The Stepsister's Lament

by S R Nulton

  I turned back to the window. I couldn’t say anything, not that there was anything to say. The whole conversation had been odd and uncomfortable. Then, to top it all off, Reese had just agreed to our staying here, insinuating himself into a royal household without any intention of us leaving. The floorboards creaked behind me and Reese settled against the window.

  “We need to be smart about this. If we are too hasty…”

  Whatever he had been about to say was cut off by the queen reentering the room. “Right this way, darling,” she said, taking Reese’s arm in her talons. “Bekins will show your assistant to her room. You will be just down the hall from my own apartments.” She continued to chatter as she escorted him away and Bekins, the butler, blocked my view as they reached the stairway.

  “This way,” he said sharply. He led me to a hidden panel in the wall and up the servant’s stair all the way up to one of the attics. We stopped at a door near the end of the hall that had been left cracked. The room before us was just large enough for a cot, as long as you had no intention of opening the door fully while the cot was in use. It was also covered with a thick coating of dust.

  “You will not be needed until morning,” I was told before being pushed in. The door was closed and locked before I could react. I was trapped.

  ~

  I’ve never been a huge fan of attics. They tend to be poorly insulated and attract a lot of birds. I know, I know, that seems like a strange complaint, but have you ever had to listen to pigeons fighting for supremacy on the roof above you?

  It sounds a bit like this: scratch, scratch, scratch. Thunk. Flap-flap, flap-flap, flap. And then it repeats. Endlessly! I had to sleep in the attic one summer while my room was being repaired. (Portia and house cleaning spells do not get along.) Ever since I have hated attics. Two months of losing sleep while listening to pigeon fights will do that to you.

  This particular attic was worse. Cindy always kept every inch of our home clean. This room had never even seen a dust cloth before. It was coated with at least an inch and a half of dust. There was also a draft that whistled as the wind blew and it blew a lot. There was no light or window, so I had been left in an inky blackness with no ability to even look around. And worst of all, I could hear pigeons roosting above me!

  I was nearly on the verge of tears within five minutes. That was what finally made me realize that something was wrong. For the past few days, I’d been getting steadily more morose and whiney, even if only in my own mind. That wasn’t me. I wasn’t always the happiest person, but I was rarely depressed! Goodness, Cindy always joked that I’d been named ‘Joy’ because I was always so content with my life, even at the worst of times. To be so upset suddenly was beyond unnatural!

  I found one of the walls of my cell and slid down it to sit on the floor. I could simply not understand what was going on! It couldn’t have had anything to do with Reese, because, as much as I liked him, I wasn’t in love with him. No, it had to be something else.

  As I always do when upset, I put my hand in my pocket to fiddle with whatever rock I had hidden in there that day, only to realize that my elegant gown had pockets! And what’s more, I could feel things in them. Things that felt a lot like a lamp and a box of matches. Quickly, I pulled them out of my magical pockets and lit the lamp. Light has a way of chasing off dark thoughts, and it worked once again. It also revealed a slight darkness centered over my heart.

  Grandmother’s up to her old tricks again. She cast a depression curse, I thought to myself as I stared at the thin shadow. A quick brush of my hand was enough to dispel it. She loved to put in the smallest amount of effort possible and a depression curse was the simplest curse around. All you needed was some blood, hair or nail clipping of the victim and you could quickly amplify their darkest, saddest thoughts. Unlike actual depression, it was easy to rid yourself of once you knew it was there. All it took was awareness and intent to remove it. Magic was unreliable with forcibly manipulating emotions.

  As soon as the darkness dissipated I began to feel better. I was once more content with myself and resolved to help those I loved. It was time to discover what other goodies were hidden in my mysterious pockets…

  Chapter 8: Gilded

  The next day did not begin well. Bekins the butler woke me up at sunrise, claiming that I needed to be ready for my master’s orders as soon as he woke. Exact wording and everything. When I got demoted from assistant to servant and then to slave, I had no idea, but the butler wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise and all but shoved me down the stairs. I was then forced to wait outside my husband’s door until he woke up. If I sat, leaned, or even moved too much, Bekins would appear out of thin air and yell at me like I was an errant schoolgirl in trouble with the teacher. The only good thing about the situation was that it gave me plenty of time to play with the magic coat Maleficent had given me.

  It turns out that my clothes would continue to change to suit the occasion no matter what it might be. When I laid down the night before, it turned from damask and satin to a simple linen nightgown. When the butler beat on my door, it transformed into a silk morning gown in a rich sapphire and no speck of dust dared to cling to it. Also, I could consciously change things by thinking of them! My first experiment involved lowering the heels on my shoes. My feet were aching and it was still quite early in the day.

  Possibly the best part was discovering my pockets the night before. No matter what form my clothing was in, there was a secret pocket hidden away. The lamp and matches I’d found in my pockets while in the attic had actually come from my satchel. I’d never taken off my bag the day before so it had been hidden under my magic coat when I turned the thing inside out. As a result everything I needed was just within reach, including the travel food, not that I’d been given much of a chance to eat, what with Bekins randomly appearing. Luckily, the arrangement of my hidden pockets had changed with the cut of the clothes, but the contents remained the same, so he would never be able to steal my supplies.

