“Is that how you hurt yourself?” Alaric asked. “What are you doing here?”
“Trying to win your heart.”
Lina said it with as much venom as she could muster. Alaric laughed.
“As if anyone believes that. Who are you really?”
Lina opened her mouth to say she was a princess, but Alaric’s expression stopped her.
“You came early,” he said. “You stopped by the archive. You were filthy. You claim you had trouble traveling, but none of the delegations had travel difficulties. I checked.”
Lina clamped her mouth shut.
“You’re either in trouble or you’re causing trouble. Either situation needs my attention.”
Lina studied his face. Of course looks could be deceiving, but he looked trustworthy. And he hadn’t had her thrown out. She had given him multiple opportunities to do so, but he hadn’t reported her yet. Hadn’t had her disqualified. He had given her chance after chance to prove herself.
Could she trust him? Clearly he wouldn’t believe the whole truth. But maybe a part of it?
Maybe.
“I’m a protector,” she said slowly. “I guard Aeonia from the shadows.”
“Not a princess then?”
“I am noble. I’m not deceiving anyone by being here.”
She watched Alaric’s reaction. He nodded.
“Are you one of the Society of Evangelina?”
Lina missed another step.
“The what?”
He laughed.
“I guess not. It’s a local organization. They do good. Watch out for people. My stepmother is a member. I thought maybe she planted you here to keep an eye on me.”
Lina glanced at the queen across the room.
“The Society of Evangelina,” she repeated. “Named after the legend?”
Alaric nodded.
“She’s popular among the people?” Lina asked.
Alaric nodded again.
“Our most popular story. The closest mountain to the city is named after her. They say that’s where she sleeps.”
Lina’s heart beat faster.
“Sleeps?”
Alaric smiled at her.
“You protect Aeonia, but you don’t know the story of Evangelina Shadow-Storm. Who are you?”
Lina gasped for breath. She wanted to tell him. She wanted to trust him. But what could she say? He might believe her intentions, but how could he possibly believe her origins?
It was impossible to explain one without the other.
Her anguish must have played out across her face. Alaric led her to a chair at the edge of the room and helped her sit.
“Lina, you can tell me. Let me help you.”
“You know my name?”
He looked chagrined.
“Sorry, I know I’m not supposed to. Please don’t tell anyone. Stefan overheard it.”
Lina swallowed. She had to try. One last time. She looked up at him. He watched her with a serious expression. She studied his eyes. She had thought they were black, but actually they were a dark blue. Like the sky in the realm of shadows.
“Alright,” she said. “If you really want to hear it. My name is Lina. But that isn’t the whole story. I-”
The trumpets blared. She jumped.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Kings and queens! Princes and Princesses! If you will follow me through to the next room, we are ready for the entertainment to begin!”
Prince Stefan stood on a small podium gesturing towards a door. Alaric’s jaw tightened.
“Blast. Please excuse me. I’m so sorry.”
He hurried away. Lina pushed herself out of the chair and limped across the ballroom alone.
25
“What are you doing, Stefan?”
Stefan smiled at Alaric.
“Saving the Princess Test. That girl is a loose cannon, right? There’s no telling what she’ll say to the kings. So I arranged for the entertainment to start early.”
“Early? Stefan, this is beyond early. The ball started less than an hour ago!”
“Yeah, it took some convincing. But here we are.”
Stefan gestured to the door that led to the theater. Alaric’s heart sank. The stage was decorated with sets he recognized all too well. He had designed them. It was all there. The enchanted pavilion with the wolf statue. The dark curtains to represent the shadow realm.
This was really going to happen.
Queen Marta approached them.
“I’ve arranged for you to sit next to your princess,” she said. “She’ll join you after she sings.”
She gestured to two seats marked with gold ribbons. Alaric sighed as he sat in his place. He didn’t actually remember much of the play. He had written it years ago. But he had a feeling it would be a disaster.
The kings and nobles found their seats, and the lights lowered. Carina and the lute player walked onstage. She curtsied and stood still as a statue through the lute introduction. She sang the song just as she had at the Princess Test. Alaric sank deeper into his seat. There was no way anyone would think he chose her because she was the best singer.
Carina curtsied to the nobles’ mild applause and walked backstage. She joined Alaric a few moments later.
“You were marvelous,” he said without enthusiasm.
She nodded, keeping her attention focused on the stage.
Alaric searched for Lina. He couldn’t help himself. There she was. Near the front of the theater. He had a perfect view of her face.
Blast Stefan. She had been about to tell him the truth. He was sure of it. And now they were separated. Who knew when they would have more time alone?
The stage lights came on with alarming brightness. The lute player stayed on the stage. With a twist to his stomach, Alaric remembered that he had written a musical number to start the show. Please, please, please let that have been lost.
A cellist joined the lute player. They played a repetitive tune over and over again. The narrator joined them. He wore a black suit with silver sparkle accents, just as Alaric had requested in the script. Alaric watched, helpless, as the actor took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
“Evangelina. Evangelina.
