Neither Poppy nor Twinket was back from her investigation when Aislin fell asleep that night. She dreamed that she was home in Eliasind, swimming in Blue Lake with Poppy, Bim, and some of their water nymph friends. Twinket was there as well, watching over them from the shore. They were splashing and playing when suddenly something rose from the depths of the lake. It had a horrible face and long, hairy arms that ended in two grasping claws. Terrible things spewed from its mouth, and the creature grew as it swam closer until it threatened to fill the entire lake.
“It’s a human!” Bim cried as they all tried to get away.
Aislin jolted awake just as the sun was coming up. Twinket was sitting in the chair by the window, looking out at the clouds. The doll turned when she heard Aislin stir, and jumped up when she saw that the princess had opened her eyes.
“Finally!” cried the doll. “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to talk to you? I have so much to tell you!”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Poppy?” said Aislin. “I want you both here for your reports.”
“I’ll get her!” Twinket said, and ran into the dressing room.
“I didn’t mean that you should wake her!” Aislin called after her.
“I don’t mind,” Poppy said, rubbing her eyes as she came into the room. “I was just dozing.”
The fairy sat on the floor cross-legged, yawning so widely that Aislin could see all her teeth.
“How did it go?” Aislin asked her friends. She noticed how the morning sunlight glinted on Poppy’s hair and was suddenly suspicious. “Did you do more magic in this room?”
Poppy looked away, no longer able to meet her eyes. “Maybe a little,” she said. “You were tossing and turning in your sleep when I came back, so I used a sleep-well spell on you.”
“I said no more magic!” Aislin began.
“May I please give my report?” said Twinket. “I have so much to tell you!”
Aislin sighed. “Go ahead,” she told her little friend, although her eyes flicked a warning at the fairy.
“I went to Prince Rory’s room, and it was just where you told me it was,” Twinket told Poppy. “He was in there talking to a man who was helping him get ready for bed. Why would anyone need help getting ready for bed?”
“Because they’re ill?” said Poppy. “Or just plain lazy.”
“Go on,” said Aislin.
“Anyway, Prince Rory talked the whole time. I think he likes to hear his own voice, because he even talked when I was sure the man wasn’t listening. I know I didn’t want to hear what he was saying because he was just plain rude. He told the man he was incompetent, and demanded he wash a certain shirt, then he started talking about Aislin. That’s when I really started to hate him.”
“What did he say?” Aislin asked. “Tell it to me just like he said it, if you can. I want to hear it all.”
“Are you sure? It wasn’t very nice,” said Twinket.
Aislin nodded. “I’m sure. I need to hear the truth, so don’t change it just so it sounds better.”
“All right. If that’s what you want,” replied Twinket. “He said that his father says that he should think about marrying you, but that’s never going to happen. He said that he refuses to have a plump wife when there are so many thin girls around. He said that he’d never even heard of the kingdom you came from, so it must not be important. Then he got quiet for a minute. I don’t know if he was thinking or the man was pulling a sleep shirt over his head. I couldn’t see them very well. Then he said that your face is beautiful, and that you have the prettiest eyes he’d ever seen. He said if you lost some weight he might consider it. He said maybe he should tell you that and then you would do it because he’s such a good catch. And then the man left the room and Rory stopped talking.”
“What he said was quite enough,” Aislin said through tight lips. “A great catch! If I were fishing for my supper and he was the only fish in the lake, I’d throw him back and starve!”
“Wait, there’s more!” Twinket declared. “I was really mad when he said those things about you, so I waited until he was asleep and snoring really loudly. I opened his door just enough that I could squeeze in, then I collected all his shoes and stuffed them in a fancy-looking bag. I hauled them back into the secret space behind the wall and dragged them to a dark corner far away where no one will ever find them. That’s what took me so long.”
Poppy laughed. “You should have come to get me. I would have sent them to the dung heap and buried them like that!” She snapped her fingers. Fairy dust sparkled at her fingertips, giving a warm glow to the room. “I might even have sent him along with the shoes.”
“Poppy!” Aislin warned. “Your fingers dust like that only when you’re thinking about using magic.”
“I’m sorry, but I hate this ‘no magic’ thing,” said Poppy. “Back home, magic is as natural as breathing!”
“I know,” said Aislin. “But we’re not home now and we have to be careful.”
Poppy was still making a scowly face when Twinket said, “Now it’s your turn. What did you find out?”
