by Rachel Angel
Lucinda stopped in the doorway and looked at me. “Dear child. I know you’ve been through so much and I am so inclined to encourage you to take the day to rest and recuperate, but I would be remiss if I didn’t impart on you the urgency of the matter. You see, there’s an evil fae in our midst, and she would like nothing more than to take away what is rightfully yours. The sooner you reach the good fae, the sooner she trains you, the better suited you’ll be to fight off the evil fae. She wants your mother’s magic and you must stop her at all costs. Believe me, child. She will stop at nothing to get what she wants.”
“You’re right,” I said, dropping the last of my bread into the plate and standing. “I must deal with this right away.”
Lucinda hurried inside and took out a fresh pair of dark pants, a white undershirt and a bright pink tunic embroidered with pretty green leaves.
“Thank you, Lucinda,” I said as I rid myself of the yellow gown with her assistance and slipped into the dark pants. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’re a very smart, wise and capable girl. I have no doubt that you would have found your way regardless.”
I slipped on the crisp white undershirt and pulled the pink tunic over my head. “My boots,” I called out, looking around my room. “Where are my boots?”
“Right here, Miss,” Lucinda said with a patient grin as she handed them to me.
“I’m so sorry, Lucinda,” I said. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
“No worries. I know you have a lot on your mind at the moment.”
“There,” I said after I’d slipped on my boots. “I think I’m ready to go now.”
“I wish you the best of luck, dear child,” Lucinda said. “And remember, you must get the adequate training if you are to battle it out with the evil fae. Make sure you learn as much about your magical powers as you can.”
I nodded. “I will, Lucinda.”
She turned to walk out the door.
“Lucinda,” I called out after her.
“What is it, dear?” she said, her voice oddly strained with emotion.
“Thank you so much for everything,” I said.
Nodding, she closed her eyes. There was an odd smile on her face, and I wondered if she was distraught about the journey I was about to embark upon. It was a smile that I’d never seen before.
Shrugging it off, I belted my sword around my waist and headed out. Knowing that I would be stopped and questioned if any of my men saw me, I hurried down the hall and snuck out the back door where I ran to the stable. I rushed to my horses stall, climbed onto his bareback and directed him out and into the opening of the field that led straight to the now familiar forest.
I pushed my horse to go as fast as he could, feeling the urgency of the moment. I couldn’t let this evil fae have my magical powers. My mother had given up so much so that I may follow in her footsteps.
Now it was my turn to do everything that I could to ensure my destiny.
I turned my horse onto the path that would lead up to the mountain and the cave opening.
In the distance, far behind me, I heard someone shouting my name.
No, I thought. I can’t let them stop me. I nudged my horse to go faster still, and as we began to climb the path up the mountain, I could see a cloud of dust below us.
Someone was rushing after me. Someone was trying to stop me from doing what I had to do.
“Violet!” came the shout again.
I tried to get my horse to go faster, but the terrain was unwelcoming and he fidgeted and hesitated. I could hear the thunder of horse hooves behind me and my heart sank.
Then a strong and rough hand grabbed the reins of my horse and pulled us to a stop. I turned to see Henry, dumbfounded as he looked at me.
“Violet,” he said breathlessly. “Did you not hear me? I’ve been calling your name.”
“I’m sorry, Henry,” I said plainly, unmoved by his desire to stop me. “I’m in no mood to be tended by you or any of the others at this moment. I have things that I must settle, and I must do them now.”
“What?” he said, clearly confused by my actions. “What are you talking about? What in the world are you doing out here?”
“It’s none of your concern,” I said, feeling increasingly tense and stressed with each passing moment. “Will you please let me go.”
“No,” he said, his hand still firmly holding the reins to my horse. “I will not let go, Violet. Don’t you know what today is?”
“Yes,” I said with conviction. “Today is the day that I must find the fae… the woman fae who saved me, who healed me. Oh, Henry. Instead of stopping me, why don’t you help me find her. She’s the only one who can help me.”
“What are you talking about?” he said. “Damn it, Violet. Today is the next challenge in the Choosing.”
Confused, I stared at him. “No, it’s not,” I argued.
“Violet,” he said, his voice becoming increasingly stern, almost angry. “Everyone is down there right now ready to compete. Everyone except you. Do you know what will happen if you do not show up? Do you know what will happen if you do not take part in the competition today?”
I stared dumbly at him.
“You forfeit, Violet,” he said in frustration. “If you don’t get down there this minute, you forfeit.”
“No,” I said, still so confused.
“Yes.”
“No, Henry,” I insisted. “The competition is tomorrow.”
“Who the hell told you that?” he said, growing angrier with every minute.
“Lucinda.”
“Lucinda?” he shouted back at me. “What does she know about the Choosing? For crying out loud, Violet. When did she tell you this?”
“This morning,” I said. The sinking feeling that I’d been duped started to weigh in on me. “Barely an hour ago.”
“That’s impossible, Violet.”
“Don’t tell me what’s impossible,” I argued. “Damn it, Henry. I know my own maid. She brought in breakfast, told me I need to get my training in as soon as I could, then set my clothes out for the day.”
