by Holly Law
“Good, I’m glad you’ll be staying. I feared you would be leaving us. Good night, Elisha. I will see you in the morning.”
Chapter 16
Elisha walked up the steps with the Prince. Her arm rested lightly on his arm. The sun was just setting and the air around them had cooled. She could just see her breath as she reached for the door. “I will call again in a few days,” the Prince told her. “If that is agreeable to you?”
Elisha smiled at him. “Yes, of course. I will see you in a few days. Thank you for the chance to wander in the city,” Elisha told him gratefully.
“You are most welcome,” he told her as he took her hand and kissed it. He turned and walked down the steps. Elisha turned and opened the door. “Ah, Elisha,” he said to get her attention again. She looked at him. “I meant to ask you. There is a party at Lord Gebbral’s in three days. Would you attend with me? I sometimes find the company at these functions tiresome. Knowing I had you there to keep me company would make the evening far more tolerable. Will you come?”
Elisha hesitated and smiled. “Yes, I will. Thank you for the invitation.”
“I will send the particulars to Lenora so you may be properly prepared.” He bowed to her slightly and went to his carriage.
Elisha stepped inside smiling. There were a few girls coming and going from class. They smiled at her, and Elisha could see the curiosity in their features. She knew they would ask her about the Prince again, despite Lenora’s instruction otherwise. There were several voices in the sitting room. Elisha approached it, knowing Lenora wished to know when she returned.
“You had such good luck with that other girl,” a man was saying as she drew near the closed door. “We had hoped you’d be able to help. My wife insisted on adopting. It would give us the means to determine where our fortune went you see. We would just have to marry her off to the right family. But her manners are abysmal. We’ve had no luck with her at all.”
“These things do take time,” Lenora said, her voice soothing. “And it is very different from what she is accustomed to. But yes, I do think I could help.”
Elisha tentatively knocked on the door. She was given permission to enter. Elisha entered the room. There was an older gentleman with his wife sitting in the chairs. They both looked exceedingly proper, but also very arrogant. There was another girl standing between the chairs. She was wearing a severe-looking gray gown that was made of good quality material, but didn’t flatter her one bit. Her face was pale and pretty. It held an innocence that would make many want to pamper her. Her blond hair was pulled back rigidly, but was lustrous. Elisha found it difficult not to glare at Rebeka. Rebeka gave no hint of recognizing her.
Elisha forced herself to focus on Lenora, who was smiling at her. “You wished to know when I had returned,” Elisha said simply. “Which teacher will require me first?”
“Trinsin, I believe,” Lenora said thoughtfully. Elisha cringed internally. She hated spending time with Trinsin, learning to read complicated books of poetry and etiquette. She always left feeling inadequate. “Elisha, this is Lord and Lady Withrel.” Elisha inclined her head to them politely. Rebeka’s eyes shot to her face at the mention of her name. There was complete disbelief there. “Their recently adopted daughter will be joining us, starting tonight.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Elisha said politely. “Please excuse me.”
Elisha left the room quickly, almost feeling nauseous. She had been so glad to be free of everyone at the orphanage. It had never occurred to her that her life there might follow her. She had wanted to leave it all behind and thought she had. Rebeka’s presence was a slap in the face. She walked straight to Trinsin’s classroom, wishing she could simply run to her brother instead.
Dinner that night was unpleasant. Elisha had gained a certain amount of respect among the other girls, if only for her connection to the Prince. Rebeka worked to undo that respect almost instantly. Rebeka sat in her chair smiling pleasantly at the other girls. She was instantly accepted in a way Elisha never was. Even with her stiff, unstylish dress she was accepted.
“Elisha, had you met Rebeka yet?” Stefana asked with a smile. “She just joined the school today.”
Before Elisha could speak Rebeka spoke. “We’ve met before,” Rebeka said smiling sweetly at her. “Though the last time I saw her, she was chained up in the orphanage kitchen.”
Elisha felt instantly humiliated. Hellinsi frowned. “What were you doing chained up?” she asked, her eyes wide. “Were you some sort of prisoner?”
