The Bravest Princess (11 page)

The road from the castle led across an open field, but they could see the forest less than a mile away, looking like a vast green wall. Heading west to Helmswood meant that they'd be traveling through thick forest most of the way. Although Annie usually enjoyed forests, she wasn't looking forward to spending so much time in an unfamiliar one while a witch was after her. Even before they reached the trees, she looked around, waiting for something to happen, but the birds kept their
distance and the road stayed solid beneath the horses' hooves. As the cool shade of the trees finally engulfed them, Annie took a deep breath, trying to calm her jittery nerves.

After a time, the road began to angle uphill and curve to the left. Although nothing unexpected appeared in the curve of the road, Annie wouldn't let herself relax. When the ground on the left began to rise sharply, she feared that a boulder might come tumbling down the hill just as they were passing by. Noticing that the ground on the right descended in a gentle incline, she half expected a wild creature to come tearing up the hill to launch itself at them. She even looked suspiciously at the tiny stream trickling down what had become a sheer rock wall, but the most surprising thing she saw was a large woodpecker flitting from one tree to another.

Liam had been talking to the other princes, telling them about everything that had happened to them on their trip. When he finally rode down the line to join Annie, he looked tired and worried, but she was happy to see him.

“I keep expecting the crows to attack or some strange beast to jump out of the forest,” she said. “The anticipation is killing me!”

“I know what you mean,” said Liam. “The witch
probably knows it, too, and is doing it on purpose. She'll hold back while we feel more and more edgy, then the moment we let our guard down, she'll throw something new at us.”

“I wonder what it will be this time,” Annie said, glancing over her shoulder.

“I'm sure we'll find out soon enough,” said Liam. “Uh-oh. Digby is dozing in his saddle and is about to fall off. I'll be back in a little while.”

Annie turned to watch Liam ride down the line to Digby. The sleeping prince was swaying precariously and looked as if he was going to tumble to the ground at any moment. Annie was still turned in her saddle when a bolt of lightning ripped through the clear blue sky and hit a tree at the uphill side of the road. There was a loud
CRACK!
and the tree fell across their path, sending a cloud of dust and debris into the air.

Annie calmed her frightened mare and looked around to see if anyone needed help. Although the warhorses did nothing more than get a little shifty-footed, some of the attendants' horses were more high-strung. Andreas's squire was flung from his horse when it screamed and reared, but the young man was unhurt and the horse was soon caught and quieted.

“A tree just fell down,” Horace called as he rode back to join her. “Best stay right here, Your Highness, until we find out the cause. No storm, just a lightning bolt. I'd say it was magic again.”

Horace's gelding sidestepped out of the way when Liam's horse tore past, slowing only long enough for Liam to shout, “Annie, stay there!”

She stayed where she was for a few minutes, but when nothing else happened and no one came to tell her what was going on, she started toward the front of the line. Horace followed her, protesting all the way to the fallen tree. It was an old tree, with a trunk at least five feet around, and it stretched all the way across the road, jutting over a drop-off on the other side.

“Now what?” she asked as Liam caught sight of her.

“The next time I'm tempted to tell you to stay anywhere, I might as well save my breath,” Liam said, looking angrier than she'd ever seen him. “Don't you understand? A witch is trying to kill you, and we're all trying to stop her. When I ask you to stay where you are, it's to keep you safe, yet you insist on disregarding my orders!”

“Orders?” said Annie, feeling the color rise in her cheeks. “I'm not one of your men who you can order around!”

“No, you're my future wife, and I won't let you get hurt!” Liam sat back on his horse and took a deep breath as he glanced at the fallen tree. When he turned to Annie again, he looked calmer and no longer sounded angry. “All I'm doing is trying to keep you safe, so will you please listen to me? A tree has blocked the road, and as you can see it's too big to move. We
don't have a saw to cut it, and it's too high for most of these horses to jump, so we're going to have to go around it. However, the rocks just past the tree make it impossible to get back to the road for quite a distance. This tree didn't just happen to fall here. It was meant to force us off this road and down this hill. I've sent two men to scout the area to see what lies in that direction. We'll make our decision when they return.”

“Is that them now?” Annie asked, peering at two shapes moving toward them from the shadows under the trees.

“We didn't see anything unusual,” the men called as they drew closer. “The ground gets a bit marshy, but there are ways around it.”

“If you think it's a trap, maybe we should go back and find another road,” said Cozwald.

Andreas frowned. “I say we go downhill. Maitland already has a head start. I don't want it to get any bigger, and who knows how much time we'd lose if we looked for another road.”

“Horace, are you familiar with this area?” Annie asked him.

The old guard shrugged. “A little. It's safe enough—no trolls or dangerous beasts, if that's what you're thinking.”

“We might as well go this way,” said Liam. “As we've already seen, the witch can turn even the most innocent stretch of road into something dangerous. We'll
probably end up facing her vile magic again, no matter where we go.”

“Do you see any crows?” Annie asked Liam as the riders turned their horses to the downhill slope.

“Two in front of us and two behind,” Liam said, glancing back over his shoulder. “They've been with us since we reached the forest.”

