The Runaway Princess (19 page)

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Authors: Kate Coombs

BOOK: The Runaway Princess
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“One of those princes appears to be a bandit.”
Meg smiled. It was harder to dislike Bain now that she knew he had tricked her father. Now that she had Cam back.
“What? Who?” said the king.
“Prince Bain,” the queen told him. “He's a bandit.”
With a final wild tangle, the throne room was clear. Feet pounded away outside. The last of Vantor's men surged into the passageway, and the courtiers fled. The
prime minister excused himself hastily. Hanak's guards were already gone, leaving only a single man behind to watch the royal family.
Meg's father turned his attention to her. “Margaret, go to your room.”
“Not until you listen,” she said. “Vantor is a liar and a thief!”
“
Bain
is a liar and a thief,” the king told her. “I just found out. Guard, escort my daughter to her room.”
“So you can marry me to Prince Vantor?” Meg demanded. “This morning I watched him steal a mountain of dragon's gold, break his sworn word, and threaten small children. He's not worthy to be king of Greeve or anyplace else!”
“I never thought,” His Majesty said heavily, “that you would take your dislike of your duties to the extent of besmirching a young man's character. Guard!”
The remaining guard stepped to Meg's side. He paused, reluctant.
“I won't go bound in my own home,” the princess told him, holding out her hands. The guard drew his knife and carefully cut the ropes away.
“Thank you.” Meg reached awkwardly into her hidden pocket to take out a little wooden box. She twisted it, then touched it to the silver box dangling around her neck. There was a blast of light and wind—and Cam was suddenly sprawled on the floor at Meg's feet.
“Get up,” she told him.
The king and queen watched, speechless, as Cam
scrambled to his feet. Meg tugged the gardener's boy after her, charging out onto the royal balcony. “I've got magic,” she said breathlessly.
Cam nodded once. Meg looked down at the ground far below, grasped the scarf with her free hand, and yelled, “Float!” Then she and Cam jumped.
THE BANDITS RAN THROUGH THE HALLS OF the castle with Hanak's guards, a handful of princes, and Vantor's men on their heels. It didn't help the bandits that they had to carry the smallest children. On the other hand, all of the castle servants had gathered just outside the throne room to listen to Vantor's news. Hanak's men were forced to lower their swords and weave through a mass of screaming chambermaids to get at their quarry.
Hanak caught one little bandit boy by the arm, but the child wriggled loose and disappeared again.
Vantor nearly gutted the head housekeeper and had to stop and apologize before the other servants would let him by, only to find that the Bandit Queen and five of her men had managed to barricade the hallway almost instantaneously with heavy furniture from the king's library. Bain's manservant was there with them, grinning at the prince's rage and wielding a mean broadsword.
Vantor and his men fought hard, but the place was a bottleneck and the bandits were seasoned fighters.
On the other side of the barricade, the rest of Vantor's former prisoners raced down the great steps and across the courtyard. “To the stables!” Bain yelled.
A moment later, his sword tip was at the throat of the stable master. “Which one is Vantor's horse?” The frightened man gestured to a groom to fetch the prince's newest mount. Meanwhile, the other bandits invaded the stables and began bringing out horses as fast as they could.
Alya eventually abandoned her blockade and hurtled away down the halls, with Vantor and Hanak right behind her. She charged through the castle gate just as the other bandits burst across the stable yard on horseback. Bain brought up the rear on Vantor's latest stallion. As the last of the bandits leaped onto the waiting horses, Bain pulled his sister up behind him. He waved cheerily to his pursuers as he galloped off.
Vantor and Hanak and their men poured after the bandits, but they were soon outdistanced. Vantor stormed into the stable yard, pulling the stable master to his feet. “Get me another horse!”
“But, sir—”
“This terrible country
owes
me a horse!” Vantor howled.
“But, sir—all that's left is a mule!”
Vantor spun about. “No matter. I know where they're headed.” He started to marshal his men.
“Where are they going?” Hanak asked, stepping up behind him.
Vantor didn't answer for a moment. Then he said begrudgingly, “East.”
“For now. But what's to stop them from leaving the road around the first bend?”
Vantor shrugged with ill-concealed temper. “You're right, of course.”
Hanak was watching him closely. “They would hardly go back to their previous camp.”
“No,” Vantor replied. He took a deep breath, thinking. “We should split up, to cover more ground.”
“Of course.” Hanak paused. “You've been hunting these robbers for days. Where do you suggest we begin?”
Vantor smiled grimly. “My men and I will march toward the moors, where they have often hidden. And you—if they do leave the road, they'll vanish into those woods.”
Hanak nodded. “We set out together and watch for any sign of them leaving the road.”
 