“Oh no,” Rebeka said with a light laugh. “She was in trouble. She had run away and had stolen some machine parts. She spent the entire day scrubbing pots and pans on her knees. But that was every day, wasn’t it, Elisha?”
Demisi smirked unpleasantly at Elisha. Elisha clenched her napkin in her lap. “I…” Elisha began and Lenora walked in. All conversation ceased, and Elisha was prevented from answering. No one spoke to her for the rest of dinner. Few even glanced her way. Elisha wanted to cry, but couldn’t. She wouldn’t let Rebeka get that pleasure.
Dinner ended, and Elisha went to her room rather than enjoy the entertainments in the parlor. She spent most of the evening in her room working. She got little done and was hardly able to focus on her machines. She made several mistakes and finally pushed the machines aside in frustration.
She heard the clock strike nine and heard the girls coming up to bed. Elisha waited several long moments for the other girls to be in their rooms. She slipped from her room and walked to Lenora’s office. She knocked on the open door, and Lenora smiled up at her from the desk. “You should be in bed, Elisha,” Lenora told her.
“I wanted to speak to you privately first,” Elisha said hesitantly.
“Then please come in,” Lenora told her and gestured to a chair. Elisha closed the door and took the chair. “What’s troubling you? I noticed you were quiet during dinner.”
“I…Well…Rebeka and I don’t get along,” Elisha said finally. “I don’t know what her schedule is like, but it would be best if we saw each other as little as possible.”
“I see,” Lenora said simply. She frowned slightly. “There are few places I can switch things, Elisha. We had only one opening since Asinoa left. She has been placed in her spot.”
“Asinoa left?” Elisha asked startled. She had been so distracted by Rebeka at dinner, she hadn’t noticed. She felt very dense.
“There were…issues,” Lenora said a bit evasively. “You will have to make the best of it. It is always good to learn how to deal with those you don’t like. I know it will be hard, but I know you will do well.”
“But she’s already trying to embarrass me!” Elisha pled, tears coming to her eyes. She told Lenora everything that happened during dinner before she had come in. Lenora listened thoughtfully.
“I will keep my ears open for such behavior or rumor of such behavior,” Lenora told her. “That behavior is unacceptable. Thank you for telling me. Now go to bed, you still have classes tomorrow.”
Class the next day was a nightmare. Rebeka was in nearly every single one of her classes and had managed to worm her way into the hearts of the others. When she politely ask Hellinsi why, it was explained that Rebeka had been adopted by the mayor and his wife. She had become someone very important. Elisha felt like someone had stabbed a knife into her back and twisted. Elisha was prepared to be polite and pleasant no matter what. Rebeka was prepared to make her life miserable while improving her standing at the same time.
In her literature class, Elisha found that her own copious notes had disappeared as soon as she had turned to talk to Hellinsi. She was less than prepared for class and was scolded by Trinsin for it. Somehow, Rebeka managed to have the most wonderful notes and was declared by Trinsin to be a natural. In etiquette, a bug somehow ended up at the bottom of her tea, and when she yelped at the sight of the large black beetle she was scolded again. In art, her work of weeks was sabotaged. Her careful brush strokes were ruine
d when she had stepped away to see Demisi’s painting. She came back to find that the lines had been gone over with a horrible, smudgy brown. It made a mockery of all her hard work. Math, politics, geography, and history went no better. Elisha was in tears by dinner and chose to take her meal in her room.
Elisha worked diligently on her homework that night, neglecting the machines entirely. She wouldn’t be outdone by Rebeka again. She would be careful with everything and not let it wander into Rebeka’s hands. She worked very hard to make sure everything was perfect.
She woke the following morning at her desk and hastily ready for breakfast. By the time she made it downstairs, most of the other girls had finished. She only had about five minutes to eat her food, but with the etiquette constraints, she managed to eat very little before class was about to start. She ran back upstairs to her room and found all her work was gone.