  I was dreaming up a new dress design, trying desperately to stay awake, when Reese finally opened his door.

  He startled a bit when he saw me standing at attention. “Joy! What are you doing here?”

  “I was told that I needed to be ready for my master’s orders as soon as he woke. Well, master, what would you like me to do?”

  Reese’s eyebrows furrowed. “Master? What are you talking about? I said you were an assistant, not a servant. And why weren’t you at dinner last night?”

  I laughed coldly. “I was sent to a dusty room near the attic that barely fit a cot after being told that I was no longer needed. Then I was locked in there. All night! Bekins woke me at dawn this morning and brought me directly here to await your command. And he is constantly checking on me to make sure I’m not slacking off. Heavens, if it weren’t for the travel food I have on me, the last thing I would have eaten was breakfast yesterday!”

  “Do you mean to tell me that they have not only wrongfully imprisoned you but also refused you food? They didn’t feed you at all yesterday?” My husband looked mad enough to start spitting flames, so I simply shook my head while he processed the information.

  Finally, I had to ask, “What do you expect? You didn’t show me any partiality, why should they?”

  He rubbed his temples and groaned. “Of course I did! I told her you’re the sister of a princess! That alone should have garnered you better treatment! And even if you were just my assistant, you should have been treated with nearly the same respect as I was.” He sighed before finally meeting my eyes, his own overflowing with guilt. “I’m so sorry. They said you were tired and wanted to rest! I thought that common decency, but apparently they are just very good liars. Regardless, I should have checked on you myself.”

  Reese rolled his neck from side to side. “I was going to have you wander about in search of clues, but I daren’t now. I don’t want to chance them locking you up again. Something is very wrong here… Come along, little gem,” he said bef
ore looping my arm through his and drawing me down the stairs.

  Because what I needed to add to my terrific day was to follow Reese around like a puppy on a leash…

  “By the way, that gown is lovely on you,” he told me.

  “Thank you. I do like… the color.” I hesitated as I looked down and noticed the changes to my demure morning gown. Where the silk had once been completely smooth and unadorned, there were now delicate embroidered leaves done up in white and emerald green dancing around the skirt. The neckline had dropped from high buttoned to a sweetheart shape and there were lacy fingerless gloves covering my hands.

  “It changed again!” I exclaimed as I looked at myself. Reese chuckled.

  “Of course. It alters your appearance to suit the occasion. Within reason, that is. No changing of race or gender; that magic is forbidden.”

  I nodded and traced my hand down the side of my dress to feel the silk and corset boning before smiling. “The pockets moved! They were in a different place before. How interesting.”

  The grin on my husband’s face grew a bit. “Found your bag, have you? Well, Aunt Mallie wouldn’t want you to lose anything important. Only the owner of the coat can find those pockets. I’ve often wondered what happened to make her so cautious about traveling. I’m guessing it involved a wrinkled gown and a pickpocket.”

  My snort was decidedly unladylike. “Probably both. She strikes me as one who looks for opportunities where they are presented, and she definitely does not want to be bothered by fashion or dealing with thieves.” I shivered. “I hate to think what sort of spell she casts on her own pockets to deter those cutpurses.”

  “It isn’t pretty, I can tell you that. The woman can be vindictive when she gets her dander up. Ah! Here we are.” Reese led me into a dining room that was covered in gold. It was everywhere. Every sconce, chair, drape and even the wallpaper was gilt. What made it worse was the room had east facing windows. The early morning sun was being outdone by its own reflection.

  “So this must be where gold grows. Funny, I always thought it was mined from the earth, not harvested from the dining table,” I muttered. Despite his well-schooled expression, I could see Reese’s mouth twitch slightly.

  “No, I think it is magically magnetized and slowly makes its way here like a homing pigeon. That’s why there is such a shortage in the world right now. Why, in another hundred years we won’t even be able to walk into the room because it will be so full up.”

  I hummed in response, allowing Reese to seat me near the head of the table. “Plausible, I must disagree. It appears to be more like a strange case of rust. Eventually it will eat through the wood of the table and it will become solid gold. Just imagine what will happen if it spreads through the walls to the rest of the palace. It would make for cold winters and hard beds. Not to mention the lack of fires. Why one hot day and the whole thing could come melting down atop you.”

  “Good point. Perhaps it is the same thing that ailed King Midas, but much more slow moving. Ah, well, at least you cannot lose it while the sun is out. Nothing worse than losing a dining room because it was too plain.”

  “I shudder at the thought. One should never be able to see the food on their plate without it having a golden glow. Why such a thing is positively barbaric.” I smirked as we completed our little game. Or timing was impeccable as the queen and Bekins appeared moments later. I somehow doubted the jest would entertain them.

  “Ah! Spinner’s grandson! How fare you this beautiful morning?” Queen Caillte asked as she floated through the door. It took all I had not to start laughing at the gold gown and jewelry she wore. I had never seen someone dress to match their dining room before.

  “It appears you were right,” I said lightly. “It is magnetic.”

