Compass of the Nymphs (3 page)

Melitta opened the windows, grabbed two
glasses of water and then joined Taisiya at the table. The castle
designs were very complex, and neither Taisiya nor Melitta had a
clue where to even begin. The parchment was divided into six
different sections with a different part of the castle marked on
each. The first section appeared to contain the structure of the
castle, with the main entrance marked clearly. The second, third,
fourth and fifth sections all showed the different levels and the
rooms inside them of the four story castle. The last section marked
the top of the castle and the watchmen’s posts at all four
ends.

“This seems to be useless,” Taisiya remarked.
“The only entrance marked is the main one, and the queen will
definitely notice if I just waltz in through it.”

“Taisiya, dear,” Melitta said, “what was your
plan all the other times you’ve tried to break into the
castle?”

“Well,” Taisiya said, “I didn’t have one.
I’ll tell you something that these drawings won’t: there’s a huge
wall all around the castle she must have had built. Judging by what
these papers say, after the wall there is a large moat, and only
after passing it do you reach anywhere near the castle.”

“I think you’re lucky you’ve never managed to
succeed in getting over that wall, sweetie.” Melitta said. “This is
going to be quite the herculean task.”

Taisiya ran her fingers through her hair in
frustration. “How can I get into the castle undetected?” Her eyes
darted to and fro over the blueprints.

“You know,” Melitta said, “the queen has to
import a lot of her fine goods. As a matter of fact,

she has a shipment of crops sent up weekly by
the farmers, along with another shipment of diamonds that the coal
miners dig up for her jewelry.”

“Really?” Taisiya said. “If I could slip
inside one of the shipments, it would be an easy way into the
castle.”

“But how would you get out? And you have no
clue where she has taken your parents.”

“Look here,” Melitta pointed, “this room is
marked
Prison Chambers
. My parents are probably there. The
kitchen is on the same floor as the prison chambers and all the
other menial jobs the queen keeps her distance from. If I can get
in the kitchen, I’ll be able to rescue my parents, and the queen
will more than likely be nowhere nearby.”

“Do you really think that you, your father
and your mother can go undetected through the front door, across
the moat and over the bridge? How in the world would you get
out?!”

“I’ll kill the queen.” Taisiya said
matter-of-factly.

Melitta burst out in roaring laughter. “You
must be joking!”

Taisiya shook her head. “I’m not. I will hide
with my parents in the chambers until nightfall when the queen
sleeps. Then, I’ll sneak into her room on the top floor and bring
justice to her.”

“Oh, Taisiya,” Melitta said worriedly,
“that’s a very risky plan.”

“It’s the only plan I’ve got.” Taisiya said,
folding the blueprints and tucking them into her pocket. “When does
the shipment of food head up to the castle?”

Melitta sighed, “I hope I don’t regret
telling you this…but the next shipment should head up tomorrow
morning. The team of men that transport it leave at sunrise, and
they don’t usually make it back until the next day.”

“Wonderful!” Taisiya said. “I won’t have to
wait long at all.”

“Taisiya!” Melitta said. “Don’t you realize
you’ll be hiding in a box of food for the better part of a day?
There’s no way you’ll be able to sit still that long and not make
any noise.”

“True,” Taisiya said, getting up. “Close the
windows and lock the door, Melitta. We’ve got to go back to town
and get some things.”

“What now?!”

“We’re going to build a crate big enough to
hold me and some food and water. You’ll deliver the box to the
farmers tomorrow morning as a gift from Ammon to the queen.”

CHAPTER THREE –

AN UNEXPECTED ALLY

When someone has a plan stuck in their head,
it is nearly impossible to try and change their mind. It is
something different, however, to go along with it and let someone
walk right to their death. Melitta had this in mind when she shook
her head and refused to accompany Taisiya any further with her plot
to save her parents. Taisiya was just a little too young to fully
understand the consequences of what would happen if her plan didn’t
go exactly as she thought.

