“Seeds?” Her stepmother scoffed. “You think a handful of coins every market day will see us through this? The only thing we have left to sell is the house itself. But where would that take us? To a farmer’s hut where the only thing we could do is continue selling vegetables?”
“What if I could find work somewhere?”
“The only place that will pay more than eggs and a bed is the palace.”
“I could work at the palace,” Ashlin offered immediately.
Her stepmother’s face softened. “You would do that for us? For our family?”
Ashlin nodded. “Of course. We are family.”
“When you’ve finished supper, come and play this game with Stasiya. I’m sure she is tired of playing against me.”
Ashlin finally stopped shivering. But this time, the warmth came from inside her. She was needed and appreciated.
Chapter 2
The light drizzle had turned into a raging onslaught of water and wind. Onric hunched over his horse, trying not to dwell on the fact that his older brother had been right once again. Ian, who was riding a few paces ahead of him, had insisted they return home when the rain had unexpectedly started that afternoon. But when it had stopped just as quickly, Onric had cajoled him into remaining so they could continue their secret search for a certain prohibited item. Now the storm had returned, and it was not letting up.
While Onric still felt justified in his decision—it was not often they escaped their various responsibilities and their younger siblings for an entire day—he hated to cede to his older brother’s advanced intelligence and impeccable knack for planning.
Then, in the gathering rain, Onric had slipped down a muddy embankment and torn a long gash down the length of his sleeve. He was bruised, saddle sore, and miserable.
He tried to find the feelings of excitement and freedom that had permeated his day, to keep the sense of adventure alive, but the constant stream of water pouring off his hood had sapped all his good feelings away. The only thing he could find to be grateful for was the fact that he was fairly dry, as though his cloak was magically waterproof. Perhaps Mistress Cedrice was a renegade Majis and had sewn a dry spell into the new jerkin she had made him. Ha. Imagining the harmless old woman as a dangerous Majis brought back his good humor. But even if she had used illegal magic to make his clothing waterproof, he would thank her on bended knee the next time he saw her.
His horse stopped. “Come on, Blossom, we have to keep going,” he pleaded. But his usually compliant steed did not budge.
It was then that Onric noticed his older brother had stopped as well. How his horse could sense that when it was too dark and stormy to see one’s own hand, he had no idea. But he patted Blossom’s neck appreciatively.
“I think I saw a light up ahead,” Ian yelled.
“Are you sure you were not imagining it through this endless downpour?” Onric knew his temper was getting the best of him, but he couldn’t help it. Humble pie was not his favorite dish.
In true Ian fashion, his brother ignored the irritated tone. “It’s not responsible to keep going under the current conditions, for our sake as well as the horses. They could be injured too easily. If there’s a barn or a cottage, or any sort of shelter, we should stop until morning.”
Onric could not argue with that, so he simply nodded miserably. Then, realizing his nod could not be seen in the dark, he followed it up with an affirmative grunt. “Or at least until this rain lets up,” he contributed.
Following the glimpses of light that they occasionally caught through the trees and rain, they made their way to a large stone mansion. Despite the late hour, a dim light shone through the windows on the bottom level.
“Shall we knock and frighten the inhabitants, or can we just sneak around back to take advantage of the barn?” Onric looked towards Ian. “We’ll be gone by morning.”
“We should at least knock and let the landowners know we are here. It would be the right thing to do.”
Onric sighed. He could not argue with that. “Except that when they discover two sopping princes on their doorstep, they will no doubt wake the entire household and implore us to remain awake for a midnight feast.”
“Are you saying you would turn down a hot meal right now?” Ian’s voice actually held a note of jest.
“You got me there.” Onric had to smile back at his older brother. At least they were sharing this unfortunate adventure together. “Well, let’s get this over with.”
“If you want to avoid a midnight feast, you might consider taking this one alone. I’m the one who is most likely to be recognized—you know, since I actually attend the royal functions in town.”
“Well, if this is my only payback for leaving that glamorous responsibility to you, I gladly accept it.” Onric slid off his horse, grunting as he landed with a not-so-graceful splash on the muddied ground. “Wait here.”
“Offer them something for the trouble.”
Onric had already thought of that, but he did not bother to respond. He handed the reins to his brother and approached the front door of the house.
He pounded on the door, not loud enough to wake everyone inside, but just loud enough to be heard over the storm.
