by Camille Rae
Alivia slowly poured warm water over my hair.
“So, besides helping me dress, what else do you two do?” I asked, pushing water out of my eyes and scrubbing the dirt out from under my nails. My ring did its familiar tinny, shrill song when it was under the water. Neither of the Graces seemed to notice.
“We also accompany you throughout the Citadel, should you need anything,” Maisy chimed in, rubbing shampoo between her two hands.
“You’re basically my personal assistants?” I asked, peering up at Maisy as she began to massage my scalp.
I closed my eyes, reveling in the feeling of being massaged, of being pampered. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a massage or even a haircut.
“We’re something like that, Mistress,” Alivia said, bringing a soapy sponge down my shoulder and arm.
“You can just call me Caia,” I said, feeling self-conscious. Here I was, being waited on and spoiled, and I didn’t even know exactly why. Of course, I had an idea. They thought I was a Princess, but what if they were wrong?
Alivia blushed. “Okay,” she said quietly.
She finished with my hair and rinsed it, then added drops of oil and ran her fingers through, rinsing again. I took the sponge from her and finished cleaning my skin, happy to be without all of the dirt from the past few days. Even though I had bathed in the lake the night before, it was nothing compared to a real bath.
Maisy grabbed a stone and began to rub at my hands, particularly the calluses of my palms.
I pulled my hands out of her grasp. “No, thank you, don’t scrub those off. I need those,” I said, affronted.
She raised her eyebrows, as if to silently say, For what?
“For climbing. I’ve worked hard on these,” I said, holding my hands tightly to my chest.
“Climbing what?” Alivia asked, turning my hand over in hers.
“Rocks, mostly. Do you rock climb here?” I asked, feeling hopeful.
They both shook their heads, looking confused.
“You don’t just climb up the rocky sides of mountains for the fun of it?” I asked, holding onto my one last shred of connecting with these women.
Alivia thought for a moment, and then shook her head. “Not that I know of. But sometimes I see the soldiers scaling the Citadel walls for training,” she said, perking up.
I nodded enthusiastically. “That’s not far off,” I said, smiling.
If I was going to be stuck with these women who I didn’t seem to have anything in common with, the least I could do was make very tiny connections.
“I have a question,” I said, hesitant to sound stupid.
“Anything, Mistress,” Maisy said.
“Is everyone a shifter in Nos?” I asked, looking between the two women.
“A good majority are,” she said.
“Are you both shifters?” I asked.
They both nodded with kind smiles.
“What do you shift into?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
“Bears, Mistress,” Alivia said.
I raised by eyebrows. “Bears?” I repeated. I suddenly understood that they were more than personal assistants. They were extra bodyguards.
I looked between the two women. They were relatively small of stature and height. How incredible they must look as bears.
Alivia turned and grabbed the towel, instructing me to stand. She began to dry me off, but I took the towel from her and did it myself, stepping out of the tub and wrapping the towel around me.
“Now is the fun part. Hair and dress,” Alivia said, clapping.
It took about twenty more minutes for Alivia to do my hair and Maisy to sew me into my dress. Yes, sew me in. Apparently Laeris didn’t believe in zippers.
I stood in the mirror, feeling a little shocked.
My hair had been dried and then curled with a warm metal rod akin to what I knew as a curling wand. The waves fell around my shoulders, bouncing with the new volume.
The dress was dark silk and had a full, flowy skirt that felt luxurious to me.
Alivia had lined my eyes and lashes with dark kohl and touched my cheeks with rouge. She had finished off the look with a red stain on my lips.
I felt magnificent. I twisted in the mirror, my hands in my skirt. “This dress is incredible,” I said, whispering in reverence.
I couldn’t think of the last time I had felt so gorgeous and dressed so nicely.
“Wouldn’t want you being underdressed for Himself,” Maisy said, smiling.
“Or the wolves,” Alivia said with a wink and grin.
“The wolves?” I asked, confused. Who was that?
“The four gorgeous warriors you rode in here with,” Alivia giggled. “What I wouldn't give to be on a horse with one of them.”
I laughed at the thought of others being jealous to be captive to a pack of shifters and sore from riding a horse for so long.
“Yeah, they’re…” I started, but realized that I didn’t know exactly how to end that sentence. They were four warriors who had kidnapped me, were sworn to protect me, and then brought me here to meet their mysterious leader. They were also four handsome men with muscled bodies from hard work, and I wasn’t surprised they were a little infamous already.
“Oh, relax, no one goes near the wolves,” Maisy said, giggling and patting my shoulder.
“So, they have a gang name?” I asked, feeling a bit shocked. How infamous were they?
Alivia tilted her head, clearly not understanding me.
“Why are they called the wolves?” I asked, trying to find a way to better communicate so they’d understand me. I sat on the edge of the bed, the bodice of my gown squeezing my ribcage. “Aren’t there other wolf shifters in Nos?”
“They’re the highest ranking wolves in Theo’s pack and his fiercest warriors. They’re some of the most gifted men in the Rebellion,” Maisy said.
