By late evening, the Knight’s house came into view.

Mikel had been walking as fast as he could. His legs hurt and his lungs burned. He ignored the discomfort and kept going until he saw the last copse of trees before the house. He pointed, properly this time, and gasped out;

‘Over there. On the other side of those trees.’

‘Do you know where she’ll be working?’

‘No. He never let me see her, so I don’t know what she does.’

‘Okay, I’m going to go have a look. Try to stay out of sight, I don’t want him blaming you for what I’m about to do.’

Bernard left the man behind, recovering his breath, and rode toward the trees. Behind them stood a small manor house, overlooking a gully. The pennants hanging from the walls weren’t familiar, but their style revealed that Sir Ailbern was from a lesser noble family without a title of their own. Landed gentry like him were barely a step up from commoners. They held next to no authority in court. Some became merchants or scholars, but Knighthood was the easiest way for them to gain influence. Agatha spoke;

‘What’s the plan here?’

‘I guess, I have to go in and get Lise back. The man on the road will die if I don’t.’

‘Die? How do you know he’ll die?’

‘I saw… it was like a death shroud, choking him.’

‘That’s why we’re helping him?’

‘Yes.’

Agatha knew Bernard was gentle. Back at the castle, he had treated the stable hands with more respect than the other Princes. He was the only one that bothered to learn their names. It was cute, but not enough to sway her. She liked that he was squeamish about fighting his brothers. She was charmed by how polite he was to everyone he met on the road since losing his title. She hadn’t realised his kindness extended to putting himself at risk for total strangers, and a poor rural farmer at that.

She looked down over the grounds of the Knight’s manor. She couldn’t see an easy way to get in and out, other than the gate. The fence wasn’t all that tall, but she wouldn’t be able to jump it. That might've been inconsequential. Agatha was pretty sure Bernard didn’t have anything even remotely resembling a plan of action for once he got in. She said;

‘So… how will you find her?’

‘...I don’t know, yet. The simplest way would be talking to Ailbern. Ride right up to the door and say 'Hello.' He will either welcome me like Earl Kaspar did or attack, depending on how he feels about King Lothar.’

Bernard really wasn’t ready to get into a fight like that.

‘Even if you are welcomed, you can’t demand to meet one of the man’s servants without an explanation. You need some reason for asking or it will be too suspicious. The fact that you know the servant you want to see by name is already weird.’

‘I said it was the simplest way, not the smartest way. It's definitely a bad idea.’

Agatha walked toward the gully's edge, trying to find a better vantage point to examine the walls. From the new angle, she could see behind the house. There was a sunken area where two women were collecting laundry from a washing line, but the different elevations didn’t produce any obvious weak points in the wall. Bernard tapped her shoulder, saying;

‘There’s something wrong down there.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘The servants… their shrouds are too simple.’

‘What does that mean?’

The guard’s shrouds had been normal, but the washerwomen… The distance they were at meant he couldn’t feel intimate details, but he didn’t need that to know that what he was seeing wasn’t normal. He’d passed fearful and hopeless people on the road. None of their shrouds were anywhere near this focused. Fears might make up the majority of their shrouds, but they always had all sorts of other things laced through or tangled around the edges. Even Mikel’s shroud was complex, and he was being choked to death by failure.

Here was nothing but a hazy mix of terror and hopelessness.

‘I don’t know… I might need to send more than one person back to the fairy.’

‘Alright. I can definitely get you in there, but I can’t see anywhere you’ll be able to get back out. There aren’t any trees near the wall.’

‘How will you get me in?’

‘If I walk up to the wall and you stand on my saddle, you should just be able to pull yourself over. Then I’m stuck outside, and you’re in there alone.’

‘How small can you shrink? I might have trouble lifting you when you’re the size of a large dog.’

‘Even if I do shrink, how will you pick me up?’

‘I’ll tie my blanket around your chest and climb up onto the top of the wall with the blanket looped around my arm. When you shrink, you’ll fall into it and I can lift you up after me.’

‘I’m pretty sure the blanket will shrink when I do. The enchantment resizes all the things I’m wearing. It might not work.’

Behind them, Mikel said;

‘If you’re not too heavy when you shrink, I could lift you up and pass you to him.’

