Her voice shook and died away on the last words. Silence fell. Desperately suppressing her sobs, the young queen cleared her throat and looked squarely at Balsa. “I’ve thought about this carefully. Yesterday when I saw them bring Chagum into the palace, his wet hair clinging to his face, I made my decision. I want him to live. Even if he is no longer royal, he will still have a chance to experience the many joys of life. He will know what it is to fall in love, to be blessed with children…. If I can know that somewhere he is alive and safe, I think I can bear it, even if it means I never see him again. Separation is much, much better than the grief of seeing him dead. And if he is ever to have that chance, the time is now. Balsa, you are strong. I will give you a reward that no commoner could hope to receive in a lifetime. Please save my child. Protect him for me, and make sure that he has a happy life.”
Gently she pushed the prince from her arms and removed two bags from inside her robe. She loosened the strings that fastened the richly woven sacks; gold glittered brightly in one, and pearls gleamed in the other. She looked up at Balsa confidently but then froze in surprise. Balsa remained totally unmoved, even at the sight of so much treasure.
“Your Highness,” she said. “I’ve already explained that no matter how much you might give me, it’s no good to me if I’m dead. Forgive my rudeness, but I must speak plainly. You have dealt me an unfair and cowardly blow.”
The queen went pale and began to tremble violently. “What do you mean?”
“I saved the prince’s life, yet you reward me by taking my life. What would you call that but unfair and cowardly?”
“I never said anything about taking your life!”
Balsa looked her directly in the eye. “Are you sure? I am of lowly birth. If you summon me here, I have no choice but to come. If you wish to speak to me, I have no choice but to listen. And now that I’ve listened, I have two choices left: to die trying to do your bidding, or to refuse and die now. Both paths will certainly lead me to my death.”
She knew the prince was glaring at her, but she ignored him to gaze steadily at the queen. Standing as she was on the brink of death, she couldn’t care less if she was being insolent.
“I see,” the queen said. “You are right. I am indeed being unfair and a coward. But I was left no choice. I do not care if it is unfair or not. I will do whatever I must to protect him.” She lifted her chin. “It is true that you cannot be allowed to live now that you know this secret. Which do you choose, Balsa Spear-wielder? To die here? Or to protect the prince, take the treasure, and gamble on survival?”
Balsa smiled icily. “There are three men behind me, another two in the corridor, and three more behind you. You could trust only eight people, my queen? Nobody move! If you do, my spear will pierce the prince’s heart.” Her spear was already in her hand; she had snatched it up when the other two had glanced away. She could feel the men’s anger from behind the doors. The queen stared at Balsa, biting her lip.
“Now, Your Highness,” said Balsa, “let me have that treasure and the prince.” The queen hugged the boy to her and glared. “Hurry!” Balsa urged. “Once dawn comes, it will be too late for us to get away. If you want us to escape safely, you must bring a dark cloth to cover his face and tell me a safe way out of the palace. When you think we’ve reached it, set fire to the prince’s bedroom. You can say he started it while lost in a nightmare, and the fire spread too quickly for you to save him. You must make sure they think the prince is dead! They will begin to suspect something when they don’t find a body in the ruins, but the time it takes them to make that discovery will determine our fate. Our success depends on how convincingly you act your part.”
The queen looked at her speechlessly. “You …”
The ice had melted from Balsa’s smile. “I was just a little frustrated. How could I choose to die now? I am, after all, a bodyguard, and I accept the prince as my charge. Now hurry!”
Tears slid down the queen’s cheeks.
They had to keep their movements secret, for not everyone in the palace could be trusted, and it was some time before they were ready to depart. By the time Balsa carried the prince to the place where the secret route out of the palace began, the black night was already tinged with the bluish hint of dawn. The morning air nipped their cheeks and turned their breath a frosty white. They would leave the grounds through the large pipe that drained the baths. It reeked of sulfur, and Balsa paused at the entrance for one last taste of fresh air.
Suddenly they heard voices in the distance — an uproar that grew ever louder, though they could not hear any words. A faint glow appeared in a corner of the dark silhouette of the palace, and then suddenly they saw a burst of flame, like an oiled torch touched with fire.
Balsa set the boy down and pulled his small body toward her. He resisted at first, but then leaned passively against her, still numbed by the sudden upheaval in his fortunes. “Look there. The boy who was a prince is dying in those flames. When the sun rises, you will no longer be the prince. You will be only Chagum. Remember that.”
The boy struggled to suppress his sobs.
“No one knows what his fate will be. If you live, there may come a day when you will see your mother again. If you die, that will never happen. Do you understand, Chagum?”
He pressed his lips together and looked up at Balsa. Then, wiping away his tears violently, he nodded once.
He has spirit, Balsa thought. She smiled. Then, giving him a gentle shove in the back, she led him forward into the black mouth of the pipe.