Towers [BOOK ONE]

Chapter Four

It was still sweetly dark out, and the dim sky surrounded me like a gossamer veil as I slipped away. Everything was very silent. No birds sang. Nothing stirred.

If only I could have left a note. But I had never learned to read or write. Emmy could; she and her mother were among the few people in our village with that talent. I can't ask her to write the note for me, I told myself, because then she'd know that I was going to the castle. She'd try to stop me.

Dessa was more important than a note.

"I can do anything," I said softly. "Anything I set my mind to." Even travel the kingdom from end to end, alone, on foot. Even stand before Queen Rapunzel and convince her to stop building towers.

A cold wind blew, and I shivered, pulling my coat tighter around myself. The top button was missing, and the icy air snaked down the neck and chilled my whole body.

I whispered a nursery rhyme. Perhaps the words would warm me, thawing my numb, frozen mind.

"Blue-jay wanders,
Ever wild,
Heaven's daughter,
Nature's child."

The blue, white, and black feather in my hair brushed against my pale cheek. I clung to the comfort it gave me and forged my way onward.

~~~

I walked all day. The wind calmed down a bit around dusk--and yet when I heard it shouting my name, I was certain that I had to be imagining it.

"Bird! Bird!"

I turned, my hair fluttering in front of my face. Two figures were coming towards me from the way I'd come, picking their way through the snow. The sunlight had grown dim, but I could make out the flapping ends of Channing's scarf and Emmy's two braids. Channing was dragging the sled behind him.

My heart sank. They've found me out. Nervously, I braided a lock of my brown hair. Ought I to try and run? No chance. Channing has always been faster than me. I trotted towards them, determined not to let their words sway me. They'll never persuade me to turn back.

Emmy's eyes were pools of sadness and hurt. Channing's face was a mask of anger.

"You've practically driven Mother and Father mad with worry," he said, letting the sled's rope fall to the snow. He ran a hand through his red curls, stressed and overwhelmed. "You're lucky Emmy and I came. She had the decency to leave a note."

"I'm not going back."

"Of course you're not, silly," said Emmy. She hugged me tight. "We're going with you."

Stunned, I stopped and blinked at them. "You are?"

"This is the stupidest idea you've ever had, Bird." Channing crossed his arms. "Count us in."

I couldn't help a smile. That's why the three of us are best friends--loyalty and stupidity. "I don't know," I said, still a bit hesitant. "I'm going to the Queen herself to try and talk her out of this lunacy. I don't want anything to happen to you two because of my decision."

"Stop grumbling," said Emmy, hugging me again. "We're coming."

It was pointless to argue, and in truth, I was deeply relieved that they had decided to come along. Deep down, I had a feeling that I'd known they would from the very start.

I glanced at the sled. "You fixed it?"

Channing picked it up, proudly dusting the snow off. "It's as good as new. And I added sides." It resembled a small, boxy boat now. "So we can use it as a raft if we come across any rivers."

"Good thinking." Impulsively, I embraced him. "Thanks," I murmured onto his shoulder. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

He snorted. "You wouldn't last a day." But he hugged me back, and I knew he was smiling. "You're my cousin, Bird. I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe."

Emmy hummed a happy tune.

"Very well," I said, letting go and standing back to look us over. "I've got food. Channing's got the sled."

"And I brought a handful of coins," volunteered Emmy, patting her coat pocket.

I smiled gratefully at her. "I think that's everything we'll need. It's not much, but we have to travel light if we're going to reach the Deep South castle in time to save Dessa."

"Makes sense," said Channing. "How far is the castle, anyway? Do you know?"

I certainly did not. "Of course I do. It's, uh...not too far, maybe a week or so away. Or...or a month. Or something."

Emmy laughed.

"What?" I asked defensively, my face heating up.

Channing answered. "We can tell you're lying. You talk faster, and two little spots of blush appear on your cheeks." He grinned. "Never mind the distance. We'll make it somehow."

I covered the red spots on my cheeks with my hands. "No matter how long it takes us."

We set out. Channing pulled the sled, saying that he didn't mind and that it wasn't that heavy, anyway. The runners sliced easily through the snow, and it glided along behind us like a curious animal that refused to go away.

My mind sang a tune as we walked together, as lonely as an echo:

Queen in a tower,
Bird in a cage.
Me in a tower,
Queen in a rage.