The two argued for quite some time, with
Taisiya eventually begging for help, but Melitta stood her ground.
Tired of quarrelling, Taisiya threw her arms up and walked out.
Melitta called for Taisiya to come back but to no avail. Deep in
her heart, Taisiya knew what she had to do, and she knew there was
no time to waste.

Her plan to go into town and gather materials
had only changed slightly. Instead of buying them from the
marketplace, she would now have to scavenge and steal whatever she
could find. Taisiya’s parents always took good care of her, but she
had become rather skilled in the art of thievery, often snatching
others’ unwanted trash and using it to her advantage.

Taisiya had her eyes peeled for anything that
could be of help to her on her way into town. Some of the
townspeople had various crates outside their houses, but all of
them were far too small in which to hide. Then, something caught
her eye.

A figure in the distance looked quite out of
place. Taisiya squinted and saw that it was Zara, the queen’s spy
that Melitta had pointed out earlier to her. She slowed her pace
and approached him with caution. Zara was still milling around the
marketplace, but now he was at the vendor that Taisiya had planned
to visit. The old merchant, named Tomas, sold various potions and
unguents, all of which he received in large crates. Tomas

had always been kind to Taisiya, and she knew
he would happily give her one of them if he had any to spare, which
is exactly why her heart sank as she eavesdropped on the
conversation Tomas was having with Zara.

“Perhaps you could place my custom in that
large box you have out back? I assure you I will pay you in kind
for your consideration,” Zara said, charmingly. For such an
intimidating looking figure, his voice was soft and sweet.

Tomas nodded, “One moment,” he said before
disappearing to get the crate. In his absence, Zara walked around
surveying the various potions. He picked one up that was in a red
bottle marked ‘Love Potion’ and sniffed it before tossing it back
on the shelf and rolling his eyes.

In the next stall over, Taisiya pretended to
be interested in a variety of different scarves for sale while she
kept her eyes and ears on Tomas and Zara. Tomas had returned with a
large crate, and was loading the items Zara wanted into it. When
the crate was about halfway full, Zara motioned Tomas to stop.
“That’s all,” he said, “and if you don’t mind, I’d like to use the
crate to haul some food back up to the castle as well.”

“Certainly,” Tomas said, peering down into
the box to make sure he had written down the totals of everything
Zara had ordered. “Your total, sir, is…”

Zara shook his head. “Your reputation as the
best in your business precedes you. Nothing you charge would be
enough for your services.” He reached into his coin sack and pulled
out a handful of gold drachma and tossed them to Tomas.

Scrambling to pick up the coins, Tomas
exclaimed in delight. “Thank you, thank you so much!” Zara smiled
and walked off to buy the food and bring it back to the crate
before leaving. He soon came back with a sack of greens that he
casually slung into the crate before thanking Tomas again.

“The pleasure is all mine!” Tomas assured
him. “Here, let me accompany you back to the castle; it’s the least
that I can do, Zara.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Zara grinned. “I
can handle myself. If you don’t mind, I’ll be back down to pick it
up tomorrow? There have been more attempts to break into the
queen’s castle, and she is planning on having a…thorough
investigation tomorrow. The other men and I could more easily carry
it back up than just me alone.”

Tomas wanted to know more, and so did
Taisiya. She listened with baited breath as Zara went on, “Well,
the queen isn’t too happy, I’m afraid. There will probably be the
usual…a few houses overturned, you know. The usual scare tactics.
Don’t worry, though, I’ll make sure you and your family are
safe.”

Tomas went and hugged Zara, and then the
queen’s spy left to return to the castle. Taisiya knew that the
potion master would soon be closing up his shop, especially after
receiving such a generous payment. She ran over and walked in,
smiling at Tomas before taking a good look at the large crate by
the counter.

Pretending she had no idea what the box was
doing there, Taisiya innocently asked, “What’s that?”

“A customer with a very large order,” Tomas
said. “He’s coming to retrieve it tomorrow. I’ll move it out of
your way, dear.”

“Oh, do let me help you!” Taisiya smiled. “We
can move it to the back where he can get it easily tomorrow,
no?”

“That’s a great idea,” Tomas said, grinning
back.

