“I’ve already added the first trapdoor, from Celie’s chamber, to the supplies,” Pogue said, nodding his head at Celie as he clearly grasped what she was saying. “I don’t know what kind of wood it is, but it’s hard and strong.”
“There are over a dozen,” Celie said, nodding back. “Doors of all sizes. Some with beautiful carvings.”
“We could be using of these things,” Master Cathan agreed, but then a cloud passed over his face. “But not if they are being magic. Such magic has not a place on a ship of any country.”
“If I may add reassurance, Your Majesty,” Wizard Roland said. “We have, just today, inspected these very doors, which Wizard Bran keeps in his workroom. That is, I assume they are the doors the young princess is speaking of?”
Bran nodded. “They are.”
“Excellent,” Wizard Roland said. “Then you have probably also noticed that they have no magical properties?”
Everyone looked at Bran. Bran stared into space. “Well,” he said. “There are none that I can find—”
“There are none,” Wizard Bowen asserted. “The magic came from the Castle; the passages only had enough power of their own to remain in place, and not be closed by the Castle. Now that they are gone, their doors appear to be nothing more than doors.” He made a sort of salute at Celie. “The princess has had a noble idea. With the addition of the doors to this ship, you will truly create something that represents all of Castle Glower, and all of Sleyne. And as it is built in Grath by a Grathian shipwright, then the Grathian element will also be added.”
“What a lovely idea, Celie darling,” Queen Celina said. “Truly!”
“If the wizards are all agreed that there is nothing magical about these doors, then I don’t see why not,” King Glower said.
Lilah stood up, walked around the table to Celie, and then put her arms around her little sister. She kissed Celie on the cheek.
“You amaze me,” she whispered.
Celie felt herself turning bright red.
“To our only Celie,” Lulath said, finally getting to raise his glass in a toast.
Celie had to stay standing while they toasted her, but then she sank down into her seat, still blushing. King Glower asked Master Cathan how long it would take for the ship to be readied to move to Grath, taking the attention off Celie, to her great relief. She felt strangely light.
Earlier that day she’d given the master copy of her atlas to Wizard Bowen, so that he could compare the old plan of the Castle with its new features. He’d promised to give it back to her soon, but Celie found that she didn’t care. She wouldn’t have time to finish it before they left for Grath, and she was sure that Roland and Bowen would do a much better job of mapping the Castle than she could.
“You really do amaze us all,” Pogue said, leaning just slightly toward her so that he could talk in a low voice. “I could see it on your face when we sat down: you aren’t happy about those two”—he indicated Roland and Bowen with a slight twitch of his finger—“finding out the Castle’s secrets without you.”
Celie didn’t have to agree. She was too mortified, hoping that no one else had been able to read her expression as well as Pogue had. As they had sat down to dinner, the queen had asked the two visiting wizards how long they thought they would be studying the Castle, and Roland had shown not a glimmer of self-consciousness when he said that they might spend years unraveling the secrets of the Castle. Years that Celie would spend traveling to Grath and back again—who knew how many times!
“They might have measuring tapes and notebooks and magical training,” Pogue went on, still speaking low enough that only Celie could hear, “but you understand the Castle better than anyone, and I have a feeling you always will.”
Celie looked away, trying not to blush any more or start crying. She caught her mother’s eye, and saw the queen nod slowly, approvingly. She had to find another place to rest her eyes, and took in the griffins lounging in the corners of the room. Her gaze sharpened, and the urge to blush or weep vanished.
Normally Lord and Lady Griffin held court near the fireplace, and the other griffins kept their distance, save for Rufus. But tonight, despite it being a very warm evening, they were lying on the hearth, as close to the small fire as they could get without singeing their fur. Added to that, there were half a dozen griffins in the summer dining hall, and all of them were very close to the griffin queen. Not even just close: Lord Griffin was curled around her, and the others were almost on top of Lady Griffin. Rufus had his head on his mother’s haunch, and Lorcan was actually on her feet. Celie could hardly blame them; Lady Griffin’s fur and feathers were like silk, and she’d continued to put on weight until she was as plump as a pillow.
