A Tale of Fur and Flesh Read Online Free PDF Page A

horror the preceding evening had not been
dreamed.  Mother’s copper gown was twisted tight as a siren’s tail around her
restless legs.  Councillor Offal dozed in a chair blocking the door.  Her
stomach turned as she recalled father’s intentions.  How could a once-good man
imagine such an unspeakable coupling?  Was he mad?  Doubtless.  There was
nothing left but to flee.
    The heavy silks of her mother’s gown rustled like
autumn leaves, stirring Offal from rest.  Shaking his dreams from his head, the
king’s councillor bolted upright.  He pushed his solid chair against the only
door to freedom.  Lally had little choice.
    “I shall give you anything you like if only you allow
my escape,” she offered, unfastening the ties that bound her into the copper
dress.  Mother’s gown fell at her feet, revealing the bustier of black
snakeskin, tattered skirts and tall black boots underneath.  “Pray, let me flee
this accursed castle.  It will be my death to stay here, for I should rather
kill myself than give my hand to the man who gave me life.”
    “You waste your breath arguing with me, your highness,”
Offal replied slowly and deliberately.  Lally’s stomach clenched as the lean
councillor approached her, his gait meandering.  “I agree with you.  This
marriage would be a travesty.  I will gladly be your saviour, but I ask nothing
in return, dear child.  I have known you from infancy.  It is my duty to serve
and protect you.  To that end, I bring you this…”
    In his hand rested a walnut.
    “It is yours,” he went on.  “I swept it from the
council table when you became incapacitated.”
    Relief wafted across Lally’s chest like a cool
breeze.  The nut was enchanted.  It would open up when the time came she needed
help.  The time was nigh.  Danger slept in the adjacent chamber.  Mother’s care
would save her from a fate worse than death.
    “Oh, thank you a thousand times over, councillor
Offal!” she exclaimed, kissing her liberator’s gaunt cheek and snatching the
walnut from his hand.  “Now, open up, little nut!”
    The walnut rested, unmoving, against Lally’s palm.
    “Perhaps you must crack it,” Offal suggested.
    Taking the knife from her waistband, Lally placed the
walnut on the ground and stabbed at it many times over.  With each stab, it
rolled along the floor.
    “The knife is not working,” Offal pronounced with
urgency.
    “Yes, I can see that!” Lally replied with frustration
in her voice.  “ Gott im Himmel , is that father’s footstep approaching?”
    It was.
    “Place the nut under the foot of the bed,” Offal
commanded.  “The weight of the solid wood will crack it.”
    But even this attempt was unsuccessful.  Climbing
upon the bed, Lally jumped with all her strength.  The walnut survived.  Again
and again she threw her weight upon the bedstead, but to no avail.  There was a
rap at the door.  Father had come to take her to the altar, the feast, the
marriage bed…
    “I come for my now daughter, my soon wife,” her
demented father called out.
    Lally collapsed into the feather mattress.  The
disappointment and dread in her heart culminated in a violent scream.  Tears
burned her eyes, her throat.  What could she do?
    “You must go now, out the window!” Offal whispered,
bolting the door.
    “Why flee?” Lally asked, resigning herself to her
sickening fate.  “Father will only have his huntsmen track me down and return
me to his marriage bed.  And you will be killed for your part in this
deception.  I shall go quietly to the sacrificial altar…”
    “You shall go to the woods.  You shall flee this
kingdom, princess!  I would die gladly, that you should be safe,” Offal
commanded, retrieving the walnut.  His gaze was then caught by three golden
possessions of the late queen’s, resting on the dressing table.  In Lally’s
trembling hand, he placed a golden needle, golden thread and a golden ring.
    “I thank you from the depths of my