The Cursed Girl, #1

by Maria Vermisoglou

  I laughed. “You are the king. Things are not going to be simple for a while.”

  He sighed. “I know, but I want this. I want to help people.”

  I nodded. He was probably one of the few people who the phrase “the best people to rule are the people who do not want the power” applied to.

  Ritta, Jasmine, and Alec rehearsed all day until the result was perfect. Ritta coordinated the whole process since she knew better, and I watched. Jonathan joined me and was still complaining about what I made him do. “I don’t do that kind of work anymore.”

  “Someone had to do it, and Alec was busy with his wedding.”

  He scowled. “And you had to put it on me.”

  I smiled mischievously. “Yes.”

  We watched Alec and Jasmine, and he said, “They will make a good match. They are easygoing and people will love them.”

  “The people already love him since they are invited to his wedding. The peasants, I mean.”

  He didn’t respond immediately. He smiled. “Now I understand why a royal’s wedding is such a big thing. It’s a break from all the usual things.”

  “Yes, but the thing is that it will be a celebration and a ball. You meet people at balls, and masked balls are fun since you don’t know who the other people are. Also, a royal’s wedding is a big thing because you know so little about them. They are your rulers, and if you are invited to their wedding... you are considered important enough to be there and share their joy.

  “If you are a loved ruler, they express their joy and happiness in different ways—just look at the gifts that they will bring. If they don’t bring gifts, it means they don’t like you.”

  Jonathan was watching me carefully. “I see... well, I am sure Alec will get a lot of gifts. Do you think I should bring him one too?”

  “You are a peasant now, so you have to, and he’s your friend. And your ruler, so if you like him...”

  He seemed thoughtful. “What kind of gifts do we give on such occasions?”

  I arched an eyebrow. “You don’t know?”

  “When we were invited to weddings, Mom took care of this, and it was usually something ordered from Barcelona.”

  “We usually make something since each one of us can make things. Someone will weave a tapestry, someone else will draw something, cook, give a perfume...”

  “So what can I give? I can only make jewelry and some woodwork.”

  I smiled. “Blend them together. I am sure something good will come out of it.”

  Everyone walked toward us. “We are done—at least I am,” Alec said and Jasmine laughed.

  “So what kind of dresses will you wear?” she asked.

  “Why the plural?” I asked, confused.

  “One for the wedding and ascension, and one for the ball and celebration after.” Ritta laughed.

  “We will go later and pick our dresses,” I said.

  “You can design them, and we can order them for you.” Jasmine was kind like Alec.

  “Thank you, but we have this covered. We will go to a friend, and she will help us with this. Don’t you need a dress for the ball too?”

  “Oh, no. My mother will bring me a dress from home.”

  Alec said, “I have something to wear for this occasion.”

  I picked up Midnight despite her protests and Jasmine clapped her hands. “She’s so beautiful.”

  Midnight was trying to escape to go to play again, but I was holding her tight. “Right now, I don’t think so. I advise you not to touch her right now, or you will receive a gift from her nails. I will go now or she won’t calm down.” Ritta left with me, and when we got home, Ritta locked the doors before I put Midnight down. Midnight hissed at me and then with a raised tail, ran to another room.

  Later, when we went to the White Land for dresses, we took Midnight with us. Yes, it was unusual, but we needed to prepare her for the wedding too, and I was not giving her a bath again. There was a perfect shop for this in the White Land. When we arrived, the first thing we did was go to the shop and tell the woman what I needed. We managed to keep Midnight from fleeing each time the word bath was heard. After leaving Midnight, we went to our usual dress shop.

  We didn’t see anyone, and Ritta called out, “Hello?” Nobody answered, so we looked at the dresses, but honestly, without the shopkeeper, we were a little lost. There were so many dresses and everything was beautiful. It would be hard to choose.

  “Hello. I am sorry to keep you waiting.” The shopkeeper came in, and she was delighted to see us. “Back so soon?”

  We smiled and said in unison, “We have a wedding.”

  “That’s so wonderful,” she said.

