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Princess Beatrice ran to the beast’s dungeon cell, crept through the bars, found the hidden trapdoor and pulled the trapdoor aside. She lowered herself down into the recess and pulled the stone slab back into place. She crawled inside the narrow tunnel and waited.
The beast never came.
The princess waited and waited and waited. The darkness above her was silent and still. Nobody returned to the dungeons.
The princess was afraid to risk venturing out of the trapdoor prematurely and, thinking that the beast had been delayed, she continued to wait in the darkness of the tunnel, boiling with impatience for being denied a chance to help the beast and wondering what harm might have befallen him.
Princess Beatrice was woken up by the soft growling of her stomach. She had fallen asleep and had lost count of how long she had been waiting in the tunnel.
The dungeon above her remained silent.
With a heavy heart, Princess Beatrice clambered up and returned along the tunnel. She had a dreadful moment of indecision at the parting of the way as to the best course of action: to take the other tunnels to search for the beast in the city of stone, or return to the cave, roll aside the boulder, and leave the Black Mountain? Finally, she decided to leave the Black Mountain and head home for Trasimene. There was a better chance of success in helping the beast if she hurried home quickly and brought reinforcements back from Trasimene to the kingdom of the Black Mountain than if she went to search for him, alone and weaponless.
At the cave’s entrance, she had another bitter moment of indecision: if she had not promised the beast, if she had not been given the jewel to safeguard, if she had not a duty to the kingdom of Trasimene, if she had not promised her sister Cristabel...
I must hurry home so that I can hurry back to help, thought the princess as she pushed the boulder at the mouth of the cave to one side and walked into the ebony night.
The journey home to Trasimene was the longest one that she had ever undertaken.
After Princess Beatrice had rolled the boulder back into place, she tried to retrace her way back down the mountain by memory, facing once more the treacherous footing and broken boulders and rocky crags that took on menacing shapes, hoping she would find the clear spring again. The landscape and wilderness looked different in the night. She was careful to move in the shadows of the trees and shrubbery in case there were gargoyles sent out by Lord Godric searching the perimeters of the mountain. She tried not to think of what wild creatures might also lurk in the shadows. As she walked and climbed, the princess wondered what had happened to the beast and what was happening back in the kingdom of Trasimene. She tried to will herself to forget her thirst and hunger.
It was a lonely journey down the mountain in the surrounding darkness relieved only by the starlight sifting through the clouds and weighted heavily with the thoughts of the dangers attending others. The jewel felt almost weightless in her pocket but its presence eased her heart’s disquiet for as long as she kept it safe, it guaranteed that the beast’s life would be spared and it promised the salvation of the kingdom of Trasimene.
Princess Beatrice walked until the sun rose. She was grateful that she had not run across any unfriendly wild animals or gargoyles from the Black Mountain during the night. Using the sun as a guide, she continued travelling southward bound, avoiding the main roads and human dwellings and areas where soldiers were likely to be encamped. She tried to make good time by keeping up a steady pace during the daylight hours, safe from patrols of marauding gargoyles, even though her hunger and thirst grew. She drank the morning dewdrops collected on leaves to relieve the worst of her thirst and thought longingly of wild sloes and blackberries when she could not find any wild mushrooms that she could recognise as edible. She spent the second night sleeping cradled in the spreading branches of a tall sycamore tree and set off again at daybreak.
Princess Beatrice travelled for three days and nights.
On the morning of the fourth day, Princess Beatrice was coming out of a woodland into an open field when she heard the sound of an approaching party on horseback. She ran back into the woods and climbed up the tree with the thickest branches and densest canopy. She crouched on the tree branch and kept still and listened.
The princess heard the sound of horses below passing along the forest floor through the path between the tree trunks. She thought the danger of discovery had passed when the small party rode briskly past her tree, appearing to be oblivious to her presence—until the sound of a dog barking echoed through the woods. The barking came closer to the trunk of her tree and became more excited, attracting the attention of the rest of the party who circled back and clustered below her tree.
‘Gryff! What have you found, Gryff?’ said a familiar voice.
Princess Beatrice poked her head down through the leafy boughs. Then she climbed back down the tree to greet the dog, Gryff, and the party of riders.
Sir Liam, Lady Sophia, and Lord Peregrine’s son, Sir Edmund, bowed to the princess and hastened to offer her water and food from their saddlebags.
‘When Thunderbolt arrived at the abbey with the mother and son seeking refuge, the Mother Superior sent word to her Highness Princess Cristabel, and Princess Cristabel secretly sent out rescue parties to find you, your Highness,’ said Sir Liam.
‘We divided up the territories between Trasimene and the Black Mountain with Sirs Thomas and David and the Ladies Lucy and Megan who have also been out scouring the land for your Highness,’ said Sir Edmund. ‘A rumour was put about that your Highness had gone in search of the oracle and had lost your way.’
‘Gryff would not be left behind,’ said Lady Sophia.
‘I am very glad to see you all,’ said Princess Beatrice. ‘We must hurry back to the capital. And then we must hurry back to the Black Mountain with a very large rescue party.’
‘Who requires rescuing from the Black Mountain, your Highness?’ asked Sir Edmund.
‘A gargoyle,’ said Princess Beatrice.
The princess climbed onto the back of Lady Sophia’s horse and the party travelled back to the capital of Trasimene.
On the main road, as the party neared the capital and recognised the familiar spires on the horizon, they saw villagers and travellers and passers-by wearing mourning.
Princess Beatrice’s heart filled with misgivings.
They hurried to the capital and to the royal castle.
When King Theobald saw Princess Beatrice riding up to the castle, he left his retinue and ran down the castle steps to embrace her.
‘Father,’ said Princess Beatrice.
‘Thank the heavens you are safe,’ said the grieving king. ‘You are all I have left now, Beatrice.’