Shadows on Snow: A Flipped Fairy Tale (Flipped Fairy Tales) (5 page)

Prince Leopold pushed away from the wall and closed the distance between us in five steps.

“Though now that I see you again, I wonder if I’m not dreaming after all.” His words caused a flurry of strange emotions to burst into flight deep inside my gut.

Fighting against the urge to flee into the hedge maze, I swallowed and lifted my chin. “Does His Highness have a habit of sleepwalking?”

His mouth turned up in a wry grin. “Not that I’m aware of, no. But, if you’ll permit me?” His hand extended toward me.

Trying not to show my terror, I set my hand in his, instantly feeling that same tingling warmth shooting up my arm, chasing away some of my fear, but replacing it with something I liked even less. Though I couldn’t name it, I knew the new sensation was dangerous for me. He paused for a moment, then gently lifted my fingers to his lips, brushing a featherlight kiss across my knuckles. The warm tingles turned into white-hot lightning in my veins, and I couldn’t speak for the shock it gave me.

“Would My Lady do me the honor of sharing a dance?”

Dumbstruck, I nodded, though every functioning part of my mind screamed at me to refuse. What could I do? Mask or no, he was a prince, soon to be a king, and, though I had no doubt he would honor my refusal with grace, his eyes were so full of hope I couldn’t bear to dash it. Even the thought of doing so hurt my heart.

My hand still in his, he led me back into the ballroom, placing us in the center of the dance floor. With a single nod from him, the musicians struck up a lilting waltz, one I’d heard years before with my ear pressed to a doorway as my mother entertained. As his free hand rested upon my waist, I wasn’t sure what to do. My feet moved of their own accord, trained over endless lessons I thought I’d forgotten long ago. I couldn’t imagine what my expression must be like. Very likely I resembled a stag in the moment it realized it was about to be run through by an arrow.

“Is something the matter?” he asked as we made the first turn.

Everywhere I dared glance, I met with a fresh pair of eyes staring at me. “Everyone is watching, Sire. It’s… Unnerving.”

“May I make a suggestion as to that?”

I murmured something in the affirmative, still bothered by the audience.

He took his hand from my waist only long enough to tilt my face up to him. “Look elsewhere.”

His gaze held mine, unbreakable, and I was transfixed by whatever unnamed charm was placed on him at birth. Overwhelming kindness filled his dark eyes, and I knew, without any doubt, that he had no care for any but myself. Did he look at everyone that way? Was this why all who knew him spoke so highly of him? Prince Leopold could make anyone feel as though they were the most important being to ever walk the land with a single look. Surely it was magic. What other explanation could there be?

The music came to an abrupt halt, though I was unaware of any passage of time as we danced.

“Honored guests,” the king said as he stood from his throne at the head of the room. “Midnight is nearly upon us, and with it, the unmasking of all in attendance.”

Unmasking? Spirits help me, I’d lingered too long.

The king stood and lifted his arms. “Choose your partners wisely. The clock waits for no mortal man.”

Frantic now, I lifted a hand and touched the gem before the prince could turn from the king. I caught the look on his face as I vanished before his eyes, though I evaded his hands as they reached for me.

I’d grown too dependent on masks, either by my magic or of the ornate sort I wore that night. I pushed through the crowd of guests drawn to the dance floor, some looking for their partners, others searching for the girl who’d caught the prince’s eye.

I gambled too much for a little leisure. My comeuppance was an all-out sprint through the balcony doors and across the castle grounds to the log that held my bow. As soon as I arrived, the enchantment ended and the necklace disappeared with it. The moment my fingers closed around my filthy servant’s clothing they appeared on my body, replacing the beautiful gown spun by my godmother’s magic. I caught my breath, called up the memory of the boy in the market, and wrapped the glamour around me.

I finally relaxed. My armor was firmly back in place.

At my feet, the Daymaiden lily stared up at me, almost mocking me, if it were possible for flowers to do so. I knelt and retrieved it, scratching at the fabric covering the place I’d carried it on my leg.

“Were you worth the trouble, pretty thing?” I whispered to it.

Of course, the lily had no response.