The last of the princes strolled disconsolately through the half-empty camp. “No point in sticking around if Vantor's won,” said a thin prince whose arms were covered in ceremonial tattoos.
“He lost those bandits,” said another.
“For the moment,” chimed in a muscle-bound type. The rest soon took up the chorus.
“Did you see the princess?”
“Mm-hmm. The daring ragamuffin type.”
“Freckled, even.”
“Not what I expected.”
The princes stared at each other. A pudgy blond said, “I heard the king of Weir's daughter has been kidnapped by an evil sorcerer.”
“Really? That's east of here.”
The blond prince nodded.
“They say she looks like a spring morning,” said the tattooed prince.
“How, exactly?” the muscular prince asked.
“Cheeks like apple blossoms, lips like an April sunrise, eyes like twin drops of rain, I believe it was.”
“What are we waiting for?” said one of the others.
Soon the colorful tents were being folded up.
 
Meg and Cam plummeted for a terrifying second. Then the scarf flipped its tail, and they floated jerkily. Meg was just feeling relieved when the scarf decided to have some fun. It bounced them and rolled them. Suddenly Meg and Cam soared up over the meadow to an alarming height.
“Meg!” Cam cried.
“The woods,” Meg called to the scarf. “We want to go to the woods!”
The scarf slowed them again, and they drifted lazily toward the ground.
“I hope we don't hit the tower,” said Meg.
“What tower?” Cam asked, looking sideways over the empty meadow.
Some of the servants were running toward them from the castle. Meg and Cam twirled, suspended in midair at about the height of a young tree.
“Don't let us get caught!” Meg barked. The scarf ignored her. “Please?” she added.
The servants reached them and began jumping, trying to catch Meg and Cam's dangling feet.
All of a sudden Meg and Cam felt themselves zoom back up and over the trees at the edge of the woods, leaving the castle far behind.
“Floating frogs,” Meg said, feeling a little green. A bird swerved to avoid them.
“Meg,” Cam asked.
“What
is going on?”
 
As the prince and the guard captain parted to organize their forces, they heard yelling from the courtyard.
“Now what?” Hanak barked, striding back toward the castle.
One of the servants skidded to a stop in front of him. “It's the princess. She's gone again.”
“How is that possible?”
Vantor joined Hanak. “What happened?”
“Princess Margaret leaped off the balcony with some kind of magic and floated away over the woods!”
“Why would she do such a thing?” Vantor asked impatiently.
The servant said nothing.
“Well?”
“It appears she isn't eager to have you as her groom,” Hanak remarked to the prince. He called four of his men. “Search the woods for the princess. Bring her home as quickly and gently as you can.”
Vantor's face darkened. He turned away to shout at his own men.
Moments later, Prince Vantor's forces were marching east, with Hanak's men bringing up the rear.
They were well on their way when Vantor sent Beaknose sneaking ahead to crush the underbrush to one side of the road, making it look as if the bandits had passed into the woods. Soon after, he called a halt and walked back to speak to Hanak.
“It's not enough to be certain, but they might have left the road,” he told the guard captain. Vantor led Hanak over to see.
Hanak examined the spot. “Very well,” he said. “We'll part company here.” He led his men into the woods as Vantor's forces traveled on.
Once Hanak's men were well within the trees, he gathered them together. “I don't trust that Vantor,” he said bluntly. Hanak indicated two of the guards. “You and Pagget are going to track the prince and his men from close at hand. Don't let them see you. The rest of us will follow at a distance. If anything happens, come back and tell us.”
“Do you think the princess is right?” one man asked. “About the prince being a bad lot?”
“I do,” he said. “And we're going to find out exactly what his game is.” He looked around at his guardsmen. “Unless you fancy having him for a king.”
“I'd rather swallow a rotted rodent,” someone called. The others murmured their agreement.
“I thought not,” said Hanak.
“And the bandits?” old Arbel asked.
“Vantor's going to lead us straight to them,” the guard captain said.
 
