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That afternoon I spent talking to Prince Nokto preceded a week and a half of the peace I’d been longing for at the palace. I don’t know what exactly changed. My interactions with the princes, even Prince Clavis, became less irritating and frustrating and more interesting and friendly. The tension between Prince Chevalier and me gradually disappeared, the fire in his eyes fading into memory, and we fell into an amiable coexistence. Conversation came naturally with him, more naturally than with the other princes, though I was careful to avoid details of my home life.
I didn’t talk about that with anybody unless I had to, not even Theresa. Not that I had time to see her anymore.
Mother’s health was failing fast. It wasn’t long before she was completely bedridden, and taking a carriage home to tend to her midday replaced the pleasant lunch breaks I used to spend reading in the library. The bucket was a constant vile reminder that she was slipping away, bit by bit, and there was nothing I could do for her except clean up the mess and fake a smile. A good night’s sleep was a thing of the past. Whether I was up late taking care of her; lying in bed awake, my mind too full of stress and worry to close my eyes; or finally succumbing to exhaustion, only to be plagued by nightmares; the result was the same. I woke up tired, I was tired all day, and I went to bed tired. It was just my new state of existence.
I never thought the palace would become my escape.
It was just nice being in the library, surrounded by books, even if I didn’t have time to read them anymore. Occasionally, somebody stopped by, searching for official records or books on specific topics relating to important matters of the government. They all ignored me, except for Sariel and the princes. I knew Sariel was young for a court minister, but I didn’t realize how young until I saw the wizened men in ministerial robes who barely spared me a glance. Sariel couldn’t be much older than Prince Jin. I still wasn’t sure what to make of him, although he didn’t seem so frightening when he had no agenda beyond finding a certain book. And unlike the other court ministers, he acknowledged my presence and asked for my help in finding it.
Just like everybody else in the palace, there was more to him than his first impression.
Maybe I could stay here, after all.
About a month after I’d started working at the palace, I went to Prince Chevalier’s room to start my day as usual, but he wasn’t there. His sword, cloak, and boots were gone, and he’d left his bed unmade, which all pointed to him getting up early. I didn’t know what to make of that. Never once in the time I’d worked for him had he failed to give me warning about any change in schedule, and yet he hadn’t said a word about this. It was none of my business, though, and I knew how capable he was of handling himself, so I shrugged it off and got to work. Until I learned otherwise, it was just a change of plans. Nothing for me to worry about.
I wasn’t worried. I wasn’t.
And I wasn’t relieved when he returned at nine o'clock.
“Good morning, Prince Chevalier,” I said, looking up from my dusting briefly to smile at him.
“We have a new Belle,” he said simply.
“Oh, I see.”
That probably explained his strange absence, and it was definitely a reason for me to feel relieved. The thought that Sariel or Prince Clavis might try to pressure me into becoming Belle after Mother died had been nagging at the back of my mind.
“Have you had breakfast yet, your highness?”
“Yes.”
Then what was he doing here?
He stood, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the wall next to the door, watching me. It was unnerving.
“Is there something else you need me to do, your highness?” I finally asked.
“How long can you keep this up?”
His icy blue eyes and flat tone betrayed no emotion, but he was concerned about me again. I dropped his gaze and focused on my dusting, avoiding his eyes like I’d been avoiding Mother’s impending death, staring me in the face day after day.
“It won’t be much longer,” I said quietly.
The door burst open before he could respond, and I knew immediately who it was without looking. Only Prince Clavis dared to intrude into Prince Chevalier’s personal space like that.
“Sorry, Chev, but I need to steal Ivetta for a moment,” Prince Clavis said, his tone unapologetic. His hand closed around mine, and he pulled me after him in his usual forceful manner.
“Prince Clavis-” I started, glancing back at Prince Chevalier for help.
“I’ll have her back soon. The head maid wants to see her,” Prince Clavis said, grinning widely.
Prince Chevalier said nothing, and I couldn’t refuse an order from the head maid, so I stopped fighting Prince Clavis. He grinned down at me.
“Oh, look, we’re holding hands,” he teased.
I yanked my hand free from his. “What is this about, Prince Clavis?”
“Hm, probably the annual goodwill gala. You do know about that, don’t you?”
“Yes, I’ve heard about it, your highness. It’s commemorating Rhodolite’s alliance with Benitoite, right?”
He laughed. “That’s what it’s supposed to be about, yes. It’s really an excuse for everybody to drink and party for a week. Political wheeling and dealing is so much fun when people are drunk.”
“I’m sure, your highness,” I said, thinking back to the day he took me to a tavern on my way home. “Will you be drinking orange juice again?” I asked, looking up at his glittering golden eyes.
“That or grape juice. I can’t handle alcohol, and I’d rather be fully sober when I take advantage of all the drunken idiots who will be stumbling around the palace. Does that make you think less of me?” he asked teasingly.
“That you can’t drink, or that you’ll be taking advantage of drunks, your highness?” I countered.
He laughed again. “This is going to be fun. I have a new pit trap in mind, and I’m hoping I can get Jin to help me build it when he’s sober, so I can trap him in it when he’s drunk.”
