Poppy tucked one last lock of Aislin’s hair into place and stepped back. “You look beautiful!” she said, smiling.
“You really do!” cried Twinket. “But you’d better go. I’ve already heard people in the corridor heading down to the Great Hall.”
“Have fun!” Poppy said, walking her to the door.
Aislin gave her a half-hearted smile. “I’ll be eating supper with the king and his family. I don’t think there will be a lot of fun involved.”
Aislin felt truly lovely as she made her way to the hall, certain that people were admiring her gown. When she arrived at the door, a servant escorted her to the raised dais, and announced, “Her Highness, Princess Aislin of Eliasind.”
A beautiful young girl who Aislin assumed was the other princess was seated on the far side of the dais. Prince Rory was seated on Aislin’s side with an empty seat between him and Tomas. Two empty chairs reserved for the king and queen were in the middle. Both the prince and Tomas stood at Aislin’s approach. She was pleased when the servant indicated that she was to sit between the two young men; she was looking forward to talking to Tomas again. It was the prince who demanded her attention, however.
“Welcome to Morain, Princess Aislin,” said Prince Rory. “I’m delighted that you could join us tonight! I must say, you look lovely in that gown. And your eyes … They’re amazing!”
“Thank you,” Aislin told him. “You’re very kind.”
As Aislin took her seat, she glanced toward the table below the dais where someone was making choking sounds. Lady Speely was staring at Aislin in surprise and her face was turning red.
“I thought you told the queen that you would take care of the girl’s dresses!” exclaimed the woman seated beside her, in a voice that carried. “That isn’t anything like the gown you described. It’s prettier than most of mine!”
“I’m sure that isn’t the same gown,” Lady Speely told her. “The fabric isn’t even the same yellow!”
Everyone seated nearby was listening to their interchange. As stubborn as her fairy relatives, Aislin wasn’t about to let it go. “You must be mistaken, Lady Speely. This is the yellow gown that you wanted me to wear. My maid and I changed a few things, but you can’t honestly think we changed the color!”
“I don’t … I never …,” sputtered Lady Speely.
Aislin turned to Princess Selene. “The ruffles and bows were a little much for my taste. I prefer my gowns to be simple and elegant, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course,” the princess replied, looking confused.
“Ah, here’s my father and his lovely wife,” said the prince.
Everyone in the hall stood as the king and queen entered the room. The queen was as round as Aislin’s mother had been right before Timzy was born. When King Tyburr sat down, everyone waited until he nodded before sitting as well. After greeting his children, he turned to Aislin and said, “Good, I see you have a new gown. I trust you’ve been made to feel welcome.”
“Yes, thank you, Your Majesty,” Aislin replied. “Lady Speely has been particularly accommodating.”
“Excellent!” he said, and searched out the servants waiting at the edge of the room. As soon as he beckoned to them, some servers hurried to the royal table carrying heaping platters while others made their way down the long tables, offering food.
Queen Tatya smiled at Aislin, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m delighted you’re able to join us, my dear,” she said. “The king told me about the horrible castle where you lived and how you had to leave in such a hurry. I thought you weren’t able to bring much with you. How were you able to fit that gown in your bag? It’s lovely.”
“I didn’t bring this with me,” said Aislin. “Lady Speely had it made for me here.”
“Really?” the queen replied. Raising one eyebrow, she glanced at Lady Speely. “How nice.”
Lady Speely’s cheeks turned pink and she darted Aislin a nasty glance, as if the princess had done something terrible.
Prince Rory finished helping himself from a platter and turned to Aislin. “It’s the strangest thing, but I feel as if I’ve seen you somewhere before.”
“In the hall, yesterday,” Tomas told him.
“I don’t recall seeing … Oh, the servant girl!” Rory said. “That was you?”
Aislin blushed bright red. He had been talking about her when he told the others about Tomas’s interaction with a plump servant girl? She had never thought of herself as plump. Although she wasn’t as thin as her fairy relatives, she was no heavier than her mother or the other pedrasi, and none of them were considered plump! They were all nicely rounded and well-proportioned; everyone thought they looked just the way they should.
“Will you ever learn to keep your mouth shut?” Tomas asked the prince.
Rory shrugged and turned to talk to his father.
Aislin stared down at her trencher. Suddenly Lady Speely’s comments took on new meaning. She hadn’t been trying to help; she had been deliberately hurtful on the queen’s behalf! It hadn’t been lack of skill or taste that had made the gowns so awful.
Aislin’s face flamed a second time as she thought about how naive she had been. These weren’t the good-hearted fey who loved her and her family. These were humans who seemed to take pleasure in hurting the feelings of others. Well, it wasn’t going to happen again; she’d make sure of that! Sitting up straight in her seat, Aislin glanced at Lady Speely. The woman had better stay away from her. Aislin had dealt with much worse creatures than a rude human woman.
As angry as Aislin felt, she didn’t dare open her mouth. Not only did she not want these women to know that they had gotten to her, she also didn’t want any of them guessing that she wasn’t exactly what they thought she was—a human like themselves. Making the stone floor shake now would be a very bad idea.
“You really should try the pickled beets,” Tomas told her as another server came by. When Aislin looked at him, he added, “I noticed you didn’t help yourself to any meat, so I thought the beets might appeal to you.”
Tomas really was different, Aislin decided. Seeing the kindness in his eyes went a long way to ease her anger. He was the only human who’d been consistently nice to her, and she couldn’t help but like him. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she gave him a grateful smile. “I think I will, thank you,” she said, and helped herself from the platter. As the server walked away, she turned back to Tomas. “You said that you’ve been here a few months. Where do you come from originally?”
