The Bravest Princess (21 page)

The first guard was already helping Annie down the corridor when Maitland and the two men ran into Annie's chamber. They fought the crows back as they entered the room, then the door shut, muffling the sounds.

When Snow White opened her door, the overpowering scent of flowers wafted into the corridor. The princess looked surprised to see Annie with a guard, but the moment she saw her friend's wounds she pulled her into the room and sent the guard after the physician. Annie swallowed hard. The chamber was filled with bouquets of wildflowers as well as flowers from the castle's own garden. Her stomach was queasy, and the smell was only making it worse.

“Here, sit down,” said Snow White. “You look as if you're going to fall over.”

She was heading toward the window seat when Annie shook her head and said, “Not there. Not by the window. I don't want the crows to see me!”

“All right,” Snow White said, taking her to the chair by the table instead. “Can I get you something to drink?'

Annie shook her head. “I couldn't. My stomach is upset.”

Snow White frowned, concern written on her face. She touched Annie's cheek and her frown deepened. “Maybe you should lie down.”

“I couldn't,” said Annie. “I'll bleed all over your lovely covers.”

“Don't you worry about that!” Snow White exclaimed. “Friends are more important than covers. I lived with seven dwarves long enough to know a bit about medicine. Working in a mine is a dangerous business, and one or another of them was always getting hurt. I could treat this myself if I was at the cottage with my herbs handy, but we'll have to wait until the physician comes now. I've never met him, but any healer worth his salt will have what I need. Lie down on the bed while I get some clean cloths. We can do that much for the bleeding at least. This should work,” she said, taking a fine soft shift from a trunk and ripping it into pieces. Annie cried out in protest when she saw what her friend had done.

Snow White brought a bowl of clean water and one of the strips of cloth to Annie's side and began to clean
her wounds. When Annie drew back, Snow White began to talk in a cheerful voice as if to distract her. “Did I tell you what my suitors have been up to? They've all been bringing me flowers. Digby brings me bouquets that look just like the ones the head gardener normally sends to my room every morning. Nasheen drops off one perfect blossom from the castle garden, while Emilio collects flowers from the swamp just past the village. Milo makes wreaths for my hair. He ties the stems together with the most intricate knots. They're really quite lovely.”

“Ouch!” cried Annie as Snow White cleaned one of the deeper wounds. “Go on!” she said through gritted teeth. “What else have they done?”

Snow White continued to talk as she fetched the other scraps of fabric. “Let's see … Nasheen took me riding this morning. He gave me a few pointers, then rode off at a gallop. I couldn't keep up, and when he disappeared and didn't come back, I waited for a while. I finally returned to the castle without him. The mare he gave me is very nice, although I don't think much of Nasheen as a riding instructor.”

Annie laughed, but it turned into a groan when Snow White began to wrap a bandage around her wrist.

“Tandry brought me a sack with a dead rabbit in it,” Snow White hurried to say when Annie grimaced at the pain. “He said he would get me one every day if I
liked. I thanked him and asked him to take the rest to the kitchen.”

“Tandry doesn't seem to know much about choosing gifts for a lady,” said Annie.

“Ah, but then there's Andreas. He tried to serenade me last night, but he picked the wrong window and sang to an elderly noblewoman instead. She told me this morning that she thinks she's in love.”

Annie was laughing again when there was a knock on the door, and Snow White called out, “What is it?”

“Flowers for you, Your Highness,” said the voice. “They're from Prince Tandry this time.”

“Give them to someone else!” called Snow White. “I have too many in here as it is. And let it be known that I don't want to be disturbed for the rest of the day.” Snow White glanced at Annie's face. Pressing her palm to Annie's forehead, she clucked her tongue and said, “You're too pale, and your skin is cool and damp. Lie still while I raise your feet.” She shoved a pillow under Annie's legs.

“I don't want—” Annie began.

“And this blanket should keep you warm.”

“But I—” Annie protested.

