I’m no stranger to royal houses, but this castle is a labyrinth and though I have no watch to consult, I suspect I’ve been wandering for half of an hour, maybe more.
Where the bloody hell is Wendy?
I’ve turned down a darker hall where the flame in the gas sconces on the walls flicker a little lower. I may have wandered into a wing of the castle not meant for me but I’m determined now. I don’t want to meet up with the Crocodile again with having made little progress in our mission.
My footsteps are quiet as I follow the plush rug that runs down the center of the hall so it’s easy to catch the hushed tones of a secret conversation happening just beyond a cracked doorway to my left.
I check behind me to make sure I’m alone. The hall is empty.
I press my shoulder into the wall and lean as close to the open doorway as I dare. Eavesdropping is poor form but I’m convincing myself it’s worth it if it helps Wendy.
But the voice I catch isn’t her. It’s the prince’s betrothed.
What is she saying?
“You should have consulted with me before inviting the queen’s friends to dinner.”
The voice that responds is the nasally tone of the prince.
“I shouldn’t have to ask for your permission.”
“Yes but we are in this together, are we not?”
He grunts. “Of course we are.”
“Then decisions must be made together and inviting them has endangered everything.”
Am I hearing this correctly?
It’s easy to convince yourself that you’ve misheard something when you’re practically hunched over, straining your hearing, trying to catch every syllable and only getting half.
When I first crossed paths with the prince and his betrothed, I didn’t take her for a forthright sort of woman. She seemed shy and skittish, as if the pop of a balloon might startle her.
Clearly I misread her. Either that, or she misrepresented herself. Which begs the question: why?
I scavenge through my memories for her place in them and come up blank again. I swear I’ve met her before.
What exactly does she think the Crocodile and I are endangering?
Roc’s words about Wendy echo in my head: She’s mad, confused, and afraid of something.
Is it the prince and his soon-to-be bride? Every court has a warring heir and stepparent so I wouldn’t be surprised. But the thought of Wendy being in danger because of a scheming prince has my blood pumping.
I still my breathing to hear anything else that might be pertinent.
The prince says, “What would you like me to do with them, then?”
The girl is silent a moment, and then she says, “You keep your attention on your dying father. Leave the queen’s guests to me.”
Bloody hell.
I turn away from the door and run from the hall.
What have we walked into the middle of?
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