I shook my head. “As long as you stick to pranking your brothers and your close friends, your highness. There are probably some guests you shouldn’t upset.”
“No promises,” he replied with a devious smirk. “And here we are. Marge, I brought you something!” he called out as he led me into one of the bigger, and busier, kitchens. His voice brought a collective groan from the cooks and servants scurrying around, although their faces brightened.
“Thank you, Prince Clavis,” Marge said, gracing him with a sweet smile. I’d only seen her smile once before, and Prince Clavis was involved then, too. It seemed unnatural on her stern face. “I can handle this from here.”
“Of course you can. Hey, George, don’t touch that! I’ve got a cake in that oven!”
Marge’s smile vanished as soon as Prince Clavis left us. She turned her sharp hazel eyes on me, the flecks of green darkening as she pursed her lips. I automatically shrank back from her.
“There is going to be a ball tomorrow,” she began, her tone as sharp as her eyes, allowing for no interruption or argument. “It’s the start of our annual goodwill gala with Benitoite. I expect you to be here promptly at six o’clock in the morning, and you’ll stay until I dismiss you.”
“But, my mother-”
“Did you or did you not agree to work longer hours on special occasions when I hired you?” she snapped.
“Yes, but with advance notice.”
“I assigned you to the library, but you’re always flitting around the palace with one prince or another. I can’t take the time to track down one little maid. Perhaps if you took your lunch here in the kitchens with the other servants, you would have known before now. So you will be here at six o’clock in the morning, and Prince Chevalier will have to do without his favorite maid tomorrow. Is that clear?”
I winced. “Yes, ma’am.”
Maybe things were going well for me with the princes, but clearly my relations with the other servants, or at last the head maid, needed attention. Although I would have liked to hear her say that bit about Prince Chevalier in his presence. She was all bluster now, but I’d never even seen her near him.
“Good. Since you seem to enjoy the company of princes so much, I’m assigning you to the foreign princes who will be visiting. We’ll have the honor of hosting Prince Silvio Ricci of Benitoite, Prince Keith Howell of Jade, and Prince Gilbert von Obsidian. They will be your primary concern until and unless I say otherwise. You are dismissed.”
Prince Gilbert von Obsidian. Prince Chevalier wouldn’t like this. Neither would Prince Clavis, who wasn’t in the kitchen anymore. It didn’t surprise me to find him waiting for me in the hallway.
“The cake isn’t ready yet, so you’ll just have to be patient,” he said, linking his arm with mine as we walked.
“Cake, your highness?” I asked nervously, remembering the warnings from his brothers. His cooking was another of the Seven Wonders of Clavis, along with his bedroom, his handwriting, his traps, and his infamous parties.
“You’ll love it. So, what did Marge want to talk to you about?”
“My assignment for the annual goodwill gala, your highness,” I said, wondering if I should just spring it on him now, or tell Prince Chevalier first.
“Your assignment? You mean Chev doesn’t get you all to himself anymore? What a shame,” Prince Clavis lamented, smirking.
I bit my lip, tossing it back and forth in my mind. If I told Prince Clavis, he would try to fix the problem himself, whether that meant talking to Marge, stealing me away, or something else I couldn’t fathom. Locking me in his room? I didn’t know. He was so unpredictable, anything could happen. The better option was telling Prince Chevalier first, but then Prince Clavis might take that as an affront, and I didn’t want to instigate a fight between them.
“Something wrong?” Prince Clavis prompted me.
“Before I tell you, can you promise me you won’t do anything to interfere?” I asked, looking up at his probing golden eyes.
“Well, when you say it like that,” he started, his tone as light as his smile, “no,” he finished firmly.
I sighed and faced forward. We’d reached the hall with the princes’ bedrooms, and all I really had to do here was collect my cleaning supplies from Prince Chevalier’s room and head to the library.
“Then I guess I’m not telling you, your highness.”
“Hm. What a shame. Guess I’ll have to force you to tell me.”
“Prince Clavis-” I protested as he steered me past Prince Chevalier’s door.
“I know, I know. It’s not very gentlemanly of me to invite you to my room without a chaperone, especially when you have such a hard time keeping your hands off of me, but Cyran’s probably there. He’ll make sure you behave.”
I frowned up at him, but his irrepressible smile didn’t falter. He laughed and tugged on my arm, spinning me to stand in front of him, my back to his door.
“Now, be a good girl and hold still. You’ve just triggered a trap, and the second you move, it goes off.”
I sighed again. He could be lying so I wouldn’t leave while he deactivated the real trap, but he could be telling the truth, too.
“Fine.”
His smile widened. “I’ll be right back.”
He disappeared from view, and I stood still, listening to the little taps and clicks that told me he was probably deactivating more than one trap. The doors lining the hallway that stretched in front of me didn’t open. Of course, they didn’t. All the princes were up early to meet the new Belle, and all of them went to their offices and their official duties when they finished that meeting. Except for Prince Chevalier and Prince Clavis.
I wondered if Prince Chevalier was still in his room, waiting for me.
“All done!” Prince Clavis proclaimed, taking my hand and spinning me around again. “After you, my lady,” he said, opening his door with a flourish.
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