Won’t you be my queen-ah? Be my queen-ah?”
The narrator kept singing. Three actors dressed as goblins joined him. They waved their claws in time with the music and shook their horns. They mimed putting crowns on their heads every time the narrator said “queen-ah.”
No wonder Odette had refused to play any part in this production. It was worse than he remembered. Alaric glanced down at Lina. She stared at the stage in undisguised horror.
Well, he couldn’t blame her.
The song continued.
“She fought through forests and shadows deep.
She saved the land through eternal sleep.”
The goblins mimed going to sleep. Eternal sleep. That sounded pretty good to Alaric at the moment. He glanced over at Carina. She looked bored enough to go to sleep herself.
That was something. At least she didn’t look horrified like Lina.
The goblins danced off the stage, and the narrator took his place in the right hand corner. He cleared his throat and stared out at the audience.
“I’ll tell you a tale of sorrow and woe.
A tale of Aeonia’s greatest hero.
A maiden of power, most lovely of form.
Our hero, Evangelina Shadow-Storm.”
The actress playing Evangelina Shadow-Storm waltzed onto the stage. She wore a black dress so tight it might have been painted on. Alaric found the back of Stefan’s head in the audience and glared at it. If they were going to produce his play, the least they could do was stick to his designs. The costume he had sketched for Evangelina had been loose and flowing with a long cape. She was supposed to be covered in shadows, not painted in ink.
“A heroine beautiful without a flaw
Joined by her faithful companion Luca.
A donkey most loyal, by her s
ide he’ll walk.
But this donkey is different than most. He can talk.”
Alaric grinned in spite of himself. They made the Luca costume just right. He had always been secretly proud of that design. It wasn’t easy to make a human actor look like a donkey, but he had managed it with an intricate system of straps and levers. The result was a wearable marionette that gave the actor full control over the donkey ears. A perfect tool to enhance the acting.
Alaric glanced at Carina. She did not look impressed by his feat of engineering. Well, fine. He found Lina’s face in the crowd. She was clever. Surely she would appreciate-
No. Blast. She was crying.
26
Tears streamed down Lina’s face. She couldn’t help it. This was how Luca was remembered? They thought he was an actual donkey? She hadn’t been serious when she made his password “I have donkey breath.” Luca was a hero as much as she was.
The costume was an abomination. The actor wore ears attached to strings, so he could move them at will. He kept moving them. Twitching them for comedic effect. The crowd laughed. Lina seethed.
How had this happened? How could they be so wrong about everything?
The dancing goblins came back and mimed smashing up a town. The set included miniature buildings made of paper. One of the goblins pretended to stub his toe kicking a house. He limped around the stage. The audience laughed.
These people had never seen a goblin. They had no idea what they could do. Lina rubbed the bruises under her glove. If this was how they thought creatures of darkness acted, they would be helpless in a raid.
She could only hope the seal held.
Onstage, Evangelina and Luca explored the damage left by the goblins. Lina glared at her stage counterpart. What was with that dress? There was no way anyone could fight in that. It was far too tight.
She turned around to glare at Alaric. He was the one responsible for this atrocity. To think she had almost told him her secret! How he would have laughed.
To her surprise, Alaric was watching her. Their eyes met. Lina wiped tears away and glared at him. He had disrespected Luca’s memory. He had-
“I must travel to the realm of shadows!”
Lina turned her attention back to the play.
“No, Evangelina,” the donkey-Luca said. “You don’t have time! It is too dangerous!”
“I don’t have time to waste! Watch my back, Luca!”
The actress swooned onto the floor. Stage hands pulled curtains in front of her. The donkey Luca paced the stage and addressed the audience.
“She will travel to the realm of shadows. She wields the powers of darkness, but do not think she is evil! We will work together. I am a master of the light!”
He held his hoof up and raised his ears. A spotlight shone down on him.
“You think it is strange for a donkey to be a master of light magic? Perhaps it is. But the light will be wielded by those who protect it! When light and shadows come together, we can defeat any foe!”
The stage hands removed the curtain surrounding Evangelina. She moved to the other side of the stage. Dark curtains fell and blocked the scenery. Clearly they were meant to represent the realm of shadows.
Evangelina had changed costumes while Luca delivered his speech. Her new dress was even tighter and only covered her to her knees.
Lina stared. What was wrong with her legs? They were- hairy? The actress clopped across the stage. Lina gasped when she stepped into the spotlight.
Goat legs. The actress had goat legs now.
And horns, now that Lina looked. And furry sleeves over her arms. The trip to the realm of shadows had turned the girl into a goat.
The actress scampered in a circle.
“Goblins, I know you’re there! Show yourself!”
The goblin actors crept across the dark stage. They jumped at Evangelina. She kicked them with her goat legs. She rammed them with her goat horns.
The audience cheered. Lina glanced around. They were actually enjoying this? This was an atrocity. It made her nauseous.