Agatha flinched. She hadn’t heard the man approach over the sound of the stream in the gully. Bernard patted her shoulder as though he were trying to soothe a normal horse. It annoyed her. She said;

‘I don’t like it. If the blanket thing doesn’t work, I’ll still be trapped on the wrong side of the wall when you leave.’

Bernard said;

‘Can you be as small as a rat? If you can, you could probably just walk out under the gate. It’ll be dark soon, so they won’t see you.’

Agatha felt cornered. She didn’t want to be as small as a rat, and she didn’t want to be picked up. Flicking her tail, she said;

‘How will we even find her? You don’t know her face.’

Mikel said;

‘She has dark eyes, lots of freckles and brown hair… I don’t know if she kept it long or cut it short. She’s probably only a couple of years older than you, Lord Bernard.’

Bernard sighed.

‘It’s just Bernard, but thank you.’

Bernard turned to face the manor, and said;

‘We’ll wait until dinner time. This manor is too small to have a separate servants’ dining room. She’s indentured, so she probably eats somewhere like the scullery.’

‘And how are you getting in there?’

‘I don’t have to get in. She might come out if I can get her attention. If she can’t get out, all I need is for her to come to a window. Then, I’ll ask her if she wants to go to Hochenberg. If she says yes, I can send her right away.’

Mikel said;

‘You mean, I won’t get to say goodbye?’

‘Ah. Right. Unless she has a way of sneaking out, it might be difficult to bring her to you. I can send you after her, though. You don’t have to stay here without her.’

Mikel hesitated, unsure if he had the right to go with her.

‘No. Just tell her… her Da misses her, and he’s sorry.’

Agatha felt defeated. She couldn’t say no to that.

No servants ate dinner in the scullery.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Bernard watched the three eating dinner in the kitchen from a tiny ventilation window, hoping Lise was just late. They had eaten quickly, washed up, and went off to complete their night-time tasks. One took the bucket of scraps somewhere deeper into the house. Bernard wanted to follow, but he was hindered by being a full-sized boy. Agatha went in his place. The servant walked quickly, completely unaware a mouse-sized horse was chasing her at a gallop.

The servant came to a heavy wooden door. She tapped lightly and said;

‘It’s just me. I’ve got your dinner.’

The door’s bolt rattled and clacked as it was opened. The smell was abhorrent. Inside the tiny room, three shapes huddled. The servant placed the bucket in the centre of the room, saying;

‘Lise, you’ll be let out tomorrow. Please don’t upset him again. Annika, he says he’ll let you out the day after. Cline, he’s still very angry. You might be in here a while longer. I’m sorry.’

The figures didn’t acknowledge what she said, sitting silent and still. They didn’t move until the door was shut and bolted again. Once the servant was on her way back to the kitchen, Agatha heard the prisoners begin to wordlessly dig around in the bucket of garbage they’d been given to eat. She waited until the hallway was clear, and scurried over to the door. The gap under the door was tall enough for her to squeeze through without too much effort. She couldn’t make out the prisoner’s faces very well, so she didn’t know which one was Lise.

Bernard had said he thought he might need to rescue more than one person. He was right. Agatha cleared her throat;

‘Excuse me, ladies.’

The girls stopped, frozen in place, shadowed faces all pointed to the source of Agatha’s tiny voice. She continued;

‘I’m here… with a Prince. He has come to rescue you, but he can’t get inside.’

The girls said nothing, continuing to stare blindly. There was no way they could actually see her, but Agatha felt like she might be crushed by the pressure of their gaze anyway.

‘I can kick the door down, but it will be noisy. You will need to run to the Prince right away. He can instantly send you to a safe place, but you need to reach him. He can’t help you if you don’t get to him.’

Finally, one of the girls whispered;

‘Are you real?’

Agatha said;

‘Step back, I’ll reveal myself.’

They scurried back to the walls. Agatha reversed the enchantment, growing until she was over half-size. The room was too cramped to grow larger. She whispered;

‘I’m here.’

One of the girls reached out to touch her, feeling her coat.

‘What are you?’

‘A talking horse.’

A different girl said;

‘What about the others?’

‘What others?’

‘The other three. He does this to all of us.’

If Ailbern did this to all six servants… she could persuade one of the free ones to unlock the door and let the prisoners out. She wouldn't need to risk kicking the door down. They could leave silently.