As though sensing her interest, Arrow, who had been sitting behind Pogue’s chair, got up and went to the hearth. He spread his wings and collapsed forward onto Lady Griffin, covering all but her head.
“What on earth . . . ?” Celie half rose from her chair.
“That’s weird, right?” Pogue stood up. “I’ve never seen them do anything like that before.” He whistled. “Arrow! Here!”
Arrow ignored him.
“What’s the matter?” King Glower craned his neck to look over the high back of his chair. “Everything all right?”
Queen Celina, sitting at her husband’s left hand, leaned back so that she could look at the griffins properly. She frowned.
“Celie,” she said. “I really have been meaning to have you and Ethan look at my dear lady. Something is wrong with her, though she doesn’t appear to be in any distress.”
“She’s more than a bit plump now,” Celie agreed. “And she walks really slowly, but I think that’s because she’s overweight.”
“Well, I think it’s more than that. She sleeps all the time, and she never flies anymore,” the queen said. “And I swear, I haven’t been slipping her sweets, but she just gets bigger and bigger.”
The whole pile of griffins wiggled around.
“Oh, good heavens,” Lilah said. “They’re practically in the fire. Juliet! Come away, love!”
Juliet paid no attention to her person. Arrow hadn’t even looked up when Pogue had called to him, and Celie had a feeling that Rufus was watching her through slitted eyes. She guessed that if she called him, he wouldn’t even twitch.
Celie turned to the maid who was just setting out plates of cake. It was Cora, who was herself the proud owner of a griffin.
“Oh, Cora,” Celie said. “Where’s your griffin?”
The girl turned pink. “Geoffrey? He’s supposed to be in the griffin stables, Your Highness,” she said.
“But . . . ?” Celie looked over at the fire. The only two griffins she didn’t know were full-grown ones who had come to Sleyne with Lord and Lady Griffin, and they didn’t have riders.
“He likes the big fire pit in the kitchens,” Cora said in a rush. She turned her gaze to the king. “I’m ever so sorry, Your Majesty! I try to keep him away!”
“Heavens, child,” the king said. “If Cook doesn’t object, I can’t see any reason why he can’t be there. But has he been acting normally?”
“I think so, but he’s only a week old,” she explained. “And I’ve never seen a griffin up close before.”
“Ah, well then,” the king said. “Just eating and sleeping and more eating?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the girl said with pride. “Geoffrey’s a great one for eating.”
“That’s all right then,” Celie said. “But could you run out to the griffin stables and ask for Ethan to come in? Thank you.”
Cora set out the last plate of cake in front of Master Cathan, and went out with a curtsy.
“Does everyone but me have a griffin at this point?” Rolf said in despair.
Lord Griffin raised his head and made a sharp carking noise, as though shushing Rolf. Rolf put his head down next to his plate.
“It will be fine, darling,” Queen Celina said. “You’ll have one soon, I can just
feel it!”
Wizard Roland whipped out a notebook and pencil. “Did this feeling just come upon you?”
“I beg your pardon?” Celie’s mother looked startled.
“You are the magic user, the one with no training?” Wizard Roland flipped back through his notes to the front page and then nodded. “The queen? Your father was the Royal Wizard, yes?”
“Yes,” Queen Celina said. Celie thought her mother looked a bit uncomfortable.
“You created the so-called ‘lockboxes’ that were used to seal the so-called ‘secret passages,’ yes?” He consulted another page. “Yes.”
“Yes,” Queen Celina said, looking ever more alarmed.
“My mother had my full permission and supervision,” Bran said, looking pompous and wizardly to cover up the lie.
“Hmmm,” Wizard Roland said, clearly not believing Bran’s story.
“Someone possessing that level of magic should be at the College of Wizardry,” Wizard Bowen said, but he sounded academic rather than condescending.
“Hmmm,” Wizard Roland said again. “A queen has never attended the College, not in its four hundred and eighty-three year history,” he noted.
