“You must be Princess Sophie. I’m Prince Jonathan of Marin.” Jonathan bowed over her hand. “And this is Prince Oliver of Eldon.” He gestured toward the other prince. “Oliver, these are Princesses Lily and Sophie of Arcadia.”
The Eldonian prince gave a small movement that might have been considered a bow but said nothing.
Charming.
Perhaps he’s concerned about his sisters. Sophie didn’t sound like she actually believed that, so I felt no need to protest.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Prince Jonathan, Prince Oliver.” Sophie gave a small curtsey.
“Please, call me Jon.”
She inclined her head. “Then you’ll have to call us Sophie and Lily.”
Jon looked at me. “If neither of you mind…”
For a wild moment I wanted to say no. To insist he continue to use my title before my name. To attempt to put up some sort of wall between me and this prince who somehow managed to get under my skin. I was going to have enough distractions with the Tourney.
Lily!
I smiled quickly. “Of course.”
Jon turned expectantly to Oliver, but he said nothing. He appeared to be gazing at a spot on the far wall, as if he hadn’t even noticed our conversation.
Jon sighed. “And you can call him Oliver, too. The young royals here don’t tend to stand on too much formality with each other. This isn’t him being formal, it’s just him being…Oliver.”
I wanted to ask what was wrong with him, but I didn’t think that would be polite. I cast around for some other topic of conversation while Jon fetched us both drinks from the nearby refreshments table.
“Your sister, Lilac, said that no one knows what these Princess Tourneys involve,” I said when he returned. “It seems like a rather strange way to pick a wife.”
Lily! That’s not polite! Sophie gave me her public remonstrance smile.
So much for that, then. Our sister-in-law, Alyssa, had spent a long time transforming us from the wild children we had been when she first arrived at our castle into polite and proper princesses. I had never taken to the lessons as well as Sophie and was much more liable to forget them under pressure. I did try, though, because Alyssa was right. Subtlety was an admirable trait in a royal.
“Although it has been many years since the last Princess Tourney, it is the traditional way in this part of the world.” Jon looked torn between defending his home and his obvious discomfort with the Tourney.
“Do you not have marriages of alliance in the Four Kingdoms?” Although Prince Oliver asked a question, his tone betrayed no curiosity.
“If the situation allows, we take advantage of it,” I said, when I had recovered from the surprise of hearing him speak. “But marrying for love is more important for the well-being of the kingdom. Everyone knows the High King has ruled it so.” I looked up through my lashes, hoping he wouldn’t read any offense into my probing statement.
“You follow the High King, then, in Arcadia?” Still Oliver betrayed no actual interest in the conversation.
“Of course! Don’t you?” Sophie, however, sounded genuinely surprised. “I thought he ruled over all the kingdoms. Certainly the Four Kingdoms would have fallen to darkness long ago without the aid of his godmothers.”
“So your godmothers keep the evil at bay, do they?”
Sophie shifted beside me, and I didn’t need to hear her thoughts to sense her unease. I chose my words carefully. “That is their role, is it not?”
“I suppose it is.” He glanced down, and an awkward silence enveloped us.
Jon watched him for a moment and then glanced ruefully at us. “I will confess, if Oliver is reluctant to do so. It has been many long years since we have seen a godmother in these kingdoms. Some still possess a godmother item—relics of the past—but we have received no aid from them in my lifetime.”
Oh dear. Sophie’s dismay came through clearly in her projection, despite her understated words.
A young girl appeared at Jon’s side. I thought I recognized her as the prince’s youngest sister, one of my fellow contestants. The one who had first told us about the beastly Dominic. She whispered in her brother’s ear while I racked my brain for the girl’s name, and Sophie waited politely.
Marigold. A hint of amusement sounded in Sophie’s thought.
I smiled at her. Thank goodness Sophie had a head for names.
“Please excuse me,” said Prince Jonathan. “My parents need me.” He bowed respectfully before allowing his sister to drag him away.
