Once Upon a Curse (8 page)

"What about him?"

"His name is Prince Garrid. He's very handsome if you like men who have wavy, blond hair; deep gray eyes; and cleft chins. He's a good hunter. Every day when the weather is fair he goes off by himself, yet he never fails to come back with some sort of game. Garrid may be the only one who would stand a chance against the dragon. Prince Fenton is said to be good on the jousting field, but that isn't the same as fighting a dragon. What about your friend Prince Eadric? Is he a good hunter?"

"Yes, he is. He's gone hunting with my father many times, and their hunts are always successful. But you shouldn't need to send a hunter after your dragon. Isn't there anyone who could take care of it with magic?"

Millie shook her head. "No one's ever tried, although it wouldn't be a bad idea," she said, getting a faraway look in her eyes.

"So there are werewolves, at least one dragon and who knows what else in the kingdom. Why are your parents still having the party with all this going on?"

Millie shrugged. "It's what Hazel wants and what Hazel wants—"

"Hazel gets!" we said in unison and grinned at each other.

Millie assumed that I was ashamed of my meager possessions and didn't want to fetch them from among Frederika's belongings, so she lent me what I needed, borrowing what she didn't have from others. Once I'd changed my clothes I didn't stand out so much, and I began to relax and enjoy myself. That afternoon Millie showed me around the castle, pointing out her favorite places to hide from her parents and sister. The castle was smaller than in my time, without the entire back section that my great grandfather had added. I acted as if I'd never been there before, oohing and aahing over each of the innovations she pointed out that seemed so old-fashioned to me.

I was amazed when I saw how many flowers had been introduced into the castle, often in inappropriate ways. The larger windows were overgrown with blossoming plants so big they blocked most of the sun, making the castle dark and dismal inside. Climbing the tower stairs, I found the arrow slits filled with blossoms as well, many of which I recognized from their leaves. I'd grown up picking medicinal plants with my aunt Grassina, but had been forbidden to touch them when they bloomed. Finding sweet woodruff, wild thyme, lovage and cowslip growing in the niches that archers used to defend the castle seemed wrong to me. I found sunflowers on the battlements, turning their yellow faces as the sun crossed the sky, while melon vines crisscrossed the stone, forcing me to step carefully. Because of Hazel, the castle was more green than gray, pretty rather than practical.

When we went to supper that night, Millie was careful to keep me away from my supposed parents, telling me how uncomfortable she was sure I must feel around Frederika. Instead of sitting at the high table with her parents and her aunt and uncle, she led me to a table where other young nobles were taking their places. Hazel saw where we were going and abandoned her seat with her parents, scampering off the dais. Smiling gaily at every guest she passed, Princess Hazel shoved her sister aside, taking her seat on the bench beside one of the princes. The trestle tables were arranged in a U with royalty seated at the closed end, so I could see Millie's parents' faces easily. Although King Grunwald didn't seem to notice, the queen—whose name I'd learned was Angelica—watched her daughters flouting protocol with a resigned look on her face, as if she'd seen it all before.

Eadric came in a few minutes later, talking to a young nobleman. He spotted me sitting beside Millie and took a seat on my other side after persuading a sandy-haired prince to move over.

"How are you getting on?" I asked him as pages served the eel-and-prawn stew.

"All right. The room is clean, and the princes seem friendly. That's Prince Fenton over there," he said, indicating the young man beside Hazel. "He follows the tournament circuit and can't resist bragging." He nodded toward the youth with dark hair. "And that's Jasper. He seems nice enough."

When Eadric pointed out Prince Fenton, I recognized him as the leering monster who'd captured me when I was a bat, threatening to kill me with one hand. He seemed affable sitting with Hazel and the visiting princes, but I couldn't keep from shuddering every time I looked his way.

The only other prince who seemed noteworthy was the one Eadric had identified as Jasper. He wore his straight, dark brown hair chin-length like most men of his time. His eyes crinkled when he smiled, and he had an easy, infectious laugh. Even so, I probably wouldn't have noticed him if Millie hadn't spent most of the meal peeking at him, turning away with a guilty start whenever he glanced in our direction. At thirteen, Hazel's little sister was a bit too young for marriage, but not too young to think about it.

