I didn’t. I refused to let myself be trapped by a scheming wench, whether highborn or low, and I diligently took precautions not to father a child.
I wasn’t careful with Elsie. I wish I had been gentler with her. Had I not given in to temptation, I know in my bones that she would be here now, preparing to marry. I crave her sunshine the way dragons crave gold. My princess deserved better from me, and she shall have it—as soon as I find her.
“Elsie meets your criteria. You said I could choose, and I have chosen.”
“Who is her father?” He gestures feebly. “Her mother? What is her last name? Where does she live? You do not know, do you?” The king spits a glob of bloody saliva at my feet. “You know nothing.”
He pushes up, straining with the effort, signaling that the discussion is over.
“Give me every soldier in Belterre and three days to find her. If I can’t do it, then I will accept your choice.”
“I am of a mind to saddle you with the worst woman in Belterre as a punishment. Lady Drucilla Tremaine, perhaps?”
I swallow hard. The name crashes into a memory from the evening before. Reeking of cheap magic like a bad perfume, and built like a barren tree. No curves but what excessive padding could provide. She was nearly as tall as I am, which might have been forgivable if not for the permanently sour twist of her mouth. I stuck Othmar with the task of dancing with her.
“Or her sister, Lady Anastacia?” says my father.
A second shudder rocks me. A vague recollection of dancing with the shorter Tremaine sister last Midwinter surfaces. She was slightly more tolerable, but she would not shut up. Not a single substantive thought in her skull. She, too, stank of bad magic.
“I will find Elsie. Give me the manpower I need to hunt her to the ends of the earth, if that’s what it takes.”
“Fine. Send out your orders. Your first day starts now. If you fail, you will choose between the Tremaine sisters so that I can finally die.” My father waves me off.
Dawn creeps through the window. The air feels bright and electric as though there’s a storm brewing on the horizon. I’m tired but too fired up to sleep. There is no time for rest. I have a princess to find.
* * *
Elinor
Once I wascertain no one was chasing me, I crawled out from beneath the hedgerow in my shredded rag of a dress. Gone was the beautiful blue confection conjured by Maxine’s magic. The shoe I clutched in my hand returned to its original form, a simple glass charm. I assume the same thing happened to the other shoe as happened to my beautiful dress—disintegration into nothingness.
Opening my hand now, I stare at the tiny slipper. With its magical sparkle gone, it’s nothing but a trinket, but I shall treasure it always. I tuck it back into my pocket for safekeeping.
“You wouldn’t understand, Tom.” I stroke the cat’s fur. He settles into a low purr. “It was like a dream. A wonderful dream.”
One I made happen all by myself. Well, I had help from Maxine. Without her magic, last night wouldn’t have been possible. I owe her.
A yawn steals over me.
Today will be hard, but it’s worth pushing through a night without sleep. A faint twinge in my core reminds me of how far I took things with Alex last night. He gave me precisely what I asked for. I don’t believe he even finished, the poor man.
With the chickens fed and the slop bucket dumped in the pigs’ trough, I wash the muck off and change into gardening clothes. Chompers goes off to his station in Tremaine’s study, while Tom heads off to terrorize the avian population. Poor birds.
When I return to the house hours later, my family is awake.
“Where is Ellie?” Cilla’s harridan screech yanks me out of a blissful dream in which Alex was twirling me on a dance floor. I was happy with him.
Why didn’t I stay?
None of it was real,I remind myself. He doesn’t know my real name. For all I know, he’s…
Married.
Oh, no.
Cold shame slices through me. I never thought to inquire.
Yet he seemed quite serious about marrying me. He wouldn’t have made such an offer if he had a wife waiting at home for him. There was no ring on his left hand, either, although not every husband chooses to wear one.
