Compass of the Nymphs (4 page)

“What should we do with Box X, sir?”

“I mentioned it to the guard,” the first
voice replied, “he said to bring it in to the kitchen’s loading
dock with the rest of them. He told us to thank the townspeople for
contributing more. He said it wouldn’t be any trouble; there is
even extra staff in the kitchen today to make sure it gets in its
proper place.”

Soon enough Taisiya could hear the boys
unloading her box, and the silence of the world outside quickly
changed into the loud hustle and bustle of the queen’s kitchen. The
farmers had said their goodbyes and were off. Taisiya munched on
the rest of the carrot, hoping that soon there would be silence in
the kitchen as they sorted her in with the rest of the food to cook
and left for the day.

She almost didn’t notice that the lid of the
crate had been taken off; someone had moved the crate to a dark
room. The first thing she saw were the whites of someone’s eyes
staring down at her. If Taisiya hadn’t been stuck in a tight,
cramped space for over twelve hours, she would have jumped out and
been ready to fight. However, her stiff and weary bones gave the
person on the outside of the box the advantage…one that he did not
take.

“Well, well, well,” came the smooth voice of
Zara. Taisiya blinked a few times and made out the rest of his
figure in the darkness. “I had a feeling when the stupid farmers
told me there was an extra crate that I’d find you hiding in the
bottom of it,” he smiled.

Taisiya was speechless. All she could manage
to say was a simple “…What?”

Once again, Zara smiled at her. “Get out of
the box, please.” He reached down and firmly grasped her arm,
helping her get out. Once she was standing next to him, he didn’t
let go of her, though. “If I thought you might not run away, I’d
let you go.”

“How did you know I was coming?” Taisiya
mumbled, petrified.

“The queen has been looking for you for some
time, you know?” Zara said, raising an eyebrow. “I’d know your face
anywhere. I spotted you and your friend when I was at the
marketplace. I thought for a second that you saw me, too…”

“I did…” Taisiya said, “but that doesn’t
answer my question.”

Zara furrowed his brow in frustration. “Well,
once I saw the two of you, I followed you to that man, the old
librarian’s, house. When you left, I overheard you talking about
breaking into the castle. Naturally, I followed you back home. The
older woman made it quite easy to spy on the two of you, with
opening the windows to let the breeze in and all. I heard the plan
and the fight that occurred right after it. I knew you’d find a way
to get here, so I raced to beat you to the marketplace. There, I
tricked the potion master into giving me one of his crates, since I
knew you would more than likely be eavesdropping. When the farmers
said there was an unaccounted for crate, I was delighted that you
managed to get up here safely.”

Taisiya did a double take in confusion. “You
were following me? You set this up?”

Zara nodded. “You’re quite stealthy, but
you’re

not as good as the queen’s top spy.” He
beamed with pride. Taisiya began fidgeting, trying to break free
from his grip.

“You know what I’m here to do, then!” She
growled. “So let me at it!”

“I can’t do that,” Zara said calmly. “You’ll
kill yourself and your parents.”

“What do you care? Isn’t that what you want?”
Taisiya spat.

Zara sighed. “Well, not really. I don’t like
how the queen is running things. She is doing unspeakable things to
the most innocent of people. I…I see a spark in you, Taisiya,” he
paused and felt her cheek, moving her face so that they were
looking into each other’s eyes. “I know that spark can bring a
revolution.”

Taisiya’s stomach turned nervously. “Look,
Zara, all I want is to save my parents and be on my way. The
queen’s made this personal now, and I’ve got to get my mom and dad
out of here.”

“Don’t you realize,” Zara said, “that I can
get them out of here easily. I’ve even made sure their stay here
has been as comfortable as possible. If we work together, we can
save your parents and overthrow the queen. Please…trust me. I’m
begging you.”

Taisiya pursed her lips. “And I’m begging
you…let go of me! I’ll go kill the queen now, if you’d take a
second to ease up on me!”

Zara sighed wistfully. “I would, if it were
that simple. Come,” he said, tugging her forward, “We will go and
quickly visit your parents... on one condition.”

“What?” Taisiya barked back.

“That you promise me you will leave the
castle
alone
tonight and meet me in town tomorrow where we
can talk with more privacy.”

