My Fair Godmother (32 page)

“I haven’t spoken to everyone in the room,” I told the king and walked slowly toward Prince Edmond and Prince Hugh. Part of me was sorry to reveal him, but he’d ordered Tristan’s death. I couldn’t forgive him for that.

I stopped in front of Prince Hugh. “Are you the Black Knight?”

He folded his arms and scoffed at me. “You think you can insult me by asking such a question?” The king came toward me, and I could tell he was in agreement with Prince Hugh. The king grabbed my arm and dragged me several feet away from his son, but I didn’t stop talking. I had to say it all now. “You wanted to be heir to the throne so you invented the Black Knight and had the wizard’s apprentice make an invincibility spell for you. In return you told him he and Margaret could marry when you came to power. After the Black Knight killed Prince Edmond, he would disappear. Or better yet, you’d have Simon dress in the armor and you’d vanquish him yourself. The people would love you for it.”

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The king stopped dragging me across the floor. He turned back to Prince Hugh, his eyes considering his son again.

I said, “He is the Black Knight.” Margaret stepped toward me, but her eyes turned to her father. “Are you going to let her live after speaking such treason? She kissed the Black Knight. She can’t be trusted; she’s in love with the enemy.” I turned to Margaret. “And you’re in love with a goat.

That’s why Simon hasn’t come to see you. The wizard found out he’d stolen potions and turned him into a goat.”

Margaret flinched as though I’d hit her. The color poured out of her face and she held her hand to her lips.

“No,” she said.

The king watched her and then his eyes narrowed in on Hugh. “Is all of this true?” Hugh shook his head and he tried to smile. “Lady Savannah is a liar.”

The king loosened his grip on my arm, and I took advantage of his uncertainty and stepped away from him.

“Sometimes I am a liar, I admit it. I used to have an enchantment that, whenever I lied, a reptile would grow on my tongue. It happened more often than I liked. But then, luckily, I took switching potion and when I kissed the Black Knight, I switched enchantments with him.

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Now instead of invincibility, if he lies a reptile will come out of his mouth. So I’ll ask you again: are you the Black Knight?”

Hugh took several quick breaths. His eyes locked on mine. “I don’t need to answer your charges.” Edmond drew his sword. “Yes, you do.” Hugh looked between his brother and his father, and he shook his head. “You don’t believe her, do you? Who is she? What are her credentials, that you should believe her?”

I took another step away from the king and toward the window. “Why shouldn’t they believe me? I can’t tell a lie in the presence of the Black Knight or my tongue will burn out of my mouth.”

King Roderick gripped his sword harder. He slowly raised it. “Answer the question.” Hugh held up the palm of his hand, pleading, but his other hand was near the hilt of his own sword. “She is trying to trick you!”

Which proved to be a lie. Hugh grimaced, then coughed, and a long gray snake slithered out of his mouth and dropped to the floor. The room was silent for the length of a gasp.

Then Edmond lunged toward his brother with a yell.

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Hugh sidestepped him and drew his own sword.

“Whether I have the invincibility charm or not, I can still beat both of you with a sword. Stay back.” I didn’t know how long the three of them would stay occupied or who would win. At that moment I didn’t even care. I ran to the terrace and climbed over the balcony.

The vine cracked when I stepped on it, and for a moment I thought it would give way and I’d fall to my death. I clung to the branches, waiting, but it held firm.

I figured I wouldn’t give it a chance to change its mind and moved my feet downward along the vine until I found another foothold. Little branches and twisted knots cut into my feet and hands, making me move even faster.

I had to get down. I had to get down. I had to get—I saw a light down in the courtyard, not far away from where I would land. And not a torchlight—it was the un-mistakable beam of a flashlight. “Tristan!” I called, probably too loudly since I didn’t want to let any of the guards know where I was.

The flashlight beam momentarily swung over to me, and I heard the clang of swords, the yell of men. I squinted in the direction of the light and saw Tristan. He was on foot and fighting four of the castle guards.

He had come back for me, just like I’d hoped.

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I hurried to find the next foothold. How far away was the ground? Eight feet? Ten? I shifted my weight downward, ignoring the pieces of bark that bit into my hands.