  Ritta added, “But we are kind of honored... guests?” She looked at me and I shrugged.

  “We are invited to a royal wedding, and we are kind of friends with them so...”

  She raised her eyebrows but didn’t ask questions about our relationship to the royals. “Is it just a wedding?”

  “No, it’s a wedding and a coronation,” I said.

  “And there will be a celebration afterward,” Ritta added.

  The woman nodded. “I know exactly what you should wear.” She went to the back of the shop and returned with some dresses. She brought two sets of dresses for each of us. These dresses were unlike any others we had ever worn. They were of better material and quality than the other ball dresses. After trying on some dresses, we each chose two dresses.

  Ritta’s dress for the wedding was bright yellow with little knitted suns, and she matched it with yellow heels. Miss Springtime couldn’t part herself from the sun. My dress for the wedding was light blue—like the sea—without shoulders, and my shoes were blue.

  Ritta’s ball dress was two-sided. Yes, you heard me correctly. The front was red and the back was orange, so you could wear it however you liked it. Her shoes were high and were half red and half orange to match with the dress. It was the most curious dress I had ever seen, but it suited her. I chose a dark blue dress with little “waves” of light blue here and there, so it was like I was really wearing a sea.

  “What kind of shoes will you wear?” Ritta asked.

  “I have a pair at home, thank you so much for your assistance.”

  Ritta put a hand on her hip. “What kind will you wear?”

  “Boots.”

  Ritta’s eyes widened. “You will wear... boots at this time of year?” I nodded. “But it’s spring. And at a wedding no less.”

  The shopkeeper smiled and returned with knee-high boots with laces. I loved them. Plus, they were blue, so they matched with both of my dresses, and I wouldn’t need to change shoes. “It’s a new fashion,” the shopkeeper said, “and since you do try new things, I suggest these.”

  I took them gladly. After we finished everything at the dress shop, we picked up a renewed Midnight.

  “How did you manipulate her into staying calm, so you could do all these things?” Midnight smelled nice and she was washed and brushed and had a light-blue bow around her neck. I wondered how the woman knew I would be wearing blue?

  “I promised her that if she stayed calm, I would give her some of my freshly cooked fish and a toy,” the woman said and put a plate of fish in front of Midnight. She set a ball down next to her plate.

  “I have to use that trick too next time,” I said and Ritta laughed.

  The day passed calmly after those tiring wedding preparations. Everyone in the village was excited, and women ran up and down to find everything they needed: ribbons, dresses, perfumes, and other stuff. Some wealthier citizens ordered their dresses and costumes from Barcelona.

  When the day of the wedding arrived, my mother came to help us get ready. She wore a simple green dress, and when Ritta asked her why, she said, “I am not a young girl in search of a man, and I do not like that kind of fun anymore.” She brushed Ritta’s hair, braided it, and arranged the braids on her head like a crown. It was a pretty hairstyle, but Ritta’s blonde hair always looked pretty
in any hairstyle.

  My mother then brushed my hair and arranged my curls better. We put on the dresses for the wedding. When my mother saw me put my boots, she laughed. “You never go with the rules, do you?”

  I smiled and shook my head. “It’s the fashion.” In a way, my mother and I were alike. We never obeyed all the rules. Even if we knew it was forbidden, we did what we thought was right, even if it could cost us everything.

  Ritta wore some earrings in the shape of little suns and I put on my raven earrings. Ravens were magical symbols. These birds could cross from one world to another and were guides for witches. If there was a raven in the house, then it was safe and a witch was probably there.

  We arrived at the palace before the wedding to help the princess get dressed as promised. We brought Midnight with us. “Tonight, please behave.” Meow.

  When we entered the palace, everything was chaos. Servants were everywhere carrying everything from clothes to flowers. “That’s why I don’t want to live in a palace, Ritta,” I said.

  “How true. That’s chaos.”

  A frazzled Alec ran up to us. “Eva. You look nice.”

  “Need help?” I asked.

  “Gladly,” he said, relieved.

  “Ritta, you go to Jasmine, and I will be there when I finish.” Ritta walked off at a fast pace.

