The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin (The Four Kingdoms Book 3) Read online

  For the first time, she wondered if no longer being a princess would turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to her.

  “He was out hunting this morning, but I think I saw him return,” said one of the boys. “I’ll go see if I can find him.”

  He broke away from the group and ran off towards the cave mouth.

  Marie watched him go, careful to hide her nerves. She wished there had been some way to warn him of her arrival. His reaction could put them both in danger.

  The group around her had relaxed and all of the sword points had dropped. The foresters whispered amongst themselves, but no one addressed her. Apparently, they remained at least a little wary of the new arrival.

  The girl who had spoken to Marie ran off to converse with the boy in the tree, and the pseudo-leader of the group turned to face the cave entry, his arms crossed and back stiff. He, at least, was clearly unwilling to take her word for it.

  The rest of the group contented themselves with frequent glances across the clearing.

  Marie’s stomach gurgled loudly, and she hoped the young man who had gone to fetch Rafe would hurry up.

  After several minutes that dragged into forever, the boy reappeared with a familiar figure in tow.

  “A friend of mine? Are you sure? What did you say her name was?” Rafe’s voice drifted across the clearing, and Marie fixed him with a look that was just short of a glare.

  The boy’s response was too quiet to hear, but Rafe looked up at his words and met Marie’s eyes across the clearing.

  He started, and Marie could have sworn she saw a look of fear cross his face. It was gone too quickly for her to be sure, however, and the smile that transformed his expression left no room for negative emotions.

  “Oh,” he said loudly, “that Marie! Of course! How stupid of me.”

  He hurried across the open space, and the ring around Marie melted in front of him. He pulled her into a friendly embrace.

  “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear and felt the slightest squeeze in response.

  He let her go quickly but kept one arm slung across her shoulders in a companionable way. He beamed around at the rest of the group.

  “So who have you met so far?” he asked.

  “Well, unless you count a close encounter with an arrow, I wouldn’t say I’ve actually met anyone yet.” Marie tried to match his jovial tone. She knew the situation was still fraught, but she found herself strangely fixated on the warmth of Rafe’s arm across her shoulders.

  She had spent years training herself to meet any situation with poise and dignity. It had taken her a long time to build up the necessary internal reserves, but it was the price of being a princess.

  Except suddenly she wasn’t a princess anymore. She still wasn’t really sure how she felt about that, but she hadn’t expected it to be such a relief to rely on someone else to carry the situation. Thankfully, Rafe had the sort of presence that seemed capable of seeing them through more difficult circumstances than these.

  He scanned the surrounding area, his eyes fixing first on the arrow still lodged in the tree and then on the young man perched on the other side of the clearing. He laughed and waved the archer over.

  For the first time, Marie saw the young man’s serious expression break into a grin. He swung himself down from the tree and, slinging an arm around the girl, led them both over to the group.

  Despite the contact between the two, the girl’s focus was on Rafe. Marie examined the approaching faces and decided that the pair must be related.

  “Marie, this is Lisa and Danny,” said Rafe, confirming her assessment.

  “Of course, your forester hosts,” she said, eager to lend credibility to her ‘old friend’ status. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  She held out her hand and received a warm handshake from Danny and a slightly less enthusiastic one from Lisa.

  “Where are you from, Marie?” asked Danny.

  “Northgate.” She didn’t want to make things more complicated for herself than necessary. “Nice shooting, by the way.”

  Both siblings smiled at her last comment, and she smiled back as warmly as she could. As flattering as it felt to know that the foresters found her pretty, she didn’t want to make enemies of all the girls.

  “And this is Robbie,” continued Rafe, pointing at the boy who had fetched him from the cave system.

  Robbie was another Greenwood name. Marie wondered how many of the young people surrounding her were from the small village.

  “I’m Peter.” The gruff voice belonged to the pseudo-leader of the group, and Marie suspected he was offended at not being introduced first. “And I don’t like this business of people just walking into camp. First Rafe and now all of his friends, apparently.”