Below me, Tristan knocked the swords away from one guard and then another. Still he managed to hold the flashlight steady with one hand as he fought with the other. With a kick to the chest, he sent one guard flying into two others. In between all of this, he slowly made his way toward me.

“So,” he called over to me when he was close enough that he didn’t have to shout. “Any particular reason you’re hanging from the castle vines?”

“I’m escaping,” I told him. “What brings you here?”

“I’m rescuing you. Hold on a second.” He knocked the last guard’s sword to the ground. The man held up his arms in a manner of surrender, backing up slowly, then turned and ran into the darkness.

Tristan walked over to me and offered me his hand.

“You’re almost to the ground. Just a few more steps.” I took his hand and jumped down the rest of the way.

I wanted to hug him, but instead he pulled me along the grass. “We need to run to the wall.” But my feet stung from where the vines had cut into them and I couldn’t think of running barefoot across the grounds. I slipped my hand out of his, reached into my 411/431

pocket, and put one slipper on my foot. “Please tell me you still have the other one of these.” He took my other slipper from his pocket, then knelt down and placed it onto my foot. “I guess I’m your Prince Charming tonight.”

I smiled back at him. “Thank you.” He stood up and took hold of my hand again, already pulling me forward. “Now we’ve got to run.” We went across the grounds and Tristan turned off the light so that we’d be harder to spot if the guards were planning another offensive. I hoped Tristan’s senses were still working and he could see through the darkness, because I couldn’t. Everything was dark shapes. It was like running blind.

Tristan took me to one of the towers and we hurried up the stairs. When I started to slow, he tugged me along. “Come on, this is just like track practice. Pretend we’re running up the bleachers.” We reached the level of the wall, and I saw he had a rope hooked to the side.

I peered over the wall. It was a long way down. In the dark, I couldn’t see the ground at all.

“You can do this,” he told me, and put my hand on the rope. “There are knots along the way to help you get footholds. It’s easier than climbing the rope in PE.” 412/431

It was wonderful, really, how well school had prepared me for life as a medieval fugitive.

I went down the rope first, trying to ignore the fact that my hands were stiff from the cold, and it was hard to get a foothold in dancing slippers. Finally I reached the ground. In moments Tristan was beside me again, holding my hand and guiding me along the wall.

We came to where he’d tied a horse to a post beside the wall. Tristan untied the horse and helped me up, then mounted the horse himself. He turned on the flashlight then, trying to light the way for the horse as it walked toward the forest.

I tucked my arms around Tristan’s waist, but looked back at the castle. By the dim light of the torches on the wall, I could make out figures, people watching us.

“They can see us,” I told Tristan. “Shouldn’t you turn off the flashlight?”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter if they see us now. They won’t be able to surround us—and if they come after us, their horses won’t move any faster in the dark than ours. Besides, I think they’ve figured out that I’m invincible.” He put his hand over mine and gently squeezed my fingers. “You can stop worrying. You’re safe as long as you’re with me, and I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”

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I leaned against his back, just like I’d wanted to do on our first ride, but I couldn’t stop worrying. “Where are Jane and Hunter?”

“Safe,” he said.

I wanted to ask more, but Tristan was busy trying to hold the flashlight steady with one hand and guiding the horse with the other. I’m not sure how much having the flashlight actually helped. The horse seemed to be spooked by the beam and kept stopping and jerking his head as though trying to get away from it.

We probably could have walked through the forest just as quickly ourselves, but I was glad we didn’t have to. I was tired and the frigid night air pushed through my dress and swept across my face. I shut my eyes, enjoying the warmth of Tristan’s back.

I didn’t remember falling asleep, but suddenly Tristan was dismounting. “Let’s make camp here. We’re both tired and not making much progress. It’ll be easier in the daylight.”

“Here?” I asked, because it was nothing but dirt, trees, and bushes.

“I’ll start a fire.”

I wrapped my arms around my chest and didn’t get off the horse. “Won’t that give away our position?”

“They won’t be able to see the smoke in the darkness and the forest should hide the light from the castle. The 414/431

only people who will know we’re here are those that are close by. And if any of them attack, I’ll be able to take care of them.”

I slid off the horse, still muddled with sleep, and helped him gather up twigs and branches. We also piled up handfuls of dry leaves. Finally, after a very long time of rubbing sticks together, he coaxed a small fire to life.

