Wool of the Prince-- Chapter 53

~941 words

Shep pat the sheep on the head vacantly, his eyes staring off somewhere in the distance. “This is the last sheep. We can go home now. We can… We can do anything now. We can restore Castle Gozgarden.” He sounded far away.

“But first we’ll have to find our way out of here,” Jay reminded. “Where’s that shade?” He waited for the edgeless voice to creep back into his mind, but nothing came. He looked around for abnormal shadows, but could see nothing.

“Gwendolyn must have taken her shade with her,” Shep said, rising out of his trance.

“How are we going to get back?” Jay felt sick when he imagined trying to find their way back through the mirrored maze. He had thought the shade would be there to guide them back. He should have paid better attention to the twists and turns of the labyrinth! But Jay knew that even if he had paid better attention, there was no way he could have memorized the way back. There were too many corners, too many choices, too many options for failure. “It’s impossible. We’re going to die here, and be just like Gwendolyn and the shade.”

Shep didn’t look disconsolate, however. “So long as I get to be Gwendolyn,” he teased. “I’ve always wanted to brood at the center of a mirror labyrinth.”

“How can you joke at a time like this? There’s no way to find our way back!”

“What’s a shepherd without a little wool?” he asked mysteriously. He pulled out a small ball of thin gray yarn. Jay could see now that there was string leading out the door of the banshee’s chamber.

Jay stood dumbfounded. Shep must have started unraveling the string back at the beginning of the maze. But that would mean… “That’s a lot of string,” Jay said, raising his eyebrows in a question.

“I had three more balls of it,” Shep admitted. “I had to tie the ends together. I was getting rather worried that I would run out completely.”

“Let’s go, then! There’s no time to waste!”

Shep nodded. “I agree.”

They stepped out into the mirrored maze, Shep rolling the yarn back into a ball as he went. The ball grew and grew. They strode confidently around corners, never pausing to consider if it was the right way to go. But the yarn didn’t fail, and soon, they had exited the maze, finding themselves again in the antechamber. Shep peered out the door, and, seeing no one, beckoned to Jay.

Jay felt conspicuous, leading a sheep through the Potentate’s estate. But then he reminded himself that the sheep were invisible to everyone who had not had the magic dust—or whatever it was—thrown in their eyes. His heart still began to beat hard whenever someone else passed them in the hall.

The Potentate himself appeared at the end of the hallway. Jay could hear Shep intake a sharp breath. But they kept walking. Jay knew that it would look much more suspicious if they turn to run or hide than if they risked the chance of the Potentate seeing them. Jay held his breath as the Potentate passed with his grand ceremonial robes swishing. He didn’t even glance at Jay and Shep. He must be too high and mighty to give two guards any form of special attention, Jay thought. He let out his breath when the Potentate was out of earshot. The rest of the travel through the estate went as well as could be hoped.

Shep casually dropped the stolen key ring he had used to get into the antechamber on the ground near the front door. Jay hoped that the guard would think it was his own fault, but he doubted that would actually happen.

They pushed through the main doors into the bright afternoon sunshine. Jay blinked. His eyes were still used to the dark mirror maze and the dim interior of the Potentate’s estate. Jay knew that Marc would be waiting across the street for them to come out. They were to reunite with Fleta and the trolls at Mags’s inn.

Jay saw Feta standing just outside the door to the inn, studying the crowd. Her face lit up when she caught sight of them. “Welcome back!” she shouted. Jay grinned and soon they were inside the inn, sharing their story of what had happened in the estate.

Mags sidled up with a jug of cider, pouring them each a glass. She lingered for a while as Shep and Jay related their journey.

Fleta listened, nodding along. When they had finished, she asked, “So we’re going to go back to Gozgarden?” Her voice sounded hopeful.

Shep nodded, looking tired. “It’s finally time to go home.”

“Are you going to tell Jay…?” Fleta trailed off meaningfully.

“Why should I?” Shep grumbled, narrowing his eyes.

“I don’t know, maybe because he’s been traveling with you for several months? He doesn’t even know who you are!” Fleta took a gulp of cider to keep from saying anything further.

“Why ruin the surprise? He can see who I am when it’s time. That time will be soon. I think we can all wait a little longer.”

Jay watched this discussion with less confusion than he would have thought. He always knew that there was something that Shep was keeping from him. He was excited to be able to find out what it was soon.

Shep drained the rest of his cider. “We head out tomorrow. Brace yourself for the unexpected. I’m not sure exactly what is going to happen when we reach Gozgarden. Get a good night’s sleep tonight.”