Prince Oliver made no effort to follow suit. He gazed away across the crowd as if he hadn’t even noticed Jonathan’s departure.
I tried to pick up the conversation where it had been interrupted, forcing some enthusiasm for my sister’s sake. “It sounds like it’s a good thing we’ve come! We will call on our godmother and see what she has to say about the situation.”
Oliver started, as if he had forgotten our continued presence, and glanced between us. I couldn’t read his expression. “By all means,” he said at last. “You are certainly welcome to try.”
He gave a small movement that could have been a bow and strode away, leaving us alone in a sea of strangers.
Lily…what have we gotten ourselves into?
I gripped my glass so tightly I feared it would shatter. I only wish I knew.
“Lily! Sophie! There you are.” Celine appeared out of nowhere and grabbed both of our hands, towing us along behind her as she wove through the crowd. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“We’ve been having a slightly disconcerting conversation with the haughty Prince Oliver,” said Sophie.
“Tell me about it,” said Celine. “There’s nothing but disconcerting conversations to be had here.”
She pulled us to a halt in the far corner of the ballroom.
“Apparently the contestants aren’t allowed to leave the ball, so this is the best we could do.” The delegation heads from Arcadia and Lanover were partially shielded by a large potted bush. They had stationed several of our ceremonial guards in strategic locations around the nook to ensure we weren’t disturbed.
“I’m afraid this is the closest we can get to a war room, my dears,” said Helena.
I smiled at the baroness. She was an old family friend and felt like a welcome piece of home. “We’re just glad to see you at all. We weren’t so sure there for a while.”
“The Duke and Duchess of Marin have filled us in on the situation. It is...” The Duchess of Sessily paused ominously. “…less than ideal, shall we say.”
“The Marinese prince, Jonathan, spoke to me,” I said. “He seemed very concerned that we might doubt his family’s intentions.”
“We cannot condone this Tourney,” said the baron, glancing unhappily at his wife. “But it seems we have no choice. We have consulted at length with the relevant officials, and you are all bound to compete.”
“It is certainly an unfortunate situation,” said the duchess, “but I am convinced the local kingdoms hold no ill will toward us. It is beyond apparent that they feel the same reluctance toward their own daughters’ participation as we do about yours. Yet they feel we all have no choice. We must be guided by their understanding of their own laws and hope for the best. I’m not sure I put much credence into these stories of well-timed deaths, however. People do die from illness, in the natural course of things. I think we must consider whether you aim to lose this Tourney.”
Sophie was already shaking her head vigorously, so I knew I spoke for both of us. “We’re not willing to risk it.”
The duchess turned to Celine, who indicated her agreement. “I was afraid you would say that. I have examined the other contestants, and I have never been so disheartened to see an opponent’s inferiority. A couple of them show promise, however, so all is not lost.”
“Thanks…I think.” Celine glanced back toward the rest of the ballroom. “Despite this Tourney, the Marinese certainly seem excessively enthusiastic abo
ut an alliance, so we can’t fault the Emissary on misleading us there.”
“Yes,” said the baron. “Even if he wasn’t entirely honest about the reasons why.”
I nodded. “It seems fairly clear that he might have…overstated Marin’s prosperity.”
The duchess smiled approvingly. “That puts us in a strong position, as long as the three of you can escape this Tourney unscathed. By which I mean, unbetrothed. I cannot imagine either Lanover or Arcadia seeking an alliance with this cursed Palinar.” She shook her head. “Some of the other kingdoms show promise, however. For now we will proceed with negotiations under the assumption that a local girl will win the Tourney.”
“And if they don’t?” asked Sophie.
The duchess frowned. “We shall cross that bridge only if we are forced to do so, my dear.”
A loud bell rang through the ballroom, and a hush descended in its wake.
“It seems it’s time,” said Helena, looking distressed. She gave Sophie a hug and then moved on to me.
