Aurelia by Anne Osterlund

single-minded pressure in his brain propelled him forward. He could not let Aurelia die, not the quick-witted girl who had argued with him in every debate and defeated him in his very first horse race. When he had left the palace it had been with the nagging fear that he might never see her again.
    And no matter how much his life had changed, he had never quite managed to shake her from his head. she was always in his thoughts, challenging him to do a better job or goading him to admit when he had made a mistake. she was a constant, unending voice, and he could not accept the thought of her death. He would go to the palace.
    "enough." mrs. Vantauge's cool voice broke into the flaming atmosphere. "robert, you know I do not want you to go." she put a hand on her son's shoulder. "I have no more wish to see you place your life in the hands of others than I have to see your father do so in another investigation.
    "However." she gave her husband a pleading look. "This is robert's decision to make. We can't keep him here against his will, brian. He is old enough to make his own choices."
    mr. Vantauge flung up his hands in disgust and slammed out of the cabin.

    robert winced at the memory. Aurelia's expectant face returned to the forefront of his vision. "my father could not leave the farm," he said in response to her query.
    Aurelia nodded, seeming to accept his explanation without question. He supposed the trauma of the recent news had dulled her senses. Instead of prying, she turned a corner.
    palace Hill rose up before them, the steepness of its dramatic slope nothing next to the sheer cliffs hidden on its opposite side. The palace sprawled across the top, a fortress of stone walls embedded in volcanic rock. The tower and turrets, spires and battlements, reached up above the outer wall into the evening sky. A backdrop of gray clouds buried the distant rim of the Valshone mountains so that only the palace appeared to stand out above the valley floor. shadows slanted down, masking one side of the ominous structures. A palace built for defense, for intimidation, for deterring the most powerful invading army. The front gate stood open now after a century of peace, but those same doors would slam secure at the first indication of attack.
    Secure from an outside threat, but from an inside one? The thought reminded robert that he did not yet know how Aurelia had managed to enter the city alone. "How did you escape the palace today?" he asked. "After the attack last night, I thought your father had you restricted to your rooms for your own safety."
    "Then he ought to have told me the truth." she lifted her chin. "If I tell you how I left, you must swear not to share the information with anyone, not even Chris or your uncle."
    His jaw clenched. uncle Henry had been none too happy about the escapade the night before. On the other hand, if robert did not learn how she had managed to leave without an escort, how was he to prevent her from doing so in the future? besides, he had already disobeyed the king's orders by telling her about the assassination plot. What was to prevent her from sharing his secret if he betrayed hers? "I swear."
    she ducked under a curtain of willow branches beside the winding road. "I smuggled my way out on a supply wagon. guards are trained to keep a threat from entering the palace. They rarely inspect wagons going out."
    "What about when you return? Won't the guard at the front gate tell your father then?"
    "And admit to being on duty when I left?" she popped back out from behind the branches. "No one wants to be that person, robert."
    He tried to squelch a sense of admiration. It took a certain amount of courage, wit, and reckless abandon to manipulate an entire palace guard. Not to mention her father. "Why?" robert asked. "drew says you do this often. Why go to all that trouble time and time again?"
    she turned around and walked backward up the hill, sweeping a hand at the view below her. "This is my city,