She Sings at Dawn

IX. First Findings (Part Two)

I help push the chair back into place. It's gained another shoe outline, but I'm hoping no one will read too carefully into it. My gaze now falls on the door. That's when I realize we have a problem.

"How are we going to get out?" I whisper.

"No clue. I thought you had that figured out."

At least Sigvard isn't here. He'd throw a tantrum, and that's the last thing we need. Right now, we need innovation.

"The guards are probably on the other side of the door. I suppose we should've figured out a distraction that would occupy them longer."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. They wouldn't leave the door unguarded for long, no matter what emergency we come up with."

"True." I lean against the windowsill, arms crossed over the journal. An idea pops into my head. "We can leave through the window."

Benno's eyes flick between me and the curtains covering the glass. He pushes the mesh aside, a crease forming in his brow. "That's a two story plummet to the ground below. It may actually be safer if we're discovered."

I twist the lock and open the window to poke my head out. An overhang runs along the roof all the way to a tree at the palace's corner.

"If we walk our hands along the overhang, we can lower ourselves into a collection of bushes near the front gardens," I say.

Slowly, Benno nods. "It's worth a try."

I start to climb out the window when I hear voices on the other side of the door. The lock scrapes open, and Benno yanks me to the ground. I crawl under the desk, squeezing past the massive chair. I press myself against the wood, hugging my knees and the journal to my hammering chest.

"You say the ledger is gone?" It's the hushed voice of Duke Von Stein, one of the leading members of the Royal Court.

"Nowhere," Uncle Rothbart says. "I've looked for it all week. All the palace finances are gone."

I glance at Benno, who's squished beside me. Only his eyebrows move, pulled taught on his forehead.

"It can't just disappear into thin air," the duke says. "It should be in here." Papers and books rustle above. From where I'm hidden, I see brown boots approach the bookcase. I hold my breath.

Don't look down.

"What about this?"

"No," Uncle Rothbart says. "It's a brown, leather bound book with the Sar on the cover." The Sar, meaning the symbol of the kingdom's currency.

A set of black boots pace behind the desk. My face freezes in a cringe. More papers flip, just like my stomach.

"Has anything else gone missing?" the duke asks. He's still by the bookcase. Every so often, I hear the thump of a book being thrust into the wall.

The papers hesitate overhead. "No," uncle says.

Benno's face suddenly scrunches up. My heartbeat quickens to a million miles an hour. He's going to sneeze. His head tilts back, eyes closing, mouth parting, inhaling a deep breath...

His face jolts to his elbow in a silent sneeze. I exhale, practically crumpling with relief. I don't know how he managed to quiet the noise, and frankly, I don't care.

"What is that draft?" Uncle Rothbart asks. The black boots step to the window, and the glass clatters as my uncle closes it. "This is the second time I've found that window open."

"Perhaps it's the servants," the duke says.

"I've already asked them. They said that they always kept it closed, as per orders."