The Twilight Star

by Laura E. Collins

  “I . . . it’s gone!” I said in astonishment as I realized my migraine had vanished. I still felt a little hung over, but the pink tinges in my vision seemed to fade with each breath I took. The prince gave me a wry smile and walked over to where my cloak and the bag of herbs I collected were. He picked them up and then marched back past me to where his beautiful white horse was grazing. I followed him towards the animal and watched as he put his cloak and my things in one of his satchel bags and removed a flask from another. He uncorked the flask and took a swig and then held it out to me. I accepted it from him and took a sip. I almost choked as I realized that it was ale, but much stronger than what I had grown used to in the village. I handed it back to him and he took another drink, looking at me.

  “Thank you for your help, Your Highness. I feel better.” I said to break the silence.

  “You are welcome,” he said as he offered me another drink before he put the flask back in the satchel. “And now we go to supper.”

  “Supper?” I said confused. Did he want me to work tonight?

  “Yes. Some of my fellow lords and I hunted an impressive stag yesterday and it is being prepared for a small gathering this evening. I would like for you to attend.”

  What? No! I had to think fast. I couldn’t work tonight, nor did I want to be involved in any of his games. I wanted to spend the evening with Henrik. “But, my lord, I . . . I am not properly dressed for such an occasion,” I said honestly, hoping that would be enough.

  He glanced at my attire and said, “I believe I can remedy that as well.”

  I stood there dumfounded and watched him mount his impressive horse and then walk it over to a nearby large rock. “Have you ever ridden a horse before, Miss Evelyn?”

  “A few times,” I said as I thought back to my experiences with Henrik and Sir Leonard.

  “Would you prefer to ride in front or behind me?”

  “Behind.”

  He gestured for me to join him on the horse. I hiked my skirts and took his hand after I climbed the rock so that he could assist me to sit behind him. After I was settled he told me to hang on to him and then we were off. Part of me was relieved that I didn’t have to walk back down the mountain after what I had been through, and part of me dreaded spending the evening with him and whatever high-born nobles he was entertaining tonight.

  He started off slowly as if to be assured I was holding on tight enough to him before he coaxed the horse into a run. I knew nothing about horsemanship but by the way his posture seemed perfect and the ease of the ride, I could tell he knew what he was doing. My mind still seemed numb from the combination of feverfew leaves and the felonwort poison he gave me. I allowed myself to take in the beautiful surroundings and breathe the fresh air as we made our descent. He only spoke to me infrequently to ask me if I was okay or to tell me to hold him tighter if he thought my grip had slackened.

  About half-way down we were joined by several of his guards, also on horseback. They fell into a formation surrounding us. I wondered how long they had been waiting for him and why they did not meet us up at the ridge we were at. We traveled through the trees until we were almost at the base of the mountain when the prince and his guards halted their horses. I turned my head after they did to see what they were waiting for. A group of three horsemen approached us. I almost wanted to leap off of the horse in joy as I recognized one of them as Henrik.

  They brought their horses up close to us and then stopped. Henrik saw me sitting behind the prince and gave me a slight concerned look, probably wondering what I was doing with him. They greeted each other respectfully.

  “Your Highness, what a beautiful spring day for a ride. Is it not?” Henrik said to the prince.

  “It is indeed, Lord Beaumont,” he replied politely.

  They continued to make small talk with each other and I started to tune out, still feeling a little out of it. I was beginning to think that this was something I was going to have to sleep off. I tuned back in when I heard Henrik remark, “we are headed to the village. I would be happy to escort Miss Evelyn back to the clinic for you. I am sure you have many important things to do.” I gave Henrik a small hopeful smile. The thought of riding back with him seemed so much more appealing than continuing on for whatever the prince had in store for me this evening.

  “That is kind of you to offer, my lord, but I am afraid Miss Evelyn should stay where she is. She has been unwell today and will be returning back to Silverstone with me.”

