CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The Governor approached, and stood alongside Trinket. He was shorter than Trinket and his eyes had to roll up to her. It was immediately obvious that this height was a problem, something the Governor compensated for by being beastly to those around him. The beastliness was in every part of his bearing, and Jane knew that dealing with him was not gong to be easy.

'Take a seat princess', said the Governor, then he pointed at Jane. 'You too.'

Trinket and Jane sat.

The Governor drew out a chair, a long green triangular finger nail tapping the wood. He brought the chair close to Trinket, and sat so that his knees were touching hers.

Trinket said, ‘So you have sold out Wyld Fell and my father, your King.’

The Governor smiled mirthlessly.

Trinket continued, ‘You were a terrible Governor in the school of alchemy. You always so oily. It makes sense that you are a traitor.'

‘The smartest among us respect the changing winds.’

‘The puny man gets knocked over by every vulgar breath.’

Although he still smiled, the Governor's snake eyes narrowed and his iris's became single vertical lines.

‘I have looked forward to this moment … seeing your reaction to my new role of leading Wyld Fell.’

The Governor wanted the princess to know that he had out-smarted her. Why? Had Trinket been disrespectful to the Governor? Had she been haughty, and royal while attending the School of Alchemy?

‘Who are you?’ The Governor asked Jane.

‘I’m Jane.’

‘No ... who are you in reference to the Princess and Wyld Fell?’

Trinket put a hand in the air.

'Don’t answer that question.’

Without taking his eyes off Jane, the Governor said, ‘Ignore the Princess ... she is irrelevant.’

Jane leaned over the table.

‘I am on my way to see the King … he is expecting me.’

‘That is funny. In all my communication with him, the thrip King didn’t mention a visiting white girl. Why would the King be interested in you?’

‘Don’t answer?’ Trinket commanded, her voice raising.

Jane nodded and stayed quiet.

The Governor leaned back in his chair and studied Jane, as though trying to see through her eyes into her mind.

‘I can get you an audience with the King,' he said. 'But only for you.'

Before the Governor had finished the sentence Trinket was shouting, 'Are you trying to tell me I can't see my own father.'

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

'You have been away for three months,' the Governor said, 'And a lot has happened in your absence.'

Clasping Jane on the biceps, Trinket said, ‘Jane and I are together. She will only see the King with me.'

'Is that the truth?' The Governor asked Jane, ‘Do you want to sacrifice your audience with the King to please this thrip?’

Eyes blazing with expectation, Trinket said, 'Tell him that we are an unbreakable team.'

Keeping her eyes averted from Trinket, Jane answered, ‘I can see the King alone.’

The smile that the Governor now turned on Trinket was evil and cruel and filled with menace.

‘Don’t trust him,’ Trinket said and her voice was now flying with fury.

‘I don’t know whom to trust,' Jane said quietly. 'It does seem the Governor can get me to the King.’

‘He is my father,' said Trinket. 'Do you think he will not see his own daughter?'

The Governor put his arm in the air and waved two fingers in a slow walking motion. A soldier stepped forward.

‘My Lord?’

‘Have the King prepared for an appointment in the throne room.’

The soldier hesitated, as though this request seemed unusual. Finally he nodded and murmured ‘As you wish.’

Now the Governor changed the gesture of two fingers walking, into a fist, that he pumped into the air twice.

From the corner of her eye Jane noticed the soldier behind Trinket immediately break from his vigil to move forward. Trinket, who was facing the wrong way, saw the refocus in Jane’s eyes, and she recognised danger. In a whiplash movement she had her bow off her back and alive in her left hand …

Only the soldier got to her.

The soldier thumped into Trinket and threw his arms around her. Trinket tried to wrench herself away, she couldn’t release the grip of the much larger soldier. She wriggled and screamed with her neck and face straining, and her eyes psychotic. Somehow she got her feet up onto the edge of the table and tipped her body back into the soldier, so that both her and the soldier were toppling. She brought her knees into her chest and went into a backward somersault. The soldier’s grip was broken. She landed on her feet. Immediately she kicked, and caught the soldier on the side of the face. Only another soldier grabbed her from behind, his arms encasing her. She managed to plant her feet and push back again, and the second soldier fell to the floor with Trinket gripped against his body. For a moment she looked like a helplessly kicking overturned beetle.

A third soldier threw himself on the melee and took a rain of thrip knees and elbows. Another soldier got his fingers around Trinket’s arm. A fifth soldier held her legs, pushing fat thumbs into her calf muscles. The tavern floor became a heaving mass of bodies. Plates of food crashed from tables. Chairs fell.

Somehow in the melee a soldier managed to get a loop of twine around Trinket’s wrists, and the fight began to go out of her.

Trinket hissed from beneath the pile of bodies, her mouth opened like a steam vent, her teeth white and sharp and savage.

A moment later Trinket's ankles were also secure.

Trinket lay trussed, wild eyed and hissing on the floor.

The soldiers rolled away and stood. One of them pulled Trinket up by the twine that held her wrists together, grunting as he took her weight.

The Governor rose from his chair and stepped in front of Trinket who looked at him with poison spitting from her eyes. He put his finger on Trinket’s chin, only she jerked her face away.

‘The Princess with the smart mouth who always thought she was better than her Governor.’

The skin around Trinket’s nose quivered, and she brought her head back, a small flex that signalled she would be ready to strike with her head. A soldier moved in and cupped a hand under Trinket’s chin and wrenched her head up and back.

Now, while looking into Trinket’s eyes, the Governor slowly reached and took hold of the top button that held her tunic together at the throat, and he undid the button.

‘What are you doing?’ whispered Jane.

The Governor undid another button … then another.

Jane could see – a key hanging from a leather strap.

The key appeared identical to the key that the wood thrip on the Crackboard path had placed over Tom’s head.

The Governor reached between the loose buttons on the thrip’s tunic.

‘The dwarf King's key,’ he said.

Trinket said nothing.

The Governor yanked and the leather strap that held the key broke. He stepped away from Trinket and spoke to one of the soldiers.

‘The thrip princess is to be placed under house arrest. I will deal with her in the morning.’

The soldier saluted.

Jane stood and said, ‘Wait.’

The soldier stopped.

Jane spoke quickly, ’Please don’t hurt her.’