Lina slipped out of the crowd and ran from the archive. She made it through the town without a problem, climbed the tree over the moat, and scaled the castle wall.
She pulled herself through the window and crawled to the couch. A light sheen of sweat coated her skin. Lina panted from the exertion of the climb. Voices echoed from the room next door.
“What do you mean she isn’t there? Of course she’s there!”
“She isn’t! I sent her in there while I mended her sleeve, but she’s disappeared!”
Lina replaced the curtain and crawled into a chair in the corner of the room.
Hilda burst through the door. She glanced at Lina and nodded.
“Bastien, she’s in the corner. Why do you always call me to do things you are perfectly capable of doing yourself?”
Bastien peeked through the door. He nodded at Lina and slipped back out.
“I’m sorry, my love. Truly, I did not see her.”
“As if I didn’t have enough to do today. I’ll take care of her. You go help Alaric prepare for dinner.”
“Of course.”
Hilda glared at Lina.
“You’ve managed to muss your hair. And you’re sweaty. We have less than an hour to prepare for dinner.”
Lina nodded. Hilda’s frown could have soured goat’s milk.
“Why do I always get stuck with the difficult ones?” she muttered. “Maids, wipe her skin clean! I’ll fix her hair.”
The maids patted the sweat off Lina’s skin with soft towels and helped her into the pink gown. Hilda gathered supplies and shook her head when they finished.
“We’ll have to start from scratch,” she said. “Pull her hair down and brush it.”
The maids rushed to do Hilda’s bidding. Lina winced as they brushed knots out of her hair. A page came into the room.
“If you please,” he said. “We’re ready for the next princess test. Queen Marta would like-”
“You’ll have to delay it,” Hilda snapped. “She isn’t ready yet.”
“But you’ve had all afternoon-”
“I’ll send her when she’s ready. Not a moment before.”
The page looked at Hilda, decided it wasn’t worth questioning her, and bowed before leaving the room.
Hilda attacked Lina’s hair with the strength of a goblin warrior. Lina suspected she set a new record for fastest hairstyle completion.
“Try not to take any more naps,” Hilda said.
Lina curtsied.
“I apologize for the inconvenience. Your skill and speed are admirable. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Hilda flushed with pleasure.
“Well, at least you’re polite. Trina will lead you to the next test.”
Lina nodded to the maid. They hurried through the castle. Lina took note of each turn they made. As far as she could tell, they were headed for the armory. This particular one had never held magical weapons, but maybe that had changed?
Her jaw dropped when the maid opened the door. The armory had been transformed into an elegant dining room. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. A long wooden table held dishes and silverware for a formal dinner. The plates and glasses gleamed in the candlelight.
The princesses stood in a line at the back of the room behind Queen Marta and Stefan. Fiora was in the front. She glared as Lina entered. Queen Marta smiled at her.
“Excellent, your dress has been repaired just in time. The next Princess Test is a test of manners. How do you dine in elegant company? Prince Alaric will seat each of you. He will sit at one end of the table. I will take the other.”
Lina hurried to the back of the line. She caught Carina’s eye as she walked past. Carina stood in the exact middle of the line. She raised an eyebrow in a questioning glance. Lina shook her head.
Prince Alaric entered the room to a trumpet fanfare. Lina smirked. He looked even more ridiculous than he had for the conversation test. His chest glittered with even more gems. They spilled over onto his sleeves. A plume ornamented his oiled hair.
Prince Alaric bowed to the princesses. They curtsied in unison. Alaric walked to Fiora and took her hand. He looked to the queen. Stefan rolled a set of dice and gestured to a chair in the middle of the long table.
“What is this?” Fiora demanded.
“The seating will be determined randomly,” Queen Marta said. “It is the best way to keep things fair.”
Fiora frowned but followed Alaric to her chair. He pulled it out for her and went back to fetch the next princess.
Lina studied the place settings. There were at least four forks and two spoons. So manners had become more complicated over the years. Well, she was a trained shadow warrior. If she could mimic enemy fighting styles in the heat of battle, she could figure out how to eat dinner in another century.
A roll of the dice landed Carina the chair to the left of the prince’s throne. She shot a panicked look at Lina. That seat would make blending in difficult. Fiora tapped her finger against the table in an agitated gesture.
The middle of the table filled with princesses. By the time Lina reached the front of the line, there was only one seat left. The chair across from Carina, to the right of Alaric. Blast. He was bound to ask her about her activities that afternoon.
She took Alaric’s arm and followed him to the seat. Carina beamed at her. It was good to have an ally. Perhaps together they could be sufficiently bland to avoid being the prince’s choice.
At some unseen signal, a team of waiters surrounded the table. They placed silver bowls of soup in front of each diner in perfect unison. Lina watched Carina to see which spoon she used. She mimicked the graceful swoop of her arm as she moved the spoon to her mouth.
“Did you have a restful afternoon?”
Prince Alaric’s face was calm, but his eyes gleamed as he stared at Lina.
“Yes, quite,” she said. “Our conversation and my travels left me quite exhausted. I took a nap.”
“Did you?”
