A Dove's Tale

Chapter 16

Finally, the clock told me it was a few minutes to five o’clock. I knocked at Prince Chevalier’s library door, waited a second for the usual lack of response, and then let myself in to collect his empty teacup.

“Have a good night, Prince Chevalier,” I said cheerfully, my mind already walking the road my feet would soon be taking.

“What happened in the Mime’s room?” Prince Chevalier asked.

The road home vanished as I stared at him in alarm. His cold blue eyes held me frozen in place. How did he know about that? Did he know what Prince Licht was doing? Or was this from earlier, when I’d let my guard down? That had to be it, but why did he wait until now to ask?

It didn’t matter. I couldn’t tell him, and I quickly schooled my expression into a mask of composure.

“I gave him the note and the tickets, and he told me to leave, your highness,” I carefully replied.

“And?”

And I couldn’t hide anything from Prince Chevalier, but the memory of Prince Licht’s rough hand clamped over my mouth was more frightening than Prince Chevalier’s frigid glare right now.

“And I need to go home, your highness.”

His eyes flashed.

“When I ask you a question, I expect you to answer it.”

“I did answer it, your highness,” I replied firmly. “If my answer doesn’t satisfy you, perhaps you should ask Prince Licht yourself. Now, if you’ll excuse me-”

“Yesterday.”

I froze mid-turn. He was asking about the food stall again. I hadn’t answered that question, not even partially, and I wasn’t about to answer it now.

“It’s none of your business, your highness,” I muttered, heading for the door as briskly as possible. His hand beat me to it, slamming it closed as I tried to open it, and he grabbed my arm, spinning me around to face him. I flashed back to my first day, my heart pounding out of control as I stared up at that same frigid expression.

What was going on today?

“Someone scares you more than me,” he said, his voice dropping into a low, threatening growl. “Do you realize how foolish that is, little dove?”

Nothing made sense today. Absolutely nothing. Why was he doing this?

“I need to go home, Prince Chevalier,” I repeated, trying to keep my voice steady as his black-gloved finger traced up and down my throat.

“Answer my question.”

“No,” I said firmly. “I told you what I could about Prince Licht, but I made a promise, and I intend to keep it. Yesterday doesn’t matter.”

“If it doesn’t matter, why won’t you tell me?”

“Why do you care?” I countered, frustration and anger rising in my chest. “It doesn’t affect you, and it doesn’t affect my work, so it doesn’t matter, and that doesn’t change just because you feel like playing some sort of sick game with me. Is that what’s going on today? I was so entertaining yesterday that you and your brothers came up with a plan to keep the fun going? Well, I’m sorry, but I’m not having any fun, and I’d really like to go home and forget all about this horrible day.”

I slammed my mouth shut, but it was too late. The damage had been done. The princes had chipped away at my self-control bit by bit as the day went on, and I had to lose it with Prince Chevalier, of all people. His impassive face gave no clue to what he was thinking. His fingers continued their dance across my neck. I waited, my heart pounding in my ears.

“You have become brazen,” he murmured.

I swallowed hard. “My apologies, your highness. I was out of line.”

“And you expect a simple apology to suffice after such a display of blatant disrespect?” he continued quietly.

“No, your highness.”

His finger came up to my chin, tilting it up further.

“Fortunately for you, one insignificant little maid is not worth my time,” he said harshly, his breath hot on my lips. He finally released me and stepped back. “Get out of my sight.”

I didn’t stop to question him. I just left, carrying the teacup that had miraculously survived the whole ordeal, even though my hands were now shaking. The breath I didn’t realize I'd been holding escaped in a rush as I shut the main library door behind me. I darted toward the kitchens, keeping my head down the whole way, barely acknowledging anybody I accidentally bumped into. None of them were princes, so it didn’t matter, anyway. It was the princes who were making my life miserable, and it was the thought of them that chased me out of the palace and onto the road. I veered away from it, choosing to walk on the grass rather than risk a chance run-in with a palace carriage. That decision would have added more time to my commute if I weren’t walking so quickly.

My stomach growled irritably. I had forgotten the croissant in the library, and I flushed my lunch down Prince Chevalier’s toilet a long time ago.

Why did I even go to his room, anyway?

I sighed and rubbed my temples, forcing myself to take several deep breaths before I reviewed the day. Morning was normal. Prince Clavis was annoying, as usual, and Prince Chevalier was in a good mood. It was after lunch that it all went downhill. The visit from Prince Jin, flirting heavily, of course, wasn’t so bad on its own. But then Prince Clavis came again with the stupid tickets and the stupid note to deliver to Prince Licht, and that sparked the fire that devoured my sanity.

Did Prince Clavis know what Prince Licht was doing?

Somehow, I didn’t think so. Prince Clavis’ interruptions had always been annoying to me and amusing to him, but he’d never put me in a situation that frightened me before. And Prince Licht’s reaction to my intrusion was one of somebody guarding a closely kept secret.

Why was he doing that?

And then there was Prince Yves. He knew Prince Licht much better than I did, and he was emphatic that Prince Licht was sweet, kind, and gentle. His horrified response to the mention of theater tickets made no sense, even if Prince Licht didn’t particularly like the theater.

Which led me to Prince Nokto.

That was bizarre.

He was an entirely different person than what I’d seen before. His anger, his warning not to hurt Prince Licht - he was jumping to his brother’s defense, and I didn’t even know what my offense was. Theater tickets? Entering Prince Licht’s room uninvited? I was a lot of things, but threatening was not one of them. My mother gave me her looks, and that included her build. I was petite, not an inch over five feet tall, and nobody had ever accused me - or her - of being threatening. How did Prince Nokto think I was going to hurt his brother? They were both nearly a foot taller than me, well-muscled, and trained in swordsmanship.

