The Reader - Chapter 21

Chapter 21 

Luckily, Emmeline had the element of surprise on her hand. The Captain wasn’t expecting her to attack, after all, she was just a young girl. He obviously hadn’t been told of the slaughter that had occurred at Eclipse lake. 

Wiley’s gift of fighting skills took hold of Emmeline. She acted on instinct, raising her sword and slamming it down on the Captain’s shoulder. She had been aiming for his head, but he had lunged at the last second narrowly dodged the attack that could have ended his life. The Captain slashed at her ankles with a puny knife. Emmeline kicked his wrist and the knife went skidding away. 

The Captain growled in anger and lunged for the knife again. Emmeline dropped to a roll and landed behind him. She slammed her sword down again, but the Captain had managed to make her miss again. 

Emmeline’s vision blurred for a second and she saw the Captain rushing at her from three different directions. Confusion altered her thoughts and something slammed into the side of her head. Emmeline gasped and dropped to the ground, her head aching from the pain. She pushed herself into a crawling position and wiggled her way to her fallen sword. 

Suddenly the sky was the ground and the ground was the sky. Emmeline felt dizzy and she had no idea what was going on. With no sense of direction, she scrambled to her feet and walked blindly into a tree. 

Baelle, the name echoed in her thoughts. Baelle was the Goddess of witchcraft, which meant she was more than capable of messing with Emmeline’s mind. 

Emmeline focused on what was straight in front of her and the ground flipped around again. She found herself lying on the forest ground, Newt dueling with a soldier not far away. Emmeline ran towards him as he slipped, obviously not understanding Baelle’s tricks. Beckett was nowhere in sight. 

With no way to help her friends with swords (the soldiers were far too talented), Emmeline decided to climb a tree. She held her sword in between her teeth as she pulled herself up into the branches. The tree seemed to bend for her, but it was probably just Baelle’s magic. 

Balanced in the top of the tree, Emmeline knocked an arrow. She told herself that this wasn’t murder if she was defeding herself. She pulled back the bowstring and there was a twang as her arrow found its place in a soldier’s neck. Again and again, Emmeline repeated the motion. Wiley’s gift gave her the accuracy and power she needed. 

Once the soldiers were all fallen, Emmelime clambered down out of the tree. She made her way towards Newt, who was crawling around on the ground blindly. 

“Newt,” she called out, but he didn’t seem to hear her. “Newt!” she repeated, louder this time. Newt didn’t respond and Emmeline took a breath before slapping him across the face. Newt fell to the ground, clutching his cheek, but when he looked up again recognition flashed in his eyes. 

“Did you have to hit me that hard?” Newt complained with a smile, wincing. 

“I didn’t have to - I wanted to,” Emmeline responded with a smirk. “I wanted to make sure you were alive, that’s all.” 

“Would you miss me?” Newt asked. It was a serious question but he said it in a joking tone. “Oh, I forgot, I wanted to give you something.” He ran to his bag and pulled out the necklace from the villagers. 

The bronze pendant was shaped like a key. Without asking, he looped the cord around Emmeline’s neck so that the charm dangled right under her collarbone. Emmeline blushed. 

“Shouldn’t we sell it for money?” she asked him, still uncomfortable. 

Newt shook his head. “You’ve already unlocked my heart, it’s time I give you the key that unlocks yours.” 

Emmeline felt like her heart was going to explode. She didn’t know what to say, but she rubbed the pendant between her thumb and pointer finger. The metal was smooth and warm from her touch. 

“Wait,” Emmeline gasped suddenly. “Where’s Beckett?” 

“I was wondering when you would ask,” a familiar voice called from behind her. Emmeline spun to see the Captain that she had killed with an arrow standing perfectly unharmed, an unconscious Beckett in his arms.

“Let him go!” Emmeline shrieked, grabbing for her sword and knives. 

“Don’t. Touch. The. Weapons.” The Captain snarled at her. Emmeline dropped her hand to her side. “Baelle will be so proud her illusion worked.” 

The air around them rippled and Emmeline felt a chill as the forest returned to normal, the dead bodies gone. More soldiers stood behind the Captain, crossbows with silvery arrows pointed at Emmeline and Newt. 

“You won’t kill us,” Newt threatened, and Emmeline shook her head to tell him no. 

The Captain smirked. “Fire at will,” he said maliciously. 

Silver arrows flew and Emmeline gave a small cry as one of them found its mark in her chest. A cold sort of darkness passed over her and Emmeline was gone. 

She expected her chest to be slick with blood, but her skin was smooth and unblemished. Maybe Emmeline was dead, moving on to a better life. Maybe Dixral had taken her on to the mysterious place that dead people went. 

Emmeline was surprised when she actually woke up. The arrow had pierced her heart, had it not? 

