She shrugged. “People hold tight to tradition. Especially the nobility.”
“Even if tradition no longer makes sense?”
“A lot of the things the nobility do don’t make sense.”
With Aiden in mind, I couldn’t argue with that.
Finally, hours later, the Speaker announced the conclusion of the meeting, and I chanced one last peek only to see Aiden slip from the room almost immediately.
Oh, he and I were going to have a long chat the next time I caught him.
=
TEN
+
I wasn’t needed for any lunch services; apparently the palace kept lunch a small affair. Too many things going on during the day, I supposed. Either way, I was grateful for the reprieve. I wanted time to sort things out in my head and to somehow hunt Aiden down and demand some answers.
I went straight to my room, realizing I wouldn’t be able to find Aiden and had to wait for him to come to me.
First, I needed to visit the bathing rooms, to tend both to my hair and my Mark. Cleaning the Mark was now a familiar routine. It didn’t hurt as much; it mostly just itched horribly and felt hot to the touch, which made me nervous. A clear liquid seeped into the strip of cotton I was using as a bandage, and while I didn’t know if that was good or not, the fact that it was clear was somewhat reassuring.
I had been keeping my face as clean as I could, almost obsessively, and I applied the balm I’d salvaged from my house morning, noon, and night. It seemed to help. It was soothing to the heat of my skin at least.
With that taken care of, I left my mask off to let the wound breathe and crawled onto my bedroll. I rolled onto my back to stare at the ceiling while I thought piecing together what I knew of my friend.
He was from a noble, high-ranking family. He’d have to be, to be part of the council. He also had a seemingly free rein in the palace, coming and going as he pleased.
He had a certain amount of power, mostly in the way of favors. How quickly he could get me moved to the Masking Room would be a good indicator of how much power.
My thoughts returned to Aiden’s uncanny ability to find missing people and things. He had to have people under his command; it was the only solution I could think of. If he had men to command, they could easily provide him with information he sought, and he was easily charismatic enough to earn the loyalty of anyone in his service.
He was hiding something from me. It felt like some kind of obligation or duty that he was trying to escape. He was always so carefree and eager around me, but whenever I asked him personal questions, he grew quiet and reluctant to share even the tiniest morsel of information.
I sighed, frustrated with this mystery.
A soft knock at my door interrupted my meditation, and I hurried to put my mask back on before answering it.
Not too surprisingly, Aiden greeted me, looking properly like a boy caught doing something he shouldn’t have been doing.
“Hello, Evie,” he said glumly. “I thought you might be wanting to ask me a few questions. Or, you know, slap me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Get in here.”
He stepped inside but didn’t join me on the bed as he had before. Instead, he paced in front of me, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to say something, only to change his mind before any sound came out.
“You look like a fish, Aiden. Just talk to me. Who are you, really?”
“No more mystery?”
“No more mystery.” My voice was firm.
He sighed. “You know that I will follow after my father when the time comes. He’s a member of the council and sends me to speak when he . . . can’t.” He spoke haltingly, watching my eyes for a reaction. “You’ve probably guessed by now that my family is, um, near the top of the social ladder.”
“Go on,” I said dryly.
“I don’t know what you want to hear from me,” he confessed.
“I just want to hear about you. We talk all the time, but you never actually say anything!” I stood up and started pacing restlessly. I spun to face him. “I just want to know who you are.”
His shoulders slumped and he scuffed at the ground, no longer meeting my eyes. “It’s complicated.”
“I don’t see what’s complicated about it. Tell me about your family. Something from your childhood. Whatever you want, so long as it’s you. I don’t even know if you’ve been betrothed to some foreign princess or something!”
His gaze snapped back up to mine. “I’m not betrothed. I don’t have a secret wife or anything that I’m running away from. Did you really think I could do something like that?”
“I didn’t think you could be a member of the king’s council, either, and look what happened there.”
“I deserved that.” He sighed again. “Look, I’ll try to be more forthcoming with information in the future.”
“You’ll actually answer questions when I ask them with something other than another question?”
“Let’s not get too carried away,” he said, smiling wryly. “Must you take all my charm away in one swoop?”
“Charm?” I laughed, and something in the tension between us broke.
He smiled genuinely now. “I am sorry, Evie. If I could have had it any other way . . .”
“Why can’t you? Why do you have to keep so many secrets?”
The smile slipped from his face, and he sighed. His voice was sad when he answered, “I wish I didn’t have to. Especially from you.”
“And yet . . .”
“I’m sorry. They’re not . . .” He paused, his face twisting in pain as he searched for the right words. “It’s not just about me. I can’t tell you things without revealing secrets that belong to other people as well.”
“Just tell me what you can, all right? I don’t want to be serving again and suddenly see you in the main dining hall announcing your engagement to some beauty from another island or something,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood. I was hurt and angry, but he was too dear to lose, especially now.
