The False Prince

Cregan and Mott take Sage down to Conner’s dungeon, “a single room surrounded by rough-hewn rock walls and rusty iron bars” (132). There, Sage is shackled by his wrists and suspended from the ceiling by chains, with his arms over his head. Cregan uses a blunt whip to beat Sage on the back so badly that blood is drawn. Cregan asks Mott what is so important about the rock that Conner will stop at nothing to have Sage relinquish it; Mott explains that the rock itself is not important—it is that Conner wants Sage to bend to his will. Still, even after this physical torture, Sage refuses to give over the stone.

Cregan exits the dungeon, leaving Sage and Mott alone. Mott dresses Sage’s wounds, saying that they will get infected if he does not tend to them immediately. Alone, Mott implores that Sage give Conner back the stone. Mott blows out the candles before he leaves Sage, bleeding and bruised, in the dungeon. 

Cregan brings Sage a bowl of soup in the dungeon, but he “[tells] him the soup [smells] awful and I would rather lick it off the dungeon floors” (136). Cregan replies that that could be arranged; he punches Sage in the stomach and asks where the golden stone is. Sage denies him again.

Mott enters the dungeon with a golden stone very similar to the original. He implores that Sage return the other one to Conner and keep this one instead. Still, Sage refuses. Mott is irritated by Sage’s stubbornness, and he elaborates on the power struggle between Sage and Conner: “‘Neither of you could possibly care for what any other person wouldn’t even bother to pick up off the side of the road. Conner wants it because you want it, and you want it to defy Conner. If you think this fight proves anything, you’re wrong’” (137). Sage informs Mott that Conner needs him, that the other boys will not be able to convince the regents that they are Prince Jaron.

Mott leaves, and Sage passes out from pain and exhaustion. When he rouses, Imogen has secretly come to the dungeon to help Sage:

She [holds] a finger to her lips to silence any further questions, then [withdraws] a flask from her skirt. She [raises] it to my mouth and let[s] me gulp in cool water until I [shake] my head that [I’ve] had enough. Also hidden beneath her skirt [is] a warm roll. She help[s] me eat it, then wipe[s] my mouth with her fingers so there [will] be no sign of food or water (138).

Sage thanks her, and she responds, much to Sage’s surprise, by telling him that he “looks awful” (138). Imogen has been pretending to be a mute because it diverts Conner’s attention away from her, making her life easier. Imogen soon leaves, and Sage falls asleep, still chained by his wrists to the ceiling. 

Sage is still hanging from the ceiling when Mott and Cregan finally release him. Sage is unsure how long he has been asleep because “it [doesn’t] feel as if [I’ve] had any rest, but my arms [ache] so badly, I [am] sure [I’ve] slept for some time” (140). Cregan again asks for the golden rock, but Sage remains silent. Cregan viciously rebuffs Sage, grabbing him by his hair and demanding an answer. When Sage still refuses, Cregan kicks him and informs him that Conner wishes to speak with him.

Cregan and Mott deliver Sage to Conner in his study. Sage is seated before Conner at his desk, and Conner informs Sage that he’s been in the dungeon for two days and that Conner had hoped that time would cure Sage of his disobedience. Mott then appears, carrying a tray of items that Sage has pickpocketed over the past several days at Farthenwood: “[a] butter knife, a gold cuff link, several coins” (143). Conner’s point is clear—Conner is onto Sage. In addition to the tray of small items, Conner also has a stack of papers found among Sage’s possessions. The papers, Conner reports, contain “strange plans” on how to get rid of Conner once the person who wrote the plans becomes king. Sage says that he does not know who wrote them for sure, but he suspects it must be Tobias. Conner does not ask about the golden rock again, but rather, changes the subject to Sage’s willingness to act as Prince Jaron. Sage insists he will be the most believable choice, which seems to please Conner, though he tells Sage he still must be convinced. Sage leaves the encounter with the realization that, despite not recovering the gold rock, Conner “got what he really wanted. I had promised to be his prince” (145).