Here is the third chapter of the new novel… one of the new novels… that I am working on. You can always read it all in one place by clicking the button on the top bar… the one cleverly labeled: The Seven Kingdoms….

******************

The Seven Kingdoms

Chapter Three

As they began to descend the circular stairway in one of the back corner towers of the castle, Lawry grasped Hildy’s hand tightly. “I have some terrible news. It is about your family, your home. Skull troops have invaded Halfmoon. They hold Halfmoontown, and maybe most of the kingdom as well.”

Hildy stopped dead in her tracks, her feet on two stairs in the dimly-lit stairwell. “What of my parents?”

Lawry couldn’t even bring herself to face her friend. She kept moving, pulling Hildy along behind her. “I don’t know anything more than that. I only know about it now because my father confronted my soon-to-be husband about it. He didn’t think it was worth mentioning it to me beforehand.”

Hildy didn’t say a word, but allowed herself to be dragged down the stairs.

“I’m sure your parents are fine,” Lawry offered, trying to sound as positive as she possibly could be. “What would they gain by harming them? Once everyone calms down, I’m sure this can all be resolved.”

“Well, where exactly are we going while we wait for everyone to calm down?” Hildy wanted to know.

Lawry suddenly realized that she had absolutely no idea where they were going. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” she admitted. “I just know we need to get out of the castle without being stopped.”

“At least, when I ran away from my Skull prince, I had a plan to come here and live in your room for the rest of my life,” Hildy said.

Lawry stopped in shock, and Hildy bumped into her, almost sending both of them bouncing down the stairs. Lawry stared into her friend’s face and received a wan smile in return. Hildy’s strength moved her deeply, and she briefly but fiercely hugged her.

All at once, Hildy pushed Lawry away and then had to grasp her by the shoulders to keep her from tumbling backwards down the stairs. “I know where we are going. We are going to visit Zareena. We are going to Evergreen!”

Lawry felt a surge of excitement rising within her. “And I know exactly how we are going to get there!” With that, she once again grabbed Hildy’s hand and pulled her along behind her. No words were exchanged as they exited the tower and blended into the throngs of people eating and drinking and talking and dancing in the courtyard. It was no trouble at all for them to slip unnoticed, in that confusion of people coming and going, out of the main gates of the inner and outer walls.

They began to descend the hill towards the town, but Lawry suddenly veered off the main road to the right, heading down a smaller side road that threaded through small woods, farm fields, and low, rolling hills.

“Where are we going?” Hildy demanded.

“Do you remember, back when we were little,  those two red-headed boys that used to chase us all around the castle when you came to visit?”

“Oh, yes, what was it? Tully and Toll?” Hildy managed a smile at the memory of those bygone days.

“Tolly and Tull, the Caster brothers,” Lawry corrected.

“Right. And why are we going there?” Hildy wanted to know.

“Because they are the sons of a fisherman, and fishermen in their own right, now. I still see them, every now and then. They come by, just to see me, although they still do ask about you.”

“And they have a boat,” Hildy said, realizing the point. “But how is it that you know where their house is, exactly?”

Lawry cast a sidelong look at her friend. “Nothing so sordid as you seem to be implying. They happened to mention once that they live in the first house on the far side of the first village on this road. They said it was right beside the beach, in a little stand of trees.”

“Awfully good, that memory of yours,” Hildy teased.

Lawry flicked a dismissive hand. “Once again, you seem to be trying very hard to imply some interest in either of those two on my part. If anything, the opposite is true. I believe Tull might be more than a little interested in me.”

“Well, what did I tell you, then?” Hildy reminded her. “You are just plain irresistible to men.”

They topped a small rise, and beneath them lay a little village. Beyond it, they could the small grove of trees in which nestled a small house. Within a short amount of time they were hidden under those trees, and as the sun began to set, they put aside their few belongings and watched as a small sail boat approached the beach below them. They could clearly see three men. Hildy leaned her staff, which she had slung over her back with a cord, against a tree.

They watched the boat as it reached the shore. The older man climbed out, and, grabbing a large net bag full of fish, trudged up the beach towards the small house from which smoke rose from the chimney to waft away on the rising evening breezes. The two younger men pulled the small craft further up onto the beach and set themselves to securing it to a post and tidying up the nets and lines that were their trade. The two young women waited for the older man to go inside, then, picking up their meager belongings, they walked down to the seashore.

The two red-heads saw them approaching. In the failing light, and with both concealed in plain, hooded cloaks, they did not recognize them until they were very near. Astonishment fought with warm welcome on the faces of the two fishermen.

