The Glass Castle (10 page)

On the other hand, a growing friendship with Tuck was nice.

“You should have been made queen,” Avery said to Kate that night in the darkness of their bunk room. “You know more about castle life than I do, and you’re good at it. You
look
the part.”

“I don’t want it,” Kate replied. “The life of a queen is not to be envied. Her responsibilities are outnumbered only by her enemies.”

“What are you saying?”

“Watch your back, Avery.”

Chapter 16

The Threat

The next morning, Avery was tying the laces on her dress when Ilsa appeared, and the rest of the bunk room emptied.
Of course,
Avery thought, as Ilsa crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

Avery had expected this confrontation, but not necessarily so soon.

“I’m going to let you in on a little secret,” Ilsa began. “You know Tuck made you queen because you can’t do anything else, right? Everyone’s been talking about how useless you are around here, almost burning down the kitchen, getting stuck in the wall, and failing everything else you’ve tried. Tuck took pity on you because he’s that kind of a boy. Always too nice.”

“Maybe you could take a lesson from him,” Avery said quietly.

Ilsa laughed. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I’m sure you’ll educate me.”

“The point is, you stole the election from me just like you tried stealing my bed your first night here. Like you’re trying to steal Tuck now.”

“I haven’t stolen anything from you.”

“Right.” Ilsa came so close that Avery backed against the cold wall. No one was close enough to rescue her if she called for help, and who would risk Ilsa’s rage anyway? Ilsa brought her face so close that Avery could smell the morning coffee on her breath. “This isn’t over. Not by a long shot. Stay away from Tuck. Understand?”

“We don’t need to be enemies. We can work together.”

“We can?” Ilsa asked in mock surprise. She clasped her heart. “You could be the beauty and I could be the brains.” She narrowed her eyes. “Oh wait. You couldn’t be either one!” Ilsa laughed. “You are so slow. I didn’t decide we were enemies. You did. And now I will destroy you with any means at my disposal. And just so you’re aware, I win whatever battles I fight.” Ilsa tightened her grip on Avery’s arm. “Understand?”

Avery nodded, afraid of what Ilsa might do to her arm if she disagreed.

Ilsa turned to leave then turned back. “I can have you sent to the Forbidden City. Remember that.”

That was the umpteenth time Avery had heard talk of this mysterious place.

As soon as Ilsa was gone, the bunk room filled again as if nothing had happened.

Everyone fears Ilsa.

Worse than the threat, worse even than the prospect of the Forbidden City—whatever that entailed—was that Avery feared Ilsa was right. Tuck had chosen her as queen solely out of pity. Or maybe he thought giving her the role would keep her out of trouble. Either way, she would wear the tiara only until the first meeting of the cabinet. Then she would tell Tuck to give it to someone else. She didn’t want Ilsa to have it, but accepting the role just to upset her didn’t make sense. She needed to avoid the Forbidden City at all costs.

After breakfast, Avery led Kate down the stone stairwell, whispering, “You aren’t the only one who is allowed to learn the secrets of this place.”

Kate looked hesitant.

“The king and Angelina are away today.”

Kate stopped walking. “So?”

“I want to see what I can discover in the hundreds of rooms on the other side from where we live,” Avery told her. “Since it’s my job to assist Tuck in leadership, no one will be suspicious if I’m gone for a while.”

Avery had prepared an excuse in case she was questioned by Tuck. She was looking for grates in each of the rooms so she could find a way to track Angelina on her own. Maybe tracking Angelina would lead her to Henry or to information that would prove valuable for their freedom.

Maybe it would lead her to so much more.

Chapter 17

The Discovery

According to the stories Avery’s mother had told, the castle sat atop an intricate system of tunnels that traveled various outlets within the village. Rumor had it that the largest of all snaked its way under the Salt Sea and ended within the walls of a tiny, beautiful chapel in the village.

“Even royalty knows that God exists among the humble,” her mother had said.