‘Which one of them will be safest for me to approach first?’

‘Berlinde, the cook. She’s the one with curls.’

Agatha remembered her.

‘I’ll go speak to her now. If she unlocks the door, we might be able to get out without alerting anyone.’

Agatha shrank again, scampered under the door and bolted back to the kitchen. Berlinde was returning with a tea tray. The other two were absent. She placed the tea tray in the scullery by an empty tub and returned to the kitchen to check a large kettle of water hanging over the fire. Agatha stood in the dark under the large kitchen bench, dog-sized. She whispered loudly;

‘Berlinde. Over here.’

Berlinde turned.

‘Who’s that?’

‘Shh. Over here.’

She approached, peering around. She whispered;

‘Who’s there?’

‘Don’t be scared. I’m here to help you escape.’

‘Escape?’

Agatha stepped out into the firelight. Berlinde put her hand to her mouth in surprise.

‘You’re a tiny horse!’

‘I’m a magic horse. I know it sounds ridiculous, but a Prince is here to save all six of you from the Knight. I need your help to get the girls locked in the room at the end of the hall out.’

‘A Prince? Where is he?’

‘He’s just outside, hiding from the guards. He can use magic to send you to a place where you will be safe.’

‘Where?’

‘There’s a town called Hochenberg. It’s under the protection of a fairy. The Knight won’t be able to reach you there.’

Berlinde had never seen anything like a tiny talking magic horse. As wild as its story was, she felt like she had no choice but to believe it. If the horse existed, then a fairy-tale Prince coming to rescue some servants didn’t seem so far-fetched.

‘You just need me to unlock the door?’

‘If you could gather everyone that wants to escape together in the kitchen as well, it’ll make things a lot easier. When you’re ready, the Prince will come to that door.’

‘Alright.’

Berlinde hurried back into the house. Agatha climbed up to the back door and snuck out to explain what was happening to Bernard. She found him shivering in the dark beside the woodpile where she had left him. He gave her a quizzical look. She said;

‘Get ready. There are six of them.’

Bernard nodded. Agatha kept watch at the vent. It didn’t take long for the group to assemble. Bernard stood, dusted himself off, flexed the pins and needles from his right leg, and went to the door. He tapped once, lightly, trying to keep the noise to a minimum. An older woman opened it. By the shape of her shroud, he thought she might have been one of the washerwomen from earlier. She stood beside the steps down into the kitchen, her arm extended up, holding the door handle. Bernard dipped his head respectfully to her, then descended.

Standing in the warm firelight, surrounded by people who expected something from him, he felt very small. He was unprepared for a situation like this. Nothing in his education as a Prince had even hinted at the proper way to handle such a scene. He fell back on a bow and an out-of-place greeting;

‘Good evening, ladies.’

He faltered when they failed to respond with the expected curtsey. He turned to the bruised girl matching Lise’s description;

‘Lise? Your Father says he misses you, and he’s sorry.’

She looked away. Another spoke;

‘Do you have a message from my Dad?’

‘No, sorry. Just Lise’s. He’s the one that brought me here.’

Lise shook slightly, holding back tears. Bernard said;

‘I’m going to send you all to a courtyard in a town not too far from here. You will be safe there. It’s under a fairy’s protection. When you leave the courtyard, turn left and follow the road until you reach a tavern. Ask for Gertie and Ida. Tell them Bernard sent you. They’ll help you.’

Lise said;

‘My Da won’t be there to meet us?’

‘No. He’s outside the wall, waiting for me to get back. If you want to see him... I can try to get you over the wall. If you know a way to sneak out unseen…’

‘I don’t’

‘Ah. Sorry.’

Bernard took all the coins from his pocket and distributed them as evenly as he could.

‘This money should help you set yourselves up there, or help you buy provisions if you plan to leave. Be careful if you do. The fairy can’t keep you safe from Sir Ailbern if you go too far from the town. I’m sorry I can’t give you more.’

Bernard stalled again, shifting quickly from awkward to embarrassed. He had to kiss them all. It hadn’t bothered him before when it was Agatha. She was a horse. It didn’t mean anything to kiss a horse. The armour was an inanimate object. Now, he had to kiss six women. He wasn’t even courting any of them. He even had to do it while the others watched. It felt wrong. Cheeks burning, he extended his hand and said softly;

‘Who will go first?’