Prince Licht knew his brother would be upset, and he came to stop Prince Nokto from threatening me.

Prince Chevalier heard us outside his door, and he came to put an end to the whole ordeal.

Prince Chevalier.

I sighed heavily.

The new rule that I only took orders from Prince Chevalier and the head maid was nice. It meant I wouldn’t be so easy for Prince Clavis to manipulate, although I was sure he would find new ways to do so. The note was typical of him. The way Prince Chevalier talked to me wasn’t.

He let me go instead of pushing his questions on me. That was almost considerate of him - almost. Bringing them up again before I left, and, especially, using threatening methods that had frightened me before, wasn’t considerate at all. But he let me go without answering - again.

One insignificant little maid.

I winced, repeating those words in my mind.

Tomorrow morning was going to be awful. He hadn’t said a word about punishment, but it was coming, I was sure of it.

Strains of music came to my ears, faint but sweet. The theater troupe must be rehearsing for their performance tonight. A performance that Prince Licht wasn’t attending, regardless of what Prince Clavis said.

The only way to solve the mystery surrounding Prince Licht was to get to know him better, which he, Prince Nokto, and I didn’t want to happen. Therefore, he would remain a mystery, and I needed to do my best to push the memory of what I saw out of my head.

I was calm by the time I made it home. Still confused, still unsure, still worried about the next day, but calm. If Mother noticed anything was wrong, she didn’t mention it.

My morning walk to the palace the next day was enjoyable. The village was just waking up as the early morning sun broke the horizon. Neighbors called cheerful greetings to each other, walking to work or tending to chores. Giggling children scampered about, thoroughly enjoying their games and how much they were annoying the mothers who were trying to get them to behave. It all seemed so idyllic, before the heat and dust and grime of the day took over.

And then, after a brief journey through the country, I reached the city. The streets were already busy as shopkeepers unlocked their doors and put up their displays. Street vendors were setting up their stalls, most of them selling unique items that could be found nowhere else. The smell of freshly baked bread drifted from bakeries, making my stomach growl. Horses’ hooves clattered on cobblestone as carriages waited patiently in front of inns for any prospective passengers. The central square was full of street sweepers, tidying up around the large fountain in the center of the square. This fountain had fewer levels than the one in the palace gardens, but it was no less stunning, with its multiple streams of water erupting from the central pillar and cascading down to the pool below in a rush. One of the street sweepers was fishing coins out of the bottom pool.

The city fell away behind me as I started the climb up the hill to the palace. Here it was quiet. There were no carriages, no people bustling around, just me, following the cobblestone road through a field of green, with the palace up ahead. The huge wooden doors at the gate were still closed, sealing me from the outer court. Guards stood at attention at the gate and along the walls above, evenly covering sections divided by multiple turrets. I was usually the first outsider to arrive in the mornings. The guards knew me and called greetings as they opened the doors, which would remain open until after I left in the late afternoon. I crossed the outer court, paved with cobblestone and decorated with large basins of roses, to a servant’s entrance off to the side, discreetly hidden by a strategically placed floral display. Another secret entrance on the other side of the front doors led down to the dungeons. I only needed to take that entrance by mistake once to learn my lesson.

The head maid caught me in the kitchens as I placed Prince Chevalier’s breakfast order for pickup at nine o’clock. I tried not to wince when I saw her coming. Maybe Prince Chevalier decided my punishment wasn’t important enough to concern him, so he handed it off to her.

“Sariel wants you in his office right away,” she said brusquely.

Sariel was a court minister and the king’s regent, meaning he had full control of the palace while the king was ill. If I was too insignificant for Prince Chevalier, then I was certainly too insignificant for Sariel.

“Why?” I asked, surprised.

“I’m sure I don’t know,” the head maid snapped. “Maybe it’s something to do with you gallivanting around with all the princes instead of doing your work.”

Is that what she thought? Is that what the other servants thought? I was spending a lot of time with the princes, but that certainly wasn’t my idea, and I definitely wasn’t enjoying it. I hadn’t asked for their attention, and I just wanted to be left alone to do my job. But there was no point in trying to argue with her about it. Not at that moment, anyway.

“Where is his office?” I asked, resigned to my fate.

“I can show you,” Theresa volunteered, emerging from somewhere among the crowd of cooks and giving the head maid a winning smile.

“Go on, then. And see that she doesn’t wander off. I don’t need Sariel breathing down my neck because she’s too flighty to follow simple instructions.”

I followed Theresa out into the hallway, my pride stung by the head maid’s angry words. We rounded a corner and Theresa burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, looking over at her in surprise.

“Your face right now. You can handle Prince Chevalier, but not her?”

Her observation made me smile, even after the disaster of yesterday.

“Well, when you put it that way, it is kind of silly,” I admitted.

“Don’t worry about it,” Theresa reassured me. “There’s no way of pleasing her. If you never spoke to any of the princes at all, she’d probably be complaining about how rude you were to ignore them.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks. What do you think Sariel wants?”

She shuddered. “I don’t know, but be careful. He’s the devil.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll see. His office is just up ahead. I’d better get back to work before the head maid gets on my case. Bye!”

She left in a hurry, clearly unwilling to linger in Sariel’s vicinity any longer than necessary. I took a deep breath and knocked at the door.