Lady Alma

by A. G. Marshall

  Then the corset tightened and didn’t stop. It pushed all the air from my lungs, and I couldn’t get more. I slumped against Lorenzo’s chest.

  “Alma?” he whispered. “Alma, what’s wrong?”

  I gasped for breath, but it was no good. The corset was too tight.

  And it kept getting tighter. My vision blurred, and the whole room spun.

  I tried to speak. To say his name, to ask for help. But I didn’t have enough air left to make the sounds.

  “Alma, what’s wrong?”

  My legs collapsed, but Lorenzo caught me and held me against his chest so I wouldn’t fall. Black spots flickered through my vision as the room went dark.

  I was going to faint.

  I was going to die.

  I gasped, one last time, desperate for air.

  Something at my back snapped. My eyes opened wide, and my lungs expanded.

  So did the corset. The back of my gown ripped, and a cool breeze chilled my stomach. I swallowed and looked down.

  The fairy corset swung around my hips, held over the skirt by a single frayed cord. The bodice of Mother’s dress hung in tatters around my torso. Beneath it, my sweat-soaked chemise clung to my skin.

  I stepped away from Lorenzo and looked around the ballroom, willing the lights to go out again.

  They didn’t.

  I stood before the entire Castanian court in my underwear.

  For once, the nobles were stunned into silence. Lorenzo’s eyes were round with shock.

  I pulled up my skirt and ran.

  It took far too long to cross the ballroom. The musicians stopped playing. Everyone stopped dancing and stared at me. The crowd parted as I passed. Nobles crowded against each other to avoid me.

  I ran up the stairs, stumbling as my tired legs protested. The footmen opened the doors for me, and I wiped tears from my eyes as I ran past Lorenzo’s portrait in the hall.

  The ball was over.

  Chapter 8

  I turned through a side door before I reached the main gate. There were too many people there, and I needed to hide. I raced through the castle, choosing the darkest hallways until I found myself outside in the rose garden. The balcony where Lorenzo and I had talked stood above me. I ran to the middle of the garden, crawled under a bench, and caught my breath in shuddering gasps.

  As my embarrassment faded, I clutched the torn fabric of Mother’s gown and wept. It was ruined. This connection to her had been damaged beyond repair.

  And Lorenzo! He would never want to see me again. Not after I embarrassed him and cast bad luck on his King’s Trial. So much for being helpful.

  “Alma?”

  I peeked around the bench. A thin figure in a yellow dress with green ruffles climbed down a trellis on the balcony.

  Rosa.

  I didn’t want to see anyone right now, but especially not her.

  “Alma, are you alright? Are you here?”

  I breathed slowly, covering my mouth with my hand to muffle the sound. I wasn’t here. I wasn’t anywhere. I never wanted to show my face again.

  The garden grew brighter. Rosa must have brought a Light Guild master to help her search. I risked another look. A star hovered over her head, and she walked towards me.

  I rolled further under the bench and folded my skirt to hide the glow of the Rosas Rojas. Rocks pressed into my back, but I didn’t care.

  Rosa walked past me. I held my breath as I watched her ruffled skirt trail through the grass. The star above her head cast strange shadows through the garden.

  “Rosa, is she down there?”

  Donna Senona’s voice rang out from the balcony.

  “No,” Rosa said. “I thought I saw someone, but the garden is empty.”

  “Come back, then. Maybe she went to the gate.”

  I heard a scuffling noise that could only be Rosa climbing up the trellis. Did she have no sense of decorum? Donna Senona didn’t scold her. Their footsteps clacked against the marble and faded away.

  I sighed in relief.

  My chest ached, but gradually my heartbeat slowed to a normal pace. I stayed on the ground and stared at the smooth underside of the marble bench. I didn’t have any tears left to cry.

  The night air grew cold, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave. Not yet. I breathed deeply, soaking in the scent of grass, roses, and all the dons I had danced with that evening. I closed my eyes. No one would ask me to dance ever again. This would be my first and last ball.

