“I do miss Alicia and her family. I am supposed to go to Portugal to open the shop in the summer. It’s not fair if I don’t go when I said I would. Maybe in August? Everyone is leaving then.”
“Yes, yes.”
The next two days passed slowly with Ritta doing all the cooking and laundry. I felt a little bad, but she didn’t mind—especially when she was using magic. She brought me some orders, and I drew sketches and thought about which houses to visit when I could get up. I now had orders for portraits too, so Ritta brought the people to me so I could make some sketches of the faces. The people were kind and wished I would get well soon.
The drawings and paintings helped me pass the time. By the end of the day, I had finished half of the sketches for houses and all the portraits which would be delivered tomorrow with Ritta’s help.
“Can I take the horse tomorrow?” Ritta asked.
“Where do you want to go?”
She shrugged. “For your paintings?”
“Why? Do your feet hurt?”
She laughed. “No, but I want to go with the horse for once and try it on my own.”
“Sure. Sunshine will like it.”
The next morning, I was awoken by a knock. Whoever it was could wait for Ritta to come back since I couldn’t walk yet or stand. I sighed and brushed my hair. I picked up some sketches to inspect them while I waited for Ritta.
“Still at work even in recovery?”
“Jonathan. How did you get inside?” I asked in surprise.
“Midnight let me inside.”
“Midnight,” I called, and she came to my bed, but she put her paws on her nose. “Did I tell you to open the door?” Meow.
“Don’t be mad at her. She was trying to please you.”
That’s not pleasing me. First, you are trying to kill her and now you are on her side? Unbelievable.
“Couldn’t you stay at the hospital?” Jonathan asked.
“No.”
He sat on my bed. “Why not?”
“I hate it.”
“You hate it.” He stared at me and I nodded. “Why?”
I sighed. “It’s dirty, cold, and I feel like I am all alone there.”
“I haven’t been in a hospital, ever. Don’t they heal you well?”
“They do, but if it’s cold and you feel unpleasant, no matter how well they heal you or treat you, you will always hate it. Shouldn’t you be arriving tomorrow instead of today?”
He nodded and fidgeted. “Yes, but I learned that you woke up, so I returned to see you.” He said it so simply as though he had said, “I walked.”
Did you return just to see me? “What about your business?”
He waved his hand. “It’s done,” he said like it was something unpleasant or annoying, but he added nothing else. That made me think there is something I didn’t know.
“Did Alec return too?”
“No, he had something to take care of, but he will come tomorrow and see you.”
“Thank you for the gift. It was pretty.”
“So am I getting an answer?” He smiled.
“You know the answer. You save me and I save you.”
He smiled and I hoped he didn’t notice I was blushing. “I guess so, but now I have to save you again to make it even.”
Ritta came up with breakfast, and Jonathan said, “I must leave. Get well soon. I will visit you again.”
After he left, Ritta raised her eyebrows. “What was that? What did he want?”
“He came back because he was informed I was awake.”
She stared at me and I was afraid the breakfast would meet the floor, so I took it from her and put it on the bed. “You don’t want me to dream, but the actions speak for themselves. He is not giving up, I am telling you.”
I still don’t know what to do. Why did he like me so much? It wasn’t like I was rich or beautiful.
The next day, Alec came to visit. “How are you feeling?” He hugged me.
I shrugged. “A little weak but fine.” Alec seemed different today, like he was glowing, but why? His aura had changed a little. It was still silver, but now it was making shapes. How peculiar. I wondered why. “Did you stay behind to take care of some business for the king?”
Alec blushed a little. “Something like that, yes.” Alec never blushed. “You beat your record. Two weeks is a long time. I am glad you are all right.” He changed the subject so I thought he might not want to talk about it, although I suspected it was something good. We talked about other things: Ritta, my mother, the changes in the village, and my jobs.
“Did you like the theater?” he asked.
“Yes. It was very nice, but how did you manage to set it up in two nights? Without being here no less.”
He laughed. “It wasn’t two nights. We built it on the grounds of the palace since no one could see it, and then the workers carried it in the village at night.”
“It must have been heavy.”
He shook his head. “We had it on a base that moved, and when they put it in the village, they removed it.” He grinned. “Did you see a play?”
I smiled. “Yes, and probably they would have shot you if there were other royals to see that play. They will also be angry that you are making them pay.”
“We make the rules. Plus, poor people do all the work. It’s only fair. What play was it?” I told him about the play, and he said, “It reminds me a little of a story I heard when I was little.”
“You didn’t know what play was being performed?”
“We don’t know what play is performed. We know if the content is suitable for every citizen.”
“You should see the play. It’s interesting.”
He smiled. “One day I will, I am sure. You know, each week they change plays.”
“Really? I thought it was only one. I have to go and see what’s scheduled for next week. My mother and Ritta liked it too, but Ritta is a little too much of a romantic, so she cried a little.”
“Eva, I came to ask you something...” He paused and cleared his throat. “Well, I know it will sound strange but—” He looked down and fidgeted. “I met someone I like.”
