"No, no, I'm here quite by accident," I rushed to explain myself. "I was travelling to Arcadie with a group of merchants and got lost in the woods. I couldn’t find my way back in the storm last night so I sought shelter here. Dorkins kindly gave me a room but I'm not sure..." I trailed off wondering how to explain the mistake I was sure had been made with the room.
"I see," said Queen Eleanor but I could tell from her expression she was still confused. "If you were caught in the storm then that would explain why you're wearing my dress."
I gasped and grabbed at the dress, for one unthinking moment meaning to pull it off and hand it to her. But I could hardly undress in front of the entire royal family! Instead I stammered an apology that the queen quickly cut off.
"It's quite alright my dear, it's an old dress. I gave it to the girls years ago to use for dress ups. It was one of the first dresses made for me after I became a princess. Knowing my daughters, I imagine they forced you into it - would you or wouldn't you."
I smiled at her in relief. "It was a little like that, your majesty."
"Alyssa is our friend even if she's not a princess," said Sophie. "We found her early this morning in the Princess Room and she's been keeping us company."
"Nanny is sick again," added Lily.
"The Princess Room?" The queen looked at me with sharp curiosity in her face.
"As I mentioned, a mistake, your majesty. I'm not a princess," I hurried to explain, "I don't know why Dorkins put me in that beautiful room. I promise you I never said I was a princess."
"I think I know how the mistake was made," she replied, "I'm sure it wasn't your fault. But tell me, how did you sleep?"
She was looking at me rather intently but she'd been so nice that I decided to tell her the truth. After all, they would want to fix that spring before an actual princess came to stay.
I opened my mouth to explain about the bed and my poor sleep but out of the corner of my eye I saw the prince, still staring at me. I suddenly remembered my own words to him earlier on polite behaviour. And here I was, after everything that had been done for me, about to complain about the bed I'd been given! I quickly changed my words.
"It was the nicest room I've ever slept in, your majesty. Much too nice for me. And Mathilde even lit a fire for me so I was nice and warm - such a relief after being out in the storm."
There, that was polite and still true.
"Excellent, I'm glad you passed a comfortable night," said the queen, her expression not quite matching her words.
I couldn't tell if she was pleased or disappointed and I certainly couldn't interpret the look she flashed at King Henry. Something was going on here that I didn't understand and I found myself studying them all curiously. They might be royalty but they were still people and nothing fascinated me as much as people. I wondered how long it would take me to understand them. They certainly seemed to act very strangely and not at all how I had imagined royalty would act. Then I remembered that I would soon be back on my way to Arcadie. I couldn't imagine that I would meet the royal family again after this and I suddenly felt unreasonably disappointed. I would never get the chance to understand their behaviour - they would all remain a mystery to me. I hated not being able to figure someone out.
The door opened and Dorkins came into the room followed by a footman carrying a large silver coffeepot on a silver tray. The footman walked over to the king and began to pour his coffee but Dorkins looked my way. I shivered a little. The queen had said it wasn't my fault but Dorkins still made me nervous.
The queen turned towards Dorkins and smiled at him.
"It seems there has been a misunderstanding, Dorkins," she said. "When I asked you to prepare the red room for a guest I didn't mean that I expected an imminent visitor. I merely wanted to review the room's layout and preparedness. We will soon be expecting several royal visitors," this time her eyes flickered towards her son, "but none of them will be arriving until we return to Arcadie. I was merely occupying myself by testing the room." Her voice lingered strangely over the word test and the prince shot her a sharp look.
I also looked over at the prince and almost laughed at the expression of dismay on his face. He looked exactly how I imagined one of my brothers would look if they heard they were to expect a stream of royal visitors. Gaining this small insight into one of them made me feel a little more secure.
Dorkins, meanwhile, looked as horrified as it was possible for such a stately man to look.
"Your majesty, I apologise for the mistake."
The queen cut him off before he could continue. "No, indeed Dorkins, there has been no harm done and I'm delighted we were able to offer shelter to such a charming subject."
While I had been talking to the queen and Dorkins, the princesses had served themselves breakfast and taken seats at the table. They had been listening with apparent interest to our conversation but were now also eating enthusiastically. The king, on the other hand, didn't seem to have been paying us any attention at all. Instead, he had been steadily regarding his daughters. He now addressed them both.
"Did one of you say Nanny was sick again?"
Lily nodded, her mouth full.
"My goodness, old Martha seems to be sick a lot these days."
He considered for a moment, oblivious to the fact that the rest of us were now staring at him.
"I haven't heard a sound all morning. And I’m sure Dorkins would have informed me by now if some silent disaster had occurred." He now turned his considering gaze onto me. "Did the girls say that you kept them entertained?"
I wasn't quite sure how to answer this. "Well, I did tell them a story, your majesty."
"Excellent! You're hired!" he announced and turned back to his breakfast. A strange feeling of unreality crept over me. Perhaps it wasn't all of them who were behaving strangely after all, perhaps it was I who'd gone mad. Or perhaps I was still asleep and dreaming.
"H-hired?" I stammered.
