“That is commendable,” he said, subsiding back into silence.
Astraea’s white hood turned in my direction, then she lifted her hands and pulled her hood back. “I believe we have a basket here, somewhere,” she said, glancing above my head. “That is if you care to eat?”
I was so hungry, I nearly wept at the offer. “If it is no difficulty for you,” I managed to say, evenly.
Dallan pulled back his cloak also, revealing his short, dark hair and shrewd silver eyes. “You have Magic,” he stated incredulously. “Why don’t you use it?”
I felt myself blushing. “Partly because I didn’t think of it,” I admitted. “I worked in a bakery for a while, and spelling up food just didn’t cross my mind. The other part is… well, I’m not sure it would work if I tried.”
The twins both stared at me as if they were examining a strange sort of creature.
I clenched my hands into fists. The twins were the exact sort of beings that I shouldn’t go blabbing all about my weird relationship with Magic with. They were the most powerful, official beings, in our world. The last thing I needed was for them to realize that I was some strange, useless anomaly.
Dallan made a strange sound under his breath and glanced at his sister.
She shrugged gracefully, then made a pleased sound as she pulled a large basket out from under the bench she had her brother were sharing.
Dallan pulled off his long gloves, first one, then the other, displaying his strong hands. He reached one hand towards me, palm up and fingers curled.
I stared at it blankly.
“Touch my hand,” he said, in a tone that was both soothing, but also unmistakably an order.
I gulped and did so. I reached my own hand out, hoping it wasn’t terribly damp and clammy, and touched his outreached fingers.
His hand was calloused but smooth. They were dry and cool under my touch.
He sat there for a moment, looking into my eyes, our hands touching in a way that was nothing of consequence, yet somehow terribly intimate.
He pulled back and slid his gloves back on, his gaze never leaving mine.
“Well?” His sister eyed him as she put together a plate of food from the basket sitting next to her.
“Undetermined,” he said simply.
“Hmm.” Astraea popped a grape into her mouth, then handed me the plate of food she had prepared. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I gave you a bit of all the things I like best.”
I took in the spread of soft cheese, sliced crusty bread, cold meats, pickles, boiled eggs, olives, and fruit tarts. “This will do quite nicely,” I said happily. I smeared some cheese on a chunk of bread and bit into it.
I was grateful to see that the twins also ate as if it had been a while since their last meal. It could have been uncomfortable, eating with strangers, but it wasn’t. Even the silence felt rather comfortable.
We arrived in Gilterra before I could fill myself to repletion, but that was probably a good thing. The last thing I needed was to fill myself to the point that I needed an immediate nap.
I had a hunch that I still had hours left before I would be able to see any bed, let alone my own.
The castle, as we arrived, was in utter chaos.
Night had fallen by this time, and every window in the entire palace was lit up from within. From the carriage, we could see shapes moving about inside as if the people within were running around.
“I don’t like this timing,” I said out loud.
“How so?” Dallan raised an eyebrow at me.
“I was just here this morning,” I reminded him. “We only discovered the dead ‘princess’ this morning and, as far as anyone outside of the council and a few others know, the dead girl in the tower is the princess, not the stranger we know her to be now.”
He stared at me as he unwound my words, then nodded. “That is true. You suspect that the timing of the kingdom awakening is not a coincidence at all?”
I frowned. “I don’t know what I suspect. I just think the timing is a little odd. At least we can tell the King and Queen that the dead girl isn’t their daughter…” I paused as I took in the twin expressions on otherwise very different faces. “You’re going to let them believe that it’s Talia that’s dead?”
“We considered that,” Astraea admitted, having the good grace to look mildly embarrassed. “When investigating a crime, it’s telling who knows things no one else does.”
I registered that. “It seems so cruel,” I protested. “And what about the dead girl’s family? Shouldn’t they be allowed to grieve?”
“You are very empathetic for a group of strangers,” Dallan said in such a manner that did not suggest that empathy was a desirable characteristic to have.
“I don’t think it’s a weakness to treat people with kindness,” I said, a little snippily. “Yes, I empathize with them. I know I would want to know the truth, not play games with someone trying to get into my head. Is it safe the assume that the majority of the people of Gilterra are innocent of any crime?”
Dallan and Astraea shrugged in unison. It was uncanny when they did that.
“That would appear to be a safe assumption,” Astraea admitted.
“So, why treat them all like criminals? As far as we know there has been a death here, whether purposeful or accidental.”
Dallan’s eyebrows rose.
“We also have a missing princess, whether by her choice or misadventure,” I continued. “Or, it’s possible, malice. We have no reason to come in here, pretending that the girl in the tower is Talia and that we know how and why she died.” I paused. “We don’t, do we?”
The twins shook their heads. In opposite directions, I noted curiously. At least not everything was in unison with them. That could be awkward.
“Are you head of this investigation?” Dallan said all at once as if he had been holding back an entire torrent of words.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I feel responsible because this kingdom and this princess are under my care. I may not be lead in this investigation, but I cannot just walk away. I have responsibilities to uphold and that means that I’m under obligation to find out what happened here and help restore Talia to her family.”