"Where is that prince Garrid you mentioned?" I asked Millie, looking down the line of well-dressed nobles for someone fitting his description.

Millie selected a leg of roasted capon from a passing platter and set it on her plate. "He isn't here. On the days he goes hunting, he doesn't come back until after dark. Prince Garrid is the only one of Hazel's suitors who contributes to the table. I think my parents already favor him because of it."

Maybe Eadric should do that,
I thought. My mother resented him because he ate so much, but she might not mind his long visits if he provided food on a regular basis.

I was serving myself some beets when two pages bumped into each other, nearly dumping their heaped platters on the floor. It reminded me of Derwin's song about what had happened when he had dropped the platter.

"Millie," I said, "do you know a servant named Derwin?"

"How do you know Derwin?" she asked. "He's one of our oldest servants."

"Have you seen him lately?"

"Hmm," she said, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "I guess I haven't seen him since the night he dropped the goose on Father. It was kind of funny. Even Father laughed. The only
one
who didn't was Hazel. She doesn't have much of a sense of humor."

"I heard that she sent Derwin to the oubliette." Maybe I was interfering, but something had to be done.

"I didn't know that! I hope the poor old man is all right. I'll talk to Father about it. There was no call for Derwin to be treated so!"

We were nibbling the final course of cheese and fruit when I overheard some women seated nearby discussing the vicious creature that had attacked them. According to one, a slobbering horror with blazing, red eyes had swooped on them, baring its daggerlike fangs. It took me a while to realize that she was talking about me.

"If it hadn't been for Prince Fenton, we might all have been killed," said one young noblewoman, smiling past her friends to where the prince was helping himself to another slab of venison.

The prince looked down at his thumb wrapped in a strip of clean linen. "Vicious beasts, bats," he said.

I covered my mouth so no one would see my smile, but Jasper must have noticed because he met my eyes and winked. Some of the other princes turned to Fenton and demanded to hear the story.

I was worried about Li'l since we hadn't had a chance to make our plans before Eadric and I had left her. I just hoped she wasn't too frightened alone in the unfamiliar maze. "I need some fresh air," I told Millie. "I'm going for a walk in the garden."

A juggler was strolling past the table, and Millie seemed entranced by the balls he kept circling through the air. "Hmm?" she murmured. "Then I'd better go with you. We're not allowed to walk alone at night."

"But it isn't dark yet," I said, glancing out the window.

Millie gathered her skirts and slipped off the bench. "My father's rules. There are too many dangerous beasts in the area. I told you about the werewolves."

"I can go with Emma," said Eadric, swinging his legs across the bench so he could stand.

"Then you won't need to go, Millie," I said. "Eadric will keep me safe."

Hazel frowned at me. "Perhaps we should all go," she said. Gracing him with her sweetest smile, Hazel took Eadric's arm and led the way. It was almost as if she thought I'd brought her another suitor. I couldn't help feeling a pang of resentment when Eadric bent down to hear what she had to say.

I bit my lip and followed them, trying not to glare at Eadric and Hazel. I didn't want company. If a group of people went with me, I wouldn't be able to talk to Li'l. I would have said something, except everyone was already heading out the door. Only Jasper dawdled behind as if waiting for me. Hazel glanced back. She made Eadric wait while she held out her hand to Jasper and said, "You may also escort me." Jasper looked my way and shrugged, then linked Hazel's free arm with his.

Millie bumped my elbow. "Look at her," she whispered. "Hazel would have all of them on a tether if she could, and even that probably wouldn't be enough."

The shadows were getting long as we approached the rose-hedge maze, and the scent of the flowers hung heavy in the air. Hazel stepped lightly down the path, surrounded by the princes and a few of the giggling, young noblewomen. Since Millie trailed after Jasper like a lost puppy, it was easier to get away on my own than I'd expected. All I had to do was dawdle until I was left behind, then take an opposite turning once they were out of sight.

The roses were lovely, but after a while they all looked the same to me. I hadn't gone far before I stopped to look around. "Li'l!" I called softly. "Where are you, Li'l?"

