Justice for the Forest-Beasts

Chapter Twenty-One - In Which the People Gather

By the next morning, news of the Queen's hospitalization had spread throughout the city. Halloran had visited Samara in the hospital, but Aravis and the twins didn't bother. When Halloran returned from his visit, he told them all that she was alive, but she was still unconscious. The doctors were doing their best to keep Samara from dying, but there wasn't much they could do.

After breakfast, Maid Noelle had warned the twins to be careful if they went outside, as protestors were flocking the castle's bailey. The twins quickly slunk off to investigate. The castle's enceinte was very thick and rather tall. Along the top of the enceinte was a walkway, used mainly by soldiers and Guards. The walkway's only entrance was in a tower near the servants' quarters. It contained a rickety spiral staircase, which the twins both raced up. Lucian was scared of heights, but he still followed closely after Estelle. They hurried down the path, avoiding Royal Guards who didn't stop to question them.

The twins soon reached the castle's northern bailey. Sure enough, there were hundreds of people, shouting and holding up signs that had a variety of messages, demanding freedom, equality, and that Halloran step down as king. They were paying no attention to the enceinte, which Estelle thought was probably for the best.

Estelle peered down from the pathway as they came to a stop. "Wow, there's so many of them," she marveled. She was thoroughly impressed, struck by an exciting sense of power.

Lucian looked troubled, either because of the people or because of how high off the ground the twins were. "Do you think Halloran will step down?" he signed, after tapping Estelle on the shoulder to get her attention.

Estelle shrugged, "He might. If he does, that'll be perfect. If he doesn't, whatever, he'll find a new partner. Or he'll rule alone, although I don't think Cecilia would let him do that."

"We should go get Rain and Petra," Lucian signed.

"Okay, sure," Estelle said. She wasn't sure whether Lucian truly wanted to see them, or if he just wanted his feet on the ground again. "We'll go through the servant entrance, so we don't have to go through all those people."

Together, the twins walked back to the servants' quarters and exited through their entrance. The streets near the castle's main entrance were full of people, either to protest or to see what was going on, but the twins avoided them as they hurried to Petra's house.

When they arrived, Estelle knocked firmly on the Inorlans' front door. It was Lorelei who answered the door, greeting the twins with a somber, "Hello, Your Highnesses. What can I do for you?"

"Hello! Are Petra and Rain home?" Estelle asked.

"Yes, come in, Your Highnesses. They're both upstairs. Would you like me to take you to them?" Lorelei asked as the twins stomped the snow off their feet, stepped inside, and took off their boots.

"No, thank you. We know the way," Estelle said. She and Lucian had been there countless times before, and they were quite familiar with the simple layout of the house.

"Of course." Lorelei stood awkwardly as the twins went upstairs, and she didn't move until they were out of sight.

The twins hurried to Petra's bedroom and knocked on the door. They could hear quiet chatter coming from inside the room, but it was too quiet to tell what the voices were saying. They stopped abruptly when Estelle knocked, and the twins could hear someone getting up and making their way over to the door.

As the twins had expected, it was Petra who answered the door. Her face lit up when she saw the twins, and she said excitedly, "Oh, hello! Come in, come in."

Rain was sitting on the floor, but xe stood up and came over to the twins as they entered the room.

"Estelle! Lucian!" xe said, "Are you okay?"

"We're fine," Estelle said, "Does that mean you heard the news?"

"We did," Petra said, "It's all pretty vague, though. Is the Queen okay?"

Estelle shrugged, while Lucian simply shook his head. "We don't think so," Estelle said hesitantly, "We were told that the doctors are doing everything they can, but they expect that she will end up dying."

"Oh my gods, I'm so sorry," Petra said.

Suddenly, Petra's bedroom door slammed open. Every head in the room turned to see Colette with a panicked expression. "You need to hide Rain," she said urgently, "Come on, let's put xem in the attic. Hurry."