The king looked back up at me. "Certainly. Didn't you say you were going to Arcadie? Looking for a job I assume."
So he had been paying attention to my conversation after all. I filed away the thought that he was sharper than he looked.
"No need to go all the way to Arcadie for a job. You can have one right here. And we'll take you back to Arcadie with us in the Spring."
"Thank you, your majesty. But what do you want me to do?" I glanced around the room. Dorkins looked disapproving, the queen amused and the prince horrified. I wondered if I looked as bewildered as I felt.
"Look after the princesses, of course. Their starched up governess refuses to look after them outside of lesson time and that nanny of theirs is getting too old. Well, obviously she must be, since she can't seem to get out of bed without coming down with some new ailment. And here you are like a gift from heaven. Never met the girls before in your life and kept them quiet all morning." Some of the bewilderment must still have been apparent on my face because he added, darkly "Very early risers, the twins."
Despite myself I began to feel amused. I remembered my own earlier thoughts on how bored the girls must get, stuck in this isolated castle with no other children. And I already had experience of just how much of a handful they could be. I briefly wondered if I would come to regret taking them on. But I couldn’t deny that the king’s proposal solved all my problems in one fell swoop.
"Thank you, your majesty," I replied, "I would be honoured."
"Excellent," he said and stood up. "Dorkins, could you come along to my study. I have some business to discuss with you." Dorkins nodded his assent and held open the door for the king. In another breath they were both gone.
"Mother!" It was Prince Maximilian. "He can't have been serious! We don't know anything about her. How do we know she's a proper person to look after the girls?"
The prince was carefully not looking my way and I wondered why he found me so offensive. Not that his question was entirely without merit...
"Your father has made up his m
ind," said the queen "and his word is final." Her tone gentled a little, "You know he has excellent judgment. And she certainly seems well-mannered to me."
They regarded each other silently for a moment. The prince clenched his jaw but nodded once before jumping to his feet and striding out of the room.
Sophie looked up from her eggs, "Whatever's the matter with Max, Mother?"
The queen laughed, a deep, musical sound. "Boys, my darling. Who can hope to understand them?"
She smiled around at us all equally and I realised the footman had left some time ago. There were only girls left now. So I allowed myself to smile in response and feel for a moment like I was part of this small group.
"Please get some breakfast and sit down," the queen said, gesturing towards the buffet. "As usual it is left to us females to work out all the practical details." Her smile suggested she was content with this role.
I picked up a plate and took some eggs and fried ham. I poured a glass of water and sat down across from the twins.
"I think we'll have to give you the title of Princess Companion," said Queen Eleanor. "It’s been a long time since we had anyone in the role – not since Mina got married. But you certainly don't look anything like a nanny in that dress!"
I vaguely remembered that Princess Mina was King Henry’s sister. She had married a foreign prince before I was born and left Arcadia. I felt uneasily sure that her Princess Companion had been a young noblewoman from the court. I opened my mouth to protest but Lily jumped in before I could say anything.
"We're much too old to need a nanny anyway."
"Very true, my darling. Your father was quite right, I should have thought of it before now."
Although they all seemed quite happy with the arrangement, I couldn't help but feel I was a fraud. And they were bound to discover it sooner or later.
"This dress is certainly very beautiful, your majesty, but it's nothing like my own clothes. I'm only a woodcutter's daughter. Surely Princess Companion is too high a title for me. There must be many people more fitted in rank for such a position."
"I suppose there are," said the queen, quietly. "But unfortunately such people tend to bore my daughters. I assure you, it's not an easy position we're offering. And anyway, none of these more eligible companions are here at the winter castle. If you don't like the role, you can always leave after we return to Arcadie. And you'll receive a generous wage in the meantime."
That was an appealing thought. Only half an hour ago, I'd been contemplating arriving in Arcadie with a debt to repay. And now I would arrive with gold in my pocket. I gave an internal shrug. I had made a full disclosure now; if the queen didn't mind I wouldn't cavil further. Most likely they would get rid of me when they returned to the court in Arcadie in the Spring.
The thought didn't bother me, I was sure there would be plenty of other jobs in the capital. And if I worked hard all winter, hopefully I could leave with a royal reference. That would be sure to open doors otherwise closed to an inexperienced woodcutter's daughter from the deep forest.
"Very well, your majesty," I replied.
"And what of these merchants? Will they be waiting for you? Should we send someone to inform them of your whereabouts?" asked the queen.
With sudden dismay I thought of Ariana - how could I have forgotten her? She would be worrying for me I knew. But I also knew that the other merchants would never agree to delay their journey for my sake. I tried to think what Ariana would do.
"I don't think they'll wait for me. I'm not their responsibility and it was my own foolishness to wander off and get lost. I'm sure Ariana will take my things to my aunt as soon as they reach Arcadie, though. If we could get word to my aunt then she would be able to reassure Ariana that I'm alright."
"That's easily done. Royal messengers travel between the castle and the capital regularly. If you write a letter and direct it to your aunt's address, I'll see it reaches her. In the meantime, I'll speak to Mrs Pine, our housekeeper, and get her to put together some clothes and things for you."
