“The whole thing is impossible.” Ashley declared, finally letting her emotions out, unable to stop the flood of tears that fell down her cheeks. She turned to push her face into one of the luxurious pillows, trying to smother her sobs.
Emma stepped to the side of the bed, her hand on Ashley’s back in a comforting gesture. “Please don’t cry, Princess. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s not you, Emma,” Ashley replied, even if the pillow smothered most of what she said, and the pressure in her sinuses made it feel like her head was about to explode. “It’s my brother and his scheming.”
Ashley knew she probably shouldn’t say such things to anyone, but she felt as if Emma could be a friend. She wanted her to be a friend. Needed her to be, in fact.
“I know it’s a big change for you, and that it must be overwhelming, but you mustn’t cry like this. You’re only hurting yourself.” Emma patted Ashley as she spoke, and finally, her sobs done for the moment, Ashley turned over.
“I’m in trouble,” Ashley admitted to Emma, hoping that the other woman would be able to understand her, even if Ashley didn’t elaborate.
“The unfortunate thing is, whatever it is that you’re in trouble with, you’re going to have to get over it really quickly because tomorrow, your brother’s friends will be arriving, and the moment that they arrive, they’re going to expect you to put on a show,” Emma said, and Ashley couldn’t help but allow her arm to fall over her face with a loud groan.
Why, oh why, did Val have to have friends?
Chapter
Twelve
As it turned out, friend was a very loose term in this world. In this case, Val’s friends were friends in the loosest sense of the word. They didn’t seem to care about him, in the way that a normal friend would. Instead, they cared about the status of being associated with the king of the Opal Clan.
The next morning Ashley managed to get up before the maids came in. She moved to the window to see what the new day might bring and watched her brother, standing at the corner of the maze. She noted that for all that he had yelled at her for being near the labyrinth the day before, he was now ushering people into the maze with him. Obviously, while Ashley wasn’t allowed to walk around willy-nilly poking her head wherever she wanted, Val was allowed to show anyone anything, because he was the king.
But there was something about the conspiratorial way that the four men who followed her brother looked over their shoulders towards the castle. Almost like they were trying to make sure that no one saw where they were going. Val had very clearly stated that there were people who would love nothing more than to steal their stone. That made Ashley feel like there was more to this than Val would ever tell her. Like hewas keeping the Opal stone from sight for a reason. The only question was, what exactly was that reason?
With a heavy sigh, Ashley crossed the short distance from the window to her wardrobe and threw open the doors, mentally willing there to be some sort of pants within them. But when you lived in a world that wanted women in dresses, probably because it added another layer of defenselessness to their lives, pants were too much to wish for.
What she had, instead, was skirts. Mountains and mountains of skirts, skirts that were made from miles and miles of fabric. Ashley couldn’t help but wince the moment she saw them. Skirts and dresses like that must cost a pretty penny, costing the kingdom far more than a pair of sensible jeans would. Ashley wondered if that was a way to convince her brother to let women wear pants. Telling him his coffers would remain fuller if women could wear pants and shorts would appeal to him, no doubt.
Faced with no other option, she picked one of the lighter skirts and willed it to be less of a hindrance than the others. By the time she had on a plain blouse, and she’d managed to pull the skirt up she knew this wouldn’t do. The skirt was so tight she felt smothered. Obviously, the fabric was very expensive, and she should have taken care of it, but Ashley was fed up with the entire situation.
But…an idea blossomed in her head and she grinned with delight. Ashley squatted and pushed her thighs apart. The skirt ripped into two long pieces of fabric with a satisfying tearing sound. She stood back and found it much better. Threads hung from the new edges, and she used those to tie the fabric around her legs. If her brother wasn’t going to give her pants, then Ashley was just going to go out of her way to make her own. Ashley decided this was how she would approach everything from now on. Whatever Val wouldn’t give her, she was going to take. Or make.
Later, she’d find a needle, thread, and some scissors to make a better job of her creations, but for now, she was satisfied with what she’d done. So long as the knots held up and she didn’t end up exposing her backside to everyone. Or her front, she thought with a furious blush.
Ashley crept towards the door, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of Emma. Nobody knew yet that Ashley had promoted the woman to be her lady-in-waiting and Emma hadn’t shown up yet to tend to her lady. That meant Ned didn’t know she was awake yet, and might not be out there guarding her.
Ashley opened the door and saw the coast was clear. Sticking to the walls, head down, with shoulders hunched, she hoped nobody would notice her. She’d walked around Walland like this for years and people didn’t seem to see her. Maybe the tactic would work here too.
Just as she’d hoped, nobody bothered to look at the defeated looking creature that walked along the hallways, though a few male servants raised an eyebrow in her direction. They didn’t ask any questions, however.
Whether they’d report what they’d seen to her brother remained to be seen. Or maybe they hated her brother so much they wouldn’t report it at all. That would be great as far as she was concerned.
Everyone seemed busy cleaning out every nook and cranny for the Dragon Games her brother had announced the night before. Ashley was pretty sure that the number of servants had doubled overnight. She hoped that meant they were too new to know who she was.
Ashley wished she had a real friend to talk about all of this with, but she had no one. Sure, Emma was a definite prospect, but Ashley knew enough about court life from movies and TV shows to know that Emma could be a spy, or worse, a woman bent on bettering her lot in life even if that meant betrayingothers. It wouldn’t be a good idea to trust her too much, yet. Ashley came upon a large door and pushed it open, her thoughts back on getting some fresh air. The door led outside, and Ashley breathed out a sigh of relief. She hadn’t seen this part of the castle grounds yet and she looked around quickly, wanting to make sure she wouldn’t be caught by someone who couldn’t mind their own business.
The backyard was large and luxurious. In many ways, it looked like it was straight out of Alice in Wonderland. The Disney version, not the shitty made-for-TV version. Her breath caught in the back of her throat as she took in all the rows and rows of dark tropical garden plants, the finely sculpted topiary, and the Dragons that decorated almost every corner of the garden she could see. Even if she’d been able to pay to enter such a place in her own world, she was certain that this place would have still been kept for the private use of the owner. It was breathtaking and filled with scents that drew her deeper into the garden.
She leaned down to sniff at a thick, fleshy-looking white flower that sported bright orange stamens, wondering if it was emitting the smell that she liked so much. Just as she inhaled, she heard her brother’s voice. She inhaled much deeper than she’d planned to and had to pinch her nose to hold back a sneeze.
“It’s safe, relax,” he said to someone she couldn’t see. Ashley walked to the edge of the hedge maze and carefully pulled the branches apart. She saw Val with four other men, all well-dressed but not as regal as her brother and definitely shorter than him.
No doubt that pleased Val immensely.
But one of the men was rail thin and towered over Val. The man wasn’t attractive at all, with long, lank, dark hair and a large, crooked nose. Bony was the only word that came to mindas she looked at him. She cringed as she thought about anyone trying to kiss him. They’d get stabbed by that nose. The paleness of his skin didn’t help as it combined with the rest of him to give him a harsh, cruel appearance.
One of the men was short, dumpy, and slightly handsome. That edge of handsomeness was diminished by the fact that the way he slumped his shoulders and hips made him look lazy. As if he couldn’t even bother to stand up straight without someone behind him holding him up. He must belong to some respectable family, however, because the way he kept his thin nose in the air spoke of arrogance that he didn’t deserve.
