Kingdom of Mirrors and Roses

by A. W. Cross

  The prince raised a perfectly shaped brow, but before he could say anything, the door to the throne room was forced open.

  Peeking inside after pushing back the doors, another maiden appeared. Claire was shocked to see that it was Deborah, the Regent’s daughter. How did this girl get to the castle?

  Deborah stepped inside, her gaze aimed at the prince, and she stopped in her tracks as if her feet had suddenly been glued to the marble floor.

  Prince William rose to his feet, his eyes flaring. The change in the atmosphere had the butler, and the fairies scurrying several feet back. Claire could only stare, frozen where she stood.

  A chilling cold took form and swept across the room as the prince’s face contorted. “I am Prince William Dracon. What is your business here? I never called upon anyone but the chosen.”

  Deborah’s lips trembled, but she curtsied and stared at her feet. “I am sorry for the intrusion, sire. A grand deception has occurred. I should be the one at the palace to melt your heart. This pathetic peasant is not meant to be in your presence.” She raised her head and pointed at Claire.

  Claire’s face reddened as her fists clenched. If not for her upbringing, she would have decked the noble brat without a second thought. “What nonsense are you saying?”

  Deborah gave Claire a disgusted look. “The clothes you are wearing are an upgrade from the ones you were wearing yesterday, but it doesn’t hide the fact that you aren’t high-born like me.”

  The prince spoke before Claire could. “Are you suggesting the girl present is an imposter? Were you chosen to come here instead of her?”

  Deborah looked taken aback. “N-no, but she is not good enough to be by your side. I am the one you want, Prince William. My father intentionally picked a poor girl to keep me out of the running. He fears me coming here, but I don’t. I want to be your queen.”

  Prince William’s face darkened. “My queen?”

  “If you let me stay, instead of her, I’m sure I can break your curse,” Deborah assured.

  The prince sneered. “And you would break my curse with what? Your pretty face? Your fancy clothes? Your arrogance?”

  “Milord …”

  He raised his hand. “Quiet! You are a trespasser. You broke the law, arrived here uninvited, talked ill of my guest, and spouted madness. I have had enough of your prattling!”

  Deborah shook where she stood. Her face filled with distress instead of the wonder and superiority that she had moments before.

  The cold around them intensified, and Claire feared for the Regent’s daughter. The girl’s attitude was awful, but the prince looked ready to send Deborah to the dungeons or worse. Who knew what punishments happened here?

  “Ming, take this intruder to the dungeons,” Prince William ordered. “She has committed a severe crime by entering my lands uninvited. When the time is right, I will render punishment. No status is exempt from disobeying our laws, let her be an example to others thinking they can ignore the rules.”

  “W-what do you mean?” Deborah asked.

  “What part of my speech didn’t you understand, unpleasant creature?” the prince questioned.

  “But I’m prettier and … My father is the Regent. You can’t punish me.”

  Claire knew that she could be insolent sometimes, but Deborah was on another level. She looked at the stern prince’s face. He wasn’t letting her words slid unpunished. What prince would?

  The prince slowly descended the stairs to the throne and moved with the subtleness of a white mountain tiger. “Prettier? The Regent’s daughter? Do you forget who I am? Have I been away for so long that you don’t recognize your ruler anymore?”

  Deborah flinched. “I’m s-sorry.”

  “How can someone so small be so arrogant?”

  “Your Majesty,” Deborah wailed and looked around as a cold fog swirled around her body. “I-I…” She burst into tears. “Please, have mercy. I didn’t mean to break any laws. It’s freezing, and I don’t want to be locked away. At least take me in as a guest. I promise not to anger you further. If you just give me a chance, I could prove my worth.”

  The prince brushed past Claire as Deborah whined for her life. He raised his hand, and an icy orb formed. Claire’s heart jumped in her chest. Without thinking, she grabbed his arm by his sleeve and put herself between him and Deborah. The orb on his palm disappeared, and his gaze locked with hers.

  She trembled with his cold glare. Yet, as much as she disliked the Regent’s daughter, she didn’t want the naive young lady to be turned into an ice statue.

  “Prince William, I plead that you have mercy on this foolish girl. The celebration has become so popular that many want to see you up close. Please, don’t harm her. Just send her back to town with a warning against trespassers. Or if you wish to keep her, send me back instead,” she suggested.

  “Claire, get out of the way,” Ming warned, flying in front of her with a distressed face.

  Claire shook her head. “Deborah might be spoiled, but she doesn’t deserve to die.”

  “Don’t kill me,” Deborah begged with her hands on Claire’s shoulders.

  “Your Majesty, have mercy,” Claire requested, looking at him.

  The Prince glared and waved Ming to move.

  “Claire isn’t at fault,” Ming protested.

  “She touched me,” the prince retorted.

  Ming looked at Claire and then at the prince. “No harm done. She’s fine, and you are overreacting.”

  The prince ignored the fairy and glared at Claire again. “Are you willing to die to protect the one who just insulted you?”

  “I have no wish to keep company to a person who wants to kill someone just because they trespassed and acted like a spoiled child. You don’t deserve being saved if you’re that ruthless. You don’t deserve to be loved either.”

