Chapter Fifteen: All Doubt
It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
-Abraham Lincoln
xxXxx
"It was about four months ago that the pack sniffed out the princess. Despite how you met them, they're actually pretty well-behaved. They could tell that she wasn't an ordinary peasant, so they brought her to our cottage after she calmed down. Poor thing was exhausted, hungry, and scared half to death. Can't really blame the poor child, after nearly getting killed by one of her own servants."
"So you and the others took her in?" Bearskin asked, still trying to soothe a terrified Baron against her uninjured shoulder.
"That's right. We're seven brothers that have lived in this here forest for decades without seeing a soul, so we couldn't help doting on our little Snowdrop." The little man took out a dirty handkerchief to dab his eyes and long nose. "None of us were successful in finding wives, so we treated her like the daughter we never had. Sweet as honeysuckle, she was, with a voice like a nightingale." Then the man paused. "Her cooking needed some work, but she was still a good girl."
Bearskin bit back a smile. "What happened to her?"
The little man's hands turned into angry fists. "It was that no-good witch!" he spat. "Being the queen wasn't enough for her, forcing Snowdrop to leave her home wasn't enough! She'd come by every now and again and try to kill our girl while we were out hunting or working the mine."
"Mine?" the trapper asked sternly, remembering the Soot Clan.
"We have our own mine, but don't bother asking where it is. We've always preferred burning coal to wood, but there's not enough to sell for extra money. Back to the point, the queen would magic herself as random old ladies selling wares. The first time she came to call, we came home to find Snowdrop wearing a corset that was so tight, she couldn't breathe. It took her a week to recover from that."
"How do you know it was the queen?" Bearskin asked curiously.
The small man sighed while shaking his head. "My brothers and I once did a favor for a magician. No one can find our home unless we want them to, but he warned us that those with power would be able to find us if given enough incentive. No one but the queen could possibly have a grudge against Snowdrop and she said that the old woman didn't look a thing like her stepmother. If she was not a witch, she knows one, but we're pretty sure she's a witch.
"After the corset incident, we made Snowdrop promise to never leave the house without one of us or even let anyone know that she was inside the house while we were gone. A month later, we found her passed out in the main room with a jeweled comb in her hair. Since the corset incident was suspicious, we took it out and buried it. It took us almost two weeks of constant care to work whatever was on the comb out of her system. Probably poison."
"You would have had to have found her pretty fast, to have been able to save her from poison," Bearskin said while still rocking Baron against her good shoulder.
He had calmed down, but there was still a slight tremble to his small frame as he cocked an ear to the small man.
"We did. One of the pack saw a crooked old woman leaving the cottage in a ridiculously happy mood, so he got us immediately." He shook his head tiredly. "I was so sure that she'd have learned from the first time, but the simple fact is that she is such an innocent! Despite everything that has happened to her, she still refused to see anything but the best in anyone she meets."
Bearskin rubbed her cat's head sadly. "That's a beautiful, if somewhat gullible way to see the world."
Baron mewed his agreement.
"Exactly. That's why one of us started staying with her every day, to be sure that she didn't talk to another 'harmless' old lady." He shook his head mournfully. "We were so sure that way would keep her safe."
"What happened?"
He shook his head mournfully. "About two months ago, Snowdrop decided to surprise us with pies and went into the cellar to grab some of the preserves. When she took too long coming back up, my brother Gustave went down to check on her. … She was dead."
"Wait, just like that?" Bearskin asked incredulously.
"She had a red apple in her hand, with a single bite taken out of it. We only get yellow to green apples around her, so it had to have been from the witch. We tried to revive her, we truly did, but nothing worked." He blew his nose into the handkerchief like a horn.
"We were waiting for the ground to thaw out before burying her and it took a lot of time making a coffin worthy of her. It's one of our finest works of art, but we still wish we hadn't needed to make it. Will you be taking her body back to Guilash?"
"I did promise the high advisor I would, dead or alive." She sighed sadly, still rubbing Baron's fur. "He was hoping for the latter, though."
"Believe me, boy; we would all like the latter," he replied, blowing his nose again.
She had to bite on her tongue to keep from protesting about being called a boy. Older people had a tendency to call her that every now and again; there was no insult meant.
After a few more minutes of walking, the trees gave away to a small but beautifully green meadow, completely surrounded by the dense forest. In the middle of the meadow was a well-built cottage, with several little men outside of it.
As she and the one brother drew closer, she realized there were seven of them altogether.
