Revel - Twelve Dancing Princesses Retold

Part 7

SEVEN

Waking in a darkened room where the only sound was the even breathing of what Bianca thought must be a dozen sleepers disoriented her at first. She had never shared a sleeping chamber before, and the tiny cubicle that had been hers in the capital had always glowed with the first light of dawn. Groggily, she rolled out of bed, dressed, and padded to the door.

As she reached to push it open, Bianca nearly tripped over something on the floor. She caught herself in time, and shoved the door open to let in enough light to investigate the obstacle. Bianca almost laughed at what appeared to be a pile of worn-out dancing slippers, so hard used the soles bore huge holes. They'd been piled artfully in a drift just inside the door, where anyone trying to enter or exit the room would certainly trip over them and wake everyone.

Bianca surveyed the room, but by some magic, she hadn't woken any of her sisters. Pushing the door open wider, she stepped out of the room, and found the reason for her sisters' makeshift security measures. The adventurer who'd been sleeping on the table last night now lay snoring on a pallet beside the entrance to their room.

Wondering whether he was supposed to be a guard or if he intended to waylay one of the girls when they emerged from their chamber, Bianca did her best to be quiet as she crossed the room and made her way to the dining hall.

The empty table bore no signs of last night's meal, or anything with which to break her fast. Which was strange, given the sun showed it was mid-morning at least. In the women's palace at the capital, the benches would be full of minor wives, concubines and princesses, gossiping like the brightly coloured birds they resembled, as they tried to work out who was missing and hence who the king had favoured to share his bed the previous night. For it was common knowledge in the harem that he and the queen had not shared a bed since she bore his son and heir.

But there would be no such gossip here. The girls all shared a room, and would continue to do so until they died old maids. Unloved, untouched and unwanted. It was no surprise Brenna had brought her little dog along. It was a wonder no one else had pets. If she was forced to live in exile here for the rest of her days, Bianca might consider getting one. A cat, perhaps.

She found her way to the kitchen, where it sounded like the household servants were having their breakfast.

"Anyone willing to place a wager on the latest one?" Bianca heard one girl ask.

A loud snort silenced the rest of them. "That one? Guzzled his wine down like he'd never tasted it before. Probably hadn't. No one will solve the mystery, least of all these adventurers who keep showing up. When it was princes and such, maybe they had a chance, but these men? I wouldn't trust them anywhere near my daughters, and I don't know why the king does."

Someone made hushing sounds. "Don't talk treason. You never know who's listening."

The woman wouldn't be silenced. "It's no treason to speak the truth. I don't know why the king does what he does. But if he's so desperate to see this mystery solved, seems to me he'd only have to question the girls. Not send in some stranger to investigate for him. It sounds like something out of a story, from someone with too much imagination. Next thing you know, there'll be witches and curses and magical gifts, and someone will fall in love."

"You'd better hope none of the princesses falls in love with one of those men. The king would never let one of his daughters marry a nobody."

A clatter told Bianca they were clearing the table.

"But he wouldn't be a nobody any more if he solves the mystery, will he? Even if the man is a beggar, he'd become master of this house."

"Yes, but if they were to fall in love before he solved the mystery..."

Someone laughed. "Then he'd better solve the mystery, or lose his love!"

Dying to ask more about this mystery, but not wishing them to know what she'd overheard, Bianca scuffed her feet deliberately along the flagstones before she entered the kitchen. She found all eyes on her for a stunned moment before they were lowered in respect.

"Your highness," a woman murmured, and the rest chorused something similar.

"I've recently arrived," Bianca began, "so I don't know when or where meals are served here. I fear that I have missed breakfast, yet I am so hungry..."

"I'll fetch you something directly, your highness," a girl said, bobbing in such a way that Bianca wasn't sure if she was trying to bow or curtsey. Both, maybe. "Where would you like to be served?"

Bianca was stunned into silence for a moment. Never before had she been given a choice in such a thing. A minor princess ate at the common table in the harem, sitting in a spot designated by her rank. For the first time in her life, Bianca was her own mistress. The freedom both frightened and exhilarated her.

"I will eat in the hall where we dined last night," she said breathlessly.

As if reading her thoughts, the girl bobbed again and replied, "As you wish, mistress."

Bianca managed a nod in response before she left the kitchen. Her feet felt strangely light, as though she walked on air. Free. She was free of the miasma of politics she'd lived with so long in the harem. Perhaps she could even...

She returned to the kitchen. "Once I am finished eating, have someone saddle my horse. I wish to ride."

Bianca half expected someone to tell her she couldn't, or caution her against leaving the palace, but the only reply she relieved was a colourless, "Yes, mistress," from one of the people bustling about.

An hour later, when she sat astride the same horse she'd ridden yesterday, Bianca could barely believe it. No one came out to stop her. Why, she could kick the mare into a gallop and leave all this behind forever, if she chose.

For a moment, Bianca was tempted, but she resisted. She knew little of the world outside the walls of the palace. There could be wild animals or anything out there. But Kun had said she was safe inside the palace estate.

Kun. She would ride for Kun's cottage, and visit the old woman. Perhaps even practice a little magic while she was there. After all, she was free to do as she wished now.

Bianca urged the horse into a comfortable pace, feeling a smile light up her face more brightly than the morning sun. Who knew exile would feel so good?