Page 56 of To Steal the Sun

Gwen nodded, Easton a beat behind her.

“She can’t have a wedding,” Gwen said. “Not unless she can recapture us both and somehow force us to comply.” She was carefully not looking at Easton as she said it. “But she won’t want to admit weakness. And she’ll still want a spectacle. The invited guests from the city and even the loyal courtiers will likely still turn up at the appointed time. Celandine will be telling herself she can recapture us in time, or else she’ll plan a big demonstration with all the rebels instead, thinking that will restore order and her power, at least in the short term while she works out how to fix things. That’s been her strategy until now, always a temporary fix, keeping things going while she gets herself further and further into trouble.”

“So we’ll still have our audience,” Easton said thoughtfully.

Gwen nodded.

“In that case,” he said, meeting her eyes. “We need to give them what they came to see.”

“A wedding!” Charlotte cried in delight, clasping her hands together. “With no need for last minute switches. Just the two of you, getting married. As long as we can keep the queen and her guards occupied, the courtiers won’t protest. They don’t even know what Henry looks like, remember.”

“But how do we keep the queen and her guards occupied?” Henry asked.

“We lock her up.” Gwen looked surprised by the ferocity in her own voice.

“Is that even possible?” Charlotte asked.

“She isn’t superhuman,” Gwen replied. “She doesn’t have the strength of a bear during the day.”

“What about her godmother objects?” Easton asked.

“She keeps them in a hidden room,” Gwen said. “The only one she carries continually on her person is the one tied to the bear enchantment. And that won’t help her get out of a locked cell. Her strength comes from fear and intimidation and her guards. Stripped of those, she’s just a human woman with the strength of a human woman. She can’t batter down a door.”

Henry slowly smiled. “So we lock her up, and then we lead her guards on a merry chase so they don’t have the chance to properly look for her.”

“It doesn’t have to last forever,” Charlotte said. “Only long enough for the captives to do their job.”

“The captives?” Henry looked at her, confused.

“The wedding!” Charlotte cried, rolling her eyes at his obliviousness. “Do you think a function like that is going to magically come together on its own? The queen was planning to put on a show, but now it’s our show, and we can’t look less impressive than her. We have to somehow convince the captives to play the role of servants one more time and set everything up.”

“So the rebels will have to lead the chase,” Henry said thoughtfully. “You and I can help with that.”

“The bride and groom will have to stick with the wedding preparation.” He looked at Easton with a small smile, and Charlotte almost laughed. It was obvious which he thought was the better assignment, despite the danger.

From the pained look on Easton’s face, he agreed. After the way they had all been treated, everyone wanted a piece of Celandine and her people. But the plan made the most sense that way, and nobody tried to argue.

Charlotte was certain she wouldn’t be able to sleep. But when she lay on one of the broad sofas with Henry pressed against her back and his arms around her, she drifted off faster than she would have liked.

She was jerked awake by a frantic whisper from Gwen in the small hours.

“Quick! Someone’s coming,” she said.

“Wha…” Charlotte sat up, bleary-eyed and confused.

Henry woke behind her, instantly alert. “Out the window, then. I left some manure there earlier.”

Easton pushed it open, and Gwen climbed through first, scrabbling with her paws for purchase before heaving herself over the ledge. Charlotte tried to hold back her impatience, glancing constantly between the door and the window, just waiting for someone to thrust the door open.

“Climb through,” Gwen called back quietly. “Straight onto my back.”

“Gwen!” Easton exclaimed, pausing halfway over the sill. “You can’t carry three of us!”

“Yes, I can,” she said stubbornly. “I’m not an ordinary bear, you know. I’m bigger, for one. And I don’t have to carry you far. Just far enough to confuse them. My scent will be unfamiliar to them, especially since most of them don’t even know I’m a bear at night. And I’ll walk through the manure. If you’re on my back, it will make it much harder for them to smell where you went.”

“Come on,” Charlotte said to Easton, giving him a light push. “Just do what she says.”

Still grumbling, Easton dropped carefully onto her back and slid forward as far as he could go. Charlotte followed next, Henry lifting her over the sill and placing her on Gwen’s back with ease. He followed last, barely fitting behind Charlotte, although he somehow managed to not only balance there but also lean back to close the window behind them.

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