After several long minutes, the girl ran up to the side of the tub with a large towel and the announcement, “I’m ready! You can get out now!”
Clara sank down further. “Then leave the room.”
The girl frowned. “But if I leave, I can’t help you prepare for dinner, and if you’re late, what would Lady Roxanne say? She’d send me back to the village for certain! And the water must be getting cold – your toes are blue!”
Clara shifted, kicking one foot out of the water for a brief moment. It was actually a normal color – pretty amazing considering the fact that it had been submerged in an ice-cold river and then trudged down a mountain without shoes.
“Oh,” she said, realizing what the girl was talking about. “That’s fingernail polish. Or toenail in this case. My friends and I had a sleepover last night, and they insisted we paint our nails.”
“Oh.” The girl had to think about this for a little while. “So, are you going to get out or not? You’re starting to look like a gava, and that just won’t do.”
“A gava?”
“You don’t know what a gava is?” The girl sounded incredulous. “Well, it’s a type of fruit – but dried. Before it’s dried it’s called a primmon. And it gets all wrinkly.”
“So you mean a raisin?” Clara asked.
“A what?”
“Never mind. Okay, so you can’t leave the room, and I have to get out. Could you – could you at least turn your back?”
“If I turn my back, how can I hold the towel for you?” The girl let out a pitiful sigh. “Look, I’ll hold it really high and close my eyes.” And then, as she did so, she added in an undertone, “Not that you have anything I’ve never seen before.”
Reluctantly, Clara stood up, claimed the towel from the girl, wrapped it around herself, and stepped out of the tub.
“Happy now?” she asked, gravitating towards the fire because the room was cold.
The girl ran off the moment the towel was out of her hands and returned with a pair of very baggy pants, which she held out to Clara expectantly.
“What are those?” Clara asked.
“Why, they’re underwear,” the girl explained, as though it were obvious. “Don’t you wear underwear where you come from? But then, they did say that you were wearing next to nothing when you came out of the Waterfall.”
“I hadn’t expected it to be so cold.” Clara grudgingly took the baggy pants and put them on. She wished she had brought a pair from home. Of course, had she known she would fall into a waterfall when she dove that morning, she wouldn’t have done the diving.
When the girl held out the next item, Clara really balked. “You expect me to wear a corset?”
The girl blinked. “Of course. You need it to help with your posture, and to help hold your figure in place.” She gave Clara a long hard look. “Not that you have much of one.”
Clara glared and took the corset, muttering, “Try again, Mammy, see if you can make it eighteen.”
“What was that?” asked the girl.
“Nothing, I was talking to myself.” Getting into the corset required a bit of instruction and help from the girl, but Clara managed. It actually turned out to not be as restrictive as she had always thought corsets would be. It wasn’t flexible, but since she was apparently just going to go eat dinner of some sort, and wouldn’t be doing backflips or anything like that, it probably wouldn’t prove an issue.
Next came a silken shift, which was nice, followed by a gown made out of a shimmering blue fabric. It fastened up the back with a bunch of tiny buttons, so having the girl there to help proved handy once again. She apparently had done this before, as she was quite speedy.
Then the girl led Clara over to a stool and had her sit down.
“You don’t have much, do you?” she observed.
“Much of what?” asked Clara.
“Hair, of course,” the girl informed her.
“I swim,” Clara explained, fingering the ends of her chin-length hair.
“What does that have to do with it?” the girl asked. “Or did it freeze off when you came through the Waterfall? Did you really come out of it? When they told me you had, I didn’t really believe them. Did you really?”
“Yes, I came out of the waterfall,” said Clara, before the girl could go off on another tangent. “Yes, it was cold, but it didn’t freeze off my hair.”
“Then why is your hair so short?”
Clara took a deep breath, “Because I like it short.”
