by S R Nulton
This one was drawn too tight and it felt like it was getting tighter!
Pulling on her hand did little to get her attention, but I tried anyway.“Wait, somethings wrong! I can’t… I can’t… brea…the…” By that point, I was barely able to speak. It had happened so quickly though!
What is going on?
I could hear my ribs creak as I started to stumble into things, gasping for air. But I couldn’t breathe in and the corset just kept getting tighter.
Suddenly, someone was behind me and I could breathe again.
“Enchanted.” The word was spit out like a curse. “You okay, child?”
I turned and saw Earyn holding a long knife in one hand and my corset in the other, although I’d never seen a corset move on it’s own before.
“Been better,” I choked out, my lungs feeling like they were on fire and my throat raw from gasping. “What is it?”
“Someone enchanted it. It was going to continue to contract until it snapped you in half. Not the best enchantment I’ve ever seen, but effective if you aren’t familiar with it.” She put the knife away and pulled me to my feet. “Go get your vest. We need to leave.”
I nodded and rushed back to the room I’d changed in just moments before. I was still buttoning my vest when I came back out, but the murderous piece of clothing was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is it?”
Earyn looked at me and nodded toward the fireplace. “Silk burns well.”
The merchant was still staring around in horror. “I’m so sorry! I have no idea… I didn’t know. I just… I didn’t know.”
My guard glared at him. “Do you even remember buying it?” When he shook his head, she sighed. “Of course not. I’d avoid the Fessrel for a while if I were you. His power is still too strong in the capital.”
And then we were gone.
When we stopped a few hours later it was only because it was too dark for me to see.
“So, someone just tried to kill me.”
My guards looked at me, grim expressions on every face.
“It appears that way. It looks like this little rebellion has been noticed,” Earyn remarked. “We need to lay low for a little bit, at least until this blows over.”
I shook my head. “No. We need to change things up, but we can’t stop. I don’t want the people to see me scared. What we’re doing is too important to be intimidated by an enchanted undergarment with murderous intent. And yes, I know just how odd that sounded.”
My guards eyed me before nodding, one by one.
“Very well, Princess, but I believe it is time to send for reinforcements.”
~
After the corset incident, the guards were much closer. I hardly got to go anywhere without being visibly trailed by someone. In the past, we had tried to blend in. There were a lot of charms and most of my guards were hidden in the woods or throughout the village. They were unobtrusive but present.
Since that clearly hadn’t working, we decided to try something new and dispense with the idea of being discrete. Ironically, it increased my credibility with the citizens. Only important people have bodyguards. I got a lot more respect than I expected though, and I had a feeling that my true identity had begun to spread. Father had never told anyone about me and my name was fairly common due to our neighbors in Lettelach. There was no proof, though, just a feeling.
Besides, dwarves were very well received by the border towns. Settlements like that usually sprang up along trade routes and dwarves loved trading.
I’d also gained respect for not hiding after the assassination attempt. Most people like it when you care more about them than your own health. They even went out of their way to make me feel safer, making sure that nothing from the capital came near me. I was feeling really good about my people.
I was at a village on the Alenian border on the orders of my mother about three weeks after the incident. She’d been informed of the attempt on my life and had sent for help, but there had been some argument about what type of help would be desired. All I knew was I was meeting someone in that village. I’d been there for a few days already and was feeling a bit antsy, but wasn’t willing to leave without the person I was sent there for.
“I’m looking for a light.” Someone used Mama’s special phrase as I ate my lunch in the pub. My contact has arrived. I wonder who it will be.
Moor growled something, and then stomped over to me, escorting… well, he was pretty. Wasn’t sure who he was though.
The young man looked a bit bewildered as my guard disappeared, leaving him standing beside my table. Okay, ‘bewildered’ is pushing it a bit. Really, it was a quick flash of confusion that was hidden behind a mask of boredom and apathy. The only reason I caught it was because I was used to looking for things like that with Father and Bekins. Although, they usually hid anger or amusement and both men were far more dangerous than pretty boy was.
I squinted at him. “You look like a prince. Why do you look like a prince?”
His head jerked back, making his thick blond hair bounce prettily. It was a show though. For some reason, he wanted to pretend he was surprised but actually expected to be recognized. Pretty boy is quite the conundrum. “How did you– no, it doesn’t matter. Yes. I’m the second prince of Alenia. Are you this ‘light’ person?”
He sounded bored. I wasn’t quite sure how someone who was walking into a burgeoning rebellion against a murderous king could sound bored, but he managed it. And it irked me. Even if I’d grown up with people who hid their emotions, I didn’t like it. I much preferred the dwarves’ blunt speech.
“Yes.” I glanced around and stood. “Come on. Let’s talk in the back.”
Without looking at the man, I turned and headed for the room I’d rented, Earyn and Edwald following behind.
As soon as the door was closed, I turned to look at the pretty boy.
“Why would they send a prince? Because if it’s a power play, I’m not handing over control of this kingdom to you.”