So that was it. Of course, his aura would change shapes. He liked her, whoever she was. I waited for him to continue.
“But I don’t know if—” He blushed and stopped talking.
I decided to help him a little or it would take ages for him to get everything out. “How about you start from the beginning?”
Relief crossed his face and he nodded. “Well, we left for some business in England. They summoned us, but they didn’t say what it was for. That’s why we had to leave so urgently, but we asked someone to check on you and if you woke up to notify us...” That’s how he knew when I woke up. “The business turned out to be a marriage proposal for the king, of course.” He laughed but I froze.
My blood turned cold. It would happen sooner or later. He couldn’t wait for me forever, and that was what I wanted for him, so why was I so sad about it? I held my breath and waited for Alec to continue.
“It was funny. We made all that trip just for a marriage proposal. They could have written a letter.” He smiled, but I felt empty.
“It wouldn’t be right. Some things have to be said in person. Sometimes a letter is too impersonal,” I said, but I didn’t feel the words.
“With a letter, we wouldn’t have made a wasted trip.” Wasted? “They discussed economy and other things about the village, and the English probably will send merchants too. In the end, she dropped the proposal like it was nothing, and he didn’t even bat an eyelid. The girl was beautiful and obviously educated, but he didn’t seem interested.” He didn’t seem interested but why? “When she was finished, he politely said that he wasn’t interested in the proposal.” He refused? I kept my face expressionless, so Alec wouldn’t know what I was feeling. “She was heartbroken, so I started talking to her so she would feel better—”
Heartbroken? Wait a minute. I started laughing and A
lec stopped and stared at me in surprise. I caught my breath and said, “You know, if you weren’t friends with the king, you would be hanged for treachery.”
He smiled. “I guess. You figured it out fast.”
“It’s written all over your face.” And your aura.
“What can I say? She is very pretty and smart.”
I was happy for him. I really was glad he found someone he likes. In a way, I felt relieved and I shouldn’t. “So what do you need me for? Or was it only to share the news?”
He shook his head. “I actually need something. I want you to meet her so you can tell me your opinion.”
“Alec, I am sure you are old enough to make your own decisions, and besides, I am not inside your head. I can’t tell you who to like.”
“I know, but you have a good sense about people. You know who is good and bad just by looking at them or hearing a few words from them, and I don’t have that—”
“You are always kind to everyone. If someone is revealed to be bad, you are hard to them.” He nodded. “You will hate me if you hear something you don’t like.”
He shrugged. “There are others, although I doubt she is bad. I just want a confirmation.”
I couldn’t say no to him. “Fine. When are we leaving?”
He smiled. “Thank you. But we are not leaving. She is coming for the ball.”
“Wait. What ball?”
“You don’t know about it because you were unconscious, but we will have a ball next week.”
“Do I really have to go? Can’t we meet in a less crowded place?”
He looked at me curiously. “You don’t like balls?”
“No, I hate them.” Throw me in a crowded market and I can find my way out, but in a ball, I couldn’t.
“Why?”
I doubted he would understand. “It’s a place where royals will be swarming like bees, and anyway, peasants are not allowed in the palace.”
“No, peasants are allowed in this one. We invited royals and peasants alike.” Good, so I can blend in. “But you are not a peasant, and you have come to a palace ball before.”
“It was Christmas and we were all invited.”
“Like now.”
“I hope I can walk by then.” I sighed. Midnight came in with a ball in her mouth. “Sorry, it’s playing time.” I threw the ball for Midnight and she chased it.
“Do you play every day?” I nodded. “But you didn’t play when we were... away.”
“Because we were in danger, it was not familiar territory, and we constantly changed countries. How do you expect her to feel safe?”
He nodded. “When she has babies, I want one.”
That was a strange thought that had never occurred to me. Could familiars have babies? “If she finds someone she likes, then sure.”
Midnight brought the ball to Alec and he threw it. Crash! Something glass broke. “I am sorry.” Alec looked ashamed.
“It’s all right. It’s not a mirror. It was probably a vase.”
He raises his eyebrows. “You don’t have mirrors?”
With demons attacking here and there? Never. I would have had bad luck forever. “Peasants don’t have mirrors.”
He stared at me. “You will drive most royal girls crazy.” He petted Midnight and waved goodbye to me.
“That’s what I am hoping for,” I said and he left laughing.
The Fall
Ritta came later and I told her about the ball. She already knew about it but didn’t tell me. “You wouldn’t want to go anyway,” she said, which was probably true. “We have to go up for dresses.”
“Do we? Can’t we just pick dresses from here? I can’t walk very fast.”
She waved my comment away. “You will be fine for next week, and we can’t be dressed poorly at the royals’ ball.”
I knew she was right, but still, I didn’t want to go up there so soon after the princess had ordered the attack. “I don’t know.”
“And you don’t need to walk. You can fly.” In the White Land, sure, although it would be strange if I soared on the Earth too. “You can tell someone about the attack,” Ritta said.