Taisiya rolled her eyes. “Fine!”

“Thank you,” Zara whispered in her ear. “You
will not regret it.”

CHAPTER FOUR

CONFRONTING THE QUEEN

Zara escorted Taisiya quickly and quietly
through the castle halls, intuitively choosing the paths he knew
were least likely to have anyone standing guard. All the while,
Taisiya was making mental notes of which hallways were empty and
which had the queen’s sentinels on patrol. It wasn’t long before
the warm and aromatic air of the kitchen gave way to a cold and
murky wave of despair as the prison chambers came nearer and
nearer. Zara poked his head around a corner and then pulled back,
motioning for Taisiya to sit still and be quiet. He then proceeded
on without her.

Zara waved to the guard on duty at the
entrance to the prison chambers. “Hello, Marcus!” he called. Marcus
acknowledged Zara with a solemn nod. Instead of waiting for a
verbal reply, Zara continued: “I’m here to take over your
shift.”

Marcus narrowed his eyes at Zara. “Why?”

“Simple,” Zara said effortlessly, “you look
like you need a break. If I’m not mistaken, your shift ends in
about half an hour, right?” Another nod from Marcus before Zara
went on, “So…leave early. I can patrol the chambers, easy peasy.
Regardless, I’ve got to be down here because there are a few
prisoners the queen wanted interrogated by me personally.”

“This late at night, Zara?” Marcus still
wasn’t buying it.

Zara contorted his face into a tired frown.
“Sadly, yes. Now is the only time I have to question them. First
thing in the morning I’ve got to head out and look for that
troublemaking girl. The queen really wants her head.”

“Of course; I can’t stand her either,” Marcus
nodded, “Is it her parents you’re looking for?”

Grinning, Zara nodded back. “As a matter of
fact, yes.”

“I wondered why you ordered all of us guards
to treat them nicely. Buttering them up before a big
interrogation…you’re always one step ahead, Zara.” Marcus laughed
and playfully punched Zara’s arm.

Zara returned the punch and then asked,
“Which cell are they in again?”

“Third one down to your left. You shouldn’t
have much trouble with any of the awful people the queen is holding
prisoner here. Most of them are asleep by now. Thanks for coming
down here, pal. I definitely can use the rest.” Marcus opened the
entrance to let Zara in and then turned to leave.

Zara watched in horror as Marcus went towards
the hall where Taisiya was hiding. “Wait!” Zara called out, his
voice quavering. “Don’t go down that hall.”

Marcus turned back to Zara, bewildered.

Zara’s mind was going a hundred miles a
minute trying to find a reason Marcus should take another exit. In
a split second, he blurted out the first excuse to pop in to his
mind. “You know the big fat head cook. Well, it turns out the soup
she made this evening wasn’t as good as she thought, and the toilet
room was giving off quite a foul odor as I walked by it coming up
to see you. It nearly made me sick…I’d go the other way if I were
you.”

Marcus let out a howl of laughter. “Oooh
hooo! Thanks for letting me know. That is definitely a beast I do
not want to come near if at all possible.” He winked at Zara and
then turned around, walking down another hall. Zara sighed in
relief.

Once the coast was clear, Zara whispered
shrilly, “Come on, Taisiya!” He expected her to come right away, so
when she didn’t round the corner after a few minutes, Zara left the
entrance to the chambers open just a crack and then went off to
tell Taisiya it was safe to go visit her parents.

The feeling of utter horror quickly came back
to Zara as he turned the corner. His mouth went dry and his stomach
turned into a giant knot. Taisiya was nowhere to be found. He knew
that her sole purpose for sneaking into the castle was to save her
parents, so he didn’t think she would sneak off anywhere. Another
guard must have noticed her and kidnapped her. Zara had no clue
just how wrong he was.

While Zara was talking to Marcus, Taisiya
knew that no better time to sneak off would present itself. Ever
since Zara had found her sneaking into the castle, he had a firm
grip on her, and only now was she able to do what she pleased. As
Marcus and Zara talked, Taisiya tiptoed in the opposite direction
down the hallways she had been memorizing in her head on the way to
the prison chambers. The entire map of the castle was somewhat
embedded in her head, so as she travelled further and further, she
started to get her bearings and eventually knew where she was
going.