Learning where all the outlets were might prove useful in helping the kids escape.

Stop one: the Great Hall.

Kate and Avery stood in the doorway, their jaws hanging open and their eyes wide, taking in thirteen chandeliers, each the width of Avery’s bedroom at home. Each bore hundreds of candles that flickered and danced, throwing shadows on the opulent golden ceiling and casting a reverent glow on the throne in the center of the room.

It sat eerily empty this morning, adorned with the royal arms of the kingdom.

“There’ll soon be another throne beside it,” Kate said. “The boys upstairs are building Angelina’s now. I’ve seen it.”

“I wonder what the king would think if he knew it was being built by the orphans he has sentenced to death. I wonder how he would react if he knew his
entire castle
rested on the shoulders of kids.”

“The wedding will take place right here,” Kate said, and Avery had to admit this news excited her, in spite of everything. It was an excuse to be happy about something, even if only for a day.

The only weddings she had attended were ones where country girls wore their one church dress and threaded daisies in their hair before heading to the chapel where a few family members waited. She had watched dozens of girls marry at fifteen or sixteen and had always assumed she would be one of them.

Her father had recently made it clear that it was time she started thinking about it. He hinted at this every time he instructed her to clean house or prepare supper or watch Henry.

“You must learn to do these things for yourself,”
he would say, and Avery knew what he meant. But none of the boys in their village interested her. Their chief concern was catching frogs or building forts out of river rocks.

She wanted something more—something better.

Now she wondered whether she would ever marry at all.

“Someone’s coming!” Kate said, grabbing Avery’s arm and yanking her to a spot behind a huge oak door. They stood huddled together—neither of them daring to breathe—until a staff member passed and was long gone.

Stop number two: the Hall of Mirrors—used by the queen to make sure her dresses were precisely what she wanted. It was exactly as it sounded—floor-to-ceiling mirrors.

Avery wished the hall could talk. It would have much to say about the dozens of queens through the ages who had fussed and snapped, clapped and praised.

She imagined hundreds of dressmakers had scurried in silence, conceding to demands and pleading for their lives when a stray button or crooked hem had left the queen wanting.

Avery quickly understood that for every discovery she made within the castle walls, hundreds more waited to be uncovered.

She ran ahead of Kate down the endless hall, her braid flying behind her and her slippered footsteps falling silently on the white marble. For a few minutes at least, she forgot why she was in the castle and remembered only that she was thirteen. She twirled and admired her elegant dress in the mirrors. It was the first time she had seen herself—head to toe—attired this way. She knew her mother would be pleased.

Gone was the dirty-faced, wild-haired child.

Next, they visited the chapel, with its stunning gold-gilded walls and stained-glass windows that cast a rosy hue. High-back pews were separated by a center aisle, carpeted in crimson, leading to an intricately carved pulpit of dark, rich wood.

“No one in the royal family uses this chapel,” Kate said, “so some of us who are thirteen use it when we can. You should join us.”

Avery did not respond. It was difficult to think about worshipping God when so many things were going wrong.
Or maybe,
she thought,
this is the most important time to pray.

She would consider it.

The final room they came to was near the center of the castle, filled with every piece of furniture imaginable, buried beneath thick, dusty quilts covered with a fine layer of dust.

Kate and Avery swatted away cobwebs and began peeking beneath blankets and lifting lids off boxes. At first they were timid, but soon they jumped with joy at each discovery.

They found ornate paintings and beautiful rugs, a stunning harp and several tall mirrors. They found brass bed frames, ancient vases, and bundles of handwritten letters tied with faded ribbons. They discovered silver candlesticks they suspected were worth more than country houses. They unearthed boxes of jewelry and jeweled hairpieces that made them squeal.

“These were worn by queens!” Avery said, twirling with a set of ivory combs.

Avery’s mind raced. Why were they sleeping, working, and playing in rooms virtually bare when all of this existed in storage a few hundred feet from where they lived?

She would show Tuck.