  My smile vanished.

  “We should be on our way,” the prince continued. “But before we go I wish to congratulate you, Lord Beaumont, on your engagement to Lady Latour. It is a most advantageous match and I wish you both much happiness.”

  Engagement? Henrik was engaged to be married? My eyes snapped over to awkwardly meet Henrik’s briefly before he focused back on the prince.

  “Thank you, Your Highness. My family is very happy for me,” he said stiffly, obviously caught off guard by the comment.

  The prince nodded and said politely, “I bid you good day,” before he nudged his horse to start trotting with the guards matching his pace. I didn’t realize until we were a measurable distance away that I had balled my grip into fists holding on to the prince. I’m sure he must have noticed but didn’t say anything. If I knew Prince Eythan, and I think I did, he never said anything without a purpose, even during pleasantries. I am sure he meant for me to hear the news about Henrik.

  I was not in love with Henrik, but he had become one of the only bright spots in my life here. He never failed to cheer me up and chase away the loneliness. And to think that I had been planning to spend my evening with him tonight. Who knows what would have happened. I would have spent it with an engaged man and perhaps ruined both of our somewhat shaky reputations. The prince saved me from that. I could not help but feel angry and betrayed by Henrik. He should have been honest with me about his situation. I didn’t know whether or not I felt like hugging or hitting the prince for this. I felt so messed up mentally I wanted to cry, but I knew I couldn’t. Not here, and not in front of Prince Eythan.

  After a few minutes Silverstone Castle came into view. Its magnificence never failed to impress me. The prince turned his head and spoke something in Eolahr to one of the guards, who nodded and then raced off ahead of us to the castle. The small group of us galloped around past the village, away from the front gates towards the rear of the structure. As we approached the gates, they opened and then closed quickly behind us. Prince Eythan brought us into a bustling stable yard before halting his horse. Some attendants came quickly to take the reins of the horse and to assist me to dismount before the prince himself dismounted. As the horse was led away he turned to me and said, “Miss Evelyn, this is Vincent, one of my personal attendants.” He pointed to a man with brown hair and eyes and of average build standing to my right. “He will take you to Madame Elise now. I will see you this evening.” And with that he turned and walked away with some of the other men hanging about, leaving me with his servant.

  “Please follow me, Miss,” Vincent said politely before turning to walk in the opposite direction towards a door leading into the castle.

  We were nearly to the door when I realized my belongings were still in the saddle bags of the prince’s horse. I turned to look back but did not see any sign of the animal anywhere. Disappointed, I turned back and followed Vincent. I made a mental note to try to inquire about my things in the morning. So I was going to meet Madame Elise, the famous wardrober of the royals and the servants of the castle. Her creations were supposedly so expensive, only the elite nobles could afford her. I had seen her from afar at some of the banquets I attended, but I had never actually met her. I wondered if she had a special uniform for me to wear this evening.

  After what seemed like a long journey through the castle, with lots of twists and turns, and going downstairs deeper into the ground, I was brought to a solid, beautifully scrolled wooden door. Vincent knocked and an attendant opened it. �
��I have Miss Evelyn Remington here to see the Madame.” The attendant nodded and stepped aside so that we could enter. I looked around the large room lit only by candles and torches and wondered why a woman who creates clothing would want to work in the dark underground. I realized the reason why when I saw her approach. She was beautiful with dark brown hair and blue eyes with a slight violet undertone. She glided across the floor gracefully as she came to stand before me. There was no doubt that she was a vampire.

  “I will be back to collect you when it is time, Miss,” Vincent said to me and then walked back the way we came, leaving me with the vampire.

  “Miss Evelyn, I have been wanting to get my hands on you for a long while now,” Madame Elise said to me coyly as she glanced over my appearance.

  I looked down at my dirty dress that had a torn hem and several other little holes in it here and there. My cheeks flushed a little with embarrassment at how I must have looked through her keen eyes.

