The False Prince (5 page)

E
rrol was calling my name when I returned to the room, sweaty and tired. I hadn’t been gone long, just enough to have a look over Conner’s grounds for myself. Still, I wondered how long he’d been calling for me.

“Must have fallen asleep,” I called back to him, splashing some water with my hand. “What do you need?”

“Your water must be cold by now,” he said. “May I come refill it?”

The water was cold. But it was also perfectly clean, and I was filthier than when he’d left me.

“The water is fine,” I said, undressing as quickly and quietly as I could. “I won’t be too much longer.”

“The other boys left their baths long ago.”

“Yes, but they were probably cleaning themselves while I was sleeping. Give me a few moments.”

I dove into the water and scrubbed everything that would show outside my clothes. A thick stack of new clothes from Errol waited for me beside the tub. They were a gentleman’s clothes and probably cost Conner a fair amount of silver to purchase for all three of us. Mine had a linen shirt that laced up the front somehow, a soft leather half-sleeved vest with carved bone buttons, long linen pants, and a pair of calf-high boots. I didn’t think much of my skin would show.

That was only my first bath, because after I emerged from the room, Errol inspected my arms above the sleeves and observed that I still smelled like an orphanage. He insisted on scrubbing me the second time.

“The water is freezing,” he said. “You like your bath this way?”

“It’s colder now,” I said grumpily. “And I never said I preferred it, only that it was fine.”

Errol’s gentle manners were not reflected in his bathing assistance. It surprised me how much dirt came off the second time. While he busied himself with a brush on the bottom of my feet, I looked at my fingernails. “I don’t remember them ever being this color,” I said, then yanked my foot away. “That tickles. Are you finished yet? I don’t like having a man help me with my bath.”

Errol grinned. “Shall I have a woman sent in?”

I laughed and told Errol I wouldn’t need anyone’s help for my future baths. “Obviously, Master Conner has a different standard of clean than the orphanage did. Now that I know you want the entire body washed, I’ll make the necessary adjustments.”

After we finished, I sent Errol out while I re-dressed. I had to admit that he’d done a good job. It was possible I’d never been so clean.

“Where are my old clothes?” I asked Errol after I’d finished dressing.

“Off to be burnt, I’d guess. They’re not fit for much else.”

“Get them,” I said firmly, and then added, “Just as they were before, Errol. Exactly as they were.”

Errol considered that for a moment, then said, “I can get them back, I suppose.”

“If you do, I’ll see that you get a silver coin for the service.”

Errol tilted his head. “Where would you get it?”

“That’s a small detail and my concern, not yours. But it would buy months off your debt to Conner.” I widened my arms. “These clothes aren’t mine and they’re not me. I suspect I’ll want those other clothes back in two weeks.”

Errol shrugged. “I’ll see what I can do. Now come. The master is expecting you at supper.”

Conner had bathed and shaved as well. He cleaned up nicely, now looking more like a noble and less like a road-weary traveler. Roden and Tobias were already seated when I walked in. This small dining room appeared to be reserved for everyday meals and more intimate affairs. It was clearly designed to impress whoever ate here with an idea of Conner’s wealth. I couldn’t help but do the math on how much a clever thief might earn from stealing a polished silver fork or a gold-rimmed goblet, or a single crystal hanging in beads from the sconces on the wall.

“Sit, please,” Conner said, motioning to the plate at his left. Tobias was at his right, and Roden was beside Tobias. Roden was clearly distressed that I had been seated closer to Conner than him.

As soon as I sat, servants began bringing in the food. They started with cheese as soft as butter and fruit in the prime of ripeness. At the orphanage, we got the leftovers from the kitchens of the wealthy after they were too wilted or brown to be served at their tables, usually within minutes of the scraps turning to mold. Conner was served first, but he waited for the rest of us to be served before he began. Although I was served second, I assumed I had to follow the same guideline. It was a horrible temptation to ignore Conner’s example and begin eating.

My senses were overwhelmed by glorious smells on my plate and others coming from the kitchen. “Do you eat like this all the time?” I asked enthusiastically.

“All the time,” Conner said. “Would you like a life of this luxury?”

“This exceeds any expectation I might have had for my life,” I answered.

“It’s a humble meal compared to a king’s feast,” Conner said.

“But who’d need a king’s feast if they had all this?” Roden asked as his plate was served. Then he looked at Conner, knowing he’d made a mistake but not sure exactly what it was. He searched for the words to correct himself, and failed.

Tobias took his opening. “I’d need a king’s feast.”

A girl reached over my shoulder and set a bowl of burnt orange–colored soup in front of me. She had dark brown hair pulled into a single braid down her back. She wasn’t necessarily beautiful, but something about her was definitely interesting. Her eyes fascinated me the most, warm and brown, but haunted, maybe afraid. She frowned when she caught me looking at her, and returned to serving the others.

“Thank you,” I said, getting her attention again. “What kind of soup is it?”

