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Before he could open it, the door swung open, and King John walked into the room.

Chapter 15

King John’s eyes flew wide open and then narrowed as he saw us. He drew his sword in one quick motion—so smoothly that the oil lamp in his other hand didn’t even wobble. “What’s this?” he growled.

“Trespassers?”

I could only grip the book to my chest like a shield and stare in surprise, but Hudson gave him a quick bow. “Sire, your fiancée asked that I take her to you. I thought it was best not to leave her chained up among piles of gold while invaders roam the grounds. I knew you wouldn’t want her hurt or kidnapped.” King John lowered his sword, but didn’t sheath it. I watched the blade warily.

Certain things shouldn’t be mixed together. Crazy people and weapons are two of those things.

Would King John be able to beat Hudson in a sword fight? Hudson was taller, younger, and stronger, but he had only been practicing for a few months.

At the mention of piles of gold, King John turned his attention to me. “Did the fairy give you the enchantment as we instructed?” When I nodded, an expression of glee bloomed across his face. I wondered if he’d be as excited if I told him I had to trade our firstborn child to get the enchantment.

I wanted to glance at Hudson, to ask him with my eyes what we were supposed to do next. I didn’t dare. I couldn’t give King John any hint that I knew my guard.

King John put his lamp on a table next to the door, then plucked the book out of my hands. “Is this the enchantment?” 204/356

I had to restrain myself from grabbing it back. “No, that’s a storybook. The enchantment is attached to my heart.” King John clutched the book, but his gaze traveled to the bodice of my dress. “Ah yes, the heart is the right place for it. Easier to keep track of.” He tossed the book onto the table and smiled. “Mother always said we should marry a girl with a heart of gold. How right she was.” He still didn’t sheath his sword. “Now then, what did you wish to discuss with us? If it is details about the wedding, we can’t be bothered. We are currently busy crushing our enemies.” I made sure no lie slipped into my words. “I didn’t change all of the straw. I figured the castle might need it and I can turn something else to gold instead. Or if you would rather, I can change the straw.” I gave a nervous curtsy. “Forgive me. It was wrong of me to bother you when you’re busy crushing enemies.”

I made to go but he held his sword across the doorframe, blocking the way. “Do we understand you correctly? You can turn other things to gold?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Hudson. His jaw was clenched, his expression tense. We were still in danger. When King John uncovered the Gilead in the morning, he would know the truth behind our visit tonight. Hudson and I had to escape from the castle before then. But King John probably wouldn’t let me walk out of here now. He’d call Haverton and have him chain me to something else.

No wonder the miller’s daughter had to send out servants to discover Rumpelstiltskin’s name. She was probably under lock and key the rest of her life.

King John leaned toward me, still keeping his sword firmly across the doorway. “What else can you turn to gold, my dear?” 205/356

“I’ll show you.” I put my hand gingerly on the edge of the sword and forced a smile at him. “Sword, gold, gold, gold.” My heart gave a little rip of pain and then the silver sheen on the sword blazed into gold. The next moment the sword dropped from King John’s hand and clanged to the stone floor. It had become too heavy for him to hold.

Instead of being distressed that he was now weaponless, King John chortled and knelt on the ground to examine the sword. “It’s sublime,” he whispered. “It’s exquisite.” He caressed the shining hilt.

“We shall have dishes and tables and fountains of gold. We shall have an entire castle of gold.”

He looked up at me, the greed fixed in his eyes. Which was why he didn’t notice Hudson pick up a bottle from the table, and why he didn’t see Hudson swing it toward his head.

“We shall—,” King John started. Then the bottle hit him, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

“—have an immense headache when we awake,” Hudson finished.

“Here, help me drag His Majesties into their bedroom.” I took one of King John’s arms, Hudson took the other, and we pulled him across the floor and behind the bed where he wouldn’t be visible. “He won’t be out for long,” Hudson said, “and when he comes to, he’ll be fit to be tied. So we’d better tie him up now.” Luckily, it wasn’t hard to find string. Golden spools of it were everywhere. We wound it around his arms and legs. Then Hudson cut part of the bed’s canopy and made it into a gag. “That will buy us a little time,” he said.

But I wanted even more time. “I’ll weigh him down,” I said, grabbing hold of his sleeve. “Shirt, gold, gold, gold.” Nothing happened. I felt no pain. The cloth didn’t change. “It didn’t work,” I said, puzzled.

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Hudson cast a nervous glance at the door. “Maybe because you didn’t call it by the right name. It’s a tunic, not a shirt.” I tried again. “Tunic, gold, gold, gold.” I felt the jolt in my heart and knew it worked even before I saw the cloth transform to metal. I changed his robe, leggings, and boots.

It would take him a while to get off the floor while wearing heavy, unbending clothes. And just as long to figure out how to remove the golden clothing from his body.

King John was no longer quite so flexible.

“Wow,” Hudson said, helping me to my feet. “When you break off an engagement, you do it in a big way. Remind me never to tick you off.”

“You already have ticked me off.”

He laughed and took hold of my hand. As we hurried out of the room, I picked up the magic book from the table. We slipped out into the corridor, where Hudson moved to holding my arm instead. It was all for show, I knew, the way he was holding my arm. When people saw us, they were supposed to think he was a guard taking me someplace. But I wanted to hold his hand—for real. I didn’t want to feel his coarse leather glove on my sleeve; I wanted to lazily intertwine my fingers with his.

I pushed the thought away. Hudson had as much as said he was only helping me because I was Nick’s sister.

While we went down the stairs, Hudson filled me in on the escape plans. “I know where some rope is. We can attach it to a merlon and climb down the back wall.”

“A merlon?” I asked. The only Merlin I knew from the Middle Ages was King Arthur’s wizard.

“It’s the part of the wall that sticks up,” he said. “You’ll need a disguise—one of the guard uniforms.” He glanced at me and sighed.

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“We’ll hope nobody gets too close to you. I can already tell you won’t make a very convincing man.” Hudson’s gaze was straight ahead now, and yet I still felt it on me, appraising me. “Where in the world did you get lipstick from, anyway?” he asked.

“My fairy godmother. She feels makeup is very important.”

“Just what we need right now—your lips to be a glossy red.” He shot another disgruntled glance at me. “I’ve never seen anyone with such big eyes.”

I do have large eyes. I’ve always liked them. “What’s wrong with them?”

“They’re girl eyes,” he said. “Princess eyes. I bet if you start singing right now, woodland creatures will come out and help with our escape.”

I laughed, and the motion hurt my heart. Still, it felt good to laugh. “And I would accept their help,” I said.

When we reached the ground floor, Hudson took hold of my elbow and strode purposefully down the corridors. No one questioned us. Not even when we went outside.

We made our way across the courtyard as quickly as we could, heading toward the guardhouse. Above us on the wall, men yelled things to each other. Archers stood behind the tall parts of the castle wall, then leaned over and quickly shot through the gaps. An occasion-al arrow flew into the courtyard, its outline momentarily caught in the moonlight, but beyond that I didn’t see any evidence of the enemy.