Chapter 39 Hilltown

When the tall reeds are not enough to protect us from the two suns, there’s mud along the banks that we can roll in. The children sleep together disguised as the mud itself while the rest of us keep watch. Sometimes one of them gets stuck, and if it isn’t one of my own, it’s a snack. — Prince Eater, undocumented

Colleen, Liam dressed up to be Lily, and Rory dressed up to be Rosy, left as First Sun began to glow on the horizon.

“Good morning,” one of the grooms greeted them unexpectedly. “It’s early for a ride, Mrs. Raedwald. Would you like me to saddle your horse?”

“It is early,” Colleen agreed. “I’m surprised to see that you’re awake.”

“I had something to do for Declan that couldn’t wait,” the groom justified. “How can I help you?”

“My horse, yes, but my guests will need the small carriage. Thank you,” Colleen replied. “We’re going into Hilltown to shop. I’m only going long enough to show Lily and Rosy all of my favorite milliners and tailors. They both arrived sorely in need of essentials. I promised them that they could go today. I warned them that we need to stay together.”

“All the grooms know that Mr. Braeford forbade you to go near the coming battle, Mrs. Raedwald,” the groom stated. “We’ve been told not to provide you with any means to get there – horse or carriage.”

“They can’t succeed without me,” Colleen entreated. “You don’t have to let Gil know about it.”

“I wouldn’t, Mrs. Raedwald. It isn’t that,” the groom protested. He walked about ten paces away, his eyes worried, and then strode back. “Never a word. I was simply thinking that with all that’s going on these days, they might not have another opportunity to get into Hilltown. I don’t blame them a bit. Your horses will be ready momentarily. Let me give you the name of a friend who owns a livery stable. He’s a good soul, and he will take good care of you.”

The groom disappeared and a few minutes later reappeared driving the lady’s carriage. He jumped down, secured the reins, and said, “I’ll return in a jiffy with your riding horse, Mrs. Raedwald.”

As soon as the groom entered the stables, they removed a variety of weapons they had hidden about them and stashed them in the trunk on the back of the carriage.

The groom took longer than Colleen anticipated, but as soon as he reappeared, Rory/Rosy started to swing into the carriage without waiting for assistance until the groom rebuked, “I’ll help you, Lady Rosy. One moment please.”

He dismounted, led the horse to Colleen, and helped her to mount. The groom turned to assist Liam/Lily into the carriage and then bowed to Rory/Rosy and gallantly held out a hand. As Rory/Rosy complied the groom said quietly, “If you get into trouble, Rory, sir, get to Prince Jon on the roof. Remember. Jon on the roof.”

The groom took a bag from his shoulder and pulled out a flintlock pistol, powder and balls. Holding it up he said, “This is a brand new technology for us. From New East Anglia. My friend Captain Reid just brought these to Midhe Nuae. I was hoping to show it to Declan, but you may need it where you’re going. Let me just walk around here so that I’m on the other side of the carriage from the house, and I’ll show you how to use it.”

When he was certain that he was out of sight of anyone who might be watching from the house, he explained loading, aiming, cleaning, the advantages and the cautions, and concluded, “My suggestion is that once you are well away from the manor, stop if you can, and each of you try shooting it. Initially, you won’t be very accurate, but that will come. I haven’t had it for long, but I’m starting to get a good feel for it. For now, try to aim for the largest part of whoever is your target, like his back, or the center of his chest, or his ass if that’s all you can see. These are all the lead balls I have, so don’t use them all up practicing. I can get more, but you need to save some in case you need to use it in Hilltown today.”

He returned the weapon to the bag and set it on the seat next to Rory, stepped back with a bow, and said, “Ride well. If Mr. Braeford asks questions, I’ll try to hold him off. If anyone has to come for you, I’ll offer to do it myself.”

As they traveled toward Hilltown, Colleen rode next to the carriage so that the three of them could talk easily. Liam asked, “Why does Gil go by Mr. Braeford, and you go by Mrs. Raedwald?”

Colleen shook her head in disgust and pushed her horse forward to ride ahead of the carriage. Finally, Rory answered, “Gil goes by Braeford for anonymity, however, Mrs. Raedwald is mother to a Prince of the Realm. She must use the royal family name.”

“She acts as if she hates Gil,” Liam remarked, studying the woman riding ahead of them.

“Wouldn’t you?” Rory responded.

“The servants think she does,” Liam continued. “Even though he rescued her from the Citadel dungeons, and then married her as Holy King Harrison demanded, she resents not being able to be with Prince Reginald. She insists that Reginald is still alive, in the dungeon somewhere, with other princes who didn’t make it through the Ritual.”

Rory scrunched up his face, and then asked ponderingly, “How can he have died during the Ritual, yet still be alive in the dungeon somewhere?”

