With Millie guiding them, the four were soon out of the bog and headed in the right direction. She waited until she was sure they were safe, then told the others that she wanted to see what lay ahead, and took off into the night sky. After circling over them once … twice … she flew over the countryside, exulting in the sense of freedom it gave her.
The land beyond the bog was lightly forested, with enough rolling hills to make it interesting. Here and there a village nestled among the trees, giving proof that humans could scratch out a living even this close to the Icy North. As the rolling land became the foothills of the next mountain range, Millie turned around, intent on rejoining her friends. The sun was already warming the ground when she landed and turned back into a human; her solo flight had given her the peace of mind she needed to return to her human form.
“Where’s Simon-Leo?” she asked Francis and Zoë, who were resting sprawl-legged and weary beside a narrow stream. Zoë was a human again and had dark circles under her eyes.
“I found him a cave to sleep in,” Zoë said, yawning.
“Don’t you want to sleep in a cave?” asked Millie.
Zoë shook her head. “I’m staying with you this time. Simon and Leo snore like giants grinding rocks into sand. I hardly got any sleep yesterday.”
“We’re going to rest for a while and then get started again. Maybe we can lose the troll this time,” Francis murmured as he closed his eyes.
Millie sighed. She would already be talking to the Blue Witch if she’d gone alone as a dragon. Having her friends along was great and she appreciated that they wanted to help her, but it also meant that her trip was taking a lot longer than she’d intended.
The rumbling of her stomach reminded Millie just how long it had been since she’d eaten. She remembered how Francis had caught and cooked fish for their breakfast the day before, and not feeling as tired as her friends, she decided to return the favor. She’d watched boys fishing in the river back home, and she knew that they used long sticks with strings on the end. It seemed easy enough, so she went in search of a stick while her friends rested. After tying a thread from the hem of her skirt onto the stick, she made herself comfortable on the bank of the stream. Millie dipped the string into the water and waited. When a dragonfly darted close to inspect her, she remained perfectly still. She watched a squirrel jump from one tree to another, sending a leaf spiraling down to settle on the surface of the water. Then something small and furtive rustled in the underbrush on the other side of the stream.
“Caught anything yet?” Zoë asked, suddenly appearing at her side. Even though Millie was used to how silently her friend could move, it was still a little unnerving.
“Not yet,” Millie said, glancing up.
Zoë sat down beside her. “I’ve never fished before. Is it fun?”
“Want to try it?” asked Millie, and handed her the stick.
They sat there in companionable silence for a few minutes, waiting for something to happen. Millie was getting bored by the time Francis came to join them, yawning until his jaw made a cracking sound. They still hadn’t had a nibble.
“I wanted to catch breakfast, but I don’t think there are any fish in this stream,” said Millie as Francis sat down between her and Zoë.
“What are you using for bait?” he asked. Taking the stick from Zoë’s hand, Francis lifted the string out of the water. “What the … You don’t even have a hook. How do you think you’re going to catch a fish on a string?”
Millie didn’t like the way he was looking at her. “You did,” she said, and tried to snatch the stick back from him.
Francis held it out of reach and laughed. “I had a hook and bait. You don’t know anything about fishing, do you?”
“We were just trying to do something nice,” said Zoë.
“That’s what I get for traveling with two princesses. Neither of you knows how to do anything practical.”
“All right, Lord Smarty, since you know everything, why don’t you catch our breakfast?” said Millie.
“You won’t have to do that,” said a voice from the other side of the stream, and then two boys stepped out of the underbrush. “I’m Seth,” said the older boy, who couldn’t have been more than ten years old. With his blond hair and high cheekbones, he reminded Millie of Zoë’s brother Vlad. If the boy hadn’t had such rosy cheeks, she would have wondered if he was a vampire as well. “This here is my brother, Johnny,” he said, pointing to the other boy, who appeared to be a few years younger. “Our village isn’t far from here. If you come with us, we can get you a good hot meal.”
“And why would you want to invite three strangers to your village like that?” said Francis. “For all you know, we could be cutthroats.”
“Or witches,” said Zoë.
“Or vampires,” said Millie.
“Naw,” said Seth. “We saw you sleeping. You didn’t take turns keeping watch, and any cutthroat worth his salt would have known to do that.”
“And witches would have used magic to make their breakfast,” said Johnny. “And vampires would want to drink blood, not eat fish.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Francis said, looking solemn. “But you still haven’t explained why you would invite us to a meal.”