  Claire didn’t know what she was witnessing when his face transformed, and he stepped back. It seemed that she had hurt his feelings, but he was supposed to be heartless in the first place. Insensitive people don’t care about taking a life, right?

  After a moment that felt like an eternity, the prince waved in dismissal, turned around, and climbed back the stairs to his throne where he sat back and rubbed his forehead.

  Claire’s shoulders dropped, and she felt her body sore from the tension.

  “Isn’t he going to kill us anymore?” Deborah asked, raising her head to peek at the prince.

  “I have no idea,” Claire mumbled, brushing her hands on her skirt. Her heart was still racing. “What do you want to do? Do you want me to leave and keep Deborah here? She might please you more than me.”

  “What are you talking about?” Deborah asked. “Father chose you to stay. I shouldn’t be here.”

  Claire frowned at her. “You change your mind fast.”

  “I have no wish to marry someone who would kill me when he gets mad. You can stay and be his toy for the next six months.”

  “Claire wasn’t going anywhere in the first place,” the prince spoke from his throne. “You’re the one trespassing. She just saved your life. Show some respect.”

  Deborah looked in his direction. “You can keep her for more than six months if she pleases you. I have to go home. Father must be worried sick.”

  The prince arched an eyebrow as if something caught his attention. “Are you in such a rush to leave already? Weren’t you here to be my queen? To seduce me and melt my icy heart?”

  “You aren’t what I expected,” Deborah replied.

  “It seems that as always, my Regent has chosen wisely who to send here,” the prince praised. Claire watched his lips moving as if entranced. “Since I respect your father and Claire begged for your life, I’ll grant you mercy and send you back home unharmed.”

  “Thank you, my prince,” Deborah said with a relieved expression as she bowed.

  “And what will happen to me?” Claire asked.

  His lips curled up, and he secured two fingers against his temple. “You’l
l stay here with me, so you can make me happy. Isn’t that why you are here?”

  “Yes,” Claire replied without averting her eyes from his ethereal face.

  “Even a monster like me needs someone to keep him company. Even if they can’t be loved.”

  Claire’s face contorted with annoyance with his accusation. Instead of lashing out, she lowered her eyes to the floor and curtsied. “I’ll make you happy, my lord.” Her right lip curled up as she felt that he might not be expecting her reply. She raised her head to look at his devilishly handsome face. “After all, we don’t want your subjects to freeze to death, do we?”

  9

  Despite the rocky start and the feeling that the prince might make her staying there harder than it should, the days passed by without anything unusual happening. The prince seemed to be avoiding her, and her only company were the fairies. Having time to do whatever she wanted, never felt so dull.

  Claire often wondered what the prince did to keep himself entertained. What were the rooms that he frequently visited? Why was he keeping his distance when he seemed eager to punish her for saying he didn’t deserve love? Did he? He was nothing like she had envisioned him. He was much more handsome than the girls said he would be. Was she that impressed by a lifeless and unemotional creature? He barely looked human. Nevertheless, he had chosen her over Deborah.

  “Just because she dared to come here without an invitation and the Regent had decided to send me here instead. He was protecting his daughter,” Claire grumbled to herself as she mixed the bread dough on the kitchen’s workstation. She enjoyed helping the fairies with the cooking and baking.

  “You’re talking to yourself again?” Ming asked, flying to her side and landing on her shoulder.

  Claire straightened up and cleaned the beads of sweat on her forehead.

  Ming giggled. “You have flour all over your forehead and cheeks.”

  “I’ll wash once I’m done kneading the dough.”

  “You can talk to us about what’s bothering you,” Kara said from the cooker where she was using her magic to stir the wooden spoon inside the pan.

  Claire sighed. “I was just wondering how I can make the prince happy if he doesn’t show his face.”

  The fairies exchanged looks.

  Tasha was the first to speak. “Do you want to see him after what he did in the throne room?”

  “What did he do?”

  “He almost killed you and the other girl,” Kara replied.

  “But he didn’t,” Claire reminded them. “I might have offended him, too. Maybe I should find a way to apologize.”

  The fairies exchanged another look.

  Ming raised her hand. “Sweet bread with honey and hazelnuts, he loves that. Maybe we could bake some, and you can take it to the library.”

  Claire glanced at Ming. “A library? Is there one in here? Where? Why haven’t you shown me?”

  “It’s his refuge, and it’s in his part of the palace. We can’t take you there without his permission,” Kara clarified. She waved her hand, the spoon moved from the pan, and a drop fell on the fairy’s hand. She tasted the stew and nodded in appreciation. “Perfectly seasoned.”

  “Is that where he spends his days? That’s selfish of him. It would be easier to spend my time here if I had books to read,” Claire complained.

  “We like to read too. We can bring some of our favorite books for you,” Ming said with a nod of her head.

  “Oh, I would love that.” Claire folded her hands together with a smile.

  “All fairies like to dance, sing, play instruments, and perform their favorite plays,” Ming shared. “Do you like to sing too?”