"Brothers! Bearskin has brought us good news," the one brother said with a sad smile. "The witch is dead and gone for good."
"… Ah, but if Snowdrop were alive to hear it, that would be grand news," one of the older ones said mournfully.
Bearskin bowed respectfully to the mourning little men. "The high advisor has asked me to bring her back to her castle, in whatever condition she is in."
"You'll not be taking our Snowdrop!" another man snarled, standing in front of the little door like a guard.
"Henri, you knew all along she wasn't really ours," the first one said mournfully.
"I don't care, Raymond! I'll not have some cursed stranger come and take her, no matter who he says sent him!"
Baron meowed indignantly, but she rubbed his back in a soothing manner.
"Good sir, I am more than aware of how much she meant to you. To all of you. But I made a promise and I don't go back on my promises. I don't mind if some or all of you wished to accompany me back to the castle and tell the advisor of what the queen had been up to before her demise. He thinks she was only unhinged, not dangerous."
"Oh, she was dangerous, all right," another little man grunted, poking Henri's side. "Come now, brother; we can't ask for a better offer than that."
"But… but…" he tried to say, his black eyes overflowing with tears.
"I know. We all know, but the simple fact is that she was the kingdom's before she was ours." The comforting little man bowed back to Bearskin. "If you would follow us into the cottage?"
She nodded, but needed to bend down to almost half her height in order to get through the door.
What was inside broke her heart.
Laid across the table was a magnificent coffin, crafted of flawless glass and decorated tastefully with gold vines and flowers. Through the glass, she could see Blanche dressed in a beautiful lace gown, her arms crossed over her chest. On her brow was a simple crown, one that mimicked the vines and flowers of the coffin.
All the little men had gathered around the artwork they had created, gazing lovingly at the girl they had welcomed into their home.
"… She seems well-preserved," Bearskin managed to say as she came closer, still having to lean over to avoid the beams in the ceiling.
"Yes. We think the poison in the apple has slowed the… you know," one of the little men said while wiping his eyes with a dirty hanky.
Baron meowed incredulously and leapt from her shoulders to land on the coffin.
"Baron, let's be respectful," she warned, but he purred to soothe her.
He stared straight through the glass at the young girl, his eyes dark and stormy.
"Hey, listen to your master, will ya?" one of the men pouted, but Baron was able to avoid the attempts to take him off the coffin.
Then he looked straight at Bearskin and began meowing insistently.
"Baron, you know I can't understand a word you say," she sighed, getting to her knees next to the coffin. "Can you try the gesture thing again?"
He nodded and hopped off the coffin to land on the narrow strip of table that wasn't taken by the glass box. Then he stood on his hind legs and used his front paws to push at the coffin's cover.
"Okay, that I understand," she sighed, almost saying it in her true voice as she stood up again.
"What, you're not going to take the lid off, are you?" Henri demanded.
"I'm sorry to be a bother, but Baron's advice has yet to lead me wrong." Without another word, she carefully removed the gold-covered glass and set it gently aside.
"Now, don't be trying anything foolish with our Snowdrop," Raymond implored as Baron put his paws on the coffin's edge and took a closer look at the dead princess.
His little nose kept twitching and one little paw gently touched that lifeless cheek.
Then he turned to his keeper and began meowing frantically.
"Is there something wrong with her cheek?" she asked, feeling a bit confused.
He nodded and pointed with her at one paw before pointing at the cheek again.
She sighed and pulled off one glove. "I mean no disrespect, gentlemen-"
"This has gone on far enough!" Henri screamed, putting himself between the trapper and the coffin. "No cursed trapper is gonna touch our princess!"
She looked at him calmly. "Not even if it helped bring her back?"
He gaped at her.
"Baron avoids dead things at all costs. The fact that he's making a fuss over her says that there's something going on that we don't know. Please, let me help."
Henri looked at her with something akin to agony.
She gently took him by the shoulders and guided his body to one side. "Just trust us. Baron's the smartest person I've ever met."
The little cat stared in mute shock as she reached into the coffin and gently pressed a finger against the ice-like cheek.
Her eyes widened in shock. "That doesn't feel like dead tissue," she announced in a firm tone, using one arm to ease the top half of the body into a sitting position. She held the girl's mouth to her ear, but couldn't hear or feel any breath.
"Hold on, you mean she's still alive?" one man dared to ask.
Bearskin didn't answer, but now she was studying the young girl's face in concentration. "You said it was an apple, right? Just one bite?"
