The Cursed Girl, #1

by Maria Vermisoglou

  I do. “I know, but I don’t like to make a big deal of things. I am not someone famous.”

  She laughed. “Still denying your own importance?” Always.

  Today was an important day because the husband-to-be was in town. Alec, Jonathan, and the wood boy had arrived in the morning, and they all took a wonderful tour in the gardens. I had some things to finish, so I stayed inside.

  Lila’s mother kept saying how unfortunate it was that Jonathan was no longer king and that Lila should have chosen more gold in the decorations. Since the wood boy was there, she couldn’t say anything in front of him at least. I played with Midnight a little and then drew some pictures of London. In Spain, I had done some drawings from our hiding trip and the war. If you put them all together, it was like a story without the words, of course. Someone said once that “a painting is a thousand words,” and he was right. If you tried to describe a picture, you would use a thousand words and more.

  I heard voices from downstairs, and I imagined that the company was back and lunch would be announced soon. I heard two pairs of footsteps and I guessed it was Ritta and Jonathan. “Hello, Eva,” Jonathan said, smiling at me. “You had the best idea not coming with us. If I hear one more word from her, I am going to yell. She’s so insufferable.” He threw himself on the bed.

  I finished my drawing and looked out the window. The best thing about the palace was the special seats in the windows. You could sit in the window and admire the view all day long. “When is lunch going to be served?” I asked.

  “In an hour or so I think,” Jonathan said and I got up. “Starving already?” he asked.

  “No, I have to feed Midnight.” Upon hearing her name, Midnight licked my hand. Meow.

  “Why feed her? Isn’t she going to eat with us?”

  I went to the door and she followed me. “No, Her Royal Highness is afraid of cats, and no matter how cruel I think she is, I have to make her feel comfortable. Asking to allow Midnight to the table would be a waste of a favor,” I said and shut the door. I went to the kitchen and asked for some fish. The servants gave me a plate and were thrilled when Midnight demonstrated her skills.

  I went upstairs again to find the room filled with people: all the royals were there except the mother plus Ritta, the wood boy, and Jonathan. “What’s going on?” I asked. I couldn’t think of a reason of why they were all there unless the mother decided to go for flower gathering and they were avoiding her.

  “Nothing, we were just visiting,” Alec said, and I raised my eyebrows.

  “Don’t we see each other enough?”

  Jasmine laughed. “After this walk, it’s best to stay out of my mother’s feet. If she sees you doing nothing, she will start yelling at you.”

  “There are other rooms,” I said. The room was big, but with all these people in it, it seemed small. Midnight took the best place: right next to the window. Meow.

  “I think she has the best spot in the room,” Lila said and everyone laughed. When everyone left for lunch, I stayed.

  “Are you coming?” Jonathan asked.

  “In a while,” I responded, and he stared at me.

  “You are going to be late.”

  I nodded. “That’s my goal.”

  He gave me a questioning look. “Why?”

  “Because on such occasions, I am always late.”

  “She is going to yell at you.”

  “Is she?” He kissed me and left. She couldn’t force me to do anything she wanted because she owed me and I could ask for anything. I waited a bit longer before going downstairs. “You stay here like a good girl.” Meow.

  I took my place next to Ritta. The mother looked at me rebukingly but said nothing to me. “Now we can start,” she said and rang a bell.

  The first course arrived, and we ate, but not in silence, unfortunately. The mother discussed politics with Alec, and Jasmine, Ritta, and Lila discussed the wedding along with the wood boy. I stayed silent and ate. I still found this talking while eating ritual to be strange.

  “What do you think of London, Eva?” Jonathan asked. It was a bit hard to hear him over everyone else talking.

  I shrugged. “Nice, but a little gray. Do you always talk when you eat even when there are so many people? How can you hear the one talking to you?” If there were two or three people, it would be fine, but we were eight people.

