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Enchanted forest, Ser Gilda thought and swore under her breath. “Enchanted” was entirely too magical a word for the forest she was currently traversing. It was nothing like the places from the fairytales her grandfather had told her, yet the people in the quaint village she had last lodged in had been using that word to describe this patch of forested abject misery with a wistful look in their eyes.
Her boots were sodden after trudging through a surprising patch of marshland hidden under an unassuming carpet of moss and wild blueberry bushes. Her face was hot with exertion and streaked with scratches from low-hanging branches that seemed to reach for her whip-like when she was looking at the ground, preoccupied with not falling into another enchanted ditch. Autumn might have brought glorious colors to any other forest, but this place was mostly conifers, and whatever leaf trees there were looked long dead or had shed their leaves prematurely. She sighed and stretched, catching her breath. She had experienced worse on her long search for Princess Katharina. It was easier to dress for the cold than for the scorching heat of summer in the West.
This quest was a test of her loyalty to the Crown and, she suspected, a clever device to remove her from court. Things could have been worse; someone might have considered her opposition dangerous enough to slip poison into her tea. As exiles went, at least this one had provided her with a task she was willing to dedicate herself to fully. The princess had been gone for over ten years and Gilda had searched for almost two. I will find you.
She had now become weary of following the ghost of the princess around, chasing tales and rumors from inns, but she was still determined to rescue her. Gilda remembered catching a glimpse of the young princess when she was a squire first come to court. At her first tourney the splendor of the court was astonishing, alien and fascinating. Gilda stared at the royals and gentry in their richly decorated box. Princess Katharina’s laughter cut through the roar of the crowd, and her wild dark curls were mesmerizingly escaping the pearl-strewn netting struggling to contain them as Katharina eagerly flung herself on the balustrade separating the high-born gentry from the common folk watching the jousting. She was the most beautiful woman Glinda had ever seen. Then, during the celebrations for her twentieth birthday, Princess Katharina had been stolen from among the King’s guests along with many of their treasures, including several rare birds and a prize hound. The festivities had meant to introduce the princess to many suitors eager for her hand in marriage, but it had ended with her abduction by dishonorable thieves. Ransoms had been demanded and paid, but to no avail. The royal family seemed to have given up on her. Where are you hidden, princess, where have they taken you?
At last there was the broken tower of old Castle Triersburg jutting through the canopy of trees ahead of her. If the locals had been wrong about the whereabouts of the princess, at least its ancient walls might provide some shelter from the weather this night. Fog was drawing in and there was a smell of snow in the air.
As she approached, Gilda began to hear the impact of metal on metal within the ruin. Instantly she became alert. She carefully rid herself of the noisy pieces of her armor before approaching.
Within the walls there was a makeshift shelter, waxed cloth propped up with straight branches, a barely smoldering fire, fighting against the drizzle in the air. From a half-collapsed doorway leading down beneath the tower, the flicker of torchlight cast a golden glow out into the darkening gloom. Was this it at last? Was this where the thieves had taken Katharina? Sword in hand she entered.
There was nothing for it, she would brave the dark below, no matter how many adversaries it would hold. An echoing growl came from the depths. Gilda swallowed and felt cold sweat prickle at the back of her neck.
When the hound charged her it came as a surprise, a flash of fur and teeth. She yanked her arm up reflexively; the dog’s teeth sank into the thick leather of her gauntlet, and she was thrown back against the wall.
A long, shrill whistle made the dog release her, and it stood in front of her, still baring its teeth as a cloaked figure entered the tunnel behind it.
“Who have you got there, Celerus?”
Gilda brandished her sword. “In the name of King Berthold, I ask you to stand down!”
“King Berthold?” The figure scoffed. “What business does he have with this place?”
“I am Ser Gilda of Frieberg. I have come in search of Princess Katharina. There have been reports of a woman resembling her in these parts. I have come to free her from her captors!”
“You—” The figure choked back a laugh. “You are a knight come to rescue the princess?”
Gilda straightened, aiming to look more imposing. “I am.”
The figure threw back its hood and pushed a lock of dark hair out of its face. “Well, I am happy to be rescued," Princess Katharina said and grinned broadly.