Working together, they quickly had the crate
behind the shop in no time. It would sit there where no one could
see it, but anyone that knew it was there could easily take it.
That night, Taisiya snuck behind the potion shop and pried open the
lid of the box. Inside was an abundance of ointments and creams
along with a few love potions and the sack of food that Zara had
bought.

When Taisiya tried moving the crate on her
own, she found it wasn’t too heavy, but it wouldn’t hurt if she
took some of the items out. Taisiya haughtily tossed the love
potions to the ground before beginning to more closely inspect the
other concoctions. There were a few good salves and other medicines
that would be useful if she were wounded in a fight. She opened the
bag of food and placed those potions in it. The tonics that played
to Zara’s vanity and insecurities – for instance, a cream that was
advertised to remove any signs of aging – she disposed of and moved
on. Before she knew it, the load was much lighter and, in her
opinion, much more useful.

Dragging the crate around was quite a task in
the daytime, and it was even worse in the dark of night. Taisiya
was careful not to make too much noise and disturb anyone. After
many tiring and boring hours, she finally was coming upon the
farmland. The other crates set to be shipped up to the queen were
all neatly in place and awaiting sunrise to start their journey.
Instantly when they came in to view, however, Taisiya saw a flaw in
her plan. Each of the crates was numbered, sealed, and secured in
place. There was no room for an additional box to fit.

Taisiya ditched the crate and went over to
more closely inspect the cartful of other produce. The sun was
beginning to come up, and she could hear the farm animals starting
to wake. She knew she didn’t have much time. If she waited in the
back of the cart, the farmers would surely notice her when they
unloaded the food. She had no way to open one of the already loaded
crates either, not that it would be of any help – she knew they
were already filled to the brim with produce.

Along the horizon, the farmers came into view
as they neared the cart to start their toilsome journey to the
castle. Taisiya mumbled a few profanities under her breath and ran
back to the crate she had lugged through town and quickly grabbed
the bag of useful ointments and food. She reached in and pulled out
one of the darker creams and smeared it on her fingers. Running her
fingers down the side of the crate, Taisiya formed a makeshift
label on the box. She then quickly pushed it to the edge of the
cart that held all the other boxes and then jumped inside, praying
that the farmers would assume they had forgotten to load one of the
boxes.

In mere minutes, she heard the deep and
gravelly voice of one of the farmers as he approached her box.
“What’s this?” he called out to the others. “Box X? Since when has
there been a box marked X?”

“You moron!” one of the other farmers
replied, “that stands for Box Ten. The tenth box. One of you idiots
must have forgotten to load it with the rest!”

Taisiya was almost smiling and thinking her
plan would work until a third farmer beckoned. “We have no room for
ten boxes, boys. Just toss that one in the river, and we’ll say it
got lost in transit!”

Taisiya could feel the box being lifted off
the ground, and she gulped. Seconds later, there was a loud
thud
as the crate hit something hard, causing her to hit her
head on one side and spill out all the food in her satchel. Taisiya
was just about to pop off the lid and try to jump from what she was
sure to be raging rapids when the voice of the first farmer spoke
out. “Nah, boss, we got it in there! As long as we hit don’t hit
any bumps it’ll be fine!”

Sighing in relief, Taisiya curled up inside
the box and tried to take a nap. This was much easier said than
done. Even after pushing the heavy box through town all night and
having no sleep, it was next to impossible to get any shuteye on
the rickety journey through Solames to the castle. Every single
bump the cart hit caused Taisiya to jump in fear. When the roads
were smooth, the farmers would strike up a hearty conversation and
their voices

echoing all around her made it even harder to
rest. Eventually, everyone going along on the journey seemed to get
tired, and Taisiya managed to get some relaxation. It seemed like
in mere minutes (although it was actually a couple hours), Taisiya
was waking up to the sound of the farmers.

“Woohoo!” the one called. “Almost there,
boys. We should be getting clearance to enter the castle any minute
now.”

Taisiya became more alert and chewed on some
of the carrots that Zara had bought. This was going to be a piece
of cake.