  I followed Alec to his room, where I found another form of chaos: papers, clothes, and blankets everywhere. “Couldn’t concentrate tonight?” I asked and he nodded. “Why don’t you go to get dressed, and I will clean this mess?”

  He took his outfit to the bathroom, and I put clothes, papers, and blankets in their rightful place. Alec came out fully dressed and I smiled. He looked handsome and Jasmine would like how he looked. I arranged his bow better and straightened his hair. I stepped back, looked him over from head to toe, and nodded. “You are ready.” He smiled a little and started walking back and forth. “Alec, please stop. You will drive me crazy.”

  He took some of the papers from his office and started looking at them. “I can’t. I am nervous. How did you put them like this?”

  I shrugged. “I put them according to date. Don’t worry, it will be fine. It’s just a wedding. You two love each other, and the coronation isn’t such a big deal. It will be over before you know it.”

  He nodded. “Maybe I should have you fix my papers all the time. It’s amazing. I am anxious, that’s all.”

  “I can’t help you with that.”

  There was a knock at the door and Alec opened it. Jonathan stood there. I should have left when I had the chance. Too late now. I had to face him. The two of them talked a bit, and then Jonathan saw me and stared. “Eva. Hello.” What? You didn’t expect me? “I didn’t know you were here. When did you arrive? I was going to come and pick you up.”

  Oh. Right. I had completely forgotten. “If I would have waited to be picked up, I would be late for the wedding.” I turned to Alec. “You stay here and do not mess with your things again. I’ll go help Jasmine and then inspect the rest of the rooms.”

  “You don’t have to leave because of me,” Jonathan said in a hurt voice, and I turned.

  “I don’t leave because of you. If you haven’t noticed, a wedding will take place in some hours, and the place is not ready yet. You stay here and help him with his anxiety.” I left with quick steps before he could say another word.

  I entered Jasmine’s room, and fortunately, it’s not the same messy condition as Alec’s room. “Eva. I am so glad to see you. This is my mother and my sister.” She pointed respectively at her family, and I smiled politely.

  “We have heard so much about you, and the dresses and your ideas are just perfect,” her sister said.

  “Thank you,” I replied.

  Her mother glared at me. “I know you. You are the one who told my husband no and rejected anything he could provide.” Her mother was cross.

  “And now he owes me,” I said.

  “You are a peasant and nothing more, you should—”

  “Mother!” Jasmine yelled. “Not now. And we agreed you will not accuse Eva of anything. And she’s a hero.”

  Her mother shot me a proud look. “I am just pointing out she is just a peasant. She may have helped, but—”

  “Mother.”

  Her mother waved her hand. “I don’t understand why you wanted these girls to help you.”

  I gave her a warning look but stayed silent.

  “Mother, do you see this dress? Who you think designed it? And the hair and the shoes?”

  Her mother looked momentarily confused. “Your best friend, of course.”

  “Partly, yes, but the dress, that’s Eva’s doing. I liked some parts of a sketch and some others of the other sketch, so she combined it and the jewelry too. She made a sketch of me in the wedding dress and the coronation dress too. She helped Alec too with his clothes, the decorations, and the flowers too. Ritta helped me too. She has great ideas, and she lifted my spirits. I don’t care if they are peasants or royals, have money or not. They helped me out of the good of their hearts and not because they were promised some money. Now back to the dress.” Ritta came from the back with the jewelry and helped Jasmine put it on.

  Her mother was still glaring at me, and I looked her straight in the eye. “Your family owes me, so think about this: why haven’t I asked for your head on a silver platter yet? It is within your power, isn’t it?” Her mother paled. “The answer is because I have better things to do than decorating my walls with the heads of those who have offended me. Plus, I can cut it myself if I want it. Now, behave nicely and help your daughter get dressed like a real mother.”

  Her mother was stunned, but then she pulled herself together and helped her daughter with the dress and brushed her hair. I inspected Jasmine’s other dress, and her sister stood next to me.

