The False Prince (17 page)

T
he night passed without incident. If Tobias and Roden knew I’d snuck out during the night, neither of them mentioned it the next morning. After breakfast, Mott entered the room and said Conner had new plans for us that day.

He carried something in his arms, which he unwrapped and set on an easel in front of us. It was a painting of a boy standing beside a tall hedge in a springtime garden. He had light brown hair with darker streaks underneath, a mischievous smile, and a hint of trouble in his bright green eyes. None of us had his innocence, his naïveté.

“Is that Jaron?” Roden asked.

“The last known picture of him,” Mott said. “Painted more than five years ago, when the prince was nine years old.”

I couldn’t help but stare, comparing myself to every detail of the painting. Roden and Tobias were studying it as carefully, no doubt doing the same thing. Each of us had features that looked similar to the prince’s, but Roden groaned in disgust. “Sage looks more like him than Tobias and I. Conner led me to believe just the opposite.”

“Do you see a resemblance?” Mott asked me.

I shrugged. “My face is longer, and my hair is the wrong color. If anyone compares me to that picture, the regents won’t believe I’m him.”

This brought on even louder complaints from Roden, as well as a few objections from Tobias, that none of us was enough like the picture to be convincing.

Mott shushed us, then continued, “Conner’s plan this morning is for each of you to undergo whatever transformation you can to look like the prince. Your hair will be cut to match his — Sage, we have a hair dye that may work for you. You will each be measured and clothes will be prepared for the one Conner chooses. By the time one of you is chosen tomorrow morning, he will look like the prince.”

While Roden and Tobias got their hair cut, Errol led me outside to work the dye through my hair.

“It will look like I’ve used hair dye,” I said. “And what about when my hair grows back into its color again?”

“Master Conner believes you can use less and less dye each time,” Errol said. “Within a year, it will appear as if your hair has naturally changed color.”

“He thinks of everything,” I said without any hint of admiration.

I had no mirror to see myself once the dye was washed out sometime later, but Errol smiled when he looked at me and seemed pleased. “It’s amazing how that one thing has brought your appearance so much closer to the prince’s. I’m certain Conner will choose you. Most of us servants believe that.”

Which would have been comforting if we hadn’t passed Conner in his office with Roden as we walked back in. Roden was kneeling before Conner at his desk. His hair was styled just as Jaron’s had been and he looked very nice. If there were inconsistencies between his look and Jaron’s, they could easily be explained by the changes in a face over time.

“I am exceptionally impressed,” Conner was saying to him. “You have surprised me, Roden, and pleased me. Tobias, any similarities between you and the prince have vanished. Do not consider your chances of being chosen tomorrow to be good.”

“No, sir,” Tobias said. I hadn’t even seen him in the room. He must have been beyond our vantage point.

“Ah, Sage,” Conner said, noticing us at the door. “It seems that once again you’re behind the others. I still find myself looking at an orphan, albeit one with the same hair color as the prince.”

“I am your prince,” I told Conner, then walked on past his office.

Errol caught up to me and whispered, “Perhaps I was wrong to have said that Conner would choose you. You might be too late.”

With my hair cut and styled an hour later, I gasped when Errol handed me a mirror. Errol’s wide eyes hinted at his equal amazement. “The resemblance is so strong, you could almost be Jaron’s twin,” he said.

I couldn’t stop staring. Was this really me? I was too accustomed to hiding my eyes behind my hair and feeling dirty and grimy. Had Conner known this was possible when he first took me? Had he seen through all that?

“Take me to see Conner,” I said.

“You walk differently,” Errol observed as he followed me down the hallway a moment later. “You are different, Sage.”

“Let’s hope Conner sees things the same way.”

Conner’s office door, which was usually open, was closed this time. “I think we should come back,” Errol said.

I rolled my eyes and knocked on the door.

“Enter,” Conner said from his office.

I opened the door. Mott was sitting on the chair in front of Conner at his desk, but turned to see who had come. He stood when I entered, as did Conner.

Conner said nothing for several seconds. His eyes scanned me up and down, and his mouth hung open.

“It can’t be,” he said. “More than I’d hoped for.”

“I told him he could be the prince’s twin,” Errol said.

Conner’s eyes flashed at Errol. “Get out.”

Errol nodded and vanished from the doorway. He’d made a mistake by openly acknowledging that he knew about the plan. It didn’t matter that Conner was the one who’d told them about it in the first place.

“Kneel, please,” Conner said. “I wish to study you better.”

“Come as close to me as you’d like,” I answered. “Study me here, on my feet.”

“You won’t kneel?”

“Would a prince?”

