“Yes you did… and I’ve been practicing,” Alexander said. He puffed out his chest and tried to look important, but in his hairy form it just looked like a poofy dog, and Corinna couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yea?” she asked through her chuckles. “Well I’ve been practicing as well.” Magic more than piano, but it was all practice in the end.
Alexander moved over on the piano bench and pat the spot beside him. “Show me then,” he challenged.
“No.” Corinna shook her head and waved her arms before her. She walked up to Alexander and grabbed the large male’s arm. “It’s time for dinner, and Belle made a whole turkey. If it gets cold, she will never forgive us.”
“Why did she make a whole turkey?” Alexander asked as he let Corinna pull him from the room. Corinna shrugged noncommittally and decided it was better to not answer at all than to try and come up with an excuse until they got there. “Corinna.” Alexander’s tone was warning, but Corinna pressed her lips together and fought the urge to ruin the surprise.
When they got to the dining hall, Corinna opened the door for the prince and stood to the side like one of the servants. Alexander regarded her curiously but walked in first anyway. Corinna slipped in behind him and shut the door. When she looked to check Alexander’s expression, she found the tall blonde sort of numbly walking. He took very slow steps and kept looking around at everything.
Veronica had taken the time to tie her holly pickings around all of the chairs and had gone back for more when she ran out. The whole room smelled of them under the growing scent of food from the kitchens. The finest dishware was all set up for six, just in case Morgana decided to show, and the candles burned brighter in the presence of the new occupants of the room. Alexander walked up to his chair and ran his large paw over the intricate wood, being careful of the holly. He looked back at Corinna with testing eyes, waiting for an explanation.
Corinna clapped her hands loudly and the kitchen door opened wide. Out walked Belle first, holding her prize cooked turkey, then Gavin, with some potatoes and stuffing, and finally Veronica, who carried a large bowl of salad and a pitcher of water. Corinna slipped into the kitchen while Alexander was being stunned by the larger than normal array of food. She lifted a large plate from the counter and quickly backed her way out into the dining hall again. Alexander was just sitting down in his chair and looked up when Corinna reentered. Even from far away, Corinna could see the shock on his face.
Corinna set the cake down in front of Alexander and smiled.
“I’ve only had one of these before, but Belle knew how to make it. I’ve heard people in the cities do this more often than those of us in the outlying villages,” Corinna tried to explain as a way to banish her nervousness. She ran a hand through her growing hair and cleared her throat. “What I mean to say is just… Well, happy birthday, Alexander.”
“Happy birthday,” the other three servants echoed, each bowing or curtsying politely. Alexander looked between them all and then down at the array of food. He held the edge of the table and pressed his fingers tightly against it. His deep breath was audible.
“You-,” he began, looking up at Corinna. He stopped and shook his head. Then he moved his gaze across them all. “Thank you. I really mean it.”
“You’re very much welcome, my lord,” Belle said and took her seat to his left.
“Our pleasure,” Gavin agreed and sat beside her. Veronica said nothing, just bowed her head and curtsied once more. She offered a reassuring smile and then slid down across from Gavin, leaving the right hand seat for Corinna.
“You sort of deserve more than this. You deserve to have a day as yourself at least,” Corinna said. She took her seat and smiled with a slight shrug of her shoulders. “But this was all I could think of at the time – that we could realistically manage at least. I hope you like the cake.”
Alexander’s lips parted, a sort of motion that said he wanted to speak but had suddenly found himself mute. He closed them again and simply nodded. He looked out over the table and seemed to glow.