I stashed it inside my quiver of arrows and hurried back to the stables. With the unmasking complete, some guests would be leaving, and I had no desire for another bruise to match the one I’d gotten that morning.

Per Delphine’s instructions, I wrapped the flower and placed the bundle on a log in the clearing the night following the masked ball. No sooner had I set it down then a large hawk swooped in and carried it off. I scratched at my thigh as I watched it fly away, southbound toward my sisters.

By the light of my small bucket fire back in the stable, I examined the offending spot on my leg. Even in the dim glow, the place the Daymaiden lily rested against my skin looked splotchy and irritated. Hopefully my sisters would be able to do something for it soon.

The next morning I spent time with the horses, showing the royal mounts extra care after the influx of guests stole my attention from them for two days. It was as I finished up with Remy that the stable doors opened, admitting Prince Leopold and Master Grey mid-argument.

“The boy should not be trusted with this, Your Highness,” Master Grey said. “It’s unwise to leave such a fine steed in the care of a simpleton.”

“Are you insinuating that I’m incapable of good judgment, stablemaster?” The prince stopped and turned to the thin, twisted form of Master Grey.

The other man stumbled and stammered. “No, Sire. I would never!” He bowed as low as his misaligned spine allowed. “I only wanted to counsel you against—”

“When I have need of your counsel, I will ask it,” he interrupted, then proceeded on his way. “No other than your stable boy, Rae, is to touch my horse.”

“As you wish, Your Highness,” Master Grey grumbled before seeing himself out.

Pretending as though I hadn’t overheard him defending me, I resumed brushing Remy’s tail, using the long, slow strokes he liked.

“Pay him no mind,” the prince said as he leaned up against the doorway. “His words carry no weight with me.”

“Whose words, Highness?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

“You know whose words. There’s no need to hide your intelligence with me. I’ve seen through your façade already.”

I paused, startled by his statement. Surely he couldn’t see through my glamour. It wasn’t possible. I met his eyes, searching them for any hint he saw me as other than what my magic dictated, but there was only kindness in his gaze.

I looked away to finish Remy’s grooming, uncomfortable with the eye contact. “His misconceptions cause me no harm and prevent him from giving me more work than I already have, Sire. There’s little chance to risk punishment for mistakes when all I’m given is simple tasks.”

“Competence can have much greater rewards, however,” he said. “Eventually I’ll convince you of this and perhaps win myself a trusted companion by my side.”

By his side? Spirits above and below, the mere thought of it slackened my jaw and sent my knees quaking. Everything the man did threw me off-kilter. Was he trying to rattle me?

“I’m only a stable boy, Highness,” I said, reassembling my wits. “I’d be a poor friend indeed to one such as you.”

He laughed, a sound not unlike the musical one of my godmother’s. “One such as me? I’m no more or less than any other. My position affords me little in the way of true friendship, and I see no reason why I should be denied this. Humanity craves companionship. It’s in our nature. Would you begrudge a fellow man his own happiness?”

I set down the brush and frowned at my filthy hands. “Certainly not, Sire, but surely there are those of higher rank better suited to that than I. I’d be of little use to you when you were in need of counsel. We’re of different worlds.”

“All the more reason for your words to be heard,” he countered. “Outside perspective often sheds new light on complex problems, providing unexpected solutions.”

My scowl deepened, but I couldn’t argue with his reasoning.

“Shall we test my theory?” he asked, grinning.

“Sire?”

“Fetch my saddle. I wish to ride this morning, but we’ll talk as we prepare for that. Perhaps you’ll have some insight about a problem currently plaguing me.”

Doing as he bid me, but concerned with what he might ask, I hurried away to retrieve the tack. I returned not long after, and we set about the task.

“Do you know much about women, Rae?”
 

I fumbled with a buckle. “Women, Sire?”

He adjusted Remy’s blanket. “Women. As in, what would frighten a lady so greatly that she would run from me before so much as giving her name?”

Speechless, I stared at him.

“You’ve no idea then?”

My mouth worked at words, but I couldn’t quite find advice for him. “I’m not… A lady ran from you, Sire?”

Prince Leopold frowned and tilted his head to one side. “I wouldn’t say ran, so much as she vanished, quite literally, before my eyes. Do you suppose it was something I said?”