  It’s amazing how tense you get when you are fighting inappropriate laughter. Reese’s muscles tightened to the point that I worried he would faint from a lack of blood flow. It took a good minute, for him to regain complete composure, but our host didn’t seem to notice. She hadn’t stopped speaking since I made my comment.

  “Magnets are so wonderful for finding lost strait pins. I had a large one made to test all my new gowns before I put them on. You would not believe how many pins the seamstress has missed over the years. One would think that hot chocolate grows on trees with the way she loses those things.”

  I cocked my head to the side, attempting to dissect her phrasing, but couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Reese uttered some polite nonsense as she continued her monologue.

  “Now mangos, those are worth the expense. That’s the real reason why I keep the magnet around. Do you like mangos? Much better than Brussels sprouts. And who decided we should only eat them as sprouts? How big do full-grown Brussels get? Ah, well. It doesn’t really matter. The geese keep the Brussels population down and the cows take care of the mice. That is why our country is doing so well!”

  During her speech, Bekins had delivered the breakfast plates. Naturally, he forgot mine.

  “Excuse me, but where is her plate,” Reese asked as the butler tried to retreat.

  Bekins stared at him blandly before answering. “I apologize, sir. It is not palace policy for the servants to eat with their betters.”

  “She isn’t a servant. She is the sister of a princess and my personal assistant, a position that has been sought by most of the nobles of the continent for the past decade. I have no idea how you came by the impression that she was anything less than a lady, but her manner of dress should have been sufficient to disabuse you of this notion. Now bring her a plate of food or I shall have you flogged for your insolence.”

  Reese received a courteous bow, but the servant could not hide the hatred that sparkled in his eyes as he retreated. Whatever his prejudices, he was prompt with bringing a plate from the kitchen. By that time, Reese had already given me his own breakfast and stared down the flustered servant as he delivered the food. As soon as Bekins left the room, Reese waved a hand over the plate. A powder rose from the eggs and floated into his open hand before vanishing completely.

  “What was that?” the queen asked in a strained voice.

  Reese smiled coldly. “A simple spell to remove poisons. It was probably a mild irritant, but I had a feeling that he would try something. Your man seems determined to separate me from my assistant. I wonder why.” Though it was said airily, a threat laced his words. Reese knew the slights were intentional and if I were attacked, he would retaliate.

  Queen Caillte’s eyes lost a bit of their glassy look. “A true servant follows the spirit of his master’s orders, even when the master is unable to issue them. I miss my doll, have you seen it? I used to love to make it act as I chose. So lovely to play with. But there was always a newer one that seemed more exciting, so there was nothing to be done but rid myself of the old to gain the new.”

  Reese furrowed his brow, before nodding. “I always had trouble getting rid of things. Some would just tenaciously hang on. Stubborn pets.”

  “Yes. Silly things, wanting to hold onto life. Papa always had the mad ones watched so he knew when they had to be destroyed.” The life drained from her eyes and she shook her head violently. “I miss the spring. So many frogs dancing in the meadow as the silent stars painted me with molasses.”

  Reese nodded knowingly before shooting me a look that said we would speak after she left. I was preoccupied the rest of the meal trying to figure out what had just happened. Luckily, our host was distracted as ever and didn’t notice.

  ~

  “I wonder what was that all about?” I mused after Reese dragged me back to his room. Before he could speak, I held up a hand. We’d been followed by Bekins. I could hear his slow gait coming down the hall.

  “Shhh…” I warned him before taking out a few herbs from my pocket and sprinkling them in a circle around us. A quick word in the Fey’s most ancient of tongues and the spell was complete.

  “Secrecy? What will that do? And where did you learn to do that? It’s
pretty advanced magic!”

  Of course he knows ancient Fey! I sighed and sat on one of the horribly uncomfortable armchairs that were all the rage in royal palaces. “It will disguise our discussion as gossip about imaginary nobles and keep any itching ears from hearing our actual conversation. Aunt Grace thought I might need that someday, considering my Grandmother’s odd obsession. I also know spells for dusting out-of-reach areas. She was nothing if not practical while teaching me how to use the little bit of magic I have. Now, did you understand anything the queen was telling us after that little incident with the poison?”

  He frowned. “Some of it. Did you?”

  “No. I thought she was still speaking fancifully until you responded to her.”

  “Yes, well, I wish she had been. I think that the king has done something to her. A spell or something. Grandfather has been collecting information about this kingdom for ages and trying to assemble it into something that makes sense. Right now, this is just more conjecture, but it sounded like she was saying that he collects wives and gets rid of them when he’s gotten what he wants. It actually fits with what we’ve been hearing. This queen is just more tenacious than the last. Somehow she’s avoided dying.”

  “That was when you brought up the pets!” I declared, snapping my fingers.

  He nodded. “He’s having her watched until he is ready to get rid of her. Pretty sure he’s waiting for something, and getting more and more impatient. One thing’s for sure, that butler is loyal to the king and keeping him well informed.”

  “I caught that part. ‘A true servant follows the spirit of his master’s orders, even when the master is unable to issue them.’ He’s trying to keep us separate because he believes that’s what the king would have him do.” My husband began pacing, but was careful to stay within the circle I had created while I continued.