“Hello, mystery girl.” Daniel extended his hand, and Anna noticed a goblet inked into the skin of his forearm. His handshake was solid, and he held her gaze in a way that would be intimidating if not for the softness around his eyes. Anna stole another glance at Daniel’s tattoo. She’d heard about them, but she’d never seen one before. She imagined one of her tapestry needles breaking the skin, marking it with ink, and she shuddered.
“King. So does that make you the Queen?” Anna turned to Lara, who sighed.
“I am the Queen, but I know that word can be intimidating. I think of myself as Lara, not Queen Lara.”
As Anna listened, she thought about the fact that she was a princess by birthright, a title she’d never been able to claim. She wondered how she might have seen the world differently had she been raised in court.
“Let’s sit.” Daniel nodded up the beach, pulling on his shirt. “There’s some shade beneath those palms. It’s starting to warm up.”
“Good idea,” Lara agreed. “Anna, you’re so fair. We’ll have to watch that you don’t burn.”
Anna’s years of isolation had left her pale skin dull and ashen, and she knew she must look like an apparition compared to these tanned people.
Anna’s eyes scanned the sea as she took cover beneath a large palm. “Are you the only king of this land?” she asked.
“That I know of,” Daniel said, laughing.
Anna knew in that moment that she had traveled beyond the Hierophant King’s jurisdiction. The Hierophant King would never allow another man to call himself ruler.
“Where did you travel from, Anna?” Daniel eyed one of the bruises on her arm. “You look like you had a long journey.”
“I escaped from . . .” Anna began. “I was a great lady’s maid, and she treated me very poorly.” The story came to life as she spoke.
Anna could not tell them the truth when she barely understood it herself. She was the daughter of a great magician and a queen, and the man she thought was her father had imprisoned her. She came here by crossing a bridge that seemed to disappear as soon as she reached the other side. Then there was the worst of it: a very dangerous and powerful king was going to come after her.
She cleared her throat and thought of the made-up worlds of her tapestries. “I came from a land called Pentacles,” she said.
“We know of Pentacles.” Daniel nodded. Anna’s head jerked up.
“You do?” Anna tried to keep her expression blank.
“Of course. It is the land to the east. We’ve never traveled there, but we’ve heard stories of it.”
“Our friend Christopher should be in Pentacles right now actually,” Lara said.
“Yes, Topper is the first of our people to make a journey to another land,” Daniel explained.
Anna raised her eyebrows. Had her father whispered Pentacles’s existence to her in dreams, like he had the Moon?
“It’s a long trek. How did you get here, Anna?” Daniel asked, tearing her away from her thoughts.
“My friends, the ones who helped me, put me in a boat,” Anna lied. She felt a sick sensation in her stomach. “I was so disoriented, I felt half-dead when James found me on the shore. I’m lucky he was there.”
“You must have lost consciousness at some point,” Daniel said.
“The voyage was arduous,” Anna said, thinking of the Tower, her aunt becoming sick, the bridge. “What do you call this place?” she asked.
“This”—Daniel stretched his arms wide and turned in a slow circle—“is Cups.” His voice was thick with pride.
“We’re happy you’re here now, Anna.” Lara unclasped one of the bracelets on her wrist. It was a round piece of sea glass, teal green, tied to a band of thin leather on each of its sides. “A welcome gift.” She held it out.
Anna had just lied to these kind people, and they were giving her a gorgeous gift in return. She hesitated.
“Take it, Anna. I want you to have it.”
“It is so beautiful,” Anna said, her eyes misting.
Lara smiled, reaching for Anna’s wrist.
“I can sew! I can weave anything—clothes, tablecloths, whatever you need,” Anna blurted out.
“That’s a very kind offer, Anna,” said Daniel. “I do want you to know, we all contribute equally. If weaving is your passion, then that’s what you should do.”
Lara added, “We all do our part, but that doesn’t mean we don’t also know how to enjoy ourselves.” She winked at Anna, and then her eyes wandered over her shoulder. “Look who found us.”
Anna followed Lara’s gaze down the beach, back in the direction of the villa. James was running down the shoreline toward them.
“The most playful of us all,” Lara said.
Anna watched James approach, hoping the little surge of excitement she felt was not apparent on her face. He bounded up to them, smiling broadly.
“Hey!” he said. “Anyone up for a swim?”
“I’m going to head back. I need to make sure everyone knows their jobs for tomorrow,” Lara said.
Anna wanted to stay, but she didn’t know the first thing about swimming, and she was embarrassed to admit it.
“I want to see if I can find that old loom and fix it up for Anna,” Daniel said.
“Really?” Anna brightened.
“Let’s see what we can find.” Daniel nodded back toward the villa.
“Suit yourselves.” James turned toward the water and pulled off his shirt, revealing a tan, muscled back. Lara caught Anna staring.
“James is great,” Lara said. “But, as you witnessed this morning, Ivy is one to watch out for. She’s a great friend of mine, but I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side.”
“Does Ivy love James?” Anna asked. She knew nothing of these things, save for what she’d read in books. Anna wondered whether they would make fun of her if they knew how truly naive she was.
