Angelique slowly drew close enough that she could hear the exchange, but paused just before joiningthem.
“Your Majesty,” the merchant grinned playfully. “You’re the queen. Do you really mean to say you cannot afford a few silver piecesmore?”
“I may be queen, but why would you assume they are for me?” Cinderella scoffed. “What would I do with twelve mirrors? What a massive waste of tax moneythatwould be. In fact, now I’m terribly upset that you think I’m purchasing them for myself!” She slapped her fingers to her mouth and batted her eyes in a look ofhurt.
“I misspoke, Your Majesty. All of Erlauf knows Queen Cinderella is diligent with money. I would never think so poorly of you.” Though the merchant’s voice was soothing and placating, Angelique could see the humor in hiseyes.
Cinderella smiled brightly. “Then you won’t mind giving me the market price instead of attempting to increase the price as you have admirably attempted to do, willyou?”
The merchant laughed outright. “I admit defeat, Your Majesty. I cannot possibly refuse you. Verywell!”
Cinderella truly is a monarch of her people. I don’t think Elle or Queen Linnea could talk to their citizens like this—though Gabriellemight.
Colonel Friedrich continued to speak in hushed tones to Severin as he surveyed the area, turning in a watchful circle. When he caught sight of Angelique with his single eye—the other being covered by his black eyepatch—he paused, thensmiled.
“Lady Enchantress Angelique—what a pleasant surprise.” He turned back so he could shout at his wife, “Pet! Come see who justarrived.”
Cinderella—gleeful over her thrifty shopping—waltzed over to him. “I managed to get us a significant discount from the budget you gave me to work with, Prince Severin—oh!” She came to a stop when she saw Angelique, and her pretty face became downright lovely when she smiled. “Lady Enchantress Angelique! How glad I am to finally see youagain.”
“It’s been too long,” Angeliqueagreed.
Cinderella’s red hair spilled over her shoulders as she reached out to clasp Angelique’s hands and squeeze them. “I insist you stay with us for the duration of your visit—how long will you remain inErlauf?”
“Not long, I hope.” Angelique looked past Cinderella and nodded to Glaze, who slowly ambled over to join them. “Hello, CraftmageGlaze.”
Glaze returned the nod. “LadyEnchantress.”
Angelique stared at her in surprise.I got the opinion that Glaze didn’t care for me at all, much less would bother to spare me any social politeness. Is she playing nice because of theroyals?
Glaze swiveled the mirror in her hands and stared down at it. “I have heard of the…exploits you and Lord Enchanter Clovicus accomplished.” She hesitated, then said, “Thank you for yoursacrifice.”
Angelique arched a brow. “Clovicus wrote that I was sick, didhe?”
Prince Severin bowed his head. “He mentioned something of the sort in his communication to me, yes. I am glad to see you are looking better than what hedescribed.”
“Yes, well, I won’t say it wasn’t worthwhile, but our findings weren’t exactly encouraging,” Angelique vaguelysaid.
Cinderella tipped her head back as she took in the purposely vague language. She finally released Angelique’s hands and twirled with the grace of a dancer to address the merchant. “Monsieur, could you draw up the order papers? Glaze will pick the exact mirrors she wants, and we can finish our business when youreturn.”
The merchant bent at the waist. “Of course, Your Majesty. Allow me to thank you for your patronage. I won’t be long.” He strode out of the aisle, his footsteps graduallyfading.
Severin stared up at the glass chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. “He went in a backroom.”
Yep. He definitely retained that felinehearing.
“So that’s bloody bad luck about the Snow Queen’s mirror,” Colonel Friedrich bluntly said. “Sorry, Pet, but it’s just about the worst news of the decade,” he added when he caught Cinderella eyeinghim.
The queen sighed and rested her hands on the skirts of her dress—which were a beautiful shade of blue that complemented the queen’s red hair, but possessed only a bit of embroidery around the neckline for embellishment. “You’re not wrong. But then again, Angelique is already aware of all this, and I don’t imagine she came all this way just to listen to our secondhand account of something shewitnessed.”
“You are here to purchase mirrors?” Angelique asked in the awkward lull ofconversation.
“Yes,” Cinderella smiled. “Arcainia sent us some funds, and Friedrich and Severin decided the most important things to secure first were the last few mirrors for Glaze and the other craftmages to enchant so we can all communicateeasier.”
Glaze nodded in confirmation. “We’ve begun enchanting them, but it’s become apparent each country will need several mirrors, so we requested a dozen more.” She glanced over her shoulder at the beautifully arranged glasswork. “If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to pick the last few mirrors. It is not a decision to be made lightly, given that the better the craftmanship, the higher-quality spells we’ll be able touse.”
“Yes of course, go ahead, Glaze,” Friedrich urgedher.
Glaze nodded again to Angelique, then went back to lovingly inspecting the mirrors arranged on cherry woodshelves.
