Page 69 of Among the Burning Flowers
‘You will make a mighty Queen of the Ersyr,’ she said. ‘I would have been honoured to be your protector. In my stead, may the Mother watch over you, Princess Marosa.’
Marosa did not ask who she meant. She had her own mother to watch over her.
She left the dungeon and returned to the guards. ‘Tell me,’ she said to them, ‘where are prisoners’ effects kept?’
‘In there, Your Radiance. On the bench to the right.’
‘Is there anything especially unusual among them?’
‘She did carry a strange box. We haven’t been able to open it.’
Marosa went through the door they had indicated. Beyond was a storage room, lined with instruments oftorture. There was the iron boot on the floor, crusted with blood, turning her stomach.
And there, the iron helm that Fýredel had given her.
She stopped in her tracks at the ominous sight. Ermendo must have put it down here, so she never had to look at it. It was mounted on a stand, as if it were part of an ordinary suit of armour.
At first, she had assumed that Fýredel had forged the helm. Now she looked again, it was obvious that one of the captive Yscals was responsible. She wondered if the blacksmith had known that it was meant for her. The vacant eyeholes seemed to stare into her soul, and she could not break their gaze. It was as if she looked upon her own casket, made to her measurements.
Before she could stop herself, she put it on.
Inside, all was dark. Her neck immediately started to ache. As sweat broke out on her forehead, she tried looking one way, and then the other. She could see through the eyeholes, but not well. She could breathe, but not with any ease.
Was this how Fýredel felt when he looked through her father? The thought made the helm even harder to bear. She wrenched it off with clammy hands and put it back on to its mount.
Jondu had been carrying more weapons than a hired killer, all worth a queen’s ransom. A crossbow with folding limbs. A fine Ersyri scimitar, its ornate white scabbard encrusted with pearls. Several other blades, the origin and type of which she did not recognise.
And there was the box.
It looked to be made of iron. An oblong at the bottom, with a lid shaped like a pyramid, all swirled with intricate engravings, which could be patterns or a language. Therewas a ring at the top of the lid, so it might be attached to a saddle or girdle. It was light in comparison to the helm.
The guards had not followed her. She hung the box from the back of her own girdle, so her cloak would cover it. When she returned to the guards, she wore an imperious expression.
‘There was no box in the room,’ she said. ‘Do you mean to trick me?’
‘Donmata, I will investigate.’
Marosa nodded and walked away, the box heavy against her hip.
She waited in her apartments all day, watching the mantel clock. At last, Ermendo came to her.
‘Your Radiance,’ he said in an undertone, ‘a woman escaped from the dungeons today. She didn’t get far – her foot was injured – but she fought. One of the guards slashed her throat by mistake.’
Marosa suspected it had not been a mistake, even if the guard had not meant to do it. Jondu had clearly known how to fight.
That meant she also knew how to die.
‘Tell Lord Gastaldo she died of her wounds,’ Marosa said. ‘Be sure that is what His Majesty hears, Ermendo. All of our fates may depend upon it.’
‘It will be done, Donmata.’
****
It was not for several days that Marosa was made to understand the consequences of her actions. During those days, she found the way that Jondu had described, tucked in a corridor with a dead end. She found the stairs that lay beyond it, twisting into the depths of the palace. Though shedared not risk it yet, it comforted her to know that escape might truly be possible.
After some thought, she decided to share the discovery with Ruzio and Priessa, and to show the latter the box as well, in case Priessa had any ideas. Priessa pondered it for hours – she even took a small hammer to it – but could not get inside.
The next day was colder than most. Priessa was about to try a different tool when King Sigoso arrived. She curtseyed to him, hiding the hammer from sight. Marosa stepped in front of her.