  “Yes, but usually there are only two or three talking at a time, but now, well, there is excitement obviously, and no I can’t hear very well either.”

  “Don’t you ever get tired of talking while you eat?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it... well, never. We grew up talking at every table.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “We grew up in silence because talking can cause you to choke on your food. You can’t eat and talk at the same time without anything happening to you.”

  Jonathan nodded and I continued eating slowly. The others had already finished eating. “You eat very slowly, miss,” the mother observed, but I smiled.

  “I eat the way I should. If you eat too fast, then you don’t allow your food to digest properly.”

  The mother laughed. “It’s wrong, but it might be true only for the weak,” she said mockingly.

  “It’s not wrong and it doesn’t matter if you are weak or strong; it’s the way the human body works.”

  She would have responded if Jasmine hadn’t interrupted her. “Mother, Eva is a healer. She knows better.”

  The mother scowled, but said nothing to me and turned to Jasmine. “Your father will be here tomorrow. I am sure he will be delighted to see you.”

  “Is that true? About the health?” Alec asked, and I looked at him.

  “What do they teach you, these mentors or teachers? Everyone knows it. And I had told you a hundred times.”

  He blushed. “They teach us about politics and manners and other things.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “About politics, I can believe, but manners? Hardly.”

  Ritta shook her head. “Just because you have high standards doesn’t mean they are not taught properly.” Ritta and I started discussing the wedding, how the rehearsal would go, and where everyone would stand.

  After lunch, we were free to go, so some went for a walk, but I used the time to write a letter to my mother and tell her how everything was going. Later, we had the rehearsal, and everything went well. The mother at least was satisfied, and that was a good thing. Trust me. Before dinner, we went for a walk in London without the mother this time so we could enjoy the walk peacefully without too many discussions.

  The father arrived and was very happy and amazed by all the work. He found everything to be nice, and he was happy to see his daughters. It seemed to me that he was satisfied with his daughter’s choice of a man. How could he not be? He was kind, handsome, and well-behaved. Of course, a royal would probably tell me that was not enough, but who cares about languages and skills if you are a bad person? At the table, the girls’ father was not as talkative as his wife, and when he was asked about something, his usual response was “Yes, my dear” or “No, my dear.” They said that behind a strong leader there was always a woman hiding, although in that case, I wouldn’t say hiding exactly, quite the opposite.

  Today was our last day in London. After the wedding, I would leave along with Ritta. I couldn’t wait to return home. Lila was nice and kind, but I couldn’t take her mother much longer. I preferred traveling at night rather than spend a minute more in her presence. We went outside with the royal couple and Ritta to see a park at the queen’s suggestion. I mean Jasmine, of course. The boys were talking and were much more relaxed now that “Her Highness” wasn’t here. The buildings and the parks around were not green; there weren’t many flowers either. Pity.

  “Eva, you will be leaving after tomorrow?” Jasmine asked.

  “After the wedding.”

  “Really? Why? It’s going to be tiring if you travel in the night.”

  I shrugged. “It’s
fine. I missed home and I want to see my mother too.”

  “Of course. We will leave four days after the wedding. Lila will leave some days after our departure, but she will be close so I can go and see her whenever I have time.”

  “That’s good. I am sure you will be happy to have your sister so close.”

  “Eva, what are you thinking about the wedding?” Alec asked.

  “It seems good, but time will tell. If they stay united and they love each other, then it will be a good wedding.”

  The big day was here. Everyone was going from room to room, making sure everything was ready. Here, that also meant yelling and... more yelling. I didn’t understand why they yelled so much. Maybe they learned from Jasmine’s mother. The wedding was in the afternoon, and there would be more than enough time to make sure everything was done.

  There was a knock at the door, and Ritta said, “Who is it?”

  “It’s me.”

  I opened the door. “Jonathan. It’s a little early for visits.”

  He sat on the bed. “I know, but I can’t handle all these people yelling and talking. So loudly.”