“Maybe they're staying back because they're afraid of you. You reduced their numbers by quite a few.”

“I doubt that would make much of a difference to the witch,” said Liam. “I think she's saving them for something.”

Both Liam and Horace kept their horses close to Annie's as they made their way down the slope. They began to look for a way back to the road as soon as they could, but Liam had been right when he said that the rocks made it impossible. Although they tried to ride side by side, some of the trees grew too close together, forcing them to go single file. Annie didn't realize that they'd reached the marshy area until her horse's hooves began splashing through water.

“You said there were some ways around this,” Liam said, turning to the guards who had scouted ahead.

“There are, Your Highness. At least there were,” said one of the men. “The thing is … I don't see them now. Do you?” he asked the other guard.

“I could have sworn there was a path right over there,” said the second guard. “But those trees … I don't remember seeing them.”

“And I thought there was an old stump next to a path over there, but the stump seems to be gone, and there doesn't appear to be a path.”

“We know where the road is,” said Cozwald. “We'll just head back that way and—”

Cozwald gasped, and everyone turned to look behind them. Trees now blocked the way they had just come, and water covered much of what had been dry ground only moments before. Something created ripples in the water, and one of the horses in the back of the line shied away from the water's edge.

Digby snorted. “You're all a bunch of ninnies! That's just an illusion. Nothing can move trees like that, and that water isn't real. Watch. I'll show you.”

When his horse was reluctant to approach the water, the prince urged it on with spurs. A few steps and the horse's hooves were wet; another step and it was up to its hocks in water.

“Keep going, you useless beast!” Digby shouted, digging his spurs into the horse's sides. The horse plunged forward, and the water covered its legs.

Suddenly, long, snaky vines whipped from the murky depths, wrapping themselves around the horse's neck. The horse tried to rear, but the vines held it down as even more vines wrapped around Digby's arms and
legs. Eyes wide, ears pinned back, the horse tried to thrash free, but the vines only grew tighter. Although Digby struggled to pull his arms loose, his efforts were just as useless.

“Isn't anyone going to help me?” Digby shouted, his face turning red.

The two closest guards jumped from their horses' backs and ran toward the water, their swords in their hands. The moment they entered the water, vines began to wrap around their legs, holding them in place while other vines rose up to pull them below the water's surface.

Liam, Cozwald, and Andreas were all beginning to dismount when Annie slid from her mare's back.

“No, Annie!” Liam shouted, but she had already thrown her reins to Horace and was running toward the struggling men. Liam jumped to the ground and started after her. Before he could reach her, however, Annie entered the water, which began to drain away, leaving the guards gasping for air. When she touched the first guard, the vine holding him down shriveled and fell off. She reached for the second, and he was soon free as well.

“What about me?” shouted Digby.

As Annie strode toward Digby, the last of the water disappeared and the vines fell away at her touch. Digby's horse shivered and grew calmer. Brushing past Annie,
Liam reached for the horse's reins and led it back to its place in line.

“You didn't listen to me again,” he said in a quiet voice as he walked Annie to her horse.

“And everyone is fine because I didn't listen to you!” said Annie, not bothering to keep her voice down. “Yes, there are times I really can't defend myself from certain kinds of things, but there are times when I'm the
only
one who can actually help, and that's when you have to let me go! I know you want to keep me safe. I also know that sometimes it's up to me to keep
you
safe! So don't try to stop me when I'm doing what I actually
can
do! Now,” she said, turning to the two guards who had first scouted the area, “where did you say those paths were?”

“There was a stump over there and a path beside it,” said the man, pointing to a clump of grass.

Retrieving her mare's reins from Horace, Annie headed straight for the grass while the other riders re-formed their line behind her. She was only feet away when the stump reappeared with a deer path running past it. “Stay close behind me,” she said, turning to the men. “If the path disappears again, stay where you are and I'll come back for you.”

The deer path wasn't straight and didn't head directly back to the road, but it did lead to drier ground, and eventually Annie saw the road to her left.
Liam and Horace helped her clear a way through some underbrush, and they were soon back on the road, tired and dirty, but relieved.

“We have company,” Liam said as the rest of the princes straggled onto the road.

“I see that,” said Annie. She tilted her head back to gaze up at the flock of crows watching from the branches overhead. “It's funny, but I'm starting to get used to them. I'm really not as afraid of them as I was before.”

“They're still dangerous,” Liam reminded her.

“I know,” said Annie. “But so am I.”

They reached snow White's castle a few hours later. Annie had just crossed the drawbridge and reined her horse to a stop when a white shape shot across the courtyard, barking. “Dog!” Annie cried. She slid off her mare so she could crouch down and throw her arms around the shaggy dog's neck. A wet tongue licked the side of her face while the animal's wiggly body vibrated with joy. “How have you been? Are you happy here?” asked Annie. When the dog didn't answer, Annie pulled away and looked her in the eyes. Dog's tongue lolled out of the side of her mouth so that she almost seemed to be laughing. “Oh, right! I forgot.” Annie patted the dog's head and stepped away. “You can't talk when I'm touching you.”