I waited for her answer to my question, but none came. Maybe in Conner’s home, the servants were not permitted to speak at his table. I turned away quickly, hoping I hadn’t gotten her into trouble.

Conner prattled on, telling us what we could expect to eat for dinner that evening: crisp bread still steaming from the oven, glazed roasted duck with meat so tender it could be cut with a spoon, fruit pudding chilled from an underground cooler. I heard him, but continued to watch the girl as she refilled drinks for each of us. When she leaned to refill Tobias’s cup, another servant bumped her with his shoulder, and a little water splashed onto Tobias’s lap. Conner glared at her, irritated. I opened my mouth to defend her, but she handed him another napkin and hurried from the room before anything could be said.

When we were all dished up, Conner picked up the spoon at the top of his plate and said, “This is your soup spoon. It is for the soup and only for the soup.”

Following his direction, I grabbed my spoon, trying to hold it the same way he did. It was an awkward, uncomfortable position. Maybe gentlemen had to feed themselves this way. Poverty-stricken orphans didn’t. I was used to holding my spoon the same way I might grip an ax.

“You eat with your left hand?” Conner asked me. “That’s unacceptable. Can you do it with your right?”

“Can you do it with your left?” I countered.

Conner sounded offended. “No.”

“Yet you ask me to switch to my right.”

“Just do it.”

I switched hands, but made no attempt to imitate Conner’s delicate grip with this hand. Instead, with my ax grip, I went straight for the soup.

“No, Sage,” Conner said. “Scoop the soup into your spoon by pushing the liquid away from you, like this.” He demonstrated, and added, “That way, if you spill, it will go onto the table, not onto your lap.”

The last bowl of soup I’d eaten had been consumed by my holding both sides of the bowl and drinking it as from a cup. My right hand was sloppy, and as soon as Conner looked away, I switched back to my left. He noticed but said nothing.

Conner corrected Roden on how to hold his spoon: “It’s not a hammer, boy.” He lectured Tobias on leaning over his bowl: “Bring the food to your mouth, not the mouth to your food.” But he said nothing else to me about manners. I suspected he’d given up.

Following the soup, we had some bread and more cheese. Conner demonstrated the use of the cheese slicer and bread knives. I thought both of those were obvious, so I didn’t pay much attention. Roden and Tobias seemed captivated.

The girl who had caught my attention before returned to clear our soup bowls and the bread and cheese while other servants brought us the main course. She frowned at me again, which bothered me because I didn’t see what I possibly could have done so soon to irritate her this much.

“I’m already full,” Tobias said.

“It’s considered rude to say that,” Conner said. “A host plans to serve his guests throughout the entire meal and does not want to think that he is forcing half his meal down their throats.”

Tobias apologized and said his dinner smelled good, which Conner also seemed to think was a little rude. I didn’t think Tobias meant to be rude. It’s just that the way he said certain things made him sound haughty.

I was plenty hungry, even after the first two courses. It had been nearly two days since I’d eaten anything substantial, and months since I’d ever eaten enough to consider myself full.

Food is considered a luxury in Carthyan orphanages. They operate on whatever money an orphan inherited upon the deaths of his parents, which inevitably is little more than the shirt on his back after debts were settled. Private donations come in from time to time by wealthy citizens hoping to buy forgiveness for their favorite sins. And, like what had just happened to the three of us, an orphan was sometimes purchased from the orphanage by a wealthy family to be a servant until his debt was worked off.

Since there was so little to eat, we learned to eat fast and to eat selfishly. Which was why I hadn’t understood Mrs. Turbeldy’s anger about my stealing that roast yesterday. It was meant for all of us.

The final course was dessert, a cherry tart with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on it. The same girl returned who had served me before, but this time I gave her no extra notice. Even if she had difficulties here, I had plenty of my own to worry about. I needed to focus on Conner, who had yet to reveal the worst of his intentions for us.

“Leave the room now,” Conner ordered all his servants. “I won’t need you again until we’ve finished our supper.”

When the last of the servants closed the doors, Conner set his knife and fork down and clasped his hands together.

“We’ve come to it at last,” he said, looking over each of us carefully. “I am ready to tell you my plan.”

A
n hour seemed to pass before Conner continued. When he finally did, it was in hushed tones, as if he expected the servants’ ears were pressed against the doors of our room.

“Some of you may believe you’ve already guessed my plan,” he began. “But I assure you it is not treason. Indeed, in a roundabout way, it may prevent treason in King Eckbert’s court. Carthya is on the brink of civil war and very few citizens are aware of it. A major change is coming to this country.”

“What is it?” Tobias asked. We all had that same question, but Conner’s glare reflected his irritation at being interrupted.