  Marie tensed but tried not to show it. She felt a similar bristling all around her. Only Rafe seemed unaffected.

  Chapter 11

  “Oh, come on, Peter. I’m not that bad, am I?” Rafe released Marie to clap a hand on the other man’s back.

  Peter opened his mouth to respond, but Danny got in first. “It’s funny, no one seemed too worried about camp security when I tried to set up a sentry roster. If you’re so concerned, maybe you should take watch tonight.”

  Peter looked uncomfortable and shut his mouth again.

  Seemingly emboldened by Danny’s words, Robbie also spoke up. “Yeah, you leave Rafe alone. He’s the best hunter in camp and I’ve never noticed you complain when you’re eating a nice venison stew.” The younger boy glared at Peter.

  Hearing the general murmurs of agreement, Marie concluded that Rafe’s charm worked as well for making friends as it did for winning admirers. The thought brought her a momentary twinge of discomfort. While she was grateful for the protection his popularity bought for both of them, she hated the idea that he might have noticed how easily she herself had succumbed to his charm. The last thing she wanted was to be seen as another one in a long line of easily-manipulated acquaintances.

  She might have had the strength to walk away from a palace, but she couldn’t give up her pride quite so easily. She took a half-step away from Rafe and tried not to think about the missing warmth of his arm.

  “Funny you should mention venison stew…” said Rafe, letting his smile convey the rest of his message.

  Several of the young men let out whoops of approval, and the group broke up, most moving towards the cave entrance.

  “Come on, Marie, I’ll show you around,” said Rafe.

  “We’ll come, too,” said Lisa and once again an expression flashed across Rafe’s face so fast that Marie almost missed it. She hoped Lisa hadn’t seen the momentary disappointment. None of the possible reasons for Rafe wanting to be alone with Marie were likely to win favour with Lisa.

  Danny fell into step without comment, and Marie took the opportunity to examine the young forester more closely. His hair and eyes were dark, like his sister, although their skin was fair. Most of the foresters were even paler than the rest of the kingdom because they spent so little time in the sun. The contrast worked well for the brother and sister and they made a good-looking pair.

  Her eyes strayed towards Rafe and Lisa, who were chatting amiably, and she had to suppress a twinge of jealousy. She knew her own pale colouring wouldn’t show to best advantage next to the striking darker features of the other girl.

  She shook her head and rejected the thought. She hadn’t come to the camp because of Rafe – a reminder she clearly needed.

  Inevitably, her mind shifted to thoughts of the rebel leader – she could no more bring herself to think of him as her father than she could now assign that title to the king. The lack left her with a strange sort of hole, one she had never expected to have.

  “Is your leader here?” she asked Danny. “Rafe told me a lot about him and he sounds fascinating.” She hoped she had pulled off the correct level of nonchalance.

  Rafe threw her a sharp look and she almost grimaced. Obviously not quite as casual
as she had hoped. She wondered what she would say if they ever did get a moment alone and he asked her about her interest in the rebel.

  “No, he’s off on a recruiting trip,” said Danny.

  Marie wasn’t sure if she was more disappointed or relieved.

  “R left before Rafe showed up,” added Lisa. “So he should be back soon.”

  “R?” asked Marie.

  “Short for Rebel,” said Lisa. “But most of us just call him ‘R.’ No one seems to know his real name although there are plenty of guesses.”

  Marie’s mind flashed back to her mother’s story. How different her life would have been if the queen had managed to discover his name.

  “I wonder how many new recruits he’ll bring with him.” Danny sounded thoughtful, reminding Marie of his earlier words in the clearing. He had tried to set up a sentry roster. Obviously, he was taking the whole thing more seriously than his comrades.

  “Whoever they are, they should be grateful to us,” said Lisa. “They’ll be arriving to much better fare than we got at first.”

  Marie’s stomach rumbled again at the mention of food.

