Chapter 9

Nine

S ebastian awoke early the next morning, having had little sleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about Merrow and what she’d said to him. She thought everything he did was because he was looking for approval. She accused him of living his life the way others expected him to instead of how he really wanted. No one had ever said such things before to a king. Didn’t she realize he had no choice? He was a ruler and had duties. Responsibilities to fulfill. He had to do whatever it took to protect his people.

“My lord, I can’t believe you slept through all the commotion.” Hitch ran into the great hall, having come from the courtyard. His men were slowly waking up, but the servants who rose before the sun were already working.

“What are you talking about?” Sebastian asked with a yawn, running his hands over his face. “It is too early for your jabbering, squire.” He had a stiff neck from sleeping in his chair while the nymph spent the night in his comfortable, soft bed. He made a face, stretching his neck one way and then the other.

“It’s the handmaid you confined to the dungeon,” said Hitch, talking quickly, being excited about something.

“What about her?” He yawned again and stretched some more.

“The patrol found her by the sea. She escaped and took the gong farmer’s wagon to leave.”

“What?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“It’s true. They’re bringing her back to the dungeon though, so don’t worry.”

“How in the name of Belcoum did she escape? She was under guard. The frail woman is just a simple handmaid.” He sprang to his feet.

“I’m not sure,” said Hitch with a shrug. “Mayhap the guards aren’t doing their duty.”

“Merrow,” he said, having a suspicion that she was involved. After all, hadn’t she begged him not to put the woman in the dungeon? His action had upset her greatly. He took off at a run with his squire right behind him. Sebastian saw the guard standing watch at his solar door as he came down the corridor. “Did anyone leave that room last night? Answer me,” he commanded before the guard could even open his mouth to speak.

“Nay, my king,” said the guard with a bow.

“Were you here all night?”

“I replaced the original guard, but there was always someone at this door, my lord.”

“Out of my way.” Sebastian pushed the guard aside, using the key in his pocket to unlock and push open the door. He bounded into the room to find it empty. “Dammit, she’s gone.”

“Who’s gone?” asked Hitch, looking around the room too.

“The sea nymph.” He threw the key down on the bed in anger. “Why do I bother to lock the door when she can pick a lock? What is the matter with me?”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, my lord,” said Hitch. “Besides, she’s only a sea nymph. What does it matter if she’s escaped?”

“Did the watch patrol find anyone with the handmaid?” he asked Hitch.

“Nay.”

“Did they question the woman as to if anyone was with her?” He fired questions at his squire one after another.

“I don’t know, my king. Would you like me to find out?”

“Nay,” he said, slipping his hand into the pouch and fingering her shell charm. “I know where she is, and I’m afraid I don’t like it.”

“Where is she, my lord?”

“She’s gone to Evandorm Castle to get her sisters.” Sebastian headed back to talk to the guard at the door. “Fetch Farrimond, quickly,” he told the guard. “Tell him I want the army to head out at once.”

“My lord?” asked the guard. “They were planning on leaving this morning.”

“Well, I want to leave now. Let them know that the king has declared a battle, and it is against those pesky Blackseed brothers who stole the title of king.”

Merrow drove the wagon over the bridge and stopped right outside the gate of Evandorm.

“Who goes there?” called a guard from the battlements, looking down at her. Her head was covered with an old ratty blanket she’d found in the cart so she could hide the hood of Sebastian’s robe. She was deciding whether or not to tell them who she was when the guard called down to her again. “Never mind. I can see it’s the gong farmer. Open the gate,” he told his friends.

Merrow didn’t correct him. At least this gained her passage inside. Still, she didn’t know why she felt like an intruder. After all, she had done nothing wrong. Merrow figured her best move would be to find her sisters and leave before Sebastian showed up with his army and a battle broke out.

Stopping the cart, she used her mind to call to her sisters. Melite? Galene? Where are you? I’m here to rescue you.

Merrow? We’re in the ladies solar next to the great hall. It was Galene who answered her.

Hurry, come out to the courtyard. I have a wagon and we need to leave at once, she told them.

Nay, not yet, Merrow , came Melite’s voice in her head next. There is something I need to finish first. Come inside. Please.

Not understanding why her sisters were acting this way, Merrow got down from the wagon and made her way toward the keep. With the blanket still covering Sebastian’s large hood that was hanging over her eyes, she couldn’t see well and bumped right into someone. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, the blanket slipping off and to the ground. Merrow looked up to see a beautiful woman with strawberry-blonde hair and pointy ears, smiling at her. She wore a crown on her head and Merrow realized she must be the queen of the castle. “My lady,” she said, attempting a curtsy. Her feet got tangled up in Sebastian’s robe. Since she’d just come from the water and her legs were still not that sturdy, she stumbled and fell.

“My goodness. Are you all right?” The kind woman held out her hand to help her up. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know you. I am Queen Lira. Who might you be?”

“You’re the Elven Queen,” Merrow spoke her thoughts aloud without even realizing that she had.