"Just one bite," one of the younger brothers confirmed in a tone that was trying not to sound hopeful.
She bit her lower lip in worry. "Could it really be that simple?" she asked Baron, who nodded, and pressed one paw against his mouth while looking at the princess.
Bearskin suppressed the urge to vomit and slipped her ungloved fingers through the girl's lips, searching for something.
With a nauseated expression, she fished the partially-chewed bit of apple out of Blanche's throat and tossed it to the ground. She listened for breathing again, but still nothing.
"Please let this work," she prayed aloud, although she wasn't sure if praying worked for the cursed. She gently eased the girl over one arm until she was almost out of the coffin, and slapped her back once like a newborn baby.
Princess Blanche's entire body shook with a startled gasp, making all of the miners jump back in surprise.
"Easy, easy there," Bearskin soothed in her gruff voice as the girl clung to her for a desperate embrace. "Just breathe."
"Snow? Snowdrop, you're alive?" Henri dared to ask.
Her lungs heaved gratefully as her arms clung to the trapper's cloak. "What… what happened?"
"You ate a poisoned apple and almost got buried alive," Bearskin told her with relief, easing the rest of her body out of the coffin and setting her on a chair.
Then she backed away, letting the little men swarm around her like bees around an exceptionally sweet flower. They were all laughing and crying as the girl hugged one brother after another.
Baron pawed at her pant leg, making her pick him up and hold him close.
"You are amazing," she whispered, using his fur to hide her own tears of joy. "I never would have known."
He gave her another stunned look, but helped lick the rest of her tears away with a pleased purr.
But after enough hugs and tears were shared, Blanche looked at her with wonder. "You're Bearskin, aren't you?"
She nodded with a small smile. "Your advisor sent me. He says it's time to come home, your majesty."
"M-Majesty?" she gasped in shock. "But my stepmother-"
"-Is dead. Your subjects await you-"
"After you get some rest, young lady," Henri insisted, revealing his softer side for the girl. "The country can wait another day for you to return." He glared at the trapper, daring her to say anything to the contrary.
"It is a long way, and you will need your strength," she agreed, secretly taking pleasure from the bafflement in the little man's eyes.
"Besides, this calls for a celebration!" Raymond cheered as his brothers gave agreeing shouts. "The witch is gone and Snowdrop is alive again! Oh, good Bearskin; how can we ever repay you?"
She shook her head with a soft smile as Baron purred on her shoulders. "You can't put a price on a life. So I don't."
ooOoo
Blanche stumbled over more rocks and branches, biting back a cry of pain. "Isn't… there an easier way?" she pleaded with the trapper.
"This is the easiest way I know of. But here," she sighed, making Baron climb into her hood so that she could sweep the young girl into her arms. "You can ride for a bit."
"Thank you," she sighed, putting her slim arms around her shoulders, under the bear cloak to keep warm. She was currently wearing one of the trapper's spare blankets and sturdier moccasins, but her skin was so sensitive that she could feel every pebble and every breeze.
There was now grass on the ground, but the winds still blew with a winter chill.
"Just how much further is it to the capital?" Henri complained as he stumbled behind with his brothers. "I'm getting blisters on top of my blisters!"
"I believe we're still three days away. Another hour and we'll make camp," she promised as Baron gave a few sullen mews.
He didn't like traveling in her hood very much. He definitely preferred her shoulders.
Blanche laid her head on her injured shoulder, making the trapper fight back a wince. "You are so nice to me, Bearskin."
"I certainly try to be."
"You're so strong and yet you're so gentle."
That made a small warning bell start ringing in the back of her mind. "Thank you, your majesty."
"You smell nice, too," she commented, rubbing her face against the injured shoulder until it was screaming in agony. "Much nicer than the men at the palace."
'Oh, please, no!' "Do you think you can walk now?" she asked in the gruff voice.
The girl gave her a startled glance, as if awakened from a dream.
"The ground is much smoother now," she pointed out as they slipped out of the trees and onto a rarely used road. "It shouldn't hurt your feet as much.
Blanche pouted, but allowed the trapper to put her down.
ooOoo
The entire city of Guilash seemed to explode as the princess and company began walking down the streets. Damsels threw flowers and bits of brightly colored paper from the windows and the people below were dancing and cheering, so unlike the solemn demeanor Bearskin had seen on her first visit to the capital.
Blanche loved every minute of it. With the grace and delicacy that had likely been taught to her since birth, she smiled and waved grandly for her subjects, who were practically falling over each other to get her attention.
