The Heir of Mistmantle by M. I. McAllister Read Free Book Online

that.

    The night brought a brief, thin drizzle of rain. Three animals—a mole, a squirrel, and a young hedgehog—straggling back from the search, grumbled and huddled against the tower walls. Hobb the mole was a short, sturdily built, and very smooth animal—his head looked polished. He had a habit of folding his arms and rocking back and forth on his hind paws, and a tendency to waddle. (He claimed that this was because of stiffness in his joints, but he was heavy, for a mole.) Yarrow the squirrel had a strong, square jaw, angular shoulders, shaggy fur, and a way of jerking his head in indignation. His normal tone of voice suggested that he was used to complaining a lot.
    The third animal, Quill the hedgehog, was younger than the other two. He was still young enough for his mother to insist on smartening his spines in the morning, so that he had to roll in leaves as soon as he was out of her sight so as not to be embarrassingly tidy. He was so much in the company of Hobb and Yarrow that he copied their mannerisms without realizing it.
    “May as well go home and get a few hours’sleep,” muttered Hobb, pulling his coat about him and scowling up at the rain. “There’ll not be many of us in a fit state to bring in the harvest after this. There’s a lot of animals not at all well, and that means more work for the rest of us. And if that wasn’t bad enough, all the athletic ones and the bright sparks will be off looking for the princess.”
    “Let’s hope they find her tonight,” said Yarrow, in a dismal voice as if he didn’t expect her to be found at all. “It’s bad enough, this happening, without it happening at harvest. Hazelnuts won’t gather themselves, you know.”
    “My dad,” said Quill, drawing himself up, “my dad says it’s a pity the queen didn’t take better care of the princess.”
    “Nobody should speak ill of the queen….” began Hobb.
    “Sorry,” whispered Quill, but he felt, rather than heard, Hobb glaring at him through the darkness.
    “ As I was saying ,” said Hobb firmly, “nobody likes to speak ill of the queen, but the fact is, she doesn’t come from here. That place she comes from, I don’t think they know how to do things right. They don’t know how to look after their young. Nice enough squirrel, I’ll give her that, but she doesn’t know how to look after her baby. If we’d had one of our own, a proper Mistmantle queen, this wouldn’t have happened.”
    “Wouldn’t have happened, exactly,” agreed Yarrow with a sniff and a jerk. “I suppose the king knew what he was doing when he chose her, but…”
    “But did he?” argued Hobb, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. “I’m sure falling tail over ear tips in love is very nice, but we’re talking kings and queens, here. Of course, he’s not proper royalty, is he, he was just a captain.”
    “He would have known where he was if he’d married a sensible Mistmantle lass,” said Yarrow. “We thought he might have taken to our Thrippia, her having such clever ways, but nothing came of it. And there’s my sister’s lass, our Gleaner. Too young for him, I know, but he could have waited for her to grow up. She’s very grown-up for her age already.”
    “Here comes Docken of the Circle,” said Quill. He elbowed the others and straightened up as he called out to the bedraggled hedgehog marching past. “Good evening, Master Docken. Any news of the baby?”
    “There’d be lights on all over the tower if she were home, Heart protect her,” called Docken wearily. “Away you go, home to your beds and get a good night’s sleep, for it’ll be all paws to work tomorrow.”
    Hobb scowled in the darkness. “Don’t hurry,” he whispered. “He thinks he can order us all about, now he’s in the Circle.”
    “And I wouldn’t stand so near that window,” said Docken. “You’re right under the queen’s window there, and…”
    “Don’t move,” muttered Hobb to the others, and raised his