Carina looked from Alaric to Lina. She cleared her throat.
“Are there always so many seagulls in the harbor, Prince Alaric?”
Alaric blinked.
“I beg your pardon?”
Carina repeated her question in a bubbly voice. Alaric sighed.
“Um, yes. It is the sea after all.”
“Fascinating. Tell me more about them.”
“Um.”
“Yes, they’re such fascinating creatures,” Lina added. “Tell us all about them.”
The two girls leaned in towards Alaric. He cleared his throat.
“Well, they’re birds that gather near oceans.”
Carina laughed as if Alaric had told the most amusing joke in the world. A sweet, tinkling laugh that filled the room and made Fiora frown into her soup.
“How droll! Why do they prefer to live near water?”
Lina and Carina ate a spoonful of soup in perfect sync, even swallowing together. They kept their eyes on Alaric. He took a deep drink of his wine.
“I believe they live by the sea because they eat fish.”
Carina gasped.
“Birds that eat fish? I thought they all ate seeds!”
She and Lina smiled at each other in shared amazement, then looked away before they burst out laughing. It was too easy, diverting his attention.
Alaric narrowed his eyes at Lina.
“Princess, about this afternoon-”
“What kind of fish do they prefer?” Carina said. “I’ve always been partial to snapper. Do they eat snapper? I can’t imagine a bird eating snapper.”
As if on cue, the waiters cleared the soup and set a baked fish in front of all the diners. Lina watched Carina for the proper motions to eat it. They moved in unison, breaking the skin with a small silver fork and taking dainty bites.
“After our conversation-” Alaric began.
Carina interrupted him.
“For example, if we were to set this fish out on the harbor, do you think those
charming birds would eat it?”
Lina clapped her hands with delight.
“Oh, what an experiment!”
Thank goodness for Carina. She made this almost too easy.
“Do you really not have seagulls at your home?” Alaric asked.
Carina gasped.
“Your Highness! Asking questions about my home country? You’re fishing as much as those wonderful birds!”
She giggled. Lina joined her. At the other end of the table, Fiora stabbed her fish with enough force to bend the fork.
17
Alaric watched the fork bend under Fiora’s grip. He swallowed and fell silent. The princesses next to him shared a look of triumph and ate their fish in unison.
The way they moved was eerie. It was difficult to tell who was leading the motions, but he suspected the blond. Strange. He had pegged the brunette as the mastermind of the operation.
He had no idea what that operation was, but something was going on. Ordinary princesses didn’t climb castle towers when they were supposed to be showing their powers of conversation. They didn’t sneak out of the castle to read archive scrolls about the original royal family of Aeonia.
At the other end of the table, Queen Marta gestured at Alaric. He pretended not to understand although her meaning was perfectly clear. She wanted him to talk. To get to know the girls.
Alaric set down his fork and swallowed. He tried to think of something, anything to say. The princesses watched him with predatory gazes. As if daring him to say something they couldn’t turn around on him.
Alaric picked up his fork and took another bite of fish. No. It wasn’t worth it. Those girls were merciless. He wouldn’t get any useful information out of them here. He didn’t say another word during the dinner. Not even when the waiter asked him if he would like more wine.
Thank goodness the dinner was the last Princess Test of the day. Alaric sprinted back to his room as soon as Queen Marta dismissed him. He didn’t know what the girls were doing the rest of the evening. He didn’t care. He just needed to get out of there.
Alaric slammed the door behind him and sank into a chair.
“Going that well?”
“Stefan! How many times do I have to tell you to knock?”
“More than you have. Did you figure out what the princess was doing climbing the tower? She sat next to you at dinner. You had a chance to talk to her. What a stroke of luck.”
Stefan grinned in a way that made Alaric suspicious.
“You rigged the dice?”
“All too easy. I was nice, wasn’t I? I almost put Fiora next to you.”
Alaric grimaced. If he never spoke to Fiora again, it would be too soon.
“So, what was she doing on the side of the tower?”
“She did more than climb the tower. I saw her at the archives this afternoon.”
“So you had plenty of opportunity to find out what she’s doing.”
“Not exactly.”
“Do tell.”
Alaric shook his head. Stefan didn’t need to hear how the princess had escaped by surrounding him with a mob of peasant women. And he certainly didn’t want to relive the experience.
“Come on, Alaric! You saw her this afternoon and ate dinner with her! You should have answers by now!”
“It isn’t exactly dinner conversation, Stefan. So, Princess, I noticed you climbing the tower in your undergarments this afternoon. Would you care to explain?”
Stefan shrugged.
“I’m sure you could have figured something out.”
“I tried! The blond one kept asking me about seagulls.”
Stefan raised an eyebrow.
“You were thwarted by Princess Carina asking about seagulls?”
“That girl is Princess Carina?”
Stefan nodded.
“Didn’t I tell you? I’ve been listening to their conversations when I get the chance. I’ve picked up a few names.”
“And you forgot to tell me that?”
Stefan shrugged.
“I have to be careful. If anyone knew-”
“Yes, yes, I know. Apparently everyone wants to cancel this test or disqualify the other girls. They think I’m a bloodthirsty barbarian, Stefan.”
