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“All the more reason for you to leave at the first sign of trouble, then.”
“Um, I may be six inches tall right now, but I’m your auntie and godmother.You’llbe the one to bolt at the first sign of trouble. Is that understood, young lady?”
“I guess we’d better avoid any trouble, then.”
“Ideally, yes. Right now, that rests on your boyfriend’s shoulders.”
My cheeks burned bright and hot. “He’s not my boyfriend,” I hissed.
“Oh? What is mister tall, dark, and silent to you then?”
“You know he can hear us right now, yes?”
“I absolutely do know that, yes.”
I shut my eyes and sighed. “Why do you hate me?”
“I could never hate you, but considering you are your parents’ daughter, you are way too modest for your own good. I blame your castle upbringing, and all those fancy staffers you had.”
“We’re almost at the gate,” said Valerian.
My face was so warm, I was sure fingers of steam could be seen rising up and over the lip of my hood. I didn’t dare look up at Valerian. All I could do was sit there, wait, and watch as we approached the gate. There were no guards on this side of it, and the gates were shut, but once we got near enough to it, someone called out from the ramparts above the gate itself.
“Halt,” came a stern voice. “Come no closer, traveler.”
Colbolt snorted, and slowly came to a stop. Valerian raised a hand. “Well met,” he called out, “I request entry into the city.”
“The gates are closed for the night,” came the reply. “Come back tomorrow.”
“We have nowhere to go, and my sister is ill. Please, we require a warm hearth, a meal, and a bed.”
“Sister?” I whispered.
“Trust him,” said Gullie.
A pause from the guards. “What has she got, then?” another voice called out.
“A fever, and she is in desperate need of food. Our rations were stolen on the road here.”
“Is she contagious?”
“She is not. If you would open the gate for us, we will quietly make our way to my home. No one need see or interact with us. There is no danger.”
I dared to look up and around Valerian’s shoulder. There were two guards standing on the ramparts, and both of them seemed to be in a closed discussion with each other. I wasn’t sure if they had bought Valerian’s story, though. They seemed suspicious, cautious eyes looking over at us every couple of seconds as if trying to identify Valerian.
If they didn’t let us in, Valerian was going to trigger plan B, and I hated plan B. I didn’t want to have to hurt anyone, not if it could be helped. These people were under a spell, enchanted, convinced the reality they could see and hear all around them was the real one. They had done nothing wrong, and they didn’t deserve to get hurt.
Or die.
“Alright, open the gate,” came a voice from one the guards. “But if you cause any trouble…”
“You will not even know we are here,” said Valerian. “Thank you for allowing us to return home.”
I heard the gate’s mechanism begin to clunk and turn. The main gate opened, and it was large enough for all of us to go through—even Colbolt. I held tightly to Valerian as we moved past it, careful not to raise my head and make eye contact with any of the guards around us. I could see their feet, and I could hear them standing near us as Colbolt trotted gently past them.
Luckily, they didn’t stop us, they didn’t check me, and they didn’t give us any more grief. They simply let us through, closing the gate behind us. Once we were clear of them, I took a deep breath and exhaled. “That was close,” I said.
“It’s not over,” Valerian said, under his breath.
