, it hurt. The moment's pause was all his opponent needed. Rolf's heart thumped at a very high speed as his sword was knocked out of his hand and he backed up, hands behind his head. He could only see the man's dark eyes as he inched closer, twisting his sword at Rolf's chest, ready to impale him. Rolf yelped though, when he first ran tip of his sword down a line from is forehead to his chin. Blood dripped into his eye, and he was blinded. And then he felt a very heavy weight fall upon him.
He moved, not thinking clearly, and he heard something heavy drop to the floor. When wiped at his left eye, his vision started clearing in his right to see Kalys standing over the dead swordsmen, spear impaling him in the back. She whimpered, and he saw the other man dead by the chair. She quickly rushed into the water closet and back before he could tell her to stop and search, she handed pressed a wet rag to the wound. He winced at the sore contact, but held it there. His heart rate was slowing as the adrenaline wore off, and he couldn't find words to form so they sat in silence. Kalys gripped his hand as they breathed heavily together, knowing full well they needed to send for guards.
Rolf stood up, ready to make his way to the door. He heard Kalys shriek, and then a heavy object hit his head. Then everything went black.
...
Pogue Parry didn't often know what was going on. He felt utterly useless just sitting there listening to the king. Celie had gone and abandoned him, saying she was getting one last ride in with Rufus before it got dark. He was about to get Arrow and go to his home before it happened.
A tremor went straight through the Castle, reminding him of when they had been whisked off to Hatheland. Queen Celina let out a screech that sounded remarkably like a griffin as they all tumbled to the floor. Bran was the first one up, looking for the door. Pogue let out a yell when he saw dozens of men in black with swords swarming the hallway. Soldiers were after them, metal clashing against metal. It was all so sudden. Then the door slammed closed.
King Glower and Bran had gone pale, and Queen Celina looked like she was bout to faint. Lord and Lady griffin plus Arrow had gathered around them, hissing at the door. Fear started to settle in, as minutes ticked by in silence. Finally, as if it all dawned on them, Bran, King Glower, and Pogue rushed toward the door, trying in vain to knock it down. Pogue was now examining the hinges, hoping there was a way to use pressure to take off the door. He'd tried throwing himself against it several times to no avail. Queen Celina was mustering up some sort of mutterings, but Bran was telling her it was completely useless to try.
After ten minutes of trying, and panting, they gave up. King Glower hammered his fist into the table, with a rageful roar. His face looked scarily like Rolf's the few times Pogue had seen the prince roaring mad, and he felt like cowering at the king. Queen Celina tried to grab his arm, but the king shoved her away to pound at the table once more.
"How in the absolute hell did they get in here?" The king roared. "Who are they?"
"I'm afraid that would be my fault."
They all spun around to meet the eyes of Casper. He clutched his hands to his chest, eyes gleaming wickedly. King Glower made like he was going to choke him, but the elderly man held up his hands, wiggling his fingers. Sparks were flying from them, and Bran made a sound in his throat.
"I was the one who summoned them in," the wizard said gleefully. "You really should've been more prepared."
Pogue had no idea how he'd gotten in here, but then again, the man had claimed to summon an entire army into the Castle, so it was probably the least of their problems. Pogue swallowed, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see King Glower, his face set.
Casper was conversing with a both angry and frightened Bran, momentarily distracted from the king. Pogue felt the king slip two slips of paper into his hand and he quickly pocketed them.
"Go find Cecelia," he said. "Jump out the new window with Arrow and fly to Vhervhine. It should only be two days journey on griffins. Just get her far, far away from here."
Pogue looked in surprise to see the Castle had provided a new window; one just large enough for his griffin to go through. He would've thought Casper would notice, considering he claimed to control the Castle. Not to mention, it led straight outside, which was not possible considering where the dining hall was. But he wasn't about to ask questions. He pushed Arrow out of the window, before leaping out of it himself, landing hard on his griffin. He heard a yell of surprise from Casper, but ignored it as he flew to find Celie.
Thankfully, she was just around the Spyglass Tower, looking at everything with a fearful expression on her face. She flew toward him, and the griffins were so close that their wings collided. Pogue sucked in a breath, knowing he would have to speak very loudly for her to hear him. She made a face, and just then he realized how milk-white she looked. She had seen everything from above here.
"Celie, follow me," Pogue shouted. "We're flying to Vhervhine."
...
The door, it was useless. The fighting as awful and none of them were armed. King Glower had begun trying to wade through the fighting soldiers, and though his mother had screamed at the thought, Bran knew he'd be fine. The man had gone on crusades by sixteen, and seen battles Bran didn't want to think about. Besides, he was the king, it was his job. And Lord Griffin had gone with him.
Casper had disappeared after opening the door. Right out of thin air, which supposedly wasn't possible. Bran and his mother were going through the bag f supplies he kept in his robes, searching for supplies and spells that would be helpful. he was surprised to see his mother work like this, he had expected her to break out into to tears and not function. He supposed he didn't give her enough credit. They had found a stash of weapons in the fireplace, which Bran knew how to use, though he didn't know about Queen Celina.
His mother laid out ingredients for a simple protection spell, though Bran didn't think it'd be much good. He really needed to find Thalia, because she had all the notes in her room, which was the reason she wasn't here. That, and Bran was very worried for her. His mother clucked at him to keep going, but his hands were shaking the more he thought of Thalia's safety. He shouldn't be worried, it was very hard to kill a wizard. But it was Thalia; he new he wouldn't recover if something happened to her.
"Good heavens," the queen snorted, running a hand down her face. "I have never been more glad that Lilah is gone, and Cecelia should be halfway to Sleyne City by now."
"If Pogue found her," Bran said sullenly, mixing a few drops of orchid tears.
"I'm sure he has," Queen Celina said, though her voice was shaking. "I have a great feeling that both of my girls are very safe."
"Good," Bran said. "Because I hope Rolf isn't dead."
Queen Celina gasped, resting her hands on her cheeks. She closed her eyes for a second; going pale, then red, and then pale again. She took a deep breath.
"Mother, I'm sure Father has found him-"
"No, no, no," Queen Celina responded. "Kalys could give birth any day now. No doubt Casper has her. And if Casper has her, he has Rolf, or worse, he's killed him."
Welp, this is a very short chapter. But I promise the next one will be long! I think. Some good old action for you. Until next time,
-geeky34