Elisha showed up for class feeling very angry. Trinsin went around to collect homework, and Elisha was empty handed. “You didn’t do your homework?” Trinsin asked her, raising an eyebrow.
“I did my homework, it was not where I put it,” Elisha explained irritably. “I left it on my desk when I went for breakfast. When I went back to get it, it was gone.”
“Excuses, excuses. You didn’t have it yesterday either. Duchess Lenora will not be pleased when I tell her.”
“But…” Elisha began and was silenced with a look from Trinsin. Demisi and Rebeka were giggling together. Elisha glared at them, and Rebeka stuck her tongue out at her. Halfway through the class, a servant stuck her head in.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” the servant said to Trinsin looking nervous. Elisha couldn’t blame her, Trinsin rarely reacted well to being interrupted. Trinsin looked down her nose at the poor girl. “The Prince is here and wishes to know if Elisha may be excused from class to spend the morning with him.”
Elisha began to rise, and Trinsin glared at her. “Sit down, Elisha,” Trinsin snapped. Elisha froze, startled. “You have finished none of your homework in the past two days. You may not go.”
“But…” Elisha began. She felt her eyes go wide as she tried to understand. She had never been refused before.
Trinsin looked at the servant. “Tell his majesty that Elisha is not doing well enough in class to go this morning.”
Elisha felt tears sting her eyes as the servant left. Rebeka and Demisi both snickered more. Trinsin continued lecturing. Hellinsi passed her a note. “I saw them in your room earlier. The pair of them are completely horrible. I’ll hold onto your homework tomorrow if you want.”
Elisha nodded to her and tried to focus the rest of the day.
The next day was no better. Her homework was gone again, and Rebeka’s pranks grew nastier. One of Elisha’s machines had been smuggled into etiquette class. As they sat around discussing mundane topics, it was suddenly let loose. It was an odd little machine. It crawled along the ground drawing, pencil lines over everything. Each line was perfectly straight. When it finished one row, it would go back and draw another. Elisha found herself in Lenora’s office for that one.
Elisha was in tears when the door closed, and she was faced with a stern, unfriendly-seeming Lenora. “Sit down, Elisha,” Lenora told her firmly. Elisha sat and glared at the desk. She had done nothing wrong. “I’ve been hearing complaints about you for the past two days. You’ve done none of your homework. You’ve been acting up in class, completely ignoring all of your training. I even heard you destroyed that lovely painting of yours. And now you’re using machines to stir up mischief in class. This is unacceptable, Elisha, and it will not do. I will write the Prince and tell him you will not attend the party with him tonight. Your behavior would indicate you lack the proper manners for such a refined event.”
“But I’ve done nothing wrong!” Elisha exploded then in anger.
“You’ve done plenty,” Lenora snapped, her eyes flashing with irritation.
“I’ve done my homework every night. It is gone after I go to breakfast. I try hiding it, and it is still gone.”
“No one is stealing your homework.”
“Rebeka…”
“You lock your door every morning, Elisha. I know that is your habit. No one is getting in your room. My decision is final. I would suggest you improve efforts, if you wish the leniency you had before.”
Elisha gritted her teeth in anger. She stood. “Then I’ll leave. I’m not going to put up with this.” She turned and pulled open the door. She couldn’t believe Lenora wouldn’t even listen to her.
“Elisha!” Lenora called after her. Elisha slammed her bedroom door behind her and locked it. She tore off the fine dress, not caring if she ripped it and threw on the plainest one in the closet. She dropped all the finery on the table. She opened the door again to find Lenora on the other side. “You’re overreacting, Elisha. You don’t have to like the punishment. I wish you to improve, nothing more.”
Elisha brushed past her not listening anymore. She was at the front door before Lenora could stop her. “Elisha, stop,” Lenora pleaded. “You are still welcome.”
Elisha took the steps outside two at a time, and when her foot hit the bottom, she ran. She ran as fast as she could and didn’t listen as Lenora called for her to come back. She didn’t look back. She didn’t pause a moment. Her feet took her to the safest place she knew. Elisha swung into the tube that had been her second home when she had lived in the orphanage. All her machine scraps were still there undisturbed. She turned on the warmer and curled up near the wonderful warmth. And then she cried.