The door slammed open and suddenly Liam was there. “I heard you were hurt, Annie. What happened?”

Annie sat up suddenly, which made her head spin. “I'm all right. Just a few cuts—”

“If only I had some yarrow!” said Snow White. “Where is that physician?”

Liam sat down beside Annie. “He's coming. I saw him in the corridor just now.”

“I should always keep my herbs at hand. Perhaps I'll start an herb garden here,” Snow White said to herself.

“Where's my patient?” the physician demanded as he bustled into the room. He was an older man with a round belly and a round face, and he exuded confidence as he stopped in front of Annie. A young man scurried in behind him, carrying a large leather bag. “Now, what have we here?” the physician said.

“Do you have yarrow with you?” Snow White asked him.

“I'm not an herbalist, Your Highness. I practice only the most modern medicine. Unwrap those bandages, young man, and let me take a look. My, those are deep. Well, these bandages will do. We'll just wrap them up again, and … Boy, where are my leeches?” he said, turning to his helper.

“Why do you need leeches?” asked Liam. “She's already bleeding!”

“Remove the bad humors, young man,” said the physician. “Always a good idea!”

Snow White stepped between Annie and the royal physician. “You are not using leeches on her! You're finished here. Out! Out right now! Guard, make sure this
man leaves,” she told the guard who had brought the physician. “Annie, I'm going to go look for yarrow, and I'll … wait a moment! I might already have some!” she said when her eyes landed on a bouquet of wildflowers.

The physician stared at Snow White openmouthed as she hurried across the room. “Well, I never!” he said, shoving the jar of leeches back in his leather sack. “King Archibald will hear about this!”

“And from more than one person,” said Liam, taking Annie's hand in his. “Don't worry, that man isn't coming anywhere near you.”

Only moments after the physician stormed out, Snow White stood up from where she was bent over the bouquet, waving some white blossoms in the air. “This should do the trick,” she said. Taking a clean goblet from the table, she tore up some of the yarrow leaves and mashed them into a paste. After removing the bandages, she spread the paste on the still-bleeding wounds. Within minutes, the bleeding stopped.

“Leeches!” she muttered under her breath. “I'm going to plant a
big
herb garden.”

“Thank you, Snow White,” said Annie. “It already hurts less.”

Liam leaned down to kiss Annie's forehead. “Good! I was going to ask if you wanted to come with me now, but I think you should stay here and rest.”

“Oh no!” Annie said. “You can't look for the witch by yourself. What if she tries to use magic on you?”

“We'll just have to be faster than she is,” Liam replied.

“I don't like this one bit! If you go without me and you meet the witch, she'll have gotten exactly what she wanted! I won't be there to protect you, and she could turn you into a snail or something. Snow White, you have to help me convince him!”

“Annie is right,” said Snow White. “I'm sure the witch would love to get rid of you. If you aren't around, Annie will be vulnerable to whatever the witch has planned. It's still early. Can't you wait until Annie has rested for a bit? I can give her some tincture of valerian to help her take a nap. I might have a bloom or two, and if I don't, I'm sure I can find some growing near the castle.”

Liam reached down to brush a loose tendril from Annie's cheek. “I'll wait, but if you aren't up to it later, I'll have to go without you.”

“I'll be ready,” said Annie. “You'll see.”

“We found you a new room,” Liam told Annie as she tidied her hair. She felt much better after her nap and was glad Snow White had persuaded Liam to wait.

“Was my old room in such terrible shape?” she asked.

“Yes, it was. Plus Maitland and I didn't want you where the crows could find you again. Your new room is smaller, and we've covered the window with a tapestry so the crows can't look in and see you.”

“If I'm in the only room with the window covered, won't the witches suspect something?”

“We thought of that,” Liam said with a grin. “So we had a lot of windows covered. We're ready to go now. Are you?”

“Who's ‘we'?” asked Annie.