“A lot of women would kill to be wandering the woods with Loel, especially,” Alivia giggled again.
I bristled at that, but tried to maintain my composure. “He seems pretty average to me,” I lied.
“Average? Oh, no, he’s very special,” Maisy said, her eyes wide.
“Why?” I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.
Alivia nodded, adding in, “Loel was betro—”
Maisy elbowed her, furrowing her brows in a stern look.
Great, more secrets. I glared at Alivia, willing her to continue speaking, but she didn’t.
I stood, my stomach growling loudly. “Sorry, I’m starving and anxious to meet Theo,” I admitted.
“Well, you’ll be eating after you meet with Himself,” Maisy said, tilting her head.
“After? Does no one in this country eat?” I said, feeling mildly exasperated.
“There is a feast to be had after,” Alivia said placatingly.
I sighed, grumbling about starvation. I thought wistfully of my day pack. I had eaten the last of my protein bars on the trip, but I still had some fruit leathers in there.
“You look beautiful, Mis… I mean, Caia,” Maisy said and gestured toward the door, as if on cue.
They lead me back into the hallway, and without having to rush to my room, I was able to look around. The Citadel had stone walls and floors and torches lit the hallway every six feet or so.
The hallway was quite bare, but as we ascended a staircase into another hallway, tapestries and portraits were hung along the walls depicting colorful scenes and gardens filled with animals. I’d have thought more battles would be featured, if only to really drive home that Rebellion thing, but it was peaceful all the way to wherever I was meeting Himself — Theo, I supposed. It looked more like a palace than a Rebel strong hold.
The women lead me to a door. “This is Himself’s Solar,” Alivia explained.
“What’s a Solar?” I asked, but before I got an answer, Maisy leaned forward and knocked twice, then the pair ducked back into the shadows.
Really helpful, I thought, narrowing my eye
s at them before turning to the door as it opened.
Chapter 11
Caia
There stood a man with a large scar across his face, a silvery line that cut across the inner corner of one eye and down over his large, hooked nose. To have survived a wound like that… I did my best not to cringe.
I guessed he was in his forties, since his dark hair was only greying in his beard, but the hair on his head still grew thick and lush. He reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Then again, I had thought Loel was familiar, too, somehow, so maybe I was grasping at anything that I might recognize in the strange world I was in.
He stepped forward and gave me a slight bow. “You’ve come,” he said, his head still bent to me. He stood again and I realized he was a bit shorter than me, maybe only topping out at 5’6”.
“I assume you’re Theo,” I said, trying to match his formal tone. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
I gave a small curtsy, silently thanking the 11th grade drama teacher who had cast me in Cinderella as Silent-Curtseying-Girl-At-The-Ball and had made me practice a proper curtsy about ten billion times. I dipped gracefully, wanting to pat myself on the shoulder for my performance. I just hoped the curtsy was one of the similarities between our two worlds.
“Please come in,” he said and stepped back from the door.
I walked in and looked around the Solar, not sure what to expect. If I had been expecting anything, it wasn’t this. It was a cozy sitting room with a fireplace and mantle along one side and a large table on the other. A desk sat in the corner, with chairs in front of it, and the walls were painted a navy blue. It was his office, I realized.
He was staring at me appraisingly, looking me up and down. I felt a bit self-conscious in my gown, realizing it was showing a lot of skin.
Theo closed the door and gestured to a chair.
“I’m okay standing. It’s been a long ride,” I said, holding onto the back of the chair and shifting uneasily. Something about him unnerved me, and I wanted whatever advantages standing might offer if I needed to run or defend myself.
“Caia,” he began, pausing. “If I may call you Caia.”
I nodded. “Of course. If I may call you Theo.”
He nodded, not meeting my eye. “I trust that my men have delivered you… unharmed,” he said, pausing before the last word and narrowing his eyes slightly as he stared into the distance.
“Uh, yes,” I said, knowing it wasn’t exactly eloquent, but unsure what he was implying. I also wasn’t sure how much to tell him about Flora and the spell.
“Well, then,” he said, pouring a glass of liquid and handing it out to me.
I took the cup, sniffing it. Wine, I guessed.
He poured his own glass from the same decanter, taking a sip, as if to say, See, not poisonous.
I took a sip. It was very much like the wine I knew, but just slightly different. Almost with a smoky aftertaste like the peat I loved in scotch. Perhaps it was aged in whisky barrels? I took another sip.
“My men tell me they found you in the woods,” he said, standing beside his desk.
For days, I had been trying to rationally explain why I was there, what world I was in. Theo was taking me so seriously that I was made to feel as though there was no rational reason — only, that I had somehow ended up in a different world. The cave somehow transported me. A portal, perhaps?
I nodded, not wanting to speak too much, for fear that I might sound crazy and he’d lock me away in a dungeon if I explained the whole thing myself.
“The Queen’s Army took my friend,” I explained slowly, guarding my words. “We were out in the woods together.”
He appeared to consider this fact as though I had just told him he may do well wearing a collared shirt tomorrow. Noncommittal, at best.
“What were you doing in the forest?” He asked, his voice light and conversational.