  “I’m not very good at singing and can’t play an instrument. I know how to dance but not the waltzes meant for the rich people.”

  “And perform, do you like it?” Tasha asked.

  “I’m not very good at it, but it’s fun. We did a few plays in our village when the nights were warmer, and we celebrated the holy days.”

  “Did you have an audience?” Ming clapped her hands. “We never have an audience here. It’s lonely. The other girls never wanted to do anything with us.”

  “They were fools. I love to spend time with you. I learn new and fun recipes, and we always laugh about the silliest things. Plus, who would I talk to if I wasn’t with you?”

  Kara giggled. “To yourself, apparently.”

  Ming and Tasha laughed as Claire covered her cheeks with her hands, covering them with more flour.

  “I think it’s time to force the prince to eat his dinner in the living room with Claire. Don’t you agree, girls?” Ming asked her sisters.

  They nodded. “He needs to be more considerate of his guest.”

  “Can you do that?” Claire asked with widened eyes. “Won’t that make him upset?”

  “He rarely gets upset,” Ming assured. “He still needs food to keep living. Don’t worry about a thing, we’ll bring him out of his library lair, and you’ll be able to see and talk to him.”

  Claire scratched the back of her neck while trying to conceal her smile. “What’s the recipe to make his favorite bread?”

  Ming flew away. “Let me grab the ingredients.”

  From that point on, the prince only came forward when it was time for dinner. His attitude had not changed in the slightest. In fact, she thought he was colder than before. He barely looked at her and didn’t try to talk. He never praised the food or complimented the fairies for their hard work.

  The fairies served them the meals, but the prince remained silent and unattainable. After a while, Claire grew tired of his attitude and stopped making the desserts that were supposed to be his favorite. There was no point in serving them if they weren’t making him happy.

  Royalty was meant to be well-mannered and gracious, but William seemed to have chosen the rudest and scariest version of that motto. He sat at one end of the elongated dining table and Claire at the other. Meals were had in nearly complete silence. Attempts at saying a few words fell flat with either him ignoring her or a few blank stares that ranged from dull and uninterested to downright intimidating.

  Life at a palace was supposed to be fascinating and filled with wonder. Instead, Claire was stuck with a prince who seemed satisfied by being alone in a grand but creepy palace. Swapping places with Deborah never felt more appealing than before. The prince’s decision to keep her seemed more of a punishment than a preference. She missed her parents, her friends, goofy and kind Myka, and even her days at the fair, selling her goods. She wondered if everybody was missing her too. At least her home was warm and loving with neighbors ready to help each other. Aside from the fairies, living in the Diamond Palace was lonely. Expensive trinkets and fancy dresses couldn’t erase the need for human contact and communication.

  As time passed, she focused on exploring the palace more. As long as she did not disturb anything or bother the prince, it seemed she could go almost anywhere. The act became a hobby, trying to help pass the time and learn more about the place that was now her home. There were many rooms and floors to walk through. Everything looked expensive and rare. Just a few items would keep her family fed for the rest of their lives. But all of it belonged to a prince who stayed a recluse while his kingdom suffered.

  The white decor and high cathedral ceilings made the interior look majestic but daunting. Everything around her felt vast but suffocating compared to her old life. Claire missed her comfy home and loving parents even more as her mind drifted to the past. Yes, they were poor, but they were rich in love and care for each other.

  She was away from her family only to please a prince who was colder than ice to everyone. He didn’t care if she was there or not. No wonder girls made up stories about their staying in the palace. They either did it in spite or to hide the fact that their royal ruler was dull and wasn’t the least concerned with breaking his curse and freeing his kingdom of the perpetual snow.

  Her only salvation were the fairies. They were interest
ed in her happiness, not just in the fact that she might break the prince’s curse. That belief had fallen apart when the prince didn’t even bother to speak to her while they shared dinner. Spending her free time with the fairies and helping around the palace was Claire’s only distraction. They didn’t deny her assistance. She even helped them sew dresses and do embroidery. They, in turn, complimented her talents and treated Claire like an equal. As promised, they found her books so she could spend her time in more pleasant and exciting places. They often met in her bedroom, and she read to them. The fairies became her dearest friends. They were happy with hanging out with a human who just wanted to enjoy their company and share her passion for books with them. Plus, they were great singers, and they often danced around the dining table after the prince retired to his quarters and dull existence.

  Ensuring the prince and butler were not around, the fairies and Claire had fun around the palace’s empty rooms. Singing and dancing were among their favorite pastimes. They avoided the butler and hid when someone spotted him nearby. He was practically a shadow of the prince, and Claire doubted he’d ever sung and danced in his lifetime. Still, he worked there and deserved her respect. She just didn’t want the butler to tell the prince what they were doing. He might not approve of their games and scold the fairies for it.

  Soon, the fairies became bold enough to perform their favorite passages of the books they read at night. Picking the kitchen as their ground zero, they let their imagination ran wild. Their best idea was choreographing stories both within the pages of books and ones they’d made up. Claire loved doing the latter more since that allowed the females to be the hero of those stories. She did not mind reading about a damsel once in a while, but the deluge of books featuring that was annoying.