Then I sat on the ground, my hands wrapped around my knees, and wondered where we were heading. Not to the inn— the king’s guards would look for us there.

Tristan sat down close beside me and didn’t speak. I could tell from his posture that he was as tired as I was.

“Where are Hunter and Jane?” I asked.

He didn’t answer, which made me panic.

“You said they were safe. Where are they?” He looked at the fire, not me. I could see the flames reflected in his eyes. “I found them on the roadside.

Their horses had turned into mice, and the carriage into a turnip. They were trying to decide what to do. Hunter had been hit pretty hard. I guess he put up a fight back there at the castle. Jane was worried that he might have broken ribs.

“They told me what had happened to you, and I told them that I had the invincibility enchantment. I figured I’d go back, rescue you, and then meet up with them again.”

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He stopped talking for a moment and I had to prod him to continue. “And?”

“Then your fairy godmother came. All of a sudden she was there like some magical stewardess telling us she hoped we’d enjoyed our visit to the Middle Ages. She said the terms of my enchantment no longer applied and she’d take me back home with Jane and Hunter.” He glanced over at me. “Jane didn’t want to leave you, but Hunter wouldn’t go unless she did, and she thought he needed to see a doctor.”

“They left?” I asked. Part of me felt glad—they should have never come in the first place, and now it was even more dangerous for them to be here. Jane should be home, where it was safe. But another part of me was devastated. I’d never see her again.

I felt tears pressing against my eyes but didn’t want to wipe them away. That would just draw attention to them. I looked into the fire instead. “When is Chrissy coming back for you?”

“She isn’t.” He took hold of my chin and brought my face around to his. “I told her I wouldn’t go home without you.” His thumb caressed a line across my jaw.

“Savannah, you came back to the Middle Ages to help me. You gave up any chance to go home so I could escape from the guards. How could I leave you here alone?”

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My voice had nearly fled altogether, but I managed to say, “You shouldn’t have stayed just because you felt obligated to me.”

“I didn’t,” he said, and he leaned over and kissed me.

I kissed him back, thankful for the warmth of his arms. And really, I’d been wrong to ever think he wouldn’t kiss as passionately as the Black Knight.

Chapter 28

I’m not sure what time we fell asleep, only that it was very late. Eventually I felt the sunshine drifting through the treetops in patches. A part of my consciousness registered that birds were chattering in the branches around us, but I didn’t want to wake up. I was still too tired. Every time the fire had died down, one of us had to get up to throw more wood onto it.

Besides, I felt perfectly safe with Tristan sleeping just on the other side of the fire. He was invincible.

As I drifted into another dream, I felt lips brush against mine. I smiled and opened my eyes, already thinking of what I would say to Tristan.

Only it wasn’t Tristan. I was looking directly into Hugh’s face.

I let out a startled gasp and sat up, my heart pounding and my head still dizzy with the remnants of sleep.

Beside me, Tristan sat up, reaching for his sword. Before he pulled it from its sheath, Hugh said, “It won’t do you any good. I’ve already kissed her.” Tristan paused. “You what?”

Hugh stood and looked down at us with a triumphant smile. He still wore his clothes from the ball, although 418/431

they were rumpled and stained. He had an air of weari-ness about him, and I wondered if he’d walked all of this way. “Didn’t you know she had the invincibility charm?” he asked Tristan. “She stole it from me, and now I’ve stolen it back.”

To me he said, “You should have understood how it worked before you told anyone you had it. It only sharpens your senses when your enemy has a weapon pointed at you.” He held up his hands, showing me they were empty. “I don’t have a weapon, so I was able to sneak up on you without detection.” He walked over to our horse as though we no longer concerned him. “It was thoughtful of you to make it so very easy to find you. What with the light pointing the direction you went last night and then the smoke showing your location this morning.” He patted the horse’s mane. “Thoughtful of you to provide me with a horse too. I suppose it was the least you could do after you turned my father and brother against me.” He turned back to us, his gaze suddenly chilling. “Of course, that doesn’t mean the two of you won’t pay for what you did to me, because you will.” He walked slowly back toward us, picking up one of the sticks we’d gathered for the fire. As he gripped it he looked at me. “You were a fool to choose him—he’s 419/431