  “If you came here to avoid all that, you can’t. You will hear them from here too. The walls are too thin.”

  “I know, but at least here I can talk to someone who is not yelling at me or talking about decorations and fabrics. I don’t understand any of that nor do I want to.”

  “I am not sure you can avoid it here too.”

  The day went fast in spite of the yelling and commanding, but we mostly stayed in the room and talked. Jonathan made me laugh and that was strange; nobody besides Ritta and Mother couldn’t make me laugh that easily. Someone knocked on the door, and Ritta opened it. “Why didn’t you come down for breakfast?” Alec asked.

  I shrugged and Jonathan said, “We weren’t hungry.”

  Alec gave us a knowing look. “I see. Well, if you want lunch, you have to be downstairs in an hour, and if you aren’t, she will kill you.”

  “She can’t kill me. She owes me,” I said.

  “She will kill only me then? Ritta asked. “That’s not fair.”

  “Not my fault and I doubt it. You make people like you, so it’s doubtful.”

  We joined everyone for lunch, so nobody was killed. The mother only asked why Jonathan missed breakfast. She didn’t bother to ask me why I missed it. Maybe you couldn’t be interested in your “enemy” or someone who could ask anything from you.

  After the meal, Ritta and I went to the princess’s room to dress her for the wedding, and Jonathan with Alec went to help the wood boy get dressed in another room. Lila and the wood boy had not seen each other; the servants had helped us make sure of that.

  Ritta started doing Lila’s hair into ringlets. I just held brushes and other hair accessories because I didn’t know how to do this. Every morning I had an epic battle to fix my hair, and often, I used magic.

  We helped Lila put on the wedding gown. The gown looked beautiful on her. She wore a silver necklace with pink quartz and a similar bracelet with pink stones as well. I left them for a moment and went to check on the wood boy’s preparation, which was going nicely.

  “Jonathan, do you have them?” He nodded and handed me a box.

  “What’s this?” the wood boy asked.

  “Order for the princess. You will see.” I winked.

  I returned to the princess’s room. I opened the box. Inside was a set of pink earrings and a small tiara. I had ordered them for the wedding, and fortunately, Jonathan had managed to make them on time. I showed the box to the princess. “Oh dear. What’s this?”

  “A gift for your wedding. I thought it would go nicely. Jonathan made them, but I had the idea.”

  “Oh, thank you. I don’t know how to thank you. They are so pretty. It’s like Jasmine’s tiara, but I think I like this one better.”

  “And you can wear it every day.” I smiled. “You don’t have to be a princess to do it. It’s a hair accessory, but once worn in a wedding, it can’t be worn by another person.”

  She nodded. “This wasn’t my intention anyway.” She fastened the roses, and we put the little tiara on her head.

  We heard noises and voices in the corridor. “Oh dear. The guests are arriving,” she said in a panicky voice.

  Someone knocked on the door, and I answered it while Ritta talked to her to calm her down. I let Jasmine in, and she went to help Ritta to calm down Lila.

  I went out and saw the wood boy and Jonathan and Alec with the mother greeting the guests. “You look very beautiful,” Jonathan said, and I smiled. “Thank you.” I wore a blue winter dress with yellow lines at the bottom, my blue knee-high laced boots, and my raven earrings. As always, I had my hair loose.

  “You like blue very much,” Alec observed.

  “You can put almost everything with blue, and it has so many shades.”

  He tilted his head. “If you say so. You know better than me in these kinds of things.”

  “Don’t forget the flower,” I reminded him.

  He gave me an irritated look. “After all the trouble we went through? Never. We already gave it to him.”

  Midnight peeked from under my feet. “You brought her in here?” Alec asked.

  “I couldn’t leave her alone in the room and in a celebration and look.” I pointed at the other side of the room where some ladies had some cats and a dog.

  “She is going to freak out,” he said.

  “It’s her problem. She should have made a room for pets.”

