CHAPTER XIII
“YOU SIMPLYMUSTTAKE US TO THE WIZARDS!” MALLORYprotested. “We have come so far! If you tell them who we are, they’ll let us in, I just know it! We’re the girls from Fledgling House!”
Standing before the imposing drawbridge gates, Mallory looked longingly through the wrought-iron bars and toward the palace’s inner ward. It was a strange feeling, she decided.
For the last three days she and her friends had been trying to free themselves from locked doors and stone walls. Now they desperately wanted those things to become part of their new life. With Mary and the other girls standing around her, she returned her gaze to the Minion guard standing on the gates’ opposite sides. His grim expression fostered no optimism among them.
An unusually cold night beset them. To Mallory’s relief, their carriage ride had been uneventful. But that didn’t mean that Lothar’s guards weren’t chasing after them. If they trailed them to the palace, they could surely weave a convincing story about how Mary had abducted the girls for her own purposes. Worse, the winged guards might decide to return them to debtors’ prison. A story told by a brothel madam and eight wayward girls would never stand up against whatever lies Lothar’s prison guards might concoct.
As the girls shivered in the cold, Mallory again looked cravingly beyond the wrought-iron gates. Standing thirty feet high, the twin gates were adorned with huge golden lions, superimposed with equally golden broadswords. The palace lying beyond looked warm and inviting. Bright torchlight highlighted the walls, turrets, and manicured foliage.
Warriors of each sex roamed the shadowy grounds and the barbicans. The warriors seemed to be in some type of panic. Some were running about and shouting out orders, while others carrying various hand tools were being quickly ushered inside the palace. The frantic scene would prove unnerving to anyone-to say nothing of eight young girls who had never visited this place, nor seen creatures like these.
Suddenly Mallory slipped a little. Reaching out, Ariana helped her stand upright again. What strength Mallory once possessed had been largely depleted by the prison escape. She was so hungry and tired she could barely remain conscious. If only she could display some use of the craft, then the winged creatures might believe her. But calling the craft had become impossible for them all.
From the gates’ other side, the Minion guard, Jannicus, glowered disparagingly at the ragtag group.
“I have my orders!” he said. “No one is to be allowed entrance. There has been a disturbance in the palace. I suggest that you return in a few days. By then it might be possible to grant your request.”
Defiant, Mallory glared at the gigantic creature. Aside from the beasts that had carried the girls and Martha away from Fledgling House, she had never seen anything remotely like him. But if they served and protected the castle, they had to be the wizards’ friends.
Suddenly Mallory had taken all she could bear. They had come too far and suffered too much to be stopped now, a mere hundred or so paces from their goal. Grabbing the gate with both hands, she started to shout.
“Let us in!” she screamed with what meager strength remained. “Let us in! Let us in! Let us in!” Soon the other seven desperate girls took up the chant.
“Let us in! Let us in! Let us in!” they chimed, all of them jumping up and down at once.
It quickly became apparent that the girls weren’t about to stop shouting anytime soon. Scowling, Jannicus backed away warily and unsheathed his dreggan. Human children can be so unpredictable, he thought. Minion young know better than to behave so rudely.
He didn’t want to harm them, but he had his orders. Even his shiny sword did nothing to discourage them. Finally realizing how ridiculous he looked, standing there with his sword drawn against eight young girls, he angrily sheathed his weapon. As he wondered what to do, Jannicus cast a helpless look toward the Minion guard stationed nearby. His equally perplexed companion only shrugged his shoulders.
“Let us in! Let us in! Let us in!” the girls screamed.
Just then he sensed someone running up behind him. Turning, he found himself standing face-to-face with Ox.
“What go on here?” Ox shouted angrily, trying to make his voice heard above the din. By this time the insistent girls had climbed onto the gates and begun collectively rattling them with everything they had as they kept up their relentless chant. They soon caught the attention of more warriors behind the walls. The embarrassing ruckus was gaining momentum.
Blushing noticeably, Jannicus clicked his heels. “I, uh…well, you see, sir…”
Growling, Ox shoved Jannicus out of the way and unsheathed his dreggan. Being careful not to harm the girls, he banged the dreggan’s blade loudly against the iron gate.
“Quiet!” he screamed.
The girls finally stilled. Shaking his head, Ox walked closer.
“Why you want enter palace grounds?” he asked angrily. “This not be good time!”
“We are the trainees from Fledgling House!” Mallory said weakly. “Wemust see the wizards!”
A strange look came over Ox’s face. “You be from Fledgling House?” he asked incredulously. Ox’s expression turned skeptical, and he rubbed his chin. He inched closer.
“What be your name?” he asked.
“Mallory,” she answered hopefully. “What’s yours?”
Mallory’s forthrightness surprised him. He scowled again.
“I be Ox,” he answered simply. “If you be from Fledgling House, then who there be your master?” he asked.
Mallory beamed. “His name was Duncan!” she said.
Ox pursed his lips. “He be alive or dead?” he asked, testing Mallory further.
A sad look crowded its way onto her face. “He’s dead,” she answered softly. “We all loved him.”
Starting to believe, Ox narrowed his eyes. “And matron?” he asked. “What be her name?”
“Martha!” several girls cried out in unison.
Ox’s jaw fell, and he turned quickly to glare at Jannicus. “Let girls in!” he bellowed.
“But sir…!” Jannicus protested. “We have strict orders not to allow-”
“Unless you want go on permanent report, you let girls in!” Ox protested. “I take all responsibility!”
After clicking his heels, Jannicus unlocked the heavy gates, then swung them wide. The eager girls didn’t need to be asked twice. They poured through quickly with Mary following along behind.
When Ox saw Mary, he scowled. Placing one hand on her shoulder, he stopped her.
“Who you be?” he asked.
Mallory reached to touch Ox’s arm. Again surprised by her boldness, Ox turned to look at her.
“That’s Mary,” Mallory said. “It’s all right-she’s a friend.”
Finally deciding, Ox grunted. “Very well,” he said. “She come, too.” His stern demeanor resurfaced. Scanning their faces, he glowered into every pair of eyes.
“Girls bequiet!” he warned. “You scream no more!”
“We’ll be quiet, I promise,” Mallory answered. We’re finally here, she thought. Hardly able to contain her happiness, she smiled at Ariana.
Ariana beamed back. “You did it, Mallory!” she whispered. “We made it, after all!”
Ox grunted again, sternly reinforcing his demand for quiet. Knowing better than to argue, Mallory and Ariana eagerly nodded. As the gate doors squeaked closed behind them, the huge warrior started leading the wide-eyed group toward the palace lights.
MARY AND THE GIRLS HAD BEEN ORDERED TO SIT IN A ROWof nine elaborate chairs set alongside a hallway wall. Armed with curved swords and shiny golden pikes, three winged warriors stood guard over them, watching their every move. Closing her eyes, Mallory laid her head back against the chair’s plush upholstery.
She luxuriated in the warmth. She could scarcely remember the last time she had been comfortable. It must have been a different place, a different life. She looked down at her tattered school dress. Once it had been new, and had stood for something. She had been proud to wear it. But sitting here in the imposing majesty of this place, the dress’s poor condition embarrassed her.
Gazing down the row, she saw that the other girls looked as bad as she. She spat onto her palms and rubbed some of the dirt from her face. Then she used her fingers to comb the knots from her hair. There could be no telling who might come to them, and she wanted to look as presentable as she could.