Bearskin only nodded here and there, not wanting to take attention away from the princess. She was walking with the seven hobbits behind her, in two neat rows.
After the trapper was finally brave enough to draw attention to their height, they had been quick to inform her that they were not dwarves. There was apparently bad blood between hobbits and dwarves and nothing could offend them faster than suggesting they were dwarves.
"How long is this parade going to last?" Raymond asked from the side of his mouth.
"Until we reach the palace, probably. Another ten minutes or so," she answered in her gruff voice.
Baron seemed to be the one least affected by the parade. He was riding on her shoulders again, his eyes ever alert for who-knew-what?
"Um, Bearskin?" Blanche asked in a little girl tone. "I don't know how much longer I can walk. This street is awfully long."
"Do you think you can keep up at a jog?" she asked Raymond worriedly.
He nodded. "Anything to get out of the parade."
She gave him a roguish grin and swept the princess into her arms again. The crowd roared their delight as she and the seven hobbits began walking faster, ever eager to reach the palace.
But Bearskin couldn't understand why they were excited about the increased pace. At least, not at first.
ooOoo
Roughly a day later, Blanche was sitting on her father's throne. On her head was the heavy state crown and the royal robes were draped dramatically over the velvet armchairs. In her hands was a scepter and a heavily jeweled ball; both made of solid gold.
It would have been a bit more of an impressive image, if she were perhaps five years older. As things stood, she looked like a child playing dress up.
"Long live Queen Blanche the First!" the herald proclaimed, a shout that was soon taken up by everyone in the throne room.
The room was so loud, that Bearskin's ears started hurting. But she still refrained herself from covering her ears and aggravating the itch that the new court clothes were giving her.
Blanche had been very insistent on the trapper's attendance to her coronation and even threatened the abbot with getting replaced if he didn't stop shrieking about Bearskin.
'I wonder if this is what a wedding would look like,' she thought randomly as Baron purred on her shoulder. The seven hobbits were standing with her, dressed finer than they had ever dreamed. But they were willing to endure the court clothes to see their Snowdrop's happiness.
Blanche was beaming happily, although her arms were shaking from the weight of the scepter and ball. At last, she was forced to call for a servant to take them back to the royal vault.
She leaned back in her throne, sighing happily.
"Your people have missed you greatly," the high advisor said with a warm smile.
"I know. Good thing I'm not leaving again," she said with a giggle.
"Indeed, my queen. With your permission, I would like to give Bearskin his payment."
She looked confused. "Payment?"
"For retrieving you, my queen. I promised him a large bag of gold and jewels if he brought you back."
Henri gasped in outrage. "You mean you only helped us for money?" he screamed at the trapper.
"No, I helped because help was needed. Payment is very secondary for me," she replied in an unruffled tone.
Baron purred his approval and rubbed his cheek against hers.
Blanche was able to hear her perfectly. Her little brow furrowed in concentration for a whole minute.
"Shall I pay him, your majesty?" the high advisor prodded her gently.
"… I wish to speak with him first," she decided aloud, gesturing for Bearskin to come closer.
Feeling a bit of morbid curiosity, she came forward as the high advisor took a few steps back.
"Bearskin, do you want that bag of gold and jewels?" she asked outright.
"It is what I and the advisor agreed upon."
She looked irritated at the answer, but forced herself to calm down. "I was wondering if you would be interested in a different payment."
She quirked an eyebrow. "What kind of payment?"
"Well, I've just been thinking; now that I'm the queen, I think I should start looking for a prince consort. You know, a husband?"
Bearskin gave her a bit of an incredulous look. "Aren't you slightly young for marriage, your majesty?"
"Oh, you would rather wait?" she asked, sounding disappointed. "How long?"
The trapper would have stared, if she wasn't already doing so. "Maybe I should ask again," she said slowly. "Who is it you intend to marry?"
"Why, you, of course," she laughed playfully. "You did save me, after all, so naturally you're my Prince Charming."
Bearskin couldn't resist the urge to hold one hand against her forehead as a sudden headache took over her senses and Baron gave a scandalous meow of horror. "Your majesty has misunderstood. I have no intention of marrying you."
Some of the closer courtiers gasped in shock and promptly began passing the news through the large room.
Her large blue eyes widened a little further in hurt. "But… but… you saved me!"
"Yes, I did. But that doesn't mean I wish to marry you. In fact, I have no intention of getting married until after my curse is broken."
"Wait, what if you come back after finding the cure?" she begged, now grabbing her cloak with both hands. "Do you know when you'll find it?"
