by Kris Black
“You haven’t heard? I thought for sure the king would have told you.” Ella paused for a moment. “They couldn’t find any traces of poison on any of the apples, or the one you bit into. They even had someone take a bit themselves and nothing happened. It is a huge mystery in the court right now. People are beginning to worry about a poison that disappears without a trace after a few hours.”
“That’s… that’s impossible.” Alina whispered, wracking her mind for any possibility that could cause something like that.
“That’s what’s so terrifying about it.” Ella agreed.
“Have they questioned Abigail about it?”
“She remains tight-lipped.” Ella frowned. “I would admire her tenacity if it wasn’t always focused on hurting you.”
Alina sighed and couldn’t disagree. Bringing her hand up, she rubbed a few fingers across her forehead. All of this subterfuge was beginning to wear on her. She just wanted things to go back to normal, she wanted to be a commoner in a castle with no responsibilities. She wanted Christian to talk to, to kiss, to alleviate her worries and fears by sharing them.
“Are you feeling alright, Alina?”
“I’m just getting tired.” Alina said, and it was true. She was starting to feel the weariness down to her bones.
“Let me help you to bed and you can rest.” Ella offered and Alina accepted. Once Alina was settled, Ella tucked the covers around her. “Rest well, Your Highness.”
It took Alina two days of rest to be well enough to walk about the castle, four guards with her now at all times. Two of her usual ones, rotating Rhys, Henry or Thomas depending on the shift, and whoever they could spare from her father’s guard.
This is how she found herself standing inside of Abigail’s cell, Henry and Rhys on the inside with her, and two others on the outside. The cell was dank with only a small, barred window the size of two books put together and high up and out of reach. Years of age and disuse had discolored and beaten the cot that Abigail rested on. Her sister’s usually voluminous and shiny hair fell in limp strands down her back, greasy and ratty with neglect. A few days in the dungeons did not agree with the beauty standards to which Abigail Everston normally held herself.
“Did you come to gloat?” Abigail asked, standing before her former sister and steadfastly refusing to bow.
“You tried to kill me,” Alina said with no preamble. “Why?”
“I won’t tell you anything other than what I told the guards who have interrogated me, many times,” Abigail stated. “Which is nothing.”
Alina closed her eyes in exasperation, sighing before trying again. “You may not like me. You may not even consider me family, but I am the crown princess of this country. My father is the king. Abigail, you won’t get off lightly this time, no matter how pretty you are. Look around, no one else is coming to save you.”
Abigail looked away, eyes cast away from Alina, but it didn’t stop Alina from catching the smug look that remained on her face. Abigail thought someone else would free her from her fate.
“Who are you protecting?” Alina demanded.
Abigail’s head whipped back towards her former sister and Alina knew she had surmised correctly. Someone had ordered Abigail to murder her.
“Whoever it is, they aren’t coming for you.” Alina continued. “You failed, I am here alive. They won’t be coming to free you… but they might plan to kill you, so you don’t talk. You must tell me who it was, Abigail so I can protect you. If not for your sake, then for the rest of the family. They need you.”
Abigail laughed darkly. “If that’s the case then no one can save me now.”
Alina’s heart plummeted. “What do you mean by that? You think I won’t protect you?”
“I think you can’t.” Abigail all but spit. She stepped forward menacingly. Both guards moved towards her, but Alina lifted a hand to stop them. “I’m not the only new family member of yours who despises you. I would look closer to the throne if I were you. Has your new step-mother checked on you?” She whispered, barely audible if she weren’t that close.
Chills ran down Alina’s arms at the threatening tone. Calista. Calista had ordered Abigail to kill her.
But why? Why would the queen want her dead? What was the purpose?
“Why?” Alina managed to squeeze out of her throat.
Abigail backed up a few steps, putting distance between them once more. Henry and Rhys visibly relaxed. “I wasn’t privy to that information. I was told to deliver the apples and that nothing would happen to the rest of my family if I did.”
“How were you so sure the one you gave me was the poison one? You could have easily mistaken them and ended up killing Kitty or Elliot.”
“No one poisoned the apples, that’s why.” Abigail sneered. “Not a single one of them would have hurt another person in that room.”
“But-” Alina recalled her throat closing, her tongue swelling and the rash throughout her body. “No. Cleary it was. I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t.” Abigail scoffed. “I’m sure they examined the apple. I am also certain that they found no hint of poison anywhere.”
That was true. Ella had told her as much.
“The apples weren’t poison, Alina. They were full of natural iron. You had a faerie reaction to ingesting iron.”
Alina teetered. “No. Iron has never affected me before. Never.”
Abigail shrugged and sat down on her ragged cot. “That’s what I thought when I took the basket. I never imagined the reaction that happened. You used to eat apples all the time at the farmhouse.”
Alina paused. Was it true that iron had never affected her? She remembered touching the railing of her balcony, only to have it sear her palms. She had written it off then, but now she reevaluated it. Had that been an adverse reaction to the iron, caused by her faerie blood. But why now? She had spent her whole life around iron, and never before had it affected her.