“I agree,” Astraea announced.
Dallan turned to her, his face a study in shock. “You do? You agree that she should be part of this investigation?”
“Why not?” Astraea shook back her long, pale hair. “She knows these people better than we do, she does have authority here as well as responsibility… I say why not let her participate? At the least, it would be entertaining.”
Dallan’s nostrils flared. “Entertaining?” he said flatly.
The carriage door opened from the outside. A doorman stood there, looking as if he had tried to straighten himself up in a hurry, but was still suffering the aftereffects of the Sleeping Spell. Part of his formal wig, I noticed, was sticking up instead of being smoothed into its typical coif.
He bowed politely to the three of us. “The King and Queen wish to have an audience with you at the soonest convenience.” He swayed slightly for a moment, before regaining his straight posture.
“Right away,” Astraea said as she pulled her cloak back into place.
I noticed that her brother had already done so.
I wondered at the cloaks. What was all that about? Was it a way to cling to privacy in the public eye, or was it some sort of melodrama for no purpose other than drama?
Bemused by the idea of the twins sweeping around in cloaks for nothing more than the effect, I followed them out of the carriage and towards the castle.
The castle appeared so much larger when it was awake like this, lit up and practically buzzing with activity. The rooms that had so recently been dull and dark, sans dust thanks to my little cleaning spell at least. But it had been a mere shadow compared to the splendor of it all awakened and brimming with life.
There was a frantic edge to the movements, though. Fear and sorrow were heavy i
n the air. In every direction, figures rushed and voices called to one another.
I could make out other Godparents in the melee. They stood scattered around, offering calming words and comfort.
I winced. If the spell had been broken properly, the Princess awakening to love and joy would have lit the entire kingdom up in like emotions. They would have not been burdened by the time lost in sleep, because it would have been awakening to a new dawn and a golden age for the entire kingdom, from the poorest peasant to the king himself.
Whatever had happened here, whatever had broken the spell, it hadn’t had that effect of the people of Gilterra. These were not the faces of a golden age of bliss. The faces here were full of confusion and sorrow and fear.
If Princess Talia was out there alive somewhere, I feared that she was also confused, sad, and afraid.
I was more determined than ever to find her.
We were escorted to the Throne Room, where a frantic Queen and an angry King were demanding answers from the giant, Antoinette, and the members of her crew and several council members I recognized from our earlier meeting.
They seemed to silence upon the appearance of the twin, draped in their cloaks, playing the tall and sinister parts well.
That, I realized, was at least one of the reasons they played the part. The way the crowd silenced at their approach and stepped back… that sort of fear and respect could be useful.
I wondered if it was too late for me to adopt a similar affectation. A cloak wouldn’t be as impactful with me, considering my diminutive height, but there had to be some way to shock and awe people into doing what I wanted them to do.
I sighed. I just did have the presence to pull off something like that. At least I could enjoy it a bit, trailing around with the terrifying duo. I was currently formidable by association.
The fairies, humans, and other creatures of Magic drew back as we approached the King and Queen. Some even bowed as we approached. Not to me, I knew, but in respect to Mercy and Justice.
Dallan and Astraea stopped in front of the throne. They, I noticed, did not bow or curtsy.
I did.
The Queen recognized me first. The stress and grief lining her face lessened as she caught sight of my familiar face.
I edged around the twins in response to her reached-out arms.
“I am relieved to see your face once more,” the Queen said in her girlish voice. It was a deceptive voice because she had proven time and time again to have a mind like a steel trap. “No one will tell us anything. I know you will help us. Where is my daughter? Where is my Talia?”
At the sound of her name, the pretty princesses, standing around their thrones, began to weep loudly.
I glanced towards the twins and raised my eyebrows.
Dallan’s dark head inclined slightly.
Well, that was good enough for me.
“We don’t know where Talia is,” I murmured, so the queen and the king could hear me, but no one else. “You will hear that someone died, but I can assure you that that girl was not Talia. We do not know who she is, but we do know she is not from Gilterra.”
The king’s face twisted in dismay. He grasped his wife’s hand. “How could this have happened? And, if our Talia is not here, why are we awake?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I suspect that, wherever Talia is, she awakened this evening and that is why you and Gilterra awoke.”
The queen nodded in understanding. “How could this have happened?”
Her gaze was not accusatory, but I still felt a fist of guilt punch through my heart. “I don’t know,” I whispered. “I am doing all I can to sort this out. I won’t rest until I can restore Talia to you again. I swear that.”
The queen’s grip on my tightened. She knew how binding a fairy’s oath was.
“Someone will pay for this,” the King growled.
I met his frightened gaze with my own.
“Yes,” I agreed. “That, too.”
Chapter Nine
I stepped back to let Dallan and Astraea talk to the king and queen. I knew that, after my assurances that I would do everything within my power, their terrifying take on justice was exactly what the grieving parents needed.