“I don’t know,” Liam answered. “But Mrs. Raedwald doesn’t seem given to flights of fancy.”

When they were well out of sight of Braeford Estates, they halted at the side of the road so that they could retrieve the weapons hidden in the back of the carriage. Colleen strapped a short sword to her side. Rory/Rosy produced two knives and his quarterstaff. Liam/Lily also had two knives, a quarterstaff, and a flanged, metal mace. They changed their travel cloaks for large, hooded ones that disguised their faces, and Rory stashed an extra one for Seán to wear when they rescued him. He gestured to Liam, and then took out the flintlock pistol. He followed the groom’s instructions to load it and then shot a tree. He tipped his head as he considered what he’d learned, and then gave the pistol to Liam who repeated Rory’s actions.

“We have to get going,” Colleen insisted as Liam tried to pass the weapon to her.

They traveled the rest of the way without encountering anyone. There were no people on the streets of Hilltown, either, and the shops were shut and boarded. They stopped at the livery stable and found no one about, so Rory and Liam freed the horses from the carriage, stabled them along with Colleen’s horse, and cared for them while she left a brief note for the livery stable owner.

“Ready?” she asked. The two young men nodded. “Keep the hoods up at all times. They are the type worn by the novitiates so once we are in the Citadel, you’ll blend in while you’re wearing them. Your quarterstaffs won’t attract attention because every novitiate is assigned one and trained to use it.”

The streets remained uncharacteristically empty, but they discovered that the closer to the castle and Citadel they traveled, the more people they encountered until the streets became crammed, and every available window had observers hanging out of them.

“I wonder –” Rory/Rosy started to whisper. Colleen put her finger over her lips imploring him to remain silent. He obeyed as he fell into step beside her and Liam/Lily.

They made it to the Courtyard, and by utilizing a combination of polite requests and a bit of pushing, they achieved a good vantage point to see that in the center of the Courtyard, on a dais higher than the one Holy King Harrison generally sat on, stood Prince Seán. He was dressed in regal silks. His long blond hair was tied at the nape of his neck with a leather tie, and every strand glistened. His hands were free, but velvet ropes attached to his ankles kept him anchored to the dais and limited his movement. Someone in the crowd cast a soggy piece of fruit at the Prince and yelled, “Noble Not Nobility!”

Prince Seán flinched and ducked, but others in the crowd took up the cry: “Noble Not Nobility! Noble Not Nobility!” Volleys of fruit, defecation, stones, and blocks of wood were hurled at him. Spectators in the crowd who were loyal to either the monarchy or the magi tried to stop the assault and soon nearly the entire crowd was brawling.

“Enough!” Ava Most Revered yelled. “Stop. He is not on display for you to abuse. He is the Last Prince. The next Holy King. You may not treat him with such disrespect. Soldiers! Soldiers!”

The Magi Soldiers and members of the Kings Guards came from every direction, placing themselves between Prince Seán and the rowdy crowd. As the soldiers pushed the crowd back, a mage yanked at Liam/Lily’s sleeve and said sternly, “You! Novitiates! Get up there and help the prince. Cut him loose and transport him on your shoulders.”

Taking advantage of the opportunity to get to Seán, Liam, Rory, and Colleen rushed forward. By the time they reached Prince Seán, several other novitiates surrounded him on the dais with their arms stretched out so that the refuse splattered onto them instead of the prince. Other novitiates beat at the crowd with their quarterstaffs trying to help the soldiers push them back. A nearby mage assessed Liam and Rory and said, “You two look stronger than the others, cut his ankles free, and get him inside. There’s a knife here in my belt, use it. Be sure to hold him high. Don’t let His Royal Highness’s feet touch any of that crud.”

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Liam lowered his eyes as if in respect, hurried to the priest, and accepted the knife. He scrambled onto the dais, hurried over to Prince Seán, and whispered, “Shhh. It’s me, Liam. Don’t give me away.” As he worked to cut the bulky, velvet ropes more novitiates, several additional magi, Kings Guards, and Magi Soldiers surrounded Prince Seán. Liam continued to speak softly, “I don’t think we can get you out of here through this crowd.”

Prince Seán turned toward the Most Revered, as if he hadn’t heard Liam, and shouted, “You unholy pig. Nothing you do is sacred or divine. You are a greedy, power-craving tyrant.” He lowered his voice and whispered, “What do you want me to do?”

Liam didn’t glance up but merely uttered, “Lose your balance so that you fall across me. I have two knives in my waistband. Take them.”

“Hurry up,” the mage called out. “There’s no time to be respectful and gentle. You have to get him out of here.”

“Got him,” Liam called back in a convincing falsetto.

