Compass of the Nymphs Read Online Free

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the farmers, along with another shipment of diamonds that the coal
miners dig up for her jewelry.”
    “Really?” Taisiya said. “If I could slip
inside one of the shipments, it would be an easy way into the
castle.”
    “But how would you get out? And you have no
clue where she has taken your parents.”
    “Look here,” Melitta pointed, “this room is
marked Prison Chambers . My parents are probably there. The
kitchen is on the same floor as the prison chambers and all the
other menial jobs the queen keeps her distance from. If I can get
in the kitchen, I’ll be able to rescue my parents, and the queen
will more than likely be nowhere nearby.”
    “Do you really think that you, your father
and your mother can go undetected through the front door, across
the moat and over the bridge? How in the world would you get
out?!”
    “I’ll kill the queen.” Taisiya said
matter-of-factly.
    Melitta burst out in roaring laughter. “You
must be joking!”
    Taisiya shook her head. “I’m not. I will hide
with my parents in the chambers until nightfall when the queen
sleeps. Then, I’ll sneak into her room on the top floor and bring
justice to her.”
    “Oh, Taisiya,” Melitta said worriedly,
“that’s a very risky plan.”
    “It’s the only plan I’ve got.” Taisiya said,
folding the blueprints and tucking them into her pocket. “When does
the shipment of food head up to the castle?”
    Melitta sighed, “I hope I don’t regret
telling you this…but the next shipment should head up tomorrow
morning. The team of men that transport it leave at sunrise, and
they don’t usually make it back until the next day.”
    “Wonderful!” Taisiya said. “I won’t have to
wait long at all.”
    “Taisiya!” Melitta said. “Don’t you realize
you’ll be hiding in a box of food for the better part of a day?
There’s no way you’ll be able to sit still that long and not make
any noise.”
    “True,” Taisiya said, getting up. “Close the
windows and lock the door, Melitta. We’ve got to go back to town
and get some things.”
    “What now?!”
    “We’re going to build a crate big enough to
hold me and some food and water. You’ll deliver the box to the
farmers tomorrow morning as a gift from Ammon to the queen.”

CHAPTER THREE –
     
    AN UNEXPECTED ALLY
     
    When someone has a plan stuck in their head,
it is nearly impossible to try and change their mind. It is
something different, however, to go along with it and let someone
walk right to their death. Melitta had this in mind when she shook
her head and refused to accompany Taisiya any further with her plot
to save her parents. Taisiya was just a little too young to fully
understand the consequences of what would happen if her plan didn’t
go exactly as she thought.
    The two argued for quite some time, with
Taisiya eventually begging for help, but Melitta stood her ground.
Tired of quarrelling, Taisiya threw her arms up and walked out.
Melitta called for Taisiya to come back but to no avail. Deep in
her heart, Taisiya knew what she had to do, and she knew there was
no time to waste.
    Her plan to go into town and gather materials
had only changed slightly. Instead of buying them from the
marketplace, she would now have to scavenge and steal whatever she
could find. Taisiya’s parents always took good care of her, but she
had become rather skilled in the art of thievery, often snatching
others’ unwanted trash and using it to her advantage.
    Taisiya had her eyes peeled for anything that
could be of help to her on her way into town. Some of the
townspeople had various crates outside their houses, but all of
them were far too small in which to hide. Then, something caught
her eye.
    A figure in the distance looked quite out of
place. Taisiya squinted and saw that it was Zara, the queen’s spy
that Melitta had pointed out earlier to her. She slowed her pace
and approached him with caution. Zara was still milling around the
marketplace, but now he was