Compass of the Nymphs Read Online Free Page B

her
own, she found it wasn’t too heavy, but it wouldn’t hurt if she
took some of the items out. Taisiya haughtily tossed the love
potions to the ground before beginning to more closely inspect the
other concoctions. There were a few good salves and other medicines
that would be useful if she were wounded in a fight. She opened the
bag of food and placed those potions in it. The tonics that played
to Zara’s vanity and insecurities – for instance, a cream that was
advertised to remove any signs of aging – she disposed of and moved
on. Before she knew it, the load was much lighter and, in her
opinion, much more useful.
    Dragging the crate around was quite a task in
the daytime, and it was even worse in the dark of night. Taisiya
was careful not to make too much noise and disturb anyone. After
many tiring and boring hours, she finally was coming upon the
farmland. The other crates set to be shipped up to the queen were
all neatly in place and awaiting sunrise to start their journey.
Instantly when they came in to view, however, Taisiya saw a flaw in
her plan. Each of the crates was numbered, sealed, and secured in
place. There was no room for an additional box to fit.
    Taisiya ditched the crate and went over to
more closely inspect the cartful of other produce. The sun was
beginning to come up, and she could hear the farm animals starting
to wake. She knew she didn’t have much time. If she waited in the
back of the cart, the farmers would surely notice her when they
unloaded the food. She had no way to open one of the already loaded
crates either, not that it would be of any help – she knew they
were already filled to the brim with produce.
    Along the horizon, the farmers came into view
as they neared the cart to start their toilsome journey to the
castle. Taisiya mumbled a few profanities under her breath and ran
back to the crate she had lugged through town and quickly grabbed
the bag of useful ointments and food. She reached in and pulled out
one of the darker creams and smeared it on her fingers. Running her
fingers down the side of the crate, Taisiya formed a makeshift
label on the box. She then quickly pushed it to the edge of the
cart that held all the other boxes and then jumped inside, praying
that the farmers would assume they had forgotten to load one of the
boxes.
    In mere minutes, she heard the deep and
gravelly voice of one of the farmers as he approached her box.
“What’s this?” he called out to the others. “Box X? Since when has
there been a box marked X?”
    “You moron!” one of the other farmers
replied, “that stands for Box Ten. The tenth box. One of you idiots
must have forgotten to load it with the rest!”
    Taisiya was almost smiling and thinking her
plan would work until a third farmer beckoned. “We have no room for
ten boxes, boys. Just toss that one in the river, and we’ll say it
got lost in transit!”
    Taisiya could feel the box being lifted off
the ground, and she gulped. Seconds later, there was a loud thud as the crate hit something hard, causing her to hit her
head on one side and spill out all the food in her satchel. Taisiya
was just about to pop off the lid and try to jump from what she was
sure to be raging rapids when the voice of the first farmer spoke
out. “Nah, boss, we got it in there! As long as we hit don’t hit
any bumps it’ll be fine!”
    Sighing in relief, Taisiya curled up inside
the box and tried to take a nap. This was much easier said than
done. Even after pushing the heavy box through town all night and
having no sleep, it was next to impossible to get any shuteye on
the rickety journey through Solames to the castle. Every single
bump the cart hit caused Taisiya to jump in fear. When the roads
were smooth, the farmers would strike up a hearty conversation and
their voices
    echoing all around her made it even harder to
rest. Eventually, everyone going along on the journey seemed to get
tired, and Taisiya managed to get some relaxation. It seemed