“Oh,” said the girl. She was silent for several moments before she gave an exclamation of, “Oh, I know!” and with that she began to twirl and poke and pin, giving Clara several warnings of “Now don’t move.” At last, after several minutes, she seemed satisfied, since she stopped pinning and warning, and let Clara stand up and walk over to a mirror.
“Wow,” she said. She actually looked like a princess. Her dress was the exact shade to best match her blue, vaguely almond-shaped eyes – she was a quarter Chinese, though her eyes and the fact she wasn’t even five foot were pretty much the only way a person could tell. Her blonde hair was pulled up in an elegant twist, with glittering blue pins to hold it in place. “Maybe I should let you do my hair more often.”
“Oh, it’s not a question of letting,” the girl contradicted. “I’m assigned to you. Or you to me. I’m never quite sure on that account. Now, jewelry.” She held up a box of glittering jewels.
Clara blinked and took a step back. “Whoa. Are those for me?”
“Well, of course, you’re the Water Princess. You get only the best.” The girl set the box on the table. “But do hurry. Dinner will be starting soon, and if we don’t hurry, all the mistletoe muffins will be gone.”
Clara glanced up from the jewels. “The what? Isn’t mistletoe, like, poisonous?”
“Oh, of course,” the girl admitted. “But not if they’re specially prepared – and don’t ask me how, because that’s something kitchen girls learn, and I’m a lady’s maid.” She was clearly quite proud of her position.
“You learn how to do hair instead?” Clara asked.
The girl nodded, grinning. “Lady Roxanne says I’m better than anyone else when it comes to hair.” Then she sighed. “But Jill says that it’s probably the only reason she hasn’t sent me back to the village. If you haven’t noticed, I have a bad habit of talking more than I should.”
“Nope, hadn’t noticed.” Clara hid her smile by leaning closer to the box of jewels. There were so many pretty ones. Most of them were blue – probably because she was in the blue room. At last, she drew out a sapphire choker. “How about this?”
“Oh, that’s lovely!” the girl cried. “Here, let me help you put it on.”
She made Clara sit on the stool again as she slid the silver chain around Clara’s neck and clasped it shut. “There we go,” she announced. “Now you’re ready for supper.”
Clara stood up and walked back over to the mirror to stare at her princess-reflection again. “This has been a very strange day.”
“What do you mean?”
Clara took a deep breath and turned to look at the girl. “Can I trust you?”
“I guess so,” the girl looked thoughtfully at the floor. “I’m just a lady’s maid, but if you need someone you can trust, I’ll try to be that someone.”
Clara smiled and put a hand on the girl’s shoulder, crouching down so she could look into those big, brown eyes. “What’s your name?”
“It’s Jasmine,” said the girl, a grin spreading across her face.
“Well, Jasmine,” continued Clara. “Where I come from, I’m not a Water Princess – I’m about as opposite a princess they come, despite what my dad calls me. And so, to suddenly be in this world, in the middle of winter, and not have any of my friends, well … I’m not quite sure what to do.”
“Oh. So, you’re scared?”
Clara sighed. “Something like that. I really don’t know what anyone expects of me, so I’m going to need som
eone to show me how to do things. I’ll probably ask really strange questions, about things you take for granted, but that’s because I’m not in Kansas anymore, and I’m not used to Oz yet.”
The girl looked confused. “Oz?”
“It’s a book I like to read back at home, about a girl who ends up in a strange place and has to kill a couple crazy witches before she can go home,” Clara explained.
Jasmine nodded as though she understood. “Did she become a princess too?”
“Well, not in that book, but she did go back to Oz eventually and she was made a princess then,” Clara admitted.
“Oh.” Jasmine looked thoughtful for a few moments. “But we do need to get to supper. Lady Roxanne says that I’m to show you the way.”
“Good,” said Clara, standing up, “’cause I’m hungry and don’t know my way around this castle.” She held out a hand. “Lead the way.”
Jasmine apparently didn’t comprehend that Clara had expected her to take her hand as part of the leading, as she scampered towards the door and opened it, pausing only to look back over her shoulder to make sure Clara was following her.
