Page 71 of A Rose Among Snakes

Our day started like the one before with me asking to help him in the garden.

Enverro pursed his lips and eyed me. “Thanks to your episode yesterday, I didn’t get as much done as I’d hoped to…” He trailed off as I batted my eyelashes. “Fine, we’ll try again.” Unlocking the door, he led me over to the shackles.

“Enverro, is there any way you could trust me to stay in the garden? I think the shackles were too heavy for me and contributed to my episode, as you called it.” He raised a doubtful eyebrow and I added, “It’s not as if I could outrun you even if I wanted to.” I gave him a simpering look with wide eyes and pouty lips.

“Don’t make me regret this.”

Without shackles, he took me by the elbow and led me outside. After handing me the hoe, I got to work and he did the same on the opposite side. I made a show of working hard, grunting with exertion and panting as I wiped my brow. I swung the hoe in a wild arc over my head, slamming it into the ground and falling to my hands and knees. Enverro’s back was turned toward me, so I called out to him, keeping myvoice feeble.

“Enverro!”

He groaned and dropped the hoe, running over and grabbing me under the arms.

“Again?”

I whimpered as he hauled me to my feet and swung my arm over his shoulder to help me walk back inside.

“This is the last time,” he mumbled as we crossed the threshold, leaving the door wide open. Keeping my head down I scanned the floor until I spotted what I needed. I dropped to the ground and lunged for a small log sitting in the corner, leftover from a pile of kindling. Before Enverro could register what was happening, I used all my strength and struck him in the head. He cried out, grabbing his face and falling to his knees. I let go of the log and scrambled to my feet as I ran out of the shack.

I rushed past the garden and made for the narrow path that led into the woods. Chancing a quick glance over my shoulder, I was pleased to see Enverro wasn’t chasing me. Having spent three weeks sitting, my lungs were already burning, my legs begging for a reprieve, but I was spurred on by the pure euphoria of freedom. The trees were thinning out around me, and through the sparse woods, I thought I heard the sound of hoofbeats and a jangling bridle.

I slowed my gait to better decipher what I was hearing when a hand clamped around my mouth, and an arm across my chest pulled me back into the brush. My heart was pounding but it leapt into my throat as I screamed, though the effort was made futile bythe hand. I squirmed enough to get a peek at Enverro, his eyes wild and head swiveling.

I would have expected fury or frustration, but not fear, to blanket his strong features. He held a finger to his lips signaling me to be quiet.

“It’s the king,” he whispered. “We need to get back now. If he finds us out here, he will kill us both and it’s too late to outrun him. Do you understand?”

I nodded, fearing the king far more than I desired to fight Enverro. He let go of my face, grabbed my hand, and dragged me through the brush along a trail back to the shack.

We burst through the front door and Enverro said, “Get in your cell. Hurry!” He was fumbling for the keys to lock the front door, a tremble in his hand betraying his anxiety and convincing me to cooperate. I sat back against the cell wall and tried to slow my breathing.

Enverro bent his head over the cell door lock, blood trickling from his forehead into his eyes. He swiped at it with the sleeve of his tan shirt, but there was no room for remorse inside my tight chest. Hoofbeats thundered down the road outside, and we locked eyes, neither of us able to disguise our terror.

“Is it normal for the king to come to check on his prisoners?” I asked, still breathless.

My blood ran cold as he shook his head.

“How do you know it’s him then?”

“I caught a glimpse of him around a curve in the road.”

I stood up and moved closer, grabbing the cell bars. “Enverro, I’m sorry. Please don’t let him kill me.”

He placed his hands over mine, and we locked eyes. They were the color of the ocean, of home. “I won’t. I promise.”

I believed him, but tears still stung the back of my eyes. I blinked them away as the sound of footsteps approached the door, followed by three heavy knocks. Enverro squeezed my hands before letting go and walked to the door. He gave me one more look, took a deep breath, and rolled his shoulders. The key scraping in the lock was deafening in the silence.

The door opened to reveal King Leoro, dressed head to toe in black matching his raven hair. While he closely resembled Leoran, the lines of his face were severe, making him significantly less attractive than his son. He sauntered into the room with a wicked smile. He wore a sword on his hip, resting his hand on the exposed hilt. Remembering Enverro’s story of his first prisoner, I stared at the weapon and clenched my clammy hands tighter around the bars.

“Enverro, good to see you. How is our favorite troublesome lady?”

Enverro bowed low and ushered the king inside. “Your Majesty, this is a surprise. What brings you here?” He spoke with complete nonchalance, a perfect disguise of his prior emotions.

The king surveyed the space in disgust, and asked, “Where can I sit? And what happened to your head?”

Enverro pulled up the chair from a corner of the room and offered it to the king. “I tripped.”

Leoro scraped the legs across the floor, fraying my nerves, and placed it directly in front of me, not responding to Enverro’s poor excuse.

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