Bearskin closed her eyes and silently counted to ten. "Your majesty," she said slowly, since the girl wanted to act like a child. "When I find the place that can cure me, it will be my perfect home. I would probably never leave."
"But… but no! This isn't how things work! You saved me, so now we need to get married and live happily ever after!"
"Please contain yourself, your majesty," the trapper replied in a firm tone, gently peeling the girl's hands off her cloak. "You will find someone else more to your liking. I guarantee it."
"No! I want you!"
At the end of her rope, Bearskin gave her a stiff bow as she backed away from the throne. "Even the queen can't have everything she wants. Have a pleasant life." Without another word, she escaped down one corridor and began running as fast as she could.
Baron mewed in protest, so she transferred him to her arms to make the race smoother for him.
Within minutes, she was outside the spacious room Blanche had ordered for her to spend the night in. She immediately slipped into it, locked the door, and tilted a chair under the handle for good measure.
"I'm thinking we need to get out of here pronto," she told Baron as he hopped out of her arms.
He meowed an agreement as he turned to face a corner like a gentleman.
Grateful for his manners, she immediately got out of the court clothes her curse had stained white and retrieved her own from the fancy wardrobe she had set her own clothes in. "I guess this explains why the servants put a bunch of fancy clothes in here instead of just the one set for the coronation."
Baron growled while nodding his head, still facing the wall.
Within seconds, she was back in a tied-on shirt and comfortable pants and made to slip her surprisingly small feet back into her heavily padded boots.
She stopped for a second and looked at her feet. The bottoms were hard as stone and cracking slightly. She hadn't been taking as good care of them as she should have. But how could they look so dainty, even in such poor condition?
"Meow?" Baron asked, still facing the wall.
"S-Sorry," she apologized, slamming her feet into her boots and pulling the strings tight. "Got lost in thought."
A knock came at the door. "Bearskin? It's me, we need to talk," the abbot asked, sounding strangely panicked.
Sighing, she removed the chair from the door and quickly grabbed the man by the front of his fancy robes in order to pull him into the room.
He yelped in surprise, but she had already released him to lock the door again.
"You'd better make it quick. I'm leaving immediately," she told him in a no-nonsense tone. The last thing she felt like dealing with was wild denunciations.
"G-Good," the man gasped, pounding one hand against his frail chest. "But you won't be able to go by the corridors. Soldiers are already coming for you."
"What?" she demanded angrily, but then he shushed her.
The old abbot was walking to the far side of the room. "Get your things and bring your cat. We need to be fast."
Bearskin gave him another strange look, but buckled the satchel under the cloak as Baron stepped close, looking strangely haunted. "Why are you helping me if you hate me?"
Someone started pounding on the door again. "Bearskin! Open in the name of the queen!"
Holding a finger to his mouth to encourage silence, the old abbot pulled on a long rope, making part of the wall give away. He stepped inside while motioning for the trapper to follow.
Both she and the cat jumped through the opening, just before it closed, and just before the soldiers were able to break through the door.
"The palace is riddled with secret passageways," the abbot whispered, lighting a small candle before marching down the dusty corridor. "It pays to know such secrets."
"Why are you helping me again?" Bearskin whispered as she and Baron followed him on silent feet.
"Blanche was obsessed with you long before you came to Thegui. I knew that if you were the one to find her, she'd insist on a marriage in spite of your curse, so I made some… arrangements."
"If you're planning a double cross-" she growled in warning as Baron did the same.
"Do I look like I want to die? Everyone knows what you can do if irritated enough. No, I simply have some loyal servants waiting to take you out of the kingdom, as far as possible. It won't be comfortable, but it will have to do. Everything is ready, boys?" he asked as they came across two poorly dressed young men, standing on either side of a large trunk.
"All is in readiness, your grace," the older of the two men said with a fluid bow.
"Excellent. Bearskin, if you and your cat will step inside the trunk, these two will be able to slip you onto a ship and out to… oh, it's better if I don't remember. You'll be able to handle yourself from there, won't you?"
Baron hopped into his keeper's arms with a grateful mew.
"We should. Thank you," she said gratefully while stepping into the opened trunk. The inside of it was lined with blankets so that her curse wouldn't touch the trunk.
Just as she was arranging herself inside the trunk, one of the servants pulled out a small vial.
"We'll need to drug the cat or he'll-"
"Not on your life," she snarled, holding him close for protection as he mewed in horror.