  “I have been meaning to mend it, my lady . . .” I began to say when she cut me off.

  “No matter. Come in, we have best get started. We have a lot of work to do.” She took a length of ribbon out of one of her pockets and started using it expertly like a measuring tape by holding it up against me for my shoulder width, wrapping it around my waist and hips for my other measurements and so on. She moved so fast, I don’t know how she remembered anything that she was doing. After a minute or two she called, “Anna?” A woman younger than me with dark brown hair and eyes came out behind a dress form quickly.

  “This is my assistant, Anna.” She said to me referring to the human who appeared. “She will help you out of this . . . monstrosity of a dress and help you to clean up. You smell like the outdoors,” she remarked with a slight hint of disgust in her tone. She turned to Anna and said, “make sure she scrubs underneath her fingernails. She has dirt everywhere.”

  Anna nodded and said to me in a little kinder tone, “come this way, Miss.” She led me to an adjacent room without a door. As we walked, I saw numerous dress forms around the large area. Some were obviously gowns being created for noble women, while others were clothing meant for men.

  She guided me over to a partition-like screen and pointed to a bowl on the small table behind it with what appeared to be towels and a small nail brush on it. “Please take everything off and use this rose water to freshen up. You heard what she said about your nails, she’ll never let you leave here unless you pass inspection. There is a chemise there for you,” she pointed to a fine white garment hanging on a hook on the wall. “Please put it on when you are done.”

  “I understand, thank you.” I really didn’t understand. I had no idea what I was headed into this evening, but since the prince commanded I be here, I’d better obey.

  After several minutes of attempting to clean the dirt, sweat, and grime from my morning gathering herbs on the mountain I think I at least looked a lot better. I stepped out of the small adjacent room they had led me to and Anna stopped what she was doing on a dress form and guided me to a small circular raised platform to stand on.

  “We need to see if this dress fits you before we make the final adjustments. We didn’t have much notice,” she said apologetically as she went to fetch some undergarments and a dress off of a different form.

  I caught only glimpses of the dress before she started slipping the under slip on me prior to having me step into the skirt. It was a shimmery combination of blue and purple fabric with a matching hooded cloak to keep me warm in the evening. I had only seen such fine material on the princess before. After Anna laced up the skirt and slipped me into the bodice I remarked, “I don’t understand. This doesn’t look like a servant’s uniform.”

  Madame Elise’s delicate laughter as she approached us prevented Anna from answering me. “Oh my dear, if you were going to be working tonight I would not put you in this.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You are to be a guest this evening, Miss Evelyn.”

  I looked over the beautiful periwinkle gown I was being laced into and suddenly began to panic. “But Madame, I . . . cannot possibly afford this.”

  She laughed again. “There are few who can. Fortunately the prince is one of them.” She smiled as she apparently admired her work on me. “Yes, I think this will do. I need to make a few adjustments. Anna, get her out of this and do something with her hair,” she commanded.

  “Yes, Madame,” she replied.

  Suddenly, I was being unlaced and I stepped out of her masterpiece. Then I was ushered to a small stool by a table. I sat, dumfounded, as Anna began to comb and braid sections of my hair. “It will be a while before you dine, Miss, I brought some refreshments for you,” she said as she gestured to the table next to me that had been set with a small plate of cheese, dried fruit, and nuts as well as wine. I was hungry so I took her up on it and snacked while she continued to work on my hair. After some time she sculpted my hair into what I can only describe as an elegant bun with tiny braids interlacing it here and there. Soft tendrils of my strawberry blonde hair framed my face. Due to the lack of natural light here I could not be certain how much time had passed since I arrived but it seemed like a long time.

  “Let’s look for some shoes for you,” she said as she led me over to a shoe rack containing numerous pairs of women’s and men’s footwear of various styles and sizes. She selected a pair of fabric slippers with a leather sole for me. I tried them on and they fit surprisingly well considering they hadn’t been made for me. I took them off and followed Anna back to the platform where Madame Elise glided over with the dress again.

