Faerie Wars 01 - Faerie Wars (39 page)

Below him, Beleth droned on happily.

'But Serenity -- ' the guard protested.

'Just go,' said Holly Blue imperiously. 'I shall be perfectly all right.'

The guard looked at her uncertainly, then turned and marched from the chamber. His companions followed in smart order. Blue swung her gaze to the boy who'd sneaked behind a pillar to get a glimpse of her in the bath. He was a pleasant-looking creature in most peculiar clothes, but he certainly didn't look as if he had the courage to risk the sort of punishment meted out for that type of behaviour. 'Well,' she said coldly, 'are you going to explain yourself?'

'I'm sorry,' Henry told her miserably. They were no longer in the storeroom. The guards had marched him to opulent living quarters where the girl seemed entirely at home. And in charge.

'Sorry you did it or sorry you were caught?'

'Sorry I did it,' Henry said. 'I didn't mean to.' The guards had called her 'Highness' and 'Serenity'. That probably meant she was some sort of royal, maybe even a princess. He almost shuddered at the thought before another, even more awful thought caught up with it: she might be related to Pyrgus. Hadn't Pyrgus said he had a sister? Henry couldn't remember, but the idea was terrifying. If this was Pyrgus's sister, how could Henry ever look his friend in the eye again? Bad enough to peep at a strange girl, but to peep at your friend's
sister
... He made a massive effort to pull himself together. 'I was just looking for somebody and I sort of came on you by accident.'

'Who were you looking for?'

'Well, anybody really,' Henry said uncomfortably. 'The whole place was so
empty.'
He rallied and added, 'It's not as if you were, you know, in a private
bathroom.
I mean, you were right out in the open with -without -- right out in the open,' he tailed off lamely.
'Anybody
could have seen you. I was just unlucky.' He realised what he'd said and added hurriedly, 'I mean not unlucky to have
seen
you that way. I mean you're very pretty, beautiful and all that, no spots or anything, but unlucky to have
come across
you when you didn't want to be come across. Although if you didn't want to be come across, I don't think you should take your bath out in the open like that.'

'Oh, so it was really
my
fault?' Blue asked icily. 'I'm the one to blame?'

'No, you're not the one to blame. I didn't say you were to blame. I just meant that if you'd taken your bath in a proper bathroom, I wouldn't have accidentally come across you. Anybody could have seen you.'

'Hardly. I ordered this wing of the palace cleared. I always do when I take a bath.'

Henry groaned inwardly.
That
was why the place had been deserted. The princess was taking a bath. Everyone had orders to keep well away. And he'd casually strolled in on her. He closed his eyes to shut out the embarrassment of it all. When he opened them again, he said, 'Are you Pyrgus's sister?'

Blue froze. Silent moments ticked by, then she said, 'What do you know about Pyrgus? Where have you come from? Who are you?'

'Henry Atherton,' said Henry. And told her everything.

Frowning, Blue walked to the window. 'Pyrgus is probably still all right. I've been trying not to think about it. I've carried an antidote to his poison ever since I heard about it, but there's nothing we can do until we find him.'

'I'm sorry,' Henry said. 'I don't know what's happened to Pyrgus -- nobody's told me. I mean you're the first person I've talked to. Don't you know where he is? Didn't he come back to the palace?'

'He's disappeared,' said Blue shortly. 'And if we don't find him soon, the poison will kill him. It's all a bit complicated -- '

He thought she might be about to say something else, but the door slammed open and an hysterical servant girl burst in. 'Mistress Blue -- you must come at once! Something dreadful's happened!'

'What is it, Anna? What's happened?'

But the girl was beyond rational speech. She began to wail and rock and moan, hugging herself and weeping just inside the doorway. 'It's His Majesty, His Majesty!'

'Come on!' Blue grabbed Henry's hand and headed for the door.

They ran.

There were guards everywhere, shouting orders and getting in each other's way. One tried to stop them as they entered a corridor.

'Stand aside!' hissed Blue furiously. The guard did what he was told.

It was chaos in the corridor. 'Where are we going?' Henry asked breathlessly.

'My father's private quarters.'

There were people milling everywhere as they approached the open door. A tall man in a green cloak swept towards them. 'Serenity, you must not go in.'

'What's happened, Tithonus?' Blue demanded.

'There has been an incident involving your father.'

'What sort of accident?'

Tithonus didn't say
accident,
Henry thought.

Tithonus swallowed. 'Your father has been gravely injured, Princess.
Very
gravely injured.'

Her father was dead. It was clear as day to Henry. The adults always tried to break it to you gently, which just made things worse.

'What happened?' Holly Blue demanded.

'An intruder. He had a weapon -- '

'What has happened to my father?' Blue screamed. She tried to push past, but Tithonus blocked the way.

Tithonus seemed distressed. 'Serenity, there was nothing I could do. It all happened so quickly.' He caught sight of Henry. 'Who is this boy?'

Holly Blue stared up at Tithonus, a dawning look of horror on her face. 'Is he ...? Is he going to die?'

Tithonus shut his eyes briefly. 'Serenity,' he said formally, 'it is my tragic duty to tell you that your father, the Purple Emperor, is dead.'