“We were climbing,” I answered truthfully. I didn’t know how that kind of answer would get me in trouble, so it seemed like a safe bet.
He nodded, pressing his lips together. “Ev — Caia,” he corrected himself before continuing. “Did the men who brought you here tell you anything about yourself?”
I shrugged again, taking another sip of the drink out of nervousness. “Not much,” I said, which was both a lie and a truth.
He drew his brows together. “What have you heard of the Lost Princess?” he said slowly, holding my eyes.
Only the information overload that I had gotten from the guys earlier in the day. Was that just earlier on the same day? I kept my face blank.
“There was a prophecy,” he continued on.
I tried to hold my expression very still, my grip tightening on my wine glass.
“Many know of the prophecy, but not many know exactly what the prophecy says,” he continued, pausing as he caught my eye. “The prophecy says, the Lost Princess will reappear on the 326th moon after her disappearance with hair of fire, come to save all from the flames,” he said, staring at me.
Again, I tried to keep my face blank as I mentally calculated how many moons were in a year, then how many moons would be in all the years I’d been gone.
“Save all from what?” I asked, still slightly unclear about why there was a rebellion at all.
“Entire villages being slaughtered and burned to the ground. Public executions of those who dare question her and her council. Laws meant for nothing more than to break our spirit. Just to name a few,” he said.
I swallowed, feeling as though a hard rock had lodged itself in my throat. “And you’re really assuming the Lost Princess is me?” I asked, tilting my head.
He barked a sharp laugh. “You’re a smart woman, I’m sure you can guess.”
I bit my bottom lip, stepping away from him to look out the large window that lined one wall of the room. The view from up there was of the city, lit up by torches and homes.
My eyes focused on our reflections in the glass. He was standing behind me now, and I could see his face over my shoulder. It looked ghostlike, hanging in the air by itself, hovering over me.
“The Lost Princess will win Laeris back. She will help us overthrow the Queen. The rightful heir is the only one who can save us all. We need her now, more than ever,” he said, his eyes meeting mine in the reflection.
I took a large gulp of my wine, finishing it off.
“What if you’re wrong about me?” I said, wiping at my mouth with my thumb.
His gaze set on my ring, and I dropped my hand to my side.
“Do you know how the Lost Princess went missing?” He asked, his voice pitched lower.
I shook my head and turned to face him.
He leaned against the desk, seemingly settling in for a moment.
“It was the twin princesses first birthday and the entire Kingdom was celebrating. We had a feast for seven days. On the seventh day, around noon, the sky suddenly went black. No one could explain it. No other such event has ever been recorded. The princesses were taken back into the castle for safekeeping while the guards lit torches throughout the city. The King and Queen were called away on a sudden errand — presumably to save the city from darkness — and left the princesses in their guardians care, but when they came back to find their children, one was gone. Only Elestra remained.”
He paused, tapping his fingers on the desk as though deep in thought.
“Rumors were that the Lost Princess had been killed. She was the rightful heir to the throne, having been born first, and the royal family has any number of enemies,” he continued.
He refilled our cups.
“Loel found you on the morning after the 326th moon. Your resemblance to the Queen is uncanny. Your hair? Red. Kissed by fire. Therefore, we can only assume,” he said.
“If I was the Lost Princess, don’t you think I’d have more memory of this place?” I asked, feeling helpless in the enormity of it all.
“You were only a child,” he said.
“How much can any of us remember from our first year?”
“So, let’s say in some strange way, I’m the Lost Princess. What can I really do to help? I don’t have any experience ruling, governing, or commanding.” I gripped the back of the chair I was standing behind.
“You, alive. Your entire existence sends a message, but I’d be surprised if she didn’t already know you were here. Why do you think there were Blues close to where you crossed over into Laeris?” He asked, raising a brow.
“But how can you be sure? She took my friend — how can you be sure Jude isn't the Lost Princess?” I asked, throwing up my arms in frustration.
“You already I’m right,” he growled.
I blinked, not understanding his meaning.
“You dream of this place,” he said, stepping closer.
“You know nothing of my dreams,” I snapped.
“Everallin,” he whispered, reaching to take my hand.
Something stirred inside of me, something long ago forgotten. Whatever he had just said brought back a rush of feelings, of familiarity. My skin tingled as though a very light breeze had washed over it. Was it magic again?
I gasped and pulled my hand back, and my ring shot a strange tingling feeling into my hand. I stepped to the door.
If I was going to survive here, I’d have to at least play along. “What if I don’t accept? What if I want to leave?”
He laughed as though surprised, and then he smiled widely. “How does one accept a birthright? It is given, not accepted.”
My stomach growled in the moment of silence that followed his declaration.
“So, now what? I’m to lead a Rebellion?” I asked, my throat tightening in fear.
“No, my dear. You are only to be a figurehead. Leave the rest to me,” he said.
His eyes had grown darker. He took a step closer to me.
“I have one favor to ask first,” I said. “My friend was taken by the Queen’s Army. I need help getting her back.”
He nodded, his brow furrowing. “I will do everything in my power to help you.”