“Your Righteousness,” Seán coached. “Ma’am.”

“Got him, Your Righteousness, we’re leaving now, ma’am,” Liam/Lily called as if he were continuing the same sentence. He adjusted his hood, leaned into Prince Seán to hoist him over his shoulder, fumbled so that Seán could retrieve the two knives and conceal them, then lifted Prince Seán. Rory/Rosy met them at the dais’s edge, the other novitiates parted to create a path through the crowd, and they transported Prince Seán between them on their clasped arms with Ava Most Revered rushing ahead of them, urging them to hurry.

When they reached the Tara Citadel, she guided them through the Great Hall, up the staircase, and onto the balcony of her personal chambers where a cage containing a small jug of water, an empty plate, a chamber pot, and a small, blanket covered cot waited for Prince Seán. Waving her hand in the air, she instructed, “Lock him in. Until he fully embraces his destiny, he needs to be secure.”

“Yes, Ava Most Revered,” Rory/Rosy mumbled in a soft, high voice.

“This is as much for his safety as any other reason,” Ava Most Revered continued.

Rory/Rosy and Liam/Lily both nodded silently. Liam/Lily turned his head and looked over the balcony at the priests, novitiates, Magi Soldiers, and everyone else pouring into the Great Hall after them. Most of them pointed at and whispered, although a few voices clamored “Noble Not nobility.”

As if reading his mind, Ava Most Revered offered, “There isn’t much privacy for him, that’s true. But I can’t risk him being out of sight of the Hall while I’m gone. He may try to break free.”

Liam/Lily dipped his head to acknowledge what she had said and then fussed with the blankets on the cot. Rory/Rosy, meanwhile, made a show of brushing off Seán’s clothing, wiping off real and imaginary clots of dirtiness with his own cape, and then adjusting Seán’s hair. As he did, he turned Seán so that they blocked Ava Most Revered’s view. Liam/Lily quickly removed the flanged, medal mace from under his cape, and tucked it under the cot. He made a final show of smoothing and rearranging the blankets and then stood and stepped back. The two friends backed from the cage side by side as they bowed deeply to Seán and acknowledged, “It is our pleasure to serve you, Your Royal Highness.”

“Absolutely right,” the Most Revered said as she tied the cage door shut. “That is exactly how the Chosen should be treated. What are your assignments today?”

“We are available for whatever you wish, Most Revered,” Rory/Rosy said softly bowing to her as he spoke so that his face remained shadowed.

“Good. Good,” she commented. “I have much to do and cannot stay to watch him. I want both of you to guard him for the balance of the day. Do not let anyone in. When the kitchen staff brings him food, serve it to him yourself and see that he eats well.”

The two novitiates bowed deeply in acceptance.

“Make sure that no one from the Great Hall tries to reach him by climbing to the balcony the way Colleen did. And definitely do not let anyone sling fruit or garbage at him like they were doing in the Courtyard. I intend to see that those who did are punished. If someone tries, close the drapes. In fact, since the two of you will be here to watch him, go ahead and close the draperies now. He’s certainly been harassed enough for one day. If there’s danger and you have to get him away from the people in the Great Hall. Don’t wait for me. Open the door and take him to safety yourselves. Don’t hesitate. He is extremely important.” She paused, gave Prince Seán a hard look, sized up the two dutiful novitiates, and then concluded, “You have my trust. Don’t lose it. I’m sure the beasts would find both of you tasty.”

She turned on her heel and marched out of her chambers without looking back. Prince Seán walked to his hard cot and sat on it without speaking. When Liam opened his mouth to say something, Seán put his finger over his lip to indicate silence, and then put one hand behind an ear and leaned forward as if he were mimicking someone eavesdropping. Both the young men kept silent.

Rory turned and surveyed the Great Hall, wondering how to get word to Colleen that they were trapped with Seán. He finally saw her standing against the far wall of the hall. He made a big show of dusting off his cape. He lifted his eyes toward her without moving his head and saw her slight nod. He glanced toward Prince Seán and when he looked back, Colleen had disappeared.

Prince Seán sat quietly on his cot while Rory and Liam operated the mechanism until the drapes closed off the entire balcony. As soon as they were out of sight from the hall, Rory produced the knife he was given by the priest and sliced the rope tying it shut. Seán walked to the door, leaned against it as if he needed the reassurance that it was truly unlocked, and stood there breathing in and out deeply.

“We don’t have much time,” Colleen whispered from the center of the room. “Don’t respond to me. Talk loudly about something else. Anything else.”

“Would you two bring me some water?” Prince Seán broadcast, distractingly loud. He cleared his throat, stomped his feet several times, and then continued, “I need to wash after going through all that. Some of that shit hit me. The Most Revered keeps water for washing up in that room over there.”

