The prince is kind enough, but I’m laboring under no delusion that I’m going to find my “true love” in him. In fact, he has very little personality at all, so far as I can tell. He comes down to dinner in that dratted mask—and you’re right, Millie, the thing is creepy: flat white, with no features on it at all, and it hides his face so that it’s impossible to see so much as a hint of his expressions. I can’t imagine how he eats with it on, but either he’s managing well enough, or he’s sneaking up to his room and eating for real when dinner is over—I certainly have no idea, since he doesn’t deign to speak to me unless it’s across the long dinner table. We’ve talked intelligently enough about music—you were right about his interest—but how can one feel anything for a man who looks more like an unfinished doll?
I feel that the year and a day will pass quickly enough, however, and I’ll be glad when it’s over. I can’t wait to see you all again. I’ve asked the prince, and he’s suggested that perhaps a visit over the summer will be a possibility, should you be interested.
All my love,
Erin
“Well?” Callista demanded, the moment Stephen folded the letter and rested it on the arm of his chair. “We can go this summer, can’t we?”
“Oh, Cally.” Kris patted her arm. “You don’t really want to go to such a place, do you?”
“I think it would be exciting!” she argued.
They all chuckled—and no one, she noticed, seemed to want to answer her question about whether or not they would be able to go.
“It’s as though,” she complained to Theodore later, “They all think I’m not really serious. You know I mean it, don’t you?”
“I know you want to see Erin,” he said cautiously.
She huffed at him.
He laughed, taking her hand to lead her along a particularly difficult section of path even though they both knew that she didn’t need the assistance. “I know, I know,” he teased. “You think it would be a grand adventure to see a masked prince and an empty castle.”
“Well, wouldn’t it?” she demanded.
“I think,” Theodore informed her seriously, “that you had better sincerely hope that Erin is able to see out her time with the prince—because you know what’s going to happen if she fails.”
“Yes—Anastasia will insist that she has thoughts of Peter to keep her warm, so she’ll just go, see out the time, and be back before any of us know it,” Callista said darkly.
“Why, Callista!” Theodore pressed his hand to his chest, pretending to be surprised. “Anyone would think you actually want to go meet this masked prince!”
“Well, it’s a mystery, isn’t it?” she wanted to know. “And I’ve always wanted the chance to explore something new. Who’s to say it can’t be an empty castle?”
He sighed, tugging her away from the side of the road when she would have hopped up on the low wall and used it to balance. Theo sometimes knew her, she thought, far too well. “Erin will be home again, this whole mess over, before you know it,” he informed her. “And you will be pleased with the fact that you never had to have this particular adventure. Millie is still having nightmares about that blasted mask!”
“Millie,” Callista informed him, “is far too easy to spook.”
Theodore ruffled her hair. “You just wait,” he told her. “There’s an adventure waiting for you yet—and you won’t have to go running hours away from home to meet a mystery prince in order to experience it.”
Erin’s next letter came as her second month with the prince waned.
My dearest family,
I know we decided that a year and a day was nothing, and that this could well be a grand adventure; but I must tell you, I’m experiencing extreme difficulty. Millicent is right: the castle is downright lonely, with no one to talk to save the servants and a prince who won’t come close enough for me to even peek around his mask. I’m so tired of talking to a living doll!
He’s certainly intelligent, and I suppose he is kind enough. That mask, however, is beginning to haunt me. I feel as though I’m being driven slowly mad, with no one but him to chat with. Sometimes, I just want to reach out and jerk that mask off of his face, to reveal once and for all what is beneath it!
The prince has consented to walk with me in the evenings after dinner, so I am at least fairly sure that he isn’t hurrying off to eat a second dinner as soon as he is finished ‘eating’ with me. I’ve realized that he moves his food around on his plate more than actually eating it; well, the hole in his mask is quite small, and I’m sure it causes him difficulty to get food through it. The cook has asked several times for my favorite dishes, and I must admit, I take some pleasure in choosing dishes that I’m sure will be difficult for him to eat through those holes: noodles, and meats, and sandwiches, among others. Well, one must get what enjoyment one can, since there are few if any amusements here.
I do hope you’ll all come for the summer, just to be a diversion, if nothing else. I miss you all terribly and am ready to return to my normal life again instead of being trapped in this madness.
All my love,
Erin
“Sounds like she’s having a wonderful time,” Kris said grimly, staring down at the letter as though he barely recognized the hand it was written in.
“I feel so guilty. So guilty.” Their father rubbed his hands over his legs uncomfortably. “There’s so much pain in that letter—I should never have sent her. Should have just gone myself, and hang the consequences.”
“No!” Millicent rested her hand on his shoulder. “It’s not so bad, really,” she promised. “You’ll see. Erin will be back before you know it, and she’ll be talking about what a lark it was and how glad she was that she had the experience.”
No one believed her.
“If it had been you, maybe,” Theodore muttered to Callista. “You’d be able to come back and bubble over it, no matter how horrid it had been.”