He blinked before responding, making it sound like it was a chore to even speak to me. “I was told it was safer than sending an army. This way, I can personally report to my father about what is going on around here.” He looked around the simple room before raising his brow. Somehow, though, I felt like it was an affectation rather than genuine disdain. “One of the things we need to know is why is a princess rebelling against her father? Did he not buy you a pretty enough pony or the right color gown? Or does that comb not have enough gems on it?” he asked as he pointed to something on the bedside table.
I turned and stared at the gold and gem encrusted comb, feeling oddly compelled to pick it up and brush my hair. I slammed my eyes closed and snapped my fingers before pointing at it.
“Enchanted,” Earyn reported quickly. “Just so you’ll pick it up and use it, though. Nothing innately dangerous.”
I sighed. “Use it to brush an animal. See what happens.”
Despite the prince’s pointed glances and polite clearing of his throat, I refused to break the silence while we waited.
If pretty boy wants to ask me something, then he’ll have to get off his high horse and ask it. I’m not going to bow to his ‘subtle’ hints.
Meanwhile, there was a little bit of a scramble to find something people were willing to risk testing the comb on. We could hardly use a pet or one of their livestock, after all. Finally, someone brought a captured rat forward and we used the comb on it. Within minutes, the rat was asleep. In a quarter-of-an-hour, it was dead.
I turned to the prince and raised my brows. “I’m rebelling against my father because he’s trying to kill me and my mama. Any other questions, or would you like to leave before the assassin tries again?”
CHAPTER 5: HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO RESPOND?
Caillte Lynn
Someone had tried to kill my daughter.
That was unacceptable.
I’d hoped that being ‘dead’ would help her stay safe, but it appeared that her
visits to the country had been noticed. Not that anyone seemed to know who she was. It didn’t seem to matter though. We hadn’t planned on all that pent up aggression. The spell that my husband had put on the country had forced them to think differently. When it released, they became angry. I knew they would, to some extent, but not like this.
What Snow wasn’t fully aware of, or perhaps she had just neglected to mention, was that people from the villages were traveling around to other small towns. They were quickly on their way to a full blow rebellion and that was not what we wanted. That was how people died. There were too many innocents still under the sway of my husband to chance an actual conflict. No, we needed to quiet that down quickly.
Only one attempt had been made on my daughter’s life, so far. Still, it showed that the king was trying to nip the rebellion in the bud quickly by taking out it’s leader.
It was time to call in reinforcements.
I headed downstairs to the enchanted mirror, relocated once again but this time to the library. It made sense. No one besides me went in there, it was easy to hide behind a tapestry, and I spent most of my days closeted with its walls.
As soon as the door was closed and locked, I pulled the mirror out from its hiding spot and brushed my hand against a hidden catch in the frame.
It rippled for a few moments and went flat. The call was sent. Now I had to wait.
What should I read this time?
By the time that Spinner responded, I was about a quarter of the way through a collection of historical ballades.
“Caillte? What’s wrong?” he asked from behind the glass.
I closed the book with a snap and jumped to my feet. “He tried to kill her.”
“What? Who? Why?”
I snorted. “Snow. The king tried to kill her, most likely trying to snuff out the budding rebellion. People are angry. There are too many things going on that they don’t understand and the confusion is amplifying the side effects of the spell. Unfortunately, it seems that people weren’t being cautious. Someone informed my husband and he sent an enchanted corset. It nearly crushed her ribs before the guard got it off of her.”
The Spinner’s eyes were sharp and angry again. “He must have been holding it in reserve. I thought I’d destroyed all of those nearly a century ago.”
“Wait, you know what it is?”
“Unfortunately. A woman by the name of Charlotte had them commissioned when she was queen of Alenia. They were originally meant to snug the ties to the perfect tightness without the need of a lady’s maid. She changed the spell so that they would continue to tighten until the sides of the garment met. She used it to kill several noblewomen in her court and at least one man before she disappeared.”
I frowned. The name sounded familiar. “Charlotte? As in the woman who gave my husband the spells for stealing magic? She was a queen?”
He sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. And she is still alive, although most know her as Charlotte Rancune now. She’s been laying low for a while, but it appears that she was playing the long game. Unfortunately, she’s run into quite a few problems lately. Well, unfortunate for her at least.”
That rattled around in my mind for a moment, but it really wasn’t that odd. After all, my husband was much older than he had any right to be. Why wouldn’t the woman who gave him that ability use it on herself?
“Regardless, we need someway to calm the citizens down. They need to know that their complaints are being listened to and that we’re working on a solution but they have to give us some time. Any ideas?”
Spinner smiled at me. “I do, actually. I’ve been speaking with some of the rulers of the continent and at least one of your neighbors is in a position to assist you. Alenia has a prince who might be able to lend some… legitimacy to your daughter.”
I pursed my lips to stop myself from laughing. “You want to send a prince to wander through the woods and fields, speaking to the common people? With my daughter? Well, that’ll be interesting.”
“Afraid she’ll fall in love?” he teased.