Lenora paced anxiously. Elisha running was not good and could only lead the girl into greater trouble. And that greater trouble was due to arrive any moment. The Prince would come expecting to find her ready for the party and instead find that she had fled. And all because Lenora had tried to discipline her as she would any other student. She didn’t understand Elisha’s reaction. She had always been reasonable before.
“The Prince has arrived, my lady,” the servant told her, sticking her head into the office. “He’s in the parlor.”
“Ask him to come here, please,” Lenora told the servant. The servant bobbed into a curtsy and was gone. Lenora continued to pace. The Prince entered and watched her. He sensed her mood and closed the door. “We have a problem,” Lenora burst out, wishing she didn’t have to deliver the news.
“It cannot wait until after I have enjoyed my evening with Elisha?” the Prince asked, his expression calm despite her clear agitation.
“Elisha is gone,” Lenora said with a sigh and slumped against the edge of her desk. “She ran off this afternoon.” The Prince’s eyes locked on her face. She couldn’t read anything in his expression.
“Why?” the Prince asked, his tone dangerous.
“She hadn’t been doing her work and had been messing around in class,” Lenora explained with a frustrated sigh. “I tried to discipline her like any other student. I told her she couldn’t go with you tonight. She reacted badly. She tried to say she had done her work, but it was stolen. The girl locks her room every time she leaves. She was just making excuses. I told her as much, and she stormed out. She changed into her simplest dress and left everything else behind. She didn’t even take money with her.”
“Your first concern,” the Prince said slowly “is not to this school, but to acquiring the mechanic for me. Why did you agitate her in this fashion?”
“I didn’t think it would have this effect,” Lenora said irritably. “She’s always been so mild mannered and accepting. She was always willing to accept criticism before. She took the consequences of having her work done late in the past and hadn’t needed a second reminder until now.”
The Prince turned and opened the door. He left without another word. Lenora followed him. “What will you do?” she asked the Prince.
“First, I will ask her brother where she might be found. Then I will have my soldiers look for her. She will be brought to me, and we will discuss this matter. I think this situation is
still salvageable. I would suspect there is something else bothering her. I will see if I can get her to confide in me.”
“And if she won’t?”
“Then I will give her space and try again,” the Prince told her. “I will be a friend as I can. If that does not succeed, then I will take what steps are necessary.”
Lenora let out a slow shuddering breath. She followed the Prince down to Eldwin’s room. Eldwin was eating his meal at an empty table. He looked surprised to see both of them.
“Lenora has had a misunderstanding with your sister,” the Prince told Elisha’s twin. “She has run off. Where might she be found?”
Eldwin looked at the Prince with distrust. “If she’s run off, why would I tell you where?” Eldwin asked bluntly. “What happened?” Lenora quickly explained, and Eldwin frowned. “I knew she was having problems,” Eldwin confessed.
“Then there is more to this matter than I am aware of,” the Prince said, his eyes intense on Eldwin.
“Yeah, like that new girl Lenora let into the school. Rebeka hates Elisha. She tormented her back at the orphanage. She would cause all sorts of trouble and blame it on me and Elisha. To anyone in charge, she looks like a perfect angel.”
“Elisha locked her door,” Lenora said firmly.
“And Rebeka can pick just about any lock,” Eldwin said with a shrug. “I know Elisha was working like crazy on her homework. I went to see her yesterday, and she didn’t have time for me. I bet you tomorrow Rebeka won’t have any work to turn in. I think she grabbed that pretty butterfly hair clip Elisha likes so much too. I hadn’t told Elisha yet because I was going to try to figure out how to get it back.”
“Where would your sister be?” the Prince asked. “I would like to sort this out.”
“I’ll talk to her myself, but I’m not telling you any of her spots. They’re where she feels safe.”
“I need to speak with her,” the Prince said firmly.