“It would be too problematic for a queen to spend four years away from the seat of power of her nation,” Wizard Bowen said. “Or a mother to leave her children for such a length of time is also unwise. Thus it has never been done.”
“Which is unfortunate when one considers the fate of the queen’s mother,” Wizard Roland said.
Celie sucked in her breath, and Lilah uttered a small cry.
“Well,” Queen Celina said, showing no sign of having taken offense. “Why don’t you train me? You’re going to be here for some time studying the Castle.”
All three wizards—Bran, Bowen, and Roland—sat with their mouths agape. It had clearly never occurred to them.
“One must attend the College of Wizardry in order to learn magic,” Roland finally said in a fussy voice.
“But I’m a queen and a mother, and I can’t leave my family,” Queen Celina countered.
“It’s never been done,” Bowen objected.
“Mother!” Bran said, sounding like he was about twelve. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, Bran, that it’s time things changed,” Queen Celina said. “There will be three wizards in the Castle for the foreseeable future. I need to learn magic so that I don’t harm myself or those around me. Having you take turns privately tutoring me is the perfect solution.”
“A very perfectness of a solution,” Lulath said, clapping his hands. “Might I be having of lessons in magical weapons? They thrill me! And to my sadness, I have not the magic of the queen or our only Bran.”
“What a lovely idea, Lulath,” Queen Celina said.
Bran just sat there with his mouth open, aghast.
“You called for me, Your Majesties?” Ethan said, coming into the summer dining hall. He looked at the tense faces around the table. “What’s happened?”
“I’m going to be studying to be a wizard, here at the Castle,” Queen Celina said.
“Yes,” Bran said, and remembered to close his mouth. He nodded his head slowly. “Yes, Roland, Bowen, and I will undertake to teach my mother. And, I suppose, show the others a few things.”
Then Bran shook himself.
“But I’m sorry, that isn’t why we called you here, Ethan,” he continued. “We wanted you to have a look at these griffins.”
“Ah,” Ethan said. “Are you wondering when the queen will lay her egg?”
Chapter
27
“I thought we were in an uproar when Arkwright was in the walls,” Lilah grumbled. “Could this get any more ridiculous?”
Celie tried to answer, but the seamstress had pulled a velvet gown over her head, and she got a mouthful of fabric instead. When she emerged from the bodice, Lilah had carried on ranting, and Celie realized that she wasn’t expected to say anything.
“Mother is studying to be a wizard, wizards are studying the Castle, Lady Griffin is going to lay an egg any day now, there’s a ship to build even though no one from our family has ever been on a ship, and we’re going to have to go to Grath by ourselves!”
“By ourselves? Isn’t Lulath coming?” Celie managed to fit the words in before Lilah went on.
“Lulath doesn’t count!”
“Then why are you marrying him?”
“Celie, you know what I mean!”
But Celie really didn’t. Lilah was the one who always wanted things to be new and exciting: new clothes, new adventures, getting engaged at seventeen, traveling across the known world to meet his family; she was the one having fun . . . wasn’t she? Celie was the one who didn’t want to leave the Castle, or have things change.
And yet, now that there were wizards measuring and scribbling and mapping, Celie wasn’t sure she wanted to be there to watch. Now that the pieces of the ship were ready to be taken to Grath, she was excited by the idea of the ship and the ocean. What did it feel like to ride atop the waves? What would the fabled isles of Larien look like?
“Are you listening to me?” Lilah demanded.
“Everyone in the Castle is listening to you,” Queen Celina said, sweeping into the room. “They can’t help it, Lilah! You really must not give yourself over to these hysterics!”
“I am not hysterical!” Lilah shouted. Then she turned red and said in a small voice, “I’m sorry, Mummy.”
Queen Celina wrapped her arms around Lilah and held her older daughter in a tight embrace.
“Why am I scared?” Lilah said in a choked voice. “I love Lulath!”
“Getting married is scary,” Queen Celina said. “It’s a big decision, and it leads to even more big decisions.”
