Page 42 of Songs and Spun Gold
“I will not! I won’t let you—”
“Step aside, or I will be forced to make you.”
The guard’s hand moved toward the hilt of his sword, and Katy sprang back into action. “Wait!” The stairs creaked loudly beneath her feet as she nearly fell down them in her haste. “Please don’t hurt him!”
All four men swung around to face her. Father took a step in her direction, an anguished look flickering across his face. “No—”
“Are you Katrin, also known as Katy, daughter of Josef of Flussendorf?” one of the guards asked as he stepped around her father.
She stumbled to a stop on the ground floor. Panting slightly, she looked up at him with narrowed eyes. “I am. Why?”
For answer, he reached out and grabbed her upper arm with one hand while ripping the poker from her with the other and tossing it away. It clanged as it hit the floor. Father lunged forward, but another guard held him back. “Let her go!” Father snarled, struggling against the man restraining him. “You can’t—you can’t take her!”
Ignoring him, the guard began to haul Katy toward the front. She fought him, trying to wrestle her arm out of his grip, but her days of spinning were no match for his days of physical training. He simply tightened his hold until she had to grit her teeth so her cry of pain wouldn’t escape.
“What are you doing?” she gasped out. “Where are you taking me? And why?”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” the man replied without looking at her. “If you would come quietly, I wouldn’t need to.”
“But where are we going?” she asked again. She’d heardrumors that King Steffan had become volatile since his daughter’s death. Was this proof?
“Katy!” Adele’s voice lacked its usual brusqueness. “Let—me—go!”
“It’s all right, Adele,” Katy panted, twisting to look over her shoulder. So far, the guards were merely restraining her father and sister, not pulling them out after her, and she needed to keep it that way. “I’ll be fine. It will be fine.”
Outside, a bitter wind whipped at her, sending loose curls into her face and slicing through her thick wool dress. She shivered, drawing her arms across her stomach as she was tugged forward. A small crowd had gathered in front of the mill.
“Katy?” She heard a familiar voice above the murmur of her neighbors. A quick search revealed Fritz near the back on one side. His forehead was wrinkled as he watched her being led to a group of horses and four more guards.
She couldn’t decide if she was pleased or frustrated when he stayed put. Did he believe she must be guilty of something? Was he proving his wisdom by waiting for a more opportune moment to deal with the situation? Or did he not believe she was worth the hassle?
“You’ll ride in front of me,” the guard holding her said in a low voice. “If you cause problems, I’ll have to tie your hands. If you promise to cooperate, I’ll leave them free.” Casting a quick – and completely unconcerned – glance around their audience, he added, “If it were me, I would prefer not to be bound in front of my family and friends.”
She dropped her eyes to the ground. His eyes were professional – not unkind, but not compassionate. With a quick nod, she whispered, “I’ll cooperate.”
He wrapped his hands around her waist and hoisted her onto the saddle. She wobbled precariously while the horse tossed its head and stamped a hoof in displeasure.
Before she could worry about her position, the guard swung himself up behind her. His arms locked her in place as he collected the reins. She shivered again, from the nearness of this stranger as much as from the cold. He called out a curt command, and she looked up to see one of the other guards pulling a cloak from a saddlebag and tossing it up to him.
“We’re not going back in for yours,” he explained as he settled it around her shoulders. “And I expect this will be warmer.”
Katy wanted to resent his assumptions, but he was right.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
She still didn’t know where she was going or why, but at least she wouldn’t catch her death of cold on the way.
~
The sun sank below the horizon shortly before Katy and her escorts rode through the front gate of Himmelsburg Castle. The torches around the courtyard gave it a darker look than when she had visited her cousin Otto. Or maybe her feelings colored her impressions now that she was a prisoner instead of a free woman.
She caught herself looking for her cousin, hoping for a glimpse of a friendly face. It was unlikely, given he worked an early shift at a gate that wasn’t near the courtyard, but she eagerly scanned the people anyway.
Residents of the castle would have dismounted in the courtyard, but the guardsmen took their horses to the stables on the far side of the castle.
“This way.”
The guard that had ridden with her gestured toward the main building. Wrapping her borrowed cloak tighter, she began walking in the direction indicated. At least he wasn’t hauling her by her arm this time.
