Wanderlove

"What is it?"

"We only have about fifteen minutes until they come to fetch me. Someone just made the decision."

It was weird, having Lina"s abilities surrounding me again. I"d forgotten how easy it was to have someone tell me what was coming.

"Oh, that sucks," I whined. "I feel like you just got here."

Lina chuckled. "Lo, we"ve been talking for nearly three hours," she pointed out.

I felt my brows rise in astonishment. "Has it really been that long? I didn"t even realize it."

"So there"s one thing I want to know before I go," Lina announced. "I don"t believe your whole speal about not wanting to stay with Gabe because you don"t want to end up remembering where the oracle is located. I think you and I both know it"s bound to happen either way, especially at the rate you"re remembering everything. So why didn"t you choose to stay with the man you love with the little time you may have together?"

I frowned. Lina knew me too well. Since I hadn"t been able to talk to anyone about it, and since I still felt guilty for never telling her about my memories before now, I decided to tell her the truth.

"Because. . .I think Annika is a better choice. And honestly, I don"t want Gabe wasting every life he has by spending it with me. I want, no, I need for him to be happy."

Lina snorted- loudly. "That"s the most ridiculous thing I"ve ever heard. There is no girl who could be a better choice than you."

I smiled ruefully at her compliment. Unexpectedly, Lina hugged me tightly. "We"ll get you out of here," she promised. "And afterwards, you"re going to get your man back."

"I don"t know about all that," I told her. "But I wouldn"t mind the escape part."

She pulled away, looking into my eyes. "We will definitely get you out of here. You do believe me, don"t you?"

I shrugged. "I believe you"ll try," I answered honestly. "But the Royals are relentless. They have me followed everywhere I go. I can"t even leave my own bedroom without a guard standing around the corner."

"Trust me," she smiled. Then she whispered into my ear, "Tomorrow night."

I nodded, understanding what she meant. I hadn"t realized they would try to break me out so soon. That knowledge was exciting.

"I better go," she said. "They"re coming to make me leave and anyway, I"m supposed to dance tonight."

"You"re dancing?" I asked, disappointed I would miss her performance.

"Sure. It"s Christmas. And didn"t you know, I"m famous, dah-ling."

I chuckled. "I see your head has grown even bigger since I last saw you. If it grows anymore, you"re going to topple over from the weight."

She merely waved my comment aside. "They"ve asked me to dance every night that we"re here. I agreed, of course. It"s not often Christo allows us to visit Redwood Forest."

"Have fun," I said. "Don"t let the men fight over you."

She smiled at the thought. "Where"s the fun in that?"

"Oh, geez. Good night, Lina." I shook my head as she left my room. I was still chuckling after she was gone.

But eventually, my world became boring again. I sighed dreamily, while staring out of my window. I wished I could venture into the camp tonight and watch Lina"s performance. But I wasn"t allowed out at night. According to every guard I"d ever asked before, they all told me the same thing: "It isn"t safe in the camp at night."

But I knew what they really meant. They didn"t allow me out after dark because they couldn"t keep a good watch over me. It suddenly occurred to me it would be nighttime when Lina and my father would try to break me out. Hmm, I thought. Maybe their plan will work.

I reached for my father"s package, pulling the strings off and then lifting the lid. Inside was a ceramic jewelry box. Curiously, I opened the box, knowing my father wouldn"t have been so secretive about giving me a pretty jewelry box for Christmas. As it opened, I caught glimpse of something black and shiny. It was a handgun.

I smiled a little wickedly.

Thanks, Dad. You"re awesome.

I put the gun away and thought no more of it. I was determined to keep it for an emergency- or my escape- and therefore I couldn"t run the risk of someone listening to my thoughts. There was a slight drizzle of rain falling outside tonight. Maybe it was a sign. Maybe it meant some luck was in store for me, after all.

THIRTY-SEVEN.

Lina came the next evening as expected, promptly at dusk.

"What on earth are you wearing?" I asked incredulously as I opened my bedroom door. She was decked out from head to toe in one of her flashier dancing costumes. "Are you trying to look suspicious?"

She sidestepped me, closing the door from behind.

"These are my stage clothes," she said.

"I realize that, but why are you wearing them?"

She suddenly grinned widely. She had a bag with her and from within it she pulled out an auburn-colored wig.

I tilted my head to the side. "Are you serious?"

She put her hands on her hips, annoyed with me. "Do you have a better plan?" she angrily whispered. "Let"s hear it then, by all means."

I narrowed my eyes at her and then s.n.a.t.c.hed the wig out of her hand. "Fine," I whispered back. "But this better work."

"It will." She smiled. "Trust me."

As she changed, she told me in a warning tone, "Keep your mind on lock-down. Try not to think about what we"re doing-- just in case there"s anyone listening in."

I nodded, though I knew it would be nearly impossible to think of anything other than escaping.

We quickly switched outfits. I put on Lina"s ridiculously gaudy costume, and she helped me with the wig by pinning it into place. Coins jangled from across the bust of the dress and also from the hip sash. The dress was a glittering gold color, which would be noticeable from a mile away.

"Oh, I almost forgot this." Lina pulled out a small, white cartridge from inside her bag. She opened it to reveal a pair of brown contacts. "For good measure," she advised me. Then she proceeded to place them into my eyes. However, getting those contacts in place was a complete nightmare. I suddenly had a much higher appreciation for my gla.s.ses.

"Oh, stop being a baby," Lina admonished me. "Your eyes are watering."

"You"re poking me in the eye," I retorted.

We eventually got the contacts in, but the feeling was awkward. I blinked several times before they felt secure.

Afterwards, Lina took out a bottle of kohl from her bag and she drew a heavy line along my upper lids. Then she brushed on several coats of mascara, added blush to my cheeks and a heavy dousing of gloss to my lips.