“I don’t know if I would call it love. I’m not sure what I would call it, but she can be as threatening as the plant she’s named for if you cross her.”
“You owe me a swim, Anna!” James called to her from behind before diving into the clear blue water.
“I don’t know how to swim,” Anna confided to Lara in a whisper.
“Oh, I’m sure he’d be happy to give you lessons.”
Anna smiled at the thought.
Everyone was milling about the King’s war room when the Magician entered. She had managed to reach her chambers unseen and had wiped herself down as best she could, exchanging her soiled robes for new ones. She knew she must look three shades of green, but she could explain that away as illness.
When the Hermit spotted her, she saw a look of relief cross his features, but he quickly hid his emotion. The Hermit nudged the Fool, and when he saw her, he ran straight for her.
“Are you okay?” he whispered. “What happened?”
“Not now,” the Magician snapped. “I need to sit.” The Fool’s face fell.
They found their seats at the King’s large oak table with the rest of the advisors, senators, and the Minister of War. Beneath the table, the Fool squeezed the Magician’s hand, and she felt a pang of remorse for snapping at him.
The King stood up from the head of the table to speak. He looked almost dazed, and the Magician felt a knot inside her chest. She knew her actions were justified, but she still didn’t like the deception. It was dangerous and exhausting.
“We all understand what a difficult situation this is. Clearly, I underestimated the girl.”
“We all did, Sire,” Senator Bassett offered. The King ignored him.
“I’ve sent my Guard out in every direction to search for the girl,” the King bellowed, “but I suspect that, if she could level a stone structure, finding her will be complicated and potentially dangerous. She could be somewhere right now,
planning a full attack on the kingdom.” She certainly has plenty of motive, he thought.
The Fool cleared his throat anxiously. The King did not notice, but Senator Bassett did.
Across the table, he turned to the Fool, the Hermit, and the Magician, who were seated next to one another. This made the Fool clear his throat again. Beneath the table, the Magician nudged him with her knee.
“I just need some water,” the Fool said, getting up to reach for a pitcher and a cup. “Bit of a tickle,” he added, pointing to his throat. In his nervousness, he knocked the pitcher over and water cascaded down the table. The King halted his speech. The Fool’s cheeks flamed red as a young servant girl came forward to wipe up the mess.
“Are you finished now?” the King asked the Fool.
“Quite,” said the Fool, sitting back down. Senator Bassett clucked in disgust and turned his head back to the King.
“Can you use your magic to track the girl?” The King now directed his focus to the Magician, who was having trouble keeping her eyes open. “Am I boring you?” he snapped.
The Hermit squeezed the Magician’s thigh beneath the table and she jumped out of her seat.
“Never, Your Highness,” she said.
“Is there something wrong? You look terrible.”
“Something I ate, I think,” the Magician said, grimacing. The King nodded knowingly, as did others at the table.
“The worst kind of sickness,” the King said.
“Indeed,” agreed the Magician. The Fool stifled a giggle.
“Can I use my magic to locate Anna?” The Magician repeated the question. “I can certainly try. It has been a while since I was allowed to use magic.”
The King waved a hand at her. “Right, right,” he said.
“Who could have known, Sire?” Bassett shrugged.
The King whipped around to face him. “Stop doing that. I don’t need your reassurance. My pride is not at stake here; our way of life is.”
The Magician suddenly clutched at her stomach and covered her mouth. She started to gag and stood up from her seat. The King winced in disgust, leaning away from her despite their distance.
“Go and rest,” he said to the Magician. “We’ll reconvene this evening and try the spell. The Guard is out—if she’s in the forest, they’ll find her.” The Magician feigned gratitude by nodding and then dashing from the room.
“I recall one time I ate a herring that was off,” she heard the King say as she left the room.
“An absolute tragedy,” Senator Bassett agreed.
“I swear, if you do that one more time,” she heard the King admonish him, and the Magician managed a smile. Perhaps she’d bought Anna enough time to get far, far away from the kingdom.
“What else do you like to do? Besides weaving, I mean.” Lara studied Anna. “Do you like farming or gardening? Or do you enjoy being in the kitchen?”
Anna was distracted. They had just returned to the villa, and, as Lara opened the front door, Anna got her first glimpse of the bottom floor.
It was stunning.
The ceilings were high and vaulted, supported with wood beams, and the walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling windows, designed to let in light and show off the view of the mountain ranges jutting out of the sea. Gauzy white curtains fluttered with the sea breeze. The walls were a bright white, and the floors, a dark wood polished to a shine, anchored the room.
“I don’t know.” Anna blinked. “I’ve never worked outside my chambers, so I’d like to be outdoors if I can. Maybe gardening?” Anna bit her lip. “I think I’d be a quick learner.”
Lara beamed. “You can try anything! We trade off, but gardening sounds like a good place to start.” Lara gave Anna’s arm a light squeeze. “Oh, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Would you like a proper tour? You haven’t even been here a day, and already I’m talking about putting you to work.” She giggled. “I’m sorry, Anna.”