“I went to the king’s bedchamber first, but he wasn’t there,” said Poppy. “So I went to his secret room behind the secret door and there he was, talking to a bunch of men. They were looking at a map, but I couldn’t see more than a little corner of it. They said a whole lot that I didn’t understand about some war starting, and then they said something that I thought was really important. The whole reason the king went to Eliasind is because he’s looking for a back way into a place called Salamander.”
“Scarmander,” Aislin corrected. “That’s probably why he asked me if I’d ever visited the southern mountains. He wanted to find out if I knew of a way through.”
“He said that he didn’t find it the first time he looked, but he’s going to go back, and he’s going to take you,” said Poppy.
“He’s taking me home!” Aislin said, suddenly excited.
Poppy squinched her eyes and shook her head. “Not really. At least not in a good way. He said that he brought you here because you’d saved his life and he thought he owed it to you to take you away from ‘the monsters in the castle.’ But he said that he’s been giving it a lot of thought and he thinks you can be useful. He plans to take you back to Eliasind as his hostage. He’ll threaten to hurt you if your family doesn’t cooperate and show him how to get his army into Salaman … Scarmander.”
Aislin went cold all over. At what point had she gone from being a rescued guest to a hostage he could threaten? She’d thought that the king was capable of lying after he was so secretive about his trip to Eliasind, but she didn’t think he’d go this far! There was no way she would let him use her against her family like that!
She thought furiously, trying to come up with a way to dissuade him, until it occurred to her that if he couldn’t get through the pass, he wouldn’t have the chance to do anything so awful.
“I need to get word to my parents to make sure no one can use the pass again,” Aislin told her friends. “They have to make it super secure and they need to do it now.”
“I could go tell them,” said Poppy. “But it would take me a few days to fly there and I wouldn’t be able to get in if the pass is already closed.”
“If you were gone that long, someone would be sure to notice that you were missing,” Aislin told her. “No, I think we’ll have to send a message with a bird. If the pass is closed and the bird can’t get in, then the message isn’t necessary. But if it can get in, it would be a lot faster.”
“I don’t know if I can call one from here,” Poppy said, glancing at the window.
“Let me see,” said Aislin as she got to her feet. She went to the window, but didn’t see any birds. None of the pigeons, sparrows, doves, or crows that normally lived around castles were anywhere in sight.
Poppy and Twinket joined her at the window. “I don’t see a single bird,” said Twinket. “Maybe there are too many cats here.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Poppy told her friends and made a summoning whistle. After waiting a short time, she tried again, but they still didn’t see any birds.
“They aren’t coming,” said Twinket. “Try one more time and make it louder.”
Poppy stuck her head out the window and called once more. She was backing away from the window when a whoosh of large wings heralded a falcon dropping from the sky. The bird landed on the windowsill, and looked up at the fairy.
Aislin covered her ears at the bird’s loud shriek, but Poppy listened intently. The fairy replied, then the bird responded. Aislin waited while they spoke, wishing once more that translating wasn’t necessary.
Finally, Poppy turned to Aislin. “He didn’t want to do it until I promised him that your family would reward him. What do you want him to tell them?”
“Tell him that if all the passes are closed, he won’t be able to deliver my message,” said Aislin. “But if even one is open the tiniest bit, he has to go through the pass and tell any bird he meets that this message is for the royal family of Eliasind. The bird should help him find his way to the castle. When he gets there, he needs to give the royal family this message: Princess Aislin is in good health. King Tyburr of Morain is going to war with Scarmander. He wants to sneak into that kingdom through Eliasind. He plans to use Aislin as a hostage to force you to help him. Make sure the passes are closed. Don’t worry about Aislin. She can take care of herself.”
Poppy repeated Aislin’s words to the falcon. When the bird held up his leg to show her the long jesses tied to it, she pointed her finger at him. Golden sparkles glittered in the sunlight as the leather strips fell away.
The falcon cried out, hopped from the ledge, and circled the tower across from the window. When they couldn’t see him anymore, Poppy turned to Aislin and asked, “Do you think he’ll do it? We don’t know that bird at all.”
“He will if he wants that reward,” said Aislin.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” Poppy asked her. “I’ve never seen the garden in daylight.”
“I’d love to,” Aislin told her. “I’ll be ready in a minute.”
Aislin had just finished changing her clothes when there was a knock on the door. Before anyone could answer, Lady Speely walked in. Thankfully, she didn’t notice Twinket go limp and fall over. “You owe me an explanation,” she told Aislin. “Where did you get the gown you wore last night?”