  She whispered, “Mother only understands power and threats. I don’t know why. If it wasn’t for our kind stuff and our grandmother, we would have been like her.”

  “That would have been a pity.”

  She nodded. “I want to find someone as kind as Alec. I hope to meet him tonight, but I am not sure.”

  I smiled. “You will. With a little luck.”

  “Can I come to you if I need advice?”

  “Yes, I am a good judge of someone’s character. At least that’s what the others say.” She squeezed my hand and went to help her sister. Ritta helped me with the princess’s veil. “What happened before?”

  “Nothing, just a dog that needed to be shown who the boss is.”

  “I see. Her mother?” I nod. “Jasmine said she is strict.”

  “That’s an understatement.”

  We left Jasmine’s room to inspect the other rooms and the ballroom. The other rooms were tidied up and ready. We went to Alec’s room and knocked on the door. Jonathan opened the door. “Everything all right?”

  “Yes, we inspected every room, and everything is perfect. The guests should be arriving soon,” Ritta said.

  Jonathan looked at me hopefully, but I didn’t say anything. I sat on Alec’s bed and Midnight licked me in the face. She hadn’t interfered in the “argument” with Jasmine’s mother, but maybe she thought I was handling things well.

  “Are you all right Eva?” Alec asked, and I nodded but I felt angry. I couldn’t say anything other than what I already said to her mother because it was Jasmine’s wedding. I didn’t want to ruin it by having a big argument with her mother.

  “She had an argument with Jasmine’s mother,” Ritta responded for me.

  Jonathan laughed a little. “Who hasn’t? Every time I went to London, I knew I would have one. If you don’t threaten her, she doesn’t cooperate. Don’t worry about that.” He sat near me.

  “I don’t usually threaten people and especially not at their daughter’s wedding,” I said.

  “She is a difficult person, her husband too. It’s what we call power for power. You show her you control a power over hers, and she will be
nice to you. That’s the unfortunate truth,” Alec added and I petted Midnight.

  “Did you, um, you know?” Jonathan pointed at Midnight.

  “Yes, but not me. I discovered a shop in Barcelona that deals with animals, and the woman told me that she promised Midnight some freshly cooked fish and a toy if she sat nicely.” The boys laughed and I cheered up a little.

  “Who knew Midnight could be bribed?” Alec wondered.

  “Where are your brothers and sister, Jonathan?” I asked.

  “In a room getting ready. They came yesterday from Austria.” I raised an eyebrow. “They have a servant to take care of them, but they are old enough to do it by themselves.”

  “Did you go see them? They might miss you.”

  “I go once a week to see them.” A jeweler must earn enough if he can afford a trip once a week.

  Ritta came inside and said, “Maybe you should go outside, Alec, the guests are arriving.”

  “Alec? Don’t forget the flower.” I opened the pouch, and he took the white flower out.

  “Is that—?” Jonathan started, but I took Ritta by the arm and left Alec’s room.

  Alec went to the palace’s doors to greet the guests, and Ritta and I headed to Jasmine’s room.

  “Eva?” Jonathan called after us. I tried to keep walking, but Ritta made me stop.

  “What?”

  “You owe me a dance.”

  “From when?”

  He smiled that sarcastic smile that annoyed me. “I didn’t get to pick you up, so you owe me a dance.” I said nothing and tugged on Ritta’s arm. “I take that as a yes,” he said and walked away.

  “He won’t give up, you know,” Ritta said. “It’s too late for him, and I guess for you too. You should tell him your decision.” She was right. I should find a moment to do that too.

  In her room, Jasmine was a complete mess of nerves. She walked up and down and kept fidgeting with her jewelry.

  “Enough, Jasmine. Stop fidgeting. You are driving me crazy. It will be over soon. The guests have started to come.” She stopped fidgeting, but my words seemed to make her more nervous.

  Ritta smiled at Jasmine. “Come on. You are getting married. Everything will be beautiful, and your dress is so perfect.” Ritta’s words cheered Jasmine up. Ritta was better in these situations than I was. She had such a cheerful manner of saying things and focused on positive things while I stated the facts only.