  Father wanted to move to the Garden District. It would be for the best now. For all of us. I had disgraced the whole family. A single tear rolled down my cheek. I opened my eyes and traced the silver veins in the marble, trying not to think.

  We would have to cancel my quince. No one would want to come. I could have a small celebration at the rose farm to mark my coming of age. Something like the wedding. We could invite all the local villagers and servants.

  What had gone wrong? Why had my corset attacked me? Had the fairy magic caused it?

  My thoughts whirled in circles, but nothing made sense. I kept coming back to the same question.

  Why?

  Hard as I tried, I couldn’t find the answers. I stayed under the bench until I drifted to sleep.

  In my dream, I stood in the royal ballroom. I wore Mother’s dress, and the bodice was no longer in tatters. I examined myself in a mirror. It was perfect, every detail restored. My hair hung down my back in untangled curls.

  Maybe it wasn’t a dream. Maybe the fairy magic was giving me a second chance.

  Lorenzo appeared across the room in a shower of golden sparkles. I turned away, but there was nowhere to hide in the empty ballroom. He ran to me.

  “Alma, are you alright? What happened?”

  In real life, I had cried all the tears I could manage. But in the dream world, I had plenty left.

  He stood beside me as I sobbed.

  “I am so sorry,” I said. “I’ve ruined the treaty! I ruined everything!”

  “You didn’t ruin anything,” Lorenzo said. “This wasn’t your fault.”

  “It certainly wasn’t.”

  Carlo and Don Diego appeared on either side of me. Lorenzo crossed his arms.

  “Alma, what happened?” Carlo said. “Do you have any idea?”

  I shook my head. None of it made any sense.

  “Does your father have debts?” Don Diego asked. “Was this a ploy to extract money from him?”

  Carlo and Lorenzo glared at him.

  “I’m just trying to help,” Don Diego said. “Does your family have any enemies, Alma?”

  His curled mustache bounced with every word.

  The ballroom flashed gold as more dons appeared. They gathered around me, inquiring after my wellbeing and demanding to know what had happened.

  Lorenzo frowned.

  “Come with me, Alma. We need privacy.”

  I held out my hand, but he was already walking across the ballroom. I jogged after him. Carlo followed us until Lorenzo turned and scowled at him. We reached the balcony, and the prince closed to doors to give us privacy.

  “Tell me exactly what happened, Alma,” Lorenzo said. “Who attacked you? And how?”

  I turned to face him and tilted my chin so I could look into his eyes.

  And then I woke up.

  The underside of the marble bench was brighter than it had been when I fell asleep. I leaned out from under it and groaned. The sky had changed from black to dusky gray, and the stars had faded. The sun would rise soon.

  I couldn’t stay here. The gardeners would find me eventually. I crawled out from under the bench, stiff from sleeping on the ground. I pulled my skirt as far up as it would go and walked to the edge of the garden. Surely there was a back entrance somewhere.

  I found a gap in the hedge and slipped through it. I wasn’t outside the castle walls yet, but at least no one in the palace could see me. I wandered through a grove of trees until I reached the road.

  A guard stood at the gate. Th
ere was no way to get out without passing him.

  I would have to face him, then.

  I strode forward with my head held as high as I could manage. Maybe I could just walk through. Maybe he wouldn’t ask any questions.

  He cleared his throat.

  “Would you care to borrow my cloak, miss?”

  He pulled his cloak from around his shoulders and held it out to me, looking the other way as he did.

  “I’m not sure how I would get it back to you,” I said.

  “Send it to the castle laundry. It is part of my uniform, so technically it belongs to the king.”

  “You’re sure it’s alright?”

  “Just take it. Please.”

  His face was bright red. I grinned in spite of everything. He was as embarrassed as I was. Maybe more.

  I took the cloak and wrapped it around my shoulders. The dark blue wool was soft and embroidered with the king’s crest. Warmth crept across my skin, and I realized how cold I had been.