“Time for what?” asked Sophie, meeting my eyes over the baroness’ shoulder.
“Did no one tell you?” The duchess gazed in surprise at our confused expressions. “My apologies, I thought you knew. The Tourney begins tonight. Apparently it is always conducted at night. It seems you are expected to dance half the night away before competing.”
“Now?” Sophie’s voice faltered. “We’re competing now?”
Chapter 6
Marinese officials hurried us all toward the far side of the ballroom. The nine other princesses were already gathered there next to a simple door. A child in an elaborate gown clung to Millie, babbling too fast for me to understand her words. I recognized her as the girl from the front of the room at the opening ceremony. Millie’s eight-year-old sister, I think she’d said.
As soon as we arrived, the duke gestured for the door to be opened and directed the contestants to file inside. The girl moved along beside Millie, until one of the princes stepped forward and tried to pull her away. She resisted, but Millie said something quietly that made her let go. She let the prince lead her away with much sighing and backward glances at her sister. As he towed her past me, I heard her complaining, “But it’s not fair! I want to go, too!”
I shook my head. Clearly the young girl had no idea what the Tourney truly meant. Surely she didn’t want to find herself betrothed at eight years old.
Once all twelve contestants had entered the room, the duke addressed us. “Welcome to the first event of the Princess Tourney for Prince Dominic of Palinar. Good luck.”
And he closed the door.
For a moment silence gripped us as we all looked around the room. The plain walls and empty floor gave no indication of what we were supposed to do next.
“Perhaps we’re now supposed to fight to the death,” said Celine.
Millie chuckled, and the sound released the other girls from their silence. Whispers and the rustle of movement filled the room.
“Surely they can’t mean for us to stand here all night,” said Emmeline. I hadn’t heard either of Oliver’s sisters speak before, but she sounded just as haughty as he did.
A small scream attracted our attention toward the far wall. One of the younger twins, either Pearl or Opal, I couldn’t tell them apart yet, pointed toward the floor. I thrust my way through the small crowd in time to see a trapdoor slowly opening.
It rose up, as if pushed from underneath, but I couldn’t see any sign of a person through the rapidly widening hole. As the door fell back against the floor with a clatter, a large square opening confronted us. Pearl and Opal drew back, but I stepped forward and peered down into the darkness. A ladder descended down from the edge of the trapdoor.
“I’m guessing we’re supposed to go down there.” I looked over at Lilac and her sisters. “Did you know this was here?”
Hazel shook her head, her eyes wide, and her lips pressed shut. Marigold looked equally nervous, but she spoke up anyway. “We’re not allowed in here normally. No one is.”
“Of course you aren’t.” I sighed. “Traditions and ancient laws and all of that.” I looked around at all the others. “Well, unless anyone has a better idea…” I waited a moment to see if anyone would protest but, when no one did, I crouched down and turned around, feeling blindly backwards for the first rung of the ladder.
“Lily, wait!” Sophie called from the back of the crowd. She burst out from behind the other princesses. “I’m coming with you.”
I smiled up at her. “You’d better be.” And then I began to descend the ladder.
When my feet hit the ground, I moved away to make room for Sophie and looked around me. The light was dim, but clear enough to see my immediate surroundings. I stood in an empty space, large enough that the walls and ceiling were lost to the surrounding darkness. A path stretched away from the ladder and wound through what appeared to be a grove of…
“Are those trees?” Sophie stared at them in confusion. “Inside?”
“They look like trees.” I crossed over to examine one more closely. “Extremely odd trees.”
The other girls had all now descended the ladder, Celine stepping down last of all. She came straight over to us.
“Since you two were bravely leading the way, I figured I’d better bring up the rear. And a good thing too, I practically had to push those two down the hole.” She gestured at Pearl and Opal who still cowered near the ladder, although the rest of the girls had started to spread out. “I think they’d forgotten about the consequences of not taking part.”
She turned her attention to the branch I had been inspecting. “Are those…silver?” she asked, reaching out to brush her fingers along a leaf.