“Then why didn’t I get to go?” she asked him a little petulantly.
“Be patient,” he suggested. “You may yet end up there.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “You wait,” she said grimly. “He and Erin are going to end up best friends or something, and then she’ll start talking about how there’s a handsome prince under that mask and she can’t believe it took her so long to figure it out or something.”
Theodore shrugged like he didn’t believe her—but Erin’s next letter, a month after the first, seemed to bear out Callista’s predictions.
My dearest family,
I’ve been here for three months now, and the days drag on just as long as ever. The palace is like being trapped in a prison, for all that it’s a luxurious one. The prince, at least, is not as bad as I first thought. He’s consented to chat with me a little more since last I wrote to you, and I’ve learned at least a little bit more about him. He still won’t tell me what happened to make nearly everyone leave the palace behind, nor will he explain why he feels why he needs to wear the mask all the time, but he’s talked with me about politics, and the wider world. He’s able to discourse on a variety of subjects, and since I have traveled so extensively, I at least have something to add to the discussion.
If only he would take off the blasted mask! I have nightmares about what must lie beneath it—everything from a face carved from stone to something out of a fairy tale, to a hideous beast, and everything in between. I think that whatever is beneath his mask, it must be quite horrifying, or he would not be so determined to keep it hidden from me. The servants are no help; when I’ve cornered them to ask what could possibly be so bad, they simply say that if the prince wished for me to know, he would tell me.
I don’t think he wants to tell me anything! Oh, well, at least he still thinks that you all can come up for the summer. Perhaps the last weeks of it, since I know Millicent already has several engagements for the early months? Oh, do tell me that you can come in August, at least for a couple of weeks. It will be so nice to see your
faces! I’ve spoken at length with the prince on the subject, and he has assured me that there is room for everyone.
If you come, you’ll simply have to follow a few basic rules of the castle; and I promise you, they’re not so complicate. Of course, it’s no use trying to see beneath the prince’s mask, but that is one of the rules: that you can’t even try. His wing is completely off limits; he dwells there alone, and even the servants are only allowed to enter at certain points of the day. Nothing complicated; nothing that any of you will have any trouble with.
Cally and Theo will love the library, and Stephen, I’m quite sure you and the prince would have much to talk about. Please, please come to visit, all of you.
I know it’s silly to be so lonely, especially since I get letters nearly every week with all of you writing, but it’s just so empty here. I can’t even describe what it’s like, wandering through these empty rooms, but I know that all of you will bring life and light to the castle. Please, do come visit!
All my love,
Erin
“We are going, aren’t we?” Cally asked Theodore. They were alone in the manor when they received that particular letter; he was the only one who could answer her question, but she also thought he was the most likely to give her a real answer, too.
“I think we’d better,” he admitted. “Papa doesn’t really want to get anywhere near the castle or the prince, but I think Erin might just lose her mind if at least some of us don’t go visit for a couple of weeks.”
“A couple of weeks?” Callista ducked her head, disappointed. She was sure that she would need more than just “a couple of weeks” to explore such an incredible castle, especially since visiting with her sister would, of course, have to take priority over her explanations.
“A couple of weeks,” Theodore said firmly. “Honestly, Callista, you act like this is a great adventure that she chose!”
Callista stuck her tongue out at him and didn’t bother to answer. She was starting to wish she’d spoken up faster—tha tsh ehad been the one to go to the castle instead of Erin. She would have, she was sure, done so much better with it than her sister was. She, at least, could have enjoyed the adventure rather than dreading every moment of it.
CHAPTER THREE
Revealed
As it turned out, however, Callista wouldn’t have a chance to visit the castle at her family’s side. Though they sent several letters back and forth, hashing out all the details of the trip, she had the feeling that no one in the family was really confident that it would happen. Erin’s letters were filled with relief that they were coming, but more than that, they were filled with frustration. “I hate that mask,” she wrote on more than one occasion. “Hate it. The nightmares about it are getting worse. I’m starting to feel as though the thing has a personality of its own!” And on another occasion, “I’m beginning to think that he sleeps with the thing. I ran into him late at night last night—I was heading down to the kitchens for a glass of milk, and he was apparently pacing the halls, lost in his own thoughts. He didn’t see me, but I glimpsed him from a distance. He was still wearing the mask, even though it was two in the morning!”
“She definitely has a thing about the mask,” Theodore joked, tucking Erin’s letter into a desk drawer with the rest.
“It’s terrible!” Millicent informed him irritably. “You haven’t seen it, Theo—trust me, it will be driving you crazy, too, by the time we leave there.”
“I think I can handle two weeks of a masked man who spends most of his days hiding in his room,” he informed her with a chuckle. “Really, Millie, you and Erin have such ideas about the thing! I swear, it’s as though you think it’s going to leap off of his face and challenge you!”
“No, I don’t think it’s going to leap off of his face,” she said darkly. “But I’m beginning to wonder if it’s a part of it.”
