Sacred Mountain

Chapter 29: The Real Annifer

As they travelled south to Loska, it seemed they were leaving winter behind and entering into spring. The snow had melted so much that they had to stop at the first waystation they came to, to exchange their sled for a carriage. The innkeeperess screamed and dropped her tea towel when she opened her door to see three girls unharnessing a pack of giant wolves from their sled.

'It's alright, they're quite friendly really,' Jemima giggled as two of them jumped up to lick her face. The woman watched open-mouthed as Jemima trotted off into the forest, wolves following behind, tails wagging. When they were out of sight of the inn, she spoke a few words in the old language, snapped her fingers and they all bolted off into the undergrowth.

Meanwhile, Annifer negotiated a deal with the wary inkeeperess for a green painted carriage and two black and white shire horses. They took it in turns to drive the rest of the way along the cobbled streets of Loska, towards the unwelcoming, spike-topped wall that surrounded the grey stone turrets of Castle Loska.

'Poor Poppy,' Daisy's face fell when the forbidding castle first loomed into sight, 'I hope she's been alright in there.'

'I hope so too,' Annifer's brow wrinkled in concern.

They pulled up in front of a tall wooden gate in the wall with a sentry box next to it. Annifer leaned out of the window and looked at Jemima, who was driving.

'Should we knock?'

'I suppose so,' Jemima replied. Annifer jumped out and rapped at the sentry box door. Nothing happened. She knocked again, harder this time and the door creaked open. A bent old man with a long straggly grey beard and an unfriendly scowl peered out.

'What do you lot want?' he shouted in a thick Crosstainian accent. Annifer tipped her head back as she had seen servants do when a royal visitor came to Frailing,

'Announcing the arrival of Princess Ann . . .' she trailed off, suddenly realizing the guard would have seen Poppy pretending to be Annifer and not wanting to have to explain,

'Jemima of Quain,' Jemima finished the sentence for her, hopping down from the carriage to join her friend.

'Whassat? The miner of pain?' the guard shouted, cupping his ear.

'Jemima of Quain,' she boomed in reply and both princesses pursed their lips in matching you-will-do-as-I-command expressions. The old man tutted and grumbled something about, 'more bloody princesses' as he sorted through his enormous bunch of keys and shuffled off to unlock the gate.

When they rode through the gate, an unexpected sight met their eyes. The courtyard was packed with armour-clad soldiers on horseback, carrying weapons – archers on one side, swordsmen on the other. At the head of the army, astride a powerful black stallion, sat a thickset youth with wavy brown hair which hung to his shoulders. Facing them, stood a stooped older man – white haired and bearded, wearing a golden crown. Annifer recognized Larnick and Fenwick straightaway. Behind the king were gathered the ladies of the court, all sniffling and weeping into their handkerchiefs.

Jemima halted the carriage. They stepped down and strode up to the king, all eyes turning in their direction. A pale, red-headed young girl wearing servants' clothes, her hair tied up in a bun, stood on the king's left. On his right stood a tall, dark-haired girl in a sky blue velvet gown with a sapphire tiara and necklace.

'Poppy!' Daisy cried and ran towards her sister, arms wide.

'Daisy!' Poppy called back and ran into her open arms.

'That's Princess Annifer! I recognize her from her sixteenth birthday celebrations,' Larnick shouted, swinging off his horse and jabbing a finger towards the real Annifer, 'and that's Princess Jemima of Quain next to her!'