Meg and Cam were long gone, but King Stromgard still stood on the balcony with his mouth open.
Queen Istilda came up beside him. “Are you happy now?”
“How can you say such a thing?” the king bellowed. “I arrange a glorious quest, a marriage any princess would envy, and that ungrateful child defies me!”
The servants coming back across the meadow averted their eyes from the sight of the enraged king.
“Dear,” the queen said, pulling his arm, “I want to show you something.” The king allowed her to lead him into the empty throne room. The dragon bones still lay on the floor. Beside them, the contents of treasure chest had been turned out in a pile.
“Who did that?” the king asked.
“I did,” his wife said.
“What for?”
“I was looking for something.”
“What could you possibly be looking for?”
The queen crouched to run her hands through the scattering of golden trinkets and gemstones. “My aunt Mariana was wearing her grandmother's jewels when that creature took her.”
The king squatted beside his wife to examine the treasure.
“They're not here,” the queen said. “A gold bracelet studded with sapphires and a string of emeralds twined about with pearls. My mother told me the tale more than once, with a great many details and rather too much relish.”
“Surely—” the king said, and stopped.
“Perhaps your thief is no liar. Perhaps your hero is a thief,” Queen Istilda told him.
“Nonsense!” the king said. But he didn't sound quite so certain.
“One chest?” the queen reminded him.
At second glance, the gems in the heap were rather second-rate. Nearly half the coins were silver. “It's not much of a hoard,” King Stromgard admitted. He reached over to touch the dragon's bones. “They aren't fresh at all.” He stood. “Margaret—”
“Was right,” the queen said, standing to face him. She paused delicately. “How would you feel if your father took the word of a stranger over yours?”
“She's behaved badly,” the king muttered.
“So have you,” his wife said.
“Hmmph.” The king was silent for a moment. Then he rallied. “How could Margaret know anything about all this?”
“Because,” the queen said, “she and her friends have been sneaking about interfering with your contest for days.”
“She was in the tower—” the king began, but he interrupted himself. “She wasn't, was she?”
“Not for long.”
King Stromgard narrowed his eyes. “You knew,” he grumbled.
“I found out two days ago.”
“Why didn't you inform me?” he asked, but the bluster was gone from his voice.
The queen smiled. “I thought she was doing rather a good job.”
“I—I suppose I ought to tell her she needn't marry that Vantor fellow.” The king plumped down on his throne, resting his bearded chin in his hands. “But she's gone off again.”
“I have an idea how we can find her,” the queen said thoughtfully.
 
Lex listened to voices Nort couldn't hear as the sparks scribbled the air. “Well,” the boy wizard said at last, “that's quite a story!”
“What? What did they say?”
“It seems the tall prince brought Meg to the castle
with some bandits, then everyone started fighting and running around, and Meg jumped off the balcony.”
Nort nearly dropped his mug. “Is she all right?”
“Oh yes. She flew away with a boy.”
“Cam!” Nort said. “The counterspell worked!”
“Of course it did.” Lex tapped his round fingers on the table. “Where will she go now?”
“Maybe the farm. Cam's sister's there. And the witch.”
“That's not good,” Lex said. “The king and queen just rode out the gates to find her. Actually, the king and some of his noblemen were walking. The queen was riding a mule.”
“They won't know where she is.”
“Maybe they will. Your friend Dilly is with them.”
“Oh!” Nort said. “We've got to warn Meg!”
Lex stood up. “I have a lot of work to do,” he said doubtfully. He ruffled a stack of parchment pages.

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