"Perfect!" Lina applauded herself as she looked me over.

I turned to the nearby mirror so I could see the results for myself.

I was barely recognizable.

"Wow. This may actually work."

Lina grinned again. "You"ll pa.s.s for me easily enough as long as n.o.body looks at you too closely."

I twirled in front of the mirror, attempting to view myself from behind. Voicing my thoughts aloud, I muttered, "I look like a tramp."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Lina began to tap her foot. "You better take that back right now or I"ll make sure a black eye goes with your new look!"

I glanced up to find her wearing a very angry expression and I realized my blunder. "Oh, I mean-- not that you looked like one. I just meant it"s a little risque, that"s all. I don"t think of you as a tramp, promise."

I smiled now, trying to mellow the mood.

Lina only snorted and mumbled an aggrieved, "Uh, huh," underneath her breath.

"So what"s the plan?" I asked, attempting to change the subject.

"Once you"re out of the castle, you meet Christo where the river meets the pond. There"s a car waiting for you there."

"What about you?" I asked. "What happens to you when they realize I"m missing?"

"Nothing. I"m going to leave an hour after you do. The guards rotate their posts in exactly an hour from now. The new guard will never know I"ve already left the room. And if they do, I"ll be able to see it coming. So far, so good. I see you getting out of the castle."

"Really?" My voice held excitement now.

"Yes," she a.s.sured me. "But you need to leave now."

"Wait." I kneeled down to pull out the handgun from underneath the bedroll. I hid it within a fold of my skirt.

"Christo sneak that in for you?" Lina asked.

I nodded.

"Try not to think about it. Pretend it"s not even with you. Unless you need it, of course."

I smiled. "Of course," I mimicked her. I wrapped my arms around Lina for a quick hug. "Thanks for everything," I said.

"You"re welcome. Oh, there"s one more thing-- try to look confident. Just try to believe you"re me. And. . .break a leg."

"Okay." I nodded. I took one deep breath and exhaled slowly before turning the doork.n.o.b.

Here goes nothing, I thought to myself.

I imagined I must feel the way shoplifters feel when they leave a store with their stash of goods hidden in their bags or pockets. It was certainly a rush, but I tried my best to stay calm. I kept my eyes straight ahead of me and continued to put one foot in front of the other at a normal pace.

You are Lina. You are Lina. You are Lina, I kept reminding myself with each step.

Pa.s.sing the first guard was the most difficult. He stood at post by the entrance to the west wing. I tried not to look at him, but I could feel his eyes staring me down. I looked up, seeing I was correct; his eyes were locked upon me. A deep fear enveloped me as if I had been caught red-handed. The guard just smiled and nodded me onwards. I smiled back and kept moving. I tried not to let out my sigh of my relief until I was far removed from this place.

I continued on in this manner. I found myself holding my breath next to each guard I pa.s.sed. But none of them said a word to me. I supposed they had all recognized Lina"s dress from when she"d come into the castle earlier. Finally, once I"d pa.s.sed the great hall, I could see the main entrance coming into view. My heart started racing. I am going to get away with this, I thought. The door is right there!

I pa.s.sed through the doorway without looking back. As soon as the outside air hit me, I breathed a long sigh of relief. I did it! It was almost impossible to believe.

Now that I was out of the castle, however, I had no time to waste. I immediately picked up my pace because every moment was precious. I needed to get as far away from here as I could while I had the chance.

I worked my way into the camp, weaving my way through the crowds. There were people everywhere. The farther I immersed myself into the camp, the harder it was to get through. My anxiety began to increase as I pushed my way forward. And it didn"t help that I was being noticed everywhere I went in Lina"s gaudy dress.

There were some juvenile boys who blew whistles as I hurried by. One of them even grabbed my arm in order to gain my attention, but I s.n.a.t.c.hed it away and rushed to move on.

There was a fire breather to my left, with a large audience surrounding him. He caught my attention just as he blew a rippling wave of flames into the audience. He wanted to frighten everyone without doing any real harm. It had the startling affect he"d intended and everyone stepped back before cheering him on. Distracted by the fire breather"s performance, I accidentally ran directly into someone as they were stepping backwards.

"Hey, watch where you"re going!"

I looked up, seeing I had run into an immensely large woman who was wearing too much makeup and a furious expression. Although once she got a good look at me, her anger rapidly disappeared.

"Oh, it"s you!" she said. "We have been looking for you everywhere. It"s Lina, right?"

I cleared my throat. "Yep. My name is Lina." I tried my best to sound very confident about that.

"Oh, good. Come with me." The woman motioned for me to follow her.

Confused, I trailed along after her. It was really aggravating, especially in the middle of my getaway attempt. But I figured it would seem suspicious if I chose not to follow her, especially if there was somewhere Lina was supposed to be right now.

I tried to lose the woman a few times by keeping a slower pace, but she kept glancing behind her, hurrying me along. The woman was persistent, determined to get me (well, Lina) to wherever we were headed.

Eventually, she led me to a large wooden platform. I followed her up a set of steps that ran along the backside of it, which ventured into the makeshift building. She opened the door and ushered me inside.

"Quickly," she said to me for the tenth time since we"d been walking. She was proving to be very annoying.

"I"m coming," I muttered.

As soon as we were inside, we were bombarded with people.

"Thank heavens, you"ve found her!" The man who announced this rushed to my side.

"Where have you been?" he asked. Before I had the chance to make up an excuse, he abruptly cut me off. "It doesn"t matter. There"s no time. Here, take these." He stuffed a pair of cymbals into my palms.

"What are these for?" I asked dumbly.

"Haha," he laughed, displaying his set of gold teeth. "You"re cute."