  “And even better since Rafe arrived.” She smiled up at him warmly.

  “I do my best,” said Rafe, his modesty so clearly faked that they all chuckled. “But truth be told, Danny here is a much better hunter than I am. We’d eat even better if he’d agree to go out occasionally.”

  Danny smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. After a moment, he sighed. “Maybe I will come with you next time you go out. I don’t like to leave the camp when no one else seems interested in keeping watch, but there’s only so much one person can do. And in all the time I’ve been on duty, no one’s turned up but the two of you.” A smile crept across his face. “And, no offense, Rafe, but you’re hardly threatening.”

  Rafe put his hand to his heart as if wounded, but the ready smile was already turning up the corner of his lips. Marie marvelled at his acting skills. He was clearly born to be a spy. Or a diplomat, she thought a little wryly. She only hoped she could live up to his example.

  She hadn’t thought about it when she was formulating her plan but, by tying them together, she had placed his safety in her hands as much as the reverse was true.

  When they stepped into the cool darkness of the cave system, Marie immediately noticed the scent of roasting venison. The resultant gurgle from the direction of her stomach was loud enough that all three of her companions turned to stare at her.

  Lisa giggled and Marie shrugged apologetically. “I haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon. It took me longer to find you all than I anticipated.”

  Lisa’s expression changed to one of sympathy. “Oh, you poor thing. We should take you straight to the dining cavern.”

  Rafe’s face mirrored her concern, but he shook his head. “The food won’t be ready yet, we should take her mind off it in the meantime with a tour.”

  As much as she was drawn towards the smell of food, Marie knew he was right.

  “This place looks amazing,” she said, trying to make her voice brighter than she felt.

  Rafe smiled at her approvingly, and she almost flushed, instantly berating herself and wishing she wasn’t so affected by his opinion.

  “Yes, it is,” said Danny, “I’m amazed we never found it before. It’s not that far from our old village.” He sounded disappointed in himself.

  Marie smiled at both of the foresters. “Not to you, perhaps! It felt like a long way to me.”

  “Oh, did you come via Greenwood?” Lisa sounded curious.

  “Yes.” Marie glanced at Rafe. Should she have kept her visit to Greenwood a secret?

  “I didn’t know how to give her directions straight from the capital,” said Rafe, “so I told her to start at Greenwood.”

  The siblings nodded their heads.

  “What did it look like?” asked Lisa.

  “Umm… empty,” said Marie, unsure what she should say. She glanced at Rafe again, but his face gave nothing away.

  “Oh.” Lisa looked down at her feet. Danny nudged her with his shoulder, and she looked up at him with a reluctant smile.

  Were they regretting their actions in attacking their own village? Marie wondered. It had definitely been the strangest part of the whole business.

  Rafe’s eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the pair, but he didn’t say anything, merely gesturing for Marie to precede him into the next cave. Marie hoped she would get a chance to talk to him alone soon and find out what he had learned.

  The extensive cave system glowed in the late afternoon sun, which surprised Marie until she noticed the many ventilation cracks that dotted the walls. Their presence also explained the lack of stale air.

  “What’s it like when it rains?” she asked.

  “Surprisingly dry,” said Danny. “Some water runs down the walls, but nothing too substantial. The ventilation holes are so well placed, it’s almost hard to believe they’re natural.”

  “A lucky find. I wonder how our illustrious leader stumbled upon it.” Rafe’s voice held just enough mockery to concern Marie.

  Danny and Lisa, however, seemed unfazed. Lisa even laughed.

  “He’s certainly an extraordinary man,” she said. “I’ve never met anyone like him. It’s hard to believe he’s not a forester sometimes.”

  “Where is he from?” asked Marie.

  “Lanover, I think.” Danny didn’t sound too sure.

  “Oh, no.” Lisa rejected the idea with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’m sure I heard he was from Rangmere.”