  “Thank you.”

  The guard glanced my way, then turned to face me when he saw I was covered up. He had an open face with wide, honest eyes. His shoulder length hair was pulled back with a leather cord.

  “My pleasure, miss. Are you Alma? The girl that disappeared at the ball?”

  I nodded. No point in denying it.

  “Everyone will be relieved that you’re safe. Do you need assistance? Eduardo, second sapphire of the Weaponry Guild, at your service.”

  I considered asking for a horse but dismissed the thought. The less attention I drew to myself, the better. The sun’s first rays broke over the horizon. I had officially been out all night.

  “I’ll be fine, thank you.”

  “Are you walking home, then? I really should call an escort for you.”

  “I don’t live far away, and I’d rather avoid attention right now.”

  He considered this, then nodded.

  “Very well, if that’s what you prefer. I’d escort you myself, but I’m the only one at the gate this morning since half our force is traveling with the king. Be safe, miss.”

  “Thank you, Eduardo.”

  I hurried down the road towards my house. It had seemed a short distance when riding in a carriage, but the journey took much longer on foot. I was already tired and sore from dancing all night and sleeping on gravel. I trudged through the streets of Castello, dodging merchants on their way to the market, until I finally entered the forest.

  Trumpet fanfare rang out behind me. I ran off the road and ducked behind the trees. A battalion of guards rode past on horseback. The royal carriage followed after, and then more guards.

  The royal family was leaving for the Wine District. Everyone except Lorenzo.

  If I was decently dressed, I might have waved at them to wish them well. As it was, their passing made me too nervous to walk on the road. I stayed in the forest. Roots tripped me, and branches snagged the long cloak.

  More horse hooves interrupted the silence. I hid behind a tree.

  “Alma!” someone called. “Are you there, Alma?”

  I peeked around the tree, then hid again. Don Diego rode by on a white horse with a black mane and tail. The horse’s tail was curled just like Don Diego’s mustache. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

  “Alma, I’m here to save you! Are you out there?”

  Once he was out of sight, I continued my hike through the forest. The sun was high in the sky by the time I made it home.

  I slipped through a gap in our hedge so I wouldn’t have to face our guards and trudged up the path to our house. I glared at the marble statues and rose bushes along the way. I never wanted to see another garden again.

  “Alma! My hija!”

  Father flung open the door as I walked up the driveway. In spite of my protests, he picked me up and carried me the rest of the way to the house. He lowered me onto a settee in the foyer and ordered a servant to fetch food and tell the others I was safe.

  “Where have you been?” he asked. “We’ve been up all night searching for you!”

  “Oh, Alma!”

  Donna Senona swept into the room with Rosa close behind her.

  They both looked terrible. They still wore their ball gowns, but their hair was mussed and their eyes shadowed from lack of sleep. I looked at Father and saw the same dark circles under his eyes.

  Donna Senona took my hand.

  “Where have you been?”

  I didn’t answer.

  “I thought you were in the rose garden,” Rosa said. “But someone else saw you going out the gate. It seems you were everywhere last night.”

  I tried to sit up, but Eduardo’s cloak caught underneath me. I slipped back onto the settee.

  “Oh, you must be exhausted,” Donna Senona said. “Arturo, carry her up to her room. She can answer questions after we’ve all had some rest.”

  She clapped her hands at a servant.

  “Send word to the castle that she has been found.”

  The castle.

  Lorenzo.

  I groaned.

  Father carried me up to my room and set me on my bed.

  “Are you alright, Hija?”

  “I’m fine, Papa. Just tired.”

  He looked so concerned. I smiled, trying to make him feel better.

  “It will be alright. I just want to sleep.”

  He nodded and left the room. Donna Senona entered.

  “I need rest,” I said.

  “Of course, but you should undress first.”