“No, I want to work,” Anna assured her. “I’d rather keep busy. A tour would be lovely, though. I’ve never been anywhere like Cups.”
Lara’s eyes lit up. “Then let’s go explore a little.”
They climbed a large wooden staircase to the second floor of the villa, which was dotted with bedrooms. Each room had the same billowing curtains, giant windows, and open doorways facing the sea. There were several outdoor patios with places to sit and watch the large palms sway, or soak up the sun’s warm rays.
After they toured the villa, Lara walked Anna out to the gardens that grew in the back of the property. A large plot of land had been cut away from the tropical forest, and the people of Cups had built an impressive garden. Lettuce, carrots, melons, squash, and plantains all grew in abundance in neat rows.
Three girls walked by carrying crates full of vegetables they had just picked.
“Hey, Daisy!” Lara waved them over. “Do you all have a minute?”
The girls set down their crates.
“Rebecca, this is Anna. She’ll be staying with us for a while.” Rebecca pushed back her heavy blonde bangs and smiled, holding out her hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Anna.”
“You too.” Anna smiled.
“This is Morgan.” Lara gestured to a tall girl with dark brown hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. Her cheeks were flushed pink from working in the garden.
“Pleasure, Anna,” she said. Her handshake was firm and her manner direct. She looked straight into Anna’s eyes when they shook hands.
“Clearly, she’s saved the best for last!” A shorter girl with a head of tight yellow curls smiled at Anna.
“You must be Daisy?” Anna said.
“The one and only. Coming to the race tonight?” she asked, reaching into her crate and pulling out a carrot. “Snack?”
“Thanks,” Anna said, accepting her offer.
“I’m definitely going to win tonight,” Daisy said, crunching her own carrot and staring down Rebecca and Morgan.
“You are too competitive,” said Lara.
“I know. Thank you.” Daisy flipped her hair over her shoulder. The other girls laughed.
“The race is tonight on the beach,” Lara said, turning to Anna. “It’s thrilling. You’ll love it.”
“Do I have to join in if I come?” Anna asked. “Or can I just watch?”
“Of course,” Lara reassured her. “But you might change your mind once we get there.”
The girls picked up their crates and hitched them onto their hips. “See you later, Anna,” said Rebecca as they headed back toward the villa.
Lara placed her hand on Anna’s shoulder. “You’re going to make friends fast.”
Anna nodded. She thought about her advisors, her oldest and dearest friends, and felt a stab of grief in her stomach.
She watched the girls walk away, and something struck her. They wore simple white dresses, yet Cups was so full of color—the water alone had been about six shades of blue in the little time she’d been there. There was the purple of the orchids and the lime green of the palms. She looked past the gardens into the jungle that bordered the villa and the beach; she’d never seen so many shades of green. She could weave some of this color into their clothing, bring a bit of the beauty of their land into what they wore to show her gratitude for how openly they had welcomed her.
But first things first, she’d have to see if Daniel had been able to locate the loom.
“Would you like to see West Farm next?” Lara asked brightly. “It’s our smaller farm, where we keep the animals. South Farm is much bigger and too far away to go on foot. We’ll have to ride out there another day.”
Anna hesitated. “Do you mind if we end here for today? I know we’ve barely begun, but my feet hurt from yesterday’s journey, and to be honest, I’m not used to being around so many people.”
“Oh.”
Lara nodded. She pivoted back toward the villa.
“I love what you’ve shown me so far, and I can’t wait to see more. I just have to . . .” Anna shuffled lightly from foot to foot, trying to think of the right word.
“Process?”
“Yes, perhaps while sleeping,” Anna said, nodding sheepishly.
“Say no more, Anna. I should have thought of it myself. Do you want me to walk you back?”
“That’s all right.” Anna smiled.
“Why don’t you rest until dinner? Then you’ll have heaps of energy for the race tonight.” Lara winked.
Even the few steps back to the villa filled Anna with wonder because she was taking them alone. For the first time in her life she was experiencing freedom, and it felt like she’d been gifted a pair of wings.
* * *
Moments later, Anna paced around her new room. She let her hair out of its bun and sat on the bed, bouncing up and down a few times, reveling in the softness of the puffy white covers. She stared up at the ceiling and watched how the fingerlike leaves of the palms outside her window cast strange shapes and moving shadows above her. She listened to the sounds of the sea and enjoyed the cool breeze moving through her hair. She felt thankful for the quiet time to collect her thoughts and process everything that had happened since she’d stumbled into this new world.
Her mind traveled back to her advisors. She had seen them every day for her entire life, and now she wasn’t sure if she would ever be with them again. She wished desperately she could tell them she was okay, make sure the Magician had made it back to the kingdom, and talk to them about this world of Cups she’d landed in.
“Count your lucky stars, Anna.” She took a deep breath and pushed herself off the bed. If it weren’t for her friends, she would be dead by now at the hands of the King. She shook her head. She couldn’t believe he would actually kill her.
But she knew one thing—her tutors would not want her sitting around by herself, moping. Well, the Hermit might, she thought, laughing to herself. But the Fool would not.
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