Callista rolled her eyes. “Well, I think it’s fascinating,” she informed her sister. “I would be interested to see whether he is more comfortable with it on or off among people who know whatever he’s concealing with it—and oh, how I hope Erin is able to compel him to remove it someday!”
Millicent shuddered. “You’d better hope for something else,” she informed Callista irritably. “Because there is no chance whatsoever that that mask coming off is a good thing. Trust me—that thing is creepy enough. Whatever is beneath it has to be worse, for him to be so determined to hide it.”
“Maybe,” Callista agreed patiently. “And maybe he has a reason all his own for keeping it concealed. Had you thought about that?”
“I’ve thought of all sorts of reasons why he might keep his face concealed, Callista,” Millicent told her flatly, jerking at the needle she was using to embroider a pillow so hard that she nearly tugged her stitches straight through. “And trust me, none of them are good. You really must get over your fascination with the prince!” She set several more stitches, all of which, Callista was sure, would prove to be either far too tight or quite uneven, given the force her sister was applying to the task. “You aren’t jealous, are you?” she asked suddenly. “Of the pretty things he gave Erin and me, I mean.”
“Why would I be jealous?” Callista asked curiously. “You’ve had people give you pretty things before.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Millicent waved a hand uncomfortably. “I didn’t mean to accuse you of anything. I just—I don’t know.” She shrugged again. “I can’t imagine why you’re so fascinated with this creature, but it’s like you’re dying to hear everything Erin has to say about him, you can’t wait for this visit, and I think sometimes…” Her voice trailed off.
“I wish sometimes that I had been the one to go,” Callista admitted in a soft voice. “Not for the nice things. I don’t care about those. But the prince—he sounds like a character from one of my books.” It was the first time she’d said those words aloud, the first time she had admitted, even to herself, just how fascinated she was with the masked prince her sisters had gotten to spend time with. “And…I don’t know.” She shrugged, carefully setting a few embroidery stitches of her own without looking up into her sister’s eyes. “You said it, didn’t you? It’s only for a year and a day. Whatever happens, it’s going to be quite the adventure, and I don’t get to have many of those.”
“Well, this is one adventure that you should be grateful Erin and I spared you from!” Millicent snapped. “Trust me, Callista, it’s not half so romantic as you’re making it out to be.”
“I can make it out to be as romantic as I want, can’t I?” Callista shot back; and now it was her turn to spear her embroidery harder than was really necessary. It was a good thing she was just embroidering initials into handkerchiefs; if it had been a complicated project, like Millie’s pillow, it might have been ruined in that moment. As it was, she had to carefully pick a few stitches back out before she could speak again.
“What exactly do you mean by that?” Millicent asked quietly, when the incorrect stitches had been torn out and it was obvious that Callista wasn’t planning to speak again.
“I don’t know.” Callista set her needle aside for a moment this time, rather than mistreating the handkerchief. “Only you said it: you and Erin ‘spared’ me from it. I’ll never get to go on this particular adventure.”
“Is that such a bad thing?” Millicent asked softly. “We’ve already told you so much about it. I know I didn’t tell you everything, but—”
“I know it was terrible for you,” Callista agreed. “But I can’t stop thinking that I might have liked to do a bit of exploring, or…I don’t know.” She shrugged.
“Well, tell Erin while we’re there for the summer,” Millicent suggested. “She might trade out with you, let you finish out the year.”
“Do you think she might?” Callista asked curiously.
“I think she’d love to get out of that place,” Millicent informed her with a shiver. “But see it for yourself before you make any decisions, Cally. I’m telling you, that’s n
ot a place you want to go.”
“It’s a castle,” Callista pointed out. “And you were never in any danger, nor has Erin said anything to make me think that she might be. It’s just…something new. Something bigger.” She stared down at the handkerchief for several long moments as though she didn’t recognize her brother’s initials. “I’ve always thought there must be more to my life than what I can get right here, you know?”
“You can,” Millicent said firmly. “We’ll find a place for you, Cally, a purpose—but you’re just sixteen. You have time to figure out what you want from life.”
“Sure.” Callista resumed her embroidery, using it as an excuse to avoid meeting her sister’s eyes. By sixteen, Millie and Erin had already performed far and wide. Kris had been well on his way to taking over the shipping and mercantile parts of the family business. At sixteen, Stephen had been stepping in to fill his father’s shoes and managing the state.
And she? She had her books. Her library.
Callista sighed softly.
“Keep dreaming, Cally,” Millicent said gently. “You’ll find the place that’s right for you.”
“I know God has a plan for me, too,” Callista agreed. The trouble was, she simply had no idea what it could be.
“Just wait,” Millicent coaxed. “Have a little patience. You never know when God is going to decide to give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of.”
“But that’s the trouble,” Cally admitted. “I don’t even really know what I’m dreaming of. I don’t know what I want to be.”
“Then I suppose,” Millicent informed her, “That the whole world is wide open in front of you. You could do anything—and that’s not such a bad thing, Cally. All our lives, we’ve been told exactly what we’re supposed to do, who we’re supposed to be. You? You can be anything!”
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