She reached for her chest to feel if there was a gaping hole that she was just missing. Her wrists were bound together with a silk cord. Emmeline forced herself to still for a moment, observing her surroundings and gouging the probability of an escape. 

Her body shook back and forth in the movement of what had to be a carriage. Rain pounded the windows in a steady rhythm. The carriage wheels slid with every turn over the slick ground, causing the world to slide slightly. At least the seats were soft, Emmeline didn’t feel sore at all. 

Except for the freezing spot in the center of her chest. Shivers rolled down her spine every time it throbbed. 

Emmeline peered around to see if she could find something sharp among the contents of the car. It was empty with the exception of two soldiers seated on the opposite side of the carriage. They both held swords, Emmeline’s bag on the floor beside them.

She shifted until she could arch her back against the seat and pull herself into a sitting position. 

“Baelle sends her regards,” one of the men said, his voice almost robotic. 

Emmeline was surprised to discover she was not gagged, and her clothes and trinkets had been spared. Of course, all of her weapons were with the guards and with her hands tied there was almost no way to escape. 

“Does she have a message for me?” Emmeline asked, hoping that this was some sort of sick joke. 

The other soldier cleared his throat, and when he spoke his voice was feminine. “My esteemed enemy, Emmeline - I hope this note finds you well. You are currently being escorted to the Green Castle in Viridi. Any attempt to escape will result in another one of your friends from Layene being murdered. I am not afraid to get my hands muddy. Please enjoy your stay.” 

Emmeline didn’t speak. Of course Baelle was using the prisoners from Layene against her. Too bad none of Emmeline’s real friends were prisoners. Clara had most likely escaped, and Forrest and Clara were long gone. Baelle wouldn’t harm Beckett, not when he was the prince everyone was looking for. Nor would she harm Newt, actually she probably would - but not unless it was last resort. 

Anger burned within Emmeline. If Baelle harmed any of the prisoners - whether Newt, Beckett, or not - Emmeline would personally be the one to drive a sword into the demi-goddess’s heart. 

She cleared her throat. “I have a message for Baelle. Does she accept?” 

“Very well,” Baelle answered through the second soldier.
“My nemesis, Baelle - I know this note will find you well. You are currently growing closer and closer to your inevitable death. Listen closely because I won’t be repeating myself. I will end you. You think you’re so smart, hiding away in the castle of a kingdom that will never be yours. But the cat always finds the mouse, no matter how much the rodent cowers in its hole. You have been warned.” Emmeline finished strong, closing her eyes. 

Baelle laughed, and Emmeline’s facade crumbled. “Oh dear, you really think you can defeat me? Emmeline, how do you know I’m not the cat and you’re not the mouse?” 

Emmeline struggled to come up with a retort and Baelle laughed again. “See you soon.” 

Then the guard resumed his normal face and Baelle’s presence was gone from the car. “Was that all?” Emmeline asked the guards. They nodded. “Very well, how soon will we arrive at the castle?” 

The guards didn’t answer and Emmeline sighed. She laid her head back against the seat of the carriage and sleep took her again. 

Maybe the silver arrow had killed her after all. 

There wasn’t anything to do the entire ride except for sleep. Emmeline didn’t dream, and she slept restlessly. Every time her eyes fluttered open she was convinced that she was dead. The silver arrow had to have killed her, how else would she be alive? 

Emmeline made a mental note to figure out why the arrows hadn’t harmed her when she next talked to Baelle. She had stopped pretending that her meeting with Baelle wasn’t happening. She knew it was inevitable and the demi-goddess would find a way to talk with her no matter how far she ran. 

The guards slept on and off as well, but they were never both asleep. Emmeline was losing hope for escape as they finally crossed the border into Viridi. 

The sights were beautiful, Emmeline had to admit that she was in awe of the lovely houses. Each one was so large that it seemed that several families could fit in each. The rain had puttered away leaving the golden sunlight to dry up all of the water. 

The cobblestone streets weren’t lined with people like the streets in the villages. The vendors were actually indoors and Emmeline saw bakeries and smith shops. 

The castle stood proudly in the distance, watching over the village. It was even grander than Emmeline would’ve ever imagined. The palace had several towers spiraling upwards towards the heavens and a large emerald crown adorned the tallest center tower.

Bells jingled a sad yet hopeful melody in the distance from a temple of worship. It was a lovely song, Emmeline had to admit it sounded wonderful. 

As the carriage continued along the streets Emmeline spotted signs for four different baked good shops. Each one boasted that they had the best bread or the best cakes, but it really just confused Emmeline. Why have four mediocre bakeries when there could be one really good bakery? 

It’s probably just one of those capitol things, Emmeline sighed. Viridi was a rich village, they could afford luxuries that the circus performers couldn't have even dreamed of. 