“Ha! I wish. She hasn’t had the best examples of men in her life, and the dwarves will not have helped there much. Lorith is a wonderful scholar, but not a great role model. The others… well, they aren’t much better. And she’s never been raised like a traditional princess. He’s in for quite the culture shock and she won’t know what to do with the poor fool.”
“Probably, but it will be good for the both of them. James hasn’t had an easy life, living in his brother’s shadow. The court likes to refer to him as ‘The Spare’ and are constantly attempting to use him for their own political gain. He just doesn’t fit and it’s making him overly cynical and untrusting. Even his older brother is concerned.”
I eyed Spinner through the mirror for a moment. The old man was scheming. “You’re pushing both of them out of their comfort zones?”
“Yes. They need it. Snow will have to deal with royals at some point and James is an excellent tutor when it comes to that. We all know that human royals are very different from those of your people. And the commoners will see him and know that other countries are interested in helping. He will be seen as an advisor and it will lend Snow a bit of legitimacy without actually stating who she is.”
I nodded. “Fine. I’ll have her meet him at the border.” We talked about specifics for a bit longer before the topic changed.
“It looks like the Wraiths are getting ready to move against the Fey again.”
A sigh escaped me. “I wish they would stop, but mother always said that there would be no end until either the Wraith Queen was defeated or the Fey King died.”
“Ah, yes. That’s why your grandmother fled to the dwarves, isn’t it? Avoiding the queen?”
I nodded. “Yep. She was always power-hungry, but she started to hunt down others that might potentially challenge her for the throne. Grandmother saw her end coming and headed south. Grandfather found her lost in a cave and fell in love with her feistiness, if he is being truthful. If he isn’t, he claims that she threatened his life if he didn’t marry her. Which she probably did. The two of them are still ridiculously in love. It’s adorable. Snow met them last year and said that they still fight like mortal enemies before disappearing somewhere to kiss and make up.”
He laughed. “That sounds like my wife and me. But I only bring it up because there are rumors that the Fey King is close to breaking his curse. I plan on sending my grandson to check in with him in a few weeks. If I can, I will be sending you more help. I think having a Fey involved might help settle things a bit.” He laughed again at my annoyed expression.
“Not one stuffy, please. My father had to deal with that enough of their ridiculous beliefs to last the whole family a lifetime. The way they shun their halflings is still sore point for him.”
We chatted for a little while longer before he signed off.
It was going to be interesting to see how Snow reacted to her very own prince.
I think I’ll let her figure out who he is on her own. She doesn’t really need to know who he is when she goes to meet him.
~
Spinner didn’t waste any time sending Prince James to meet with Snow. It had only been two weeks since Snow had met her prince while avoiding another assassination attempt and I was enjoying myself more than I had in years! Oh, that’s not to say that I was in any less danger or I was okay with my daughter being sent a poisoned comb. Not at all!
I was enjoying her letters though.
She and the prince got along as well as I’d expected. Based on the conversations she recorded, they were not very fond of each other. Apparently, he was constantly implying that she was vapid or obsessed with her looks. She, on the other hand, was tired of his bored act and snarky personality, not to mention his ‘two-faced political crap’ and 'avoidance' of her.
So cute! They both think they hate each other, but somehow I don't think they really do. Then again, neither is really showing their true face.
Honestly, it was one basic difference that seemed to be causing them problems: Snow was an extrovert, despite how nervous she still got around crowds, and James was an introvert, despite his general comfort around large groups. Basically, Snow liked to interact with people nearly constantly, though she couldn’t deal with large groups and James was trained to deal with large groups but preferred to be alone most of the time. They processed everything differently and they reacted to everything differently. It meant they would find it difficult to interact until they learned how to deal with one another.
Based on Snow’s accounts and what little I knew from Spinner, it seemed like James had been around so many shallow people that he painted all noble born ladies with the same brush, particularly those who were a bit more bubbly. And Snow was a very bubbly person when she got comfortable with you. Of course, Snow had bad experiences with men who held everything inside because that was always when her father was the angriest and when she was punished in the worst ways. The quieter he got, the more dangerous he was.
Still, James was assisting her, despite their mutual dislike, and she seemed to be grateful. More or less.
But, suddenly, it was my turn to meet my helper. The Spinner had contacted me earlier that week and let me know that my own special assistant was on his way. Apparently, the Fey king had been more than happy to help us. The new queen of the Wraiths was busy getting her kingdom back in order but the war between the two nations was officially over and the Wraiths had agreed to keep an eye out for any shenanigans in their territory. Not that much happened in the Northern Wastes. People generally didn’t want to go there or try and conquer it. Too cold and too little food available.
I slipped out of the castle and wandered into the woods. I may have missed my home under the mountain, but there was always something so intoxicating about being surrounded by trees. I’d always felt that way. Dad had always told me that it was my Fey and human heritage coming though. At one point, when I was much younger, I’d hoped to see the Fey Forest and the famed cities in the trees. The idea of a treehouse castle was just too interesting to pass up. I doubted I’d ever see it, but at least I was able to experience the openness of the woods.