Gavin stood up to begin cutting and passing out portions of food. While they ate, they spoke of birthdays with their families. There were tales of Belle’s father accidentally knocking her dinner into her lap and her brother using it to start a miniature family food fight that ended in tears and laughter and a lot of washing up. Then Gavin told them of his tiny home village, where everyone knew everyone else, and the whole village participated in celebrating a person’s birthday. They would get treats from some, new clothes from others. If a boy was lucky, a pretty girl might give him a kiss. Then the whole village would throw a party, with a big bonfire and everything. There was singing and dancing, and everyone was laughing and having a good time. Everyone went to bed happy on a birthday. Veronica smiled when they turned to her, a shy sort of thing one expected from a child. She spoke confidently, however, as she told them about the family of druids who had raised her. Until she left them at fifteen, they used to celebrate birthdays by blessing her and praising earth, sun, and sky for her. It was a day about her and her potential in life. They gave her herbal remedies, healthy growth elixirs, and painted her face with muds until she looked like a tree nymph. She recalled those times with fondness and a slight sadness. She missed them.
And while they spoke, Corinna set her hand upon Alexander’s and smiled up at him. Today was a reminder that they had all lost something precious to this curse, that there were many things to be recovered and won when it was beaten. Today was a day to share and be friends, to forget about station and duty. It was time to smile and eat and take note that Alexander’s teeth weren’t nearly as threatening as Corinna’s mind always made her believe. He actually looked rather sweet, sitting there smiling and chewing on fresh cake.
Chapter 17 – What You Most Desire
Walking around town, treating to patients, Alvar looked happy. He was smiling and bringing comfort to people everywhere he went. All in the village who saw him called out in greeting. Alvar waved at each one and gave them each a grin. For almost an hour, he seemed perfectly normal, perfectly content. It was when he left the eyes of the village behind that he grew old, tired, and cheerless. As he hobbled down the old dirt street, he frowned at every passing rock, and he often threw his gaze off down the street that led out of town.
As Alvar entered the yard of his home, he was replaced with the image of Alastar, looking as swarthy and seductive as always. He was outside of the tavern, stumbling over himself and doing his best to flirt with a group of women Corinna didn’t recognize. Corinna held the edge of her mirror and sighed as she watched. It had been quite awhile since she had seen Alastar so drunken. Usually her friend would stop before he couldn’t walk, but the man in the mirror was so intoxicated, he sometimes spoke to the air beside the woman he was courting instead of to her. He was holding the wall for support and appeared not to have slept in several days, and yet he was still stupidly handsome.
Corinna felt a chuckle rising in her chest, but ignored it. Alastar fell over into the street and starting laughing drunkenly. Corinna watched the sloppy smile on Alastar’s face, and then she could hear her friend laughing. It was a dizzy sound, as though Alastar was off kilter even lying in the dirt. The women around him were laughing harshly, jesting about how much he was not going to accompany them anywhere. Alastar chuckled.
“Tha’s aright. M not inna men, anyway,” Alastar called after them. He was rolling over to push himself up off the ground when a cup came flying out of the tavern and caught him right in the head. He fell back to the dirt and let out a sigh. “Ugh… Todays’s no’ yer day,” he slurred out.
Corinna frowned. If only this mirror could let Alastar hear her as well. Corinna would definitely be giving that man a piece of her mind. He shouldn’t be out drinking like that when it was barely even noon. It wasn’t healthy.
The sound cut off from the mirror, but Corinna watched Alastar on the man’s whole trek home. She couldn’t help her friend at all from h
ere, but it still made her feel better when she saw Alastar finally make it into his bed. At least Alastar wasn’t being a complete idiot. He knew when to just lie down and sleep it off. Corinna felt like a voyeur with the way she spied on everyone she knew, but she ached with the need to see that they were alright. She waited there, holding the mirror close and watching Alastar just breathe, for some time. After so much alcohol, she was just glad Alastar wasn’t suffocating. She really wished she could be there when Alastar woke up. Someone obviously needed to be there to keep an eye on that would-be nobleman.
Corinna let the images in the mirror fade until she was staring at her own reflection. She wondered if Alastar had taken her advice and gone to see his father. He was still in Lagra right now, but what was he doing with his life? Alvar seemed to still be thinking of her, but he was hiding it from everyone else. Corinna wondered what they had told everyone when she left. What story did they come up with?