  I kept my mouth shut as her tailor removed the remains of Mother’s gown and snapped me into a nightgown. My heart sank as he folded the tattered, dirty fabric into a small pile. He left the Rosas Rojas attached to the skirt and carried the entire bundle away. Donna Senona stayed, watching me with a critical eye.

  “Donna Senona, you should go to bed. Tía Teresa can help me.”

  “It is no trouble, Alma. I want to make sure you are well. Where did you go last night?”

  I said nothing. I didn’t owe her an explanation. She studied me a while longer, then apparently decided nothing was amiss. She closed my curtains, casting a shadow over the room.

  “Sleep well, Alma.”

  I had technically slept all night, but I crashed into a dreamless sleep as soon she closed the door.

  Chapter 9

  I awoke sometime in the afternoon. I pulled a robe over my nightgown and wandered through empty hallways. Where was everyone? Still resting? I hurried across the house, hoping Tía Teresa was in her room. I needed answers about my corset, and she would have them.

  I knocked on her door. There was no answer, but it swung open.

  “Tía Teresa?”

  My voice echoed in the hallway. I pushed the door open a bit further.

  “Tía? It’s me, Alma.”

  Still no answer, so I peeked into her room.

  It was empty.

  Completely empty.

  The family portraits and decorative tapestries were gone. The corner where she kept her fabric was bare. Even the sheets and blankets had been removed from her bed. I pulled open her wardrobe.

  Empty. Not even a chemise.

  I stared for a moment, then sank onto her mattress.

  Where would she go on such short notice? Why would she take all her things?

  I fought back panic and ran through the house looking for someone. Anyone. Finally, I found a girl cleaning the hallway. She waved her hands and gathered the dust into small clumps in the air. I didn’t recognize her. She must have come with Donna Senona.

  “Where is Tía Teresa?” I demanded.

  She looked down, avoiding my gaze.

  “I’m sure I don’t know, miss.”

  “And I’m sure you do! Where is she?”

  She turned to go, but I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. Pain shot through my injured hand, but I didn’t let go.

  “Tell me.”

  “Donna Senona dismissed her.”

  I let go and s
tumbled backward. This was a mistake. This had to be a mistake.

  “Where is Donna Senona?” I asked.

  “In the kitchen. She’s meeting with the staff to prepare for-”

  I didn’t stay to hear what they were preparing for. I ran to the kitchen and pushed through the crowd of servants until I reached Donna Senona.

  “Alma-”

  “Why did you dismiss Tía Teresa?”

  I glared up at her, my fists clenched around my robe.

  “Alma, she dressed you in a cursed corset and encouraged you to flirt with noblemen before your quince. I can’t have someone that irresponsible near you.”

  “You think she meant for that to happen? Tía Teresa would never harm me!”

  “Perhaps not on purpose, but the harm has been done. What happened last night was her fault. An underage girl getting that many Rosas Rojas is unprecedented. I don’t know what she was thinking, dressing you in such a gaudy gown to attract attention.”

  “That was my mother’s gown!” I said. “Her masterpiece! And maybe it wasn’t the dress that attracted them. Maybe they were charmed by my beauty. Maybe they liked me for myself.”

  Donna Senona didn’t look convinced. I took a deep breath.

  “So you’d rather I be like Rosa and read books instead of dancing? She’s the one you should be concerned about!”

  “Alma, I won’t have such behavior. Not in my house.”

  “This is not your house!”

  The words were out before I could think, but I would have said them anyway.

  Her face paled.

  “Now is not the time for this discussion, Alma. We have important guests coming, and there is much to be done. We need your help to prepare, and I can’t be worried about your seamstress trying rogue spells on you.”

  Tears streamed down my face.

  “You can’t just dismiss me like that! Once Father hears about this-”

  “Your father has been named to Prince Lorenzo’s council for the King’s Trial. He’s staying in the castle until they finish negotiations, and you’re not to worry him with trivial matters. A lot depends on the success of this treaty.”

  I gritted my teeth and ran out of the kitchen before I did something I would regret.