The Hidden Glade: Chapter Four
Sonja shows Rael around Kenauste...but tragedy awaits.
“Careful, Sonja. You’re overfilling the pastry.”
Sonja scooped some of the sweetnut paste back into a bowl. “Sorry, Hanna.”
“Are you all right?”
Sonja looked up from the pastry square in front of her. “I’m fine.”
Hanna didn’t look convinced. “You’ve been very distracted today. That’s not at all like you.”
“I’m sorry,” Sonja repeated. She knew Hanna was right, and that she ought to focus on her work for the day, but the glade and the house kept entering her thoughts. She could hardly believe the events of yesterday had taken place.
Lady Adessa had wanted her to investigate the circle. Why?
“When you’re done helping in the kitchen, there are some clothes for you to adjust and one of Lady Adessa’s gowns has a tear in the skirt. It’s one of her favourites too, so she’ll want it mended as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Hanna.”
As Sonja turned back to the sweet pastries, her attention was drawn away again - this time by the girl working quietly alongside her.
“Rael, have you had a look around Kenauste?”
Rael shook her head. “Not yet.”
“We’ve got an hour off later; if you want, I can give you a quick tour.”
Rael hesitated, then nodded once. “I’d like that. Thank you.”
As she placed the mixture of crushed nuts and raisins onto the next square of pastry, Sonja found herself thinking about the shield again. How was the circle on the map connected to the shield, and why was Sonja able to see it when Lady Adessa couldn’t?
Sonja hadn’t looked at the other maps because she’d been so fascinated with that one. What if there were other documents that revealed more about…
The library. Lady Adessa kept several old books in her library. Some would be as old as the map, if not older. Sonja might have been able to look in there during her hour off, except she was going to show Rael around Kenauste. Besides, she would have to ask permission to go to the library first and she wasn’t sure she deserved to go in after her performance today.
She would just have to work extra hard to make up for it.
“Have you heard?” a soft voice asked.
“Heard what?” Isavetta, the head cook, replied without glancing up from the fowl she was preparing.
“The Black Wall might be crumbling.”
Sonja looked up sharply.
Isavetta’s eyes flickered upward briefly, then lowered again. “So what if it is?”
“But don’t you see what that means?” George, the errand boy, said eagerly. “It means we can leave Eraune!”
“Have you forgotten the soldiers that patrol the Black Wall?” Isavetta’s tone was harsh. “If you try to cross, you’ll be killed and if that witch has any sense, she will repair it at once. Someone will have told her about it, you mark my words.”
Visibly upset, George slunk away.
Isavetta glared at the girls. “Well, what are you looking at? Get back to your work!”
Sonja did so, unease creeping inside her. Normally she would have been intrigued by the idea of the Wall crumbling as well, but she couldn’t help but be reminded unpleasantly of a lobster. Once the outer defence was penetrated, the insides were left vulnerable.
“This is where they hold the market,” Sonja said, gesturing to the open square. “Someday I’ll have my own stall there.”
“What would you sell?” asked Rael.
“Clothes. I’d take measurements, make the clothes at home and then bring them to the next market day.”
“What kind of clothes do you make?” Now Rael sounded interested.
“Tunics, shirts and trousers. I can make simple dresses as well, but I don’t have a lot of practice with them.”
Sonja looked at the other girl. “Hanna told me you helped some traders before coming to Ivy House,” she said, keeping her tone light and friendly.
“I did.” Rael hesitated again. She glanced sideways, meeting Sonja’s eyes briefly. She seemed to think for a moment before continuing: “I worked for Lady Medeya Aelis, on the Cadaelis estate. My parents owed Medeya money; when they died, she took me on for a term of five years.”
“You were an indentured servant?”
Rael nodded. “She took an interest in my training as a knifedancer and hired an instructor for me. I performed at her parties and acted as a bodyguard for her children. When the five years were over, she said I could go wherever I wished. I couldn’t think of anywhere, so when the traders asked for my help, I gave it to them.”
But she hadn’t gone back to Kavaan with them.
Rael’s reasons for staying in Eraune were her own business, but if the soldiers patrolling Kenauste found out they might want to know the whole story. And they wouldn’t be kind to her when trying to extract the truth.
“What was it like in Cadaelis?”
“Horrible,” Rael said bluntly. “Medeya’s children liked to pester the servants when they could get away with it. None of us liked them at all.”
Two soldiers were patrolling the edge of the market square. They looked normal enough from a distance, but Sonja felt a shiver pass over her skin when she saw them.
Her eyes followed them as they walked. She couldn’t look away.
“I think the tour’s over,” Rael said. She too was watching the soldiers. “Let’s go back.”
“I feel the same way.”
The two girls spun around and went in the direction of Ivy House. Although the sun was shining, Sonja felt a trickle of ice creep down her spine.
They had just reached the servants’ entrance when Rael stopped, putting out a hand to block Sonja. “What was that?”
“I didn’t hear anything.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Sonja heard the sound of someone crying.
Immediately, the girls burst through the door and nearly collided with Ursula, one of the maids. Her eyes were red, her face flushed with tears.
“Are you all right?” Rael asked, reaching out as if to touch Ursula’s shoulder.
Ursula shook her head, causing more tears to spill. “Something terrible’s just happened. It…it’s Lady Adessa. She was eating the midday meal and then she clutched at her chest and collapsed.” She broke into sobs again.
Sonja’s hands went cold. She couldn’t breathe.
“She’s gone, Sonja.”
