Princess in Disguise (5 page)

“What happened?” Liam asked the men. “Why are you back so soon?”

“There was a fog,” one of the guards drawled, speaking so slowly that he was hard to listen to. “The forest is filled with it.”

“You can't see through it,” said the other man just as slowly. A drop of something wet and viscous dripped down his forehead. At first, Annie couldn't tell that the man was moving his hand to wipe it away, the movement was so sluggish. Watching him was so irritating that she took out her own handkerchief and wiped his forehead herself. His movements speeded up at her touch.

“What is this stuff?” she asked, keeping her hand on the man's forehead.

“The fog,” he replied in a normal voice. “It's as thick as pea soup.”

Liam sniffed, then swiped at the man's sleeve with one finger. “It smells like pea soup.” He gave it a tentative taste and laughed. “It is pea soup, though it's a bit too salty for my taste. Look, there are even bits of ham.”

“More magic,” said Annie. “They must have made the rain stop so it wouldn't wash away the fog.”

“If you can't see through the fog and it slows you down like this,” the king said, gesturing to the two
guards, “no one is going to be able to get out to find Moonbeam.”

“I can,” said Annie as she stepped away from the guard. As soon as she was no longer touching him, his movements slowed again. “It's magic,” Annie continued. “Other than being disgusting, the fog shouldn't bother me.”

King Halbert shook his head. “I can't allow you to go. We don't know what else they might have lying in wait out there. You'd be vulnerable if you ran into a non-magical threat.”

“Which is why I'm going with her,” said Liam. “Annie can get me through the fog, and I'll make sure she stays safe.”

“You can't go, Annie!” cried the queen. “This isn't like the other trips you've made on our behalf. That's an army out there. Who knows what they'd do if they captured you.”

“They won't get the chance,” said Annie. “If we can't see through the fog, neither can they. And Liam is the best sword fighter I've ever seen. No one will hurt me with him at my side.”

“But—” the queen began.

“The army is camped south of the castle,” Annie explained. “They'll be counting on the fog to keep us from venturing out. Liam and I will head north. If there's just the two of us, we should be able to avoid any patrols.”

“We can find horses north of here,” Liam told her. “If we're on horseback, we should be able to reach the bridge and cross into Floradale before sunrise.”

Annie could tell that he found the prospect exciting. He'd been such a good sport about planning the wedding, but she'd known he'd been bored. She was sure that a mission like this would be the kind of thing he'd enjoy.

“How long will it take you to get ready?” asked her father.

The queen sighed. She had to know that if King Halbert was agreeing to it, nothing she could say would change his mind.

“An hour,” Annie said, glancing at Liam for confirmation.

He nodded, saying, “We just have to pack a few things.”

“Then our thoughts and prayers will go with you,” said Queen Karolina. “I suppose that if anyone can find Moonbeam, it's you two.”

They were on their way to change their clothes and gather what they needed when Annie stopped Liam. “I think we should travel in disguise, at least while we're in Treecrest,” she said. “For all we know, King Dormander has lookouts all around the kingdom.”

“You mean you're going to dress as a boy again?” he asked.

Annie had dressed as a boy while looking for a prince to kiss her sister awake. Not only was it a good disguise, but it allowed her to travel more comfortably without long skirts to weigh her down. Sometimes she wished she could dress like a boy more often.

“Yes, I'm going to dress like a boy, but not the way I usually do. I think we should dress as farm boys so we're not associated with the castle at all. If anyone recognized us for who we really are, word would get
out that we had left the castle and people would come looking for us.”

“I thought we'd wear black cloaks so no one would see us in the dark,” said Liam.

“And look doubly suspicious in the daylight?”

Liam shrugged. “We can wear disguises if you want to, but do we have to use made-up names, too?”

“Hmm,” said Annie. “That's not a bad idea. It wouldn't do to have you call me Annie when I'm supposed to be a boy.”

“I was joking!”

“Well, I'm not. If we're traveling as farm boys, I should have a boy's name and I should call you something other than Liam.”

“All right,
Seth
,” Liam said with a smile.

“That will work,” said Annie. “Try to find some old clothes,
Ruben
. And the boots should be scuffed and worn.”

“In an hour?”

“I'm going to send a maid down to the stable to find a boy my size, wearing the oldest, most worn-out clothes. I'll trade his clothes for some I wore as a disguise before. They're too nice for me to wear now, but one of the stable boys would probably like them. The maid might have to look harder for someone with boots that will fit me. You can do the same if you want.”

“I will,” said Liam. “But does my name have to be Ruben? I always thought of myself more as a Dirk, or Cliff …”

Annie laughed. “I'll see you in one hour,” she said, and gave him a quick kiss before hurrying off.

Only her father and Captain Sterling were there when Annie returned an hour later. The tapestry that covered the secret passageway was back in place, and she glanced at it with a questioning look when she sat at the table.

Her father must have noticed, because he glanced at the tapestry as well, saying, “That passage leads south, and you're headed north. There are other secret passages, you know. This is just the one our family has used most often. There are two more; one comes out by the river, but it's flooded now.”

When he looked toward Captain Sterling, the man nodded and said, “You'd have to be a fish to use it today.”