All the anger Aislin had felt in the Great Hall the night before came back in a rush, but she knew that if she said anything right then, the entire castle might shake. Using every bit of control that she could muster, she did her best not to let any of the power in her affect the stone. “Lady Speely,” she said, nearly choking on the name. “You will address me as Your Highness. My father is a king and I am Princess Aislin.”
Lady Speely looked away, no longer able to meet her gaze. Holding her head high, Aislin continued. “I don’t owe you anything. You, however, owe me an apology. I know that you were trying to humiliate me with that horrid gown and you are angry because it didn’t work, and now Queen Tatya is unhappy with you. That’s your problem, not mine. Get out of my room and don’t ever come here again. I don’t want to have anything more to do with you. Poppy, please see this awful woman out.”
Lady Speely’s mouth opened and closed, but she didn’t seem able to speak. Although she no longer looked directly at Aislin, the princess noticed that the woman’s eyes glistened with tears. “I … I’m sorry,” she finally choked out as Poppy took her by the arm and pushed her out the door.
“Stay away from Princess Aislin, or you’ll have to deal with me!” Poppy declared, and slammed the door behind her.
The girls waited until they heard Lady Speely’s footsteps retreat down the hall. “Did you see that?” Poppy asked her friends. “She was actually starting to cry. I didn’t think that heartless beast was capable of it. I think you managed to make her feel bad, Aislin. You must have put power in your voice and it worked on a human!”
“That’s not surprising if you think about it,” said Twinket. “Anyone who can control stone with her voice like Aislin shouldn’t find it hard to influence a human’s emotions. Although I think Lady Speely deserves to be punished more than that. I can think of lots of things we can do to her! I could—”
“We’re not doing anything unless she continues to bother me,” said Aislin. “Twinket, Poppy and I won’t be gone long. Stay here and don’t do anything to anyone!”
Walking through the castle was a lot more fun for Aislin when Poppy was with her. They pointed out interesting things to each other and both laughed when they saw the prince wearing shoes that obviously didn’t fit. Poppy whispered, “There’s one!” when they passed a secret door. A few minutes later, Aislin saw one that Poppy had missed. It seemed that the humans had lots of secrets.
Aislin was pleased that the garden was empty when they arrived, but she doubted it would stay that way for long. The two girls strolled to the far end where the lily pond formed a perfect circle. Aislin sat on the stone edge of the pond and leaned toward the water. There was no wind today, and the water was still. She had dipped her hand in the pool and was swirling it around when a small yellow feather drifted down onto the water’s surface. Aislin looked up. A flock of goldfinches was fluttering around Poppy, chirping madly.
Once again, Poppy had to translate. “They say that they came as soon as they could. They heard me call, but they couldn’t come before this because they were afraid of the falcon that some nasty man lets out at the same time every day. They said that they saw the falcon fly away, and the man didn’t let any more birds out, so they knew they could answer my call. They want to know why I summoned them.”
“Please thank them for coming, but tell them that we’ve already handled our problem,” Aislin told her.
As Poppy was talking to the finches, Aislin heard voices just beyond the hedge.
“Poppy, someone is coming,” said Aislin. “It would look odd if you’re found talking to a flock of goldfinches.”
Poppy chirped something to the little birds, who flew off in a swirl of yellow, darting across the garden and over the castle wall. “I’ve always liked goldfinches,” Poppy told Aislin. “They’re such cheerful birds! Oh, wait. I hear the voices now, too.”
“One sounds like Princess Selene,” said Aislin. “I really don’t want to talk to her.”
“I could look for a back way out, but I think it’s too late,” Poppy replied.
Aislin sighed. “Never mind. I’ll have to talk to her sometime. It might as well be now.”
Princess Selene and a group of girls her age appeared at the entrance to the garden. When they saw Aislin, Selene waved and called, “There you are! We were hoping we’d find you.”
Aislin wished she was anyplace else but here, even as she returned her wave. “I’ll see you back at the room,” Poppy said, stepping aside as Selene hurried over, wearing a friendly smile.
“I’d like to invite you to my chambers for an impromptu concert,” Selene said to Aislin. “We all loved your singing and want to hear more. Would you join us? We have my room all set up for it.”
“I suppose,” Aislin replied, not sure how to get out of it without being rude.
“We really should get to know one another better,” Selene said, hooking her arm through Aislin’s. “I understand that you might be my sister-in-law someday.”
Not a chance! thought Aislin, though she gave in to the pressure on her arm and started to walk with Selene.
Aislin wondered what she could possibly have to say to the human princess, but she didn’t have to worry. The group of girls that clustered around them kept up a lively conversation all the way to Selene’s rooms, leaving no time for anyone else to say anything. The three girls named Merrilee, Joselle, and Laneece did most of the talking.
