Page 37 of Beholden
“I must leave now in order to reach her by tomorrow’s ball and stop her.”
“She won’t make it there in time,” Curly said, as he had earlier. “And even if she does, she has no guarantee of being chosen by the queen, since only the fairest maiden can sate Grendel...”
I’d already spoken the truth to him when I told him that, even at her worst, Gabriella was still the fairest maiden in the land. Certainly, the queen would recognize that. And if Gabriella presented herself as a willing sacrifice, how could the queen turn her down?
The darkness penetrating the open door indicated I now had less than twenty-four hours to figure out a way to travel to her and convince her not to go through with her plans. And if she didn’t listen to me, then I would forcibly drag her from the ball, lock her up, and then go out and kill Grendel in her stead.
All along, I’d been telling myself that because I was a foreigner, the problems of this country weren’t mine to fix. And now, if I interfered with the queen’s sacrifice to Grendel, I would be overstepping. The queen might arrest me and hold me as her prisoner. I could very well find myself back in the mine forever and not just for six months.
On the other hand, how could I sit back and do naught? If Gabriella was willing to sacrifice her life to bring about change, shouldn’t I be ready to do the same?
Deep inside, I knew I could do nothing less. No matter the consequences, I had to do the right thing and put an end to the needless sacrifice, slaughter, and slavery the queen perpetuated. Maybe I even had a responsibility to do so. After all, Grendel was from Scania.
“Gabriella has already proven she’ll do whatever she must in order to fight Grendel. I have no doubt she’ll make sure she’s chosen.”
Curly stared into the dancing flames, his face rigid like flint.
I struggled against the men still holding me captive. “If you let me go, I shall seek her out with all haste.”
“Ye cannot do this alone.”
“Then you agree she’s in danger?”
“Aye. If she be intending to do as ye said, then she’ll find a way to be at the ball, even if she has to leave Alice and Benedict behind to get there.”
“And if she leaves them behind,” said another, “she won’t have to worry about anyone trying to stop her.”
They were right. If only Sir Lucan would intervene. But the knight had clearly been riddled with guilt for not previously protecting Gabriella. At present, he’d likely do anything she wished to make up for his mistakes, even unwittingly lead her to her death.
“How far from here to the queen’s residence?” I didn’t care anymore if I showed my ignorance.
“Twelve hours by foot and six or less by horse,” said Ernie from where he stood by the doorway.
“Can you lead me there?” Ernie would know the best way in, perhaps even through the kitchen.
Before Ernie could respond, Curly shook his head. “Not one person has ever escaped from the mine, much less two.”
I held back a frustrated sigh. “Then release me, and I shall make the escape on my own.”
Curly continued to stare into the flames, a battle warring across his features. “I know the back trails through the foothills. And if necessary, I can lead ye inside the palace grounds undetected.”
As a former huntsman for the queen, he would indeed know the way, keeping us far from the usual routes where we might encounter people who would easily recognize us as runaway slaves.
And yet, he’d just admitted the mission—especially the escape from the mine—was too dangerous. I couldn’t involve him any more than I could Ernie.
“You will inform me of the way, and I shall commit it to memory.” I hoped the authority in my voice would make him back down.
“Ye cannot fight the monster by yerself.” His voice turned equally hard.
“And who said I planned to fight Grendel?”
He met my gaze and held it.
“Even if I were planning to fight him, I couldn’t ask you to join in.”
“What if this is the chance I’ve been waiting for? The chance to redeem myself?”
Redeem himself from what? My unspoken question hung in the air between us as heavy as the smoke. But this was neither the time nor place to press Curly for more answers about his past life. We had more urgent matters at hand.