“The other passage has stood up to all this rain fairly well and you should be able to use it,” said the king. “The captain sent two of his men to check it out. There's some water, but they say it isn't too bad. The tunnel comes out to the east in the middle of a hayfield.”

Annie glanced at the door as Liam walked into the room. He wore clothes as stained and dirty as the ones she had on, but while Annie's fit and she was pleased to have them, Liam looked uncomfortable and kept plucking at the neck of the rough-cloth tunic. Standing
in the doorway, he gave Annie a rueful smile before saying to the king, “We're ready to go, Your Majesty.”

Annie tucked her hair further under her cap as she got to her feet. She shouldered the knapsack holding the things she was taking with her, and stepped back as her father and the captain went to the door. Catching up with Liam, she looked him up and down and said, “Do those clothes fit all right?”

“They're fine,” Liam said, rubbing at his neck. “Soft living has spoiled me. This shirt feels like it's covered in grit. I don't know if it's ever been washed.”

“It's hard to wash your clothes if you own only one outfit,” said Annie. “I'm sure the stable boy is enjoying the clothes you traded for that.”

“I'm sure he is,” Liam said.

Annie had no idea where the entrance to the passageway might be located, but she wasn't expecting to go to a little-used bedchamber that was filled with a wedding guest's belongings.

“Your friend Snow White has been using this room,” said King Halbert. “Your mother had to invite her to visit in her chamber to get her to leave. There's no need to reveal a secret passage to a guest.”

They all watched as Captain Sterling lifted a flickering candle from a sconce on the wall, then turned the sconce once all the way around. There was a grating
sound and a puff of dust as a crack as tall as Annie opened in the wall. The captain continued to turn the sconce, opening the crack until it was wide enough to admit a short man. “That's as big as it gets,” said the captain. “Here, take this.” Lighting a torch with the candle he'd taken from the sconce, he handed the torch to Liam and moved out of the way.

“Be careful, my dear,” the king told Annie. “You know I wouldn't want you to go if there was any other way.”

“I know, Father,” Annie said. She did something then that she'd never done before, and surprised herself by doing it now. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed her father's cheek. The king looked startled, and more than a little pleased.

Liam was stepping through the crack in the wall when Annie turned to look for him. “The stairs look dry from here,” he said, thrusting the torch deeper into the opening.

Annie followed him, trying to stay in the light of the torch. The stairs were steep, each step barely as long as her foot, with the walls of the stairwell only inches from her shoulders. She climbed down slowly, her hands brushing the wall to keep her balance. Small spaces didn't usually bother her, but once she heard the crack in the wall close behind her, she had to fight a moment of panic. The only things that prevented her from freezing where she stood were Liam's presence and the thought that she'd be left in the dark if she didn't keep going.

“The torchlight is reflecting off water ahead,” said Liam. “I can't tell how deep it is, but it definitely covers the floor. Careful, this step is underwater. And … oh, good. We've reached the bottom.”

Annie took the last few steps even slower than before. Her boots were well worn and the leather cracked; water filtered through as soon as she touched the bottom step. When the floor leveled out before her, she was relieved that the water came up only as high as her ankles. Although the boots soon filled with water and felt heavy and clumsy, they cushioned her feet better than the dainty slippers she normally wore.

“Watch out,” Liam told her. “The floor is uneven here.”

Annie paused, and in that moment heard the faint hum of magic. It was a steady pulse, as if the earth surrounding them had a heartbeat. She thought that it was probably the sound of some magic used long before to reinforce the sides of the tunnel. “We need to go faster,” Annie called to Liam. “I think this tunnel is in such good shape only because someone used magic to make it stronger. The longer I'm in here—”

“The weaker the magic,” Liam finished. “I understand. Just be careful, there are some sticks floating up ahead and … Blast! They aren't sticks, they're water snakes. Whatever you do, don't trip and fall. And don't stop.”

“In other words, step carefully, but be quick about it!” grumbled Annie. “Great! As if we don't have enough to
worry about already.” Annie was frightened, and talking seemed to help. It blocked out the sound of the changing magic, the beat growing fainter around her. It also took her mind off the snakes. She had never liked snakes, but facing them in the dark when she couldn't really see them was truly terrifying.

There was a splash in front of her and Liam yelped. The light of the torch dipped and swayed, then grew steady again a moment later. “Are you all right?” Annie called to him.

“The ground is really uneven here,” Liam said. “I tripped, but I caught myself against the wall. Get away from me, snake!” The light wavered again as Liam kicked out and something hit the side of the tunnel. “Hurry, Annie, the water is rising and bringing more snakes with it!”

“How long is this tunnel?” Annie cried as she hurried to catch up with Liam. She still had her hands on the walls on either side, which were dripping water now.

“I think we must be under the moat. We should be past it soon, then under dry land for at least a few hundred feet more.”

Something snagged Annie's boot, tugging so that she almost lost her balance. She braced her hands against the wall and shook her foot, but whatever was there seemed to be stuck. Lifting her boot, she shook it as hard as she could. The
thing
slapped the wall with a sickening, wet
sound, but its weight was still there when she set her foot down again. Not wanting to know what it was, she kept going, dragging the weight with her. A stream of water broke through the wall seconds after she had passed by, spraying her back. Although she'd thought she was moving as quickly as she could, she went even faster now.