  I flinched a little as they laced up the corset.

  “What’s the matter?” Madame Elise asked curiously.

  “I’m not used to wearing these things,” I replied honestly. “We don’t routinely wear corsets where I come from; we have Spanx.”

  “What are Spanx?” she asked in a shocked tone.

  “Never mind,” I replied lightly. The temperature felt cool here deep in the castle and I was grateful for the cloak she had made to go with the dress.

  “This color compliments your eyes,” she said as she laced up the bodice at lightning speed while Anna worked on fluffing out the full skirt.

  “Thank you,” I said, flattered by the compliment. For a legendary noble vampire she had been very nice to me. “Madame . . .” I hesitated. “What is the best way for me to return this gown to you tomorrow?” I asked carefully.

  “You may keep it, Wayfarer,” she said simply as she and Anna stood back to inspect me. Anna smiled and Madame Elise nodded.

  “I will repair your other dress and have it sent back to you,” Madame Elise said to me as Anna helped me step down from the platform and put the slippers back on.

  There was a small silver mirror nearby and I wandered over to it, gawking at my appearance. I looked better than I ever had since arriving in this world but I had to admit this dress was new and stiff, and cinched tighter around my waist and chest than I was used to. The layers of silk underskirts were also heavier than I would have liked. I hoped I would make it through the night, and I started to feel nervous about what was to come.

  I thanked both of them just in time to hear a quiet knock on the door. The attendant let Vincent back in and he smiled thoughtfully as he bid me to follow him to wherever the prince’s gathering was in the castle.

  “Oh, wait!” I said to Vincent as we started to leave. “What about my cloak and the herbs I collected this morning?”

  “Do not worry, Miss . . . I will make sure all of your belongings are returned to you,” he replied.

  I nodded, thanking him. My new slippers were not as secure as my familiar boots, so I took careful steps while following Vincent. I wasn’t used to wearing such a constrictive corset either, and couldn’t get used to taking smaller breaths while moving quickly to keep up. “Where are we going?” I finally asked. It seemed like we had been walking forever and we weren’t headed towards the usual banquet
rooms as far as I could tell.

  “You will be attending a private supper this evening with the royals and some of the officials in the Avolire room. That is all I know, Miss,” he said smoothly.

  Sounds like a business dinner, I thought. “Vincent, how long have you served the prince?”

  “It has been eight years,” he replied.

  That’s a long time for someone in this age, I thought. He must have started when he was young.

  “Here we are,” he said as we stopped in front of an elegantly carved door with two guards posted outside. They moved to open the door as I approached.

  “Thank you, Vincent,” I called after him as he walked away.

  “You are welcome,” he said with a slight bow.

  My nerves kicked into high gear as I passed through the doorway. I kept my hands planted at my sides so that I wouldn’t fidget. I had been to banquets before with the royals, but after all that has happened with my fallout with the prince and my experience with the king, I had no idea what to expect.

  Chapter 22

  Bright candlelight illuminated the large stone-walled room with several chandeliers and standing candelabras scattered about. An enormous beautiful dark wood table with a fine polish occupied the center of the room. I counted at least a dozen place settings arranged as I moved past the table further back into the space where there were several large couches and armchairs decorated with richly woven fabrics and pillows. Despite the grandness of the space, I noticed there were no windows or other apparent entrances or exits. Heavy, intricately designed tapestries hung on all of the walls along with other intriguing decorations. This is a medieval conference room, I thought to myself as I wandered around admiring everything.

  Suddenly the doors opened again and I smiled as I recognized Lady Aryn and her husband enter. I meandered over to her and curtsied politely as I greeted her.

  “Miss Evelyn, you look beautiful this evening,” she remarked pleasantly, resting a hand on her belly. “The banquets have not been the same without you.”