For a moment Blue said nothing. Then she said, 'I don't believe you. I want to see him. Is he inside?'

'Serenity, it is best you don't see him. The weapon -- ' Blue tried to push past again. Again Tithonus moved to stop her. 'Child,' he said, 'the weapon is not like our weapons and it was discharged at close range. Your father's face -- '

A boy in purple garments emerged from the room behind Tithonus. He was pale and looked as if he might be sick at any moment.

'Comma!' Blue shouted. 'What is it? What -- ?'

The boy looked at her blankly, then shook his head. He seemed in a daze. 'I'm sorry, Blue,' he said.

'Tithonus,' Blue said. 'I will see my father!'

Something in her tone persuaded him to step aside. 'As you wish, Serenity. But it would be better -- '

She was already pushing past him. Without a moment's hesitation, Henry followed.

He had an impression of a large, well-furnished chamber before his attention was locked on the body. Much of the face had been blown away, as if by a close shotgun blast. The smell of blood was overwhelming. A red pool had formed on the carpet.

'Daddy, no!' Blue wailed. She took a step forward. 'Daddy, Daddy, nooooo!'

Henry caught her as she fainted.

A plump, middle-aged woman in servant's uniform ushered Henry away. 'She'll be all right, poor thing -there's doctors to look after her. But such a shock ...' She pursed her lips briefly, eyes glazing with grief, then turned her attention back to Henry. 'Now, young sir, I haven't seen you before so I don't know your name.'

'It's Henry,' Henry said dully. He was shocked himself by what had happened. It was the first time he'd seen a dead body and the damage to the face was like something out of a horror movie. Except in a horror movie you didn't get the smell.

'Oh, like the Duke of Burgundy,' the woman said. She managed a small, conspiratorial smile. 'Only I don't suppose you're with the Nightside, are you?'

'No,' Henry said quickly, although he hadn't the least idea what she was talking about.

'I'm Goodwife Umber,' the woman said. 'You'll be staying at the palace, Master Henry?'

Things had suddenly got a lot more complicated than he'd bargained for. He took a deep breath and said, 'I suppose so.'

'I'll show you to a guest room. I'm glad you're staying. She'll need her friends around her at a time like this.'

The guest room was sumptuous, miles better than his room at home, although there didn't seem to be a bed.

'Sorry if it isn't what you're used to,' Goodwife Umber said anxiously. She looked Henry up and down. 'You'll be from country parts then?'

Henry nodded. He thought it best not to get into where he was really from.

'Well, you'll find fresh clothes in the wardrobe a bit more suited to the palace -- just scrabble round until you get your size and if you have any problems call me. Underwear in the drawers.' She gave him a motherly grin and closed the door behind her as she left.

Henry quickly discovered the reason there was no bed in his room was that it wasn't a room but a suite. There was a bedroom off the main room and a bathroom off that with a sunken bath in the middle of the floor that was a miniature (but a large miniature) of the one where he'd seen Blue. There were earthenware jars around the edge and on investigation he found them full of scented oils. He went back to the bedroom and discovered the wardrobe Goodwife Umber had mentioned. It was, as promised, packed with clothing in a range of sizes. He picked out a green jerkin and some breeches that fitted well enough and found some soft green shoes to go with them. When he examined himself in the wardrobe mirror he had the creepy feeling he looked a bit like Pyrgus, even though the outfit was nothing like the clothes Pyrgus wore. Maybe it just meant he would fit in here, which was no bad thing.

He pushed open another door in the bedroom, vaguely imagining it might be a second built-in wardrobe, and discovered it was a little windowless study, which lighted itself mysteriously when the door opened. There was a desk and a chair and walls lined with books. It occurred to him he might learn a lot about Pyrgus's world from those books if he took the time. But he would probably learn a lot more if he explored the palace.

Henry went back to the main living room, opened the door into the corridor and looked out.

'Ah, there you are,' said Goodwife Umber, making Henry jump out of his skin. She seemed to have been standing in the corridor waiting for him. 'You'll be wanting something to eat now, I'll be bound. If you follow me, I'll get you something in the kitchens.' She looked at him approvingly as he emerged. 'Green suits you.'

'Thank you,' Henry said. The palace kitchens would be as good a place to start as any. Besides, against all odds, he was feeling peckish.

The heat of the kitchens, generated by two huge cooking ranges, met him like a wall. As he stepped inside, he had the feeling of walking into a period movie, something from Dickens or even earlier. Everything had an old-fashioned look, from the scrubbed pine tables to the haunches of meat hanging from hooks in the ceiling. He imagined the place would be a hive of activity at mealtimes. Even now there were twenty or thirty people lounging about chatting and drinking cups of something while they waited for the rush to start.

Goodwife Umber led him over to a fat woman in a cook's uniform cutting vegetables into an enormous pot. 'This is Head Cook Lattice Brown,' she whispered.

'You be nice to her or else she'll poison you.' She grinned to show she was joking, then said loudly, 'Any chance of something to eat for a starving boy, Lattice? Friend of Princess Blue.'

Lattice set down the knife and wiped her hands on a cloth. Every move was made with great deliberation. She looked at Henry from underneath her eyebrows. 'Friend of Princess Blue, is it? And does this friend have a name?'