“Maybe it’s your hair. You should oil it more.”
“Stefan, this is serious! You should have seen the way she looked at me.”
“Who?”
Stefan’s eyes gleamed. He looked entirely too interested. Alaric picked up Princess Carina’s parchment.
“You’re sure that girl is Carina? This portrait doesn’t look much like her.”
“Yes, I’m sure. The portraits don’t look much like any of the girls.”
Alaric slumped deeper in his chair.
“Blast. She was at the top of my list. A treaty with Santelle would unite trade routes and give us military support.”
“She’s that bad?”
“She’s a merciless bore. Still, I have to consider her. Do you know which one is from Eldria?”
Stefan shook his head.
“Still working on it.”
“Well, let’s hope she’s better than Carina. A treaty with Eldria would be acceptable. And their princess isn’t likely to be obsessed with seagulls. Keep listening. You’re in the best position to research them right now.”
“Again, when I offered to help you with your love life, I didn’t really have research in mind.”
Alaric raised an eyebrow.
“What exactly did you have in mind?”
“Not important. But I could use some backup. I sent for Cael and Henry.”
“And?”
“They insist they’re too busy with their goats to leave the mountain.”
“Blasted goats.”
Alaric stood and pulled a heavy cloak over his jeweled tunic.
“Where are you going?”
“To the archives. I’m going to ask Simon about the gate princess.”
“Lina.”
“What?”
“I overheard her talking with Carina. Her name is Lina.”
Lina. Alaric glanced at the parchments to make sure. No, Lina wasn’t listed there. He shoved the parchments back into the drawer.
“Have you ever heard of a Princess Lina?”
“She might not be a princess,” Stefan said. “Maybe she’s a duke’s daughter from a small province. Or maybe Lina is a nickname. Marta trusts her. That counts for something.”
“Marta didn’t see her climbing the castle. Or researching the original royal family. Are you coming with me to the archives or not?”
“Fine.”
They made it to the archives just as the sun set. Simon stood outside the building with a ring of keys, fastening the intricate locks that protected his precious parchments.
“We’re closed for the night, Your Highness,” he said. “I can’t make exceptions, even for royalty.”
“That’s fine, Simon. We’re actually here to talk to you. Do you mind if we walk home with you?”
Simon bowed.
“My home is humble, but you are welcome.”
Alaric and Stefan fell into step beside the archivist.
“I was wondering about that girl,” Alaric said. “The dirty one who came to the archives.”
“Ah, yes. I had to burn those smocks. That was a touch more than travel grime.”
“Do you know where she came from? Did she say anything that might have been a clue?”
Simon shook his head.
“She was here when I arrived, and she went straight to the historical records. She left soon after you did.”
Alaric’s face fell.
“I see.”
“She did ask me about Evangelina Shadow-Storm.”
The two brothers shared a glance.
“Really?” Stefan said.
“Yes. She overheard you talking about the play and was very interested. She seemed almost angry that we didn’t have scrolls about the legend. As if we would house such
fanciful tales in our historical archives.”
“She asked me about Evangelina Shadow-Storm in our conversation today,” Alaric said. “I thought it was because of the play.”
“An attempt to impress you?” Stefan said. “To win your heart by showing an interest in your favorite story?”
Alaric elbowed him in the ribs. He bowed to Simon.
“Thank you for your assistance.”
They left the archivist. Alaric turned towards the castle. Stefan turned to the docks.
“Where are you going?”
“To see if seagulls really eat fish.”
“Ha. Very funny.”
“She came from another country, right? We don’t know which one, but if her ship wrecked or her travel party ran into trouble on the mountains, someone will have heard of it. Surely someone saw her arrive.”
“Stefan, that’s genius.”
Alaric immediately regretted his words. A smug smile spread across Stefan’s face. They walked to the docks.
“You’ll never catch me!”
A boy ran past them. A group of children chased close behind.
“Down with the tyrant!”
“Down with King Thaddeus!”
Alaric watched them run down the streets.
“I wish they wouldn’t play that game.”
“What’s wrong with Tyrant Topple?”
He shrugged.
“It brings up the past. Reminds everyone of what happened.”
“We used to play it. Those kids aren’t really thinking about war. It’s just a game, Alaric.”
“Sure.”
They reached the docks. Most of the piers were empty, but a few sailors loaded crates onto ships in the moonlight. Alaric approached the nearest one.
“Excuse me. Have there been any shipwrecks recently?”
The sailor stopped loading crates and wiped his brow.
“Of course not. The summer seas are fair as fair can be. You’d have to be an idiot to wreck in this weather.”
Alaric narrowed his eyes in Stefan’s direction.
“I’m sure some people could manage it. You haven’t heard of any travel misfortunes in mountain expeditions? Everyone expected at the harbor has arrived safely?”
The man grunted.
“No. Haven’t heard of anything.”
“I see. Have you seen a girl wandering around? In a purple dress? Chestnut hair? She would have looked disheveled.”
The Princess and the Pea (Fairy Tale Adventures Book 1) Page 10