When they opened the door, Aislin saw that Selene had a suite of rooms that were much larger than the one she’d been given. They had entered a huge sitting room with three other doors leading off to one side. The furniture was fancier than and not nearly as dark as Aislin had seen elsewhere in the castle. A portrait over the fireplace showed a young woman with golden curls and a saucy smile. Her eyes were vivid green and the tip of her nose was tilted.
“What a pretty girl!” Aislin exclaimed.
“You think she’s pretty?” Joselle scoffed. “I think her nose is odd. It certainly isn’t perfect like a real princess’s.”
“You can’t tell it from the portrait, but they say she was as plump as a partridge,” said Merrilee.
“Queen Tatya says she was a silly goose,” added Laneece.
Selene’s voice sounded odd when she said, “You told me that you had everything ready for Aislin to sing for us. Let’s begin.”
The three girls hurried to a curtain that hung from ceiling to floor, dividing the front of the room from the back. A row of chairs had been set up facing the curtain, and the girls directed Selene to the chair in the middle.
“Good! Now you come with us,” Merrilee told Aislin, leading her behind the curtain. “Wait on this side until we’re ready. We’ll be just a minute.”
Aislin looked around while the girls fumbled with the curtain on the other side. All the furniture that normally filled the room had been shoved up against the wall, leaving her very little space to stand. She turned to face the curtain, waiting while the other girls took their seats. When it was finally quiet, Laneece called out, “We’re ready. You may begin.”
Aislin reached for the curtain, trying to find a way to open it. She felt her way across, but it seemed to be one solid piece. The girls must have fastened the two halves together. “I can’t find my way out of here,” she called out as she continued to look.
Merrilee laughed. “You silly goose! You have to stand on that side. We want to hear your singing; we don’t want to look at you! Your voice is lovely, but seeing you would be too distracting.”
The girls laughed, a shrill sound that grated on Aislin’s ears. The hand that was gripping the fabric turned into a fist.
“Did you know that you’d be quite beautiful if only you lost some weight?” called Laneece.
The girls laughed again until Joselle called out, “And covered up those strange eyes. No one has eyes that color or pupils so big.”
Aislin’s hand shook, making the curtain shake with it. No one had ever spoken to her like this. These girls were being deliberately nasty, if only to amuse each other.
“You shouldn’t spend so much time in the sun. A princess shouldn’t have tanned skin,” cried Merrilee.
Aislin had had more than enough. No one should be so disrespectful to a princess! Especially not one who was both fairy and pedrasi royalty! She had never thought of herself as superior to anyone before, but she was certainly better than these horrible girls. Unable to find a way through the curtain, Aislin took another way out. Drawing power from the floor, she pulled the curtain down so hard that the whole thing fell to the floor, taking part of the ceiling with it.
The girls screamed and jumped to their feet, even though they were all too far from the curtain to have been hurt. Aislin was disgusted. They were nasty and cowards and didn’t deserve her respect.
“You should be ashamed of yourselves, talking to anyone that way!” Aislin said, putting power into her words. With her head held high, she stalked from the room, barely noticing the horrified look Selene was giving her friends.
Aislin was on her way to her own room when a voice called out to her. “Is everything all right?”
She would have kept going, but she recognized Tomas’s voice. “No, it’s not all right!” she snapped. But when she saw the hurt look on Tomas’s face, she suddenly felt contrite.
“I didn’t mean—” Tomas began.
“No, I’m sorry,” said Aislin. “It’s not your fault. I’m in a bad mood because of something Selene’s friends just did. Those girls are absolutely the worst people I have ever met.”
“I know,” said Tomas. “I discovered that my first day here. If it’s any consolation, I told them so to their faces once.”
Aislin laughed. “I’m glad. Now I can think of all sorts of things I should have said, but I was in too much of a hurry to leave.”
“Isn’t that always the way it goes!” Tomas said with a grin.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that book you were reading,” said Aislin. “Did you get to finish it?”
Tomas shook his head. “No, I didn’t, although I wanted to. I was close to the end when Rory grabbed it out of my hand and said that he wanted to read it. When I said I wasn’t finished with it, he threatened to tear the book up, so I let him have it. I didn’t know he could read.”
“He probably can’t,” Aislin told him. “My … servant … found the book in the trash. I can give it to you at supper tonight if you’d like.”
“That would be great! Thanks! It’s good to know that there are some nice people in this kingdom and not everyone is like Rory or those girls.” Tomas gave her the warmest smile she’d seen all day.