A Dove's Tale

Chapter 51

A red-haired soldier stood across the room, his back to the door, leaning over Prince Clavis’ desk to study the many notes tacked to the wall. He turned around when I entered and scowled at Prince Clavis, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You’re getting her involved?” he asked accusingly.

Prince Clavis shut the door behind us and guided me to the sofa. “Manners, Cyran. A lady is present.”

Cyran rolled his eyes and blew out a sigh. “Sorry,” he said to me. “Ivetta, right? If you want to slap him again, I’ll hold him still for you. Or I can punch him for you.”

I looked from him to Prince Clavis and back. “You two are pretty close, I take it.”

“We go way back,” Prince Clavis said, leaning back against the sofa and draping his arm around my shoulders. “All the way to Bloodstained Rose Day, in fact.”

My eyes widened in recognition. “You were an Obsidianite soldier?” I asked Cyran.

“I would have been safer if I'd stuck with Obsidian,” he replied, the corner of his lip twitching as he tried to hide his smile. “Clavis is a disaster.”

“Oh, you know you love me,” Prince Clavis said lightly. “Almost as much as she does. Speaking of which, it’s in poor taste to keep secrets from your lover. You wouldn’t want to hurt my feelings, would you, Ivetta?” he asked, turning his sparkling golden eyes on me.

“I’m not your lover, but I don’t want you doing something stupid, either,” I replied flatly.

Cyran laughed. “Too late for that. Look, he won’t let you leave until you tell him what he wants, but I’ll make sure he doesn’t get in too much trouble, okay?”

I liked this guy.

“Okay. I guess I’ll have to take your word for it,” I said, smiling reluctantly.

“You’ll take his word over mine?” Prince Clavis asked, feigning offense.

“Do you want to hear this or not?” I retorted.

“You’re right. What horrible assignment did Marge give you for the goodwill gala?”

“The foreign princes. Prince Silvio, Prince Keith, and Prince Gilbert.”

The smile froze on Prince Clavis’ face. Cyran groaned and slumped back against the wall, putting his face in his hands.

“Clavis…”

“Hush,” Prince Clavis said, waving a dismissive hand at Cyran. “I need to think.”

“No, you don’t,” I said firmly. “I’m not leaving Mother, and Marge dislikes me enough without you telling her to change my assignment.”

“She’s just envious of what we have,” Prince Clavis said lightly. “I should probably be more worried about her once Chev finds out about this.”

“And I don’t want you going behind Prince Chevalier’s back to do anything, either,” I added.

“Me? Go behind his back? Whatever makes you think I’d do that?”

“Clavis, this isn’t the time to be joking,” Cyran grumbled.

“This is exactly the time to be joking,” Prince Clavis replied. “A smile forces you to feel better. So, keep smiling, Ivetta,” he said, poking my cheek lightly, “and leave Gil to me. I bet that cake’s ready now.”

“Cake? I thought you wanted her to keep smiling,” Cyran muttered.

Prince Clavis leaped to his feet and offered me his hand. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just jealous of my culinary aptitude.”

“And what about-”

“I’ll be back in less than an hour,” Prince Clavis interrupted Cyran, pulling me to my feet as I reluctantly took his hand. “Sorry to have to cut our date short, Ivetta, but such is the life of your handsome prince.”

“I need to get back to work, Prince Clavis.”

“That’s right. Find something to distract you from our inevitable parting,” he said, undaunted, as he led me back into the hallway.

“You’re impossible. Prince Chevalier’s room.”

“Oh, he’ll be long gone. Why even bother with him?”

“My cleaning supplies are there.”

“Of course. Silly me for thinking you could ever love him when you have me.”

Prince Clavis threw Prince Chevalier’s bedroom door open with a flourish, and, as he predicted, Prince Chevalier was gone. I collected my supplies and resigned myself to Prince Clavis’ prattling as he led me to the library. He left me there for only a few minutes, and when he returned, I gaped at the platter in his hands.

“That’s a cake?”

“It makes your mouth water, doesn’t it? Have a seat and I’ll cut you a slice.”

It was round and had the height of a layered cake, but it didn’t look like any cake I’d ever seen before, and just watching him cut it told me the consistency was all wrong.

“What’s in it?” I asked, nervously taking the slice he dished onto a plate for me.

“That’s a proprietary secret. Go on. Try it.”

Cake was not supposed to be green.

I cautiously cut a small bite with my fork and brought it to my mouth. It took a moment for me to muster the courage to eat it. The consistency was all wrong - it was crisp, like a cookie, and whatever he used for frosting between the layers was almost slimy. The flavor wasn’t bad, though. I don’t know what it was, but it was edible. I looked up at his glittering golden eyes, eyes that were watching me with amusement, and I shrugged helplessly.

“It’s…interesting,” I finally said when my mouth was empty.

“Good. Yves’ cakes are always so boring. Well, I’d better not keep Cyran waiting, or he’ll get bored and start playing with my laboratory. Try not to miss me too much, okay?”

“Goodbye, Prince Clavis.”

He waved and left. As soon as the door closed behind him, I was on my feet, back to work in Prince Chevalier’s private library. Better to wait a few minutes before throwing the rest of the cake away, in case Prince Clavis came back.