“I’ll get a bucket for you, sir,” Rory joined in, continuing the falsetto ruse. He held his palms up and raised his eyebrows at Colleen questioningly. She turned and pointed at what seemed to have been a blank wall, but in reality, was a panel door that was now standing wide open to reveal a set of stairs. She waved her arm to indicate they should follow her.

“Here is water for you, sir,” Rory said, loudly enough that people in the area of the Grand Hall closest to them could hear. “We’ll turn our backs until you are done.”

Seán bent down and retrieved the flanged, metal mace that they had hidden under his cot, wrapped its belt around his waist, and shoved it through the belt at his back. Rory removed his own hooded cloak and shrugged off the pack containing the extra cape. Prince Seán donned it immediately, and Colleen signaled for them to come with her down the stairs.

“Stay covered,” she hissed very softly. “We’re likely to pass servants, and we might even encounter a priest. I’ll do any talking.”

They encountered no one until they reached the ground floor where several Magi Soldiers were yelling and arguing.

“I told you, I saw the rebel army,” one soldier’s voice declared.

“Since when do the Rebels have an army,” another soldier argued. “They are a few cowardly nobles hiding in SnakeIn. They don’t have an army.”

“They do,” a third voice said. “And not only in SnakeIn. All of Midhe Nuae is riddled with them. There’s a large group of them right here in Hilltown.”

Colleen shook her head and gestured at the young men to follow her as she lifted a rough door in the floor to reveal a sturdy ladder leading down to another passage. They followed her into the dim light.

“Two of you put one hand on my shoulder. The third one of you needs to stand in the middle with his hands on their shoulders,” she instructed softly. “Don’t lose contact with each other or me. Once the trapdoor is closed, it will be too dark to see.”

She sealed the door and led them along the dirt passageway. After several minutes, they reached another ladder. She climbed up, pushed that trap door open, and went through. To the right of the trap door was a steep stairway that led to a standard door accessing the roof.

“Like our friendly groom said, get to Jon,” she explained as she led them out onto the roof. She shut the door behind them solidly and turned to find Jon standing with his crossbow aimed at them.

“Don’t shoot me now,” Seán joked as he pushed his own hood back and laughed. “I just got free.”

The others pushed their hoods back and towed their capes off as Jon lowered his weapon. When Seán shrugged off his cape, Colleen stepped over to Seán and took it from him.

“I thought we could escape downstairs, but the soldiers are already aware of the Rebels coming,” Colleen filled Jon in as she folded Seán’s and her cape loosely and set them to one side. “They were gathered outside the door I wanted to use for our escape. We’d have had to fight our way through them to get out.”

Jon’s face darkened, and he addressed Colleen directly, “I ordered you to stay away from here. For the sake of Reggie’s child.”

He had not heard the argument at Braeford Estates so Seán looked at Colleen in surprise, but then said, “Don’t be upset, Jon. She rescued me.”

“We couldn’t have saved him without her,” Rory agreed.

Jon gestured his acceptance of their argument, but still disgruntled about the overall battle strategy, he complained, “This is where I’m stationed.”

“That was a bad decision,” Collen replied. “The only way out is the only way in. We didn’t have another choice but you should have been placed somewhere else.”

“Have you heard from anyone?” Jon asked. “It’s been over three hours. Gil should have contacted me by now. I’m worried about Alec.”

“No, we left before they did,” Colleen explained. She turned in a small circle, inspecting the layout of the roof. “We can’t get down.”

“I have an escape route,” he said as he pointed to a traverse line that had been rigged carefully behind the castle where it could not be seen from the Courtyard. “From here I can launch crossbow bolts in almost any direction. I’ve been filling up the time by taking out a few of the Prince Eaters. Just the ones at the far end of the pen, so they won’t be readily noticed. I’d hope that I could take out enough to make a difference. By my count, we’re down to 22.”

“How can we help?” Rory asked. “We’re here to fight.”

“So am I,” Prince Seán agreed. “I’m not running.”

“How do you feel?” Jon asked.

“I’m fine,” he replied. “She kept me locked up, but she fed me well. She didn’t abuse me in any way. She was almost kind. For a kidnapper.”

Jon laughed and said, “I have an arsenal up here. I had plenty of time to sneak down to my chambers and bring up almost my entire collection. Everyone seems to be gearing up for a large battle or drinking to forget they should be. Not even a servant caught a glimpse of me.” He chuckled, and then continued, “Our father readily indulged my weapons collection. I have more crossbows here than we have hands to shoot them, so use them. I brought up other weapons, too. Quarterstaffs. A war axe. A brace of swords. Just in case I have to fight my way down from here.”

“Let’s set up,” Colleen said.

©2022 Vera S. Scott