Hailey wondered again why there were so many people in here. She thought about leaving, just walking out of the way, but she would definitely be in trouble for that, so she stayed, trembling and hiding under the bed. At any moment, someone would spot her, she was sure of it.

From the robes, she knew that these must be the mages. She could see a man’s boots. Other people were waling around the room. They all seemed to be arguing over something. “Try to move the spell first. If that doesn’t work we’ll try Barinon’s crazy plan. Does anyone disagree?” It was a man’s voice, deep and booming.

“Put her on the bed,” someone said.

Someone was sobbing. “My daughter!” The queen cried out.

“Guards, take her out of here. The mages need to concentrate.”

Hailey could hear the queen wailing for her daughter but her voice moved farther and farther away.

The bed sagged enough that Hailey was almost smushed. Already the wood floor was digging into her ribs and making her shiver. She slid a little to the right, away from the door, keeping her movements as slight as she could manage. Fortunately, the princess had a very large bed. She could see feet all around the bed. It was as if they were trying to trap her here. Don’t be silly, she chided herself. With all these mages, it had to have something to do with the curse. Someone retreated and they closed the door.

The curse was worse, thought than being caught under the bed. Lavina might even beat her if she found out, but now that she was pretty sure the princess was up there, having a spell cast on her… it was horrible. She felt bad for the princess, who was only a little older than she was. Despite all of the fancy things the princess had, and the way that everyone wanted to be her friend, the princess had had to live with the knowledge that she probably wouldn’t live past sixteen. It made Hailey feel selfish for hoping that the mages would leave soon so she could sneak out from underneath the bed.

People were crying now. The sounds woke Hailey from her thoughts. “Reimund, we will miss you if this works,” someone said.

“I’m an old man and I’m the most likely to get this right. You’re just going to have to deal with it. Besides, there’s no time to wait.”

Then there was silence except for the occasional sniffle. Hailey tried to make herself quiet, even her breathing. She could see one man’s foot slide back. The others had stepped away to give him room. He stood like that, in a wide stance for a moment and then slid his foot back. The silence that followed his movements was deafening. She was certain that they could make out her heartbeat. They had to be able to. Someone coughed.

“I don’t think that worked,” someone said in a timid voice.

“I didn’t think it would but it was worth the risk.”

“It was very brave of you. The kingdom should know.” The timid voice said.

“First we have to make sure the kingdom survives. Then you can tell them if you want to. Barinon, you’re our last hope. I just hope it’s enough otherwise we need to start making evacuation plans.”

Evacuation? As in the whole city? She shouldn’t be here. Shouldn’t know any of this. Mages were mysterious people. Even the royalty was careful not to upset them. Lavina had told her to always do exactly what the mages told you to do even if it sounded crazy. Fortunately, she hadn’t had to worry about mages much until now.

She took a deep breath, which picked her up off of the floor a little. She wondered if you could get a bruise from lying on a hard floor like this.

“Hurry up! It’s going to kill her!”

Hailey clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress a gasp. So the princess wasn’t dead, at least not yet. That’s why they were scrambling to do something. “Remember to put it inside the curse or it won’t do any good.”

A different pair of boots stepped up to where the other mage had been.

“Right.” Again there was silence except that now someone was pacing. This man didn’t move his feet at all. He just stood there, but she could feel something happening. Hair on the back of Hailey’s neck began to rise. The hair on her head pushed up against the underside of the bed. She waited.

“What happened?” Someone asked. After all that silence the voice seemed to be shouting.

“Barinon did it work?”

Whoever Barinon was, he took his time in responding. “It did work. I can see the spell.”

“But what did it do? She doesn’t seem to be moving.” It got very silent. Everyone just stood around the bed. She wasn’t sure what they were waiting for, but she wished they would go away so that she could get out from underneath this bed. Her ribs were beginning to ache so much that it was hard to take more than a shallow breath. She didn’t have room to roll onto her side.

“No. I saw her breathe.” That was a woman’s voice and for a moment Hailey thought she was talking about her. “You did it Barinon. You bought us time.”

Hailey almost sneezed. She clapped her hand over her mouth and nose but a small squeak made it out anyway. No one seemed to notice. She put her hands and elbows flat on the floor and tried to lie on them, but that was uncomfortable, too. Hurry up, she thought at the mages.

“Your majesty, she is sleeping now. The spell will hold and keep her from dying. It gives us time to hunt down Millicent and undo the spell.”

It must have been the king who responded. His voice sounded like he had been crying. “How long will she sleep? Do you think?”

Someone cleared his throat. “It should last for a hundred years.”

“A hundred years! Are you telling me that I will never see her living again?”

“We wanted to ensure that it lasted as long as the curse did. If the spell wore off before the curse, it could kill the princess anyway.”

The king did not sound mollified. “I know you did your best. I know you wouldn’t hurt her, but I can’t last that long. You are not done with this.”

“I know, your majesty. That’s why Reimund tried to take the curse upon himself first. I will do everything I can to wake her and bring her back to you.”

The king did not respond. She heard someone walking away and then a door slammed. Once the king left the room, the mages seemed to be celebrating and congratulating Barinon.

“Great job. Don’t anyone argue with him about his crazy meddling with spells.”

Some of them laughed, and they all started talking.

Hailey relaxed. They would leave soon. If they had come here to cast that spell on the princess and make her sleep instead of die then that would work. She felt an odd sensation as if something was pulling on her. It didn’t hurt, but something was going on. Her skin felt tight and tingly. What was happening? She should leave. She needed to get out from under this bed but now it was too late. She had to wait until they left.

“Barinon!” Some one shouted. “Barinon, it’s growing. Is it supposed to do that?” The feet were backing away now. Hailey began to panic. If it was growing was it already touching her? She couldn’t see far enough to know. What if she got the curse on her while she lay here? The thought hadn’t occurred to her until it was too late. If it was growing, it was already too late. Hailey held her breath and waited for something to happen. Nothing did. She was still alive, still breathing and she could still move.

“No. It’s not supposed to do that. I’ve cast this a hundred times. It’s never done that before. Someone get the king out of here. Find the queen and get them to safety.”

“Can we stop it? Can you make it stop growing?”

“Hold on. I will try.” It got quiet again and then the person who had tried, she thought it was Barinon again was panting. “I can’t get it to stop. Can we form a ring?”

“We don’t have time! It’s still growing!” Everyone seemed to be panicking. Mages that were on the far side of the room began running for the door. They seemed to give the bed a wide berth.

“Get out before it traps us!” They were all running for the door now, and Hailey could hear their voices fading into the hallway. They stopped there and seemed to regroup.

“I think it’s getting faster! We need to evacuate the castle.”

Hailey wondered what kind of a spell she was trapped in. The mages ran out the door, shouting commands to each other.

“Someone get the nobles!”

“What about the lower floors?”

“Grab whoever you can and meet outside the castle. We have to get as many people out as we can.

“Get the king and queen first. She is the nexus. Run!”