She never looked up her mother. After seeing her sleeping the first time Niviene had given the mirror to her, Corinna avoiding desiring to see her. She tried to keep the mirror away from her home as much as she could. She was afraid it would make her become too homesick, that she would become obsessed with the images and forget to leave her room or even eat. She had to keep her mind on Alexander and breaking the curse. Even catching up with Alvar, Alastar, and the other villagers distracted her for hours. She couldn’t risk looking at her home.
Corinna slid the mirror back under her pillow and let out a small sigh. It was time to become active and do something useful with her time. As she got out of bed, her heel knocked against something under the bed, and she pulled out her rose book. She had finished reading it and quizzing herself on the possible styles of growing flowers weeks ago. It was time to put it back.
The house was vacant, as usual, with Gavin working with the horses and Belle already preparing dinner before she would go out to hang the laundry. Corinna had noticed that she always went out to do this right when Gavin was giving Kay a bath. The horse was large and Gavin usually got wet while trying to wash him. It hadn’t taken Corinna very long to realize Belle was going out to watch Gavin wash a horse with his shirt off.
Veronica was the oddball. She was never in the same place at the same time from day to day. Sometimes she decided to clean the stairs after lunch. Other days she would polish every door knob and railing and then go into the armory. Today, she was nowhere visible to Corinna, but that probably meant she was cleaning one of the rooms or out in the yard.
Corinna let gravity do the work as she dropped down the stairs to the second floor. She expected to be alone there, perusing the endless shelves of the library while the rest of the house remained still, but when she reached the second floor landing, she was stunned to see the last room’s door was open. That was the art room. Tucking her book securely under her arm, Corinna moved over to the door and cautiously peeked inside through the cracked opening.
The lights were on and sparkling, glinting off every golden and shiny surface. It reflected in Corinna’s eyes, temporarily blinding her with the room’s brilliance. When her eyes adjusted, she saw Veronica within the room. She was carefully moving each painting around the room and dusting each one religiously. All of the frames were getting the royal treatment, polished until they were even more brilliant than before. Corinna smiled. No wonder they all looked so beautiful. Veronica took very detailed care of each and every piece of artwork in there. She was so dedicated that she didn’t notice Corinna at all, even as she opened the door a bit more to get a better look.
It would be disappointing to interrupt her, so Corinna pulled back from the door and backed quietly down the hall. She smiled. Veronica was always working so hard. It was admirable. No, it was beyond that. It was amazing. Even when there was no work to be done, she found something to work harder on.
Corinna smiled as she slipped into the library and drifted along the shelves. She found the gardening section and blindly slid the book back into its spot on the shelf. She’d been in here so often, she could probably have done it blindfolded, but looking elsewhere while she did it was pretty similar. Corinna’s eyes were on the history section. She pursed her lips and stole a book off the shelf entitled ‘Women of Paesaggia’. She flipped to the contents.
A list of the queens greeted her eyes first. After every royal was a list of every noble. The ones who had something remarkable about them actually took up whole pages. The others were grouped together and simply described what family they were from. The last section listed was for significant peasants and others. Corinna recognized one name as a peasant who became the mistress of one of the late kings. She caused the creation of four new schoolhouses in outlying villages. They weren’t free to attend, but they did attract people and cause the cities to grow into profitable locations. The king doted on his mistress a lot because of this. But this mistress was not the person Corinna was scanning the list for. Neither was Morgana, though her name was bolded within the contents.
Corinna groaned and snapped the book shut. She pushed it back into place and sighed. Niviene’s name was not on the list – not even with a different spelling. There was nothing about her in the book. Was she not of Paesaggia? Then what kingdom was she from, and why was she so interested in the fate of Paesaggia’s prince?