But as they drew closer to the castle Emmeline felt all hope drain out of her. The carriage rolled under the portcullis and into the courtyard of the palace. Two large fountains spewed water, but the beauty seemed wasted. The courtyard was derelict. 

One of the guards in Emmeline’s car fastened a hook around the cords on her wrists. He held the other end of the leash tightly like Emmeline might try to run. 

If she ran she would probably be killed in an instant, if Baelle didn’t wait and kill Emmeline herself. That raised another question; why hadn’t Baelle just killed Emmeline in the forest? 

The guards escorted Emmeline out of the carriage and led her to a side entrance at the far end of the courtyard. The front palace doors remained closed and Emmeline wondered if maybe they were fakes. It was either that or the guards had been instructed to use the servant’s entrance. 

Emmeline saw no sign of Newt or Beckett. There had been two other carriages in the courtyard, but both remained closed off. It was possible that the boys had been asleep, but it was more likely that Baelle didn’t want any of them to see each other lest they form a plan. 

Not that Emmeline had any hope of escape. 

Willow had told her that the castles were designed to be as confusing as possible so that no one could break in or out - at least not easily. So it made sense that Emmeline was disoriented as the soldiers shepherded her through the winding halls. 

She tried to form a map in her mind, but within minutes Emmeline was hopelessly lost. For every turn they made it seemed that there would be a hall filled with hundreds of doors. That was an exaggeration, of course, but there were still many doors, some so close to each other that they were either closets or fake doors. 

The hallways were all painted a deep emerald that made the walls seem like they were squeezing inwards to crush whatever lay in its path. The soldier’s slowed their brisk pace to a leisurely walk. Emmeline tried to press ahead, eager to either meet Baelle or be killed. 

The walls faded to a lighter green, one that was like the soft meadow from Clara’s Reading. Finally, the soldiers stopped in front of a pair of wooden double doors. 

Emmeline was expecting the doors to open to a throne room, so she was surprised when they showed a large bedroom instead. One of the soldiers shoved her inside and the other pressed her against the wall beside the door. 

His hands were tight around her throat but Emmeline didn’t dare move with the fear of the weapons the soldiers carried. The other soldier untied her wrists and dropped the leash away. They both let go of Emmeline and backed out of the door. Too late Emmeline realized what was happening. 

The lock on the doors clicked as Emmeline threw herself against the wood in a last desperate attempt to open them. The doors didn’t budge and Emmeline slumped to the floor, her face in her hands. 

She allowed herself a minute to regain her composure before straightening back up and surveying the room for an escape. 

There was a large canopy bed in the center, the blankets piled on top like mountains. Emmeline reached out and touched one carefully to find rich fabrics like the ones they had found in the underground room in the Crossover Forest. 

There was a small desk on the opposite side of the room as well as a tiny table and a vanity. No ink or pens were provided, but there was a sheet of paper lying on the table. 

Emmeline picked up the parchment, her fingers rubbing the material. It was thicker than the paper she was used to, a small seal at the bottom proving that it was property of royalty. Emmeline flipped over the paper to look for a watermark but instead found words scrawled on the back. 

The hand was prim and tiny, the letters looped and curled. 

Dearest Emmeline, this will be your residence during your short stay at the Green Castle in Viridi. My staff has graciously provided for you a bed as well as some essentials I figured you would desire. There are clothes in the closet on the left as well as a large bathroom that can be used for cleansing on the right. (I do hope you will take the chance to bathe before you meet with me). When you are ready to speak with me knock three times on your door and the soldiers will escort you to my chosen meeting place. I hope to see you in person soon. With hatred, Baelle. 

Emmeline crumbled the letter in her fists. She could almost imagine a sickly sweet voice whispering the words to her. 

In theory, she could refuse to knock on the door. She could stay shut away in this room forever. But Emmeline knew that food might not be provided and she would starve if she didn’t take the chance to meet with Baelle. 

First, Emmeline decided that Baelle was right. She could feel a layer of grime accumulating on her skin. And her hair felt disgustingly dirty. 

Emmeline took the opportunity to bathe and was stunned to see the bathroom was quite large. The crystal pool in the center had to be what the tub was supposed to be. She filled the tub with warm water and used the provided soaps to scrub herself clean. She cleared the blood from her fingernails, not sure exactly when it had gotten there. She washed her hair twice until it felt fresh. She wrapped a towel around herself and discovered the closet. 

The closet seemed big enough to get lost in, but Emmeline was sure it was probably just another one of Baelle’s images. 

Her old clothing was soiled so she chose a fresh tunic the color of the cloudy sky and black leggings. There were no shoes provided and Emmeline’s boots were starting to grow worn, so she chose to go barefoot. And then there was no other choice. She inhaled deeply. 

Knock, knock, knock. The wooden doors swung open almost immediately.