Fragments of memory glanced across my vision.Waxen fingers trailing on bloodstained floorboards.Crescents of white peeking out from eyelids that would never again open, yet wouldn’t fully shut.A father, so blind with grief he couldn’t see the red dripping from his hands.
I gave a thin smile.‘I don’t like the taste of blood.’
Waltz muttered something under his breath, then spun on his heels.‘We mustn’t dawdle any longer.The ball is already starting.’
‘Thewhat?’
‘You don’t think Her Majesty would see your return without celebration, do you?’Waltz said, glancing back over his shoulder to us.‘The court is so fondof you, sir.Everyone’s dying to meet the woman who won your heart.’
Oh.I felt like I’d swallowed a rock.So it wasn’t just the Queen we had to convince.We would be facing the entire festering nest of vipers.Raleigh squeezed my hand.
Waltz insisted Raleigh leave his sword with Moira before he would let us through the gilded doors into an entry hall that glimmeredon every surface.The walls dripped with thousands of candles, all flickering like a thousand glowing moths.Other guests were filtering in as we arrived and I could feel their stares as we passed, their curious whispers following us like shadows.The French was too rapid for me to understand completely, but from the way Raleigh set his jaw, I could tell he heard every word.
Two marble staircases curled up and away from the hall, meeting at the same point on the first floor landing.As Waltz began to climb one set, Raleigh spoke up.
‘Waltz, good fellow, you seem to be losing your senses in your old age.The ballroom is downstairs.’
‘Well done for remembering the palace layout, sir.I’m surprised you remember anything more than the ceilings.’
Raleigh looked ready to kill.I grabbed his hand before he could do anything, squeezing tight to bring him back to earth.
Waltz peered back at us.‘We aren’t going straight to the ballroom.It would be improper to grant an audience with the Queen when the two of you look likethat.’
He was right.Both of us had changed into finery for the occasion, but it was finery that had spent ten days crammed into a trunk.
‘We have prepared more appropriate outfits for you both.’
As we turned towards a new wing of the palace, Raleigh began to drag his feet, holding on to my hand like a lifeline.With each step he dragged us further and further behind Waltz, until Waltz finally stopped in front of a door.
‘You’ll each find a suitable change of clothes in here.Now, I must leave you.I trust you know the way from here.’
‘Intimately,’ Raleigh muttered.
‘Very well.’Waltz bowed low, his respect sodden with mockery.‘Make yourself at home again, my prince.’He extracted himself with a deep chuckle.
We stood unmoving until the long tail of his shadow had carved around the corner but, even then, Raleigh did not open the door.
‘Are you all right?’I asked.
‘Fine,’ he said, but the force with which he gripped my hand said otherwise.It seemed to take all his effort to detach himself from me so he could rest his hand on the doorknob.He let out a long breath, then forced himself to open the door.
He bade me to enter ahead of him.The room beyond was opulent but … normal.It was a living room, with two plush sofas framing a small table.A crystal decanter rested on top, full of crimson liquid.Like the foyer, the room glittered with candlelight and more mirrors adorned the walls, reflecting only me.The door to an adjoining bedroom was open.Unlike the rest of the palace, the carpet and drapery were cast in similar reds and golds to the furnishings in Castle Rostenburg.
I couldn’t see any signs of other guests or servants, but I certainly didn’t feel like we were alone.Perhaps it was the reflected candlelight in the myriad mirrors or a trick of the shadows they left behind.Or perhaps it was simply the echoes of a thousand suffering souls, forced to play at court for eternity.
‘This was my apartment,’ Raleigh said from the doorway.‘It’s exactly how I left it.’
I knew I should say something, but while I was finding my tongue, he pushed through whatever was holding him back and joined me inside.
‘I’ve spent more time in these rooms than most people spend alive.I’d rather not spend a second longer than I have to.’
We found our outfits for the evening laid out on the bed.Raleigh took his to the living room, leaving me to navigate the mass of crimson silk left for me.The petticoats alone were an ordeal to layer, and I was left in despair over what to do with my pockets.I was glad I’d broughtthem with me – I wouldn’t be able to reach my dagger through this many skirts if I left it strapped to my leg – but they’d been designed to be tied under a modern gown, not this rococo nonsense.Once I tugged the overdress on I couldn’t make them align properly with the sewn-in slits.The best I could do was conceal the bulge of my dagger and commit to simply rummaging around my skirts if I needed to find anything.I focused my woes on the buttons instead.
How anyone expected me to dress myself in this without help was beyond me.Most of my wardrobe laced at the front or was otherwise easy enough to slip into on my own, but as well as being at least a decade out of fashion, this gown was clearly designed by someone with a servant on call who could fasten the tiny and intricate buttons that worked their way along my spine.I could barely twist myself into the right angle to reach them.
I dragged the mass of skirts over to the door and opened it a crack.Raleigh had his back to the door.He was already mostly dressed, fumbling to secure a cravat on his own without the aid of a mirror.
‘I hate to ask,’ I said into the soupy awkwardness, ‘but I need help with my dress.’
