by A. J. Medina
The princess nodded. “I’m tired and hungry. Will you be joining us for the evening meal in the palace?”
“Not this evening. I’m also tired. It’s been a long day. I think I’ll have Neala bring me some food in my room.”
“Very well. Thank you for coming with me, Alora. It’s always so much fun in the garden with you. You’re not afraid to get dirty.”
I admired my muddy feet as I picked up my boots. She was right. I didn’t mind getting dirty. Princess Evelyn’s dress and shoes were covered in mud. From what she told me, the queen would always scold her if she was caught like that so we hurried back to our chambers.
When we reached Princess Evelyn’s chamber door she said goodbye and I continued on and went into my room.
Neala was waiting for me like I had asked her to earlier.
Dropping my boots on the floor, I asked Neala to prepare the bath and as she went into the washroom, I took off my cloak and hung it up on the hook. My hand tapped the pocket where I had stashed the two vials. It was time to put my plan into action.
After spending my day training with the knightlys, reading some of the wizard’s journals and spending a fun and relaxing time with the princess in the garden, I washed myself while Neala washed her own body.
I tried not to give anything away since I didn’t want Neala to know what I was up to. I watched Neala as she washed herself, trying to study her mannerisms. The way she moved her body, the way she stood, and even the way she talked. I engaged her in conversation and studied each word she used.
When we were done, I sat in the bath a little longer and watched Neala dry herself and after she finished drying her hair, I noticed a few strands had clung to her towel. I waited until she placed the towel in the pail and then told her that I would be eating my evening meal in my chambers and if she could bring it to me. She smiled and said, “Of course.” She seemed happier doing her servant duties today. Confident that I wouldn’t be dismissing her, I guessed.
“Also, please eat before you bring me my food,” I said.
“Alora?”
“Please. Just eat first. It’ll make me feel better.”
“As you wish. Are you getting out of the bath?”
What would be a good reason why I was staying in the bath? Maybe because it felt good. Nay, I would never say that. What about I need to wash more? Nay, I would never say that either. After a few more seconds passed, I figured out what my excuse would be.
“My feet are still a little numb from running around in the garden with the princess. I’m going to sit here a little longer and let them get warm.”
“Very well.”
Neala got dressed and left the washroom. When I heard my chamber door shut, which meant Neala had left to get my food, I jumped out of the bath, grabbed a towel and hurriedly dried myself.
I reached into the pail and pulled out the towel Neala had used to dry herself and removed a strand of hair. I searched the towel to see if there were anymore and there were. I took three more strands off the towel, just in case, and left the washroom.
I retrieved the two vials from my cloak, uncorked one vial, put the hair inside, and then re-corked it. Opening my closet doors, I was about to put the vials in my drawer, when Silas’ second skin caught my attention. I was able to take possession of it—explaining to the king that I might be able to use it as a map to creating new ones. So far I haven’t found any clues as to how the wizard made them. I hope I find something in one of his journals that can help me.
After placing one vial in my drawer, I hid the other one under my pillow. I slipped on my sleep shirt and waited for Neala to return.
I lay on my bed, but was too excited to lay still, so I sat up. That wasn’t any good either, so I threw my feet over the edge and stood. Pacing back and forth in my room, I wondered if my plan would work. I went over the details in my head again.
Why wouldn’t it work? Everything was in place. It should go flawlessly.
While pacing back and forth, I wondered what was taking Neala so long. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her to eat first. But that would’ve been mean of me. She would be waiting for me and might get hungry and that wouldn’t be fair to her.
When my chamber door opened and Neala walked through it, I was so happy.
“Is everything alright?” Neala asked.
“Perfect!” I answered grabbing the food tray from her hands and placing it on the stool next to the door.
I grabbed Neala by her arm and led her over to my closet and opened the doors. I slid open the drawer that held my vials and pulled out the one I had created for this moment.
“What is that, Alora?” Neala asked, pulling her arms back and away from me.
She looked like she thought it was for her. I wanted to tell her what I was about to do, but should I? Could I trust Neala not to say a word? What if Neala ran and told the king? Nay, Neala wouldn’t do that, but I decided if I wanted this to stay a secret then it’s better not to tell anyone about it. “It’s for me.”
“What does it do?” Neala asked, leaning in and taking a closer look at the vial.
“It’s better if you don’t know what it does. I need you to stay out of sight for a while,” I said, holding the closet door open. “You’ve eaten like I asked you to?”
“Aye.”
I continued to hold the door open and when Neala didn’t get my message, I gestured for her to get in.
“Alora?” Neala asked, clearly confused.
“Please get in. Stay quiet and answer to no one. When I return I will open the door for you.”
Neala did as she was told and I felt bad about it. After sliding the clothes out of the way, she climbed into the closet and pulled her knees to her chest. She didn’t fit properly, so she turned herself sideways and was able to stretch her legs out.
“And what if I need to... to relieve myself.”
I had already thought about that. I reached down out of Neala’s reach and then handed her a pail. Neala took it and placed it over by where her outstretched feet were.
