Page 1 of A Darkness So Sweet
ChapterOne
MAIA
Maia stood outside the door that would change her life forever. She could hear her heart thudding in her chest, and the sound of her own ragged breathing. In through her nose and out through her mouth. It felt like she was going to die, right here, right now.
This was all she’d ever dreamt of. Every opportunity that had ever been given to her, all rolled up into one moment that meant so much and she could not mess it up. If she did, then her entire career might as well be over.
Perhaps it was a little dramatic, but having the chance to create floral arrangements for the royal wedding itself? She’d never see this happen again in her lifetime. The king had only one child—his daughter. Her wedding would be the grandest display this kingdom had ever seen and, if she played her cards right, everyone would know who Maia Fremont was afterward.
Taking another steadying breath, she lifted her shaking hand and knocked on the door. The sound was too loud, even to her ears. But she was standing in a cavernous hallway. The cathedral ceilings over her head ended in arched peaks, so tall she swore she could see clouds building in them. The gray stone was familiar, though. How many peasants like herself had stared at the pristine marble castle and wished they might see the interior at least one time in their life?
Sixteen guards stood on either side of her. Each of them wore gleaming silver chest plates that reflected her red features and the crazed curls that billowed around her head. When she’d first gotten here, she had sworn those curls were tamed. That had very much changed by the time she’d made it up the massive stairwell to the castle.
She smoothed her hands over the red locks, trying not to make it obvious that she was staring at her own reflection on the chest of the nearest guard. He shifted, almost as though he had turned toward her and made her reflection a little easier to see.
“Thank you—“ she started to say, only to be interrupted by the door opening.
A stately woman stood on the other side. Her expression was severe, her dark hair pulled back so tightly that it made her features seem pinched. A beak for a nose must have been put there to stare down at other people, like an arrow pointing toward something the woman didn’t like.
“You’re late,” the woman hissed. The words struck through the air like the crack of a whip.
“I’m sorry,” Maia replied. “I was told noon.”
“It is nearly half past noon.”
It wasn’t, though. She’d been punctual, and had arrived nearly an hour early. Maia had made certain that nothing, not even an unexpected circumstance, could ruin this opportunity.
But she couldn’t justsaythat the woman was lying. Clearly this woman worked with the princess, and to argue with someone who had that much power was folly.
Anger made her cheeks burn even more. A part of her wanted to argue, but Maia had learned a long time ago to stay quiet, even if she was angry. If they wanted flowers for the wedding, she was contracted to do so. They couldn’t find someone else this late. Maia opened her mouth to apologize for her supposed tardiness, only to snap it shut again as the woman stood aside and gestured with her hand.
“Come on then,” the words were angry and clipped. “Get inside.”
She did what she was told.
Maia still had the question of why she was even meeting with the princess. As far as she had guessed, she would meet with the head of staff or whoever oversaw the wedding. There was no reason for her to meet with the princess herself, or any of the royal family.
Yet, when she’d gotten to the castle, the first thing they’d done was send her right up the stairs to this room. She wasn’t one to question why she was getting those orders, if only so she could see more of the castle itself.
But still, it was odd to walk into a building so full of opulence. Her flowers had been taken the moment she’d stepped foot onto the castle grounds, and she’d never felt like her arms were so empty.
All the oddities were worth it to see this particular room, though. Where the rest of the castle was gray, this haven for the princess was glistening white marble. The ceilings were painted blue with clouds dancing across them that looked so real Maia wondered if she could touch one. The bed in the far corner looked plush and comfortable, with its sky blue blankets and gauzy white fabric hanging from the posts.
This room was larger than her entire cottage was big. There was a dresser taller than Maia, a seating area with six different chairs, and a podium that was placed right in front of a mirror that must have taken years to perfect with its massive silver frame. Then there was the balcony. Four doors opened up to the entirety of the kingdom, laid out like a child’s play set before her eyes. It was hard not to stare at the town. All the little, quaint homes painted different colors with wisps of chimney smoke above them.
But then her gaze turned to the right, and she was frozen yet again. The most beautiful woman in the entire kingdom stood just beside that podium. Golden hair coiled in waves down her shoulders, and spilled nearly to the small of her back. Not a single, glistening strand was out of place. Tiny, pointed ears were just barely visible where they poked through the gilded strands. The princess wore a white dress that tucked in at her ridiculously tiny waist. Even Maia thought if she wrapped her hands around the woman’s torso, her fingers might meet.
Not that she would. There was bound to still be dirt underneath her nails.
Sky-blue eyes matching the ceiling and the world beyond the balcony turned to look at her. The princess was lovely in body as well as face, it seemed. Tiny bow lips, perfectly plush, were contained within a face that was porcelain smooth and certainly never reddened like Maia could feel her own doing.
“You’re beautiful,” Maia stuttered, before grabbing fistfuls of her brown dress and dropping into a curtsey.
Princess Liliana laughed, and the sound was like the tinkling of bells. “My goodness, aren’t you charming?”
No one had ever called her that before. People forgot that Maia even existed. She wasn’t charming, she was odd and slightly cloying to be around. Or at least, that was what her father used to say when he’d been alive. He’d always suggested she stay on a separate side of the house before anyone had come over.
But correcting a princess seemed inappropriate. And besides, when the princess said it, it made Maia feel like she was, perhaps, slightly charming.
