Page 71 of Pippa of Lauramore
“Are you with child?” I ask, and as I say it, I know it’s true.
With those words, her composure crumbles. She gasps and begins to rock back and forth, tears streaming from her eyes. “Percival told me not to go.”
I grasp her by the shoulder, and she turns into me. She shakes in my arms, and her tears soak my dress.
“Leonora, did they drug you?” I remember that part of my hallucination well.
She shakes her head. “I begged them not to. I swore I would be good.”
I’m so relieved. Tears finally spill down my cheeks, and for several moments I allow myself to cry with her.
Then I’m done. Because we’re leaving.
“They drugged Marigold because she became hysterical when we reached the cave.” Leonora is gaining control of her tears now. She breathes deep to slow her sobs. I’ve never given her enough credit. She’s strong.
“We must wake her up,” I say, looking at Marigold.
“I don’t know how. I tried everything with you. Nothing worked.”
I shake her, poke her, try to pull her to her feet—but Leonora’s right. Nothing works. All we can do is sit and watch her whimper. I catch stray words here and there. She cries for her brothers and her sisters and her parents. She occasionally screams at dragons, but most often she just sobs.
It’s awful.
Hours later, she finally stills.
“Marigold,” Leonora says, her voice gentle. “Marigold.” She gives her a light shake.
Marigold’s eyes fly open, and she shrieks. Both Leonora and I cover our ears, cringing away from the sound. Marigold gasps when the scream ebbs. Then she’s sick. The poor girl retches while she sobs, and Leonora holds her hair back.
I listen for footsteps, but I hear nothing. It must have been good, whatever kind of alcohol the bandits stole.
“We’re going now,” I whisper as soon as Marigold has finished. There can’t be anything left in her stomach. I pull her up, and she stumbles with me. We’re going to walk right over them and be gone.
I hear a cough and then a mumbled curse toward the mouth of the cave.
Maybe not.
I turn around, dragging Marigold with me. She’s heavier than she looks.
“Where are you going?” Leonora whispers.
In the last few hours, I’ve had time to study this cavern. I glance around the rock walls one last time. “We’re going to follow the tunnels.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Leonora argues. Desperation and worry crease her face.
“Not if you know where you’re going.”
She nods, trusting me, and we turn into the darkness. Soon, just like I expect, we see the dim glow of maid-of-the-shadows. They don’t seem as pretty once you’ve been drugged with their poison.
It’s not long before Marigold can walk on her own, but she’s trembling like the poison is still coursing through her body.
“Almost there,” I coax, careful to keep her from the flower-covered walls.
The pool of water has mostly evaporated. It was much larger when I brought Galinor, but the stars still shine on the little water that’s left.
“How do we get out?” Leonora sounds better now, less anxious. She must have guessed where we’re at.
I study the cavern. I knew it was large, but now that I’m thinking of scaling the walls, it seems gargantuan. There’s a ledge to the far side that looks easy to climb. After that, there’s a series of smaller ledges that follow the wall like stairs. We can use those.