Nothing else in immediate view jumped up with the answers. Their titles meant nothing – something about princes and kings, taxes and law. She saw no more spines alluding to powerful women in the region, or any other region for that matter. Corinna sighed again and rapped her knuckles against the spines of the nearest books.
“Oh well,” she murmured. “So much for figuring out the secret of Niviene.”
Corinna left the library and rolled her shoulders. Alexander was ‘studying’ today, so Corinna couldn’t go bother him. She wasn’t in the mood for reading. Veronica was cleaning in the picture room, so she couldn’t go in there. Belle was doing laundry. Gavin was cleaning horses. She didn’t want to return to her room and her mirror. Niviene probably wouldn’t approve of her calling on her just to talk about nothing. Morgana… Well Corinna didn’t know where Morgana was. No one ever seemed to know.
With that thought, Corinna stumbled her way down the stairs to the first floor and over toward the garden. She looked to the ballroom doors and frowned. She made a quick detour and placed a firm hold on the room’s handle. Pulling did nothing, and the doors remained tightly shut. They were always locked. At this point, Corinna didn’t know if it was magic or Alexander keeping the doors shut. He’d made it clear he didn’t want Corinna inside at midnight. Maybe this was his insurance policy.
Well if it was just Alexander keeping the doors shut…
Corinna shut her eyes and put her hand up on the door where the lock went across between the doors. If it was only Alexander locking the doors, then even Corinna’s weak magic should be able to open it. That was her thought process anyway. She opened her eyes and they flashed a brilliant white.
“Onlúcan,” she murmured, trying not to echo in the recesses of the hall. There was a click and the handle shivered. Corinna beamed. She turned the handle and took a deep breath.
It didn’t take much to open the door this time. It moved seamlessly and didn’t creak. As with most rooms in the house, when she crossed the threshold the room was filled with light. Three large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and they all burst into life at the sight of her. Corinna shut the door securely behind her and heard the lock slide back into place as she pulled her hand away. But Corinna didn’t mind. She was too busy watching the room glint.
There were mirrors lining the walls on either side of the room, making it appear even more spacious and grand than it already was. Off to the left of the door was the grand piano, gleaming and perfect in itself. It looked brand new, but the slight wear on the keys gave a peek into its actual age. Corinna felt herself bouncing as she made her way over to the instrument. She reached out to run her fingers over the keys and the s
leek body, but she stopped herself. It was polished and cleaned to perfection. If she touched it, the smudges she left would be more than obvious. Still, Corinna smiled. She ghosted her hands over the body and slid into the seat. These clothes had just been washed, so there was no chance she was leaving dirt or grass stains on the bench.
Corinna put her hands up above the keys and shut her eyes. She moved her fingers and imagined the sounds she heard most often from this room at midnight. She knew her fingers wouldn’t make these sounds even if they were actually on the keys, but she pretended anyway. She could hear Alexander’s playing and it echoed through the resonant room. For a moment, Corinna imagined what it would be like to be inside the room while Alexander played. She could see Alexander as he was meant to be: human, short blonde hair, tall, handsome. They could have someone else play this piano then. They could have Belle play, and they could dance. Alexander would wear a suit for the occasion, something royal, and Corinna might even wear a real dress. Alexander would tease her about it.
The mirrors would make it a party, a grand ball with nobles from all over the kingdoms. They would congratulate Alexander on breaking his curse and welcome him back into their ranks, but Alexander wouldn’t care anymore. He would pretend to accept their words and then dance with Corinna to show them all how he didn’t belong to their standards anymore. He was better than them all. Corinna would run her fingers through Alexander’s short hair and laugh about how long it used to be, and they would have fun trying to remember how hairy Alexander’s face once was compared to the smoothness of it then. Alexander’s hands would be strong but gentle like a prince’s should be. He would hold Corinna’s coarse, work grown hands and move them about the room like an expert. And maybe he would lean his head down by Corinna’s ear and tease the girl’s clumsy footwork while they moved.
The Rose Chateau Page 21