“I will come to that in a moment,” he said. “Do you remember what I told you about Veldergrath? He has long planned for this day and even now has begun to amass those loyal to him so that he can force the rest of us to give him the king’s crown. But other regents are also aspiring to the crown. They are quietly gathering their supporters. In two weeks, war will erupt in Carthya. It will split the country along lines of loyalty or alliances and may pit families against each other, friends against friends, and town against town. Thousands will inevitably die in that war. Avenia, the country of your origin, Sage, is watching closely, waiting for an opportunity to strike. They are hungry for our rich farmlands and the minerals our mountains provide. When Carthya is weakest and most divided, Avenia will strike, and swallow up Carthya with the force of a tidal wave. Avenia is a cesspool at best. In a generation we’ll be no better.” Conner tilted his head at me. “Don’t pretend to look horrified at my words, Sage. You know my description of Avenia is true.”

“It is,” I quietly agreed.

“Then you hope to prevent the civil war,” Tobias said. “But you said yourself that you could never hope to become king.”

“Do you remember this morning when I asked how many heirs King Eckbert has?” Conner said. “What was your answer, Sage?”

“Two. But as Tobias pointed out, I was wrong. There is only the crown prince Darius still alive. Eckbert’s younger son was lost at sea.”

“The younger son was named Jaron. Since coming to court, I’ve been told many stories about him, some of which could not possibly be true with the castle still standing in one piece.”

“I heard he set fire to the throne room as a child,” Tobias said.

“And he challenged the king of Mendenwal to a duel of honor when he was ten years old,” Roden added. “He lost of course, but not by much, so the story goes.”

“We’ve all heard the stories,” I snapped. “What’s the point?”

“Let me finish,” Conner said. “Four years ago, when he was nearly eleven years of age, Jaron was to be sent north to the country of Bymar, always a friend to Carthya. He was sent there not only to be educated abroad but, frankly, to stop embarrassing the king and queen. However, on the way, his ship was attacked by pirates. There were no survivors. Pieces of the boat washed ashore for months, but Jaron’s body was never found.”

“I did hear about this once,” I said. “Avenia was accused of hiring the pirates. If King Eckbert had any proof, he would have gone to war.”

“At least you know about your own country,” Conner said. “It probably was Avenia; piracy is certainly their style. Some say the pirates have more power there than the Avenian king. But Eckbert couldn’t rule out the possibility that as a border country to Avenia, Gelyn had hired them. Both countries have easy access to the waters where Jaron’s ship went down.”

“My father followed that news carefully,” I said. “He didn’t want war, no matter what else was sacrificed.”

“If he was still alive, my father would have been honored to fight on behalf of Carthya,” Tobias said. “I’m not the son of a coward.”

It would have felt good to defend my father’s honor by punching Tobias in the face. But although my father was not a coward, he would have avoided being in a war at any cost. That fact was one of the last things he and I ever fought about.

“Three regents have made the trip to Isel, the seaport town from which Prince Jaron’s ship launched. They seek any proof of his death. Or his life.”

“His life?” Roden sat forward in his chair. “Is it possible Jaron’s alive?”

“A body has never been found, Roden. But if Prince Jaron were alive, then he would be next in line for the throne. Not Veldergrath or any other noble could claim it, and Carthya would be saved from civil war. Then Avenia would not attack.”

“But it’s irrelevant,” Tobias said. “Eckbert and Erin rule now. Eventually, Crown Prince Darius will take the throne.”

Conner leaned in closer to us. “And this is the greatest secret of your lives thus far. They are dead, all three of the royal family. The few of us who know the truth have said the royal family is on a diplomatic mission to Gelyn. Meanwhile, their bodies secretly lie far beneath the castle.”

We sat there, beyond shock and too horrified to breathe. The news that not just one but all three royals were dead was impossible to bear. My stomach grew queasy at the thought of it, but I pushed those feelings down.

“How did they die?” I whispered.

“Murder. We believe they were administered some sort of poison at supper. They never awoke.”

“Any suspects?” Roden asked.

Conner dismissed his question with the wave of his hand. “Don’t be naïve. Eckbert had many enemies, and frankly I wouldn’t trust most of his friends. I believe all three family members were intended victims, clearing the path for a noble to become king.”

“So was it Veldergrath?” I asked.

“A lot of regents suspect him, but there’s no evidence of it,” Conner said. “We shall see who puts themselves forward to be king, and then judge.”

“And you hope to find Prince Jaron and stop the nobles from fighting over the throne,” Tobias said.

“Not exactly,” Conner said. “Prince Jaron is long dead and I can prove it.”

“How?” I asked.

Conner smiled. “I’m afraid for now I must ask you to trust me on that. It’s my secret and mine alone. However, since the regents are unaware of my proof, their trip to Isel is only to end any official doubt before another king is chosen. That is where you come in. Because you see, many Carthyans have small hopes that Jaron is alive. Nobody has seen him for nearly four years. He would be fourteen today, about the same age as you boys. Surely the three of you have noticed certain physical similarities between one another.” He paused a moment and his smile widened. “You also have similarities in appearance to Prince Jaron as he might look today. My plan is simple, really. I intend to convince the court that Prince Jaron is one of you.”