Talia’s younger sisters tracked me with their tearstained eyes. The six girls were all pretty. With centuries of beautiful parents, they couldn’t help but be glorious themselves. The eldest princess, after Talia, was just seventeen. The youngest, the beloved baby of the family, was only nine years old. She had golden ringlets of curls spilling down her back and forget-me-not blue eyes. Those eyes, now, stared back at me with a very peculiar sort of expression.
As I caught her eye, she licked her lips, then glanced towards the door.
I nodded subtly in return when her eyes found mine again.
I found a reason to wander in that direction and stepped into one of the attached libraries, where records that could be needed at a moment’s convenience were kept at hand for when the royals held court for their people. It was an attractive room, and it was nice to step away from the hubbub outside, if only for a moment.
I didn’t have to wait long.
The slim, shy little princess slipped through the door and shut it behind her. She regarded me with a serious gaze, much too old for her physical age. Seventh princesses were, in general, the special sort. They almost always had a relationship with Magic, despite being human, and were known to be wise and clever.
“My parents have always said that you are to be trusted with everything,” she said, in a sweet, cautious voice. “That you are Gilterra’s Godmother, not just Talia’s.”
“That’s how I’ve always seen it,” I agreed. “What is bothering you, Princess Buttercup?”
The tiniest princess licked her lips and pressed her hands together behind her back. “I don’t know everything. I’m too little, and I know that I’m too young to understand some things, but…” She leaned towards me and whispered, “I know that Talia was meeting a prince named Denny in the woods.”
“A prince?” I asked. “Who else knew?”
Buttercup hesitated. “Gwendolyn knows,” she said, naming the third eldest sister, who was sixteen years old. “I don’t want her to be cross with me for telling you.”
“I’m sure she won’t be,” I said encouragingly. “But I will do my best to find a way to speak to Gwendolyn without mentioning where I got my information. Will that work for you?”
Relief flashed over the girl’s face. I wondered how long she had been keeping this uncomfortable secret. The poor thing was obviously worried that she had done something wrong, either by keeping the secret or by sharing it with me.
“You did the right thing, telling me,” I whispered. “Your sister Talia is missing, and any information now could help us find her.”
Buttercup nodded. “Thank you, Godmother.”
She dropped a curtsy and rushed away from the room.
I stood there for a moment, figuring out the best way to approach Princess Gwendolyn without upsetting her parents and, hopefully, without revealing any secrets that should be kept secret.
It was a fine line to dance.
This, I decided, was the exact reason why I had wanted to be a baker or an artist of some sort. Feeding someone was a lot less pressure than playing chess with peoples’ lives.
The door opened silently again. This time it was the shadowy shape that was Dallan that slipped inside.
He closed the door behind him and pulled back his hood to reveal his face. “What was that all about?” he asked. “Having secret meetings with the littlest princess, are we?”
“Precisely.” I was in no mood to play games at the moment. “She said that Talia was meeting a prince in the woods and that their sister, Gwendolyn, knows more. I’m trying to consider how to approach the topic in such a way that doesn’t set Talia’s parents to panicking and won’t make Gwendolyn clam up so tightly that our only lead is lost forever.”
Dallan drew in a deep breath
. “Can I be of any assistance?”
I blinked up at him. “You do know that I have no authority here, right? You could tell me what to do and I would most likely do it.”
“Most likely?” He looked amused.
“Well, if I agree with it on principle,” I said.
“I see.” He paused for a moment. “I admit that I have no strengths when it comes to coercing information out of teenage girls,” he said at last. “But, I have found that they tend to… talk when I am near. And talk, and talk, and talk.”
I smirked. “I can imagine.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Can you? I cannot make heads or tails of it, myself.”
I snorted. “Come on. You must know how attractive you are. You have mirrors, I’m guessing. Girls tend to babble when they are around someone they’re attracted too, and you are more than passably pretty.”
He made a face. “Pretty?”
“Tolerably handsome?” I suggested.
“You’re teasing me?” His tone was incredulous.
“Do you object to being teased?” I fought the urge to smile.
His face cleared. “So, you do play fairy games on occasion.”
I shrugged. “Distractions and misdirection are amateur moves. Even I can succeed with them on occasion.”
He leaned against the desk and narrowed his eyes. “You are a conundrum, Grace.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “I can’t tell if you are being mysterious by habit or if you are flirting with me. Both of those things are wildly disconcerting, I should mention.”
“Babbling,” he said. “So, you find me attractive?”
“Of course, I do,” I snapped. “I’m not blind. But I also don’t play games. I don’t flirt, harmless or otherwise, and I don’t have time for any more puzzles at the moment, thank you very much!”
“Pity.” He straightened and pulled his hood back over his face. “Have you decided how to talk to Princess Gwendolyn?”
I shook my head, trying to get myself back on track. My heart was behaving peculiarly, and I couldn’t seem to get that ‘pity’ to stop echoing in my head. What had he meant by that?
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