To Kill a King

4: Hillfar

The day dawned with the song of Palandyren sparrows piercing through the summer morning. I pushed open the door of my cabin and squinted over the cargo boys, their heads a mass of dark, blonde and ginger dots rushing around the giant deck. Across the horizon, the waters of the Carmine River battled with the sun's reflection, sending black waves crashing against the hull of my wedding ship. The Seapounder carried my dowry and a large royal retinue, but the Queen had bought its silence. Every sailor, soldier, and maid on this vessel was sworn on pain of death to keep my secret.

A deckhand saw that I had risen and quickly shuffled over. "Princess?" He bent a bow, a clumsy affair of hunched shoulders and knobby elbows. From the corner of my eye, I saw grimy hands clutching a washcloth and young blue eyes peering at me from under a flea-ridden cap. A pang like wistfulness shot through me as I thought of Kit. "The city of Hillfar lies just ahead. Cap'n awaits your orders, 'Highness."

"How far from Fall's Keep?"

"A day's sailing, I reckon?" The deckhand scratched his neck. "Hillfar's a merchant town, nothing but forest for miles around 'cept for Fall's Keep a little ways upriver."

"Tell your captain we make landing at Hillfar."

He shot me a quick grin and a tug at his cap, turning to shout, "Weigh anchor!"

I watched them hoist the sails. With every rhythmic heave ho, sheets of canvas climbed higher into the sky. A sailor tugged sharply at a rope, and the sails unfurled a sea of red upon which soared an enormous black harpy, wings extended, eyes hard and unforgiving. For a moment the Seapounder held perfectly still—then the wind crashed into her sails and sent her reeling. Her bow cut through the water like a blade, aiming straight for shore on the far side of the river. Gleaming silk banners hung high from prow to stern, each one emblazoned with the harpy of Mirador, glaring fiercely out of fields of crimson.

As we neared the docks, I slipped back inside the cabin to prepare. According to Aramercy, I was to pull the ship in at a place named Hillfar before we reached the new king's court at Fall's Keep. There, I was to find a woman named Katrione and secure her silence. She would blacken my hair and I was to send for her discreetly every fortnight before the roots of my hair broke my cover.

Safe from prying eyes, I struggled out of heavy robes, quickly changing into a servant's shift. I threw on a long dark cloak, flipping the hood up to cover my hair and hide my face in shadow.

I felt the gentle sway of still waters as the Seapounder came to a stop, heard the rough cries of Palandyren sailors echoing through the door.

Hillfar was a busy place, a merchant town, and I needed to find Katrione fast.

The same deckhand who bent before me moments before now blocked my exit from the cabin. "Aye, what is it?"

"Step aside, lad." My voice was unrecognizable. Lower, with a harsher undertone. "I'm to run errands for the Princess in the city. She's not to be disturbed 'til I return, then we sail for Fall's Keep at dusk."

He peered into the darkness of the cabin, and saw the lump on the bed that I'd stuffed with pillows.

"Be back by dusk," he said, and went back to his post.

I almost ran off the ship, feeling giddy. The sounds and smells of the city enveloped me with a warm, almost familiar embrace. The sun beat down, the cloak smothering me in its heat—and I didn't care. For once, there were no eyes following my every move, no chains shackling my wrists, no whisper of Queen's Rat trailing my shadow. I was no different than that woman selling ribbons by the fish market, the little girl picking summer flowers to stick in her hair, the young man brooding silently next to a merchant ship, four guards flanking his side. For a moment I almost believed I could disappear off into the cobbled streets, sneak a pie or two from an oblivious baker, and never look back to the games where kings and queens battled over thrones that didn't concern me.