Swallowing hard, I had to be careful. Any encouragement from me could result in him seeking out someone who did not want to be sought: namely, myself. “She disappeared, Sire? Is this a dream you speak of?”

“No,” he said and scratched his chin. “I would have thought so had other people not confirmed her existence as well.”

I switched tactics, shrugging it off and returning to my work with the saddle. “Sounds like magic to me then, Sire. Best advice I can give is to stay away if you can. Dangerous business, magic. More trouble than it’s worth for certain.”

“You didn’t, perchance, return a horse to a young lady in a green gown with a mask of oak leaves night before last?”

I forced my face into a completely impassive expression. “I don’t believe so, Highness.”

“Did you see a woman like that at all?”

I shook my head, trying to relax. All of my lies would be for naught if he suspected otherwise. “No, Sire. I was told to stay with the horses once Master Grey handed them off to me. I only saw a handful of guests, and none wearing green save for an old duke.”

He lapsed into silence, gently stroking the side of Remy’s neck. Seeing him that way, with such an air of melancholy about him, it made my heart ache for him. “May I ask…” I stopped, rethinking my question.

When his eyes met mine, I couldn’t breathe for a moment as I wondered for the millionth time what it was about him that was so extraordinary.

“Speak freely, please,” he said.

Taking a deep breath, I tightened a strap. “What was it about this girl? Is it only that she vanished the way she did that leaves you so curious?”

Another quiet moment followed before he spoke again. “I couldn’t say precisely. Perhaps it was the startling color of her gown, but, truthfully, her mere presence pulled at me from across the room. It was almost as though she avoided me purposefully. Every other lady at the ball went out of their way to speak with me, yet she did not. And when I took her hand…”

Heart in my throat, I prompted him. “Sire?”

He shook his head to clear it. “I’m sure it’s nothing.” After giving the saddle a firm tug, his usual pleasant expression returned to his face. “Everything seems to be in order. Well done.”

I nodded, but my face betrayed my concern with a frown.

Setting a boot in a stirrup, Prince Leopold swung himself up onto the saddle, and I handed him the reins. “Thank you for your help, Rae. And for your counsel.”

“I don’t think I was of much help, Highness, but you’re welcome for it.”

He eased Remy away from the grooming station and towards the door, pausing to leave me with some last words. “Don’t discount an ability to listen. Sometimes, that’s the greatest help of all.”

I bowed to him as he directed Remy outside. Once clear of the door, the prince set off at a brisk trot, soon clear of my line of sight.

Wiping nervous sweat from my brow, I blew out a relieved breath. Perhaps he’d heed my words and let the matter of the mysterious masked lady drop. The last thing I needed was him fixated on me as a woman, as it was already bad enough he insisted on befriending me as a stableboy.

“You were correct about the flower,” her smoky face said. “It emits a poison at regular intervals, and it’s unlike any bloom we’ve seen before.”

I grimaced. “And what of its suspended animation? It requires neither water nor sunlight, if my observations are correct. Yet the flower has the feel of a plant that grows, and I could hardly detect its magic. How is that possible?”

“As to that, there is a very subtle spell of preservation on it. This would explain why you didn’t immediately sense it. Only Clarice saw it for true, and even for her it was very faint. We’re still studying it, but I fear we’ll need more information before we’ll know how to best counter it.”

“More information?” I said, absolutely sure I didn’t care for the sound of this. “You’re aware that our time is very short, aren’t you? Even now, I can’t say that any cure you find would help the queen. She is as near to death as…” I swallowed my words. “I’ve seen only one other in her state before, and that was at the end of her life. You know of whom I speak.”

The smoke from my fire wavered as she exhaled. “If she’s held on this long, it’s possible we may yet save her.”

My shoulders sagged, both relieved there was a chance, yet discomforted by what I’d yet be required to do. “Very well.”

“You think it’s one of his creations?”

“I’d stake my life on it.”

Her face shifted as a draft caught it. “Then he’ll have created it nearby. He couldn’t have been absent as long as it would take to craft such deadly things. Are there unused rooms of the palace?”

Cringing, I could think of only one place. “The dungeons, likely, though they’re less empty now than months past. He is not a forgiving ruler, as you know.”