“Quite a group, actually. Captain Sterling is going, and so is King Archibald's captain of the guard, Captain Everhart. Horace insists on accompanying us, too.
He feels very guilty about letting you get trapped in the room that filled with water.”

“But he didn't
let
me do anything!” said Annie. “He told me that going down there was a bad idea.”

“He's convinced that he could have stopped you if he'd really tried, although even I know that stopping you when your mind's made up is impossible! Let me see … oh, yes, Dog is going as well.”

“That is quite a group,” Annie told him.

“We don't have a lot of time to do this, and I've already explored most of the castle. The only place I haven't looked is the south tower, which was locked when I tried to go in.”

“The room that filled with water was in the south tower,” said Annie. “The door was open then.”

“Because the witch wanted you to go in. Captain Everhart locked it after that, so I had to go to him for a key. He offered to accompany us so he could show us around. Are you sure you're up to this? You've been through a lot today.”

“I'm sore—that's all,” said Annie, trying not to show how much the idea of going outside frightened her. The crows had attacked her twice so far today. She didn't know how well she'd stand up to another attack. But she had to go with the group if there was even the smallest chance that Liam might run into one of the witches. “I'm not letting you do this without me.”

“Then we need to head downstairs to that office
you were using. Captain Everhart brought you a surprise.”

“What kind of surprise?” Annie asked.

“You'll see” was all Liam would say.

Annie was still a little unsteady on her feet, and with her hands so sore, she couldn't hold on to the railing very well. When Liam noticed this, he took hold of her elbow and helped her down the stairs. She gave him a grateful look when they reached the bottom. “Watching the princes during this competition has made me appreciate you all the more. You do things naturally that some princes wouldn't even think of doing. Can you imagine Digby helping anyone down the stairs?”

“No, I can't,” said Liam. “But then I also can't imagine him finding a princess as wonderful as you and getting her to agree to marry him.”

“I guess we're both lucky, then!” said Annie, and leaned in for a kiss. Her lips had scarcely touched Liam's when Dog butted the two of them with her head. She barked once, wagged her tail, and started to walk away.

“What's wrong with you?” Liam asked Dog. “Why aren't you talking?”

“Because she can't talk when she's too close to me,” said Annie. “Was there something you wanted to tell us, Dog?”

Dog stopped and turned to look at them, her tongue
lolling from her mouth. “I want you to follow me. Everyone's waiting for you. We have lots to do.”

“Here,” said Liam. “I know how we can get there faster.” Scooping Annie into his arms, he ran down the corridor, banging the door open with his shoulder. Annie was laughing as they entered the room, but her laughter died away when she saw how serious everyone looked. Horace was there with a sling on his arm and a worried expression on his face. Captain Sterling looked solemn, and standing beside him was a man Annie had seen only from a distance.

“Princess Annabelle, this is Captain Everhart,” Liam said, setting her down in front of the man.

“Captain,” Annie said.

“Your Highness,” the captain replied. He bowed, and when Annie held out her hand, he took it and kissed the back before letting it go.

Captain Everhart was older than Captain Sterling by about twenty years, and his gray hair was turning white. Annie was conscious of his scrutiny as Liam turned her toward the table in the middle of the room.

A suit of armor, from armored foot covers to helmet, was laid out on the table's surface, and it all seemed to be her size. “What's this for?” Annie asked, glancing up at Liam.

“It's for you!” Horace announced. He had been standing in the corner, but he stepped forward now and
tapped the helmet with his finger. “This'll keep the crows off you better than anything!”

“The crows won't know it's you if you go outside wearing that. It's a boy's suit of armor that Captain Everhart found,” Liam said. “It's lighter than a man's armor. It may not be the best fit, but it's the closest thing to your size that the captain could find.”

Annie was touched that they'd thought of the armor. Although she had tried to be brave and not show them how much the birds frightened her, she must not have been very convincing. Even thinking about the crows made her panic; facing another attack would be more than she could bear.

Liam laughed. “Think of it as an experience that you can tell our grandchildren about someday.”