Seth glanced at his brother, then back at Francis. “We don’t get many strangers around here. We like to hear news from the rest of the kingdom.”
Johnny nodded. “Do you know any stories about brave knights? Or wizards with real magic?”
“I know a few,” said Francis, looking more than a little smug.
“Then you’ve got to come with us!” said Seth. “Our pa would be mad if we didn’t bring you back.”
“The whole village will want to hear your stories,” added Johnny.
“In that case, we won’t want to disappoint them,” Francis said, dropping the stick on the ground.
Seth crowed with delight. The two boys crashed through the underbrush, then crossed the stream, hopping from stone to stone.
“I’m not so sure that this is a good idea,” Millie whispered to Zoë. “We don’t know anything about these people.”
“I’m too tired to worry about it,” replied Zoë. “They’re ordinary boys, Millie. They don’t have bushy eyebrows like werewolves or the lingering smell of vampires; I would recognize that right away. I really don’t think two witches and a vampire need to be afraid of ordinary people. What could they possibly do to us? You and Francis will have a nice meal and we’ll be on our way. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.”
The boys hadn’t been exaggerating when they said that their village wasn’t far. After only a ten-minute walk, they came across a footpath that soon widened into a narrow lane. They passed an abandoned farmer’s hut with weeds growing waist-high in the doorway and no sign of any animals. Although they smelled wood burning, they didn’t see any other dwellings until they reached the village itself. The houses were made of sticks, with mud filling the chinks in between, and thatched roofs that needed to be repaired.
As they approached the first of the huts, they passed a man armed with a rusted bell and an old, battered sword. He was peering into the woods, but he looked away long enough to nod at the boys and give Millie and her friends a cursory glance before turning back to the trees.
“What’s he looking for?” Francis asked Seth, but the boy had seen someone else and was already waving and shouting.
“Pa!” called Seth. “Come see who we found!”
A group of men gathered in front of one of the huts turned around. One of the men spoke to the rest, then hobbled toward the children like an old man, using a knobbed stick to help him walk. “Who’ve you got there, son?” asked the man.
“We found them by the stream, Pa. We offered them a meal.”
Their father frowned. “Which stream are you talking about?” he asked. “You went into the forest again, didn’t you? How many times have I told you not to go—”
“These two are princesses, Pa! We heard the fella say it!”
“Princesses?” the father said in disbelief. “I’m sure he didn’t mean real princesses. You didn’t, did you?” he asked, turning to Francis.
“As a matter of fact …,” Francis began.
The look in his eyes must have been all the affirmation the boys’ father needed. Years seemed to melt away from his face and his voice became more animated as he said, “They’re real? Who would have believed it? Boys, go tell your mother to add the last of that goat meat to the pot. We got ourselves two real princesses for guests! We’re going to have us a party tonight!”
“If you don’t have enough food—,” said Millie.
“No, no, we’d be honored to have you stay, Your Highness,” the man said, his head nodding like a toy on a string. “It isn’t every day such fine young people as yourselves come to our village. My name’s Jacob,” he said as he escorted them into one of the huts. “And you’ve met my boys, Seth and John. That’s my wife, Bernia, there by the fireplace.” A matronly woman smiled and nodded, but it was Jacob who said, “So, what brings you to our part of the kingdom?”
“We’re on a quest to the Icy North,” said Francis.
“Well, then, a good hot meal is just what you need. You won’t be getting many of them up there. Now, you have a seat right here,” said Jacob, indicating the only bench in the poorly lit room, “and I’ll see about getting you something to eat.”
There was barely space on the bench for all three of them to sit, but Millie, Zoë, and Francis squeezed together as villagers piled into the room. Men and women, young and old had come to see the strangers. The young men greeted Francis politely enough, but then turned their attention to Millie and Zoë, smiling at them and trying to talk over the din as more and more people arrived. Millie noticed that she and Zoë were the only girls there more than five or six years old. There were adult women, of course, but no other girls close in age. She thought it was odd and was about to mention it to her friends when an old man with an ancient lute appeared in the doorway. Working his way through the crowd, he took a spot on the hearth and soon lively music joined the noisy conversation.
Millie was flattered by all the attention the young men were paying her and was sorry that it was impossible to hear what they were saying. They seemed nice, however, passing a mug of cider from hand to hand until it reached her, and doing the same with a bowl of stew when it was ready. After that, Millie’s mug was rarely empty. Although Zoë didn’t eat anything, even she couldn’t refuse the full mug they pressed on her.