“They appear to be, yes,” I said, trying to keep my voice level, as if this was a perfectly ordinary occurrence.
“Is it actually alive, do you think?” asked Sophie, leaning in to observe a leaf more closely.
“Goodness knows.” Celine turned to look down the path. “I guess we’re supposed to head down there.”
“I can’t see what else we could do.”
“Come on everyone,” she said, raising her voice. “Let’s get this over with.” She paused and surveyed the others, her gaze latching on Lilac. “Lilac, can you make sure there aren’t any stragglers?” Her eyes flicked to the younger twins. “I think it would be best if we stick together.”
“I’ll help.” Millie moved to stand beside her friend. “I can’t imagine any of us want to wander off on our own down here, anyway.”
“I don’t suppose any of you know anything about ‘down here’?” I asked without much hope.
“Nothing at all, I’m afraid,” said Lilac. “I’ve never even heard so much as a rumor about an underground level to the castle like this.” She turned to her sisters. “Have you?”
They both shook their heads, and I sighed. “I thought as much.” I fell into step beside Celine. “I guess we’ll have to explore it for ourselves then.”
As it turned out, the youngest girls showed no inclination to linger or fall behind. Our group moved along the path in a tightly packed mass, passing through trees that all bore the same mysterious silver leaves.
I still hadn’t seen either walls or ceiling. We could see well enough in our immediate vicinity, but when I tried to look into the distance, the scene gradually faded away, as if swallowed by a dark fog. After a short walk, the trees dropped away, only to be replaced by a second grove. For a moment, I thought the air had started to lighten, but then I realized the effect came from the new grove of trees. The leaves of these trees sparkled like gold, reflecting a warm light through the branches.
I looked back to check the whole group had kept up and noticed Lilac eyeing the leaves. I hoped no one was foolish enough to try to take anything from this place. Who knew what would happen.
A minute later we exited the second set of trees, only to enter a third grove. These trees seemed even lighter than the ones before, the light refracting
into rainbows everywhere I looked.
“There’s no way those leaves could actually be made from diamond!” exclaimed Celine. “I don’t care what it looks like.”
Sophie stepped over and touched one of them. “They certainly feel hard enough.”
“Let’s just keep moving,” I said. Even with all the excitement and fear to buoy me up, I could sense weariness creeping in. We had all had a long day and then danced for the early part of the evening. How long would this event last? Not all night, I hoped.
When the trees next fell away, no new ones rose to take their place. Instead, the path led us down to the edge of a large lake. The water lay completely still, swallowing the rest of the path.
“Is there seriously a lake under this castle?” Celine shook her head.
“I don’t think we’re under the castle. Not really,” said Sophie. We both looked at her. “Remember Queen Ava?”
“Who’s Queen Ava?” asked Millie, coming up beside us, her eyes on the lake.
“She’s one of the queens in the Four Kingdoms,” I explained. “And she once visited the Palace of Light.”
“What? The Palace of Light?” Millie turned to stare at me. “Where the High King rules?”
I nodded. “She said you can’t get there by any normal means. This must be a place like that. A place apart from the normal world, a magical place.”
“That’s all very well, but how are we supposed to get across?” asked Emmeline, regarding the water with disfavor.
“Maybe we’re supposed to use those?” Marigold pointed toward the surface of the lake, to the left of the path.
A group of small, empty boats floated toward us on the otherwise still lake.
“Goodness, this place is creepy,” muttered Celine. I threw her a look. The younger girls were scared enough without her making it worse.
“There are twelve of them,” announced Sophie. “And they don’t look like they would fit more than one person each. We must be meant to use them.”
“Great.” Celine looked down at her dress. “First we have to climb down ladders, and now we have to go clambering in and out of boats. In our ball gowns. And dancing slippers.” With a sigh, she stepped to the edge of the water and then into the closest coracle. It wobbled dangerously, and she sat down fast.
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