“Violet.” He took my hand and held it tenderly in his. “Sweet, Violet. Lucinda has been with your father all morning. He woke up and seemed to be in pain. She tended to his wound. I passed by his room three times looking for you, and each time, there she was, patiently tending to your father.”
“No,” I whispered, unable to accept that I’d been tricked again. “Oh, my God, Henry. If it wasn’t Lucinda that I was speaking to this morning, then who was it?”
Henry shrugged and shook his head.
I closed my eyes as they burned with tears. Damn it. I now saw that strange smile that had been on Lucinda’s lips. I thought it’d been because she was distraught about me coming out into the forest again, but it wasn’t that at all.
No. It was just another wicked grin from that trickster fae, Esmeralda.
Chapter 18
Violet
I looked up at the path before us, then back down to the forest below. “All right,” I finally said. “Let’s go.”
Turning the horses around on the narrow path proved to be more difficult that either of us had anticipated.
I tried to back my horse up, but he became increasingly fussy, while Henry’s horse whinnied his protest at backing up.
“I think we don’t have any choice but to go up until the path widens enough for us to turn around,” I finally said.
Frowning, Henry nodded.
“How much time do we have?” I said as I urged my horse up the path.
“They were just filing in when I ran after you.”
In the distance, we could hear them. Excited shouts of men ready for a challenge.
“Do you know what the challenge will be?” I said.
Henry remained silent for a moment. “Father only said that it would be decisive.”
That didn’t help at all.
“Look,” I said, pointing up ahead. “A
wide resting place. We can turn around there.”
I led my horse up, turned him around and Henry came up behind me, turning his horse once I was out of the way.
“Okay,” I let out, giving my horse a nudge. “Let’s go.”
We took up a trot, going as fast as the narrow path allowed until we reached the forest. Then both horses really opened up and went into a full gallop.
With their hooves thundering in our ears, we hurried to the castle grounds and continued on to the outdoor arena on the other side of the castle.
I could see the crowd. I could hear them.
“Oh, my God,” I called out as we neared the arena. “Am I too late? Oh, God, please don’t let me be too late.”
We pulled our horses to a stop just outside the gate and I ran inside.
“I’m here,” I called out.
Sir Richard Honeywell turned to me and smiled. With a silent nod he had me join the other participants who were seated in a semi-circle of chairs, each set well away from the next.
I took an empty seat and looked at the men seated around me.
“Today,” Sir Richard Honeywell announced to all, “we shall put you through a test of loyalty and true leadership.”
Among the other princes seated around me was Axel, Avery, Ollie and Reggie and they were all looking at me.
I knew that Avery was there to help me win against the other princes. He was undoubtedly loyal and I knew that I could count on him.
And then there was Axel. As I looked at him, I suddenly remembered the dream I’d had in the middle of the night. I’d completely forgotten about it this morning, comforted in the quiet, restful sleep I’d had.
But seeing him now, the dream came back to me. Like in several other similar dreams, I knew he wanted to kill me. While in this dream, he didn’t do anything threatening, I knew it was his intent. Could I really trust him? Or was it just a foolish dream?
I shifted my gaze to Ollie. He’d shown his loyalty to me on more than one occasion, but when he came with me in search of the Rogue Princes’ killer, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was on my side and would always be. Wherever I might lead him, he would follow.
And dear Reggie. For all his aloof and cool demeanor, I knew he had a warm heart that was filled with unconditional love for me.
With them in my corner I had a good chance of winning. As I looked at some of the others, I wondered if any of them could be loyal to me as well.
“A true leader,” Sir Richard called out, “inspires those around them to naturally follow them. You’ll surely have noted that true leaders are often surrounded by those wanting to learn from them and wanting to be like them. A true leader does not lead by force or intimidation. A true leader leads because others wish to follow.”
Some of the princes murmured among themselves.
“Out of everyone in the Choosing, each participant must make an important choice. Each participant must indicate the person they would be most inspired to follow. Indicate the person for whom you would put your own needs aside in order to fulfil theirs.” Sir Richard signaled to his assistant who held a handful of sheets of paper.
The assistant came around to all of us, handing us the small piece of paper and a stick of graphite.
“Now, please,” Sir Richard said, clasping his hands together. “Write down the name of the person you envision yourself following. Be honest with yourselves and think it through. This is not a matter to take lightly. This is not the time to render a favor for a friend, or to strike down an adversary. This is the time to put your heart and soul on the line and make a decision that may affect you for the rest of your lives.”
We all looked up at him solemnly, taking his directions quite seriously.
“I will leave you a few moments to consider your decision.” Sir Richard brought his hands behind his back, took a step back and stood, legs apart, waiting.
All was silent for a brief moment. Then one prince began to write, then another and another.
Soon, everyone had written down a name.
“One by one, you will come up to me and hand your paper directly to me.” He looked to the prince seated to the far left of him and nodded.
The young man rose and handed him his sheet of paper and the others slowly followed.