The goat Evangelina jumped and spin kicked a goblin in the head. He toppled backwards into the set, knocking down a column. A stage hand steadied it and pushed the goblin back into the fight.
More goblins rushed the stage. They surrounded Evangelina.
Lina leaned forward in her chair in spite of herself. She remembered this all too well.
“Luca!” the actress called. “Luca, can you hear me?”
“Hee haw!”
“Luca, I know how to stop them! Cast the sleeping curse!”
“No, Evangelinaaa!”
“It’s the only way! Do it, Luca!”
The donkey actor ran across the stage. He tossed glitter over everything. Some of it caught a breeze and blew into the audience.
Lina leaned back into her seat. She should have known they would get this wrong too. It hadn’t been a quick decision to use her magic to seal the goblins away. It had taken months of preparation. Months of secrecy. Even her parents hadn’t known their plan until a few days before.
Onstage, Evangelina and the goblins collapsed to the ground in a cloud of glitter. Evangelina reached for Luca.
“I will sleep for centuries,” she gasped.
Lina wasn’t sure she was acting. She seemed to be choking on glitter. The actress coughed before continuing.
“Bury me on the mountain,” she said. “Bury me where no one will ever find me. I will fight the goblins for eternity.”
“Evangelinaaaa!”
“Do it, Luca! Please!”
Lina bit back a sob. Inaccurate as it was, this play stirred up too many painful memories.
She wasn’t the only one crying. Most of the audience seemed moved. She caught Eirwyn wiping tears from her eyes.
The actress collapsed onto the stage. Stage hands pushed a set over her. A marble temple with a wolf statue. Its eyes glowed green.
The actor playing Luca stared sadly at the tomb. He sat in front of it and drooped his ears. The curtain closed.
The audience clapped enthusiastically. A few people jumped to their feet. The crowd had enjoyed the production.
The musicians returned to the stage and played the song again.
“Evangelina. Evangelina.
Won’t you be my queen-ah? Be my queen-ah?”
The goblins danced and gestured to each actor in turn. The audience clapped in rhythm with the music.
Lina felt buried. Felt the walls closing in around her. It was too much, watching the donkey Luca dance with the Evangelina Shadow-Storm actress.
She stood and elbowed her way out of the crowd. She ran down the hallway searching for a window. She needed to get out. Needed fresh air. Lina pulled her left glove off and blew her nose into it. She dropped it and pulled the right one off to wipe her eyes. She could hardly see well enough to walk.
Lina found an open window and crawled onto the ledge. It was wide enough to sit on. Practically a balcony. She wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her sobs in her knees.
27
Alaric stood and bowed politely. Most of the crowd focused on the actors, but it was only a matter of time before they turned their attention to him.
He nodded an apology to Carina and slipped out of the theater before Stefan could call him to join the actors onstage. That would be unbearable.
Alaric breathed deeply as he walked down the hallway. Finally, he could relax. The play had not been as terrible as he feared. The audience seemed to like it. The costume designs were actually quite clever.
It could have been much worse.
A faint sound echoed through the hallway. Alaric followed it. Was someone crying? The cries seemed to come from an open window. He stuck his head out.
Someone was curled up on the windowsill sobbing. One of the princesses, judging by the purple dress she wore.
“Are you alright, miss?”
She jumped. Alaric reached for her in case she fell, but she caught herself.
“Was it that terrible?” he whispered.
Lina turned her head away. Her shoulders shook with silent sobs. Alaric climbed out onto the ledge. He pulled the window shut behind them, careful not to let the latch click.
“There,” he said. “You can cry as loud as you want.”
“Go away.”
Her voice was hoarse. He could barely make out the words.
“Lina-”
“Leave me alone!”
Alaric leaned against the window. Whatever this was, it had to be about more than the play. He sat and waited. He didn’t know what else to do. Her cries broke his heart. He leaned his head back and stared up at the stars. It was a nice night. Maybe he could stay here forever. Maybe he could forget about the Princess Test.
Lina’s shoulders stopped shaking. She sniffed and wiped her face with a glove. Her bare arms gleamed in the moonlight. Alaric studied her.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said.
Something haunted her eyes.
“Do you want to tell me what you were going to say earlier?”
“No.”
Something had changed between them. Alaric couldn’t imagine what. Some of her emotion seemed directed at him.
He sighed.
“You’re angry with me.”
She turned her head away and didn’t deny it.
“Why?”
She wouldn’t look at him.
“Is this still about the genealogy?”
She shook her head. Alaric didn’t believe her. What else could she be angry about?
“I don’t like it either,” he said. “Legend says they disappeared. My father thinks they were assassinated in secret.”
She turned to him.
“What do you think?”
“I’m not a historian, although I have researched the matter as thoroughly as I can. There’s no evidence of assassins. They just seem to have vanished. I don’t know what the Council expects me to do. I can’t call them back from the grave.”
The Princess and the Pea (Fairy Tale Adventures Book 1) Page 14