It was a little soon for bats to be out hunting, but mosquitoes came out earlier in the shade of the hedge. I could appreciate a good insect, having lived as a frog for a time, but that didn't mean I wanted to feed them. I was slapping my cheek when Li'l fluttered over the top of the hedge and landed on my shoulder.

"Where have you been?" she asked, straightening her wings. "I've been waiting here all day. I can't say that I mind, though. They raise some good, juicy bugs in these shrubs."

When I slapped my neck again and studied the smear of blood and the squashed mosquito on my palm, I noticed that my ring was gone from my hand. I must not be the Green Witch in this time. "So you don't mind staying here for a few days?" I said. "Hazel's younger sister is sharing her room with me, but I don't think she'd understand if a bat joined us."

"I'm fine here. Once you get past the leaves and thorns on the outside, some of these shrubs have nice, cool spaces in their middles. Sit still for a minute and the bugs come right to you. Good place for a nap, too."

"If you're sure you're all right—"

"Sure, I'm sure. It's not as nice as a good cave, but a bat can't have everything."

"I'll try to come see you at least once a day. We have to stay until after the party."

"Fine with me," said Li'l. "I might take a look around, come dark. What's the use of visiting a new time if you can't see the sights?"

"Don't go too far."

Li'l beat her wings and rose into the air. "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

After Li'l left, I retraced my steps, but I guess I'd made more turns than I'd thought. It all looked the same to me, and I might have gotten lost if Millie hadn't shown up. "I took a wrong turn," I said, gesturing back the way I'd come.

Millie gave me a sympathetic smile. "That's easy to do. We have to go now. They'll be raising the drawbridge soon."

I could hear the voices of the others coming through the maze, but there was something else nagging to get my attention. I concentrated and then I had it—the faintest hint of a scent, one that I'd hoped I'd never smell again.

"Hurry," I told Millie, reaching for her hand. "We have to get inside."

A woman screamed, or at least it sounded something like a woman. People in the maze shouted, and I heard the sound of running feet.

Millie tried to pull away from me. "Someone is hurt! We have to go help her."

"No one is hurt," I said, pulling her along behind me as I started for the castle. "That was a harpy. If there's one, there's a whole flock. They rarely travel alone."

"Really?" she said, stopping to look over her shoulder. "I've never seen a harpy."

I tugged on her hand and got her moving again. "Believe me," I said, "you'd be better off if you never did."

I'd seen harpies before. In fact I still had nightmares about them. Foul-smelling creatures with the bodies of vultures and the heads of women, in my time they had taken over a small village in Greater Greensward by chasing away the people who lived there. Once a harpy occupied a house, it took a massive effort to make it clean enough for anyone to live in it again. Harpies smell worse than skunks and leave their odor behind long after they've gone. It had taken me three days and a lot of magic to chase them away, and then the villagers had still refused to come back. If possible, it was better to keep them out in the first place than to have to clean up their mess afterward.

I was pulling Millie onto the drawbridge when the first harpy appeared. Shrieking wordlessly, it swooped down on us. I would have used my magic to turn the creature away, except I didn't want anyone to know that I was a witch. When I threw up my hands to ward it off, a boy dressed like a stable hand shouted and came running with a stout staff. Waving the staff in the air, he forced the screeching harpy higher. We were almost beneath the portcullis when the creature began pelting us with dung. It missed Millie and me, but hit the boy squarely on the back. It would have hit him again if he hadn't kept running.

Once we were inside, Millie and I thanked him profusely. After he ran off to the stable, Millie said, "That boy saved us from a stinky fate. I think he deserves a reward."

Although he looked very different from his ghost, the shape of his nose and the jut of his chin were similar enough that I'd recognized him. It was Hubert. "I think so, too," I said. "In fact I think he deserves a medal."

Eadric had been with Hazel and her friends when the harpies attacked. According to Hazel, nearly a dozen harpies had pelted them with sticks and clods of dirt. Eadric was the only one carrying a sword, and he'd made a real impression with his skill and bravery. I heard all about it after they reached the castle. Hazel's voice was almost as loud as the harpies' by the time she joined us.