He didn’t look up at the face of the woman who put her hand in his. He bent down and gently kissed her fingers. They were calloused and worn. With a flash of light, she was gone. He held his hand out again, repeating the action.

The last one didn’t immediately take his hand, he looked up. It was Lise. She said;

‘Please tell Da… I never blamed him. It wasn’t his fault Ma died of fever. He didn’t cause the famine. I know we would’ve both died that winter if he didn’t put me in service. He didn’t know how bad it’d be here. Tell him I love him, and I miss him too.’

‘I’ll tell him.’

She put her hand in his, and he sent her away. Alone again, Bernard mounted the stairs to the back door. He shut it behind him carefully, stopping to let his eyes readjust to the dark. A light rounding the building to his left caught his attention. He heard;

‘Oi! Thief!’

The guard had been out relieving himself when he saw strange flashes of light coming from the back of the house. He guessed someone had left something boiling over on the stove. He picked up his lantern and hurried over, in case they needed help putting out a fire. He hadn’t expected to see a richly dressed boy step out into the kitchen courtyard. When the boy summoned a white horse from nowhere, he’d stumbled back, yelling.

Back at the gatehouse, the second guard heard a distant shout. He stepped out, straining to see what the fuss was about. By the light of the first guard’s lantern, he saw a boy on a white horse race from the house toward the wall. He scrambled to get his bow, firing wildly at the boy as he leapt from the horse’s saddle, over the wall and out of the manor’s grounds. The horse inexplicably vanished. He glanced back at the remainder of his dinner, still on the table, wondering if he’d been drugged. He hoped he had been. Sir Ailbern wouldn’t be happy that they’d let an intruder escape.

Bernard landed heavily on the opposite side of the wall and scrambled to his feet. In the dark, the forest looked completely different. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to find his way back to the place they’d left Lise’s father. A third voice joined the shouting from inside the wall. Bernard chose the direction he thought was right and ran, tripping and stumbling in the dark, hoping desperately that he didn’t fall into the gully.

Mikel heard Bernard approaching noisily and went out to meet him.

‘Is it done? Is she safe?’

‘Yes. They’re all safe. Is Agatha with you?’

‘No.’

Bernard looked back down at the manor. The men ran around frantically, from the kitchen door to the wall, then over to the gate. At least it didn’t look like they’d caught a horse. He’d have to wait. He felt something touch his hand. Mikel handed back his lance and bow.

‘Oh. Thank you. I don’t think I need to go back and fight them yet.’

Eyes still fixed on the manor, he strained to listen for tiny hoofbeats. He remembered Lise’s message.

‘Lise said…’

A flash of light illuminated the courtyard.

Cline shivered, suddenly out in the cold night air. One after another, the women materialised. After the fifth, there was a long pause. Annika said;

‘Do you think something’s happened?’

Before they had time to consider the possibilities, Lise appeared. There was a general sense of relief. Cline said;

‘He said to go left after we leave the courtyard, didn’t he?’

The group huddled around the gate, peering out cautiously. By the light of the moon, they could see they were in a small town. Light streamed out into the street through gaps in window shutters and under doors. They crept down the street in a clump, none willing to stray too far from the others.

The building with the tavern sign hanging out the front was quiet. Berlinde split from the group and crept closer to the door, not sure why she was so afraid of being caught. A group of unaccompanied women arriving so late was strange, but nothing that could get them in trouble. Visiting a tavern at night wasn’t illegal. She gathered all her courage together and tried the door. It opened. Inside was bright and warm. Two old women sat by a fire, one darning a sock, the other knitting. They looked up when they heard the door. One said;

‘Hello, come in dear. We’ve still got some stew if you’re hungry.’

Berlinde said;

‘Hello… Are you Ida and Gertie?’

‘We are.’

‘Bernard sent us.’

Berlinde motioned for the others to follow.

Gertie watched the group of girls pour in through the door. Three were only half-dressed and badly bruised. She got to her feet with a groan and went to fetch her box of ointments. She muttered to herself;

‘I didn’t think he was the sort, the cheeky blighter. Kissing six girls in one day. Shameful.’