Pryor's Hill (solo)

[Dracosius]

Back in the palace, Siela decided to check on her brothers. She could have gone to the ball, but she had begged her way out of it. The dark-haired beauty did not want to deal with the endless line of suitors trying to beguile their way into her good graces. After a good bit of begging and pleading, her parents had at last acquiesced and permitted her to stay behind. After an hour or so though, she was bored.

She knew her brothers were grounded and not to leave their room, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t come up with something to do for the evening. She knocked on their door and then stepped inside.

“AJ? ZJ? Where are you?”

She searched the large room carefully. Her brothers were quite mischievous and it would not have been surprising for them to have hidden as soon as the knock sounded on their door. No matter where she looked though, she could find no trace of her brothers.

“Guys, seriously, come out. We’re much too old for these kind… of… games....”

Her words petered out as she realized that AJ’s halberd was not in its usual place leaning against the side of the fireplace. Neither were ZJ’s blades resting on their rack on the opposite side. Sudden realization that they had snuck out dawned on her. For a moment, she thought about going to the ball and informing her parents, but quickly shook that idea away. The teens were constantly trying to get their parents to let them do more things on their own. Tattle-telling would do nothing to help and would only cause a spat between her and her brothers.

Guess I’ll just have to find them on my own. Jordan probably knows where they went.

Siela made a quick trip back to her room to collect her own weaponry: a splendid bow, an enchanted quiver that never ran out of arrows, and a lightweight short sword. The young woman opened her mind as she strode quickly through the halls. She could pick up thoughts here and there as she moved, most had to do with relaxing for the night or wishing to be at the ball. Siela pushed these away. Soon though, a thought about Pryor’s Hill and idiots came to her. She stopped in her tracks and focused on that thought, trying to locate where it came from.

Jordan!

She heard someone jump and followed the yelp of surprise. She hadn’t meant to actually connect and startle him, but at the moment she also didn’t care. The teen in question was with his brother, talking about AJ and ZJ’s latest escapade.

“Jordan! Kyle! Where are my brothers?”

The brothers looked at each other, then at Siela, then back again. The Dracosiouses and these brothers had grown up together. They knew how pointless it was to lie to Siela. They didn’t know how she always knew when they tried, but they had long since given up trying. Besides, though they’d never admit it, they were slightly more afraid of angering Siela than they were of betraying the twins.

Jordan sighed and mumbled, “Pryor’s Hill.”

Siela stared at him, “Come again?”

“I said they went to Pryor’s Hill,” he repeated more clearly, “They’re gonna go spend the night there to prove that the ghost story is just a story. They’ll be back when the gates open at sunrise.”

Siela clenched her teeth to keep from spouting off a string of curse words. Her brothers were often foolish, but this was possibly the most foolish, even stupid thing they’d ever done.

“I’m going to go get them. If you breathe a word to anyone about this, I will personally see to it that you don't leave the kitchens again for a month. More if I can manage it.”

The brothers nodded. They often had to help their mother in the kitchen and absolutely hated it. The threat of being trapped there was not one they took lightly. They watched in silence as Siela hurried away to get her horse. How she was going to convince the guards to let her out was a mystery to them, but not one they wanted to find out any time soon.



The thought of how she would get out of Nadai plagued the young woman’s mind as she rode at a quick walk through the city streets. Short of her parents, uncle, or aunt giving the order, the gate guards were not to open the gates for anyone for any reason. She took a deep breath as she approached the gate; without time to form a solid plan, she would have to improvise.

That all three of them would get into a great deal of trouble for this was absolutely certain, however she could not risk the legend of Pryor’s Hill being true. Her brothers firmly believed it was little more than a story. Ghosts, according to them, were not real. Siela knew otherwise. Once, when she was barely a year old, she had felt and heard her grandmother’s voice as a protective bubble formed around her. She could not recall the circumstances that produced that bubble, but Jasmine had explained the phenomenon when Siela mentioned it years later. Ghosts did exist, it was just a matter of whether they were vengeful or benevolent.

Siela straightened her shoulders as she approached the gate. A young guard stepped out of the guards’ shack and motioned for her to stop.

“I”m sorry, Miss. The gate is closed for the night. You’ll have to wait ‘til morning.”

Siela flashed him a smile. “Well, hello, Jason, I didn’t know you were working tonight.”

Jason took a second look at the lady in front of him, recognition dawning on him, “Oh, Lady Siela! I didn’t recognize you in the dark…”

“It’s quite alright. Have you seen my brothers tonight? They’ve snuck out and I’m trying to find them before our parents discover they’re missing.”

“Yes! They came through just before we locked up for the night. They seem fairly competent though, m’Lady. They should be fine overnight.”

Siela thought for a brief moment of trying to trick poor Jason into letting her out, but opted instead for truth.

“Jason, they’ve gone to Pryor’s Hill.”

She spoke the words in a low voice so only he would be able to hear her. His eyes widened and a shiver went down his spine at the mention of the haunted hill. He looked around to see if there were any superior officers around. He wouldn’t be able to get the big main gate open unnoticed but there was a smaller door that she could get through.

“The little fools! Come with me. You’ll need to lead your horse, but there’s a small door I can get you through.”

Relief flooded Siela as she dismounted and followed Jason the Guard. He led her to a section of wall near the back of the guardsmen’s area and pushed a hidden lever. The section pulled back to show a short tunnel that was just barely wide and tall enough for the horse to get through.

“At the end, there is a stone in the wall that is smooth. The rest of the stones are rough, so you’ll know which one it is. Press it for a few seconds and you’ll be out. It’s a one way thing though, so you won’t be able to get back in. It’ll only stay up for a few seconds, so you’ll need to be quick.”

Siela nodded her understanding, murmured her thanks, and started into the tunnel. It took a moment to convince her horse to follow, but with the simple expedience of a blindfold, she was able to manage it. The smooth stone proved to be easy to find, even in the pitch black of the tunnel. The light of the rising full moon, flooded the tunnel as the secret tunnel opened onto the fields behind the city. She quickly stepped out and removed the blindfold from her horse. The secret passageway slammed shut with a finality that made her shiver. They really were on their own now.

The princess mounted her horse and thudded her heels into his sides. She had no idea how quickly her brothers had been planning to move, so she urged the horse into a gallop. As she rode, she thought back to when she and her brothers had first heard the legend of Pryor’s Hill. They’d heard it a number of years ago when they’d gone on a family trip to visit their Nana in the Nadai Jungle.