It was getting darker and darker, and the
lamplight the corridors offered wasn’t the brightest. Taisiya felt
around in the dark, knowing that a door would be coming up soon
that opened to a staircase. Sure enough, she felt the door handle
and pulled it. The door opened to reveal pitch black. Everyone that
worked (or were trapped) in the castle slept at night, so light in
the stairway was unnecessary. There was a faint glow of moonlight
that shined through a window a little ways up the stairs. It would
have to be enough light to guide Taisiya where she needed to go.
She quietly shut the door behind her and looked into the dark ahead
of her.

The steps were carved of stone like the rest
of the castle, and they were spread out quite far. Taisiya held on
to the wall to steady herself and, after a while, she got the hang
of walking in the dark. Just as she was getting confident enough to
hasten her pace, there was no step where there should have been,
and for a split second she felt as if she were falling. She pulled
her hand off the wall to catch herself, but instead it just made
her fall even worse. Picking herself off the cold floor, she
realized the stairs had stopped because she had made it up the
first flight and was now on the second level of the castle. There
was a door to her right, where Taisiya could slip into the castle’s
main rooms if she had any interest in them. Instead, she dusted
herself off and began to climb up the rest of the stairs.

As Taisiya cleared the fourth flight of
steps, she stopped and grinned. This had all been too easy. She
knew that on the other side of the door was the queen’s suite, and
in the middle room would be the queen herself asleep and helpless
in her bed. Taisiya reached down and grabbed the blade she kept
hidden on her at all times. A smirk on her face, she opened the
door and went to kill her prey.

As Zara was pacing the halls in a futile
attempt to find Taisiya, a piercing scream rang throughout the
castle. Everyone in the castle quickly woke up as the scream
resonated. Zara could tell it was coming from the highest floor in
the fortress and ran to rescue the queen. When he reached the
staircase, he was met by all the other guards on the level. Without
hesitation, they darted up the stairs; the guards on stories above
them were already making their way up to the queen’s suite.

The entrance to the top floor quickly became
crowded with guards trying to get in and see what had happened.
Zara pushed and shoved his way through and eventually was able to
elbow to the front of the mob. As the multitude of guards tapered
off, Zara saw a tragic scene in front of him.

The queen must not have been in bed this
early, for she stood in the center of the room, still dressed in an
extravagant party dress. The gown, which was a salmon pink color,
had a matching sheer hood that protruded out in the air above her
light blonde locks that were fastened up in an overstated beehive.
In her hands, she held a candle and although the light was dim, her
piercing blue eyes shined brightly, and they were staring daggers
at none other than Taisiya. The queen had a sneer on her face as
she walked over more closely to examine the girl her guards were
holding captive in her room.

She cleared her throat and used her free hand
to run her cold fingers across Taisiya’s cheek, feigning pity on
the girl. Taisiya shuddered at the icy touch of the queen and was a
little surprised at the sound of her voice when she finally spoke.
The queen’s voice was authoritative and silencing, but at the same
time she spoke with an air of sugarcoated phoniness. “You may let
the girl go,” she said to the two guards holding Taisiya back as
she kicked and squirmed to break free from them and attack.

Zara watched, dismayed. Did the queen not
realize who had barged in to her room? And how did Taisiya even
sneak away in the first place? She looked over at him, and his
heart sank. He held his breath as the guards let her go.

Taisiya looked over at the two guards and
pursed her lips, bearing her teeth at them. They cautiously took a
step back. She then turned her attention to the queen and decided
to give her the same fake respect that was afforded to her. Taisiya
pretended to curtsey and said politely, “Your majesty.”

The queen turned her head quickly, as if
Taisiya’s words were a literal slap in the face. She gritted her
teeth and replied, “What is your business in my castle?”

“I came here to kill you,” Taisiya said,
making an exaggerated smile. The queen in return gave a piercing
look as her eyes locked with Taisiya’s. She stared her down, and
Taisiya’s insides went cold as a shudder ran down her back. All of
the guards tensed and moved forward to seize and stop Taisiya, but
Zara put his hand out and they stopped. Both he and the queen were
curious as to where Taisiya was going.