As everyone around them ate, or at least drank, the evening wore on in a haze of good food and better music. It wasn’t until Millie had turned down a third helping of stew that Jacob raised his hand in the air and called for quiet. “Now that you’ve had a chance to sample our hospitality, we’re anxious to know what news you might have to share. What can you tell us about the Kingdom of Bull-rush?”
“We haven’t seen much of Bullrush,” said Francis. “Just the will-of-the-wisps and the river.”
“I’ve heard tell of those will-of-the-wisps,” said the old man with the lute. “They take you places no man wants to go and leave you there till your bones rot.”
“They can’t harm you if you don’t follow them,” said Millie. “Just stay out of the bog or take a serviceable torch with you if you have to go in.”
“You don’t say?” said Jacob. “And what about the kingdoms beyond?”
“Sea serpents are attacking Chancewold,” said Francis. “There’s never before been so many plaguing them at once.”
“Ah,” said one of the young men, “that would be by the sea, then?”
“It’s beside the Yaloo River,” said Francis. “Chance-wold is in southern Upper Montevista.”
“I’ve been there,” said the old man. “I went with my pa when I was just a boy.”
“What else can you tell us?” asked Bernia.
Zoë cleared her throat. “The giants are building a boat so they can explore the Eastern Sea and what lies beyond.”
“Giants are curious folk, always poking their noses into the strangest things,” said the old man.
“And the people of Upper Montevista are more accepting of witches now than they used to be,” said Millie. “They have some helping their army.”
“Those Upper Montevistans always were smart people,” said Jacob. “I remember a few years back when …”
As individual conversations started around the room, parents with younger children began to gather their families and take them down the lane to their own huts. One couple with a little girl about five years old stopped in front of Millie and Zoë. “Thank you,” said the woman. “You don’t know how much it means to us to have you here. I’m just sorry that—”
“Now, Ebba,” said her husband, taking her by the arm, “we mustn’t bother the princesses with your chatter. It’s time we got Maite to bed.”
Ebba nodded. “I’m sorry, that’s all I wanted to say.”
“What do you think that was about?” Millie whispered as the woman’s husband hustled her out the door.
“I don’t know,” said Zoë. “Maybe she was sorry because they couldn’t stay longer.”
“I suppose,” Millie said, but the woman had made her uneasy.
Over a dozen people had gone home, leaving more room in the hut. The young men gathered closer now and sat on the floor in front of the bench. “I hear you like to fish,” said one.
“I don’t know if I do or not,” Millie replied. “Today was the first time I’ve ever tried it. I wasn’t sure how to do it, so I’m afraid I made a mess of things.” He was a good-looking young man and talking to him made Millie wonder what it would have been like if she hadn’t been born a princess and had lived in a village like this one.
“I’d be happy to show you how,” he said, his eyes smiling into hers.
“Gib!” said his friend, elbowing him in the side. “She’s a princess, remember!”
The young man blushed and looked away. “My apologies,” he said. “I shouldn’t be making offers I can’t keep.”
“We have to go,” Francis said, getting to his feet. “It’s already dark.”
Millie glanced out the door as she stood up beside him. The room had been so dark inside that she hadn’t noticed that the sun had set or that their hosts had lit candles. “I didn’t realize it was so late,” she said. “We never should have stayed so long.”
“You don’t have to go!” said Jacob. “I was planning to offer you a place to spend the night. I know we can’t offer you anything like you’re accustomed to, but we can give you a warm place to sleep and breakfast in the morning.”
“We really must go,” said Millie. “We need to reach the Icy North as soon as possible.”
“Surely you can stay for one more drink!” said Jacob.
“I don’t think we—,” Francis began.
“Here you go!” said Bernia, refilling their mugs with her pitcher. “You have to have a drink in your hand so we can wish you well.”
Jacob raised his mug, saying, “To a safe journey!” Still watching Millie and her friends, he drank deeply and smacked his lips when he’d finished.
Millie, Zoë, and Francis looked at one another. Francis shrugged, and all three friends drank from their mugs.
“To friendly faces and good food,” Francis said, prompting them all to drink again.
“I need to sit down,” Millie said after taking another sip. The room had started to sway and her head was feeling a little funny. “Just for a minute or two.” Sitting heavily on the bench, she bumped into Zoë, who had sprawled across half the seat. With her eyes closed for just a moment, Millie didn’t notice Francis slump to the floor, seemingly boneless.