“Clesta, we go through this every morning. And every morning, I eventually convince you to spare Chef’s hurt feelings by cleaning this plate. Let’s skip the battle this morning and get straight to the good part.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Is your plan to make me fat, Lady? You must be worried my good looks will outshine yours. This is cruelty wrapped in kindness.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Honestly, where did she come up with this stuff? “This is kindness wrapped up in more kindness. I do not need whipped potatoes and honey for breakfast, dearest. But you do. You’re too skinny as it is. And you have much more work ahead of you than I do. Sit and enjoy while I bathe. And when you’ve had your fill, I’ll allow you to try your hand at my hair. But not until you’re properly fortified. I have a busy day ahead of me, and I cannot suffer loose pins and unwieldy braids.”
“All right then,” she conceded. “Let me have the little royal before you go. I suppose she thinks she ought to have some quirrick eggs as well.”
I handed off Shiksa. Clesta’s feelings for me weren’t entirely clear. Some days she acted with cold indifference, others with tepidly warming affections. And while she always accepted my offer of breakfast and had taken to bringing me apples or other various fruits depending on what was available in the kitchen, she seemed to do so reluctantly.
Shiksa, on the other hand, was the light of her life. She loved the foxling as though she were her own. And Shiksa, for her part... tolerated Clesta. Which was as doting as Shiksa was toward anyone other than me. Even Oliver was becoming more foe than friend to her.
Now, an adult beastie fully grown and pampered more than I was, she had developed quite the sass. And a number of opinions. She was very protective of me especially. And disliked all new acquaintances.
I should probably keep her locked up, safe in my rooms. But I’d gotten into the bad habit of always keeping her with me. Or letting her roam the castle freely. The servants and other nobles roaming the halls had learned to stay out of her way. Usually, she stayed right by my side anyway, so there had only been a handful of screaming ladies and terrified newcomers when accidental and unwanted paths crossed.
Save when I slinked around the castle late at night with Oliver on a mission for forbidden magic books. Then I left her tucked in bed where she preferred.
Ahem.
“Hurry, Lady,” Clesta called after me as I made my way toward the bath. “The prince has already asked for you twice this morning. But I sent word that you were not to be woke earlier than necessary lest he lose his head on the chopping block for disturbing you.”
I stuck my head back in the bedroom, butterflies flapping to attention in my belly. “Prince?”
“Yes, Lady. He’s been asking anyone who walks by where he can find you. I laughed outright. I said, ‘Well, in bed at this hour.’ But that didn’t seem to deter him.”
A smile lifted the corners of my mouth. Taelon. I hadn’t seen him since the trial ended. We’d exchanged letters as often as possible, but nothing truly sincere was ever said in a letter. Not when you couldn’t be sure it wasn’t perused by multiple sets of eyes between him and me.
I breathed deeper, just knowing he was in the castle. Just knowing he was close and we could speak soon.
So much had happened since he’d left. I had so much to tell him. But more, I couldn’t wait to hear what he’d been up to. I received so little news. Was the Ring of Shadows still terrorizing the Blood Woods? Had the Rebel Army reconvened? How was Eret? Dravon? Even Gunter, who had supposedly set up camp nearby, but whom I never saw. Sometimes, I smelled Cavolian spices in the air, but I had not truly seen him since the trial.
But more importantly, I wanted to know how Taelon was doing. I wanted to know everything. His victories. His failures. His burdens. His thoughts on the future of the realm. Onmyfuture. What did he expect from this ball and the two-week festivities to follow? On my upcoming coronation?
Going about my business as quickly as humanly possible, I washed and dressed. Clesta came into the dressing room after her breakfast to help with the corset and ties of the day dress that had been set aside by the head seamstress for today. Because of our foibles over the past six months, Tyrn had ordered the dressmakers to plan my wardrobe for the next couple weeks. They’d taken their jobs very seriously, planning each outfit down to the undergarments and slippers.
I felt it had been an overreaction to our innocent mistakes, but looking at myself now, I had to marvel at the care that had gone into this deceptively simple dress. A pale blue-gray that had seemed boring at first glance. But now that it was on, I could see that the gray was more shimmery silver than flat monotone. Delicate blue flower bouquets with emerald stems and pink string bows decorated the entirety of it, from the low-cut bodice to the short train. It was narrower than a ball gown, but still the layers of fabric had been bustled into elegant tiers. The long sleeves came to a point and looped around my middle finger on each hand. And the ties in the back were exposed, crisscrossing my back and highlighting my shape.
I looked like a princess in this dress. Ifeltlike a princess in this dress.
Stepping into silver slippers, I reached for Shiksa and moved toward the bedroom. I had only had an apple for breakfast, but the riot of nerves inside me made even that settle in my belly uncomfortably.
“Lady,” Clesta called after me, annoyance clear in her tone when she realized my intentions. “Your hair! You cannot go out like that.”
Oh, but I could. “It’s no matter,” I told her. “I’ll let you attempt to tame it before supper. I promise.”
“At least let me keep the fox.”
She didn’t know Taelon at all. “Why? He’ll just demand an audience the second he sees me without her.”
Her face pinched. “The prince?” she gasped. “And the fox?”
If only she knew how they’d first come to meet in the dark part of the Tellekane Forest. He a rebel. She my fiercest defender. And a secret crown hidden just beneath where she lay.
“I’ll be back before supper,” I promised, rushing toward the door. “Thank you for your help this morning!”
The door closed behind me before she could respond, but I could just picture her standing there, staring after me with her mouth agog. We had no real bond of friendship yet, but we would. I would wear her down eventually.
Guards on either side of my door snapped to attention when I burst through into the corridor. I didn’t wait for them to ask me where I was going, leaving them to chase after me.