His laugh sounded forced, but he said nothing more on the subject. “It’s still so strange to see you in that mask,” he commented. “I don’t know which of us was more surprised in that room to see the other. I’m just really glad I saw you last night. If that had been the first time . . . ,” he trailed off.
“You would have done more than ignore me and then run away?” I prodded.
He groaned. “Almost definitely. And that would have been bad.”
I could feel my face flush and touched my mask absently, making sure it was sitting as it should. “Is it that odd?” I asked to turn the attention from me to my mask.
“Yeah.” He stepped forward and fingered it lightly, looking distracted. My breath caught. I wasn’t used to him standing so close. And his fingers were dangerously close to my Mark as they brushed my skin. “It’s different. And don’t take this the wrong way, but the palette suits you.”
I gave him a funny look, Mark forgotten. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’m suited to work as a palace servant?”
He sighed and backed away. “See, that’s taking it the wrong way. I mean the silver suits you. I’d love to see you in a white mask.”
“Ha, yeah right! Only the royal family wears white, and the day I stand with them will be the day fish fly and birds swim. Besides, this is more gray than silver.”
He shrugged and began walking alongside me. “You never know,” he said. “I’ve heard tell of some birds that can swim.”
“You’re being ridiculous again.” I sighed as I ran a finger through my hair, catching a snag I’d missed earlier. I hadn’t been able to completely get rid of the cinnamon smell either, but at least that was pleasant.
I groaned at the memory, and Aiden asked what had happened.
“Nothing,” I was quick to answer. “Just remembering one of the girls was being a nuisance this morning. You know. Making sure the new girl was up to standard.”
He frowned again and glanced at the way I was picking
at my hair. “By doing what?”
I dropped my hand. “It’s not important.”
“What did you say her name was?”
“Oh no, I’m not telling you that. You’ll go find her and put her out of work. And as much as I might like that idea, I’m not going to be that mean.”
“You sure?”
I nodded. As much as I disliked Jeza and would enjoy striking back, she was a gossip, and that was bound to come in handy eventually.
“Well, you have a standing offer, then. Just say the word.”
“And you’ll pull your strings?” I teased.
“Call me your puppet master,” he said, laughing. “Will you at least tell me what she said?”
“Nothing I didn’t already know really. Just that the prince can choose from any girl in the country, and this is the year he’ll do it. But it would never be me because I’d have to actually meet the prince, and I’m not in any position to do so.”
“Oh, really?” The teasing glint was back in his eyes. “Suppose he’s riding on a procession through town and his horse shied and took off right toward you and you managed to calm it down—”
“Or get trampled by it,” I snorted.
“—and the prince was amazed by your gentle nature and whisks you away to be married that night.”
“I don’t go into town anymore,” I pointed out.
“Fine,” he continued on undeterred. “You’re serving a meal to their majesties at some royal function or other and—oh no!—spill your whole jug on the prince’s least favorite dignitary. He proposes to you on the spot. As soon as the dignitary is gone, of course.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at him. “Now you’re just being ridiculous.”
He smiled back at me. “I aim to please.”
* * *
The next few days passed much more quietly. I fell into a routine: breakfast service in the morning, picking up various chores during the day, dinner service, then meeting with Aiden for a few moments at night.
Once I’d found my feet, I was determined to find out all I could about the Chameleon. As soon as I had time to explore the palace as only a servant could, it didn’t take me long to find where the news runners gathered.
They favored a large parlor near the back of the palace, one with a special entrance just for them; free of the crowds that used the servants’ entrance. I wasn’t the only non-runner who visited either; it seemed to be a popular spot for many of the maids.
The runners were all quite fit young men, after all.
I didn’t have the time or the energy for that sort of thing, but it didn’t hurt to have something nice to look at while doing such an unpleasant task as hunting down the Chameleon.
Once I knew where to go to hear the goings-on of the day, it took even less time to find someone willing to tell me all he knew. Unfortunately, all of them knew little. It seemed the Chameleon was keeping a low profile after his latest attack.
I tried not to let it get me down, and Aiden’s nightly visits did wonders at keeping my spirits up. When I asked how he managed to see me so late at night, he said he was staying at the palace while the business with the red tide was being sorted, so he didn’t have to worry about traveling at night.
Our meetings were short, but they quickly became the highlight of my day. While he still wasn’t exactly spilling out childhood secrets, he was a little more willing to tell me a little about his sister, Bianca, or his various exploits as an adventurous teenager.
One particular night about a week after I discovered him in the council room, he greeted me at my door with a wide grin and pulled me into a tight embrace before spinning me once around excitedly. I quickly wiggled out of his grasp and looked behind him, worried that someone would see. Nobility didn’t generally go around hugging the help. But it seemed the coast was clear and his expression was too warm to be anything but happy he was there.
“Let me guess. You brought me good news,” I said.
That put a great smile on his lips. “That I did, my Lady. That I did indeed.”