“That’s right. And I feel I am at a disadvantage because I still don’t know your name.” The woman was so nice. She smiled the entire time.

“I’m—Merrow Havfine,” looking up. Their eyes met but the woman didn’t react. She obviously didn’t know she was a sea nymph.

“Welcome to Evandorm Castle, Merrow Havfine. Was there somewhere you were going?”

“I was to meet someone. In the ladies solar.”

“Well, let me show you the way.”

“Thank you.” Merrow silently walked behind the queen, stopping only when they approached the solar door. “It’s right here,” she said, actually opening the door, even though she was a noble and Merrow was not. “Come inside. We have a sewing circle going on and you are welcome to join us.”

“Me? But you don’t even know me. I’m no one. Why would you invite me?”

“Because, I can tell by the color of your blue-green eyes that you, my dear, are a sea nymph like Melite and Galene. Am I right?” She raised a brow.

“You are correct.” Merrow let out a sigh. “Melite and Galene are my sisters.” She lowered the hood to expose her identity.

“Merrow! Look at this.” Melite held up a lady’s gown. “I sewed it myself. It’s so fun. You should try it.”

“It seems as if Merrow already has a gown,” remarked Galene, looking up from her sewing. “How lucky are you. Did you sew it yourself?”

Merrow stood in shock, barely able to believe these were her sisters. Why were they acting more like humans than undines? Had these humans at the castle changed her sisters this drastically in such a short time?

“What is the matter with you?” Merrow hurried into the room and walked right up to them. There were several other ladies in the room with them. “We are undines, not humans,” she reminded her sisters. “Now put that down. We don’t sew.” She grabbed Melite’s gown, but her sister wouldn’t release it.

“Nay, Merrow. Leave it alone. I chose the color pink to go with my new shell necklace. Let go, you’re going to rip it.”

“Galene? What are you doing?” asked Merrow, hoping since Galene was older than Melite that she’d have more common sense.

“It is actually quite enjoyable, Merrow.” Galene pulled the needle and thread through the cloth. “I find it relaxing. You really should try it.”

“I will do no such thing! We are sea nymphs and need to get back to the water. Back home!”

“All three of you are welcome to stay for as long as you’d like,” offered Lira.

A small lady with chestnut-colored hair and a pixie-like composure ran over with two women who had long, dark hair.

“Hello, Merrow. I am Talia. Darium Blackseed is my husband.”

“And I’m Medea, married to Darium’s brother, Rhys,” said one of the dark-haired women.

“My name is Persimmon,” said the third. “My husband is Stone.”

“Nice to meet all of you.” Merrow nodded, not knowing if she should curtsy or not. She didn’t want to be rude since these women all seemed so friendly.

“Everyone is enjoying having your sisters here,” Medea assured her. “We wish you would stay as well. Our visit has been so pleasant.”

“You might rethink that once you find out that a battle is about to start because of all this.” Merrow thought she heard noise out in the courtyard. There was lots of shouting, and the sound of horses’ hoofbeats against the cobbled stone.

“What?” gasped Lira. “What do you mean?”

“King Ravenwolf and his soldiers are arriving right now. They plan to steal my sisters and to start a war over it,” Merrow relayed the information.

“Nay! Please tell us that isn’t so.” Lira ran to the window and threw open the shutters. Merrow followed. Sure enough, she could see Sebastian and his army already at the castle’s gate.

“She’s not lying,” said Lira, sounding concerned. “Medea, come with me. We need to stop this.”

“I’m glad our husbands all decided to stay here overnight,” commented Persimmon. “I feel as if I should have known this was coming. I should have used my crystal ball to scry.”

“This is all so sudden,” remarked Talia. “I will call to the animals to help us as well.”

“Talia, summon Murk. Have him give a message to Zann’s mother that her elemental skills are needed.”

“Murk?” asked Merrow, confused by all the names of people she’d just met.

“Murk is my husband’s raven,” explained Talia, approaching the window. “I can speak to animals.”

“So, you have magical powers?” Merrow felt excited to learn more about them.

“Yes. We all do,” Medea told her. “Persimmon and I are witches, Talia is a fae, and Lira has elven powers.”

“So, then you will use your powers against Sebastian and his men?”

“Of course,” said Medea. “They can’t beat us. Plus, our husbands all have powers too. If King Sebastian and his army want a war, they’ll get one. They will regret it when they all end up dead.”

“Nay!” shouted Merrow, not wanting Sebastian to die. “There must be another way.”

“It’s too late.” Persimmon spoke over her shoulder, watching out the window. “The Blackseed brothers are confronting King Ravenwolf and his men now. There is no stopping this battle.”

“Melite, Galene, you need to help me.” Merrow tore the gowns out of their hands and pulled her sisters to their feet. They wore simple long tunics, like the one that Merrow first wore before Sebastian gave her the gown.

“Merrow, what can we possibly do?” asked Galene. “We don’t have powers.”

“That’s right,” agreed Melite. “And we are not at an advantage being landbound.”

“Come with me,” she instructed, taking her sisters each by the hand and running to the drawbridge.