Nobody bothered me the rest of the morning, and I disposed of the cake and headed out to the front gate for the carriage that was waiting for me. Prince Chevalier was very specific about which coachman he had assigned to me, and I waved at the familiar face as I climbed into the carriage. I almost wanted to stay and have lunch with the servants, just to find out more about the goodwill gala and what to expect as far as my schedule with the ball tomorrow, but I had to go home to take care of Mother.

How was I going to manage her and the goodwill gala?

Prince Chevalier hadn’t mentioned it at all. Maybe he expected me to maintain my normal schedule, with no alteration in my duties, but that wasn’t the arrangement I’d made with the head maid when she hired me. I hadn’t wasted too much time on an internal argument about going home on my lunch break because it was my time, and as long as I got back to the palace by one o’clock, I didn’t see the problem. It was unreasonable of Marge to tell me I should have been eating lunch with the servants. And I hadn’t been ‘flitting around the palace’ with any princes by choice, and not at all, for the past week and a half. There was no reason she couldn’t find me to tell me about the goodwill gala. She just didn’t like me and wanted to make things difficult for me.

So, I was justified in saying she hadn’t given me appropriate notice, and I couldn’t alter my schedule to accommodate her unreasonable demands.

Right?

Why hadn’t I paid attention? I’d heard talk about the goodwill gala, and I didn’t even think that the reason could be that the gala was coming up soon. Was that why the princes had been leaving me alone, except for the occasional chat when we passed in the hall, or when they came to the library to find a book for work? Then it wasn’t Marge’s fault, and I was to blame for not knowing about this. And I had to figure something out for Mother.

Maybe tomorrow would be the only day with a schedule change. How much time did I need to spend at the palace when there wasn’t a ball to prepare for and clean up after? Would the foreign princes expect me to be available at all hours to wait on them?

I leaped out of the carriage before it came to a full stop, racing inside to check on Mother and grab the bucket. She was resting comfortably. That meant I could deal with the bucket first, get that over with, and then wake her up later for her medicine. If I timed everything just right, I would have a few minutes to ask the Stotts for their help tomorrow. The coachman could push the horses a little faster if he needed to. It was a nice day, and they weren’t at risk of overheating in the short distance from here to the palace.

“Hey, Ivetta,” Jason answered my knock at the door. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said, realizing I was probably flushed from rushing to get everything done before I had to go. “There’s a ball at the palace tomorrow, and I was wondering if any of you could help with Mother while I’m gone. I don’t know when I’ll get back.”

I’d rushed my words, too. The pause for Jason to process everything and reply was too long, and I felt jittery with impatience.

“You’re not coming back tonight?” he asked, drawing his brows together.

“I’ll be back at my normal time tonight, but I have to leave early in the morning, and I have to stay until everything’s done tomorrow,” I clarified.

“Yeah, I’m sure we can,” he said slowly.

“Okay, thanks! I’ll come by tonight to go over everything,” I said, talking over him before he’d finished, darting toward the carriage before I finished. “Bye!”

I pulled the carriage door shut and leaned forward, opening the window so I could talk to the coachman. “Will we make it in time?”

“I’ll make sure we do, Miss Ivetta. Just relax.”

“Thanks!”

I shut the window and slumped back in my seat, putting my face in my hands. That was the easy part. Now I had to deal with Prince Chevalier, who may or may not already know about my new assignment, depending on what Prince Clavis was up to. Prince Clavis, who was close enough to the prince of an enemy nation to give him a nickname.

Then again, maybe that was just Prince Clavis being his normal self.

I had just gotten comfortable with the Rhodolitian princes. Now I had to deal with foreign princes, too?

The first clock I spotted when I dashed into the palace said one o’clock on the dot. I slowed to a walk and let myself catch my breath while I headed back to the library. An hour and a half until Prince Chevalier arrived, and then…whatever came after that.

A young woman I’d never seen before was wandering around the library, looking around at all the shelves with clear wonder and excitement in her brown eyes. She was older than me, probably around Theresa’s age if I had to guess, with long brown hair, and she wore normal clothes instead of a servant’s uniform or a noblewoman’s gown. She offered me a shy smile as soon as she noticed me.

“Hello,” she said nervously.

“Hello,” I replied with an encouraging smile.

If this was the new Belle, she needed to develop some confidence quickly, or she was going to be eaten alive by the Noble Beasts.

“Are you Ivetta?” she asked.

“Yes, I am. Are you the new Belle?”

She let out a relieved sigh. “Yes, I am. And my name is actually Belle, too. Sariel said I should talk to you, since you know all the princes pretty well.”

Sariel sent her here?

“I guess I could give you some pointers. Is your name really Belle?”

“Yeah. Kind of funny, isn’t it? Any help would be great. Sariel introduced me to the princes at breakfast, and they’re a bit frightening.”

I gave her a sympathetic smile. “They’re not so bad once you get to know them, but they are definitely a handful. I’ll be happy to help you out.”

She stayed in the library with me until Prince Chevalier arrived, asking questions and just chatting, dispelling the loneliness I hadn’t realized I’d been feeling. I didn’t run into Theresa very often, and when I did, we could only talk in passing. It was nice to relax and enjoy myself without worrying about the mask.