Clara was glad for the guide, for the halls of this castle were not straightforward, and she enjoyed watching the girl. Jasmine was clearly trying to keep calm and walk like a civilized human being, but couldn’t keep an excited bounce out of her step. She named off various occupants of various rooms as they passed them, names that Clara wondered if she would have to remember, and relayed various bits of gossip that Clara doubted the girl was supposed to know.
People, mostly servants, milled here and there, and all paused to stare at them as they passed. Some tried to hide the fact that they were staring, but Clara still felt their eyes on her. Whatever this “Water Princess” business meant, her presence had clearly caused something of a stir.
As they walked, the crowd grew thicker, until Jasmine stopped in front of a pair of heavy double doors with guards standing on either side.
“Here we are,” she announced quietly.
Clara blinked. “Okay…”
Jasmine started to walk away.
“Um, where are you going?”
The girl turned with an almost frightened expression. “I’m just a servant. I don’t get to eat in the great hall. They’re waiting for you though.” And with that, she ran off.
Taking a deep breath, Clara stepped forward, and the guards pushed open the doors, and one of them announced, “Her Highness, the long-awaited Water Princess.”
She willed herself to walk calmly through despite all of the eyes on her. Sure, she was used to staring crowds from all the various competitions she’d taken part in over the years, but usually, she knew what the staring crowd expected of her, and was prepared to deliver. What did these people expect of a “Water Princess”?
A richly-dressed man in his forties approached, dipping his head as he placed a fist over his heart. “It is an honor to have you here with us at last, Water Princess,” he said, straightening. “I am Lord Erik, the keeper of Upper Klarand. May I have the honor of escorting you to your seat?” He held out an expectant arm.
“Uh, thank you.” Not knowing what else to do, Clara accepted the offered arm and allowed herself to be led up to a dais where a long table was prepared. Lord Erik pulled out a chair for her near the head and motioned for her to sit. She did so. He sat down at the head of the table, and everyone else in the room sat as well.
Clara glanced down at the plate set before her and gave an inward sigh of relief as she noted that weren’t twelve forks and twenty spoons that she would have to muddle through. Just two of each and a sharp knife, and it was easy to tell their purposes. Salad, soup, and everything else.
“I see you have recovered from your chill?”
Clara looked up to see that she was seated across from Lady Roxanne. It made sense though. She was Lord Erik’s wife if Clara remembered right.
She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine now. I think. That’s not an experience I intend to repeat.” She frowned as a thought of how she would get home passed through her head.
Lady Roxanne smiled. “I can imagine. We certainly hadn’t expected your arrival to be in the middle of winter.”
There were a thousand questions that Clara wanted to ask, but was unsure how to ask. Was this even the right place for it? Was she somehow expected to already know what this whole Water Princess business was all about? If so, well, she was already a disappointment.
A hush settled over the room as everyone bowed their heads, so Clara did the same.
Lord Erik began to speak. “Alphego, as we gather here today in celebration, we would like to thank you for at last sending us the Water Princess. Though many have begun to doubt at this late hour, your time is, as always, perfect. We ask that you give her, and us, the strength and courage to face what is before us, for the task set before her is certainly not an easy one…”
He spoke on, but those words echoed through Clara’s head, preventing her from hearing the rest. She stared at Lord Erik, opened-mouthed, though his eyes were closed and he couldn’t see. Just what was expected of a Water Princess?
Chapter 3
“Why am I here?” Clara demanded as soon as Lord Erik opened his eyes.
He didn’t answer at first, his attention focused on the trays of food that servants were bringing from the kitchen. A bowl of soup was placed in front of everyone, and only after thanking the servant that gave him his bowl did Lord Erik turn to Clara. He took a deep breath. “Forgive me if this sounds like a strange question, but what do you know of the various arts of combat?”