“It will be no use to me if I can’t prove it.” The bodies of the men for hire vanished a little after they took me to the hospital, so we couldn’t do any necromancy spells to find out who sent them. Necromancy was a dark art, but we used it if we wanted to prove something and the witness or victim was dead. My mother said there was no light or dark completely and it was the way you used it. A knife wasn’t a bad tool when you cut bread, but if you used it for killing someone, then it was bad. It was the same with magic. If you summoned the dead for proving something, then it was good, but if you summoned them for creating an army, then it was a bad use.
Two days later we went to the White Land to pick our dresses. We went to the same shop we had for the first ball. Ritta chose an orange dress with golden shoes and a mask with different flowers on it. The dress and shoes were like the sun’s colors and suited her.
“Um, Ritta? I don’t believe it’s a masked ball.”
She smiled. “It is.” That was good. All the better if I could more easily blend into the crowd.
The woman turned to me. “Ah. You. I remember the dress. The changing sky. It was perfect.”
“Yes, I loved it.” I still had it on my wardrobe in the White Land.
“Now, I think about something different...” She went to the back and brought an invisible dress. I called it invisible because the dress blended with the colors of the outside. It was transparent. I put it on and Ritta exclaimed, “Oh. That’s so perfect. It even has wings.”
Wings? I looked back and I saw two butterfly wings peeking out. “I like it, but the wings... I don’t know. Isn’t it a little too much?”
The woman said, “No, it goes perfectly with your face. I also have the perfect shoes and mask.” The shoes were glass slippers. The mask was a lace mask in white, and it was the only thing that had its own color. The dress took the colors of its environment like a chameleon. After a lot of discussion, I finally took it. When we left the shop, I heard whispers whenever we passed people, but I didn’t care. I was not going to be intimidated—not by whispers and certainly not by someone who played dirty. You are going down, Princess, and you are going to fall hard, and when you do, I will be there to watch it. Ritta and I flew back to Earth with our dresses.
The next day, Ritta and I went to the market. We wanted to see how it had changed, and I needed to walk more since I was no longer recovering from my injury. We purchased things from different stalls, and there were Italian and French products now. The merchants came regularly to sell fruits, meats, vegetables, and handcrafted items. We were almost finished when Ritta pushed me.
“What?” I asked. She elbowed me, so I followed her gaze and froze. Alec and Jonathan were in the market walking like they were normal people. Just like the first day I saw them. How could they walk here like this? Didn’t they have anything to do? And where were their guards? How can they be dressed like normal people?
They waved and Ritta waved back, but I just smiled. “Hello,” they said when they reached us.
“What are you doing here? Don’t you have to be busy? And why are you dressed like this?”
Jonathan smiled. “We are doing work actually.” I lifted an eyebrow. “We wanted to see how the people are and if they need anything, and we decided to see the market first.”
And it happens to be the day we are shopping? Yes, universe. I can hear you laughing at me. “Shouldn’t you be... I don’t know, looking for something to wear?” Alec asked, and he reminded me of my promise that way.
“We already picked up something to wear. Yesterday,” Ritta said.
“Already? You two are fast,” Jonathan said.
“We have other things to do on other days. We don’t have time,” I said. There was a loud clattering behind me, and I turned just in time to see a horse coming our way.
“Look out,” Alec yelled
and Ritta threw a basket in the road so the horse would be forced to jump. I ran and jumped from a fence to the horse’s back and stopped it before it trampled our things.
I took the horse back to the horse stall, saying calm things to it and petting it with my hands. The merchant thanked me in Italian. “Grazie, signora. Molto grazie.” He gave me some fruits to express his gratitude. I thanked him and went back to Ritta to find out the horse had done some damage after all. It had splashed through the road, and the boys’ clothes were messed up. They were dirty, like, well, like pigs—no offense to the pigs.
“I leave for a minute, and you have to mess everything up,” I chided them, and they looked ashamed.
“It’s not our fault the horse decided to come splashing through the streets,” Jonathan said.
I felt something wet on my cheek, and I looked up. The rain turned heavy quickly, and the boys were soaked within minutes. Ritta and I had a system for this: we had attached a sheet on a stick and tied it with rope so the sheet got wet and we didn’t, but we had to go home fast because the sheet wouldn’t keep us dry for long.
We didn’t have much of a choice, so we took the two of them to our house. Ritta went to get the things in order, and I went to find some clothes. “Don’t move,” I said to Alec and Jonathan, but it was like I was talking to myself.
“Why not?” Jonathan asked.
“Because you are going to dirty everything with your muddy footprints.”
“Oh.”
I went upstairs and retrieved some men’s clothes we wore when we worked on big painting projects. Even if they got ruined, it didn’t matter much. I found two clean sets of clothes and gave them to the boys.
“Why do you have men’s clothes?” Jonathan, always curious.
“For big projects,” I declared.
“Huh?” Jonathan asked, but Alec pulled him away. They changed in my room, and Ritta and I set the table and started the fire to warm the house a little.
“You know, the way you yelled at them, it was like you were their mother or sister.”
“I am neither.”
“But it looked that way: the way you yell, you do it with me too. It’s nice to have someone care about you.”
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