“Hello, Lawrancia,” said the older brother, “and look, it’s little Hildread, who isn’t so little anymore.” He suddenly realized that, perhaps, this was a bit too casual of a manner in which to address two princesses. “My ladies, what brings you here? Is something wrong?”

Lawry supplied the answer. “Yes, Tull, you could very well say that there is quite a bit that is wrong. She went on to quickly explain all that had happened.

The boys listened in growing disbelief, having the decency not to laugh at the way Hildy had ended her betrothal to the Skull prince.

“What can we do to help?” Tully asked when the story was finished.

“We need to get to Evergreen without anybody knowing,” replied Hildy.

Tull made a big show of looking all around and up and down before turning about. He gestured grandly at the small boat. “What a fantastic coincidence! Look what I just happened to find, right here, on this very beach. A small boat, completely unattended, just lying here as if waiting for two princesses in distress to happen along.”

“Can you ask your father if he would take us to Evergreen?” Lawry asked with a laugh at his antics.

“There is no way the old man is going to let us take the boat that far, especially not carrying the two of you,” Tull replied seriously.

“Not a chance,” confirmed his younger brother.

“We better not ask him, then,” Tull continued.

“Best not,” his brother concluded.

A short while later, the two brothers were pushing the small boat out past the small waves an into deeper water. The sea was calm, and the wind was gentle and in their favor, filling the sail and taking them swiftly across the water. The moon rose, full and bright, tingeing the sky with its pink glow, and seeming to lay down a shining road for them to follow.

They talked long into the night, remembering the happy times when they had chased one another around the castle and begged sweet treats from the castle cooks.

“You are both lucky, you ask me,” Tolly said at one point, after the conversation had trailed off. “You are both far too good to marry any of those Skull princes, with their lordly ways and their skin as white as the belly of a flatfish.”

“Have you ever even met a Skull prince?” Hildy asked.

“I’ve never so much as seen one,” Tolly replied, “but I have seen more flatfish than I ever need to.”

They all laughed at that, and went on to see who could insult the Skull family in the most inventive manner. The sun began to brighten the sky behind them without them even noticing. Before much longer, the warmth of the sun combined with the gentle rocking of the boat and pure exhaustion, caught up with the two princesses, and they fell asleep.

When Lawry awoke hours later, she was surprised to see land close at hand to the left. “Where are we?”

“Rounding the headland into the great bay,” Tull told her. “We should be in Evergreentown well before nightfall.”

Lawry saw that the sun was already lowering towards the sea before them. She shook Hildy awake.

“I have to use the toilet,” Hildy said in a sleepy voice.

The boys exchanged uncomfortable glances.

“What?” Hildy demanded.

“There really isn’t any toilet on this tiny boat,” Tolly informed her. He gestured grandly towards the sea all around them. “You have to… uh… hang your… ummm… self… over the side.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Hildy replied sourly.

After some discussion, it was decided that the princesses would assist each other in this delicate procedure in the stern of the boat while the two brothers, after tying the tiller off to keep the boat on course, would remain in the bow, facing forwards. The entire event was accompanied by much nervous laughter, but in the end, no one ended up falling overboard.

When they had all settled back into the chosen positions once more, Tull made a surprising announcement. “We,” he said, casting a glance at his brother, “have decided not to go back home. We are staying with you.”

Lawry and Hildy also exchanged glances. “But we don’t even know what we are going to do, other than pay a visit to our friend, Princess Zareena. We have no idea what is going to happen after that.”

“Oh, well, that is more of a plan than we thought you had,” smirked Tull.

“Is she the one who was a fisherman’s daughter, and saved the prince of Evergreen from drowning?” Tolly asked.

“Yes, a wave swept him from a rock one day while he was walking beside the shore. He hit his head and was barely conscious. She leapt into the sea from her father’s boat and kept his head above water until her father could get the boat close enough to pull them into it,” replied Hildy. “They fell in love right then and there.”

“Then she oughtn’t to object to us, what with us being fisher folk as well,” Tull said reasonably.

“But won’t your father need you?” asked Lawry.

“We have two younger brothers, both stout lads, and good with the nets and hooks,” was the reply. “What he will miss is the boat. We need to send it back somehow.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged,” said Hildy.

“And you need the two of us,” said Tolly. “I mean,” he continued with a blush, “unless you are planning on staying in Evergreen castle forever. You’ve never been on your own. You can’t sail a boat or catch a fish. I doubt you can light a fire or cook a meal over one, and you can’t be carrying enough coins to stay in an inn forever.”

Once again the princesses exchanged glances.

“Very well, it is settled then,” said Lawry firmly. “You will be our protectors and companions. Thank you very much for kindness.”

“Well, it can’t be worse than fishing every day,” said Tull with a laugh.