Conner raised his voice. “You’re not a prince until I say so.”

“I don’t need you to say so, sir. As you see me standing here, I am the prince of Carthya.” I turned to walk out of the room, but Cregan flew past me through the doorway.

“Master Conner,” he said in breathless words. “You were right. Veldergrath is coming.”

“How far away did you see him?” Mott asked.

“Several miles off, but he wasn’t alone. He has an entire company of men with him.”

“Soldiers?”

“Not in uniform. But they’re armed.”

Conner nodded. I could almost see plans forming in his mind like storm clouds gathering. “He wants to intimidate us, not fight. So we must welcome him in with all hospitality. Get word to the staff to prepare a meal large enough for him and his company. And remind them not to speak of my plans unless they all want to hang for treason.” Then he turned to Mott. “Find the three boys. Hide them in my secret tunnels.”

“I know about them, sir,” I said. “I can take us there.”

Conner looked surprised only for a moment, then he nodded and said, “Sage, you must find Roden and Tobias and hide in the deepest of my tunnels. I don’t need to tell you what will happen if you are found. Mott, go to their room. Destroy any trace of the boys’ presence here.”

I began to leave, but Conner said, “Wait!” He opened the bottom drawer of his desk and withdrew a small locked box decorated in emeralds. “Take this with you. Do not open it and do not let it get into Veldergrath’s hands.”

Cregan, Mott, and I each ran our separate ways. In the library, I found Tobias and Roden, who stood when I entered. “You look so … different,” Tobias said. “I admit I couldn’t see the resemblance to the prince before, but now —”

“Veldergrath is coming,” I said. “You must come with me at once.”

“What’s the hurry?” Tobias said, putting his book away. “Conner can declare you or Roden as prince and resolve his plan today.”

As they followed me upstairs, I answered them. “Veldergrath is the last person in this kingdom who wants to see Prince Jaron return. If he finds us, we’re all dead.”

I
led Tobias and Roden to an area of the tunnels I had discovered on my last trip. They went deeper than any others and, in one area, placed us beneath Farthenwood’s main entrance. The rock foundation of the house was showing its age. Using small gaps in the mortar, we had a limited view outside.

Since finding the tunnels, I’d felt Farthenwood was designed for a paranoid man who expected enemies to enter his walls. If Conner’s father had built this house, he had no doubt made his son just as paranoid.

From where we stood, we could see the approach of Veldergrath and his men. They were at least fifty in number, and each carried a sword. But they were still too far away for us to tell which of them was Veldergrath.

“It’s an act of war for Veldergrath to do this,” Tobias said.

“Only if Conner doesn’t invite him in, which he’s going to do,” Roden said.

“Conner thinks the army is only for intimidation,” I said. “We have no means to fight him, so, hopefully, Veldergrath only intends this to be a show of power, maybe to persuade Conner to join him if Carthya does fall to civil war.”

“If Veldergrath wants the throne this badly, he won’t give it up easily,” Roden said. “Whomever Conner declares as prince will eventually have to face Veldergrath.”

A moment of silence followed. That idea didn’t appeal to any of us. Finally, Tobias said, “If you hadn’t already forced me out of the plan, Sage, I would’ve withdrawn right now.”

Ignoring Tobias, Roden angled forward to get a better look. “That’s got to be him,” Roden said. “There in the center.”

It was obvious by his fine clothes and the men who surrounded him that this was Veldergrath. He had hair the color of midnight, which he wore pulled behind his head so tightly that I wondered how he could blink. His face was constructed of hard angles and long lines. I tried to imagine him as king of Carthya. If a person could be judged solely on appearances, this man was a tyrant.

Conner walked out to Veldergrath, and they greeted each other with courteous bows. “My old friend,” Conner called out, loudly enough that we were able to hear him. “To what do I owe the honor of your visit?”

“I’ve heard troubling news about you, old friend.” The way Veldergrath voiced “old friend,” it was clear he considered Conner anything but that. “May we speak in private?”

“Certainly. In anticipation of your arrival, I’ve had my chef make up some soup for your traveling companions. They must be hungry.”

“Perhaps we should eat first,” Veldergrath said. “I anticipate you’ll feel less hospitable to me after we talk business.”

With that, Conner led Veldergrath and a few men inside, while the rest dismounted as Conner’s servants assisted them in caring for their horses.

“Why does Conner help them?” Roden asked. “I’d send them on their way.”

“I’d give them soup,” Tobias said, then grinned. “I’d use the rottenest meat in my stores and hope they all got sick on it.”