"Come on, he'll make a fuss if we just close the lid on him," the other man tried to reason. "We'll never sneak the trunk out if he starts meowing or scratching at the wood."
"No? Watch this; Baron, we'll need to be quieter than mice until further notice. Can you handle that?"
He nodded vigorously, and rested his head on her shoulder as she lay down inside the trunk.
"Close it. We'll be fine."
The two men looked at the abbot, but he was already leaving down another passageway.
"Well, here goes everything," the younger man sighed, gently closing the trunk and locking it tight.
There were several small holes in the lid to allow air to pass through, so there was no need to worry as the two men picked up the trunk.
"Wow, he's a lot lighter than I thought he'd be," the younger servant said with surprise.
"Shh! This just has fancy silks, remember?" the older one hissed as they began marching through the secret passageways.
Once they had gone a small distance, the trapper could feel Baron's rough tongue caress her chin, almost definitely thanking her for not allowing anyone to drug him. She answered his gratitude with softly running her bare hand through his fur.
Bare! She had forgotten her gloves! Oh well; she had several pairs inside the satchel, and Baron already knew she was a girl.
Eventually they came out to some light and a loud bell was pealing as panicked shouts filled the air. But the two men were calm as they loaded the trunk onto the back of a wagon, which took off at a slow plod.
'Being quiet for this long is a little harder than I thought,' she couldn't help but conclude as one leg fell asleep. She desperately wanted to switch positions, but didn't dare for fear of being discovered.
Baron seemed to sense her unease, because he started licking her face again. Even that was a welcome distraction from the way her leg was now tingling.
After what felt like an hour on the wagon, it finally stopped and the two men carefully unloaded it to carry it up some wooden plank.
"Ah, would these be the silks from the palace?" a scratchy voice asked as the ground seemed to sway worse than usual.
"That they are, Captain. Where do you want them?"
"Just leave it here. I'll have me own boys take them below. Thank'e for delivering 'em, now we can ship off!"
Bearskin could hear the two immediately run down the plank again after gently setting the trunk down. She decided she didn't like the way the ship was moving at all.
Several voices were now heard, one dominant of them barking orders as feet pounded like thunder. Then the floor beneath her began moving worse than before as a great wind blew through the holes in the lid.
"Oy, Captain! Where do you want the fancy box?" a rough voice asked as a boot kicked the trunk's side sharply.
Both Bearskin and Baron were just short of letting out a yelp.
"Careful with that! The contents of that box made me a good deal of money! … Put it inside me cabin for now."
"Aye, Captain." Whoever it was, he was strong enough to pick up the trunk by himself. "Didn't you say there were silks in here?"
"That's what's supposed to be in there."
"Feels a little heavy for cloth." He briefly shook the trunk, much to the occupants' displeasure. "Are we turning into smugglers?"
"Don't be ridiculous, just get it into me cabin."
The trunk moved as the man shrugged and started walking. But at least he had the decency to set them down gently before the captain locked the door behind him.
"All right, now," the man said with relief as he knelt by the trunk. "Let's see who the distinguished abbot wanted out of Thegui so badly." He began tinkering with the lock, but couldn't unfasten it.
'Come on, come on! My legs are killing me!' she longed to cry out, but didn't dare. Not yet.
"Okay, that does it," the man snarled, getting out what sounded like a metal tool. "Try not to take this the wrong way, stranger."
Without warning, the edge of an ax slammed into the trunk, making Baron meow with alarm. But Bearskin made him press his head against her shoulder as her heart pounded like a race horse.
Another slam with the ax and the top of the trunk began breaking apart.
"For the love of heaven, don't swing that thing again! I'll do the rest!" she growled, not trusting the man to finish the job without killing her and the cat.
"Ah, so there is someone in there," he sighed, ripping the ax out of the trunk. "I was wondering if you were even alive."
She answered that with a good punch to the lid, making her fist jut out of it dramatically. The wood grain scratched her skin, but she couldn't focus on that. She just wanted out!
Like a butterfly escaping from its cocoon, she forcefully stretched her body out, making the trunk splinter and shatter into several pieces.
At last, both she and her cat were free. She pushed aside one last piece of the side away from her arm and began massaging circulation back into her legs. "Dang, but it feels good to be out of there!"
Baron happily meowed his agreement, stretching happily from his place on her lap.
She turned to the terrified man pressing himself against the wall and gave him a roguish grin. "If I had known you were going to use an axe, I'd have gotten us out from the start. Where are we headed, Captain?"