Clara narrowed her eyes. “Could you be more specific?” Sure, her dad taught Tae Kwon Do, her mom taught fencing, and Kath’s dad taught archery, and thus she was well-trained in all three. However, she wasn’t ready to put her weapons on the table until she knew what weapons were needed and for what. Perhaps not even then, for how was she to know that they’d be telling her the truth?
“Well,” said Lord Erik, “have you done any training with a bow and arrow, perhaps with a knife? I know this may seem like a strange question, you being a girl and all.”
Oh, please. “Do you really expect me, a young girl, to know how to use a weapon?” she asked. “Besides, where I come from, we barely even use those sorts of weapons anymore.” She paused a moment, then added, “I can throw my shoe at mouse kings, but that’s probably about it.”
“Unfortunately, our problem is a bit bigger than a mouse king,” said Lord Erik, sounding a trifle confused as he narrowed his eyes.
“Really? Because mouse kings can be huge problems, eating all of the sweets and chewing holes in dresses,” said Clara in her best shocked voice, layering in plenty of concern. “What could be worse than that?”
Lord Erik took a deep breath, while the dark-haired young man on Clara’s right whispered something under his breath. Clara shot this young man a conspiratorial smile because she felt like it.
“If you have no fighting skills, we are prepared to give you lessons for what you need,” said Lord Erik. “In this world, while it isn’t common for us to train our daughters for war, it is not unheard of.” He smiled as he took a sip of his drink, some sort of fruit juice. “In fact, two of the greatest swordsmen in our history were women – Queen Michelle of Rizkaland itself, and our own Princess Isabelle.”
Clara frowned at her plate a moment. Isabelle was her mother’s name. But, then, if this was a dream, of course she would use names she knew. She leveled a glare at the lord. “But why do you want me to know how to fight? Look, I read the books. When people are pulled from one world to another, it isn’t so they can pick flowers. What is it that I’m going to have to fight?”
Lord Erik looked hesitant.
“Father, you really should just tell her,” the young man on Clara’s right pointed out. “There’s no use in letting the Water Princess’s imagination scare her worse than the reality.”
Lord Erik nodded. “Perhaps you’re right, Jakob. You
see, Water Princess. For the past fifteen years, our island has been besieged and tormented by the Lady Dragon. She’s not succeeded in conquering us yet, thank Alphego, but she has made our way of life very difficult. It’s not so bad here in Upper Klarand, as we have our mountains to protect us, but in Wea, I hear that things are terrible indeed.”
“And I’m expected to fight her?” Clara guessed.
“Yes,” said Lord Erik. “It’s part of the prophecy – the Water Princess will fight.”
Clara pressed her lips together as she processed the information. “I should have guessed there was a prophecy involved,” she said at last. “There always is.”
Silence for several moments, and then Jakob spoke. “I take it you’re well-read, Water Princess?”
“I like to consider myself so,” she replied. “I try to avoid the newer books, which is where you’ll find most of the world traveling and terrible prophecies, but I’ve read enough of them to know what to expect. So, let’s hear it. Is it very long, or one of the vague ones?”
It was Lady Roxanne who spoke.
“When the Lady Dragon does come,
Hold fast, do not fear, do not run.
Your Water Princess will fight,
Fire Prince will set all to right.
Each shall come from a Fall,
Their union will save you all.”
Clara took a deep breath as she processed the words. “So, a vague one, then.” Then she frowned. “Who’s the Fire Prince?”
“As much a mystery as you yourself were until the woman found you this morning,” said Lady Roxanne. “It is suspected that he will come from the Firefall in Lower Klarand, just as we suspected that you would come from the Waterfall. And since our suspicion about you proved true, it is likely that it will also prove true about the Fire Prince.”
“Brilliant.” Clara leaned forward and took a long sip of her drink, to give herself a moment to think. “So, you’re going to have me fight this Lady Dragon – is it a literal dragon or figurative, by the way? – and then he’ll come behind me and set all to right? I don’t remember signing up for this.”
Water Princess, Fire Prince Page 2