"You're very kind, your majesty," I said between bites of my slightly cold but still delicious breakfast.
"I'll be off now to speak to Mrs Pine. And also to Nanny and to Gretchen, the governess. I'll explain the situation to them." I could tell from her rueful expression that my arrival might be somewhat unwelcome to these ladies. I felt relieved that the queen would be preparing the way for me and a little nervous. If the other staff chose to do so, I was sure they could make my life very unpleasant.
The twins had been whispering together while the queen and I talked but as the queen left the room, they fell silent. I looked up to find four intent eyes boring into me.
"Are you finished?" asked Lily.
"Yes, we want to give you a tour," said Sophie.
I quickly scraped the remaining food from my plate, into my mouth.
"Finished!" I announced, and stood up.
Both girls ran around the table and Sophie opened the door, while Lily took my hand. She looked up into my face and smiled confidingly.
"I didn't really tell Mathilde to burn your clothes. I just wanted to see what you looked like in our Princess Dress," she said.
I almost smiled – I should have known. Lily and Sophie liked to get their own way but their imperiousness was put on. Just a game. Nevertheless I forced my face into a frown and reached out my other hand for Sophie. I pulled both girls in front of me and looked at them seriously.
"It was very wrong of you to lie to me. If we're going to be friends, I have to know that you'll always be honest with me. Can you promise that?"
Both girls looked down, embarrassed or ashamed, I wasn't sure which.
"Yes, we can promise," said Lily quietly.
"We really want to be friends," Sophie said earnestly.
"Ok," I said, allowing the smile to appear. "I'll hold you to that!"
The princesses smiled back at me and I dropped both of their hands, gesturing for them to precede me out of the room.
This was what I needed to remember. I didn't have many skills fit for a castle but one thing I could do was work with people. If I studied them long enough, I could understand them, and once I understood them I could always find a way to work with them. Or around them, if necessary. My brothers used to call it my gift. They would often joke that I must have received it from a godmother at my Christening.
They found this suggestion hugely funny because everyone knows it's only princesses who get gifted at their Christenings. If you're a girl you only get one chance - be born in a palace. My brothers on the other hand still held out hope for themselves - after all, my stories were always full of deserving woodcutter's sons receiving gifts.
But I never minded their teasing. I took pride in knowing that my gift was my own and not some magical enhancement. My brothers had spent their time studying trees but I had spent mine studying the people around me. And people were people after all, whether they lived in a forest or a castle.
I straightened my spine. Confidence was what I needed. I could do this.
Chapter 4
Although the winter castle seemed huge compared to the houses I was used to, I knew it was much smaller than the palace in Arcadie. It only took the twins half an hour to give me a full tour that first morning and there wasn't much chance of my getting lost. The layout was simple. The East Wing had the rooms used by the royal family - dining rooms, studies, receiving rooms - on the ground floor, and the king and queen's suites on the gallery. The West Wing had the kitchen and the rooms belonging to the servants on the ground floor while the gallery held both the prince and princesses' suites and the guest rooms.
The tour concluded in the princesses' suite where we found Queen Eleanor and two older ladies. I knew the housekeeper immediately by her air of calm authority – as powerful, in its own way, as that of the queen. Mrs Pine might rule a smaller domain but she ruled it nonetheless. I made a mental note not to cross her. The other lady was clearly the sickly nanny: s
he had white hair and the motherly look that the queen lacked. Lily and Sophie ran forward to hug her and besiege her with questions, leaving me free to be introduced to Mrs Pine.
"Mrs Pine, this is Alyssa," said the queen. "Please see that she has everything she needs, as we discussed. I'll leave her in your capable hands." Then she smiled at both of us and left the room.
I turned to Mrs Pine, determined not to let my nerves show.
"Thank you very much for going to all this trouble. I'm so sorry to be a bother but I've lost all my things. It's very tiresome of me, I know. But I assure you I'm not normally so stupid."
Mrs Pine looked me up and down. "Well, there's no harm done from the sound of things," she said briskly. "I've plenty of old things, left by various servants and visitors over the years. It's a bit tricky to know what sort of dresses to give you. You're not exactly a servant but you're not a guest either." She sighed. "I'll manage, I'm sure. Mathilde tells me she's already met you so I'll give her whatever I find. If you have any questions about how things run here you can ask her. Although if you get into any real trouble you'd better come to me. Mathilde's likely to lose her head in a crisis."
I felt absolutely certain that there was no crisis big enough to make Mrs Pine lose her head.
And it was equally clear she didn't really believe my assurance that I wouldn't run into further trouble. If I wanted that reference at the end of the winter, I would just have to show her I could be trusted. And not only to look after myself but also after two precocious princesses.
"I'll be off now, but the princesses are supposed to be in lessons all morning so Gretchen, their governess, should be along soon. Once she has the girls in hand, you come and find Mathilde."
Mrs Pine's voice kept its level calm but something flashed in her eyes when she mentioned Gretchen. I noted it, but merely nodded to show I had understood her instructions.
The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea (The Four Kingdoms Book 1) Page 4