This is ridiculous!” Ilsa declared to the stoutly fastened chamber door. She raised her fist and hammered on it. “Let me out! I demand you release me!”
Silence.
“I want food! Water! You cannot keep me in here!” She raised her other fist and pummeled the wood with both, making the door shiver and rattle.
She tried the handle once more, even though she knew nothing would have changed in the last two hours. The door would still be barred against her.
With a barely contained scream, she threw her shoulder at the door, with her full weight behind it. The deep booming sound she made was satisfying, although her shoulder creaked and throbbed.
Ilsa put her hand against the door, then her head. “Let me out,” she whispered, knowing no one would hear her.
Silence.
This morning after breaking her fast in the triclinium, Ilsa had told her four companions her courses had failed to arrive as usual and then sworn them to silence. “It may be nothing,” she added. “They may still occur. I would rather not raise my lord’s hopes, or anyone else’s, only to have them dashed—where are you going, Merryn?” she said sharply.
Merryn shut the chamber door behind her without answering.
Eseld considered the door for a moment, then she, too got to her feet and moved out of the room.
Rigantona and Dilas followed her with hurried footsteps.
Ilsa stared at the closed door, indignant.
Heavy scraping sounded outside the door, followed by a solid thud. The door shifted.
Ilsa could feel her mouth dropping open. Surely...no, they would not have locked her in here, would they?
She got to her feet and tried the handle. The door didn’t budge. She rattled the handle harder. Even though the latch raised, the door did not open.
Ilsa stepped back away from the door, staring at it, her heart thudding. Yes, they had barred her in here.
That had been two hours ago. She had protested and shaken and knocked upon the door in waves of determination, since. Her anger and fright and puzzlement drove her to it.
Why was she locked here? It made no sense. She had done nothing to deserve such treatment.
Another heavy scraping sounded. The door shifted under her forehead. Ilsa stepped back, staring at the door, her heart speeding along. Had she imagined the sound?
Then more scraping and the thud of heavy wood against the tiles, outside the door.
The door opened and Ilsa drew in a shaky breath as Arawn stepped in. The door closed behind him.
“Arawn! I mean…my lord! I do not underst—”
“Is it true?” His voice was strained.
Ilsa’s lips parted. She looked at him again, this time seeing the tension around his eyes and the hard line of his jaw. His hands were fisted.
The fear rushed back, filling her chest and making her shake. What had she done? “Is what true?”
“Your courses…” Faint redness touched his cheeks. He cleared his throat.
Ilsa realized she was pressing her hand to her belly. She dropped it. “That they have not occurred when they should? Yes, although I warned Merryn…did she come to you straight away?” Bitterness touched her. “I know now where their loyalties truly lie, all of them.” Oh, how she wished Gwen were here. Gwen, at least might have warned her of this. Only, Gwen laid ill in her bed and had been for days.
Arawn made a short, flat motion with his hand. “Your women are loyal to their king as they should be. They serve their kingdom, as they are required to do.”
“And now I have been reminded of it,” Ilsa finished. “Does serving their kingdom encompass locking their queen in her chamber?”
“I ordered it,” Arawn replied.
Ilsa drew in a shuddering breath. “You? But…” She pressed her hand to her belly once more. “Does the news displease you? I thought…” She bit her lip.
Arawn shook his head. “Nothing is certain yet. I am well familiar with the early stages.” His tone was dry. “If there is even a chance you carry a child, though, I would be a fool to allow the slightest risk to approach you. I am not a fool. You will remain here in this room where it is safe. The only person allowed through the door is me. The guards will bring you food and water. They will not step farther than a pace into the room. There will be guards beyond the door at all times, to keep any danger away from you.”
The air in the room chilled. Ilsa’s heart thudded in her temples. “For how long?” she breathed.
Arawn moved to the door and knocked on it. “Remember the day we met, Ilsa? Remember I said I would do anything to break this curse?”
Horror spilled through her, turning her bowels to water. She sat on the table, her strength draining, and watched him leave and the door thud shut once more. She understood the answer he had not given.
He would do anything to break the curse, including keeping her captive in this room until the child was born.