“Scarmander,” he said.
“Ah, the kingdom to the south,” Aislin replied, remembering what she’d seen from the clouds.
“Southwest of Morain, really,” Tomas told her.
“And why are you here?” she asked.
“I’m here for my own good,” Tomas said, lowering his voice. “Or at least that’s what King Tyburr says.”
“I see,” said Aislin, glancing at the king, but he and the prince were deep in conversation about Rory’s schooling and hadn’t heard Tomas. Perhaps she wasn’t the only one unhappy to be in Morain. She’d have to have a private conversation with Tomas as soon as she could manage it.
They talked then about inconsequential things like the food, the banners, and the shields draping the walls of the Great Hall, and the way some people ate with no manners at all. Tomas had her laughing until her sides hurt as he pointed out particular offenders among the people they could see from the dais.
When supper was nearly over and the sugared cakes had been served, a minstrel carrying a lute took the floor. He sang a song that was pleasant enough, but every time he hit a wrong note it hurt Aislin’s sensitive hearing, inherited from her father’s side, and she winced. Aislin didn’t think anyone else minded, but after a round of polite applause, he was about to start a second song and King Tyburr waved him away. “I used to think that Grady’s singing was very good, until I heard a voice that was glorious. Princess Aislin, would you be so kind as to sing for us?”
Aislin hadn’t been expecting this, but she didn’t know how to get out of it. Everyone was looking at her expectantly, including Tomas. Clearing her throat, Aislin got to her feet and looked around the room. She couldn’t sing to them while thinking that they were all like the queen and her family, but if she thought of them as people like Tomas, she could do her very best.
Closing her eyes, Aislin began a song about love and loss and finding love again. The song was originally about fairies and their loves over the many long years, but she changed it so it was about humans whose love returned when they were getting old. When she opened her eyes, half the people were crying. The rest were trying hard not to cry. She started a pedrasi drinking song next, one that was so old that the ancestors of the people in the room might have heard it. Aislin was only halfway through the song when a messenger hurried in and ran to the king’s side. After a whispered conversation, the king got up and left the hall. Aislin kept singing, but she noticed that the queen looked anxious and fidgeted until the song was over.
People were still clapping when the queen stood and left the hall. “Nice singing,” the prince told Aislin, then he, too, walked out.
People all around the room started to stand. A group of young ladies hurried to join Princess Selene, pointing at Aislin and laughing. Aislin stood when she noticed that Lady Speely was looking her way. Talking to Lady Speely would be a terrible idea right now; she doubted very much that she’d be able to control her temper. Turning to Tomas, Aislin said, “Would you mind walking me to my corridor? I’m not sure I remember the way.”
“I’d be happy to,” he said, standing up to lead her off the dais. “Rory is a rude idiot, but he was right about one thing—you do look lovely in that gown.”
“Thank you, but I know you’re only saying that to be nice,” said Aislin.
Tomas shook his head. “No, it’s the truth. I never lie, ever.”
Aislin glanced at him in amazement. If it was true, Tomas was the first person she had ever met who could honestly make that claim. The very thought was refreshing.
Instead of heading for the stairs, Aislin turned the other way so they were standing in the empty end of the corridor. “Before we say good night, I’d like to ask you something,” she told him. “What you said about King Tyburr bringing you here for your own good—was it against your will?”
Tomas nodded. “It was. I was just inside the border when his men found me. He refuses to let me leave.”
“He brought me here because he thought he was saving me from a terrible home, but I don’t think he ever told us the real reason he had gone to my parents’ kingdom,” said Aislin. “Something is going on; I just don’t know what it might be. I would love to go home soon, though I’m not sure how to arrange it.”
“King Tyburr wouldn’t have brought you here if it hadn’t suited him for some reason. He probably wants something from your kingdom. That may explain your very informal welcome to the castle. Normally a king would have a welcoming ceremony for a visiting princess and treat her with far more respect, but he may be trying to downplay your presence here so no one suspects what he has in mind. The herald said you were from Eliasind. I’ve never heard of it,” said Tomas.
“You wouldn’t have,” Aislin told him. “It’s secluded and not very well known. Why do you suppose King Tyburr wants you here?”
“Because he hopes to control my father through me,” said Tomas. “My father is the Duke of Isely, the most powerful man in Scarmander. He’s also heir to Ozwalt, King of Scarmander. Morain and Scarmander have fought off and on for most of our history. We had peace for a time, but we’ve been on the brink of starting another war for the last year. Both kingdoms claim possession of an island in the middle of the Galiman River that forms part of the border between us. The best walnut trees found anywhere in the world grow on the island, and the fishing around the island is phenomenal. When fighting broke out between the fishermen of our two kingdoms, both sides sent soldiers to maintain the peace. If there was to be a war, my father would lead the Scarmander army. I was on a mission for my father that would have kept this war from happening, but then King Tyburr’s men found me. King Tyburr brought me here so he could question me about Father. Now I think the king believes that my father won’t fight as long as I’m in Morain, which is why he refuses to let me go. I see signs that the king is gearing up for war every day. Have you noticed how many soldiers are here now? There weren’t nearly as many when I first arrived.”
Aislin nodded, thinking about everything she had just learned. “I wondered why there were so many. I need to find out why King Tyburr might want me here; my parents’ kingdom has no role in your wars.” She sighed and glanced down the corridor. “I suppose I should go upstairs now. I have some thinking to do.” And some spies to send out, she thought. Poppy likes her excursions and Twinket is finally going to get her very own errand.