Donya needed me. This was no time for my issues. I gritted my teeth and moved faster. The maid got me down the stairs and spoke to a guard, who then brought around a carriage. As I collapsed into the seat, she ran up the stairs, no doubt returning to the princess’s side.
This whole situation was a nightmare. Would I be killed the instant the guards around the carriage realized I was a fake? What had happened tomybody? Was the duchess inside of it? What might she do with my face? Would it even be possible to switch back?
I pulled my knees up to my chest. Except they weren’t “my” knees and feeling the jiggling and the lighter, downy hair reminded me. Every single movement of my new chest felt strange. I did not know how to flex my fingers with so many rings on them. The entire world did not quite feel real. If only this was all a dream. A tear trickled down my cheek. No, no, the Blood Duchess wouldn’t cry. I had to keep up this act for at least a few minutes longer. Donya needed me. That gave me the strength to pull myself together.
I must have terrified the driver by shrieking at him to go faster. When the carriage pulled into the town square, I yanked the door open.
Once again, my legs got tangled up in my overburdened dress. I fell, landing several feet away on my hands and knees.
Looking up, I stared straight at the hastily erected scaffold in the middle of the square. Sherdan guards formed a blockade, not letting anyone close. With no time for a guillotine, they’d erected a woodenblock. A guard stood next to it holding an axe. Another guard forced Donya’s head down.
“Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!” I screamed. I ran like I’d never run before, instantly losing my breath. This body could barely move without getting winded! My knees felt like they might pop out of their sockets. Cold air stung my cheeks.
With aching legs, I leapt up the stairs. The guards took one look at my disheveled state, blonde hair falling in frozen clumps, and fled the execution stand.
I grabbed Donya and yanked her into a hug. “Are you okay? What did they do to you? Ah! You have a bruise on your cheek! Those monsters!”
Despite the rope around her arms, Donya tried to get away from me. She growled. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I refuse to be fooled. I won’t beg for my life!”
I let go. “The execution is canceled.” Unfortunately, I could hardly admit I wasn’t the real duchess in front of her guards, but I would explain to Donya later. “Just a little joke on my part. Ha-ha.”
Donya gave me the stare that I deserved.
I struggled to my feet—ow, my knees—and clapped my hands. “Let’s get my new best friend back to the palace and cleaned up. Joke time is over! I hope you all appreciated some of our traditional Sherdan humor.”
The guards stared at me in astonishment. So many eyes on me suddenly made me realize the Blood Duchess favored very low-cut dresses—much lower than I felt comfortable with. I clamped a hand over my (her?) chest. Then I let go because I feared I was acting out of character. Then my hands returned because it was cold, dammit. I was freezing my tits off, literally.
From behind the barricade, the citizenry stared with undisguised hostility. Metal weapons glinted from among the crowd. A teenage boy held up a match and a doll wearing a black dress with blonde straw hair. “Burn the Blood Duchess!” he cried, setting fire to the skirt.
With a growl, a guard started toward the child, drawing his sword.
“No!” I shouted. “Don’t worry, I can take what I dish out. Execution jokes. I love them. That’s a wonderful effigy of me. Someone give that child a gold coin.” I smiled so broadly, my face hurt.
The guard eyed me with bemusement. “If you say so, Your Grace.”
The coachman actually reached into a purse and tossed a coin into the crowd. That distracted them long enough for me to drag Donya into the carriage.
Chapter Four
To call the carriage ride back awkward would be putting it mildly. I couldn’t tell Donya the truth because the guards might overhear, and the carriage driver definitely would.
Donya sat in the seat across from me, staring warily. A bruise covered her left cheek. She’d looked so tall before, and now she was smaller than me. Coldly, she said, “I suppose you’re taking me somewhere less public to execute me.”
“No, absolutely not! I’d never—I mean, I’ve realized that your help would be invaluable to me in running this country.” I tried my best to sound convincing. Yanking at my bodice, I tried to make it cover a little more of my chest.
Donya gazed at me with the face of someone afraid to feel hope. Then she glanced out the window. I had a bad feeling she was counting the number of guards. What should I do if she tried to run off? I didn’t want to imprison her, but I desperately needed her. If only she would stay long enough for us to be alone, then I would tell her everything. “My la—um, D-Donya, I apologize for my earlier actions. Please, just hear me out. Once we’re alone, I’ll explain everything.” I winked frantically.
Donya’s eyebrows rose. “I suppose you realized that you need me as a hostage to use against Ysabel, since Bora escaped. At least that means she must have gotten out of the city.”
“Oh, Bora is fine—” Except I wasn’t fine. I’d accidentally committed treason, and my real body was off who-knew-where doing who-knew-what. My breath hitched. My chin wobbled. (All that fat. I was fine with fat. Fat wasn’t a bad word. I felt sick. I was not fine. I wanted tocut off the wobbly bit with a knife.) I gagged. A sob heaved my body. I bit my lip hard to prevent another tear from slipping out.
Donya looked at me with bafflement and disgust. I could not stand to see that contemptuous look in her eyes. If we couldn’t get back to the palace soon, I would break down.
Rubbing my eyes, I stuck my head up front and screamed at the driver, “Faster!”
Whatever he saw on my face absolutely terrified him. He nodded and urged the horses on.
I quickly learned that by barking orders at people, I could get stuff done. All I had to do was order the footman to find a private room, and one manifested. I’d made certain to clear the room of all staff, even ordering the guards away from the door so we wouldn’t be overheard. Donya sat in the palace parlor holding a mug of hot tea. The bruising had steadily turned more purple.
