Stepsister(98)

Both of Hugo’s eyebrows shot up. He scratched under his cap. “You’re different, Ella. You’re not the girl I remember. I guess it’s true what they say. What doesn’t kill you—”

“Makes you the queen of France,” Ella finished. “Let’s go,” she added, glancing out Felix’s window. “Hugo’s right. It’s going to be a lot harder to sneak two thousand soldiers to a fairy queen in broad daylight.”





One Hundred and Fifteen


Felix opened the gates to the work yard, and Hugo backed the wagon into it as quickly as he could.

Working together, the five unloaded the potatoes, heaping them on the ground. It was decided that they would load the coffins into the wagon first, then carry the wooden soldiers down from Felix’s room in crates, baskets, bedsheets—anything they could find.

The coffins were simple, slender pine boxes, not terribly heavy. Felix and Isabelle picked the first one up by its rope handles, carried it out of the shop, and set it down on the wagon’s bed. Felix pushed it, trying to get it to slide in neatly under its seats, but it wouldn’t go. It seemed to be blocked by something. He was about to push it again just as Hugo and Tavi appeared, carrying the second coffin.

“Wait! Felix, don’t!” Hugo cried. “You’ll let it out!”

“Let what out?” Felix asked, confused.

“The sweaty dead dog,” Hugo said as he and Tavi slid the second coffin into the wagon.

“There’s a dead dog in the wagon?” Ella asked confused.

“No, it’s a cheese. Tavi invented it. It’s in a box under the seats,” Isabelle explained.

“It smells so bad, I can’t get rid of it,” Hugo said. “Be careful, you really don’t want to knock the lid off.”

He climbed into the wagon, shoved the wooden box over to the left side of the bed, then slid the first coffin in next to it. Isabelle pushed the second one in. They just fit.

Everyone worked together to bring the soldiers downstairs. Soon, both coffins were full. As Felix secured the lids, tapping a few nails into them to keep them from sliding during the trip, Isabelle went to the stables to see Nero. She would leave him there, hidden away, to keep him safe. If Cafard saw him, he would take him, and she did not want a traitor to have her horse.

She scratched Nero’s ears, kissed his nose, and told him to be good. She didn’t know if they would make it to the Maison Douleur, or if she would see her beloved horse again after tonight. As if sensing her distress, Nero nudged at her with his nose. She kissed him again, then hurried away without looking back. Nero watched her go, blinking his huge, dark eyes; then he gave the stall door a good hard kick.

The others, except for Felix, were already in the wagon by the time Isabelle rejoined them. She climbed in and settled herself on the back seat. Tavi and Ella were up front. Hugo, in the driver’s seat, guided Martin out of the work yard. Felix closed the gates, then swung up beside Isabelle.

Hugo cracked the reins, and Martin trotted down the dark street. Isabelle looked up. The moon was still high, but the sky was beginning to lighten. Worry shriveled her insides.

“Volkmar’s men are only a few miles away, and what are we doing?” she said, turning to Felix. “Hauling tiny wooden soldiers off to a magical fox who lives in a hollow inside a tree. That sounds like the craziest thing yet in a night full of crazy things. Ella says she told Tanaquill what her heart wanted. And Tanaquill granted it to her. Do you think it will work?”

Felix looked at Ella, nestled in between Hugo and Tavi. Then he took Isabelle’s hand and held it.

“Maybe it already has,” he said.





One Hundred and Sixteen


The old farmer, bleary-eyed and grizzled, raised a hand in greeting.

Hugo did the same, and their two wagons passed in silence.

They’d made their way out of Saint-Michel without seeing another soul. Ever since they’d left the safety of Felix’s room, Isabelle had felt as if iron bands were wrapped around her chest. As they started towards the gentle hills that lay beyond the village, she finally felt as if she could take a breath, as if they might actually make it to the Maison Douleur.

Until Hugo swore and pointed up ahead of them. Isabelle could see the old church silhouetted on top of the hill in the thinning darkness. On the road next to it, riding fast, was a group of soldiers.

“If we stay calm, we can get out of this,” Tavi said.

“How? They’re going to recognize Ella right away,” Hugo said.

He’s right, Isabelle thought. “Ella, change places with Felix,” she said. “They might not see you so well if you’re sitting in the back. Tavi, you come back here, too. We’ll put Ella between us.”

They quickly rearranged themselves, but it wasn’t enough, and they knew it. Ella still shined like a star.

Felix pulled a brightly printed handkerchief from his pocket. “Wrap your hair up,” he said.

Hugo handed her his glasses. “Put these on, too.”

Ella did as they bade her. The three girls were sitting on an old horse blanket that had been folded over to cushion the seat. Tavi pulled it out from under them and draped it around Ella’s shoulders. Isabelle spotted a clod of dirt by her feet. She picked it up, crushed it, then rubbed it on Ella’s soft hands, working it into her knuckles and nails so that they looked just like her and Tavi’s rough ones.