  “He doesn’t look Rangmeran,” objected Danny.

  The brother and sister began to bicker light-heartedly, and Marie seized the opportunity to sidle closer to Rafe. She had a lot of questions, although none she could ask him openly. One query couldn’t wait, however.

  “Peter mentioned all of your friends turning up. Does that mean I’m not the first one?” She put as much meaning into her expression as possible.

  Rafe, however, looked merely confused. “That was just Peter, exaggerating for effect. Why? Should I be expecting more ‘old friends’?”

  “I’m not sure… I would have thought…” Marie bit her lip and tried not to let the worry overwhelm her. She had been certain she would find William at the rebel camp.

  “Marie?” Rafe gripped her hand.

  His concern felt like a warm blanket settling on her shoulders, but it wasn’t enough to stave off the fear.

  William is a good fighter; he can take care of himself. It should have been a heartening thought but the uneasiness lingered. If he wasn’t here, where was he? Plenty of dangers awaited the heir to the throne if someone were to find him alone and unprotected.

  “Is something wrong?” Lisa looked genuinely concerned although her eyes flashed briefly down to Rafe and Marie’s clasped hands.

  Marie quickly pulled her hand from Rafe’s and shook her head.

  “Nothing a good meal won’t fix,” she said as lightly as she could.

  “It should be ready soon,” said Danny. “Let’s move a bit more quickly.”

  The rest of the tour was completed at a much faster pace. The foresters-turned-rebels showed her a large meeting cavern, a small cave that had been turned into an armoury and then a long passage that continued on into the dim distance. Smaller caves opened off on either side at regular intervals, and many of the openings were covered by makeshift curtains or planks of wood.

  “These are the sleeping rooms,” explained Lisa. “I’ve got a roomy one just here, you can share with me, if you like.” She pulled back a brightly-coloured curtain to reveal a large, clean cave.

  “Thank you,” said Marie, pleased to be so easily accepted. “That would be perfect.”

  “You can share my pallet tonight, and tomorrow we can make you your own.”

  “Thanks Lisa,” said Rafe, and Marie suspected, from the smile Rafe received, that the offer hadn’t been made for her sake.

  She was once agai
n glad to have Rafe as entrée into the camp.

  In perfect timing for their completed tour, a gong rang out through the caves.

  “Oh, excellent. Food!” Danny led the way back through the rebel hideout towards the entrance.

  The dining cavern was a large cave just off the main entry. Lisa explained that a second, smaller cave opening visible on the far side of the cavern led to the kitchen.

  “It’s got its own exit, as well as a large opening for the smoke to escape. Apparently, everyone used to have to take turns cooking.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “But thankfully Rebel managed to recruit a couple of good cooks from the village he visited before Greenwood, so we escaped that duty.”

  “A good thing for all of us!” said Rafe with a cheeky grin.

  “Hey!” Lisa elbowed him and tried to look offended.

  “The man speaks only truth,” said Danny solemnly, although a laugh lurked in his eyes.

  “Well!” Lisa put her nose in the air and linked her arm through Marie’s. “Come on, Marie, let’s go find somewhere where we’re better appreciated.”

  Marie let herself be led into the dining cavern by the other girl. She grimaced apologetically at Rafe over her shoulder, but he waved her on with a smile.

  It felt good to be treated like just another one of the girls. As long as she was careful not to think of her old family, and particularly of the missing William, it was surprisingly easy to enjoy no longer having royal status.

  Chapter 12

  Marie was thankful to discover that Lisa didn’t kick in her sleep and her full belly made her own sleep surprisingly easy. Dawn came quickly, but the inevitable moment of disorientation on waking was thankfully short. She eased out of bed, trying not to disturb Lisa, and headed out of the caves to complete her morning wash.

  When she had finished, she stood next to the small stream that ran past the clearing and stared at the burbling water. She had left the palace – the only home she’d ever known – with two purposes: to find her adoptive brother and to meet her real father.