“It’s diplomacy,” I said, irritated they couldn’t see that. “It’s all Conner can do right now, and for all of our sakes, let’s hope it works. C’mon.”

They followed me up another bend in the tunnels to the main floor. We were near a secret door behind a tapestry in Conner’s office, where they were certain to have their private meeting. Although their voices would be muffled, we could hear them from where we stood.

Tobias whispered, “If they eat first, it’ll be a while.”

So we waited. It was impossible to determine the passing of time from here, although with the sting in my back and ache in my legs, it probably felt longer than it really was. Tobias and Roden wanted to sit, but I reminded them that any position they took now, they would have to maintain after Conner and Veldergrath entered, or risk making a noise that would give us away. So we all stood in silence.

After a very long time, we heard Conner’s voice as he entered the office. “I always feel bad news is better handled on a full stomach. Don’t you agree?”

“It’s only bad news if you’re up to something you shouldn’t be.” My fists clenched at Veldergrath’s arrogance. Even if he was correct in his suspicions, Veldergrath wasn’t king yet and had no right to question Conner.

We heard the squeak of Conner’s chair as he sat, and his invitation for Veldergrath to sit as well. Then Conner said, “You should explain yourself. Am I accused of doing something wrong?”

“The betrothed princess was here for dinner last night, correct?”

“Yes. She is a lovely young woman.”

“A bit distressed, though, at having heard news about the deaths of the king, queen, and Prince Darius.”

“She heard it only as a rumor.”

Veldergrath huffed. “A rumor you and I both know to be fact. Obviously, you could not confirm or deny that to her, but she told me something else you said. Something that I find remarkable. You told her that Prince Jaron may be alive.”

“I believe he is.”

“We’ve sent three regents to Isel to determine this. Have you heard any news from them?”

“No.”

“Then how have you come to this stunning conclusion?”

Conner hesitated a moment, then said, “Old friend, you seem distressed at the possibility. Don’t you see what a great advantage it would be to the kingdom if Prince Jaron were alive? Eckbert’s line would continue and Carthya would be saved from certain war. Surely, there could be no better news, yet you don’t appear to welcome it.”

“Er, of course.” Veldergrath seemed to be taken by surprise, but he recovered quickly. “Of course I hope the prince is alive, but you and I both know how impossible that is. My question is not whether we should hope for that news, but how you have come to be so certain of it?”

“Obviously, an accusation follows this question, so why don’t we move straight to it.”

“As you wish,” Veldergrath said. “Master Conner, I’m told you had a sword made, a replica of the one Prince Jaron used to carry.”

“It was an imitation, not a replica. Sadly, I’ve recently lost it, or I could show it to you. I had it made, intending it as a gift for the queen’s next birthday, in honor of her lost son.”

“There’s more. I’m told in the previous week, you scoured the orphanages of Carthya and even collected a few boys. Why is that?”

“Indentured field laborers. My crops are planted and I needed them.”

“Where are they?”

“Ran away the first time my back was turned. If you know of their whereabouts, please tell me and I will have them punished.” Lies fell from his lips as gracefully as raindrops from a cloud.

“There’s one last thing. You sat with the king’s family at supper the night they died.”

“Many regents did.”

“But you were given the honor of pouring their drinks.”

Conner’s voice remained calm, despite Veldergrath’s clear insinuation that Conner was the one who had poisoned them. “And you dished up their pudding, sir. Is there a point to these questions?”

“Perhaps not. Are you aware that there is something missing from the residential quarters of the castle, a box covered with emeralds?”

My fingers rubbed over those emeralds. Conner must have stolen this box from the king and queen, either shortly before or shortly after their death. I didn’t know what was in it, but whatever this box contained, it was probably going to be used as proof that one of us was Prince Jaron.

“You ask that as if you think I have it,” Conner said.

“I’m certain that you’d never steal from the king, even a dead one,” Veldergrath said. “But we have friends who are less certain of your character. So to appease the other nobles, who are suspicious of you, I ask your permission to search Farthenwood.”

Conner laughed. “An estate of this size and you hope to find an emerald-covered box?”

“A box, or a prince. Do I have your permission?”

“Several of your men are rough-looking. They will frighten my staff.”

“No harm will befall any innocents here.” Veldergrath’s insertion of the word
innocents
was calculated. “That is my promise.”

Conner’s voice was grim as he spoke. “Do what you will, Veldergrath. Waste your time in my dusty corners and crowded cellars if you must. You’ll find nothing.”

We didn’t dare move until after Veldergrath had left the room. Then Tobias turned to me and hissed, “You know these tunnels. Are they safe?”

All I could do was shrug. I didn’t know.