“You didn’t think it would hurt me?” Alina asked.
“Alina, I may not like you but I’m not stupid enough to really try to murder the daughter of the king - no matter who may plot it or what they promised me.”
Abigail hadn’t really meant to harm her, not really. She what? Would say that it failed and then try to garner money or position out of the queen, anyway? Perhaps a suitable marriage?
It didn’t matter. Abigail had failed and now she knew too much. She was sitting in the dungeons with no protection. Anything could happen to her. With the queen coming after her, nowhere would really be safe.
“I’ll protect you as much as I am able,” Alina promised her eldest sister.
Abigail let out a huffy laugh, as though the thought was ludicrous. “At least I’ll enjoy watching you try before I meet my death.”
Alina pursed her lips before leaving the cell. She stopped at the King’s Guards standing outside. “I want guards at this cell at all times. Permit no one inside other than myself or the king. Is that understood?”
The guards nodded and one walked off to communicate the directive to the prison overseer, who returned.
“Your Highness?” The overseer bowed.
“Consider this maximum security. No one out, no one in - other than myself or King Belmont. This is a highly sensitive matter. My personal taste-tester will test all food. I want no harm to come to her, or else.”
“Y-yes, Your Highness.” The man bowed deeply.
As Alina left the dungeons, flanked by her guards, she wondered if it was enough. Would any of this be enough to protect herself or her family from the queen?
Alina’s coronation was a little over a week away; soon, she’d be free to return home—if only for a little while.
Just a little longer before she was with the pack again. Before she’d see Charles and really talk to Christian. There was so much she had to tell him.
Before that though, she had to make sure that Abigail would be okay. She had to ensure protections for the Everstons. But most importantly, she had to fi
nd out why the queen wanted her dead and stop her.
And the best way to learn about the queen would be to talk to the person she seemed to be closest to. The one who had a key to her personal quarters. So, when Felix invited her earlier that morning to the ballroom for dance instruction, she accepted.
Alina had spent most of her life doing chores and what little dancing she’d done had been at country balls and Christian’s Yuletide. That is to say, not nearly enough. So, she was glad to accept Felix’s offer to help her learn even if she had an ulterior motive.
“Am I late?” Felix strode into the ballroom, craning his head to peek at the grandfather clock on the wall, pendulum ticking in time.
“No, I’m early.” Alina turned to face him. “I wanted to make sure there was nothing priceless in here for me to break.”
“You can’t be that bad,” Felix chuckled as he approached.
“I wouldn’t say bad so much as… unpracticed. I wasn’t exactly a hot commodity at the local country balls - with my father being poor and my sisters prettier than me.”
“Your sisters are not prettier than you, Princess.”
“You have to say that. I’m the Crown Princess.”
“I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.” He paused. “How are you feeling? If you’re still not feeling well, we don’t have to do this today.”
“It’s been a few days. I’m feeling much better.” And it was true, with rest and a few hours a day in the garden, she was feeling closer to herself.
“I’m glad to hear it.” Felix held his hand out to her. “Shall we?”
Alina rolled her eyes at his jest and placed her hand in his. Felix led her to the center of the room and stopped, pulling her closer to him. He placed a hand on her waist, and she moved hers up to his shoulder, mirroring the same position as when she danced with Christian.
She hadn’t really practiced before Yuletide, but she had trusted Christian. Their bodies were so in sync she trusted and followed his lead without thought. Her coronation ceremony, however, would be a different matter.
“Well, you know your form at least.”
“Thanks,” Alina replied dryly. “If the queen were here, I think she would disagree.”
“Well, she isn’t here so you have to take my word for it.” Felix swung her in a twirl. “In fact, she won’t be here for at least the next two days.”
What was her evil step-mother up to now? “Oh? Is she ill?” Alina feigned worry.
“No, she and a couple of ladies took a few horses out and got caught in the rain and sleet. I’m sure it was to get away from the fact that her closest lady is currently locked in the tower. But, the rain combined with the melting snow turned treacherous. They’re holed up at one of the barons’ manor houses, but the roads are too bad right now for horse or carriage.”
The queen would be for a few days, and she had taken a horse. That meant that she may have left the mirror unguarded in her rooms again.
Could Alina be lucky enough to get another glimpse in the mirror and maybe find some evidence in the queen’s rooms that the queen had tried to murder Alina through her sister?
“There will be at least three to four different styles of dance next week, we’ll go over all of them until you’re comfortable enough to dance with any of the nobility.” Felix interrupted her thoughts, continuing to lead her, and she tried to keep up with the conversation, but her thoughts were full of the possibility of using the mirror again. Of seeing Christian again.
“Four different kinds? Sounds like torture.”
“Oh, it is. Luckily, you’re with me today and I guarantee I won’t injure your feet.”
“Then I should thank you, Lord Felix, for assisting me - because I will surely trample on your feet.”
“My body is yours to command, Princess.” His serious response put a wedge in their banter. Alina backed up a bit, allowing more distance than had been before. She didn’t want Felix to get the wrong idea about their friendship. He pretended as though nothing happened and started counting out the steps to the first dance.