When I rose to hand him my little piece of paper, I tried desperately to hide the trembling in my hand.
It was a big moment. A huge moment.
It was my fate piled up in his hands.
Chapter 19
Violet
Hours passed as I waited quietly in my room. There were only a handful of votes. Why was it taking so long to count them?
I was impatient to know the result, making the wait excruciating. I paced back and forth, then tried to sit down to read. Edgy, I set the book down and went out to stand on the balcony a moment only to come back into my room and sit on the edge of my bed, pouting like a child.
A gentle knock sounded at the door. “Miss Violet,” Lucinda called. “Are you ready to have me do your hair, Miss?”
“Yes, Lucinda,” I said. Having her with me would be a good diversion. “Come in.”
She opened the door and smiled as she looked at me. “Ah, I see that you’ve already bathed. I am terribly sorry that I couldn’t come up in time to run your bath.”
“Don’t worry about that, Lucinda.” I looked pointedly at her, trying to see if it was really her or Esmeralda playing tricks again. “I know that my father is keeping you quite busy these days.”
“Ah, so you heard,” she said with a pleased grin. “He’s in and out of sleep these days, but he seems stronger and stronger. Now, tell me Miss, what will you be wearing tonight?”
To confirm it was truly her, I decided to do a little test. “I was thinking of wearing the orange gown with the green and blue feathers. What do you think?”
Grimacing, she looked at me. “You must be really tired, Miss. You don’t own a gown of orange with green and blue feathers. And if you did, I don’t think I would let you out of this room in such an atrocity.”
I laughed. “Oh, Lucinda. I do love you.”
“And I love you, dear.”
“Actually, I was planning on wearing the midnight blue gown with the silver trim and deep lavender lining.”
“Now that sounds better.” She patted the cushioned seat of the chair that was set before a mirror. “Come so that I can fix your hair.”
In my simple white chemise, I went and sat down in front of her. The moment she put her long tapered fingers into my hair to sweep it back, I felt relaxed. Her nails scraped my scalp and it seemed as if all my worries fell away.
“Do you want something tight and formal, or a little wild and romantic?”
I looked up at her through the mirror. “Somewhere in the middle; elegant, but not to uptight.”
“Got it,” Lucinda said with a grin.
For the next twenty minutes, she worked her brand of magic on my hair. Fashioning several strands into braids of various thicknesses, she then pinned them up with an assortment of beautifully adorns barrettes.
“It’s perfect,” I said when she was done.
I stood and went to my armoire and pulled out the deep blue gown. Lucinda expertly help me get the gown on then stood back to look at me.
“You are a vision, child.”
Someone knocked at the door.
“Yes?” I called out.
“Violet. It’s Henry. Can I see you for a moment?”
I nodded to Lucinda who went to the door.
“Oh,” Henry said. “I didn’t realize…”
“I was just on my way out,” Lucinda said with a reverent nod. She looked over her shoulder at me. “Let me know if there is anything else you need. I’ll be with your father.”
“Thank you, Lucinda.”
Henry came into my room and closed the door behind him. “Wow,” he said with soft appraisal. “Look at you.”
“Do you like it?” I said, suddenly uns
ure of my choice. “I wanted something formal and…”
“It’s perfect, Violet.” He reached out to take my hands in his. “You’re positively radiant. Everyone at the banquet will have their eyes on you.”
I smiled. “I’d almost forgotten that there was to be a banquet after the announcement.”
He pressed a tight smile.
“What did you want to see me about?” I said, turning to once again look at my reflection in the mirror. My heavy skirts made a loud rustling sound with every movement I made.
I looked into my eyes and saw the nervous tension there. For all of Lucinda’s soothing touches as she fixed my hair, I was now on edge and anxious.
“I wanted to see if you were okay,” Henry said. “You looked tense when you left the challenge.”
Turning to face him, I nodded, but knew it was unconvincing. “I’m just eager to get this whole thing over with.”
“I understand.” He looked into my eyes so filled with concern. “And if it should be that it is not your name that is called…”
I audibly gasped at the thought.
“Will you be all right?”
I shrugged and nodded and shook my head. “I don’t know. I’d like to think that I would be, but I just don’t know. Of course, I’ll do all that I can to maintain my composure and lose gracefully, but… Oh, dear.” I pulled in a long, shaking breath. “It would just be dreadful.”
He once again took my hands in his. “No matter what happens,” he said softly, “I want you to know that I’ll be there for you. I’ll always be there for you.”
“Thank you, Henry,” I said, squeezing his hands. “I’m so happy I have you on my side.”
“Ready?”
Again, I drew in a long, long breath and slowly let it seep out. “I’m ready.”
We walked slowly and solemnly down the corridor.
“You’d think I was walking to my beheading,” I mused.
“You must remain optimistic and hopeful, Violet.”
“I know,” I said. “But somehow my heart is finding it difficult to do so. The ramifications of losing this challenge are endless.”
We carefully took the steps that led down to the main floor and headed towards the throne room. Just outside the door, I noticed the absolute silence around us.