“Remember, no noise and don’t answer anyone who may come into my room: the princess, the queen, the king, no one. Understand?”
“Aye, Alora.”
“I shouldn’t be long.”
I shut the doors, pulled off my sleep shirt, closed my eyes and pictured in my mind the clothes Neala was wearing. Her brown dress, her shoes, and even the color of the ribbon she wore as a head dress, but nothing happened.
I uncorked the vial and drank the potion of deceit. I walked over to the mirror and studied my reflection. The face and body reflected back at me was no longer my own, it was Neala’s.
I shut my eyes and while I imagined Neala’s clothing again, I untied the green ribbon at the end of my braid and separated the strands. When I opened my eyes they flashed in the mirror and covered the room with a bluish hue for a split second. When I studied myself in the mirror again, my outfit was identical to the one Neala was wearing.
Perfect. Now, if I could just get her posture right.
Neala was a chamber maiden for royalty so she didn’t quite carry herself as a peasant. That’s one of the reasons I never thought she was a slave. But the more I studied her, I realized she didn’t carry herself as a lady either. I straightened myself, making my spine stretch towards the sky and then slumped just a bit.
Next, I shifted my shoulders so that they were slightly in front of my body.
Perfect.
It was time to see if my plan would work.
I walked down the passageway and passed the princess’ chambers. I passed other chamber maidens, none of them saying hello to me when I met their eyes, which I thought was weird. I shrugged and kept walking to my destination—the dungeon.
I passed another servant, a girl I had seen before. I raised my hand and waved hello. The girl’s eyes became thin as slits and she turned away.
Well, that was rude. Servants seemed to have an issue with Neala for some reason. I wiped those thought
s from head and looked around for the stair case that would lead me down. When I found it, I raced down the steps.
Acting as Neala through the palace and down the winding steps to the dungeon deep below was much easier than I thought it would be. Any knights I came across either didn’t notice me, or the ones that did would greet me with a nod.
When I reached the bottom of the staircase, the knight on duty was sitting in his chair. His face danced with shadows from the flame of the torch that hung on the wall across from him.
Chapter 5
The knight heard my gentle footsteps and when he noticed me coming, he stood.
“I have a message for The Apprentice from Lady Alora,” I said.
The guard studied me suspiciously for what felt like an eternity. When he was satisfied that I wasn’t a threat, or rather that Neala wasn’t a threat, he pulled out his key and inserted it into the metal caged door that led into the dungeon’s cells.
He glanced over his shoulder and said, “Don’t be too long.”
I nodded.
Passing through the doorway I was reminded of that day. The day that had only recently passed.
I still had the wizard’s blood on me, along with Tessa’s. It was the day that I had learned that Silas was the enemy we were training to defeat.
The door clanged shut behind me and then the lock clicked. I trembled at the thought of being locked in the dungeon forever.
To the left, a cell still remained empty and up ahead that cell remained empty too. But to the right in the third and final cell, lying on the stone floor, was the boy I loved. The boy with the violet eyes.
When he noticed me, he jumped to his feet.
“Neala! What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I had to see you.”
His voice had an urgency to it. “Why? Is Alora alright?”
I wondered if the guard was listening. Just in case he was, I decided to play along.
“She’s fine. She sent me to deliver a message.”
Silas moved close to the metal bars of his cell and out of the shadows where I could see that he had been beaten again. His cheek was shades of purple and black—the bruise looked fresh. His lip, the lip I had kissed many times, was split down the middle.
“What message?” he asked.
I lowered my voice to a whisper. “That she loves you.”
Silas smiled, but then pushed himself away from the bars.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
Silas raised his arms out to his sides. “I’m trapped in here. I’m The Apprentice. They’ll probably execute me, and then me and her will never see each other again.”
“That’s not true,” I said, hoping it really wasn’t.
I moved my finger in a come hither motion and Silas moved closer to the bars.
“It’s me,” I whispered, “Alora.”
Silas squinted, trying to see the person within the disguise.
I shifted my body’s stance. No longer standing as Neala would, my posture changed back to how I normally stood.
Silas smiled—the crack in his lip widening.
“The potion of deceit?” he inquired.
“Aye.”
“That’s not allowed. Not without the king’s permission.”
“You did it?”
“Aye, and look where it landed me.”
“I’ve been thinking about two things since I saw you last. First, why did you send your soldiers to kill my family?”
“That wasn’t me. I told you that already. I would never do that to you. Plus, I don’t do those types of things. I’m not evil. I don’t send soldiers to pillage or to murder innocent citizens. That isn’t the way I do things. People join my army voluntarily. People who are tired of paying the king’s taxes or doing his bidding.”
Was he telling me the truth? How could I believe him when his mere presence the whole time was a lie? I asked about the second thing.
“You said I needed to know something about my father. What about him?”
Silas looked at his feet and paused, searching for the words. When he found them he spoke. “The wizard has journals where he has written his thoughts. He’s written about the king and about us, the volunteers for his army. He’s even written about me in there. About when I was his apprentice. I stumbled upon his secret chamber beneath his workshop. One day as I was reading, I saw your father’s name mentioned. Ser Henry.”