“How are things going with your father?” She asked as she followed along with the steps.
Felix faltered for a moment but regained his footing. “My father has never been present in my life, but he’s always been a huge presence, you know?”
Alina nodded. She knew. When she had thought Danielle Everston had been her mother, there were always ghosts of her in their homes. Her old dresses, fond memories shared over holidays, the crying of her siblings and father. Danielle had never been present in Alina’s life, but she had always been a presence. Now, she found herself in a similar situation with her actual mother.
“He isn’t the typical doting father.” Felix continued. From what Alina had seen on one occasion she had met him, it didn’t surprise her. “He has certain expectations of me, and he gets heated when he thinks I haven’t met them.”
“I don’t see how anything you do wouldn’t please him.” Alina countered. “You’re beloved at court and a favorite of the queen. The king adores you.”
“Thank you.” Felix smiled at her. “We just have a hard relationship. My mother doesn’t help the cause either.”
“Your mother? I thought the duchess was too ill to come?”
“She, uh, I guess she spoke with him before he left. I’m sure a letter will come soon enough.”
“Well, if it troubles you that much, I am sorry that your father visited. I’m afraid it is my fault he’s here.”
“It’s not your fault he decided that he needed to brave the winter to make a political marriage. I knew as soon as the king announced who you are that my father would end up here, eventually.” Felix sighed. “I just have to grit my teeth and bear it until he makes his way back north.”
Alina smiled encouragingly and squeezed his shoulder as they continued the steps, following Felix’s lead but being careful not to get too close. If he noticed the change in her mood, he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he introduced each dance and counted until she could remember the steps and timing. When they finished up, Alina’s feet throbbed, and the sun was sinking over the horizon.
She thought of Calista, holed up with her horrible ladies in that baron’s manor hiding from the winter. Calista had tried to murder her. Abigail alleged she had attempted it once for sure. But how trustworthy did Alina consider Abigail? Would she lie in order for Alina to cause trouble with the queen? There was only one way to know for sure, and it was locked inside the queen’s quarters.
This may be one of her last chances to get to the magic mirror. After being stranded for a few days, would the queen chance another outing before the spring? Alina didn’t know her enough to know if she would, but she couldn't wait that long. That was long enough for another attempt, or a few attempts on her life. One of them would eventually succeed. She had skirted her guards both times, there was a chance no matter what their number, she could die.
Alina needed help. She needed Felix’s help. He got her into the queen’s quarters before. Surely, he could do it again. But how would she convince him to do that?
Felix had access to a key to the queen’s chambers. It was likely that the enchanted mirror was in there. All she had to do was convince Felix that she needed the mirror again.
“Felix, I need your help again.” She said finally.
She needed to find the culprit or culprits behind the assassination attempts. Abigail had stoked a curiosity in Alina that she hadn’t been aware she had been harboring. Two attempts in so little time could be two separate incidents, but there was something off… something didn’t quite add up.
Recalling the poisoning, her throat felt again like it may close and she had to blink to force the water away. She remembered how drained she had felt. She hadn’t even been able to walk on her own, even with the faerie who had helped her.
She refused to think about the faerie. His dark chestnut curls and deep eyes. The way he looked at her. Her breath caught.
�
�What do you need from me?” Felix asked, pulling her back to the ballroom.
“Access to the queen’s quarters again. I need the mirror again.”
Felix rubbed his hand over his face as he thought it over. “Why? To talk to the person I’m not allowed to see again?”
“No.” Alina frowned. She hadn’t realized that Felix was so hurt by her refusal to talk to Christian in front of him last time. “To ask it to show me my attempted murderer. Something about the attempts on my life isn’t adding up. I think the mirror will help.”
“Are you sure you want to know?” Felix dropped his hand. “What will you do with the information?”
“I’m not sure yet. I suppose that depends on who it is. Does that mean you’ll help me?”
“When have I ever been able to say no to you, Princess?” He sighed.
Chapter Sixteen
A Show of Power
Alina hadn’t thought this plan through.
Last time she had snuck into the queen’s quarters, it had been easy enough to tell one guard to take a break and walk alone with Felix. Now, with four guards on constant standby, she didn’t think sneaking into the queen’s rooms would go unnoticed or unreported.
This is how Alina found herself standing on her balcony near midnight, wrapped in her cloak and chewing her thumb as she thought of ways to get down. The guards were outside her door and this was the only other way out of the room. However, being a few stories up, she was hesitant to try jumping or even climbing down.
The minutes ticked closer and closer to midnight and Alina began losing hope that she would figure out how to get out. Would Felix think she stood him up? She wrapped her cloak around her tighter. Maybe she should just try jumping and hope that there was enough snow to break her fall and not her leg.
Just as she gripped the railing, ready to steady herself and make a leap, and hissed when it burned her palm again. She quickly stumbled back, clutching her hand. An orb of light danced along her fingers and she glanced through railings. The flickering lights below her. Fireflies below her, circling a small tree below her balcony.