  He smiled, and we took our seats because the wedding was about to begin. Lila’s father gave her away, the priest said his words, and everyone clapped when the couple kissed. There were mostly royals in attendance, but I saw people from the village, who were probably the wood boy’s friends and family.

  I stood and left to help Lila, Jonathan caught up to me. “Where are you going?”

  “Change of dress. You should go and help too.”

  “Fortunately, there is no coronation with this wedding,” he said and I laughed. My thoughts exactly; it would be a nightmare for me. At my wedding, I will have one dress and nothing else.

  Ritta and I helped Lila into the dark-blue winter dress with the white stars. “Is it a little too much?” she asked.

  “No, just a little Christmassy,” I responded.

  “Eva,” Ritta exclaimed.

  “What? I am telling the truth. It’s not bad. It’s been only some weeks since New Year’s Day. You can still wear things like this. Anyway, even if it was the middle of the summer, you could wear it. I have seen much crazier than this.”

  Lila smiled, and I shrugged. “Yes, it’s true.”

  “You can pretend it’s just another ball. Ah. One day I saw a lady who wore a dress like a giraffe skin. I am telling you there are worse things to wear, but this is pretty, especially on you.”

  Lila laughed and we arranged her ringlets somewhat better. “How about the tiara?” Lila asked.

  “It’s just a hair accessory like I told you, and you can wear it whenever you want.”

  “I think I will wear it at every ball I go to. I love it so much.”

  These tiaras were very stylish, and every girl could look and pretend to be a princess, even if it was just for one day. Just for one ball. Just for one night.

  Everything was set, so we went out with Lila. When she danced with John—I had to stop calling him “wood boy” and start remembering his name—the ball officially started.

  Everyone was dancing and everything was beautiful. The sky was full of stars like nature was celebrating too. “Will you dance with me, Eva?” Jonathan asked.

  “Since you ask so nicely,” I said and took his hand. We danced for a while.

  “You can make a living by helping with weddings,” he joked.

  “Very funny,” I said. “It’s not like there are so many weddings, but I don’t like to help royals because they are so extreme in everything. If Lila had listened to her mother, she would h
ave had a wedding like a queen.”

  “I guess, but only with your sketches...”

  “I have my drawings and paintings. Sketches are just drafts.”

  We danced until a little after midnight where we had to leave. I took Midnight and found Ritta, and we went to the carriage that would transport us back to Spain. “See you in a couple of days,” Jonathan said and kissed me.

  The carriage started moving, and Ritta said, “If anyone told me you would be like that a couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have believed them.” Midnight lay on my lap. Meow. I smiled and watched the dark shapes through the window until I fell asleep. We slept until we arrived in Barcelona and the sun was beginning to rise.

  The next day we went to see Mother and brought her some gifts from London. She was happy to see us, and she listened to our stories. She liked stories about weddings and gossip that was for good things.

  Preparations

  Some days later, Alec, Jasmine, and Jonathan returned. It was the news of the day: the king and the queen were back.

  Everyone seemed happy to see them coming. If someone was a good ruler, his people would love him. Alec deserved their love; he made them happy. Jonathan, too, but they thought of him as one of them now. People were afraid of him at first, but now they greeted him like an old friend.

  Jonathan came to see me the day he arrived. “Don’t you ever rest?” I asked.

  “You are more important than my rest. Besides, I needed to make sure you had arrived without problems.”

  How thoughtful. “We are fine. Thank you for asking. We are now well rested after some days of sleep. How was your trip?”

  “Fine. Nothing too exciting.”

  We went for a walk, but he left early to take care of his responsibilities. He had to officially ask my mother for my hand in marriage. I didn’t have a father or any male family member that was known or nearby, so my mother was the closest person “responsible” for me. You might question this because you knew that my mother had not been responsible for me or my behavior for many years, but this was how things were done, and everyone did it that way. Even the royals.