“Is that supposed to help?” Lilah sobbed.
“Yes, darling, it is,” the queen said. “It’s supposed to help you remember that this isn’t about gowns and going on holiday to the sea. It’s about making choices, and thinking carefully about them before and after.
“And I want you to understand that your father and I wouldn’t let you make this decision if we didn’t feel you were ready for it, or if we thought you were making a terrible mistake. You will note that we did veto the idea of a spring wedding . . . unless the spring you’re talking about is three years from now.”
“I know, I know,” Lilah said, pulling away from her mother and dabbing at her cheeks. “Yes,” she said more seriously. “I do know. It’s still . . . it’s a lot.”
Celie watched in silence as her mother hugged Lilah again, and thought how strange it was that she was usually the one having a hard time with changes, but now it was Lilah. Was this a sign that Celie was growing up? But that didn’t make sense; Lilah was five years older than Celie, after all.
Queen Celina also seemed to come to this conclusion. Or rather, to think that Celie must be acting brave, when she secretly wanted to cry and scream, too. The queen let go of Lilah again and came over to hug Celie, who was now laced and buttoned into a stiff new gown.
“And Celie darling, I know, I know you hate to leave the Castle, but it’s so wonderful that you’ll be able to go with Lilah and help her! I know you’ll be my brave girl! And I’ll be just a few weeks behind you, really. I only wanted to make sure I had a good handle on my magic before I joined you.”
“That’s fine,” Celie said, “I’m not—”
Rufus burst into the room with a cry of triumph. He went straight to Celie and began to butt her with his head, pushing her toward the door he’d just come through.
“Rufus, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you all day,” Celie scolded him.
Secretly she was relieved, however. She didn’t really know what she’d been trying to say to her mother, because she didn’t know how she felt.
“I haven’t seen Juliet all day, either,” Lilah said.
Rufus screeched and tried to shoo Lilah toward the door, too, flapping his wings. He was dancing from
foot to foot, his talons making a horrible scraping noise on the stone floor.
“Something’s wrong,” Celie said.
“Is it Juliet? Where is she?”
Rufus turned and ran out, sure now that they would follow him. And they did: Celie, Lilah, Queen Celina, and one of the younger seamstresses who was told to go and see what the problem was.
The griffin led them through the lower level of the Castle, up the stairs, down the long corridor that ran between the throne room and the Heart of the Castle. As they came around the corner, Celie expected them to turn into the Heart, but Rufus turned the other way, down a small side corridor that led to Celie’s parents’ bedchamber.
“Oh, no! What’s happened?” Queen Celina gasped.
“Juliet?” Lilah called.
But they went past the king and queen’s rooms to the last door, the one that led to Rolf’s bedchamber. The door was wide open, and Rufus plunged inside.
“Juliet?” Lilah called again as she, Celie, and Queen Celina all hurried after Rufus.
Juliet was in the room. So were Arrow, Lorcan, Lord Griffin, String of Pearls, and Geoffrey. Also Ethan, Pogue, King Glower, Cora the kitchen maid, Lulath, and Rolf. Rolf was standing beside his bed, his eyes wide.
“Do you think this means . . . that I . . . Is this one finally for me?” Rolf said, his voice rising to a squeak as he looked over at Celie.
Celie could only stare. The griffins and people were all huddled around Rolf’s high bed. In the middle of the bed, in a nest of rucked-up blankets, was Lady Griffin. She was positively glowing as she curled around an enormous pumpkin-colored egg.
“Oh, she laid her egg,” Celie said, and took a step forward, one hand reaching toward the egg to feel for the familiar silky heat.
Lady Griffin made a warning sound low in her throat, and Celie froze. Then the griffin mother turned to look at Rolf and made a humming noise, shifting so that her upper wing wasn’t covering any of the egg, inviting Rolf to touch it.
Rolf reached out and carefully laid one hand on the egg.
“Oh,” he said, and turned his face away to hide the tears welling up in his eyes.
“Joy! The very joy,” Lulath exclaimed, and he began to applaud.