=
ELEVEN
+
The next day, I was still humming with excitement from Aiden’s news the night before as I cleaned up after breakfast. When I heard his familiar knock on my door, I wrenched it open, beaming up at him.
“You don’t even have to go to lunch. I’m here to take you straight up to the Masking Room,” he announced proudly in lieu of a greeting.
“You’re joking.”
“I wouldn’t joke about that,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “I know how much this means to you.”
“Yes. I’m going to owe you one huge favor.”
“I will certainly keep that in mind,” he said, laughing.
“So what do I need to do?”
“Well, like I said, we’re going to go to the workroom now. They wanted to send some official notice, but I thought this would be more fun.”
“I agree. Am I completely done with the kitchens, then?”
He grimaced. “Unfortunately not. Naturally you’ll still have to eat there, at the same times, and you’ll still have to assist in the evenings for dinner and for special occasions when they need more servers. I couldn’t have you completely transferred without raising some suspicion, and I was pretty sure you didn’t want any of that.”
“You thought correctly, sir.”
“Sorry. I know you don’t really like it there.”
I shrugged. “It’s not that bad. I like watching people at dinner. And it’s not a hard job, aside from the constant standing and carrying heavy jugs.”
He laughed. “I’m sure people like watching you too. That might be part of why I couldn’t get you out. I wouldn’t want to deprive anyone of the chance to have you wait on them.”
I rolled my eyes, remembering the scene from my first night. “Sure.”
“All right, my Lady, let’s go. I’m surprised you haven’t already tried to drag me up there.”
“You’re too tall for me to drag. I wouldn’t want to stretch you out any further.” I stuck my tongue out at him childishly, and he laughed all the way down the hall.
We arrived at the Masking Room, and I stopped in my tracks, stunned. I’d been in many a mask-making workshop, particularly when first learning my trade, but the Masking Room was something else entirely. It was like someone had taken my workroom, enlarged it ten times, and upgraded the materials by twenty.
It was also buzzing with activity, but this kind of activity I understood. I could find the difference between the master workers and the assistants easily, not just by their masks, but also by how they handled the materials and carried themselves.
Mask makers fell under the artisan title and wore masks of green, though that wasn’t explicitly the case here. I felt a pain as I missed my old mask, but I shoved that to the back of my mind. The assistants fell under the serving class of the castle, so they were in silvers and grays, like the mask I was already wearing. I would blend in easily, and should I actually rise to a higher level, I could wear my familiar greens. And even if I couldn’t wear them, I could see them. That thought alone was comforting. I always thought the greens were more warm and open than the stark grays and blacks of the kitchen’s serving class.
In my shop, when I was old enough to work, I was put in charge of making the molds and bases for the masks, as well as any business that took us away from the shop itself. My father preferred to stay with the shop, and always had more than enough work to keep himself busy and his mind distracted.
My beadwork was good enough to sell, but that was the only decorating technique in which I seemed to have any particular skill. And by beadwork, I mean designing the beads into the masks, not the manufacturing of the beads themselves. I’d tried my hand at blowing my own glass beads once, but it ended poorly. I wasn’t allowed another attempt. Beads were easy enough to buy, though, and I’d bought whatever I could afford from Iniga and whatever I couldn’t from the boats. I’d always
preferred the design and to look of the big picture anyway.
I looked back to Aiden, who was standing just outside the door, for reassurance.
He leaned forward to whisper in my ear, “Here is where I have to leave you. Go ask for Milo—he’s the master you’ll be working under. I’d escort you, but I’m actually supposed to be somewhere else right now.”
As he stepped back, I placed one hand on my hip and looked at him, ignoring the sudden racing of my pulse. “I’m not getting you in trouble, am I?”
He waved my concerns aside. “No, not at all. They’re used to me being late or not showing up at all. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me at all.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive. Now go show them what you can do, my lady.” With that farewell, he lightly pressed a kiss to the back of my hand and walked away.
I watched him go, then squared my shoulders and walked into the room, feeling as if I could take on the world. I would be in my element. I would be working in the Royal Masking. Nothing could make me happier, save seeing the Chameleon in the Square.
“Excuse me,” I said, using my most polite voice, “can you point me in the direction of Milo?”
The gray-masked, slender girl I had addressed looked me up and down, then pointed over to a surprisingly young man. “That’s him there, with the crow’s feather on the right.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you new?” she asked before I walked away. She didn’t sound threatening, just curious, which was a nice change. “My name is Emma,” she offered, tucking a strand of light brown hair behind her ear.
“Evie.”
“Like I said, Milo is over there. I work for him too, so I’m sure we’ll see a lot of each other.” She gave a tight smile and returned to her task of braiding yellow and blue ribbons together.
“Thanks.”
I watched for a moment; her work was good. The braiding was perfectly even and very small. It wasn’t difficult work, especially not with what I was used to, but it was something very familiar, and something I’d spent hours upon hours doing as a child. She could be talented someday.
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