He had my attention. I waited for the rest.
“You shouldn’t hear this from me. You should read it with your own eyes. Judge and learn it for yourself.”
I had found the wizard’s journals. I would search them for the secrets they held. Secrets about everyone it seemed. A secret about my father, Ser Henry. My father had been killed in battle. That’s what my mother had said. I now feared that wasn’t the truth.
I quickly placed my hands on Silas’ hands, gripped them tightly and leaned into the empty area between the cell bars. Silas’ lips touched mine, and for a moment I was transported someplace else. Someplace where the two of us could walk my meadow and I would never see him bruised again.
When I pulled away, I imagined his face free of any harm and lifted my hand toward his cheek, but before I could touch it, Silas stepped back and out of my reach.
He shook his head. “They would know it was you if I was healed again.”
Moving my hair out of my eyes, I studied his face. The one face I’ve only known. I reached out and tried to caress his cheek again, but he was too far away. His cheeks appeared much bonier than they had been a few days ago.
“How do you really look?” I asked.
I could tell he was surprised by my question.
“Does it matter?” was his answer.
“I’m just curious. I’ve grown fond of this face. It’s the face I fell in love with.”
“So if my face was different, you wouldn’t love me?”
“Of course I would. But I would need to get used to seeing a different face on the boy I love.”
“Boy? Did you know today is the anniversary of my birth.”
“Nay. We should...”
I forgot where I was again. In the dungeon. How silly of me. I was about to suggest we celebrate.
“Besides,” he said, “you don’t have to worry about my face changing. I can’t change back. I tried.”
“But why?”
“The potion of deceit. This is my penalty for staying this way too long. After that first day when I was discovered on the turret and the boy fell, I decided not to change back to myself. So now you don’t have to worry. I am Silas. The boy, and now the man, that you’ve known all this time.”
So the potion of deceit had a downside. “How long must you stay in disguise before it becomes permanent?” I asked.
“I’m not sure.”
“A day?” I asked, worried that I might have to live out the rest of my life as Neala’s twin.
“Nay. Much longer, but I’m not sure at what point it becomes permanent.”
I was relieved to hear that.
“I should go. The guard must be wondering what kind of message I had that’s taking so long.”
Silas nodded and looked down at the ground. I moved closer to the bars again, closed my eyes and pursed my lips. When I felt his lips press against mine, I almost cried.
I pulled away and turned to leave, resisting the urge of seeing Silas trapped like an animal to bring tears to my eyes. The guard couldn’t see me crying. That wouldn’t be a good thing.
As I made the climb back up to the main level of the palace, my confusion set in again. I had just risked the possibility of joining Silas in one of those empty cells because I just had to see him again. I couldn’t control my feelings. It was as if I was drawn to him, the way the trees seemed to be drawn to the sun. Silas was The Apprentice. The evil apprentice that had killed so many. That had killed the wizard and Tessa right in front of me. But he didn’t seem to be evil. He was sorry for killing them. I could see the re
morse in his eyes out there in the battle field. His actions couldn’t be undone, but I was sure if he could—he would.
And if Silas was so evil, why, oh why didn’t he act that way towards me? It would make things so much simpler. It would be easy for me to see him as The Apprentice. As someone determined to take over the kingdom and who craved absolute power. But when I look into his violet eyes, that’s not what I see. All I see is the boy I love. The boy who had been at my side, unlike someone else who just left me waiting and ignored me. Silas didn’t stop talking to me when I had arrived at the castle city that first day. Silas wasn’t boasting that he was the best. Silas hadn’t once left me waiting on the balcony and not shown, and Silas wasn’t the one that left without saying goodbye.
Aye, my thoughts shifted to Lucah. It still didn’t make sense to me why Lucah acted the way he had. It had begun after the auditions as we rode the carriage back to our village. He shunned me and wouldn’t speak. It was unlike him. But after the terrible loss of my parents, Lucah and his family had welcomed me into their home and me and Lucah had our first kiss. Everything seemed so much better between us. Our relationship was blossoming into something new and my whole world was different. And then it started all over again. His avoidance of me.
I crossed the great hall and was almost at the stairs that led up to the level where me and the princess lived, when I heard someone calling for Neala. I just kept walking.
“Neala!” A girl’s voice called again.
I almost forgot that I was Neala at that very moment.
It was one of the queen’s royal maidens who chased and stopped me.
“The queen requests your presence,” she said.
I answered her as if I really was Neala. “I must return to Lady Alora, she is expecting me.”
“Don’t keep the queen waiting. You remember what happened last time, don’t you?”
Of course I didn’t know, or had any idea what she was talking about, but the last thing I wanted was to get Neala into trouble.
The girl pulled on my hand and was ready to lead me away. “Come. We should hurry.”
Led by my hand, I followed the maiden back to the queen’s chambers. I had never been inside the queen’s chambers before, or even had a serious conversation with her. Yet here I was about to see her and it wasn’t even as myself. I hoped Queen Rosaleen wouldn’t be able to see past my disguise.